Well it turns out I am on a computer again that I don´t know where the question marks are:-). 

Laura (the girl from Utah) and her family had us and an investigator over for dinner on Thursday!  Well it was lunch, and then we had a lesson with our investigator Carlos and Laura´s niece and nephew.  It was so tasty!  I got a hot pumpkin pie, it was so good!

I have to keep reminding myself that the Lord wants me here, and that I need to constantly check and make sure I am doing the things that He wants me to be doing.  Just make sure that you are doing the things that Heavenly Father would want to see you doing, and I know that will make you the person that He wants you to be.  Remember how much you are loved by not only Him, but your family here as well!  I can tell you though it is not going to be easy because Satan is going to work like crazy since you are trying to change for the better and do what is right.  I only know because he is working like crazy on me!  Scary thing is, is I know it is only going to get harder!  Stay strong!  Don´t give up hope, just work as hard as you can, keep smiling, and love.

Sounds like you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  It was SO weird not to be at home!  I had tortilla chips with cream cheese and salsa that day and thought you might be eating the same thing :-) 

This week I did a 4 braid on myself!  I can´t get the computer to load my pictures, so you´ll get lots next week and I will need to remember to take a picture of the braid.  Also I did two french braids in my hair, I´m moving up a bit, haha! 

Also we have been hearing wolves around here, and my companion keeps calling them woofs, it makes me laugh every time.

Cool story of the week, I had a rough day trying to figure out what to do with everything and we went to our cocinera´s house for lunch and she told me that she thought she needed to tell me and Hermana Treviño something.  When she told me my part I cried of course.  She told me she would never forget me because of the example I have been to her daughters.  Her oldest daughter is 15 and I met them both my first day here.  She told me that Maria Fernanda, the 15 year old after meeting me my first day was so shocked that it was my first day, and then told her Mom that because of me she wanted to serve a mission.  I have a hard time thinking that I am doing anything to help anyone since I don´t know the gospel as well as I should or the language to communicate.  That for me was an experience that meant a lot.  It is also amazing that even though sometimes I ramble off words that might not make sense with how I said them the people still let us in.  I know that it is only through the spirit that we get in to houses!  No matter where you are in the world, if you speak the language or not, if the Lord has prepared them for you even prepared them for you to plant the seed, they will let you in.  I can´t believe how important prayer is, and we are so blessed to know about it. 

Who ever reads this, please think of questions you have, or changes you want to make, or just want to feel love, whatever it is, think of that and then read Moroni 10:3-5.  Then sit there quietly thinking and pondering.  I get to go to the temple tomorrow and couldn't be more excited!  I love you all so very much, and I hope that you know that!  I hope you all have a WONDERFUL week!  To everyone that wrote to KC and I, I am working on letters back!  Love you all!
Hermana Wilcox

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

There is a girl that is in our ward that married a guy from here and she is from Ogden I think. Anyway they wanted to have a dinner with us that night with our investigator Carlos, so we are going over there.  Speaking of Carlos, he is the one that I found my first day here,  and guess what...he came to church on Sunday!!!  We haven´t been able to go over and have a lesson with him since then, but we are hoping to today, and we are really hoping that he liked church.  He had a question that he didn't want to tell us yet hoping that it would be answered at church, so I am hoping that it was. 

THANK YOU for all of the letters from the family dinner!  I love them!  I am working on getting everyone in the family written but just haven´t yet.  I have partial letters written.  I did how ever get a letter sent off to Karm this week finally, and one to Michele (who is Trinity´s Mom) she wrote me in the Provo MTC and I finally got one sent off to her.

I do have to say I talked to an Hermano in the ward that is excited to help me find some rocks.  Rock hounding continues in Guatemala!  Solo on p-days when we have time, but still!  You should look up the Jade factory in Antigua, I guess they have a huge one!  I only saw all of the little shops that sold the already done jewelry or figurines and such.

