New Year's and Change

Hey everyone!

How are you? How was your Christmas? Are you ready for New Year's?? I hope the answers to these questions are, in order: GREAT! AMAZING! and OF COURSE!! As for us here in Sucre, it has been an interesting week. Between house moves, trips to the airport, and lots of document filling, our week wasn't one too full of normal missionary work, but the work that we could do went really well. 

Carla continues progressing and we are working with her so that she can get married and then baptized with all her family. A great investigator, named Maria Luz, came to Church yesterday for the second time and we are really excited to see her continue progressing. Edson, an investigator that I have mentioned a couple of times, is in legal problems, but shares a powerful testimony and looks forward to the time where he is off of house arrest to begin going to church and get baptized. Several other amazing people are progressing as well, but I don't have enough time to talk about them all :) I love these people and look forward to hearing about them from Cochabamba as I have been transferred. One cannot accurately describe the feelings that come as one is taken from one area and sent to another. My heart aches for the people that I have to leave behind, but I know that they are in the Hands of God and that all will be well. To put these feelings a little better, I would like to focus a small thought on the upcoming new year and change.

With the new year, there are many things to look forward to. Whether it's the new goals that you've set or the daunting challenge of writing "2019" instead of "2018", this will be an amazing year no matter what. However, I hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to make necessary changes. Every single one of us lacks something. I invite you to think about what you need, especially spiritually, in this coming year. As for me here in Bolivia, I didn't know that I needed to go to the very center of the large city of Cochabamba, but I know that there are many things that I have to learn there. Take advantage of this great excuse to make new goals. Decide to make a change this new year so that you can become the better you that God knows you can become.

I love you all so much! I hope that you have an amazing new year and an even more amazing week afterwards! Talk to you next week!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

A pic after a great Christmas celebration :)

Maria Luz and I with an amazing hand-woven aguayo

Saying goodbye to Carla and her amazing family

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Hey everyone!

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope that your lives are full of Christmas joy as we are literally hours away from the amazing day that we all love :) I invite you all to remember the true meaning of Christmas as you go through the course of tomorrow :)
Here in Bolivia, life is amazing :) Although I am slightly missing the snow of a Utah Christmas (FYI it's summer here), I love the amazing spirit that is here in Bolivia. The people here are very religious and almost everyone believes in Christ, so it is amazing to see how these amazing people celebrate this very merry holiday :)

As always, I would love to mention some people that we are teaching. I would like to once again mention Carla Leyton and her amazing family :) Carla is someone that has been familiar with the church for a LONG time, given that her spouse is a less-active member. Recently, Carla has taken our invitation to read the Book of Mormon, and I just want to take a moment to testify of the power of this book with her experiences. Carla is reading every day and is almost at the end of 2 Nephi. She comments that her family is more united, everyone is happier, and just a special feeling is accompanying them in their home. I promise that if each of you reads the Book of Mormon every day, these same blessings will be yours :)

Well, given that tomorrow is Christmas, I just have a couple words to share:

This Christmas, remember our Savior. Remember His love for you. Remember all that you have because of Him. Try to live more like Him. Forgive more. Love more. Be with your family if possible. If not possible, be sure to call them and express your love. Enjoy this season. Enjoy your CHRISTmas. Take this spirit with you all year round and you will find joy :)

I love you all so much! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

Our Christmas Lunch as a zone this afternoon :)

The Sucre Zone :)

My companion and I in our zone talent show ;)

Give the Best Gift

Hey everyone!

How are you? Christmas is just around the corner! Isn't it amazing?? I hope that you continue enjoying the amazing spirit of this season and that you never forget who is really at the center of CHRISTmas :)

Well, our week here in Sucre went really well! We were able to get in a lot of good work along with an amazing Christmas conference with President Montoya! However, everything in order ;) First off, I would like to mention a couple amazing people that we are visiting :) One is named Dubeiza and the other is named Nataly. Dubeiza is a woman that we met this past week and it was really cool being able to teach her. We taught the Restoration and explained about the Book of Mormon. I just remember that we finished teaching and thanked her for her time. She responded with a very sincere "thank you" for the new truths that we had taught her. We could see that she was searching for the truth and it was an amazing opportunity to be able to offer it to her :) Nataly is a great teenager that we have already met with a couple of times. She has accepted very willingly the idea of a Prophet in these the latter days and the invitation to read the Book of Mormon. It is amazing to see the power of this book when one truly decides to study it. We see her faith grow and her love for the Savior as well :) Truly amazing :)

Well, as I mentioned before, we had the opportunity to go to a Christmas conference in this past week, and it truly was amazing. Special musical numbers, an amazing spirit, and a couple of great messages from our mission president. As a quick thought, I would love to share what President Montoya shared with us. Much to our surprise, he decided to talk about Pride as a Christmas theme. He broke down all of the causes and indicators of pride, using the scriptures and words of the Prophets, and it was truly amazing. However, more than anything, I would like to stress his final point with all of you. He said that the most important part of Christmas is personal change. In this time of year, we remember more than any other time the life of the only perfect person that has walked this Earth. When we look to the life of Jesus Christ as an example, we should truly apply what He taught and try to become more like Him. My invitation as we get closer and closer to Christmas day, a day celebrated mostly for its material presents, is that we all try to give ourselves a more important gift, one of a spiritual nature, one of personal change that brings us closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. I promise that as you make an effort to become more like our greatest example, you will see the blessings, not only in this season, but also in the years to come :)

I love you all so much! I hope that you have an amazing week! Merry Christmas!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

The Sucre Zone at the Christmas Conference

Two of my favorite Elders at the Christmas conference :)

The overcast, Sucre sky of this morning :)

A Helping Hand

Hey everyone!

