Hey Everybody, 

It was a good week this past week. We had our Mission Leaders Conference and a good vilo hoa.  Here are the 5 highlights:

1. The Mission Leaders Conference was great. We talked about a lot of the problems facing the mission and how we can push the work forward in the mission by being obedient to the small things. 

We also balled up at the MLC which was super fun, but I can't shoot no more.

2. We have an elder in our district who is from Hofoa and he went on exchange with us so we could find some more families to teach. It actually worked pretty well and we now have some new families to teach, including some of Elder Vaisas extended family.

3. Costlo, a new store in Tonga, obviously based on Costco. It's crazy different then from anything in Tonga, like a part of America in Tonga. I went there and bought some popcorn and bagel bites, life is good.

4. It's beginning to get hot.

5. We have a Christmas Program on the 22nd and our zone has to sing a song. If anybody has any good ideas please tell me, We are trying to get creative.

Love you all, have a great week. 

Ofa atu,  

Elder Wilson

Baptism of Uenita

Malo tau lava,

  

This past week were transfers and I am staying!!! Not gonna lie, it was not great getting that news, but I'm going to have a good attitude about it. I have a sweet zone and the work is progressing a little in our Area. I'm also staying with Elder Vaisa which is a plus

Also this week:

1. We baptized Uenita this past Saturday. The service went well and Elder Vaisa did the baptism. I also gave my very first confirmation on Sunday. I was a little nervous while walking up to do it because I was literally giving a part of God to someone. It was a good reminder to me of the blessings that we get when we have the Holy Ghost.

2. About 2 months ago we taught a 15-year-old kid named Sifa the 1st lesson, gave him a Book of Mormon and exhorted him to read it. Well, after trying to find him for the past 2 months we finally met him on the road and set up a time to talk with him. When we met and talked about the Book of Mormon, he said that he had read it and knew it was true. We are trying to help him reach the waters of Baptism which would be a huge blessing if it worked out.

3. The APs came over to our MQ the other night and invited us to go to Liahona (church school) and ball out. Literally so fun. There were actually a couple good players there. I've still got some of my game, though my shooting is a little iffy jiffy. It was way fun playing basketball after a long drought. 

4. We have our MLC this next week, we're going Temple tomorrow and meeting on Friday.

5. I ate Lobster yesterday. 

Love, 

Elder Wilson

Hey everybody,

It's been a good week here in the true hood of Hofoa. This is probably going to be a very short email. Transfers were delayed one week which is good as we will finally have the blessing of baptizing our investigator Uenita this Saturday, which will be very rewarding. She was a very fun investigator to teach and it will be a privilege to see her get baptized. 

The biggest thing happening on the island is the Tonga Rugby Team (mate Ma'a Tonga). It has been doing super well and they made it to the semis of the world cup and played against England (Elder Ludlow). They had the ball with a score of 18-20 with 10 seconds left and scored, but the ref blew a whistle and England won. So, even though I didn't see it, literally every house I have gone to since the game has been talking about the call. The ref apparently was a Redcoat who had moved to Australia so everybody thought it was rigged.

I have been reading The Book of Mormon, and I have noticed this time around that it has become a page turner. I love reading it and learning the stories and different aspects of the Gospel. I know it's a true book that can help all of us out. We were at the house of Lavenia (our new convert from last transfer) and read the Book of Mormon with her. It's amazing to see how fast she has applied the Book of Mormon into her life and how it's helping her combat the trials and challenges she's going through. In other words, read The Book of Mormon everybody.

I love you all,

 

Elder Wilson

New Suit

Hey fam,

  

This past week our stake and another stake were split into three stakes, so we had a really big conference with all three stakes and met all the new Stake Presidents and their Counselors. Our new Stake Pres. was our old 1st Counselor. Unfortunately there was no feed after.

Cool story:  we were driving along and noticed some people on the side of the road having  a fair (a Tongan yard sell with products from New Zealand or Australia), and saw that they were selling suit coats. When we checked it out for church pants (which we are now allowed to wear), we found pants and a suit coat that was MY SIZE (insanely rare)! I asked how much the suit was and tried to pay for it but the guy gave it to me for free, which is a very common occurrence in Tonga. So, now I got this sick brown suit.

We had a couple discussions in English this past week and are working with a deportis [?] named Martin right now. He's a great guy with a hard past and we are trying to help him get rid of that and begin his new life. We've only taught him once but he's a really humble guy and wants to join the gospel.

For Thanksgiving some things I'm grateful for are:

1. Tight golden investigators.  We have continued going to our investigator Uenita and reading the Book of Mormon with her. After we're done reading she gives profound answers on what she liked. She's good for sure for our baptismal date on the 2nd of December.

2. Being a missionary in Tonga. This past week I was thinking about some of the little things that bug me in Tonga and I realized that literally everything that bugs me is because of how much love Tongans have. When they tell me to eat more or they do small annoying things to me as a Palangi, it's because of how much love they have for me as a representative of the Lord and a missionary in Tonga. 

3. A supportive family, a blessing that too many missionaries take for granted for 18-19 years of their life then realize how big a blessing it is on their missions. How grateful I am to know families are forever through the gospel of Jesus Christ

4. I have a Scottie Pippen and Damian Lillard Jersey.

5. Dang, I'm not trying to sound profound or whatever, but I'm grateful for the challenges I have had. This past week I had an experience that could have made me really mad (which it kinda did), but through the things I went through earlier on my mission it was a easy problem to fix. 

I wish you guys all a happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully we will be able to do something here in Tonga for it. Transfers in 4 days - we shall see what happens. 

Ofa atu,

 

Elder Wilson

Hey everybody,

It was a good week this week. Lots of crazy stuff happening.

-Baptism of Catherine -We finished  teaching Catherine and baptized her. She was a fun investigator to teach and she has a super good fakafeohi family. Her baptism was a wee bit stressful as the National Tongan Rugby team was playing at the time of her baptism, so we had to move it back an hour to accommodate. We were running around trying to make sure everything went to plan, but the baptism went well and I had the opportunity to do it.

