Hey family how is it going?!
Sounds like it was a good Christmas for all you back home. That is good! Christmas here was good. We had a musical fireside on Thursday night and then Christams morning all our district came into my room and had Christmas. That was fun. The senior missionaries spoiled us. They made us breakfast for Christmas morning and had a gift for all of us.
We had KFC for lunch and Papa Johns for dinner. Suprisingly enough, the first american food I have had in a month gave me my first experience with the Big D. That wasn't fun. I lost 5 pounds in 24 hours. I didn't sleep much this week because I have had a nasty cough. I do not know why I keep getting sick. It is driving me crazy. Yesterday I started getting a massive headache that has turned into a sinus infection like the one I had when I thought I was going to die when I was little. Basically the whole time I have been here I have been somewhat sick. I keep hoping and praying that I will get better. I have lost over 15 pounds and weigh under 200 for the first time in forever. So keep your prayers coming for me.
It is a bummer that keato's card hasn't come through. I think that's happening with all my cards because I still haven't gotten any. I am thinking that they may all be at the President's house if they sent it through pouch but I do not know. There was an Elder today that got like 20 cards that randomly all made it here at the same time. I do not know how it all works here.
I can not believe that I am actually going out to the field. I go on Tuesday. It's pretty crazy. I feel so ready but at the same time I feel so unprepared with Spanish.
I think it is totally fun that you got google earth ready Dad. That will be fun to tell you where I am at. I am super excited.
I am sorry it is so short but they have us on a tight schedule!
Love you all lots,
Elder Wilson
(Note: The sinus infection he is referring to is when he was in elementary school they called and told me he needed to be picked up at school because he had a severe headache. When we were on the way to urgent care he was crying and hurting so bad ... he looked up at me and asked if he was going to die. Poor kid! We took him to urgent care and they sent us on to the emergency room, where after several hours and a CT scan they found he had pan-sinusitis which they said meant every one of his sinus cavities was infected. I hope that they get it treated soon and that he gets feeling better before they send him out next week. Keep him in your prayers!- Jill)
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
2009 Christmas Letter from Seth
Hey Family!
IT sounds like there is a lot going on at home. Very exciting and is fun to here about it! That is awesome that Jeff is home and you all got to see him. Give him a hug for me. He was my big brother I did not ever have (until Dustin came along ofcourse.) Tell him I know I never wrote him but he should write me! I do not know about mail here. I have only gotten 3 regular letters here and know of about 7 others that say they sent one and I haven't gotten them! I did get your package! :) Thank you so much. It is definently nice to get packages and stuff here. We put them all under our tree. Elder Dieker, Elder Groll, Elder Stephens and I made a Christmas tree and a chimney for Santa. It is pretty legite. We have a lot of pictures but on Sunday we were informed that we should not send pictures anymore. No se porque pero I will do what I am told with a smile. I will send them when I get out. Elder Groll just showed me that you wrote his mom and last week his mom said she saw his picture in my blog. He is an awesome kid. I have gotten pretty close with him and he is definently going to be a great missionary. We have lots of fun together.
My week in review, I already got bit by something that left a huge red spot on my leg. That was intense. I then got a pretty nasty cold and am just now getting over it. Basically out of the last 3 weeks I was sick 2 1/2 but it hasn't slowed me down at all. We didn't end up getting native companions. The other companionship in our room did move out though so Elder Dieker and I have the room to ourselves so we moved the bunk beds together and we both now have king-size beds. It is pretty awesome. I will have to send pictures of that later too.
The natives are amazing. They are so cool. They all like to joke aroudn with me a lot. They call me Elder Grande and Elder Grandito (not sure if spelled right.) There is one named Elder Cantreras. He and I have gotten pretty close. I am not so sure why but he really likes me and enjoys helping me learn Spanish. It is def a struggle to communicate but we manage to make our way through it most of the time. The people here are very generous. For ex, the other day I said I liked his tie. Later in the day he came up to me and just gave it to me. I tried to tell him no and that I was just saying it was a nice tie and he said that he knew thats what I meant but he wanted me to have it.
On Sunday I was leading the music and I walked up there and the song started and I was on the completely wrong page. I went to where the Hymn was in English not in Spanish so I was completely lost and looked like an idiot and everyone was laughing at me the rest of the day. It was pretty funny. Def one of those memories that explaining it over an email def does not describe the situation. It was hilarious. I had to run over to the PResident's wife and ask her what page it was. I was reminded later by my district that the hymn numbers are always posted up front. Oh well it was fun.
On Sunday night a local group of members that had formed a choir came and sang to us. They were amazing! It was really good. Then Monday night all the senior missionaries came over and sang carols to us for their FHE.
Tuesday we went to a park. Its called Olympic park of something like that. It is where the D.R. olympic teams practice. The national men softball team was practicing. They were wearing the jerseys that we bought of ebay so that was pretty cool.
We talked to this guy there for quite a while about the Gospel. It was very neat. He was really sick and had some soft of skin problems but we gave him a message of hope and peace.
Spanish is coming good, until a Dominican speaks. It is seriously like trying to watch a movie in fast forward. Or rewinding a tape. It is sooooo fast. But i will get it eventually!
Tell Bro Neely he needs to learn to like Taylor Swift.
I wish I could have been there to see Grandma sing and also to see Brother Nokleby play too!
I haven't heard from Keato yet. What is his status on putting his papers in?! I can not wait to here about that.
I only have two more minutes to finish this up. Looks like I didn't catch you on or your emails haven't come through yet. I want you all to know, as corny as it sounds this is probably the best Christmas yet. Hard but def the best because this Christmas I got the best gift ever. I have been given the gift to be able to realise how great of a family I have. I have the best family in the world and I took that for granid (Spelling?). You all have always been there for me and have shown your love for methrough all of my mistkakes. This Christmas has been awesome. I really do love you all very much. I love hearing from you every week and each week my realization of what I have grows more and more. I am sorry for being so ungrateful but I hope you will know that I realize now how blessed I am to have a family like you all. I love you all sooo much and hope you have the bestest Christmas ever. THanks for your love and support.
