Week #9

Hola Familia,

This week was great in Pompeya. I´m still getting used to the culture and the mission life, but all is going well. I want to share some stories of things that happened this week. 

Miguel, the recent convert who is blind, received his patriarchal blessing and Elder White and I got to go and listen to it. I didn´t understand much but I did hear that he would have the chance to have an eternal family. I began to think about that. What a blessing! Eternal families are incredible. No matter how hard it is to be away from home, it´s always comforting to know that I´ll be with you guys forever. Whenever I think about that, I feel peace and the love of God and I want others to feel the same so badly! 

While contacting, Elder White answered his phone and I knocked on a door so I was by myself speaking to the old woman that answered the door. I invited her to come to church and she said that she couldn´t. (I didn´t understand everything that was happening haha) Elder White was standing right behind me and we started talking to her. She began to open up and she started crying. Her husband is really sick and she was so grateful that we stopped by. I almost started crying because I bet she was going through such a hard time. We´re teaching her later this evening and I´m so excited. We left her with a prayer and right before we left, she clasped my hand and stared into my eyes. It was probably like 5 seconds but it felt like forever. She´s ready for the gospel, I could see it in her eyes. The Spirit was incredible. I had the feeling to ask her to give her husband a blessing and she told us to stop by Monday which is today. I´m excited to teach her.

We also found Pablo and Vileria. He was smoking, but they were open to the gospel. We taught them the first lesson and I can honestly say that I´ve never thought so clearly in Spanish, even though I still struggled a lot while teaching. The spirit was strong. The gift of tongues is amazing. However, they didn´t come to church yesterday. It was disappointing. Hopefully all is well. We talked to them yesterday and we´re going to keep teaching them. They have the cutest baby, Dillan, who is one month old.

Well it rains a lot in Pompeya and the umbrella I brought is weak! It broke the first day. So when I get my money, I´ll have to buy a new one.

Other than that, I´ve already learned so much on the mission and just how much I need to rely on the Lord. We´ve seen miracle after miracle with how much the Lord blesses His missionaries.

Thanks for all the love and prayers, they mean a LOT. And I hope all is well with my friends back home. 

Go Provo! Tell Chase congrats. He´s a stud.

Love Elder Bosco II

Never forget that families are ETERNAL. Like really... FOREVER!

Week #8

Ya Fue!

Hola Familia,

What a week! Traveling was crazy but I made it safely to Argentina. My companion is Elder White and he´s from Riverton. He´s been out a year and I´m SO glad he´s my companion. We got straight to work and I put my wallet in my bag before we went tracting, IN THE CHAPEL. Well we got back and on the way to our area, we noticed that our stuff was stolen. My wallet with some cash and my debit card card. My passport, temple recommend, and drivers license were safe though. And the robber stole the phone that I was going to toss anyway. [Wes had a pay as you go phone to call us from the airport] All is well, I hope he bought something nice with the cash. And I´m sorry for the extra charges that it takes to get a new debit card. I´ll be okay until it gets here. The robber took Elder White´s wallet and camera. I can´t believe he didn´t take my camera haha that was lucky. So we´ve been having a great time with the money that we have left for this month. I already feel like I´ve known Elder White my entire life. He reminds me of Lincoln Salmon. Imagine serving a mission with Lincoln, I know... the BEST! 

The week before Elder White came and got me, his ex companion almost burned the pension down so where we live is a bit interesting. It´s been a great adventure. We´re cleaning today haha. I´ve learned a lot this week about putting off the natural man. That is my ultimate enemy. If I can put off what I think I need, all is well and I´m happy. When I think of myself, it´s hard. That´s why the mission is so great. 

We serve in a beautiful area and the beach is part of our area but I haven´t had the chance to see it yet. The area is called Mar del Plata and the area is Pompeya. The Pompeya ward is so nice and they are all so welcoming. Our investigators didn´t come to church on Sunday, but I received compliments on my castellano when I bore my testimony and introduced myself. We´re working on getting the ward to work with us as missionaries. The person that works with us the most is Miguel. He joined the church 4 months ago and he´s blind. We sometimes take him to the church and read the Book of Mormon to him. He´s been a great example to me. 

Tracting is fun and interesting because so many people don´t understand the importance of the gospel! I bear my testimony as often as I can but for now, I´m learning a lot. Elder White has taught me a lot. I´m trying to eat healthy, but there´s so much deep fried stuff and Ive kind of been forced to drink the water. The Lord will keep me healthy haha. And my Spanish is decent. I don´t understand much, but occasionally I´ll understand a few sentences. It will come with time so I´m not too worried.

Tell Collin good luck for school and all of the farewells you go to, tell them good luck. If there is one thing I´ve learned this week, it´s this. Mosiah 3:19. Put off the natural man. When something happens that´s difficult or stressful. Have the faith to say ya fue, or in other words, oh well. And KNOW that the Lord will take care of you. He´s definitely taking care of me.

Thanks for all the prayers and love. I feel it every day. Love you!

Love Elder Bosco II

At the Argentina MTC (where they ate lunch)

Buenos Aires Temple (En Route to Bahia Blanca)

With Elder Isom (one of his best friends from High School)

Elder White (his Trainer and companion)

"The living conditions look crazy, and they are, but all is well! I´m a missionary, not a king!"

