Exceedingly Great Blessings

Friends,

I am grateful for the hymns. What wonderful sources of wisdom and hope, of energy and of vigor. When in need, sing a hymn. The song of the heart is ¨ a prayer unto me¨ as the Lord says. Yesterday, I was in sacrament meeting and not quite enjoying the presence of the Spirit as I would have liked to. Some things had happened, and me and my comp were feeling kinda down. But God spoke to us through song. We sang ¨Come, come ye Saints.¨ In spanish there is a line that says ¨y paz será el galardón, oh está todo bien.¨ It´s saying that peace will be the prize, all is well, all is well. Well, I am certain that God speaks to us through many different ways. Including the hymns. I will be eternally grateful to my old piano teachers, such as Margaret Schloss, Jan Judd, and Michelle Bowman, for teaching me a sure-proof method of bringing the spirit. It´s a shame the mission doesn´t allow for time to really play much.

Well, here I am talking about hymns and stuff and not even about the week! I´ll just go quickly through one of the busiest weeks of my mission:

Tuesday: Transfers. Luckily the Ramos Mejía zone all lives pretty close, so we had no problems recieving missionaries new to the zone and shipping them off to their new areas. We also were asked to help the trainers in their new duties and practice with them contacting, especially with the book of mormon. My opinion: have in in your hand! The SWORD OF THE SPIRIT does no good if it´s sheathed up in your backpack.

Wednesday: my first ¨concilio¨. Meeting with the zone leaders. It was fantastic! Talked all about the mission and how to help the missionaries, including ourselves, improve. Talked much about challenges and resources, and how many of our challenges are really resources if we just change our mentality.

Thursday: one somewhat normal day of work. We did weekly planning. yay!

Friday: we had special training with President Robertson. It was great! His wife also rocks. We talked with her about the power of the Spirit in conversión. I love what Elder Bednar says that we are all agents who act,and not objects to be acted upon. We must allow the investigators to ACT, and learn by faith. #inspiredquestions

Saturday: there was a stake service meeting and we painted a school! I saw the bishop from my first area there! His daughter just got called to mexico! So great to see old friends! We also had a baptism!!! Lucas, great guy. We are having a baptism every week in september. I arrived just a few weeks ago and am in no way credited for helping them reach baptism, but some incredible people are in this area!

Sunday: A day of rest. Alma 37:34.

Have a great week!

Elder Wilcox

Lucas has had some great experiences with the scriptures I will write about later
Renzo, he actually is from a recently reactivated family. he was baptized but they lost the records, so he got baptized again. awesome!

Aumentar (Sep 12)

This week was fantastic. I would like to have everyone know that, cuz I ain´t got much time to describe it all!

This week was the sixth (and last) week of the transfer. What wise Presidente Robertson has noticed lately is that generally our numbers drop the sixth week for whatever reason. So we, as companions, work hard at making goals and then plans on the fifth week so the sixth week can shine. We worked our tails off and had a great week together! It was awesome!

We are hard at work thinking and praying for our zone. We believe it really just takes a step of faith, and a little more confidence in the Lord to make miracles happen! I can´t believe that God thinks that his leaders are better, so why don´t we think like that? We are still waiting for the reply to see if Elder Salas (an area 70!!!) might be able to come and talk to us. We think he will also be able to help a lot.

We also did divisions with the assistants this week! They are awesome! I worked with Elder Bullock, from PG, Utah. He is a capo. Probably the best example I have ever seen of actually talking to everybody! He gave me a couple tips here and there to be able to contact better! It was awesome. We were even able to set a couple of baptismal dates! He is inspiring for sure.

Well, like I said. Time is short. The field is white. And the laborers are few. BE A LABORER. I wish we could have better ¨inner-faith¨ relationships. We see people out also preaching of God, and many of their mindset seems to be ¨oh you´re mormon? Well that does put a damper on our relationship.¨ sad.

I love an email and maybe a picture from anyone at all, if anyone was wondering.

Have a fantastic week!

Alma 26:22

Elder Wilcox

also, pictures still are rough coming. I ain´t got no ipad 😁

La Tablada (Sep 5)

Every week I sit down to email and my head is so full of things, it´s quite difficult to condense it all down into a readable email...

La Tablada is such a great area! The pench is very ¨cheto¨, it´s clean and small but perfect for the two of us. ¨Itty bitty living space.¨ This is the zone of Ramos Mejía, a very city-ish zone. Lots of people. In our entire area, there are only TWO dirt roads! So cool! And I am now off the bike and back onto the foot, so am pretty excited about that. My companion is a total capo! Elder Ortolano, he is from Brasil but moved to Canada when he was little, and speaks like a North American. He went to BYU Idaho. We are doing awesome together! We are ready to get cooking in this zone, and help everyone else to do the same! One great challenge is that of President Robertson. ¨A good leader has other people´s confidence. A great leader helps others have confidence in themselves.¨ So we are trying to help the missionaries here see their TRUE potential. I was kinda bummed to be gone for Graciela´s baptism in Marcos Paz, but we had one here too, on saturday!

