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 ;)