Triple bonus! An email, a letter, and a hand-drawn picture from Covey

The picture:

The caption says: This is little picture I drew one rainy p-day in Argentina. It is a pretty accurate picture of the streets of Buenos Aires. Did you know that like 14 million people (and like 30 million stray dogs) live in Buenos Aires? Sorry, didn't have time to finish it! But it is a little taste of my life on the mission. Love, Elder Wilson

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Transcribed handwritten letter:

Familia,

Thank you for the weekly letters that you send! I love to know how you are all doing! Don't be afraid to write a lot, trust me, I read it. I am glad to hear that Brooke's openhouse-reception thing was a success. Thanks for all your hard work to keep the yard looking nice.

Do all the people have good friends? Does everybody feel comfortable in Alpine? I can't believe that Summer is over! These last few months have gone by so fast for me... and I bet for you too.

How many of the family are taking Spanish classes this year? If you are, you should write me a little part en espanol with your weekly letters. The food here is really good, but hard to describe.

Here are three things that I miss from home that you should not take for granted:

1. the music in sacrament meeting - to have an organ and a bunch of people singing with power
2. to have the temple so close and easy to go to. I don't think I will ever be able to go here.
3. bicycles / scooters / etc. I walk probably 10 miles a day.

Anyways, I miss you all and thank you for your support. Thanks for the package that you sent me!

Hasta Luego,

Elder Wilson

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Weekly email:

This week was really good! Me and my companion whitewashed this area when we first got here (It has already been a whole transfer that I have been in Uruguay! I cant believe how fast it has gone), and now things are starting to all fall into place in the district and run more smoothly. Yesterday we gave a lesson to the branch about how members can work with missionaries. The problem is that members think that they should teach the doctorine to their friends which I understand because as members we have such strong testimonies and want to share them (1NE 8:11-12), but the reality is that members SHOULD NOT TEACH THE DOCTORINE TO THEIR FRIENDS but rather just invite them to church activities, or to their houses or whatever and through that set up appointments for our friends and family to be taught by the missionaries. That was kind of the base of our lesson, and it went well.

 

But the work is going really well right now my area, we expect lots of good baptisms this month, and really hope to animate the branch. One investigator that I want to talk about is a 13 year old young woman named Valeria. We met her in a contact, and taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and gave her a Book of Mormon, and we have been teaching her for a week and a half now, and she has already read the whole book all the way through! She is amazing -  has´nt missed a  church activity since we started with her, but the best part is that she is pretty popular at her school, and through her we have found lots of really good other  people to teach, her friends and family, which is really a blessing to us and the branch because we are scrounging to build the youth program down here.. right now it consists of 1 active youth.. so we feel really blessed to be having such great investigators.

 

And it is starting to be spring down here and warm up. Uruguay is so beautiful, and I love serving here (Its the best place in south america). The culture is so unuique, and I am learning so much.  But people are the same everywhere around the world. Sometimes its weird to think that I am half way around the world from where i grew up.  Did I mention that I almost got hit by a strey horst cart yesterday? Thank you all for your support, and dont forget to invite your non-member friends to hear the gospel! It will change their lives forever, and their family. ¡La obra missional es la obra lo màs importante en el mundo! And nothing will make you feel better than to see your friends and family members join the gospel.

 

Thanks,

Elder Wilson