Her name is Milagros, which being interpreted, is Miracles. She is a 14 year old girl, very very very impressive for her age. We are also preparing her other siblings for baptism as well. I am so glad for this gospel, and how happy it makes other people! We came to fill up the font, but the water, apparently, was getting old in the tank! We couldn´t do anything about it, so we just had the baptism in pretty yellow water. I couldn´t help but congradulate Milagros after. ¨Congrates, urine the church now!¨

Lots of crazy things happened this week. We were out working and were inside one the area´s ¨villa¨s. A villa is very tight nit, condensed neighborhood I guess you could call it, with everything being made out of wood or concrete. We had a man come up to us and ask, ever so politely, for our cellular phone. Granted, he was pointing a gun at us. But he eventually let us go. Poor guy. He needs the dispensation of the fulness of times.

President Uchtdorf said something I love. That the scriptures and words of modern prophets form an ¨effective mirror¨ with which we can compare our lives. It goes well with it´s 80´s pop companion. ¨If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.¨ Not only would Uchtdorf and Michael Jackson have been great mission comps, but these principles are true. It´s about being humble. Let us not be slothful for the easiness of it (Alma 37:46), truly it is a very straight and plain road (2 Nefi 4:32) that leads to eternal bliss (Alma 37:46).

Love you all! Have a great week.

Elder Wilcox

having trouble with fotos, sorry

FLASH! Ahhhhhh...

Soooooo. Lots of surprises. I feel like I say that a lot. But that´s the mission, I guess. We worked our tails off this week! There is so much going on in Marcos Paz 1A. SOO happy to be here! I actually won´t be here anymore though....saturday night President Robertson called me informing me of a ¨flash¨(unexpected change). Elder Oscariz Choi is going home early for school, and I will be replacing him as zone leader in Ramos Mejía, the zone I was ¨born¨ in! Should be a fat challenge and learning opportunity!

I realized that in recent letters home I have not talked much about my investigators. I hope that doesn´t take away from how I feel about them. They are the Lord´s elected. HE prepared THEM for this time and what they going through right now to be able to learn and accept the truth of the ¨Lord´s kingdom once again established on the earth.¨ Truly merciful and incredible when you think about it. And when I say incredible, I mean ¡completely credible! God deserves the credit. 😉

GRACIELA. Is a truly devoted woman. Devoted to God. Her daughter and husband are members, but she has been ¨Catholic¨for years. She is basically an active member of the ward though! She goes to activities and our english class and everything. Well, we´ve had some long talks in these past weeks and she is ready and willing now to accept baptism. She got interviewed and is getting baptized on saturday! She and her family were begging me to beg President to let me come back here on saturday to baptize her. We´ll see......

I ain´t got much time, I´ll write about other people later! I am NOT happy to be separated from my mission son, Elder RIGSBY! He is SUCH a capo! He is seriously incredible, and I´m grateful he is the kind and I can work with, AND laugh with. He is a hard worker and willl have a mission of gold.

WE are the messengers of GOD. These are His truths, and they will lead to eternal life. You might call us the Proclaimers. *and ay would bike five hundred mayuls, and ay would bike five hundred mo, just to be the mahn who bikes five thooosand mayuls to come and knock yo door*

Love you allll. God bless you, every one.

Elder Wilcox

Holiness to the Lord (Aug 22)

Okeeeee. If I´ve ever had a crazy week it´s been this one. Let´s go.

First, Happy Anniversary to two of the biggest buckwalkin´ weirdos out there! BrenDawg and Travis, happy 25th, may you have many more. *starts the anniversary song from the movie ¨haunted mansion¨* ☝👆

MONDAY: we played a bomb game of futbol at our church here in Marcos Paz! We had more investigators than members!! It was so much fun. Pablo, a progressing investigator (but has trouble with José Smith and the restoration) thought it would be the best way to get his sons out to the church, and it was! We shared a scripture, and had a great time! All of my soccer friends from wasatch better watch out.....

TUESDAY: we had divisions with the zone leaders in their area called Mariano Acosta. They are AWESOME! Really focused, go get ´em Elders. They switched district leader/zone leader divisions to where all four of us work in their area for the day. I was with Elder Oyola, from Mendoza, Arg. He is a total capo! One thing I learned with him is that we can´t be afraid to invite. Invite, invite, invite. It´s part of our purpose.