How are you?? Is your Christmas tree up?? Ornaments?? Stockings?? I hope so! I hope that you are all enjoying the amazing spirit of this season and that you are planning on taking it with you all throughout another amazing year to come! As for us here in Sucre, life is great :) I would love to mention an amazing family this week: The Leytons. The family is composed of 5 amazing people: Carla (the mother, not a member), Marco (the father, a less-active member that was baptized over 30 years ago), Marco (the oldest son), Damaritz (the only daughter), and Dyler (the youngest child). We have been visiting with this family for some time and recently have focussed on the Book of Mormon with them. We extended the challenge to begin reading this amazing book and set individual goals with them about daily reading. They took the challenge to heart. Carla is now a third of the way into 2 Nephi and the kids are making good progress in 1 Nephi. Even more amazing, they have come to church a couple weeks in a row and are also participating in several ward activities. They are amazing and we are loving the opportunity to work with them :) I testify that the Book of Mormon is true and has such an amazing spirit that truly shows how much God loves us :)

Well, I would love to share a quick thought with you before I go :) Today, as a zone, we had the amazing opportunity to go on a hike called "7 Cascadas" (7 Waterfalls) and it was amazing! We enjoyed the opportunity to enjoy nature and pass time as a group, but there was something that was even more amazing for me :) At each waterfall, there was a pretty significant ledge to climb, making it difficult to go up. However, it was amazing to see a couple of missionaries work together to lift one missionary up over the ledge and then see the missionary on top work with those at the bottom to help everyone get up above the ledge. Not only did they help those that wouldn't be able to get up on their own, but they were also able to give a helping hand to those that would be able to get up alone with a lot more personal effort. I feel that this works very well with the gospel. All of us have the same goal: Live with our Heavenly Father once again. Some of us find this path easier that others, but in the end, we all need the helping hand of our Savior Jesus Christ if we are to find success in this purpose. We must work together in this glorious work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I testify that if we all work together, we can personally complete this goal and help so that others can do the same :)

I love you all! I hope that you have an amazing week!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

My companion and I in the Airport :)

Getting up one of the ledges :)

The zone by the last waterfall that we visited :)

Share What You Know

Hey everyone!

How are you doing?? Can you believe that it's December?! I hope that you enjoy this amazing time of the year :) Here in Sucre, we are trying to do the same :) This past week has been great for us. More than anything, we are trying to find new people to teach, so I would love to talk about a couple of the new people that we were able to meet this past week :) I would love to mention Tania and Isaac :) 

Tania is an amazing teenager who was introduced to us as a reference from an amazing member. We were able to meet with her yesterday and it truly was an amazing appointment. She has LOTS of questions about just about everything. She has been searching for the truth in just about every church in the past years and is starting to believe that it is nowhere to be found. However, we were able to help her as best we could in our appointment yesterday and she has agreed to give us a shot. She truly is amazing and we really look forward to visiting with her more this coming week :) 

Isaac is an amazing investigator that we found today while getting a haircut. My companion and I just began to chat as he began cutting our hair, and we quickly learned that he was very religious. He told us that he loved reading the Bible, but he doesn't go to any church, due to the confusion he feels with his purpose in life. We were able to teach a part of the Plan of Salvation, focussing mainly on our purpose in life and he really enjoyed it. He asked many questions and thanked us for being here in Bolivia. We will continue visiting him. We really look forward to it :)

Well, these are a couple of the people that we are visiting, and I honestly love them. They are amazing :) Now, a quick thought to finish up :) I want you all to think about the first time that you felt God's love. Maybe it is one, singular experience, and maybe it is a sequence of events. Think about the peace, joy, etc. that you could feel then. Never forget it. Now, think about your family and friends. How many of them know what you believe? How many of them know that you have felt such peace and joy? If you can think of somebody close to you that do not know this, I invite you to share it with them. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we experience peace, joy, and happiness that is not found anywhere else. Share what you have felt with others. There is even more joy found in this.

I love you all! I hope that you have an amazing week! Thank you for all that you do for me :) Love you!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

Beautiful Sucre :)

Enjoying a P-day lunch with some Sucre Missionaries (Elder Behotas is right behind me :)

Not Your Will, But His Will

Hey everyone!

