Week 11 Letter

Monday, August 29, 2016

So not a whole lot of time, but how is everything? I had to spend a lot of email time on mission stuff. 

This week was a really big learning curve for me. I studied a lot of humility. As much as I would like to know Spanish right now, that is not going to happen. Part of humility is willing to struggle. That sounds awful, but it is true. I need to rely more on the Lord for help in not only Spanish, but in all things. So, every morning, the first thing that I do is smile, and then pray with more intent, trying every day to become a better missionary. D&C 11 has been a great help. 

This week we rescued another less active! Hermana Eiko. She and her husband were married in the temple 8 years ago; he’s a returned missionary, and they have a 3 year old boy who is so stinking cute. But her husband studies in the University and works every day, and so they stopped going to church. We have worked with her and they both come to church now and she is preparing to go back to the temple. She is so awesome. I love teaching her. She has such a strong testimony and is a huge example to her family. 

This week for Pday I made cookies! It is so different baking here where supplies are little and the kitchen is WAY different. Mom, you should never complain about having a small kitchen again. Hahaha. But ya, pretty fun. 

Y'all should google image Peruvian dogs.....just do it. 

I LOVE YOU ALL! 

PS - Think of me every time you eat any form of pig...because I can't eat it. Nope. Nada. Hahaha. 

How fun to be at the lake!  Not gonna lie, I miss the lake, but that’s ok. How was Torey? And butterscotch is the prettiest dog I have ever seen for a while. The dogs here are so nasty, mixtures of every kind. Google image Peruvian dogs, right now. They are the ones without hair...they are so nasty. Especially when dead on the side of the road. 

I just saw a dead guy on the street with his shirt ripped open...but I am great! Ya, I didn’t get close to see if there was blood...Hahaha. But ya…

Week 10 Letter

Monday, August 22, 2016

Another week! Crazy how time flies. So crazy. For starters, I gave a talk in church yesterday so that was fun. It was for 15 minutes, but the first 2 speakers were so short...I can’t improvise in Spanish yet!!! So luckily I know a lot of scriptures thanks to seminary. ;) We went to the temple on Saturday with our new convert and her daughter and others in the ward for baptisms. It was so great. We couldn't do baptisms, but we got to watch. Incredible. I am so glad that Vicky got to go. The Trujillo temple is amazing. I have tons of pics that I will try to send. But no promises. 

This week was a lot of work, and a lot of hardships with investigators, but as a missionary, you always have days and weeks like that. It’s never perfect. But it is heartbreaking when people don’t keep their commitments, or when other things happen. So, we will just work harder this week. D&C 122:7, 9 says ''all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good...HOLD on thy way.'' I know that I have been blessed for serving a mission, and will only continue to be blessed. Miracles happen every day, and I learn so much every day about gratitude. I need to hold on and endure, working harder and harder each day. We should ''waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness...let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed'' (D&C 123:13, 17). These are some powerful scriptures that bring a lot of inspiration to me in the field. I just finished my first transfer, so I have been reflecting a lot. I have worked hard, but I can waste and wear out my life in the work a little more each day.  

Today we made lunch with the bishop’s wife and family. So fun! They are really great people, so humble. They are great. I really don’t even know what else to say...I found a dandelion, and that was such a miracle and tender mercy! I LOVE YOU ALL! 

Think of me when you eat soft bread...or bread that isn’t like a crouton. Haha. 

Love, Hermana Lee

PS - So, Wed I hit 12 weeks in the mission and Spanish...I am starting to question your parenting skills a little bit...YOU SENT DANNY TO SCHOOL AFTER ONE SUMMER OF ENGLISH?????? WHO ARE YOU?????? Hahaha. No, I would never question you guys and Danny must be way smarter than me. Hahaha. Love ya! 

Here is a couple more. Maybe one day I can send a USB home with all my pics. So tender mercies this week, dandelion and cereal with yogurt. I had that in the MTC all the time, but never in the field. SOOOO GOOOD: it was cereal kind of like golden/sugar puffs but more styrafoamy...but so good with strawberry yogurt. Ahhh, way good. The yogurt is runnier here, so people drink it. And it doesn’t need to be cold. Just know that when I come home, I will want cereal and yogurt every morning. 

We made food at the bishop’s house today! Not the most sanitary, but I am sure I will live.  The bishop’s baby is so cute. Hardest rule to follow is not to hold babies! Also the pic of the ''dough'' is not dough. It’s mashed potatoes with egg, oil and a whole lot of flour. Haha. The pic of the plate with the food, the pasta looking stuff is the dough of potatoes. This is food from Argentina, where my comp is from. The bishop’s wife also lived in Argentina for a while. LOTS of prep time. 

Week 9 Letter

Monday, August 15, 2016

Hola!!!!

So this week was the busiest but best week that we have had; so full of miracles. For starters, we had a baptism! Hermana Vicky is incredible. It was a long journey, but she is now a member and has the Holy Ghost. For the first time, I felt such a strong Christ like love for someone. I know that sounds horrible, because I love lots of people dearly, but as I hugged this weeping woman, this daughter of God, I could only imagine the Savior hugging her. It was an incredible experience that I can’t really explain, but just know that it was good. We also had a rescued soul, a less active who is now active. We treat them like an investigator, so they need all the lessons, 3 weeks of church attendance and stuff like that. We started teaching her just over 3 weeks ago. Her name is Nancy. Every time we taught her, I felt the Spirit so strong. In our final less active lesson with her last night, we taught about the temple and eternal families. Her mom and sister passed away a long time ago and her husband 3 years ago. We testified so much about temple work and eternal families. She is super excited to do family history, and to prepare to be sealed to her husband. She is Golden, so strong, and I am so happy for her. Miracles.