Love your little boy and brother,
Elder Wilson
IT sounds like there is a lot going on at home. Very exciting and is fun to here about it! That is awesome that Jeff is home and you all got to see him. Give him a hug for me. He was my big brother I did not ever have (until Dustin came along ofcourse.) Tell him I know I never wrote him but he should write me! I do not know about mail here. I have only gotten 3 regular letters here and know of about 7 others that say they sent one and I haven't gotten them! I did get your package! :) Thank you so much. It is definently nice to get packages and stuff here. We put them all under our tree. Elder Dieker, Elder Groll, Elder Stephens and I made a Christmas tree and a chimney for Santa. It is pretty legite. We have a lot of pictures but on Sunday we were informed that we should not send pictures anymore. No se porque pero I will do what I am told with a smile. I will send them when I get out. Elder Groll just showed me that you wrote his mom and last week his mom said she saw his picture in my blog. He is an awesome kid. I have gotten pretty close with him and he is definently going to be a great missionary. We have lots of fun together.
My week in review, I already got bit by something that left a huge red spot on my leg. That was intense. I then got a pretty nasty cold and am just now getting over it. Basically out of the last 3 weeks I was sick 2 1/2 but it hasn't slowed me down at all. We didn't end up getting native companions. The other companionship in our room did move out though so Elder Dieker and I have the room to ourselves so we moved the bunk beds together and we both now have king-size beds. It is pretty awesome. I will have to send pictures of that later too.
The natives are amazing. They are so cool. They all like to joke aroudn with me a lot. They call me Elder Grande and Elder Grandito (not sure if spelled right.) There is one named Elder Cantreras. He and I have gotten pretty close. I am not so sure why but he really likes me and enjoys helping me learn Spanish. It is def a struggle to communicate but we manage to make our way through it most of the time. The people here are very generous. For ex, the other day I said I liked his tie. Later in the day he came up to me and just gave it to me. I tried to tell him no and that I was just saying it was a nice tie and he said that he knew thats what I meant but he wanted me to have it.
On Sunday I was leading the music and I walked up there and the song started and I was on the completely wrong page. I went to where the Hymn was in English not in Spanish so I was completely lost and looked like an idiot and everyone was laughing at me the rest of the day. It was pretty funny. Def one of those memories that explaining it over an email def does not describe the situation. It was hilarious. I had to run over to the PResident's wife and ask her what page it was. I was reminded later by my district that the hymn numbers are always posted up front. Oh well it was fun.
On Sunday night a local group of members that had formed a choir came and sang to us. They were amazing! It was really good. Then Monday night all the senior missionaries came over and sang carols to us for their FHE.
Tuesday we went to a park. Its called Olympic park of something like that. It is where the D.R. olympic teams practice. The national men softball team was practicing. They were wearing the jerseys that we bought of ebay so that was pretty cool.
We talked to this guy there for quite a while about the Gospel. It was very neat. He was really sick and had some soft of skin problems but we gave him a message of hope and peace.
Spanish is coming good, until a Dominican speaks. It is seriously like trying to watch a movie in fast forward. Or rewinding a tape. It is sooooo fast. But i will get it eventually!
Tell Bro Neely he needs to learn to like Taylor Swift.
I wish I could have been there to see Grandma sing and also to see Brother Nokleby play too!
I haven't heard from Keato yet. What is his status on putting his papers in?! I can not wait to here about that.
I only have two more minutes to finish this up. Looks like I didn't catch you on or your emails haven't come through yet. I want you all to know, as corny as it sounds this is probably the best Christmas yet. Hard but def the best because this Christmas I got the best gift ever. I have been given the gift to be able to realise how great of a family I have. I have the best family in the world and I took that for granid (Spelling?). You all have always been there for me and have shown your love for methrough all of my mistkakes. This Christmas has been awesome. I really do love you all very much. I love hearing from you every week and each week my realization of what I have grows more and more. I am sorry for being so ungrateful but I hope you will know that I realize now how blessed I am to have a family like you all. I love you all sooo much and hope you have the bestest Christmas ever. THanks for your love and support.
Love your little boy and brother,
Elder Wilson
Thursday, December 17, 2009
December 17, 2009...My week in review...
Hola Familia!
Before I forget, you have to give Kenny a hard time for me. I have written him two times since I got his first letter! Once in Provo and once here! I do not know why he hasn't gotten them. I am not exactly sure if mail is reliable or not. I got a letter from Maren and one from Rae. That was pretty cool because I had just written for her address and then I got a letter from her! I also got Package from Fud and Dud and one from Vicki! See's chocolate. It was amazing. :) Do not worry Meagan, I wont open til Christmas. P.S. Meagans pictures through word document worked. She is very um..........plump! haha Thanks all who sent things :) I still have not gotten the one from you guys yet but I am sure it will come. My companion got a letter today from the 1st of December so it looks like sometimes it takes awhile.
My week in review, I got my hair cut again on Thursday. It looks pretty bad but everytime I go outside I am very grateful. Friday night we heard a bunch of noises outside and we thought we were under attack. Sounded exactly like gunshots but it kept going for over a minute so I opened the window and looked outside and there was a firework show! Right outside the CCM. Apparently a Dominican women one something equivalent to American Idol for latinos so they had a firework show. I watched it for awhile. Pretty impressive fireworks but my neck was sore from squeezing my head out the tiny opening.
On Sat we celebrated 12-12 at 12:12:12 p.m. in our district. I am proud to say I was the one who noticed it. Unfortunately on Mon we forgot to celebrate 12-14 at 16:18:20. It was during gym time and we forgot.
