I Love The Spirit!

Another week has gone by? What is this thing called life?

This week was so crazy! First I did divisions with my old comp, Hermana Wally! It was SO fun to see all my converts. It had only been two weeks but it felt like eternity. We stood in the kitchen and cried in the morning as we talked about how we will be best friends for life! I love my Wally Bear.

When we went to Melvin’s house he told us, I may have the blood of a latino, but I have the heart of a gringo. :) I laughed so hard. I love Melvin!

We found a mouse in our house this week..one morning before study I was walking over to our sink and I heard something. Flashback to when I was little and we had a mouse in our house in California. Then I found poop all inside my suitcase (i had left it open with all my clothes) from the little bugger! My clothes make a nice home I guess. We thought he was gone but we saw him last night...so this week we have big plans, Marquez and I :)

I used my first Nica bathroom this week! We were out working and I turned to Marquez and I told her I couldnt wait...so we stopped at a random house and used their facilities..lets just say thanks for underclothing that absorbs liquid right up! :) haha

Happy Valentines Day to everyone!!! This week I got AMAZING packages from my beautiful Mom so I was able to eat american chocolate! Way better than any Valentine.. :) Some of the chocolate was shaped like lips and When my companion had some she goes, this kiss is like a real kiss..QUE RICO! (thats a phrase in spanish like how delicious? I dont know...haha) It was really funny. Sometimes spanish is funnier...

I hope everyone is doing amazing! This week we had so many lessons full of the spirit! I love teaching the First Lesson because it is such a powerful message. We met a guy named Andy that didnt believe in God and now he wants to be baptized! I LOVE THE SPIRIT.

Love you all!!! 

From the best place in the world,

Hermana Willes

Happy Valentine's Day!

Learning to love soccer!

Packages...Yay!

Those chocolate lips...

With Hermana Marquez

Spending the day with Hermana Wally

I LOVE THE MISSION!

This week was so hard but like so good. Pretty much like every day in the mission! I LOVE THE MISSION.

Yesterday in church one of our recent converts, Bayardo, shared his testimony! I cried like my dad. so many tears of joy! And our other recent convert, Melvin, pássed the sacrament! And two others, Lorenzo and Edwin, received the Priesthood!! It was one of the greatest moments. I am so proud of them! We are building the church here in Octal!

So yes I am TRAINING! haha but I only have 4 more weeks in the mission than she does. Hermana Marquez is from El Salvador and I love her so much. Her english is really good too so sometimes (almost never) we get to speak in English! We were at a member’s house this week and they gave us a drink and while they were talking she turns to me and says, ¨I dont like it!´ in English. It was SO cute. I love her so much!

Also this week while we were working my recent convert, Karina Lagos, who I love so much, saw me in the street and yelled ¨Hermana Willy!!¨ I don’t work in her area anymore so I hadn’t seen her all week and she starts sprinting towards me and gave me the biggest hug ever! It was so cute.

This week was hard because I am working in a different part of Ocotal and I am really bad with directions in english..so you can only imagine in Spanish. But I know the Lord is blessing me EVERY day and really when you are a missionary it is easy to get down. But when you look at all the blessings, you realize how amazing the mission really is. There are moments in lessons where I just think, I dont think I have ever been this happy before in my whole life! The More you teach the basics about why we are here on the earth and about how we are all one team trying to make it back as one celestial family, the more I realize that this is the best decision I have made in my whole life. Yes it is hard, but BOY IS IT GREAT.

Love you all!

--

Hermana Willes

Zone OCOTAL!!! The best zone in the mission
and of all the world!!! (so many latinos...Yay Spanish!)

Herman Walborn and I teaching The Plan of Salvation
 in church on Sunday

4 Months!!

Well....WE HAD CHANGES! Woohoo. And big news! I had a baby girl! And shes a latina! Here in the mission when someone trains a missionary the trainer is the mom and the new missionary is the child :) This change I will be finishing the training of Hermana Marquez (she got here the last change.)  Hermana Marquez is from El Salvador and is super sweet.  We get along really well and she does understand some english so I know that will help. I will be staying in Ocotal but will be working in another area! I am so excited to have more time in Ocotal and oh boy is my spanish gonna get better! :)

This week our baptism bailed..but we hope that she will get baptized this week. Things are still going great here in Ocotal and the mission is the best! I don't really know what to write about this week..hehe.

Hope everyone is doing great! Love you all!

--

Hermana Willes

Moving....

I Love Being a Missionary!

My Favorite Recent convert--Karina!

Karina's son Jaciel.  I LOVE HIM!

I Love the little kids!!

I Love Being a Missionary!

This week was so CRAZY and so amazing.

We were able to baptize THREE amazing people. Cristian, Edwin, and Lorenzo. All three of them are incredible and we baptized 16 people in our zone this week! Yay! The people here are amazing and prepared.

We also got to listen to a broadcast AND President Christensen from the 70 came to speak to us yesterday. (reason why we are writing today). They are really having us focus on teaching repentance and baptizing converts. I am thinking a lot about what it means to be converted. I love being a missionary so much because constantly I am reminded of what I need to improve on. I think repentance is so important because each day we can focus on what we can improve, which will only deepen our conversion in the gospel. Because really, the goal is to become like our Heavenly Father, not just to live with Him.

This week I have been reminded how much I love being a missionary. Not a day goes by that I dont thank Heavenly Father for this opportunity. This week we have changes and so I think Ill be starting a new chapter in my mission, which makes me kind of scared. But I also have complete faith in the Lord that I will always be growing here in Nicaragua..because that really is the purpose in this life! I have learned so much from my amazing trainer and companion Hermana Wally. I have learned the true importance of Charity and giving all you can to this important work.