How are you?? Did you all get STUFFED on Thanksgiving?? I hope so! I hope that you keep enjoying this holiday season and that the holiday spirit can fill you with joy and light! As for me here in Sucre, things went great :) First off: I received my new companion! As I believe I mentioned already, his name is Elder Behotas and is from Argentina (Mar del Plata). He is an AMAZING missionary and I am already loving my time with him :) Second off: Missionary work is amazing! This past week went great and I would love to talk about a couple of our amazing investigators! This week, I would love to mention Kevin and Maigualida. Kevin is an amazing young adult that we have loved teaching. He has shared many things about his past life and has a deep desire to change. On Saturday, we had the great opportunity to teach him the Plan of Salvation. He accepted the message with joy and thanked us about a million times. He is amazing and we look forward to seeing how he decides to progress :) Now, Maigualida :) Maigualida is an amazing teenager (about 18 years old) that we met this past week. We contacted her during the week and then taught her for the first time yesterday and it was an amazing experience. We taught the Restoration and she had amazing questions. Why are there so many different churches? This was her first question. We taught the lesson and she understood very well. How can I know that this is all true? This was her last question. We gave her a Book of Mormon and explained that if she studied, pondered, and prayed that she would receive an answer. She took it as a challenge and told us that she would read that very day. We're excited to continue visiting her :)

These are a couple amazing people that we are visiting. If it's not too much to ask, I would love to ask for your prayers for them. That would mean the world to us :)

Now, I want to share a quick thought :) Yesterday, when we did our planning, we found something amazing! We had a full day of appointments! That never happens! After church, we excitedly got to work and hit a hard wall of people not being home. That was HARD! However, with my amazing companion at my side, we dove into our backup plans and began looking for a reference that we had received. We walked up to a tienda (a small store that is found inside the house of someone) and asked for directions. Being focussed on finding this person, we almost missed an awesome opportunity, but God had other plans. As we thanked the woman in the tienda and almost turned to walk away, the woman (about 70 years old) asked us,"You two are missionaries, right?" We began a conversation. That conversation turned into her inviting us in to talk. She invited her whole family to come and we ended up teaching an amazing family. I learned a lot yesterday. Sometimes, we have our own plans for how we think things should go. Sometimes we think that our plans are AMAZING!! And although that confidence is great, we must remember that God has a perfect plan for each and every one of us. Don't be discouraged if things don't go your way! That means that God is telling you that He has something else planned! Do all that you can and I promise that the blessings will come as we accept God's will and keep moving forward :)

Well, I hope that you all know that I love you! You are amazing! I hope that you have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Wynn

Photos:

At the Cochabamba Temple with Elder Martinez :)

The same, but with Elder Nelson :)

Saying Goodbye to Elder Martinez in the Airport <3

Challenge

Hey everyone!

I am WAY short on time this week due to transfers, but I wanted to give you guys a quick update and a small challenge.

First off: Jhyssel got baptized on Saturday! She's AMAZING!! Everything went great with the baptism and I will be sure to send pictures next week :)

Second off: Transfers. To my great sadness, my compi, Elder Martinez, was sent back to Cochabamba today in the afternoon as his transfer. He is an amazing missionary and I loved the opportunity to work with him :) My new companion is Elder Behotas from Argentina! He's from the same city as Elder Garcia (my trainer) and I'm super excited to start working with him tomorrow!

Third off: We had a visit from Elder Falabella from the Area Presidency here in the mission and it was amazing! He shared a quick idea that I wanted to share with you all as a challenge. We have 1440 minutes every day. How many of those minutes are you willing to spend reading the scriptures every day?? I challenge you all to set a goal and complete it every day this week! Share any results you have with me! I hope that it goes well! I promise that if you do it, your testimony of the scriptures will strengthen and you will find that you have even more time to complete with the most important things in life. That's a promise :)

I love you all! I hope that you have an amazing week!

Elder Wynn

Examine Everthing; Retain That Which is Good

Hey everyone!

How are you?? Did you have a good week?? I hope that everything is going well and that this next week treats you even better! As for us here in Sucre, everything is going great! We're working hard and having a great time :) 

Well, for investigators this week, I would love to talk about Jhysel, Alian, and Tatiana. Jhysel is an amazing teenager that I have mentioned a couple times but I would love to do a follow up. This past week, we were able to work with her a little more and she continues excited for her baptism this coming Saturday. She shares such a powerful testimony and I love working with her so much :) Alian and Tatiana are two siblings that I absolutely love. Even though they weren't able to come to church yesterday due to a family commitment, they continue with excitement in the church. I loved hearing their comments about the time they came. They came for a fast and testimony meeting and said that it all felt different than other churches. They said that they're looking forward to next month so they can go up and bear their testimonies as well. They're amazing :)

Well, as always, I would love to share a quick, little thought :) This week, I had the amazing opportunity to go have four days of companionship exchanges with three different Elders. One was quite a bit older than me, and two were new missionaries still in their training. Even though we had varying amount of time in the mission, there was one constant that I loved: I could learn SO much from each one of them! This helped me learn a great principle: everyone, and everything, comes into our lives with a purpose and, if we take advantage of it, we can learn, so, so much! There's a scripture that I love in 1 Thesalonians chapter 5. Verse 21 says (forgive the rough translation from Spanish),"Examine everything; retain that which is good." It's so true! This coming week, I invite you all to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. I promise that as you do so that you will progress more than you could ever imagine.