 Happy Birthday to Papa and Avery and Kelly!  I thought about you all on your birthday´s and we sang to you in Spanish and I had a sucker or chewed a piece of gum in the house for celebration:-)  They have fabulous suckers here called yogurt suckers!  They are like blow pops but instead of gum inside it is a starburst type thing!  Also they have all kinds of chips!!!  I love trying them, and have found some that are like willy wonka have a whole meal in a piece of gum, but it´s in a chip.  It is so weird but great. 

I got a letter from Gram and Papa this last week, and also Hna y Hno Harrison and Tamera and Daeneese and a Dear Elder from Brother Schmidt!  It sounds like we are all kind of experiencing the same struggles and such.  I am so amazed still with how hard it can be and how much work it takes to really know the Gospel, and it is still a life long process, but how easy it is to forget.  I just heard that Hostess shut down, that is sad because as gross as this is I´ve been wanting a twinkie! 

Preach My Gospel is such an amazing book and teaches us the basics in a simple way, read it and study it.  But most importantly read the scriptures as a family and pray before and after.  I know only through prayer that I am understanding the Book of Mormon more than I ever have.  I still don´t completely understand it all the time, but I love reading it!  Well here is just a few pictures, I didn´t get many this week.  I hope you know how much I love all of you and I am so grateful to all of you!  Have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!!  Love you all!
SLY,
Hermana Wilcox

Photos

There are views from the roof of my house, the panos!  The volcan de agua from my house, a my favorite flowers and I don`t remember what else.  Oh pictures of a catholic church in Santa Maria which is part of my area.  Love you!

Photos

Earthquake

Well I will start off by saying it was awesome.  Not for a lot of people around here though, it really scared everyone.  For some reason I didn't think it was very strong, and then we heard it was a 7.2 earthquake.  There wasn't any damage in our area that we have seen or heard of, but I guess that a house went down in our zone, but that is all I have heard.  From now on we are supposed to call our zone district leaders anytime we have an earth quake, I have a feeling more are coming.  We had another one on Sunday and it was 6.8, but wasn't as long as the first one was. 

We had zone meeting a couple of weeks ago and President and Hermana Brough gave us all a emergency plan and told us what we need to have and do and such, and we will all have 72 hour kits and such.  After that I knew something is going to happen that is big.  My companion and I actually don`t have our emergency booklets yet so hopefully we`ll get them tomorrow.  We get to go to change meeting tomorrow even though we aren't being changed since my companion is the retention leader for the mission. I am very excited to see all of the new missionaries come in!  It is VERY weird to think that I have been in the field for 6 weeks already, in 6 more I get to call home for Christmas!!!

We are teaching our neighbors, I think I mentioned that last week, but they came to church again.  I really hope they will progress!  Jorge and Carmen are their names.  Jorge doesn't have much of a back ground with church and Christ and our Heavenly Father, so he has a lot of questions, but I know we can help him!  I am excited for them!  We had an amazing experience the other day!  My companion and I had both planned on Studying the Book of Mormon for personal study and I could not concentrate on what I was reading and felt I needed to study Eternal Marriage for a less active family that is working hard on coming to church.  Familia Marenco.  They are amazing!  So I studied, and for some reason I felt like we needed to tell her that she will have children if they do all that they can to live the Gospel and go to the temple together.  Hermana Treviño shared first of what she had studied and to my surprise she had the EXACT experience I did!  We studied all the same scriptures, and she also felt like we needed to tell them they will have children.  Side note, they haven`t been able to, which made it even cooler.  The lesson with them that night was amazing, and I think really helped.  I hope they keep working forward to the temple. 

