New Pictures!

Kyler emailed some new pictures today!

Change 9 Week 4

Hey! This week was awesome, we started out working like normal and then found out something that really made us start to have a hard time. We were planning on getting a couple married and they were all excited and then this last weekend they were going to be baptized, but with the wedding we ran into some complications. We needed a paper from Guayaquil and when we found out that it wasn't going to be able to make it in time we felt horrible. On Thursday night we had to report to our zone leaders that our baptisms fell through and that we did everything that we could. I went to sleep that night praying for a miracle and not knowing what was going to happen, and then Friday morning came and the leaders called and said that there were other solutions and that it all was going to be possible if we acted fast. On Friday the couple got married and the events that lead up to it were absolutely just amazing, it worked out perfect and I know that we witnessed a miracle here in Ecuador. I know that the Lord was watching over us and really helped us out getting this family married so that they could get baptized this Sunday. They were baptized and confirmed on Sunday and it was a really great experience. I now have to start to build up my program for the future because with those 3 baptisms we pretty much now need to find new people and start preparing them for baptism here in March. I know that this month is going to be good because this is a great sector and the members are the absolute best. Me and Elder Hafer are doing good, we get along well and are working well together. I still don't have my own house, but we're working on that and hopefully it all works out well. I hope that I get to stay here in this sector a while, but I don't know. These past 3 weeks have been great and I'm super excited to keep working hard and having success. I love and miss you all please write me and let me know how things are going. ELDER WILSON

Still no mail:(

Change 9 Week 3

Hey! This week was awesome, we had a good week working with my new companion here in Machala. It's super hot and I don't know how I'm used to it and not dying every day because every time Ii go to sleep at night I look at my clock and its 83 or 84 degrees in my house. We have a fan but it doesn't work all that good. I actually don't have my own house yet, I live with my district leader and his house only had the necessities for 2 missionaries but we're making it work for all 4 of us while the office is getting everything taken care of for my new house. We're supposed to be moving in sometime soon, before I got here it rained hard and flooded the house where the missonaries of my sector were working and so they had to rescue what they could and we are hopefully going to get all new things when we get our new house. I sure hope so but then again I'm comfortable and happy living where I do because we're 4 North Americans that live together and it's fun to talk about things that happened in the states. On the work side this week we should be having a wedding for a family that has plans to get baptized. The parents aren't married but this Friday we should be having the wedding and then this Sunday they are hopefully going to get baptized the family of 3. That will finish off my work for February and then we're heading into March and that's a good thing because we have a lot of good plans to get things done and the bar has been set high for us. Our zone leaders said that as a zone we have a goal to have 24 baptisms this next month and that means that every sector has to baptize 6 people in one month. I have never done that before but me and my companion made a plan and we've got the names of the people that we want to prepare and we're going to work hard to try and get this done. Who knows it might just happen for us. I really hope that I can meet this goal and show my leaders that I'm not just any other missionary but that I'm here to do big things. As for Monday, here in Ecuador it was a holiday that's called CARNAVAL and we weren't allowed to go out all day Monday or Tuesday because sometimes it gets a little crazy with people drinking and they always like to mess with the gringos and so president just locked us all up. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to write but that's why we're here now and I hope that things are all going well in the states. I love and miss you very much!! ELDER WILSON

Kyler also mentioned in a separate email that he still has not received any mail as of Januray 25th:(

Change 9 Week 2

Hey! This week was really good here in Machala. Me and my companion are working pretty much harder than I have ever worked in my entire mission. He gets me up and going all the time and I am really enjoying working with Elder Hafer. Me and him get along well, and I keep finding out more and more about him and his family. We had a good week and are getting a bunch of people listening to the gospel, but I've found out that there's a huge problem with the people here in Machala and that's that no one get married. It's like everyone just wants to listen to our message and many want to get baptized, but there's no one here that's married to the person that they live with. It's very rare to find someone single and we are always looking for families, but every family that we seem to find the parents aren't married. it's been hard to get people excited for baptism because we have to first tell them that they have to get married and then they can get baptized. We are going to be having 2 weddings this week in our ward with our investigators, and next week we have 5 baptisms planned. It's gonig to be a ton of work and I dont know how I'm going to be able to do it, but I hope that everything works out well and that everything turns out for the best. I don't have much time to write today, pretty much just half an hour because I just got back from Guayaquil. What happened was my visa only lasts a year and it's going to expire and so I had to get up at 2 this morning to head to Guayaquil at 3:30 in the morning to get there at 7 and go with the secretary and some others from my group that had to do the same thing. I am really really tired and it's super late and that's why I'm only going to be able to write for half an hour. I love and miss you tons!! ELDER KYLER WILSON
Kyler also let me know in another email that they haven't gotten any mail, but should next week. He said, "they kicked the bad mail missionary out and are training a newbie how to run the ropes." :)