You will have to tell Jess to tell Heidi Oliver that Heidi's trainer is one of my teachers here. Hermana Lebron. She is now pregnant with her first kid. That is pretty cool and another teacher, Hermana Parra served with her as well.
Before I forget, HAPPY BDAY Dad. The big 50 ehhh?! Wow that is pretty old. Sorry but it is. Good thing you will be a grandpa soon so you can fit your age :). Just kidding but had to give you a hard time so you would know I am still your son.
We watched a fireside from Elder Perry on Sunday and it talked about the Doctrine and Covenants. He said that we should treasure the D&C more than anything in the world. I never really thought about that before. It make me start to study it more. It was really good.Bad news for Mom, we can not call on Christmas. No se porque pero no puedo. I am guessing it is because there are too many missioneries. As I write, the native missioneries are in their orientation. The other missionaries in our room moved out which means we will most likely get to room with some natives! That would be sooo helpful and amazing!
One of my teachers, Hermano Ramirez is amazing. I do not know if I already told you about him but her is my hero. He is a quite man with few words but he is one of those people that when he talks you know you need to listen. Always something profound and strong. He is unbelievable. He had cancer and after 3 surgeries, 20 full body examinations, kimo and radiation theorpy, and faith he was able to be cancer free. I do not know how to explain it but he is just completely amazing! He is the one he really pushes attitude is everything.
I finally decided to quit being stubborn and eat cereal with milk instead of dry. Let's just say it's growing on me. Maybe eventually I wont have to plug my noise as I eat.
Tuesday that Haitians and the missionaries from Guayana left. We got to take a group picture before they left so I will try and send those a little later. The kitchen is sooo quiet now that the Haitains are gone. They were the best.
It rained a lot last week and the beginning of this week. Feels like a sauna when you walk outside after the rain. It is amazing how much you sweat. I can not even imagine how much I will sweat when I finally get out and am outside everyday.
Tues we went to the university. It was pretty quiet because school is out. We talked to one guy for quiet awhile and it was very good. He had a lot of questions and we were able to communicate with him pretty well.
Today we went to the temple. That was good. We have a service project every bday. I do not know what we are going to do. Maybe go to the university and pick up trash. That is a never ending job!
Not much is new here in the CCM. Crazy to think I am going to be out in the field in 2 1/2 weeks. We leave here the 5th in the morning.Sounds like everything is good back home. It is weird to think it is Christmas time and everyone is home! It feels like the middle of summer here! Not Christmas ish at all! You will have to tell me how Christmas goes and how it is having Maren back for the Holidays. Question her a lot about her boy for me.
I have been blessed a lot out here. It is a very good experience. Little by little I find more and more out about the Gospel, our Savior, faith, and myself. It is very awesome.
You will have to tell Bryce and Jeff hi for me. They were great examples to me and I miss them but we will have lots to catch up on!
I love you all very much and hope all is well! If I forgot anything let me know!
LoveElder Wilson
Before I forget, you have to give Kenny a hard time for me. I have written him two times since I got his first letter! Once in Provo and once here! I do not know why he hasn't gotten them. I am not exactly sure if mail is reliable or not. I got a letter from Maren and one from Rae. That was pretty cool because I had just written for her address and then I got a letter from her! I also got Package from Fud and Dud and one from Vicki! See's chocolate. It was amazing. :) Do not worry Meagan, I wont open til Christmas. P.S. Meagans pictures through word document worked. She is very um..........plump! haha Thanks all who sent things :) I still have not gotten the one from you guys yet but I am sure it will come. My companion got a letter today from the 1st of December so it looks like sometimes it takes awhile.
My week in review, I got my hair cut again on Thursday. It looks pretty bad but everytime I go outside I am very grateful. Friday night we heard a bunch of noises outside and we thought we were under attack. Sounded exactly like gunshots but it kept going for over a minute so I opened the window and looked outside and there was a firework show! Right outside the CCM. Apparently a Dominican women one something equivalent to American Idol for latinos so they had a firework show. I watched it for awhile. Pretty impressive fireworks but my neck was sore from squeezing my head out the tiny opening.
On Sat we celebrated 12-12 at 12:12:12 p.m. in our district. I am proud to say I was the one who noticed it. Unfortunately on Mon we forgot to celebrate 12-14 at 16:18:20. It was during gym time and we forgot.
You will have to tell Jess to tell Heidi Oliver that Heidi's trainer is one of my teachers here. Hermana Lebron. She is now pregnant with her first kid. That is pretty cool and another teacher, Hermana Parra served with her as well.
Before I forget, HAPPY BDAY Dad. The big 50 ehhh?! Wow that is pretty old. Sorry but it is. Good thing you will be a grandpa soon so you can fit your age :). Just kidding but had to give you a hard time so you would know I am still your son.
We watched a fireside from Elder Perry on Sunday and it talked about the Doctrine and Covenants. He said that we should treasure the D&C more than anything in the world. I never really thought about that before. It make me start to study it more. It was really good.Bad news for Mom, we can not call on Christmas. No se porque pero no puedo. I am guessing it is because there are too many missioneries. As I write, the native missioneries are in their orientation. The other missionaries in our room moved out which means we will most likely get to room with some natives! That would be sooo helpful and amazing!
One of my teachers, Hermano Ramirez is amazing. I do not know if I already told you about him but her is my hero. He is a quite man with few words but he is one of those people that when he talks you know you need to listen. Always something profound and strong. He is unbelievable. He had cancer and after 3 surgeries, 20 full body examinations, kimo and radiation theorpy, and faith he was able to be cancer free. I do not know how to explain it but he is just completely amazing! He is the one he really pushes attitude is everything.