Which brings me to another point.  I have realized more and more the importance of the temple and attending it!  Those of you that are close to a temple, please go this week!  People are waiting for you to do their work, and they can`t do it with out us.  Even though it is a lot for others, and you might not realize it, but we need to go to the temple for ourselves too.  We might not realize we are learning something, I don`t realize it, but we do each time, even if it is just to feel of the love and spirit there.  Annie and Ron that is so exciting, it`ll be different to come home and have you all there all the time!  How fun!  Well here is to posting some pictures!  Love you all, thank you for your prayers and all of your support, I definitely need it!
SLY!
Hermana Wilcox

Let Gram and Papa, and Grandma and Grandpa know that they can e-mail me and I can e-mail them back, everyone else can e-mail me, I just print them off and write them back.  Anyway as for this week the Hermano that got baptized got confirmed, and we had our neighbors come with us to church, it was really great.  They are really funny, but sadly are moving.  We still haven´t found a new house yet, and the owner of the house that we are in now is funny...member how I said our shower head caught on fire when I was in there, well we told her and she told us to get a new shower head then her husband would install it.  So that is what we did, but out of no where we had a different shower head...that doesn't work.  We found out they had taken the shower head from their house and installed it in our house, then they said well what are you going to do with the new one you got (thinking we didn't already know the one they put in was broken).  Interesting, interesting!  Anyway we just continue to take bucket baths, when we have water.  There has been no running water for a few days, it will come on for a bit every once in a while, so we fill buckets up at those times, it is pretty great! 

Mom thanks for the recipes!  You are the greatest!  Would you be willing to send me Grams bread recipe too:-) oh and a zuchinni bread recipe. Creepiest thing ever that honestly scared me, I contacted a bus last week and was giving this man a pamphlet and looked up and he took a picture, I think I even smiled in it...I called president that night because I didn't want some random picture to be out with a lone sister and this man.  Yep I have been made fun of for doing it, but I know something would have happened if I didn't do that, and President was great and kind about it.  So some man in the city has my picture. 

Jasmine flowers are in bloom and everywhere, they smell fabulous!  and orchids COVER the trees here, I can´t wait until they are in bloom to take pictures and send them to you!  For Halloween the area seventy asked that all missionaries go in at 6 pm.  I think it freaked my companion out a bit, she kept wondering what was going to happen.  It was really comforting to know that as long as we followed what we were asked to do we would be safe.  I have heard different stories as to why, but I will have to share that with you all later.  Nothing happened to anyone, so that is the great news.  I am thankful for the wards at home.  Here is different, their version of huge is tiny...and it is a bit stressful because they use that as an excuse for not knowing people.  It is so important to know our Brothers and Sisters in the Gospel, we are here to help each other learn and grow.  Like your poem you always say Dad.  You have no idea how much I think about that poem constantly!  We have decided as a companionship we want to find all the less actives that we can and activate them. 

Over all this is an amazing experience!  This week was really hard for me, like really hard.  Sadly I know it isn't the last of the hard times, but I pray that I will become the best person I can absolutely become!  Hey can I get Devon´s address to write him?  Well we don´t have an adapter for pictures this week, I will buy my own in the next week hopefully to send the amazing pictures I have. Oh what is going on with storms or something in the states?  And let me know about the elections!  It is so weird to be in the world but not of it, I never understood that before. 

I got some really cool things in Antigua yesterday too, can´t wait to show you all!  Know that I love you all, and you are constantly in my prayers!  I thought I knew what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is, but it turns out I feel like I know nothing.  I think before I was a Sunday Mormon, and I hope right now I can change that.  Study Preach My Gospel as a family and work together!  I want to be the best member and missionary that I can be.  It is amazing how hard Satan fights when you try to do what´s right, and he´ll put you down like no one has ever before, but you gotta keep going!  Prayer is the only way I feel like I am getting through it right now, and going out and getting lost in the work by trying to just testify. I love you all, have a great week!  Keep me posted on everything!  I want to know how you all are doing! 
SLY,
Hermana Wilcox

Photos

October 30th

Well Happy Halloween tomorrow!  We don´t do anything here, and actually all week we have had numerous people ask us how the church views Halloween.  Many people here feel like it is a day of worshiping evil.  But they do celebrate November 1st which is Day of the Dead.  It will be neat to see what they do.  I don´t remember if I told you last week, but for district pday we carved pumpkins and my companion and I carved a pumpkin into a watermelon:-)