-Speaking of the National Tongan Rugby team (mate ma'a Tonga) apparently they are playing insanely good and on the day of the game everyone did the Tongan version of a parade which was everybody getting in, or on top of their cars, going to town, honking their horns and yelling. WE arrived to our fafanga [meeting ?] at the end of the game and saw the last couple of minutes of Tonga beating New Zealand for the first time ever. Tonga beating New Zealand in New Zealand! Right after the game there was another pronto parade and everybody went to town again on top of their cars.

-We had two mission meetings with General Authorities - Elder Cardon and Elder Uceda.

At his Mission Conference Elder Cardon talked about the Holy Ghost and prayer, as well as the Abrahamic covenant. I learned a lot about  teaching prayer better at the end of the first lesson. 

- Then we had a super amazing privilege today to hear from Elder Uceda from the Presidency of the Seventy. He talked purely about prayer and it was, in my generation's language, like"fire." Like Elder Cardon he talked about what things we should teach and what things we shouldn't when we teach prayer. He spoke with a lot of energy and talked about how when we pray we are experiencing a little part of heaven. 

My stake is splitting this Sunday so it's gonna be a big day. Transfers are coming up in two weeks. 

Got to see The Big 4 from the MTC, Nasilai, Manu, Poulsen and me. I hope all of you have a good week.

Love you all,

 Elder Wilson

Hey everybody,

It was another solid, yet kind of slow, week here in Tonga. We had the conference in Puke to change our branch into a ward. Puke has been a branch for 32 years, so it was a pretty historic event, and huge with 500-600 people there, probably most of them for the food afterward.  haha. Funny thing happened, Elder Vaisa and I were preparing the sacrament and there definitely wasn't enough water. We had to rush and get more cups and water super fast and finish the rest of the sacrament. As we were stressing  about the sacrament, the counselor in the Stake Presidency gives me a note saying the Mission President wasn't going to be there and could I step in and talk! haha. I did my normal Tongan talk - made a joke about eating dog then talked about missionary work. The rest of the program was really good. They made the old Branch President the new Bishop so there  really weren't any big changes. After the conference there was the biggest kai pola (feast) I have ever seen. Unfortunately I don't have any pics.

In other things:

 - We were at our fafanga the other day when Tonga and Samoa were playing Rugby. We were there at the very start for the opening prayer and the Sipitau (haka). It was crazy cool and I would invite you all to watch it if you get the opportunity.
- Uenita has given birth, we are planning to baptize her the last day of the transfer.

- I was in Longolongo dropping something off to the missionaries when I saw a super old beat up Damian Lillard jersey on someone.  I walked up and bought it off him for 20 pa'anga. It was a very good 2-way deal.

- I have been really studying the Book of Mormon, and it is so good! I also love Alma. I invite everybody to read it. 

- We have finished up teaching Catherine and will be baptizing her this week.

- Other than that work has been pretty slow.  We've been struggling with what to do as we have already knocked every door. But trying to stay positive and find different ways to find people to teach.

Have a good week, 

Elder Wilson

Yup

Hey fam,

It has been another quick week. This past week we were able to have our baptism for Lavenia. It was a really good service where the Spirit was very strong. She bore a strong testimony of the church and the doctrine of Christ. It was a great experience for elder Vaisa and me to teach her. 

We have been continuing to teach Uenita and she still has not yet given birth! We are going on 3 weeks overdue and she is still walking around the house.

One of the best things to happen to you when you're a missionary is to go to a member's house and have them say, "oh we have an investigator to baptize." This happened to us this week which was super, super nice. Her name is Catherine and she is 11. She is a little shy but she has been fun to teach and we have a baptismal date for the 11th.

In other news, the Rubix cube has become a big thing in our district. I have learned how to do it and got my P.R. today with a solid 1 minute and 16 seconds. 

In Sunday school a man raised his hand and said that all the spirits in the spirit prison deserve to be there because they are so annoying here on earth.

I have been reading in Mosiah and really love reading the words of King Benjamin.

This next week we finally have our conference to turn Puke from a branch to a ward. It's going to be way fun, and then 2 stakes (including ours) are splitting into 3, so we'll be having a huge conference the last Sunday of this transfer.

Love you and I pray for you all,

Elder Wilson

Hey all, 

It's been a good week over here in Tonga and a lot of things have happened. I think I'll go for 1-10.

1. Atata- we went out to Atata again this past week. It was OK. After 4 trips already I'm starting to get tired out from it. We went to the island using the tourist boat and slept the night. I went with Elder Lomu who's on his second transfer so it was good to give him the island experience. We played soccer with all the guys on the island (surprisingly a big thing on Atata) then we visited members. We were able to find one new investigator and teach one lesson which was great.

2. Lavenia- Lavenia is finally going to get baptized this Saturday. It's been good to see her testimony of the Gospel and her desire to be baptized. 

3. Uenita- definitely has not yet given birth. She will be baptized as soon as she does, haha. Her due date was two weeks ago #Tonga.

4. Huge change to Mission Tonga. We are now able to wear Western gear instead of the normal Tupenu and Ta'ovala. Our mission is in a little bit of an uproar about it, but we shall see how long that lasts. I have already given all my pants away so it doesn't really effect me.

5. We are teaching a family! The mom's name is Talafungani and it's been real fun to get close with her 5 kids. Nobody is really progressing from that family so we will be working together this week to try and get them progressing.

6. I had a good spiritual experience yesterday - as we were walking from one appointment to another,  my eyes hit on this one house. We kept walking for another 20 seconds but I couldn't take my eyes off the house, so we went back and knocked on the door and found a potential investigator. Listen to the Spirit.

7. I'm killing it in darts this transfer. I think my form has been getting a lot better. I'm already up 4 on Elder Vaisa this transfer.

8. On the way back from Atata we were on the boat with a guy from Switzerland. It was funny talking about Roger Federer. I tried sharing the gospel with him as we got off the boat and boom he was gone. haha

9. I have been really bad about doing language study for the past while. I think I've gotten to a point where my Tongan is alright but if I want to be good at it I gotta start studying.  We've been trying to speak Tongan all the time and we're trying to fit in language study every day.

10. We have really high goals this transfer. President set a goal of 40 baptisms for every zone. Last transfer we had 13, so our faith and hard work are going to have to grow a lot.

Love you all. 