I finally decided to quit being stubborn and eat cereal with milk instead of dry. Let's just say it's growing on me. Maybe eventually I wont have to plug my noise as I eat.
Tuesday that Haitians and the missionaries from Guayana left. We got to take a group picture before they left so I will try and send those a little later. The kitchen is sooo quiet now that the Haitains are gone. They were the best.
It rained a lot last week and the beginning of this week. Feels like a sauna when you walk outside after the rain. It is amazing how much you sweat. I can not even imagine how much I will sweat when I finally get out and am outside everyday.
Tues we went to the university. It was pretty quiet because school is out. We talked to one guy for quiet awhile and it was very good. He had a lot of questions and we were able to communicate with him pretty well.
Today we went to the temple. That was good. We have a service project every bday. I do not know what we are going to do. Maybe go to the university and pick up trash. That is a never ending job!
Not much is new here in the CCM. Crazy to think I am going to be out in the field in 2 1/2 weeks. We leave here the 5th in the morning.Sounds like everything is good back home. It is weird to think it is Christmas time and everyone is home! It feels like the middle of summer here! Not Christmas ish at all! You will have to tell me how Christmas goes and how it is having Maren back for the Holidays. Question her a lot about her boy for me.
I have been blessed a lot out here. It is a very good experience. Little by little I find more and more out about the Gospel, our Savior, faith, and myself. It is very awesome.
You will have to tell Bryce and Jeff hi for me. They were great examples to me and I miss them but we will have lots to catch up on!
I love you all very much and hope all is well! If I forgot anything let me know!
LoveElder Wilson
Thursday, December 10, 2009
More MTC and CCM Pics Dec 2009
Clarification on Authentic Dominican Dishes
I asked Seth to tell me what authentic Dominican dishes were made of. That is when he answered that the dishes in the kitchen were made in China! (I guess I should I should have said "what are authentic Domincan meals made from?") I asked him if he was being smart-alek and this was his response:
ooooohhhhh hahaha i didnt know that was what you meant.rice and beans with chicken and beef every single lunch.a soup with beef chicken and potatoes is an occasional meal with riceThat is about the normal!I love you lots mother! Be safe and have a good week!:)
ooooohhhhh hahaha i didnt know that was what you meant.rice and beans with chicken and beef every single lunch.a soup with beef chicken and potatoes is an occasional meal with riceThat is about the normal!I love you lots mother! Be safe and have a good week!:)
Life in the Santo Domingo CCM
Hey family!
How are things going at home?! It sounds like everyone is doing pretty well. It is nice to get letters from you all.
First things first, Maren: Tell Luke I am not afraid to go to jail while in the DR.
Can you sometime send my Priesthood lineage
To answer your questions: Mom
-Dishes here in the kitchen are made in China... not to authentic.
My typical schedule is
breakfast 7am.
Personal study 730-830
Comp study 830-930
Class til 1230
Lunch
Class 130-4
Gym 4-5
Dinner 515
Class 6-930
Back to room and journal ect.
Thats the typical day and on Tues throw in going to the university.
None of the sisters her played at Dixie so she most be somewhere else.
On a sad/bad note. Tues night Elder Brumwell knocked on my door and asked if I could talk to him for a coupole minutes. I went to his room and when I walked in all his suitcases were out and he was packing. He said that he was just informed that they were sending him home. They told him he could come back in 6 months but we will see how that goes. I did not really know what to do so I broke down and gave him a hug. It was really hard for me because he had progressed so much. He really did become a best friend in the 3 weeks of working together. It was really hard and I had trouble sleeping that night.
On a lighter note, it has started to rain here. The last several days its rained. When you walk outside while its raining it is sooo intensely humified.
We couldnt go to the university on Tues because of the rain so we went yesterday instead. We talked to lots of people and gave a Book of Mormon to a girl. To answer dads question about how Spanish is going, the girl after we taught her said in English "You guys really need to work on your Spanish" Haha it was really funny. We thought we did fine but obviously not.
Theres been a cough/cold going through the CCM. I have been chosen to carry it with me. I have been sick for 8 days now but its been ok because I still have lots of energy. The only bad part is I cough all night.
The power has gone out 5 times now so I have gotten to use my light a lot. Sunday night some of us went outside to watch the Temple lights turn back on. That was pretty neat.
Tues morning we all piled into 2 buses and went to the store. The traffic here is insane. I can see why we do not have cars or bikes now. We bought a lot of soda and candy and shampoo ect. It was quite the experience. The people talk soooooo fast its sooooo hard to understand.
Mom you will be proud, I already ruined a pair of pants. I guess I dried them to hot. It burned a whole through the behind. Oh well live and learn!
Kim- Snicker Doodles are my favorite so if my favorite aunt loves me...........
About the address I do not think it matters because I got a letter last Thursday and it didnt have the extra line and it made it here fine so I do not think it is much of a problem.
That is funny about Richard. I do not know if I already told you but he was in my old zone in Provo so I know all those people that are going with him on his mission.
That is about all I know new from here. It is pretty much the same. I really like the pictures Dad thanks a bunch for those. Spanish is coming but that is a relative term. I still really enjoy it here. Everyone is super nice and friendly and helpful. I can not wait until I can communicate with them and tell them about the gospel.
I love you all very much and I am grateful to have such a great family. I hope all continue to go well there and thanks for your prayers.
Love Elder Wilson
if theres anything I forgot or you need to know urgently I get to check it again later today so let me know
Love you lots!
How are things going at home?! It sounds like everyone is doing pretty well. It is nice to get letters from you all.
First things first, Maren: Tell Luke I am not afraid to go to jail while in the DR.
Can you sometime send my Priesthood lineage
To answer your questions: Mom
-Dishes here in the kitchen are made in China... not to authentic.
My typical schedule is
breakfast 7am.