Well, I love you all so much! Thank you for all of your support and love! You are amazing and I hope that you have a great week!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

I bought an aguayo blanket a while back and an amazing investigator (Maria Luz) embroidered (I think that's the word...) the border for me! I love it!

My companion and I in the airport

Zone Activity!

Hey everyone!

How are you doing?? Are you enjoying your November?? Did you get more tricks or more treats for Halloween?? ;) I just want to start off by saing that I love you all! You're amazing!

Well, this past week for us here in Sucre went really well :) I would love to talk about Jhysel and Nicole this week :)

Jhysel, as I have mentioned before, is an amazing teenager that has been coming to church for some time. A while ago, we set a baptismal date, and yesterday we had the opportunity to confirm that she felt ready. After our question, she simply replied,"Of course!" She has a baptismal date for the 17th of this month and we're really hoping that all goes well with the preparations for this date. I would love to ask for your prayers if that's alright :)

Now, Nicole :) Nicole was baptized little over a month ago and I just wanted to give a little update. Nicole continues strong and is doing great! She continues going to Seminary in the morning and is also playing a large role in teaching Jhysel, picking her up on Sunday to go together to church. I was especially impressed yesterday when she bore her testimony in Sacrament meeting :) Nicole is amazing and I have loved the opportunity to help, although just a little, her with her conversion :)

Well, I would now love to share a small thought with you before I go. Question: How many of you have read the Book of Mormon? Not just skimmed the pages, but actually read it, studied it, and tested its teachings? The Book of Mormon is a powerful testimony of Jesus Christ, and I testify of that. Yes. I know it is not a small book. Yes, I know that it is sometimes hard to read scriptures (#Isaiah ;). However, I know that the Book of Mormon will bless your lives. If you have not read it: READ IT! If you have already read it: READ IT AGAIN! I promise that you will see a greater abundance of blessings if you read (And when I say read, I mean ACTUALLY read ;) and study this book. I can promise that because I see these blessings every day in my own life and in the life of those we teach. Don't believe me?? Test it and try to prove me wrong. I promise that you will feel the divine power of this book and, along with this, know that this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is God's true church upon the face of the earth. That is my true testimony.

Well, I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and support! Talk to you next week!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

Elder Estes and I after a companionship exchange

My companion enjoying Halloween with our ward mission leader (Rodrigo, in the middle) and his brother ;)

Hey everyone!

How are you doing?? How are your Halloween preparations going?? Well, I hope that you are all doing well and that you are enjoying the beginning of this amazing season of holidays! As for me, things could not be going any better! We were able to return to Sucre from Cochabamba with very few problems and my companion's toe is doing great! Thank you so much for all of your prayers for him in this past week :) With regards to our area here, we are very happy with the progress that we are having! This week, I would love to mention Maria Luz. Maria Luz is an amazing moman that was introduced to us this past week. She is a family member of a very strong family here in Sucre and recently moved into their home. Yesterday, we were able to have our first appointment with her and it was amazing. She told us many things about her life and we quickly realized how special she is. She openly accepted talking about the Restoration and we look forward to the upcoming appointments that we will have with her :)

Well, now that I've talked a little bit about one of our amazing investigators, I would love to share a quick thought :) Yesterday, we received a phone call from a lovely member asking us to come to her house urgently. We arrived and found her entire family there eating and drinking. She and her son took us to a room so that we could talk. She told us about a lot of the difficulties in her life. Her and her son are the only two members in her family, and the rest of the family does not respect their beliefs. Whenever the family gets together, they drink a lot of alcohol and try to give it to her and her son as well, even though they are very well aware of her beliefs inside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Yesterday was another one of those days, and she was struggling with the temptation. She showed a wonderful example in her reaction: she called us so that we could have an "Family Home Afternoon" with her and her son, singing Hymns, praying, and reading the scriptures together. She told us that she felt a strong peace after the opportunity to share some time reading from the scriptures and feeling the Spirit. I want to offer this experience as an example to you all. With this coming holiday season, many temptations are to come, going directly against the standards of the Church, whether it be from friends, family, or other loved ones. I cannot say that these temptations will be easy, but I can make another promise. If, when temptation strikes, we make the effort to turn our thoughts to God, all will come out okay. Use the example of this wonderful member, who, instead of just struggling on with her temptations, called us in an amazing effort of faith, knowing that her burdens would be lightened. So, as these holidays come and go, be strong, use the help that God has given and promised to give you, and I promise that you will be blessed, strengthened, and protected through everything. That's a promise :)

Well, I love you all! Thank you so much for your amazing support! I hope that you have an amazing week!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

The Cochabamba Temple :)

Reunion with Elder Waldvogel and Elder Nelson in the Leadership Counsel! Love these missionaries!

Hey everyone!