Have a great week,

Elder Wilson

Stayin'

Malo Tua Lava,

Sorry for the delay, P-day got changed to Wednesday and will be the emailing day from now on. Life has stayed the same on this side of the world. Transfers came and went this past week and we are staying here in Hofoa and Puke. I heard a rumor I was supposed to go to an outer island but I think I'm supposed to be here. We planted a lot of seeds last transfer that we will be able to harvest now so that will be good. I am actually pretty excited to see what comes out of all of our work. I also think that during this next transfer our branch in Puke is going to be made a ward and our island of Atata will be getting a branch. So, I'm going to be eating a lot of pig this next month or so.

We continue to teach Uenita in Hofoa, who is super prepared. I learned from our surprise MLC [Mission Leader's Conference] this past week and from General Conference that I need to be better at emphasizing the book of Mormon. We have been trying this with Uenita and it has really helped us become better teachers. Not that we're doing anything else, but the Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost working together is spiritually unstoppable. We have set up a baptismal date for her the 28th of this month, but who knows because she needs to give birth before she can be baptized.

I am short on Time.  I testify of the Book of Mormon and the blessings that come from reading it day to day.

OFA ATU,

Elder Wilson

Hey Everybody,

Life is good on this side of the ocean. This past week Elder Vaisa and I finally set up a system to go out to Atata [the small island in his area] and we made the trip this week. The history of the Church on this island is pretty cool and very new. Last year a couple in Hofoa (where we live) got called to move out to Atata and start the church there. When the Stake President and the couple headed out to Atata, the town officer was there on the beach with a knife. The Stake President happened to be a retired lawyer and made sure that everything went smoothly with the first transition of the Church on the island. The first Sunday there were 3 members. The Tauhi kolo (whatever that is in English [leader?]), his wife, and his son. It stayed that way for about 3 months until another member family moved to the island. During the last year two families have been baptized and there are now 31 members in Atata with 7 priesthood holders. It's pretty crazy, because of how small the island is, that there are that many members. It is really cool to be able to go out to the island and help the work out there.

Other than that, we were able to find and commit a lot of people to baptism this week. Who knows how many will work out but we will keep trying. Every week my testimony grows stronger that missionary work needs to be done through the members.

We had Zone conference last week which went really well. I really enjoy listening to president Tui'one and his instructions on how I can become a better missionary.  General conference was probably the highlight of last week. I did the same thing I did last time and wrote 5 questions and all were answered again, except for 1 which I believe will be answered when I review the talks. The Book of Mormon and the power from it was what hit me hardest. It's the one thing that is most important to my investigators, that they have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. It's kind of pointless to continue with the lessons if they don't read it and pray about it.

- I am up by 5 wins against Elder Vaisa in Darts.

- Our neighbor has a person living there who is an absolutely amazing singer.

- I played tennis this morning for the first time in a year. It was way fun. There are people in my area who come from Eua which is know for playing tennis. I definitely need to get back in the game though.

Ofa atu.  I invite all to watch, listen, read, or reread the conference talks, literally the best thing in the world. It's like another Christmas for missionaries. 

Do good things, 

Elder Wilson

Hey everybody,

It was another good week. I was able to see a really great miracle this past week. Two transfers ago I had the opportunity to teach an investigator in Longolongo named Neomai. Unfortunately she couldn't get baptized because her dad was a preacher in another church. Three months later, after a LOT of fasting and prayer, her Dad last week gave her permission to get baptized. To be honest I feel like one the biggest things God has tried to teach me on my mission is that fasting works, which kind of sounds weird but has been very true. I have been able to witness miracles because of fasting. I can't change anybody's mind, but I know God can.

Last week we focused our efforts on finding people to teach in Hofoa and knocked every door in Hofoa trying to find new investigators. It actually kind of worked and we were able to find some people to teach, but though none look super promising, we will sure try. For our zone conference tomorrow we have been asked to teach on Chapter 9 from Preach My Gospel on finding people to teach. I'm a little confused on how to teach this because every convert on my mission has come from a member. For example, last week all we did was knock doors and the only 1 investigator that came to church was from a member who brought her. 

Besides that, life has been going great. Elder Vaisa and I have been having darts competitions after every planning session in our house and after being down four I have tied it up with two weeks left in the transfer. 

Ofa atu​​​​, 

Elder Wilson

Hey everybody this week has been about the same as last week, so pretty good. I was able to baptize Sione Ngahe this past Wednesday. A lot of missionaries have worked with Sione and it was a privilege to baptize him.

To be honest the work has been struggling a little in our area. We have been working really hard to find new investigators and we actually have been able to find a lot. The problem is that all of investigators we get from our finding don't usually last very long. I know the best way to do missionary work is through the members, but we don't have a whole bunch of support from the members in our area, which has been a little bit of a struggle. But we are still working hard on trying to progress the investigators and potential investigators we found last week. 

I had a really cool experience this week. We have been teaching a lady named Lavenia for a while. She is willing to be baptized but only under the condition that her husband, who is less active, will return to the church so they can stand together. We went over to their house and read and taught a little about the blessings of obedience and asked the husband what blessings he will get if both of them live the gospel of Jesus Christ. He responded with "eternal family." We were able to testify about the blessings that come from living the gospel and especially about eternal families. It was really powerful and we were able to commit him to try and change and to perform his wife's baptism next month.

I know that families are eternal. It has been a blessing to be in Tonga and in this culture to have learned what is really important. I was talking with a member the other day and he told me the difference between Tonga and Muli (1st world countries) is that in Tonga, 1) nobody goes hungry and 2) everybody is more happy. I definitely believe that that is the case. 

Church is true,

Ofa atu

--

Elder Wilson

Hey fam,

 

It was another good week. It felt like this past week and the week before we were planting a lot of seeds for us to harvest this next week. The work has been progressing a lot and I think we are starting to work together well with the wards we work in. We have one baptism this week. His name is Sione. The missionaries have been teaching him for over a year and now that he has some problems sorted out he can proceed with his baptism. 

We had a Mission Leader's Conference and a temple session this past week which was good. It was a little unfortunate because we had two appointments and had to leave MLC early, but I learned  a lot about repentance and speaking up to other missionaries about obedience. It was really good to see other missionaries from my intake group who I haven't seen for a while. As usual, the Temple session was probably the best part. I know that each time we enter the Temple that we can learn something different. I love being in the Temple and feeling the spirit there.