Week #7

Wesley left the MTC for Argentina today.
First we received this picture from Alexis' friend who takes the frontrunner to work everyday. Thanks Ryne. There were 80 missionaries on Frontrunner/trax that left the West MTC. 60 of them were going to Argentina. 12 0r 13 are going to Bahia Blanca.

He told us that he placed a Book of Mormon with two Norwegians who were on their way back home to Norway after visiting here.

Then we received a call from Elder Bosco from the SL airport. It was good to talk to him. Hard to say another goodbye though.

Before he left for Atlanta though he ran into Tom Holmoe on his way to somewhere else on Delta

Thanks Tom for delivering the letter and taking the picture!

He then called us from Atlanta for one last goodbye (no it doesn't get easier). And then just minutes before boarding their flight to Buenos Aires, was able to give away another Book of Mormon to a family who was looking for knowledge of Christ. Wow- What a day- and it's not over yet.

Elder Bosco should arrive in Buenos Aires at 9:00 AM Argentina time (6:00 am our time). Tuesday Morning and then take a plane? bus? to Bahia Blanca.  So, we probably won't be getting a letter until next Monday's  P-Day.
Best of Luck Elder Bosco II with the Best Two Years of your Life....
We will miss you. We love you. We know that you will be an AWESOME missionary!!

WE'LL KEEP YOU POSTED!

Week #6 Adios Provo - Voy a Argentina

Hola Familia!

I can't believe that I'm done with the MTC. It was been one of the greatest experiences ever. The Spirit is incredibly strong wherever you go. The presence of the Lord is definitely felt often. Thanks for the update on the family. I can't believe I'm leaving the United States for two years. Wow!! haha I'm sending home all of the stuff I don't need. Wish me luck on the packing and getting ready. It's going to be a long flight. I was pretty sad today because it was the last time that I get to go to the temple for a while. The Spirit was incredible. And I realized once again that this work is much greater than me. I read D&C 138 in the chapel and I'm not going to lie, I teared up a little walking to the endowment room. The work in the temple is real and the power that I receive from the temple is real. I asked the Lord if He thinks I'm ready for Argentina. And the greatest feeling of power came over me. I could picture the Lord coming up to me and saying, "Wes, stop worrying! You have been endowed with power from on high." I'm so grateful to have made covenants with Heavenly Father and I'm so grateful for the power that He's promised me. The temple is great. If you are reading this letter and you haven't been endowed yet. Do me a favor. Live in a way that will enable you to go to the temple. It has been the GREATEST blessing in my life. And I already know that it will bless me so much during these next two years. I also got to see Tom and Lori Holmoe in the temple. What a great blessing! They took a picture so hopefully you can get that from them.

Elder Bosco with Tom and Lori Holmoe

This week I wanted to share with everyone some thoughts that I had about obedience. Obedience is the first law of Heaven. We've been commanded, "...see that ye serve Him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength." If that's a commandment, how in the world am I supposed to do that?? Then a scripture popped into my head. 1 Nephi 3:7. "For I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them..." The answer came to me. The Lord has provided a way for me to serve Him with everything that I've got. It's rules, commandments, and guides. The White Hand Book has strict rules, but the rules all help us serve Heavenly Father with all that we've got. Even the rule of going to bed on time and waking up. I believe that as we strive to live these rules, the Lord will bless us with extra energy and strength so that we can serve Him with greater power. Also, showing Heavenly Father that we are willing to obey little rules shows Him that we are willing to obey the little promptings of the Spirit. He will continue to bless us with more as we show Him our diligence to be obedient. Another thing is that rules, whether given in the scriptures or by the General Authorities, are all the same. They are from the Lord. "Whether by mine own voice of by the voice of my servants, it is the same." (D&C 1:38) It's as if the Lord himself is telling us how to live our lives. The guidelines He's blessed us with are the scriptures and Preach My Gospel. I have a testimony of obedience. And I know that Obedience brings Power. Remember that. I hope to be an obedient missionary. It's one of my highest goals. President Monson said (paraphrased), "It's easier to keep the commandments 100% of the time than it is to keep them 98% of the time." Think of how you can be more obedient to the Lord this week and I promise you that He will help you accomplish your goal.

Thank you for all the letters, prayers, and love. Mom, I'm going to send home some letters for you to send to people. And Dad, can you do me a favor? There's a teacher here that is a HUGE fan of yours. His name is Hermano Stewart. I'm pretty sure his first name is Russell but I'm not sure how to spell it. If you could, could you send him a picture and a signature or maybe just a signature? It would make him so happy! Other Elders in another district were telling me how he was going to tease me until I got him one. But he hasn't talked to me about it. So I'm just gonna surprise him. haha thanks!

I can't wait to talk to all of you on the phone in the airport. It's going to be a looong flight. I think I'm going to buy a Spanish book with my extra MTC cash and study it on the plane. Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers. Voy a Argentina! Love you all!

Love Elder Bosco II

Elder Bosco and Elder Bates (they played baseball together a few years ago and will be traveling to their mission together)

MTC Branch Presidency  Bro.Hughes, Pres. Pickering, Bro. Hartman

Elder Dastrup (6'8" playing for BYU when he returns)

Gabriel- an investigator in the TRC

Elder Papke and Elder Bosco

Companions for a few more days- Elder Swanson and Elder Bosco