How are you doing?? Did you have a good week?? I hope for all of you that you have had a great week and that this next one is even better than the last! Well, here in Bolivia, things have continued more-or-less as normal this past week. We continued working almost normal, but my companion had to have an ingrown toenail extracted, limiting our work a little, but we are still doing great and Elder Martinez is healing well. If it's not too much to ask, I would love to ask for your prayers for him as he continues recovering :) Well, even though our work was limited slightly, I would still love to talk about a couple of investigators. I am going to talk a little bit about Elsa and Rosemari. Elsa is a wonderful woman and is about 60 years old. We contacted her in the street while returning home one night, just giving her a pamphlet, setting an appointment, and inviting her to church. To our surprise, she was in Sacrament meeting 10 minutes early in a dress, saying that she knew that she had to come in a dress because it said so at the end of the pamphlet. She had now come to church twice and has also come to a ward activity, already making a couple of good friends. We love Elsa and look forward to continued appointments with this lovely woman :) Rosemari is a woman that has been associated with the Church for some time, as her boyfriend is a member. We were able to meet her when we had a family home evening with her boyfriend's family and she has shown a lot of interest. For a couple of weeks now, she has been coming to church as well as every activity that has happened. We were supposed to have our first real appointment with her this past week, but we couldn't as we were homebound. However, she is truly amazing and we look forward to meeting with her in a couple days :)

Well, now that I have talked about a couple of the wonderful people that we are visiting, I would love to share a small thought. This past week, President Nelson, the Prophet and President of the Church, has been in South America, making stops in Peru and, last night, in La Paz, Bolivia. As he was here, we had the opportunity to hear two broadcasts from him, one from Peru directed only to missionaries, and one from Bolivia for all the people of this wonderful country. It was an amazing opportunity for me personally to listen to the Prophet as he spoke in both English and Spanish to direct the saints here in South America. However, I believe that it was an even more amazing experience for the people of Bolivia as they heard their Prophet speak in their native language. Many people cried or just stared in awe as our amazing Prophet, Russell M. Nelson gave his message. I realized something while seeing the reactions of the people: Those of us that live in the United States are so privileged to hear from the Prophet of God in our own language so often. Now, a question: Do we really take advantage of that amazing privilege? As I have seen these amazing people enjoy this once in a lifetime experience to the max, I have made myself the promise that I will do my best to appreciate every chance we have to hear the Prophet speak the best that I can. I invite you all to do the same. Listen to the Prophet's voice and receive peace to your souls. I promise that as you listen to, and follow, the counsels of the Prophet with all your heart, might, mind, and strength that you will be blessed more than you can imagine, you will receive more peace in an ever more troubling world, and you will know more clearly what God wants for you in this life. That's a promise :)

Well, I thank you all for your support and your great examples to me in my life. I hope that you all have an amazing week! Love you all!

Elder Wynn

Count Your Many Blessing

Hey everyone!

How are you doing?? I hope that your October is going well and that all of your preparations for Halloween are going great! As for us here in Sucre, life is great! Work has continued as normal and we are really pleased with how everything is going :) For this week, I would love to mention Jhysel and the Lopez Family. Jhysel is an amazing teenager that has been connected to the Church for some time. Elder Martinez (my companion) and his last companion were teaching her for quite a while before I got here, but right when I arrived, she began to travel a lot with her family. My whole first transfer here, I never had the opportunity to teach her, but she just showed up to church every once in a while. This last week however, we were able to set an appointment with her and her parents and it went amazing. We extended a baptismal invitation to the whole family, and Jhysel's parents asked for more time to think. Jhysel, however, bore her testimony that she knew that the Church is true and expressed a deep desire to be baptized. She is AMAZING and we really look forward to helping her progress towards the baptismal date that she has committed to :) The Lopez Family is a family of four that we just love. We have been teaching them little by little in these past weeks about the Restoration, but, before this last week, they weren't showing much interest. However, we arrived at their house last night and things had changed. They had read the entire pamphlet as a family and had TONS of questions about Joseph Smith, prophets and several other subjects. We were able to answer their questions and they committed to investigate a little bit more about the Church. They have committed to come to church this following week and to also read the Book of Mormon that we gave them. We are really hoping that they continue to progress :)

Well, these are a couple of the amazing people that we are visiting and we are truly so happy with the progress of all of our investigators :) Now, before saying goodbye, I would love to share a small thought. 