I love you all so much! Each of you have helped me get to this point and I am forever grateful! The gospel is SO true and it is the thing that makes me the very happiest.

-- 

Hermana Willes

This week's baptism: Christian, Edwin and Lorenzo

Conference with President Christensen of the Seventy

With the Hermanas!

My scripture case with our mission theme

Things I Learn as a Missionary

This week was kind of crazy but an amazing one nonetheless. This week our baptism possibility fell through! He is 13 years old and named Jose. I love him with all of my heart and know that one day he will be baptized, I have no doubt!

Because Jose is only 13, we had to get a signature from his mom, who is always working. Every day this week we prayed and prayed to get the signature. And each day the mom wouldnt give it to us. This caused a lot of confusion for Jose because his parents didn’t think he was ready, and kind of attacked him when we weren’t there. But by some miracle, Friday night, by the Lords hand, we got the signature. Afterwards though, I didn’t feel as happy as I thought I would. I kind of felt like Galinda in Wicked when she sings about how she should be happy but it feels different. I couldn’t put my finger on why until Saturday morning when we had comp study. I knew that the will of the Lord was that Jose needed to wait a little bit. When we passed by Jose on Saturday He told us that he didnt want to be baptized, and immediately Wally and I felt peace. Funny how that works huh?

I know that God loves each and every one of us. I know that Heavenly Father was listening to our prayers, and followed through with them because Heavenly Father really does help his missionaries. But I also know that The Family is of God, and God’s plan is to have loving relationships in families, and He doesnt want the gospel to tear that apart. The gospel blesses families. :)

Every day I am blessed to see miracles and learn new things as a missionary. Deciding to serve a mission was by far the best decision that I've made! 

Have a great week!

-- 

Hermana Willes

I Love Ocotal!

President Comes to Ocotal!

So this week.... BAYARDO GOT BAPTIZED!!! So a little about Bayardo... He is 62 years old and is sick right now with chikungunya. He was in the hospital for a long time in Managua but then he came back to Ocotal. One day, little Hermana Wally and I were walking down a road that we walk down every day, and felt that we should contact this house! Bayardo came to the gate and let us in and we met his wife and his children (who didn’t want to listen) and we started talking to him right away about baptism! Within 5 minutes of talking with him, we had invited him to be baptized, and he accepted! We came back the next day and Hermana Wally had a cold so she couldn´t talk a lot, and I lead my first ever lesson in Spanish. At the end of the lesson I asked if he still wanted to be baptized and he said yes! I will always remember that feeling of pure joy. Ever since that day he has just grown so fast and is so incredibly smart! At his baptism, he asked us if he could share is testimony and he told us that he couldn’t believe he was going to die (when he was sick before) before finding what it was that God wanted him to do. He then continued to say that he just waited and then we came with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He referred to us as angels and said he was so excited to be baptized not only by water but also by FIRE!! (the Holy Ghost!) We feel so blessed to have taught a prepared son of God who will be soon recieving the priesthood! He also loves the hymn Teach Me to Walk in the Light! haha One day we sang that hymn and at the end he goes, We will walk in the Light together. :) I am so grateful for Bayardo and how precious he is. He is just like another little grandpa! When he changed for his baptism He couldn´t button up his shirt because of his chikungunya and I had to do it for him..not really sure if that is allowed but it seemed harmless to me! Hehe.

President Collado our mission President came to Ocotal this week. He just said how proud he was of the missionaries over here. We are just so happy to have the opportunity to serve in an area where there are prepared people on every corner! This morning my companion said to me, I don´t think anyone is as happy to be a missionary as you are. And I think I have to agree...just because being a missionary is the BEST. I wouldnt trade anything for the memories I am making and the experiences I am having. How beautiful is it that we have the gospel?

-- 

Hermana Willes

Bayard's baptism

Grocery Shopping in Nicaragua!

Hermana Walborn, not feeling so well :(

Look what we found at the market

Dino nuggets time!

All Nicaraguans Go to Heaven

WOHOO!!

We had another baptism this week..Nicaraguans are just all going to heaven! :)  It was a miracle too because we didn't talk to her this week until Thursday..but the Lord helped us so much. Nahomi is only 13 and she is adorable. Her mom died a couple years ago and she was so excited about the plan of salvation. And she walks all the way to church every week and the walk is about 30 minutes! 

Church was SO great yesterday! We brought so many to church. We were literally running before the 2 o’clock meeting to get taxis for everyone. Most of the people we teach live in Sandino which is a ten minute taxi ride to church so all the menos activos won’t come really unless you help them get there..oh the nicas :)

Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I am so excited for this year because every day I will be doing the exact same thing--representing Jesus Christ and helping others grow closer to Him. I am so blessed :) Nicaragua is just the best. I am so excited for what this new year will bring!

So the other day we were filling out the paper work for Nahomi (the adorable girl we baptized) and there is this little malnurished little boy (i think 3) and he is leaning on my legs, just being cute, and I feel this hot liquid running down my leg. Well, turns out he just really had to go and the mom must have forgotten the cloth that morning! hahaha it was so funny.

I hit my three month mark on the 30th! How crazy! I love it here SO much and am so happy I still have a lot more time here on the mission ;)

-- 

Hermana Willes

Nahomi's Baptism

Packages!!

New Year's Eve kiss

Pday Soccer

Lice.  There are no words

The cyber where we email
 

This companionship :)