Personal study 730-830
Comp study 830-930
Class til 1230
Lunch
Class 130-4
Gym 4-5
Dinner 515
Class 6-930
Back to room and journal ect.
Thats the typical day and on Tues throw in going to the university.
None of the sisters her played at Dixie so she most be somewhere else.
On a sad/bad note. Tues night Elder Brumwell knocked on my door and asked if I could talk to him for a coupole minutes. I went to his room and when I walked in all his suitcases were out and he was packing. He said that he was just informed that they were sending him home. They told him he could come back in 6 months but we will see how that goes. I did not really know what to do so I broke down and gave him a hug. It was really hard for me because he had progressed so much. He really did become a best friend in the 3 weeks of working together. It was really hard and I had trouble sleeping that night.
On a lighter note, it has started to rain here. The last several days its rained. When you walk outside while its raining it is sooo intensely humified.
We couldnt go to the university on Tues because of the rain so we went yesterday instead. We talked to lots of people and gave a Book of Mormon to a girl. To answer dads question about how Spanish is going, the girl after we taught her said in English "You guys really need to work on your Spanish" Haha it was really funny. We thought we did fine but obviously not.
Theres been a cough/cold going through the CCM. I have been chosen to carry it with me. I have been sick for 8 days now but its been ok because I still have lots of energy. The only bad part is I cough all night.
The power has gone out 5 times now so I have gotten to use my light a lot. Sunday night some of us went outside to watch the Temple lights turn back on. That was pretty neat.
Tues morning we all piled into 2 buses and went to the store. The traffic here is insane. I can see why we do not have cars or bikes now. We bought a lot of soda and candy and shampoo ect. It was quite the experience. The people talk soooooo fast its sooooo hard to understand.
Mom you will be proud, I already ruined a pair of pants. I guess I dried them to hot. It burned a whole through the behind. Oh well live and learn!
Kim- Snicker Doodles are my favorite so if my favorite aunt loves me...........
About the address I do not think it matters because I got a letter last Thursday and it didnt have the extra line and it made it here fine so I do not think it is much of a problem.
That is funny about Richard. I do not know if I already told you but he was in my old zone in Provo so I know all those people that are going with him on his mission.
That is about all I know new from here. It is pretty much the same. I really like the pictures Dad thanks a bunch for those. Spanish is coming but that is a relative term. I still really enjoy it here. Everyone is super nice and friendly and helpful. I can not wait until I can communicate with them and tell them about the gospel.
I love you all very much and I am grateful to have such a great family. I hope all continue to go well there and thanks for your prayers.
Love Elder Wilson
if theres anything I forgot or you need to know urgently I get to check it again later today so let me know
Love you lots!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
2009.12.03 Elder Wilson Letter CCM Santo Domingo
Hey Family!
How is everyone doing?! Life here is great! I absolutely love it! Once I caught up on sleep a little bit everything has been amazing. I do not know how else to say it! I love it soooo much. I don't know where to start...
We will start with getting here. We got in at 3 am and unpacked and all then got up at 7 and had a sleepy Thanksgiving Day. We had a very American dinner. Turkey, mash potatoes, ect.
The food here is amazing! It is rice and beans every single day! It actually really good. I lvoe rice now you just have to throw some beans on top and it moistens it up and makes it way more do able. Each lunch has chicken and rice with it. Dinner is a smaller meal that is usually meat and rice again. Sometimes we will have something a little difference like pasta or something like that. Breakfast is always the same: Cereal with warm powered milk and oatmeal. Every meal has bread, bananas, and juice with it. It is amazing.
We already got to use our flashlights. The power went our at about 2 in the afternoon and didnt come back on until 7 ish. It was intense. Humitity with 10 guys in a small room was pretty smelly.
There are a ton of langauges going through here. Sacrament meetings hymns are a train wreck! People from Guayana sing in Eng, we try to sing in Spanish and the Haitian missionaries sing in French.
The Haitians get their own paragraph in my letter, THEY ARE HILARIOUS! So loud and crazy but it makes it so much fun. Its helped me realise how you can be very happy without having very much. They literally have nothing yet they are the happiest people I have ever met. I have thought alot about this and feel very ingrateful.
The Dominican people are awesome too. They are all sooooo nice and receptive. We went to the university to on Tues and it was awesome but horrible! I could not understand anything! They all talk so fast! A group of girls called us over and had a question for us, we explained to them we don't know much Spanish but they tried real hard to explain what they were saying. I used my favorite line on them like 5 times, "Mas despacio, por favor" (not sure if I spelled it right but means much slower please) They thought it was sooooo funny when I would say that. But anyway, we never could get their question and when I got back I looked up one of the words they wrote down.... Then it all clicked... They were asking us if we were allowed to use birth control! hahahaha Our district laughed for about ten minutes about that it was so funny.
Gym here is a small room with a ping pong table and 3 fusball tables. So most days we go outside and play basketball. The humity is intense! Gym times means hardcore sweat time. Its fun though. The Haitians and Guayanans do not believe in fouls though so I get pretty banged up! It is very humid but do able and I like it.
Two of my teachers served with Tallen in the Santiago mission and they both said that he was an AMAZING missionary. That was fun to talk to them about that. All classes are in complete Spanish so if anyone talks about the gospel I can understand but casual talk is still coming.
I am officially the fastest banana eater here. I got under 6 seconds last time I tried.
Last night at dinner the sister missionaries (3 in the whole place) sat next to me and I started to sweat. Def not used to sitting by girls already.
My companion is awesome. He is from Colorado. Elder Dieker!
The CCM is basically a small hotel. It is def crammed but fun. My district is good and strong. I can not think of too much else right now but write me if there is anything else you want to know.
Thanks for everthing so much.
I realise more and more each day how much I am blessed and that the Lord loves us all.
Thanks for all you do for me.