This past Saturday, we had an amazing experience. We were walking through a market in our area heading towards an appointment when we heard someone yell "Elders!" We turned around to see a lovely woman selling a powder to make Api (a delicious local drink). We walked up to her and began to talk. She is a member from another ward here in Sucre named Leticia. She told us that there were several problems that were happening in her life and wanted to talk with us. We headed to the church building that was nearby and she told us about her life. She is from Argentina and has lived here in Bolivia for 15 years. The only job that she has been able to find is selling little bags of powdered api for two Bolivianos a bag (worth just about 25 cents). She walks to every market in Sucre every day offering her api. She is starting to have back problems from walking every day and her sons are also having problems with men beating them in the street. Her sons cannot study because they need to help their mother. As she cried and told us that she feels that she cannot continue living in this way, my heart broke. Her life has been so hard. She is doing everything that she can to support her small family, but it is just so hard. We did our best to console her and had the opportunity to give her and one of her sons blessings of strength and comfort. We will be visiting with her this week and hope to continue helping her. As I heard the life story of this wonderful and strong woman, I realized how blessed of a life I have lived. I have lived in a very advanced country all of my life. I have received a wonderful education and look forward to continuing my studies. I have lived a life of comfort almost free of worries. A question comes to mind: Why have I been so blessed? This life isn't fair. Some of us have more struggles than others. I have come to realize this more and more in my time here. My invitation for you all this week is that you take the time to think about all of your blessings and thank God for everything you have. Remember that not everyone has the blessings that you have.

Well, I love you all so much! Thank you so much for your love and support that you always send me! I hope that you all have an amazing week!

Elder Wynn

Hey everyone!

How are you doing? Did you have a great week? Did you enjoy General Conference? I hope so! Here in Sucre, we had a great week! In the week of work, things went really well! Investigators wise, I would love to mention Marlene, along with a funny story that happened this week. Marlene is a teenager that is 18 years old who was a reference from other missionaries in our zone. I would love to share the story of us tracking her down. So, the reference said that we had to go to a bus stop near a rather large valley in our area. We called her and she said that she was almost home, so we waited about 15 minutes before deciding to call her again. She said she was home and we asked her to come to the bus stop so that she could show us where her house was. She said no because it was easy to see her house from the bus stop. She indicated that there was a large semi-truck in front of her house clearly visible from the bus stop. We began looking all around but the was no such truck to be seen. My companion then looked at the other side of the valley, where there were about 5 houses separated from everything, and there, clear as day, was the large semi-truck that had been indicated to us. We laughed pretty hard and then began our descent into the valley, just to come up on the other side. No worries though, it was 100% worth it as we had a wonderful appointment and gained a new investigator that attended 3 sessions of General Conference this past weekend. Normally the hardest things in life are the best :)

Well, we're very happy with Marlene and all of our investigators. There is lots of work for us to do here in Sucre :)

Well, I would now love to talk about Conference and share a quick thought with you all :) First off: Wasn't that amazing?? Between the huge announcements about Sunday meetings and Temples and the great talks about just about all topics, it was an amazing Conference. I hope that you all were able to at least watch part and receive the answers to any questions that you may have had :) One thing that really struck me was how many promises we were given during the sessions. Almost every authority of the Church extended an invitation and promised us blessings along with our faithfulness in completing their invitation. One example: President Nelson talked about the importance of the name of the Church. We are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, not Mormons. He invited us to strive to use the true name of the Church and drop any nicknames we may be using. He then extended several profound promises, one of which was that we would be able to take the Gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. That is a HUGE promise for such a seemingly simple change. Well, I want to give you my witness that this promise, and every other promise made in these past two days, will be completed according to our willingness to accept the invitation. So, my invitation to you all: Follow the words of the Prophets! You will be blessed more than you could ever imagine! That is a promise :)

Well, I love all of you guys so much! Just for your information, we had transfers last night and nothing changed here! I will be here with Elder Martinez for another 6 weeks at least. I look forward to continuing the work here in Sucre!  I hope that you all have an amazing week!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

Descending into the valley while heading to Marlene's house

A selfi with my compi :)

Visiting the famous black Christ statue here in Sucre

Preparing for General Conference

Hey everyone!

How are you all doing?? Can you believe that it's already October?! I hope that this last week has treated you well and that this next week is even better! As for me, it was a crazy week. We travelled a ton, even going to Potosí for our Zone Conference and it was an amazing experience. President Montoya talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and it was truly amazing :) After returning to our area, the week finished well and I am happy to report that Nicole was baptized this past Saturday. She truly is an amazing girl and I cannot express how happy I am for her :) I'll be sure to keep you updated on how she's doing in the weeks to come :)

Now, let's talk about some other amazing people that we are visiting :) I would like to focus on Marcela, Teresa, and Gregorio. Marcela was a reference from a recently returned missionary and she is amazing. She says that she has gone to many churches and loves reading their pamphlets and other things they give her, but she has started to lose faith in their being a "true church". We loved the opportunity to talk with her and she had many amazing questions. She is very well studied in the Bible. We look forward to seeing how things turn out as we work with Marcela :) Teresa and Gregorio are a lovely couple that we met as we looked for their son, who is a less-active member. We actually found Teresa first, and as we talked with her, she shared that she thought her husband would not be interested in our message. This last week, we met Gregorio for the first time and had the opportunity to teach about the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ. Much to the shock of Teresa, Gregorio was very interested and asked many good questions. We look forward to continuing the work with these two amazing people and trying to help them accept this amazing gospel :)