The zone has been going well. I feel like the biggest difference in our zone is that now we are so, so busy. This week will be a good week for working in our area without any meetings to worry about. 

Sorry for my shortness. I love you all. Keep the commandments.

Elder Wilson

Hey Everybody.

This week has been a very good week with a lot of work to do. This transfer is going to be great. My companion Elder Vaisa and I have been getting along and work really well together. I have been able to learn a lot from him. We have set some really high goals for our area and zone this transfer. We are shooting for 10 baptisms in our area and 20 baptisms in the zone. (The last transfer we had 0 in our area and 9 in our zone.) This past week we spent time exploring leads from the last transfer and as of right now now have a list of 15 real potential investigators.

This next week we have MLC (Mission Leaders Conference) for 2 days. Then we are going to try to get out to Atata our island even though we are going to be pretty busy.  Something I liked this week in my personal study was the Parable in Luke 15. Jesus talked about a women who lost money and tried everything she could to find it. When the money was found the women was so happy she went and told everybody that they had found it. The fakatata to it is that when we repent our Father in Heaven is so happy and we should be too because we qualify to enter into his kingdom. I know we receive happiness when we repent.

Random things:

- I have taken over as driver.

- I played ping-pong at a less active house and took over their small wooden table for an hour.

- Apparently there was supposed to be a tsunami from the earthquake in Mexico but the wave died before it got to Tonga.

Ofa atu,

Elder Wilson

Hey guys, 

[HEFY - Humanitarian Experience for Youth - takes multiple 2 1/2 week service expeditions to 20 countries each summer to build homes. Levi went in 2015 where they built a home for a family with 10 children.] 

It's been another good week. This email is definitely mostly for the HEFY3 group, the group I came to Tonga with before my mission to build a house. I got to see my Tongan family again this week at a fireside and have some updates. Sorry if this doesn't make sense to anybody else .

The house:  The house is still holding up good. The boys live in the old house, and the girls live in the new house which also has a living room at the front of the house. I was able to go inside but didn't have my camera that day. They have extended the front of the house, using a tarp over the top, for a kitchen and eating area. There are about 3 cracks inside the house and they all blame me for it - haha. 

Viliami (father) is doing great. He still is a tokoni (counselor) in the bishopric and I actually get to see him quite a lot because we are in the same church building. He still is way funny and remembers when he called me out in front out everybody for getting a line in my head. Viliami still works on gravestones and with the church making the signs in front of the buildings.

Sela (mother) is still doing a great job with her responsibilities as a mother for 11 children. Yeah, she had another baby named Paula who is now ten months. They are also considering adopting another 2 kids. Crazy.

David is now preparing to serve his mission. His call has already been assigned and he is waiting for the letter now. He is working at a hotel making Chinese food. He is still insanely jacked and thinks he can take me. 

Nephi is now in form 6 at Liahona-which is equivalent to a senior in America. Cool thing in Tonga is they have started 4 football teams. He is on the team and I think he is playing tight end. He also is way jacked. 

Alisi and Beula- Both are form 5 (juniors in high school). The twins are doing good, juggling life, school, and church stuff.

Journey is doing great. She still remembers when Riley hit her in the head with a soccer ball (haha), She is currently studying at a hard school in Tonga and wants to become a solider when she grows up.

Sione is still pau'u, I remember being so confused when he would tell me his name was Sione and John, definitely the same name. 

Lupe and Rebecca are 8 and 10 and are so funny. When I went to their house they just started to try and tackle me.  

Daniela and Ana (the baby) are now grown up and super cute. 

In conclusion (this is the most I've written on my mission), the Hefa Family is till going strong. They wake up every morning 5:30 and have family scripture study. When I get to visit with them it makes me feel so blessed that God gave me the opportunity to get called back to Tonga. It was a blessing we (the hefy group) had to build their house. Every time I see somebody in their family I always remember the trip that changed my life. The Hefa family is still grateful to this day for our work even though I know we learned a lot more from them.

To all the HEFY group: Ofa atu (love y'all).  I grateful for all those on missions. I know that this is the true work. From Tonga to the rest of the world we have the amazing opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. For everyone else, get off of instagram and snapchat and go do service for somebody. The Church is true.

Ofa atu,

Elder Wilson

Forgive the short email this time. We had zone conference this past week and I really do hate teaching in front of other missionaries, but it went OK. We talked a lot about obedience and the Doctrine of Christ.

Last week I had a couple of cool experiences. I had the opportunity to go on a vilo hoa (exchange) with Elder Hansen, another missionary in Tofoa. We had a really good, productive day. Tofoa is where the  hospital is located, so the missionaries there get a lot of calls to go and give blessings. We got a call from my old companion in my old area, Elder Loto'aniu, asking us to go and give a blessing to one of my old member friends who had a stroke, and someone who I was really close with. It was a great opportunity to go see the member and give her a blessing.  Even though it was small, I know that the Lord blesses all of our lives and I count that as a blessing to be able to go see somebody I was very close with. 

Another experience happened when we went door knocking, without a whole bunch of success. We got to have one lesson with an older lady and her two sons. As the lesson went on, another man comes up, interrupts the lesson and starts speaking to us in English. Basically he just said everything Mormons preach is wrong. We were able to talk to him and the rest of the family and share our beliefs and bear testimony. The man's heart softened and he told us that he would never forget seeing us. Though I don't think anybody will get baptized from this experience, but I felt that we were able to change some attitudes about the church and plant some seeds. 

I love you all. Do good things. Reading the book of Mormon everyday brings blessings. 

Ofa atu

--

Elder Wilson

Baptism in last area.

Random picture of Tonga.

Hey Everybody! 

The past week has been good. Really, the main highlight was the Mission Leaders Conference we had on Tuesday and Wednesday. Since so many new leaders were called, President make it a really big thing. We started out by doing a tour of the island of Tonga and seeing all the sites. We went to see the Ha'amonga (2 big stones with a bigger one on top), a random place where the first Mormon missionaries in Tonga settled, and then some huge rock in the middle of nowhere that apparently Maui (the Tongan God) threw at some giant chicken.

After that we had the best part of MLC, the temple session. I think it has been about 7-8 months since I last got to go the Temple and it was incredible. I testify the Temple is a true house of God and we can learn so much and feel closer to Him in the Temple. I got some answers for some of the personal problems that I have been facing. It was also cool 'cause I got to do it all in Tongan and I understood it all, which was a lot different from the last time.