Well we had a baptism this week!  His name is Hermano Borrayo (he is the one that got married last week)  His wife is was a less active and they have a 4 year old little boy.  It was really weird because you don´t really feel like you had a baptism, but then last night we had a lesson with them and you can see and feel the world of difference in their home.  It is a really neat thing to see and I can´t wait to keep bringing that same change to others!  Especially families! There is another family that I love!  Familia Ajvix.  She had had lessons with the Elders that were in our area before, and they talked about the restoration with her and didn´t talk to her after that and she was very confused because she had so many questions and had prayed about Joseph Smith.  Now we are back and she is wonderful.  She is so amazingly strong and faithful, she said she would get baptized if she got the answer it is true and knows that Joseph Smith is a very special person, and is praying about him again.  The Hermano is great too, he is much quieter in the lessons so I am not sure what he is thinking right now.  We have met with a couple of less active members and recent converts lately and even people that we are teaching that I can tell really needed our message right then.  There are so many problems with Law of Chastity here, it is heart breaking!  Oh we also are teaching a Priest of a different church here that is a common one, I hope the lessons keep going well.

So there is this guy that every morning walks down our street saying very loudly Queso Fresco, because that is what he is selling.  But every time he comes I just laugh because it sounds like Bring out your dead, from Monty Python (I think that is what it is from).  Then there are cars here that have announcer things on them and there are a couple of cars in-particular that when the guys talk it is JUST like the guys on Better Off Dead when they are getting ready to race, it cracks me up!

Next funny note...our shower head started smoking hard core the other day when I was in the shower, then the next day we just wanted to see if it would do it again and yep but a lot more.  We are pretty sure there was a fire inside, so we´ve been taking bucket baths.  It´s super exciting really!  Then I told my companion the other day that we needed tp and after about 5 minutes she started laughing really hard and said I JUST got that, I asked what she was talking about and she said tp stands for toilet paper!  I was always confused when people would say tp a house I thought they were talking about teepees you know like the Native American teepees.  That gave me a good laugh!  We also have dogs on roofs here and there is a white one that I swear can smell us from miles and doesn't like us when we come around.  He hides in a corner and watches us around the corner then goes ballistic when we walk down the alley.  He is terrifying!

Well I have a couple of requests if anyone feels up to sending me a package at Christmas:-)  I need more little socks and thick tights.  And I would love to have some recipes sent to me if possible...ranch dressing, crepes, and cinnamon rolls.  Those are of utmost importance, but more would be fabulous!  Guess what I got this week too!  Peanut Butter!!! YUM.

Well that is about all, I love you all and hope you are doing well.  Thanks for the e-mails from Annie and Sus Quartey!  Annie it is so weird that Rex is home, how is he doing!?  I think about him often.  How is Dev!?  I think about him as well.  How is everyone doing with their new houses on the Carter side, and how is all the family Carter and Wilcox sides doing.  I think about you all often!  Also thank you to the Harrisons for always writing, I love the letters always!  How are the Wadsworths and Adaiza Rae, and Desi and Schmidts and really everyone? Oh turns out we didn't get to go hiking on Monday, but I did meet a couple of members here that are going to give me some rocks!  Antigua next week, and I hear there is a Jade factory there that we´ll see if I can get some neat pieces:-) Love you all.  Keep working hard and remember that if it is for the Lord vale la pena!  Have a Wonderful week!
SLY,
Hermana Wilcox

Photos

We are going to Antigua in a few weeks so I want to try and find some fun things, also we get to go hiking next week! We are going on a hike next week and then to Antigua the next week for pday, so I will be looking for some great rocks!  That guy sounds really great though that you all met.  Kaela the weather is very much rainy!  I even got rain boots this last week, and when it rains it RAINS!  It is SO cool though!  I will have to attach more pictures from my camera next week since the internet was not downloading them but here are a few.  So this week we found a girl that is 14 and has a two month old baby boy, we are teaching her and her Mom and I hope we can help them.  They are so sweet, but it is such a sad situation.  They hadn't eaten in 3 days and literally have no money.  Everyone acts like they have never seen someone from North America, but it is really funny.  The kids get really excited and say greenga!  Then go tell their friends or family all about it.  It is hilarious!  The older people it is just weird.  It is amazing how many people are members all over the world, but really don´t live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Yes it is hard because that is when the trials come, but that is also when the blessings come!  Study preach my gospel, it helps so much.  This is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but I know it is so worth it!   Tell The Giles hello from me, I got their email and loved it.  Also Desi and her Mom, and everyone else while your at it!    Well I will write more next week, I love you all!  Oh we had a wedding last week and will have his baptism this weekend.  More next week! SLY!
Love
Hermana Wilcox!