Well, now that I have talked about our work here this week, I want to talk about General Conference. I know that not all of the people on this email list is a member of the Church, so I want to explain real quick. We believe that prophets (Such as Moses, Noah, Abraham, etc.) are not just people that exhisted in ancient times. We believe that we have a living Prophet and Apostles that really do communicate with God and receive revelation for our times. This coming weekend, we will have a General Conference where these men will speak with the whole Church giving us counsel about how to live our lives. Now that I have explained, I want to ask a question: If you heard that Moses (supposing that he were on the Earth today) was coming to give a talk to the world and you had the chance to listen, how excited would you be? How would you prepare yourself to receive what he would say? Well, the amazing question is that this applies. God's chosen representative, President Russell M. Nelson, and the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ will be talking to the world this weekend. We should be excited! We should prepare ourselves! You better believe that I will be preparing myself spiritually for this experience and I invite you all to do the same. Now, for those of you that are not members, I invite you to take a challenge of mine. I promise that this is the true church. Don't believe me? Well, I promise that if you go into this weekend really wanting to know if this church is true or not, you will know without a doubt if you watch every session. That's a promise for you all.

Well, I hope that you all enjoy General Conference! I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

Saying Hi to Elder Ordoñez, Elder Vergara, and Elder Romero at the Zone Conference!

Falling sleep with my companion on a bus ride to the airport ;)

Nicole's Baptism :)

The Importance of the Spirit

Hey everyone!

How are you doing? Did you have a good week? I hope that life is treating you all well :) As for me, life couldn't be better! Working here in Sucre was amazing this past week, even though we weren't here for half of it. More on the other stuff that went on in a sec :) With our investigators, I would like to mention Nicole and Epson. Nicole is a great investigator that we've been teaching for all my time here. She has progressed amazingly fast and looks forward to being baptized this following Saturday. She has come to church for a LONG time with her friend Abril and just loves it. She is also going to seminary and doing so many other things that just blow us away. We look forward to seeing her be baptized this week :) Epson is an investigator that Elder Martinez found with his last companion here. He loves reading the scriptures, almost scarily so, and just loves learning. This whole transfer, we have been working really hard with him and trying to get him to come to church, but he never could. However, yesterday, he finally came. At first he sat in the back, but then, for the last talk, he walked all the way up to the front row. He loved his first time at church and said he wants to keep coming, so we're really excited to keep working with him :) Well, those are a couple of the people that we are working with here. Now, I would love to talk about the other thing that happened this week. Last week, I was writing from Cochabamba because I was there for a leadership counsel and it was amazing! We got to talk with th Mission President about problems that are going on in the mission and how we can improve. It was amazing :) Now, for my thought, I would love to share a part of what our Mission President shared as his message for us.

He started with John 16 and read a few verses that said that (forgive my crappy translation) it was convenient for us that Christ left. I was shocked by these verses as I had never thought much about that statement. It goes on to say that it is so convenient for us because it would allow the Holy Ghost to descend upon us. This got me thinking: How important is the Spirit? Is He really so important that it is better for us to have Him more than Jesus? After a discussion, we came to the conclusion that yes, the Holy Ghost is even more necessary on the earth than Christ, and here's why: Jesus is amazing, but has a body, meaning, even though He is perfect, that He can only be in one place at a time. He can make an unbelievable change in that one place, but only in that one place. However, the Holy Ghost does not have a body, so he can be in any number of places at once, confirming truth right to our hearts and helping us know whenever anything is true. I feel that often we are not that grateful for the amazing presence that is the Holy Ghost. In this following week, I invite you in your personal study to read about the Holy Ghost and all that he does for us. Then, I invite you to study how to have Him with you in every moment of every day. Then, I invite you to apply that so the Spirit can be with you more often in your lives. I promise you that you will be happier, you will find more success in your daily lives, and that you will feel more guided as you make decisions in your life. That's a promise :)

Well, I love all of you and hope that you have amazing weeks! You are so amazing! Talk to you next week!

Elder Wynn

Eternal Progression

Hey everyone!

How are you doing?? I hope that you are enjoying your September! Can you believe that it's already halfway over?? Well, I hope that this last week has treated you well adn that this next week is even better! As for me, it has been a normally amazing week here in Bolivia :) I continue getting used to Sucre (It has been a STRUGGLE!) but I am loving it more and more every day! Well, I would like to talk about a few of the amazing people here that we are visiting for just a moment. I would like to mention Jordan and Mayra. Jordan is a teenager (17ish) that we just love to visit. He loves learning about Jesus Christ and has so much desire to follow Him. This past week, we were able to talk with him and extend an invitation to be baptized in October. He truly is amazing and I am so happy for the opportunity to know him here in Sucre :) Mayra is a woman that has been familiar with the Church since she was a young girl. She has always loved the Church and was once meeting with the missionaries here in Sucre before she moved to Argentina and completely lost contact. However, she has moved back and a member referred us to visiting her and we have loved the experience. Mayra is someone that loves to learn, especially about God. We look forward to working with her in the weeks that come :)