We then proceeded to do some activities at the Church High School and we ate really, really well. We slept in the church complex, woke up, exercised, ate breakfast then started our 7-hour meeting. We talked about our purpose and what things we can change in the Tonga mission. I learned quite a lot and it helped my testimony about exact obedience. I know that all blessings come from obedience and that if we missionaries can be obedient we can see miracles.

Besides that a HEFY group came and left. I got to see and talk to my good friend Greg from my HEFY experience and meet Sister See and her son from our new Pleas​​ant Grove ward. It's really cool to see the connections that can be made out here in Tonga.

Work has been going OK. We're struggling to work effectively but I think that my companion and I can tear up this area. Hopefully we can get out to our island this week.

Ofa lahi atu, 

Elder Wilson

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Big rock that came in on a Tsunami, called the Maui rock.

Atata

Burning the shirt at the year mark.

Hey everybody,

Life has been good on this side of the world. This will probably be a very quick email today. The new area has been good and I'm looking forward to progressing the work in Puke and Hofoa. Hopefully we can also get out to [the island] Atata this next week.

In Sunday School the topic was Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail. D&C 121 is such a good chapter. We all have our challenges and trials, and some are longer and harder than others, but we all have somebody who descended below all of those challenges and trials for us. And, none of us are like Job who had his own friends reject him. I am grateful for an amazing family and friends and all of their support. 

Do good things, don't do bad things.

Love you!

Elder Wilson

Malo tau lava,

This week has been an up and down week and another transfer. We had three baptisms planned for this past week but unfortunately two of the investigator's parents didn't give them permission to get baptized which was a really big bummer. Neumai and Lui had such strong testimonies of the church and were very educated. Our other investigator Lavili was able to get baptized on Saturday. She is crazy smart, knows English almost perfectly and has an amazing voice. It was really fun to teach her and get to know her.

After 6 weeks in Longolongo I am getting transferred to... the next town over in the same Stake and same District. President called me yesterday and asked if I would serve as a zone leader in Hofoa and Puke. My new companion is Elder Teutau from Tonga. He's been out over a year and we already know each other really well cause we were in the same District. As a zone leader I get to cover the "Motu" (island) of Atata - the one I talked about last week. I think we are going to try to get out there once every week. 

I really am going to miss Longolongo and Halaovave. It was kind of a bummer that I was only there 6 weeks. I got pretty close to some people and the work was starting to get really good. But I'm in the same Stake so I'll get to see everybody again.

I love you all. The little things make the big differences, so read the scriptures.

--

Elder Wilson

One year down!

Hey Everybody,

This week was pretty memorable and I got to do some pretty sweet things - including burning a shirt on the island of Atata. Thursday was my year mark of entering the MTC. My district surprised me early that morning with a cake, then we had a water balloon fight. Then my comp and the Zones went to ATATA, which is a small island right off the coast of Tonga. There are 3 things on the island - a resort for tourists, a super small village, and uta (bush). Unfortunately I believe my SD card reader is broken so I can't sent pictures but I would look it up because it's way beautiful. We were supposed to take a tourist boat out there but they were going to charge us 70 bucks each, so we proceeded to suto (hitch hike) and find another boat going to the island. The boat ride was super sick. It was about a 40 minute ride on a boat that was very small. We filled it up with the 10 people that went over.

The Church goal of Atata is to start a branch there. There are 10-20 members on the island and church is held in the home of one of the members. We knocked all 25 houses in Atata in about 30 minutes.  Literally nobody answered us. When we got off the boat I think a minster in another church saw us and told everybody not to talk to us. But all the kids followed us around and we gave out about 30 pamphlets out to all the kids. Planting seeds. We walked all around the island in about an hour, made a fire and then slept at a member's house. Going to Motu (islands) is so fun. It always makes me feel so privileged to be in the coolest mission in the world. 

On Sunday we had a fireside for all the youth in the stake, but everybody was invited. President Tui'one came as well as the temple president. The H.E.F.Y group was also there. The last speaker of the night was the Stake President. I actually got to know this president when I first came to Tonga on the H.E.F.Y. trip two years ago and apparently he remembered me. So as soon as he gets up he says,"will the missionary who attended the HEFY trip please come up to the stand," in front of the entire stake. He then made me bear my testimony in Tongan. It was super funny. I made a joke about eating dog and everybody died laughing. It's really cool to see the connections I made from the HEFY trip.

We currently have 3 investigators who have baptism dates for this Saturday. Two are unsure because of their parents but we are going to pray and fast for them this week. We have gotten a couple of new potentials and have been working with some less actives, so work is going fine here.

Love you all.

Do good things!

Ofa atu,

Elder Wilson

Hey everybody! 

It's been another good week in Longolongo.  The last two weeks have been Rugby weeks and teams from Samoa and Fiji came to town. We live in the area right outside of the small stadium Tonga has for events like this. Tonga beat Samoa 30-26 and then lost to Fiji 14-10.  It kind of stunk because everybody was either at the game or drunk watching the game, so Saturday was kind of useless.

We have two more investigators from the ward and have found a couple of Mamalohi (less active) family's in the area to visit. Something I have learned to ask less actives is," ko fe ha taimi te ke foki hi he siasi'ni" (when will you return to our church)? The answers I have gotten are:

- When my husband goes to another Island

- When my husband's dad dies

- If I can go to America.

That's Tonga!

Elder Woods and I get along really well. But a side note is that my English is terrible. I sound so fob, and my comp just laughs. We had zone conference this past week which went really well.  I've learned that I need to use the area book more in trying to find new investigators.

I saw the H.E.F.Y group that just came to Tonga and talked to them for a little while. The trip leader for my H.E.F.Y. Tonga trip was Maddie and she came back again, and it was really cool to see her and the rest of the group. It's crazy to think that I was in Tonga two years ago.

Right before I started my mission Peter Wilson [cousin] gave me a letter. This letter is actually considered pretty legendary in my mission because it had some good advice. One time Peter was is a subway station surrounded by Japanese and felt overcome with a love for the people. Last Monday Elder Woods and I went to a fakafamili (family night thingish) with some less active members. As we sat in the one bedroom house, with the one light in the house hooked up to an old car battery I felt so much love for this family and the people of Tonga. It's insane that I'm hitting my year  mark this Thursday, time flies! I'm excited for another year in this country, especially now cause I kinda know Tongan.