Change 9 Week 1

Hey! So this week with Elder Tlatelpa was a ton better, we were able to work really well and we even got a couple baptism dates put. We were happy to have people preparing for baptism and then the weekend came and we got to have a little fun with the sports night and I had a blast. That was really something that I loved, we didn't play soccer like you are used to seeing. They play on a concrete field that is usually right next to the church and with a soccer ball a little smaller and heavier. I didn't think that it was going to be all that great but I wanted to try something new and I found out that it was just a great time. I didn't play all that good my first time because it's something that isn't very easy, but the second week I did actually pretty good. I didn't want to stop playing, I was completely covered in sweat in like an hour because of the humidity, but it was an absolute blast! For this reason and others like the progress from the branch and help from the members I was really hoping that I wasn't going to get changed this weekend. We planned last night and then the phone rang and I had to start packing. I got changed 30 minutes south I think to a new city called MACHALA, it's on the coast and it's just about the same. I am super excited to be here because the ward where I'm going to work is super strong (from what my companion says) and we have people with a baptism date that are preparing to be baptized this month. My new companion is from the states, he's from Salt Lake City, born and raised and he is fairly new. His name is Elder Hafer and he is a good kid, I don't know him all that well because we only have a couple hours as companions, but I am super excited to be here working with him and I know that we are going to have a good time working together. I didn't get any mail last week and I don't know when I will be getting mail, but I will let you all know how things go as it happens. Thanks for always supporting me and I hope that everything is going well! I love and miss you tons!! ELDER WILSON

Change 8 Week 6

Hey! This week was a lot better then pretty much every other week thus far this change. Me and my companion are working well together but not at well as I would like because we still don't talk when we're in the street and or when we're in the house. It's not really that we aren't great friends it's just that we're different people, he likes to be alone and do his things and I do my things and we are just usually doing our things in different parts of our house. Although we have been improving, we have found a few new common grounds to talk about that we have in common. I feel bad because my companion hasn't yet had a single baptism and his time here in Pasaje and his time with me hasn't been any different because we haven't had any baptisms. Although we have been working super hard and pretty much had to drop and replace all of the people that didn't progress enough. I was sad because I really thought that certain people were going to make it to baptism but some didn't want to get married and others didn't want to stop drinking. Every soul is precious in the sight of God but sometimes it's just not there time and maybe somewhere down the road missionaries will visit and baptize some of the people that I found and taught. We were able to find some new investigators and we finished with 2 baptism dates set for February. I am super excited because February should be a great month for my sector and the attendance overall in the branch is improving. I have been working super hard with a couple families so that they can change and come back to be active in the church and we're starting slowly to see some progress. When we started the new year in January we never got above 35 members at church on Sunday but this Sunday we hit easily 60 so we're definitely seeing progress. Nothing all that exciting happened this week, last week was kinda the highlight of January for me and I hope that with this weekend things get better because we have changes. I will be entering my 9th change next week out of 16 and so I'm definitely moving right along. I did get some mail this week in the district meeting. I got a package from Luke, Aunt Becky, and my Grandpa Maurice sent me a calender that I really was in need of! I hope that everything is alright with the family and everyone is doing well in work and school!! Love and miss you tons!! ELDER WILSON

Change 8 Week 5

Hey! So this week was pretty good, me and my companion are still working and trying to work better as a companionship. Our zone leaders are pretty concerned about how well we're going to work together when we hardly talk when we're in the street or at home, but there's nothing that they can really do because we're just 2 different people that's all. We get along well, we're just not great friends like I was with Elder Herrera, although me and Elder Tlatelpa have worked a little bit better since he has gotten here and we are starting slowly to improve the branch because the numbers are super low. I don't know exactly what we're going to do to get some people reactivated, but we are working hard and hopefully we'll start to see some results. I want to help this branch, but I know that if and when I do then changes are going to be here and I'm going to have to leave all that I have done behind and go to a different part. It doesn't really matter all that much to me because that's how it's been my entire mission, and I have enjoyed my time here even though it's been a long ride.
Anyway this week some interesting things happened and I wanted to share a couple stories and pics to go along with them so you can see whats been going on and a little more about the traditions of Ecuador. So before I left I knew that it was going to be hot and I have told you all many times that it gets hot here and actually we're in the hottest time of the year and one morning I was studying and I realized that the sun was super strong and I wanted to know just how hot it was outside. So I took my alarm clock because it's got a thermometer and I put it in the window seal where the sun hit just right. I left it there for about 45 minutes and I was amazed at what I saw when I went back to check things out. It was 125 degrees outside and I almost fell over! I was soo shocked that I had to take a picture because I felt the heat but I didn't know that it was that hot here in Ecuador. When the clouds come out it stays right around 107 and when the suns out you can see what it's like. I thought that was cool.
Also I'm sure you know that here in Ecuador there's a delicacy, which is Guinea pig. Well I got a chance to eat this delicacy this Thursday, my branch president has a little mini farm in the back of his house and he decided that it was time and so we ate Guinea pig. I took a video of the entire process basically. From when they killed them, cleaned them, and prepared them to be lunch. It was awesome and I actually thought it came out pretty good. I was impressed at how much I like it. I don't want to gross anyone out so I only included the final result, I thought it was very interesting and I had a good experience with my branch president and his family.
As for mail, we haven't received mail here in my entire zone this month, the last mail that I got was after Christmas and before new years. I don't know why the office isn't sending mail but there's nothing that I can do and honestly my leaders don't even care to ask for mail because it always is just for me. We should be getting mail any day now like for sure tomorrow but I don't know and I will be sure to let you all know how it goes when I get mail. I love and miss you tons!! ELDER KYLER WILSON

 Guinea pig