I love you all lots
Love Elder Wilson
How is everyone doing?! Life here is great! I absolutely love it! Once I caught up on sleep a little bit everything has been amazing. I do not know how else to say it! I love it soooo much. I don't know where to start...
We will start with getting here. We got in at 3 am and unpacked and all then got up at 7 and had a sleepy Thanksgiving Day. We had a very American dinner. Turkey, mash potatoes, ect.
The food here is amazing! It is rice and beans every single day! It actually really good. I lvoe rice now you just have to throw some beans on top and it moistens it up and makes it way more do able. Each lunch has chicken and rice with it. Dinner is a smaller meal that is usually meat and rice again. Sometimes we will have something a little difference like pasta or something like that. Breakfast is always the same: Cereal with warm powered milk and oatmeal. Every meal has bread, bananas, and juice with it. It is amazing.
We already got to use our flashlights. The power went our at about 2 in the afternoon and didnt come back on until 7 ish. It was intense. Humitity with 10 guys in a small room was pretty smelly.
There are a ton of langauges going through here. Sacrament meetings hymns are a train wreck! People from Guayana sing in Eng, we try to sing in Spanish and the Haitian missionaries sing in French.
The Haitians get their own paragraph in my letter, THEY ARE HILARIOUS! So loud and crazy but it makes it so much fun. Its helped me realise how you can be very happy without having very much. They literally have nothing yet they are the happiest people I have ever met. I have thought alot about this and feel very ingrateful.
The Dominican people are awesome too. They are all sooooo nice and receptive. We went to the university to on Tues and it was awesome but horrible! I could not understand anything! They all talk so fast! A group of girls called us over and had a question for us, we explained to them we don't know much Spanish but they tried real hard to explain what they were saying. I used my favorite line on them like 5 times, "Mas despacio, por favor" (not sure if I spelled it right but means much slower please) They thought it was sooooo funny when I would say that. But anyway, we never could get their question and when I got back I looked up one of the words they wrote down.... Then it all clicked... They were asking us if we were allowed to use birth control! hahahaha Our district laughed for about ten minutes about that it was so funny.
Gym here is a small room with a ping pong table and 3 fusball tables. So most days we go outside and play basketball. The humity is intense! Gym times means hardcore sweat time. Its fun though. The Haitians and Guayanans do not believe in fouls though so I get pretty banged up! It is very humid but do able and I like it.
Two of my teachers served with Tallen in the Santiago mission and they both said that he was an AMAZING missionary. That was fun to talk to them about that. All classes are in complete Spanish so if anyone talks about the gospel I can understand but casual talk is still coming.
I am officially the fastest banana eater here. I got under 6 seconds last time I tried.
Last night at dinner the sister missionaries (3 in the whole place) sat next to me and I started to sweat. Def not used to sitting by girls already.
My companion is awesome. He is from Colorado. Elder Dieker!
The CCM is basically a small hotel. It is def crammed but fun. My district is good and strong. I can not think of too much else right now but write me if there is anything else you want to know.
Thanks for everthing so much.
I realise more and more each day how much I am blessed and that the Lord loves us all.
Thanks for all you do for me.
I love you all lots
Love Elder Wilson
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Elder Wilson in the Dominican Republic!
Hola!
We arrived last night at 3 a.m. after all the delays. So we are all on 7 hours of sleep between the last two nights. It was really cool to see the city. We only have 3 min to send a short email to say that we are here but it is totally awesome and totally humid and hot but it will be awesome. There are only 68 missionaries here. We get to eat a native food for lunch and turkey for dinner. All of our classes are in complete spanish from now on. So wish me luck! You can use pouch to send letters here while at the MTC. or you can send it to av. bolivar 825 los Robles Santo Domingo Dominican Republic.It was so nice to talk to you yesterday. Just wanted to tell you I am here and I will write you next Thursday but this is all I can write today! Love you lots and thanks for everything!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love
Elder Wilson
We arrived last night at 3 a.m. after all the delays. So we are all on 7 hours of sleep between the last two nights. It was really cool to see the city. We only have 3 min to send a short email to say that we are here but it is totally awesome and totally humid and hot but it will be awesome. There are only 68 missionaries here. We get to eat a native food for lunch and turkey for dinner. All of our classes are in complete spanish from now on. So wish me luck! You can use pouch to send letters here while at the MTC. or you can send it to av. bolivar 825 los Robles Santo Domingo Dominican Republic.It was so nice to talk to you yesterday. Just wanted to tell you I am here and I will write you next Thursday but this is all I can write today! Love you lots and thanks for everything!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love
Elder Wilson
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
End of week 2 at Provo MTC
Hola!
Thanks for all your letters and support. The package of candy was way yummy! Thanks a bunch. Mom, I got your note with all the questions but I cant find it now. So I will do as bewst i can to answer them. We get 30 min a day to write on pdays. I leave next Weds. Flight takes off at 820 and then we fly to Dallas. We have a two hr lay over there. Then we fly to Miami and have a 3 hr layover there and then arrive in Santo Domingo at 1130 at night. Im not sure the exact times because they are back in the room but I will write a letter when I get back telling you the exact times.
As for the MTC I love it. Its all about the attitude I decided and I am totally loving it. Our district is SOLID. So solid. We are learning a lot about Spanish and its pretty fun but hard at the same time. I again got the oppurtunity to spend a lot of time in a waiting room for my companion. He was really coming around and then last night he got a dear elder from home. As he was reading it he started to break down. He couldnt talk and so eventually he just handed me the letter (this was right before the fireside) I read it and understood why he was breaking down. Apparently his best friend was over at her boyfriends house when someone came in and murdered his bestfriend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriends parents. Then they drove to her boyfriends grandfathers house and shot him too. All five of them died. Whoever murdered them set a car on fire in town so that the fire department would be distracted and then set the homes of the people they killed on fire. It was so said seeing him sit there. One of those situations when you really do not know what to do. We went into a room and prayed for a while. At the time he didnt want a blessing but after the fireside our whole district got together and our branch president came too. My companion asked me to give the blessing. The Spirit was so strong and it was the first experience I have had where I really did not do the talking. It was very powerful and I hope he can remember what the Lord wants him to do right now. This morning we spent most of the morning in the front office while he called his parents. Then we went to the temple. Every Pday we go to the temple. I am really starting to feel of the love and peace that comes through the temple. It is probably the high light of my week. Last night Bishop Edgley talked to us and that was really neat. He is a good man. Sunday we had Sheri Dew and she was interesting because she talked about how she hates being single.