Oku ou fakamo'oni oku mo'oni ae siasi pea e lava a kitautolu ke a'usia 'ae ngaahi tapuaki i he taimi te tau mo'ui aki ae ongoongolelei O Sisu Kalaisi. 

Ma'ulotu, lau ae ngahhi folofola, ofa ki he kakai kotoa pe.

Ofa Atu, 

Elder Wilson

Hey everybody,

This has been a fast week and great in terms of the work.  We had two baptisms, Nisi and Leatu'u and both went super well. I had the opportunity to baptize Nisi while Elder Woods baptized Leatu'u. Both were very solid investigators and we are now trying to work with them to get to the temple. 

I'll try to send you a picture of the baptisms next week.
 

I have been trying a lot to TALK TO EVERYBODY. I think I did a good job of talking when knocking on houses before - I would always tell my comps when knocking on doors that their eternal salvation is more important than their food - so I tried really hard to talk to people on the street this past week which is probably a skill I have been lacking. It turned out to be a good experience and we have a couple of potential investigators because of it.

Yesterday we had a lesson with a Wesleyan family of  about 30 persons living in one house. The lesson went well despite the fact that about 4 babies were crying at the same time.  One thing that sometimes frustrates me being a missionary in Tonga (and being in a companionship with two white guys) is that people are super, super respectful and have no desire to offend us at all.  But they also don't ask questions a lot of the time because they are worried about offending us. So basically every time I invite someone to be baptized they look around at the rest of the the family and say, "wha, what?"  I explain that it's their freedom and their choice, that they need a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the church for themselves. Tongan Culture is the best in the world but sometimes it's hard to express how important our message is against it. 

School's out for the Tongan kids for two weeks so we are going to do a lot of Vilo Hoa's(exchanges) with the youth.

We ate dog on Friday and are going to eat it again today. 

Ofa Atu,

Elder Wilson

Return of the Quack

Hey everybody,

This has been another good week in Tonga. Right now we have two investigators that we are looking to baptize this week. One is a 14-year-old girl whose family is Wesleyan, except for her aunt, but she has a strong desire to be baptized. We started teaching her right when I came into the area. She is amazing and probably one of my favorite investigators. She gave my favorite answer of my entire mission when we were teaching her. I asked her why she wanted to be baptized and she said because she knew that the way she could live with God and belong in his Kingdom was through receiving baptism and joining the church of Jesus Christ.

Our second investigator is in the other ward. He has been taught by missionary's for a long time but has yet to be baptized. He is very quiet but has a good group of friends who help him come to church and mutual. After their baptisms we will be looking for people to teach. As work sometimes goes in Tonga, members tell us they have people for us teach and that they will give us a time to teach them. So we are waiting on them and trying to find new investigators to teach.

We are in the same district as the sister AP's and they asked me to do a baptism which was fun. Other than that I have been getting a lot closer to the ward. School gets out next week and we are planning to try and do exchanges with all the youth.

Random things:

- I had mashed potatoes for the first time in about 11 months. That got me a little homesick. I also had the opportunity to eat bacon and honey bunches of oats.

- I had a 7 month run of cold showers and now I'm living in an old sisters MQ so they have HOT WATER. It's crazy.

--

Elder Wilson

Longolongo

Hey everybody,

This week has been a good one. It's sure a lot different here than Fatumu. To be honest I've had a little culture shocked in this area, haha. A ton of things have happened in this last week so I think I'll go with the bullets.

- Companion.  Elder Woods from Tennessee. Oh yeah! He's been out 8 months and has been in this area one transfer before me. Super tight guy.  At the end of this transfer I'll know everything about Tennessee football, haha. 

- Kolipoki.  (Elder Groberg from the Other side of Heaven, was in the quorum of seventy, one of the, if not the biggest, legends in Tonga) came to Tonga this last week. We got to have a conference with him and all the missionaries in Tonga. He and his wife are now really old, but he was amazing.  He started out in English then mid-sentence switched to Tongan and did his whole talk in Tongan. His Tongan was still crazy good for being 83 years of age. He told some cool story's about following the spirit and the priesthood. My favorite line was when he said that we should have no fear of anything. We have the power of God with us. The only thing we should be afraid of is being fakapikopiko (lazy) or not living  right. It was a really good conference and the spirit was strong.

- My area, Longolongo. My old area was probably a little bigger in size, but this place is like a town. There are people here. Comparisons between my old and new area: In my old area there were a total of three 2-story houses. Here the 2-story houses are almost every other house.  In Fatumu I would walk out of my house looked down the street and see nobody there. In Longolongo people are out walking and driving and actually going places. Fatumu had 2 shops, Longolongo has 6-7 walk-in shops, an ice cream shop and COSTLO 

Costlo is the Tongan version of Costco and all the products are the same but it's really small.  I walked in and saw ice cream sandwiches and root beer, my jaw dropped, walked down the tiny isle saw the bacon, started to tear up, turned around and saw the captain Crunch, started to bawl. I definitely dropped 30 pa'anga for a 3 pack of Captain Crunch.  I have been eating Captain Crunch everyday this week, maaaaan it's so good, (sorry Mom). 

-We cover 2 wards which are really big. At Church my last week in  Lavengatonga there was about 20 people. Here there are about 150 or so in each ward. 

- One thing about last transfer was that I spoke Tongan all day everyday. With a Tongan comp in a small area where most people work in Uta (the bush),  I didn't speak a lot of English. Here EVERYBODY speaks English. It's insane. There are a lot of people who have English as their first language. All the meetings and stuff are in Tongan but if anybody says anything in English it's alright. It's been hard because my comp and I are the two whitest guys in the mission. A red head from Tennessee and a Blond (now almost white) kid from Oregon means everybody speaks to us in English which is way annoying.  

- Two downsides of the area:

1. An insane amount of dogs. We walk down the streets in our area and are always having to fend off dogs.

2. Everybody goes to work during the day. My question is what do you do during the day when everybody is gone to work? In my old area people just worked in the bush and worked whenever they wanted. People here actually have 9-5 jobs, but the nights are way good and we get a lot done after 6.