Well I am not really sure how to explain this week... I got letters this week from Gram and Papa, Daiza, Grandma and Grandpa, Brother and Sister Harrison, Daeneese, and Schmidts and I think that is it, most of them were sent at the end of August and for some reason I am just now getting them, but they were very much loved, so if you could tell all of them how much I appriciated them!  I pray that Elisa is doing well and will continue to do well!  She is such an amazing strength to me.  Congrats to JoAnne and Juan for their home!  I want pictures!  As well as Linda and Joe, and Kalie and Jason!  Sounds like all is exciting at home! 

Elder Moon from Gram and Papa´s ward is great, and KC he told me to say hello, and asked how you were doing.  Well it looks like my companion and I get to find a new home, the one that we are in we discovered loads of mold last night!  Nasty!  It has come back numerous times, so we might have to move.  I kinda like the house though, it´s pretty fun.  We went to a store called Mega Paca yesterday, I think Mom and Kaela would love it.  I got this really great dress for basically 1.50 US Dollars, and a long sleeve shirt for about 2.  So here they pronounce my name Wilcosh, and I love it!  It is so great, Wilcosh by many people and Willie by many elders.  Oh also Linda Pierce, that lived by us in the town house, her grandson is in my Zone right now.  He is great, we got a picture together and he´s sending a copy to his grandma! 

Also yesterday was cool!  We had an aftershock of an Earth Quake!  It felt so cool!  I am not really sure how to explain it, it is a totally different feeling.  My companion said that is one of the biggest she has ever felt here, but I thought it was small.  We were talking to one of our investigators last night too, and he was telling us that there was one the other morning at about 4:30 and he had been up reading the Book of Mormon.  He said because he was crossing his legs they were so asleep he couldn´t move, but knew that if he held the Book of Mormon he would stay safe.  It was a really neat experience to see that The Book of Mormon can bring someone so much comfort!  Funny thing is, is that we had no idea there had been an earth quake...we were sound asleep.  haha! 

So I have been thinking that I am going to dye my hair darker brown...It is really hard for me to do, but I am tempted hoping that I will look a little more Latina and the men in the streets will stop being such creeps all the time.  What do you all think? 

This week was pretty cool.  We got new goals as a mission, one of which is to baptize 50 families next month,  and  350 baptisms in January. I am so excited for this!  Sadly one of the families we were going to have a wedding and the Dad was going to get baptized this coming week decided to get a bit drunk with his dad, so now they will just be getting married, and he will hopefully be baptized in a few weeks.  It was a cool experience though because I had let the Sister barrow my jacket at church since she was freezing and she went home with it.  We stopped by simply to get my jacket and she had been crying since she couldn´t get a hold of her Mom and didn´t know where to find us. It was so neat thinking that we were going to simply get my jacket, but really we were there because she was praying that we would help. And there we were!  It is very neat to be apart of an experience like that!   We have a lot of work to do, but we will find them.  I can´t even explain how important members are in the work! 

I know that Our Heavenly Father loves me and each one of you!  We have a loving Savior that knows exactly how we feel, at all times.  Yesterday when I was having a really hard time, my companion helped me realize that.  D&C 6:22-23 is a scripture that I keep thinking about, and try to always remember.  I have to have more patience with myself and put all my trust in the Lord and know all will be good, as long as I am doing my part.  I love you all!  Thank you for all of your support! I would really love it if you would keep me in your prayers, especially for safety and patience.  I love you all, and know that our Heavenly Father loves you all, I pray that we will each come closer to knowing Him as we grow closer as a family.  Have a great week!
SLY,
Hermana Wilcox