My teacher's name is Bro Welling. He is such a good man. I totally hope that I will become the man that he is. Sorry Maren he is engaged.
Today was a good day because it was FRENCH TOAST STICKS DAY!!! Dustin was for sure right when he said that they were something to look forward too.
I am driving myself crazy because I lost your letter mom. If theres anything important email me back and I will check it during laundry.
It snowed the other day. That was cool. I wore my scarf and gloves from maren :)
Ill have to figure out how to get you pictures but I think thats all for now.
Life is going well and definently having some unique experiences but I am grateful for them because my testimony is growing immencly. THe work is hard but well worth it.
I love you all a lot and I hope all is well there!
elder wilson
Thanks for all your letters and support. The package of candy was way yummy! Thanks a bunch. Mom, I got your note with all the questions but I cant find it now. So I will do as bewst i can to answer them. We get 30 min a day to write on pdays. I leave next Weds. Flight takes off at 820 and then we fly to Dallas. We have a two hr lay over there. Then we fly to Miami and have a 3 hr layover there and then arrive in Santo Domingo at 1130 at night. Im not sure the exact times because they are back in the room but I will write a letter when I get back telling you the exact times.
As for the MTC I love it. Its all about the attitude I decided and I am totally loving it. Our district is SOLID. So solid. We are learning a lot about Spanish and its pretty fun but hard at the same time. I again got the oppurtunity to spend a lot of time in a waiting room for my companion. He was really coming around and then last night he got a dear elder from home. As he was reading it he started to break down. He couldnt talk and so eventually he just handed me the letter (this was right before the fireside) I read it and understood why he was breaking down. Apparently his best friend was over at her boyfriends house when someone came in and murdered his bestfriend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriends parents. Then they drove to her boyfriends grandfathers house and shot him too. All five of them died. Whoever murdered them set a car on fire in town so that the fire department would be distracted and then set the homes of the people they killed on fire. It was so said seeing him sit there. One of those situations when you really do not know what to do. We went into a room and prayed for a while. At the time he didnt want a blessing but after the fireside our whole district got together and our branch president came too. My companion asked me to give the blessing. The Spirit was so strong and it was the first experience I have had where I really did not do the talking. It was very powerful and I hope he can remember what the Lord wants him to do right now. This morning we spent most of the morning in the front office while he called his parents. Then we went to the temple. Every Pday we go to the temple. I am really starting to feel of the love and peace that comes through the temple. It is probably the high light of my week. Last night Bishop Edgley talked to us and that was really neat. He is a good man. Sunday we had Sheri Dew and she was interesting because she talked about how she hates being single.
My teacher's name is Bro Welling. He is such a good man. I totally hope that I will become the man that he is. Sorry Maren he is engaged.
Today was a good day because it was FRENCH TOAST STICKS DAY!!! Dustin was for sure right when he said that they were something to look forward too.
I am driving myself crazy because I lost your letter mom. If theres anything important email me back and I will check it during laundry.
It snowed the other day. That was cool. I wore my scarf and gloves from maren :)
Ill have to figure out how to get you pictures but I think thats all for now.
Life is going well and definently having some unique experiences but I am grateful for them because my testimony is growing immencly. THe work is hard but well worth it.
I love you all a lot and I hope all is well there!
elder wilson
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
First Letter From MTC
Hey family!
The first email of the mission! I hope all is going well at home. Life is great here. The first couple of days were pretty insane. We just got thrown into the the schedule and had to figure out what to do on our own but we managed to get it together.
My first companion is Elder Bromwell. He is amazingly hilarious. He is from a small town in Arkansas (population 400.) He's got the accident and all. Sooo redneck but awesome! He and I are really starting to work well together. It's awesome. Last night we had our first experience teaching outside of teaching other missionaries. I thought it went really well. It was really neat to feel the Spirit there. The guy we taught was from Puerto Rico and we had to talk to him in Spanish for 5 minutes and it was torture! He spoke so fast but to make us feel better he told us that Domincans speak about 100 times faster. Up to that point I thought that spanish was going pretty well but now I realise I have a lot of work to do :).
Last night we had a fireside from Elder William Walker on temples. IT was nice and sparked a great testimony meeting afterwards. The Spirit was present and it reminded me the importance of temples.
My schedule here is pretty crazy. We have classes most the day and eat a lot. The last couple of days have been different. My companion has had to have some meetings with people and all so Ive spent a lot of my time in the waiting room of the MTC presidents office. But the meetings are done now and he gets to stay which is awesome because he has really come out of his shell. He has had a rough life and has an interesting story. But sitting in the office has allowed me to have a lot of personal study time which is good. Ive spent a lot of time this week studying King Benjamins address which I have come to appreciate more and more. So many great principles are found there.
Tatums friend Elder Urry is in my district. He is my roomate and he is an amazing kid. He is a solid kid and a great athlete. My other roomate is Elder Money who is from Phoenix as well. Same town as Dawn lives in but I do not know how to spell it. We four are the only ones in our district and zone that are going to the Domincan.Vicki sent me a package that got here Thursday which was very nice and very fun. Everyone said I most be loved to get bread and brownies my first full day here. They were AMAZING. Thanks very much :)
We have four Hermanas in our distict. Actually only three cause one switched districts. They are amazing and make me feel like im at home again being mothered :)
The food here is good. Kinda. Nothing like Mom's cooking and lets just say the food isn't going to well in anyones stomach so the aroma around here is unique. I saw Brindy twice yesterday working in the cafe. That was pretty fun!