- We have two investigators with baptismal dates on the 28th. They are both youth and both have really good fellowshipers. Nisi is super smart. We kind of have to draw out answers of Leatu'u but he's great too.

- I'm only 176! I've been losing weight.

Life has been great. I testify the church is true and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is how we find peace in our lives. 

Ofa Atu,

Elder Wilson

Hey family,

Sorry, I don't have a lot of time. After 6 months of of being in the small but amazing town of Fatumu I am finally leaving. Man I love that place too much. But I'm going to LONGOLONGO. My new companion is Elder Woods from Tennessee, my first Palangi companion, and  he is already so awesome. 

Longolongo is right next to town and there are a lot of people here. I'm finally going to see people walking on the street. I already love it here. My mission quarters is a part of the Church and I'm right next to the basketball court so life is good. But, I got sick this week and my comp got bit by a Molokau so we were very unproductive.  I'm ready to get to work in this new area. My comp told me we have 2-3 new investigators already and baptisms set up. 

I'm gonna miss Fatumu and the people. It's been my favorite area and I almost cried saying goodbye to my Bishop and his brother. That's the first place I'll go to when I come back to Tonga some day. 

Love you all. Life is great from this side of Heaven. 

Ofa Atu,

Elder Wilson

P.S. Pictures below are of the baptisms last week in Fatumu.

Papi

Hi everybody! 

This week was a pretty crazy week including a lot of fasting, getting sick again, and seeing a lot of miracles. At the start of the week we had three investigators with potential to get baptized on Saturday, but all of them were so TA'EPAU (unsure). One didn't show up to her baptismal interview on Friday and we learned that she was in town with her family and it was unclear when she was coming back. We fasted and prayed that she would be able to come back to do the interview and then be baptized. As we were walking to her house the next morning she pulled up in her family's car. We had the interview, and she was baptized. She then proceeded to give the absolute BOMB testimony at the baptism and later at church. I know that she is going to be a strong member.

What we needed to know about E and her son was their true feelings about the church. They've been taught on and off by 7-8 missionaries. We went over to her house on Thursday and she said she wanted to be baptized. I was a little skeptical and wanted to know if she understood everything that she's been taught. We asked her the baptism questions and I was blown away by her answers. I felt really good that she could be baptized with her son. She also gave a really great testimony at the baptism which went really well. My comp Elder Loto'aniu did all the baptisms. I'll make sure to send pictures next week. 

One thing I learned a lot about this week, and on my mission, is fasting. When we fast we need to have a purpose. If we fast without one it's fiekaia no ia (no eating without a purpose). But if we make a real sacrifice to God he will bless us. 

Random things:

- I have officially gone to war with the mosquitoes in our house

- Now we back at square 1, nobody to teach

- Ate fried oreos. 

Ofa Atu,

 

Elder Wilson

Hey family and friends,

This week has been a very good week. Our investigator Palu has been progressing super well. Our Bishop and his wife went to her house and talked to her parents and looked likes the baptism is going to go through this Saturday. To be honest it is kind of a miracle to have the opportunity to teach Palu. The work has been so slow in this area and having the opportunity to even teach is rare, and to find somebody to baptize is even rarer.  She is super awesome and has already been taught by missionaries before, and I can see that she already has a super strong testimony of the church. 

  

Our other two investigators, Epenisa and her son are doing iffy jiffy. We are just trying to make sure she actually has a true heart to join the church. We have a baptismal date with her on Saturday as well. We'll hope for a miracle and will work hard and see what happens.

Elder Loto'aniu and I gave talks in Fatumu yesterday and it actually went pretty well. He spoke about the Book of Mormon and I spoke about missionary work and how we need to work together with the missionaries. Maybe its because there was only 30-35 people in church, but I feel like I've been getting a lot better at giving talks in church. 

We had a ward activity night on Friday. We invited every family in the ward (5) to come to it with an activity and to invite a nonmember family to come. We started at 7... nobody was there. Fast forward 40 minutes of us feeling bad and then everybody showed up. haha. It went alright, a couple of non- member and a lot of less actives showed up. 

Besides that work has been going well, Hoping everything goes well for the baptism this Saturday. 

Ofa Atu ,

Elder Wilson

Malo e leiei,

It was super good to talk to everyone last week and the house is looking insanely nice.

  

This week was honestly a pretty long week that tested my patience. I think I had to kick youth out of our house 4 times after repeatedly telling them not to come in. Then I also got the fever and chills on Thursday and still haven't completely recovered from it. But last week is gone and this week is going to be a good one. 

The work has been going OK. We had the opportunity to teach our investigator, Palu, 3 times the past week. It's been a long time since I've actually got to teach an investigator who has a baptismal date and it's really fun. We are still waiting to know the true intent of her Dad to see if she can be baptized or not. Our other investigators have kind of gone hola (fled). We have gone to their house a bunch of times and nobody's there and we see them drive by and keep going. So we'll see about them. 

Last week randomly some less active youth came to church and told Bishop he wanted to come back to church. We have been with him a lot trying to help him stop smoking. I finally was able to make a map with all the houses, names and the church they belong to just to help out the future missionaries who are going to work in Fatumu.

One recent cool thing was a satellite conference yesterday with everybody on the islands of Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tahiti, and Marshall Islands. It was a great conference and Elder Renlund, Elder Pearson, Stephen Owens, and Sister McConkie all spoke. A lot was spoken on faith and how the family is the first defense against Satan. 

I testify that God knows us all personally and that he can help us and that he overcame everything big and small, so that we can conquer all of our problems big and small. I love you all. READ THE BOOK OF MORMON.

--

Elder Wilson

Hey Everyone,

This week has been fun and interesting. To start off, I'm training and my companion is Elder Loto'aniu from Tonga and he's amazing. He comes from town and lived right next to a missionary house so he is super excited and wants to work hard. We are going to have a lot of fun in this area.

Speaking Tongan full time really hasn't been a hard adjustment, but I'm going to try and take advantage of the fact that I have a Tongan companion to learn a lot. He also really wants to learn English. 

This week was really fun because I got to go stay with the zone leaders until my comp came from the MTC in New Zealand on Thursday. So I got to chill with my comp in the office, Elder Gardner, for a couple days.