WEDNESDAY: We got cut somewhat short, we had to go to Marcos Paz 2 and do a baptismal interview. I don´t usually like getting interruptions with the work, but hey, baptismal interviews are definitely worth it! The boy´s name is Lautaro. Poor guy was somewhat nervous, and will be getting baptized soon! All he needs is a good strong knowledge of the restoration and of the Book of Mormon! Those things are KEY. I know that the Book of Mormon will give us pure, un-changing doctrine that we can rely on. ¨A study of the gospel doctrine will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.¨ How profound is that??

THURSDAY: I think I forgot to mention last week of our planned TEMPLE TRIP. WE ACTUALLY WENT. I still am energized by that holy place! Just the thought. I will never take living in Utah for granted. Saints in Utah, you had better GO and serve the Lord and others in the Temple. It was our first trip since christmas, about 8 months. It was fantastic, and really cool in spanish. I have grown I think, didn´t have any trouble with the temple spanish.

FRIDAY: We had a sweet movie night at the end of the day. Graciela came, and she is still feeling swell and ready for her baptism date! She has trouble with the thought of leaving the catholic church, but the Spirit of the Lord has taught her well. Line upon line, for years now! She´s ready. Also, Elder Rigsby is a SUPER powerful missionary. He teaches with the spirit, not with his head. He is very focused and impresses all with his scriptural knowledge.

Then the weekend ended with us finding the most beautiful family ever! Also another man who could potentially be a great member.....Miracles happen all the time. I love the mission and the changes the Lord has wrought in me, and is wrought-ing in me! My eyes have been eternally opened, and will never close.

con cariño,

Elder Wilcox

Elder Rigsby and me - 1st Pres. Photo - haha
Soccer
Me with elder cobb

Plancentero, Oh what a Joy! (Aug 15)

What a wonderful world! I don´t know if everyone knows this, but in the spanish hymns, there is one called ¨Placentero nos es trabajar¨ (no. 88) great hymn! One of the missionaries favorites. The first line roughly translated is ¨Oh it´s a joy for us to work in the vineyard of the great king Jesus!¨ Well I want to raise my voice and let the world know I ain´t quiting any time soon, and truly it is a joy.

Something that my good old uncle Boyd sent me once is ¨even though the roots of service are sometimes bitter, the fruits are always sweet¨. We are working hard here, and it´s hard to see sometimes that investigators aren´t quite confident enough in themselves to get baptized. Or they have trouble accepting the restored gospel through Jose Smith. Or they just have so much to fix in their lives that they get discouraged and stop. (all of those are people in our area right now). There is hope and love and good things ahead in the atonement of Jesus Christ. I know and testify of that! If we do all that we can (develop faith, repent, be baptized, follow the spirit, and endure to the end), then there is no reason to worry EVER. We can be happy and buoyant and ready to face the next obstacle.

Well I am out of time, and still have foto issues. Sorry BrenDawg!

Elder Wilcox

Welcome to Arg

Well, I will be somewhat hurried writing this email, I am almost out of time. But, this week we welcomed a brand new Elder into the mission world! 6 pounds, 5 ounces. And just a little more. His name is Elder Rigsby and is from Ohio. He is a capo! Ready to learn and ready to work. In mission lingo, he is my hijo (son) and I am his papi. That lingo has WAY more truth to it than you know. He is doing good adjusting though. Poor guy didn´t expect the cold winter, he had NO jacket whatsoever except for a suit jacket. We had to get him that and some other stuff. This first week is finally over and questions like ¨What´s this?¨--¨That´s a bidet. No toilet paper.¨ aren´t being asked any more.

We are loving adjusting though! Arg sure is different, but he is doing awesome. He really wants success and is prepared to work for it! He has a lot to work on as far as spanish goes, but I am learning a lot about the gift of tongues, how iit is a SPIRITUAL gift, even more than suddenly having spanish flowing out of your mouth.

For example, just yesterday(!) we practiced a lot in the morning the baptismal information. We later taught a PF family, who the mamá is active in the church but NOT baptized, she almost refuses and claims she is Catholic. BUT, I looked at Elder Rigsby in the moment we had discussed, he invited her to be baptized. She then told us what she has never told anyone! How her family was very catholic and would be offended if she changed. She said she said she goes in and out of having desires to be baptized. We then talked with her towards working toward baptism, and how if she bears testimony to her family, then they would change their minds. In my mind, I was like ¨Capo Elder Rigsby!¨ Good learning moment.

Some things surprise him that make me laugh, things I dont think about anymore. Such as lots of dogs, and I was sleep talking in spanish. We had a meeting with our ward mission leader, and I had a flash back to Van Nuys, California where a skinnier new Elder (me) didn´t understand a thing. Elder Rigsby is awesome!

Quick MIRACLE. The less active man I wrote about last week came to church ¨for the first time in forever!¨ AND bore his testimony, and talked about the visit we had with him, made him think a lot! First testimony given in 25 years, he said! MIRACLES happen once in a while!

Lots of love,

Elder Wilcox