The work is hard but rewarding. Im grateful for the oppurtunity I have to serve the Lord. I am ver grateful for the Dear Elder letters they are very fun. Thanks for your love and support from everyone!
I love you all very much and look forward to hearing from you!
Love
Elder Wilson
P.S. Sunflower seeds are popular :)
The first email of the mission! I hope all is going well at home. Life is great here. The first couple of days were pretty insane. We just got thrown into the the schedule and had to figure out what to do on our own but we managed to get it together.
My first companion is Elder Bromwell. He is amazingly hilarious. He is from a small town in Arkansas (population 400.) He's got the accident and all. Sooo redneck but awesome! He and I are really starting to work well together. It's awesome. Last night we had our first experience teaching outside of teaching other missionaries. I thought it went really well. It was really neat to feel the Spirit there. The guy we taught was from Puerto Rico and we had to talk to him in Spanish for 5 minutes and it was torture! He spoke so fast but to make us feel better he told us that Domincans speak about 100 times faster. Up to that point I thought that spanish was going pretty well but now I realise I have a lot of work to do :).
Last night we had a fireside from Elder William Walker on temples. IT was nice and sparked a great testimony meeting afterwards. The Spirit was present and it reminded me the importance of temples.
My schedule here is pretty crazy. We have classes most the day and eat a lot. The last couple of days have been different. My companion has had to have some meetings with people and all so Ive spent a lot of my time in the waiting room of the MTC presidents office. But the meetings are done now and he gets to stay which is awesome because he has really come out of his shell. He has had a rough life and has an interesting story. But sitting in the office has allowed me to have a lot of personal study time which is good. Ive spent a lot of time this week studying King Benjamins address which I have come to appreciate more and more. So many great principles are found there.
Tatums friend Elder Urry is in my district. He is my roomate and he is an amazing kid. He is a solid kid and a great athlete. My other roomate is Elder Money who is from Phoenix as well. Same town as Dawn lives in but I do not know how to spell it. We four are the only ones in our district and zone that are going to the Domincan.Vicki sent me a package that got here Thursday which was very nice and very fun. Everyone said I most be loved to get bread and brownies my first full day here. They were AMAZING. Thanks very much :)
We have four Hermanas in our distict. Actually only three cause one switched districts. They are amazing and make me feel like im at home again being mothered :)
The food here is good. Kinda. Nothing like Mom's cooking and lets just say the food isn't going to well in anyones stomach so the aroma around here is unique. I saw Brindy twice yesterday working in the cafe. That was pretty fun!
The work is hard but rewarding. Im grateful for the oppurtunity I have to serve the Lord. I am ver grateful for the Dear Elder letters they are very fun. Thanks for your love and support from everyone!
I love you all very much and look forward to hearing from you!
Love
Elder Wilson
P.S. Sunflower seeds are popular :)
Monday, November 9, 2009
Elder Wilson sighting
Scotty Catt, an RM from Marana who played ball with Seth in HS, is a Spanish instructor at the MTC. Seth is not in his group, but Scotty texted and said he had seen Seth. The report was someting like, "He looked great; a little 'Deer in the headlights' right now but great." His companion is from Arkansas and, per Scotty, is a nice guy.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
In he goes!
Seth trying to fit everything into his suitcases
Saying goodbye to Mom and Dad
It was a really beautiful day!
Sorry, this is my first time posting on a blog- can't quite figure it out!
Here's the story on taking Seth to the MTC:
His flight came in at about 10:15 and he was one of quite a few missionaries roaming around the airport. We decided that if the suits and sharp hair cuts didn't signal a new missionary, wearing a big watch clearly did, especially since most kids our age just use cell phones to tell time these days- no cell phones for missionaries! We gathered all of his bags (FOUR, to be exact... not sure how those are all going to the DR!) and took off for Provo. We made a pit-stop at Wal-mart for some last-minute purchases, and happened to run into Tara Wengert. Seth was really excited because he's loved Tara Wengert (who is now married) since he first met her! After Wal-mart, we went and ate lunch at Cafe Rio, which was super delicious and there were about three other families with new missionaries doing the same thing!
We drove up to the MTC and were directed where to park to take pictures, etc. We were about 45 minutes early, so we took pictures and then played some frisbee on the lawns across the street from the MTC. That was my favorite part :> I had one really bad throw and sent Seth biffing into the ground in his Sunday clothes. Luckily, no grass stains!! There were a bunch of missionaries out playing soccer and frisbee for P-day and a few of them came and said hi to Seth, and were excited he was coming into the MTC. Seth seemed pretty stoked about meeting guys that were so friendly and helpful.
At the MTC, there were missionaries EVERYWHERE, directing traffic (SCARY!) and helping to unload bags. With the system the MTC has now, the missionaries direct you to a curbside, help you unload your things, then you say a quick goodbye to your missionary, and he's off! Seth definitely kept the good-bye short, and seemed raring to go- he seemed really excited!
He'll do great over the next couple of years. It was great to be with him this morning; it felt so right for him to begin this important part of his life!
Airport
Arriving at the Tucson International Airport.
Fud and Dud support. Thanks for all the love you guys!
Elder Wilson's expression of individuality in stocking wear??
Some things never change. Elder Vapors.Tuesday, November 3, 2009
'Twas the night before the mission....
Seth, "Sorting" through the clothes to pack away and the ones for DI.
Jill and Toby helping Seth pack.
Seth and Kenny Liscum.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