In terms of the work it's started to pick up a little bit. We have 3 investigators right now which is a miracle in and of itself. Hopefully we can see them progressing in the next couple of weeks and find new people to teach. 

I've been thinking a lot about how much the Church of Jesus Christ and His Gospel has blessed me. Even though times can get hard, God is always there, the Plan of Salvation is always there, and Jesus is reaching out to us. 

Love you all! Sorry I didn't get a chance to respond to all your emails. I'm SUPER excited for Mothers day next week. READ THE SCRIPTURES.

Elder Wilson

P.S.  Huge shout out to Peter Wilson and his letter, guy's a legend.

Hello Family and Friends,

It has been another good week in Fatumu. This week was transfers and we got the news that Elder Manu is going to Vava'u (a different island group) and I'm staying and training. Because of that I don't yet know who my new comp is but will find out on Wednesday.  It's kind of crazy to think that I'm going to be staying here for another 6-12 weeks in these tiny towns with little really to do. But I know that if I continue to work hard then my comp. and I will be able to see blessings.

This week was a pretty cool in terms of some things that we did. Last P-day we went to a cave in our district which was really interesting.  Then we got to go to the one resort in our area, and on this side of Tonga. It's famous for being one of the best places to eat in Tonga. Elder Manu and I went on Friday and ate some Feke (octupus) and some super good pig.  Out last day together we also had the chance to Tunu puaka( roast pig over a fire) which is so amazingly good.

Another experience from last week is that I was in Fuamotu, a little more advanced area in my district, and THE JAZZ/CLIPPER game came on the screen while we were talking to the dad of the home. The picture below shows how much self-mastery I have gained on my mission. 

I love you all, and I invite you all to take the Prophet's challenge at conference and read the Book of Mormon. Kinda crazy to think that I'm training. It's gonna be fun. 

OFA ATU

--

Elder Wilson

Hey everybody,

I'm still working hard in Fatumu. Last week was our Stake Conference and on Thursday we had a family history fireside. Only about 30 people showed up, but the whole fireside was a riot, mostly because this super funny Ward Mission Leader in another ward, who is from America, got up and sang two Elvis Songs. I almost died laughing.  

On Saturday and Sunday Elder Cardon from the Area Presidency, who actually happens to be my Grandpa's cousin, came to Tonga.  I got to shake his hand and tell him we were family. haha  It was super funny. He hit me two times on the shoulder and said,"Hey Cousin" and I, still shocked from a Seventy hitting me, said,"ummm hey cuz". Pretty crazy that we made the connection 10,000 miles away from America.

Elder Cardon gave some pretty good talks. He talked about repentance and how the Priesthood is a blessing and we need to be worthy to bless others around us. He also talked about education, and how my great-great-grandma (his Grandma) said she tried to learn something new every day of her life. He said that even though in Tonga there aren't a whole bunch of opportunities to access higher learning, all of us still need to learn. It was a great stake conference with a bunch of food. President Tui'one and his wife and family came as well as the Temple President and his wife.

As far as the work goes, we found 9 new investigators last week! But one of our main investigators went back to another island which was a bummer. Hopefully we can get some of the new investigators progressing this week.

Not much else has happened this week. We have a musical fireside this Sunday and President Tui'one is coming to it and we also have transfers this next week. Time has flown this past transfer. I studied a lot this week about the Holy Ghost. I know that having the Holy Ghost's presence all the time is such a huge blessing and that we need to live worthy of it.

Love you all. Keep doing good things,

Elder Wilson

Conference

I feel like I say this every week, but for reals, it was another good one. I'll give my random things before I blow up about Conference :

1. All dog lovers will cringe, but I ate dog twice this past week. It kind of tastes like roast beef, picture attached.

2. I got to go to the Scenic Hotel and ate a burger for the first time in 8 months. 

3. Elder Manu and I had 3 really good potential new investigators this week! Then 2 fell through because their parents won't let them be baptized. But we are going to check out another one today, so we shall see.

4. Built a chicken coup.

5. I think my Tongan is actually improving. What has been hard for me was speaking as Tongans speak and not like an English speaker speaking Tongan. But I think that a lot of people are understanding me a lot better. 

As Gavin Baxter and I used to quote,"Shasta is the best thing this side of the Mississippi."  As I was pondering this great saying a thought came into my head - Conference is the best thing on both sides of the Mississippi River. We went to our Stake Center, 3 towns over, to watch it and were lucky because we could watch it English.

Something that I did this General Conference that I haven't done before was go to it with 5 questions, some of which were pretty specific. It was crazy and a testimony builder that all 5 of my questions were answered, and answered well too. My favorite talks were probably Elder Bragg about the Light of Christ and Elder Ballard on Visions, Goals, and Plans. Also I loved President Uchtdorf and President Eyring in the priesthood session. 

10 Ma'ongo'onga(great) things from Conference:

10. Family History work is central to the plan of salvation - Pres Eyring

9.  A repenting sinner draws closer to god than the self-rightous - Elder Renlund

8. The light of Christ is as real as the actual sunlight - Elder Bragg

7. All Christlike attributes are intermingled. As we develop one we influence another-

Elder Hales

6. Elder Ballard - It's our duty to listen, also to have goals and vision to increase desire.

5. Pres Uchtdorf - Be Thankful but don't inhale it. You cannot get into Heaven by campaigning for it, In leadership, don't direct, let God direct us.

4. Elder Choi- One small thing I do on my mission and in life can make huge differences throughout generations.

3. Pres Uchtdorf- Don't use fear as a motivator. Look forward with faith, not fear. Perfect love casteth out fear.

2. Elder Bednar - Called to serve, labor in a country. Worthiness is the KEY to receiving  blessings.

1. PRES EYRING - God's work isn't to be super effective but to build people up.

My favorite line of conference was the above one by President Eyring.  I realize that trying to work extra hard and smart to find new investigators isn't the most important thing. I'm also here to build people up. Other than that we have Stake Conference and I think Elder Cardon is coming who is my grandpa's cousin. Hopefully I'll be able to talk to him.

The Church is true, The men who lead this church are inspired from God, We can learn so much from listening to there words. I invite all of us to listen to words of the Prophet and gain our own testimony and read the Book of Mormon.

Ofa lahi Atu

--

Elder Wilson