Well, now that I've talked a bit about my week, I would like to share a small thought :) Here in the mission, there are so many amazing experiences that happen every day, but I would like to talk about one of my favorites. Having a leadership assignment here, I have the great opportunity to give baptismal interviews to amazing people that are making the choice to join the Church. Talking with these people is an unbelievable blessing. As you probably know, there are many standards that one must live inside of this church, and talking with people that have accepted these standards and lived them helps one learn the powerful change that this church brings to the lives of others. I have talked with people that were once drug-addicts or alcoholics. Others have even been imprisoned for some time. However, they all share on thing in common: a desire to change. These people have made the decision to completely abandon their old lives, deciding to live on a higher plane. I have an amazing respect for them and am so grateful for the opportunity to meet them in every interview that I give. And now, an invitation. These people have had to make very big changes in their lives as they have recently grown to know the Church. Many of you are members, and if you are not, you are at least familiar with the Church, and that brings changes. However, I invite you to never think that you have made all of the changes that you will ever have to make. We live in a church of eternal progression, so we need to be trying to improve each and every day. I invite you to think about ways you could improve, maybe as small as daily scripture study or as big as being baptized, because we can ALL make important changes in our lives today.

Well, I love you all and I thank you for your support of me here in Bolivia. I hope that you have an amazing week!

Elder Wynn

Photos:

A Sucre Sunset

A Selfie with my Compi :)

P-day Selfie with my companion and Elder Nelson

Hey everyone!

How are you doing?? Well, I don't have a huge amount of time today because, as you may have noticed, I'm writing on Tuesday instead of Monday. We went to the Uyuni salt flats as a zone yesterday and it was amazing! Well, quick update on the work here in Sucre. Our investigators are progressing alright and we have been happy to find more new investigators as well. We look forward to Nicole's baptism in a couple weeks and a couple others should follow as well. We have a lot of work to do here in Sucre. Well, I just want to share a quick thought with you all before I go. Yesterday, I once again had the opportunity to go to the Uyuni salt flats and it was once again a breath-taking experience. It is honestly so beautiful and impossible to describe. As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of nature and love seeing beautiful desplays of God's creations. I honestly believe that we can experience the Spirit in such beautiful power as we take time to enjoy the beauty of the Earth. I invite all of you this week to take a day and make time to wake up early, go to a beautiful place, and watch the sunrise. I testify that this world is a work of divine creation and that the Spirit of God can be felt with special power as we look to appreciate what we have been given.

Well, I love all of you guys and hope that you have an amazing week!

Elder Wynn

Pictures:

Enjoying the Uyuni sunset with my companion, Elder Martinez

A fun pic at the train cemetery

A panoramic of the amazing Uyuni sunset :)

Crazy Changes

Hey everyone!

How are you all doing?? I can't believe that we are already in September! Time is FLYING! Well, I am now officially in Sucre, and it is WAY different than my other areas. It is a very large city and I honestly feel completely lost when we leave the house. I am hoping to learn my way around quickly, but we'll have to see, it is a huge area and a very confusing city for me. Luckily, I have an amazing companion! He is from Paraguay and his name is Elder Martinez. He is a great missionary that works hard and is also super funny. I really look forward to continuing working with him :) This last week we have mostly been looking for new investigators, but I have also had the opportunity to meet a few of the long time investigators here as well. I would like to introduce you all to Nicole, Epson, and Karina. Nicole is a friend of a young member here and is amazing. She has come to church every Sunday for many weeks and has also expressed a desire to be baptized. I look forward to working with her :) Epson and Karina are a couple that is absolutely amazing. Elder Martinez found them a couple weeks ago and they just LOVE to learn. They love reading the scriptures and have many, many great questions. It will be amazing to keep answering their questions and helping them progress. I really look forward to it :)

Well, now that I've talked about a few of the people that we are teaching, I would love to give a small thought that come right from the craziness here. This past week, with the new area, new responsibilities, etc. here, I have found myself really overwhelmed. There have been several moments that I have just been so confused, stressed, and frustrated that I have had no idea what to do. As hard as these moments are, they truly are the best moments to learn and grow. I have learned a lot about myself (mostly about how much of a big stress ball that I am ;), but even more important, I learned a lot about our Heavenly Father. We often say that God is always there to help us, but much less often are the times that we feel the absolute truth of this statement in it's full beauty. I have felt his comfort in these stressful times and have also seen his hand in helping me in these new adjustments. I have a new appreciation for prayer. I now invite all of you that are going through hard or difficult times to drop on your knees and ask for the help that you need. He truly does listen to you. He truly does give us what we need. He can strengthen you and help you through whatever you are doing. We truly can "do all things through Christ." I testify to all of these things and invite you to ask for any help that you might need. I promise that He will help you. Yes or yes :)

Well, I will now get back to work here in Sucre! I look forward to continuing to work with Elder Martinez in this amazing city with all of its amazing people! I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week!

Elder Wynn

Selfie in the Airport with Elder Martinez!

Watching the sunrise at the airport while waiting for a plane to take off

A great Bolivian dish! Fricasé! A spicy soup with chuño, móte, and beef! So good!

I hope that you enjoy the pics! Love you!

Love,

Elder Wynn