Last pday we went to the zoo as a district. Super fun. LOTS of monkeys. I love monkeys they are so fun and super smart. We fed them crackers, and another Elder had candy, so it was fun watching the monkeys turn down crackers and try to steal the Candy out of Elder Chocavillcas back pack. We held some too. That was super fun. They are so cute.

Sometimes as a missionary, you just have to learn to have no shame. Por ejemplo, sometimes you just don’t have water in your apartment, so no showering and you drink less water so you don’t have to go to the bathroom so often. And when you finally get to shower, it’s in someone else’s house, so you walk through Peru in your PJs. But we have water in our bathroom now so al is well.

This week, we had a meeting with all the missionaries from my group and their trainers. Everyone was so glad to see that I was still alive. I guess Esperanza has a huge stigma of being super-duper dangerous. That’s why there were no sisters here before. But ignorance is bliss, and we are fine. We did have an experience of where exact obedience is so important, because we were walking through this part of our area, rushing home from a lesson so that we would be on time. Well, the next day, we returned for another lesson with another investigator in that area. Just after we walked through that area, she got robbed and saw a huge fight and someone kill themselves so…..ya, exact obedience is pretty important. But miracle, we haven’t been robbed yet and it has almost been a whole transfer, so keep your fingers crossed. Haha.

Seriously, I love being a missionary. You learn new things every single day. The love of God for all of His children is so real! I Love you all!!!!

Think of me when you eat popcorn…….. 

Hermana Lee

PS - I can’t send pics.....so maybe I will send them next week

Week 8 Letter

Monday, August 8, 2016

Monday, August 8, 2016

Hola Famlee! It looks like I am back to Word Docs so that I can send pics. How goes life? Peru is pretty crazy…crazy awesome!

So, we have an investigator getting ready for baptism. She is wonderful. So full of the light of Christ. IT has been a long process of conversion, and she has come a long way. But she will make it. I can’t wait for when she goes to the temple. She has a granddaughter named Allysen, which is a really unique name here. My first thought when I heard it was ¨wow, how pretty of a name! ¨and then I was like, oh, that’s my name! I forgot that my first name isn’t Hermana. Haha.

Last week for Pday our zone went to the mall in Trujillo. It is pretty Americanized. I bought a backpack because those are allowed here and my bag had broken twice and sewn twice, so I just got a backpack. We ate Subway, but not American subway. Not gonna lie, I was disappointed and wanted rice. I am already turning Peruvian. I do miss American pizza though, and American cheese. For FHE we had Pizza with a family. It was good, and we probably broke rules by eating it, but I am still alive. We had a Mormon Fashion ward activity. That was pretty fun. Our ward is great. For dessert we had fruit and yogurt. Well, we are only allowed to eat fruit with peels, so no grapes and especially no strawberries EVER. So the saddest thing ever was eating everything but the grapes and strawberries. So sad. For reals. I did eat guava for the first tie. Very interesting.

So, there is this ditch type thing that we walk by a lot. IT has a lot of dead cats in it. We don’t know why, because cats can jump out if it, but every couple of days there is a new dead cat…spooky. Just a random thought.

We have 3 investigators on date for this month and so far 2 for next month. We have had so many miracles. We have one investigator who we found looking for someone else. She came to church with us and loved it. She has really grasped on to the idea of prophets, and loves learning. This week we have so many appointments with new references so that is awesome. President is really big on getting referrals, especially in our area.

Missions are hard but in a much different way than I thought. It’s hard having patience with myself and the language, but I know that the Lord will help me since He wants me here. Thanks for all your prayers!

Love you all!  Hermana Lee

Think of me every time you eat a grape or strawberry.

Think of me every time you crave a cupcake, or any kind of dessert, and then eat it.

Think of me every time you eat cheese…especially you Shiloh.

Week 7 Letter

Monday, August 1, 2016

Hola!!! How goes your lives? The mission is great. Today is my 2 month mark on the mission. Crazy. Time flies. So, really quick, we live in the top floor of a familias house. So we walk through their living room area every day to leave. Well, one day, the little boy was watching megamind, and another day wild kratts. I could only smile as I pictured Jet and Levi and Ryan. Good stuff. Anyways. The work is moving miracle after miracle! We have 3 investigators on date for this month. We are working and praying so hard for them. Alejandro is 20. He met with missionaries in the past, but his mom is really catholic and anti. But we have had members like the bishop come to lessons with us. He is so sincere and has such a great testimony. So hopefully all goes well for the 20th. Hermana Vicky is also a huge miracle. Her daughter is 12 and was baptized a couple months ago. Vicky loves the church and has had the lessons now three times, but has finally accepted to live all the commandments. We have worked so hard with her. And last week, she got offended by another member and so all hope was lost, BUT NO! Never! Hope is never lost. I am reminded by that every day because I am in Esperanza, or in ingles, hope. Then, we are working with Irma and Lady, a mom and daughter. Lady is on date but not Irma. They are so sincere though, and really receptive. We found them looking for another investigator. Miracles. I love sharing my testimony and teaching, even though I don't know a whole lot of Spanish. But that’s okay. I am learning to be patient. 

Okay, here is a little game. I will say a couple things that I want you to think of me, mostly so that when I come home, I can remember the goofy things I missed. 

Think of me every time you see carpet...but really. 

Think of me every time you see street signs. There is no such thing here, and house numbers work differently...so our little map is our best friend. 

Think of me every time you see grass somewhere other than a church owned building. 

Love you all! Thank you for your prayers! 

Hermana Lee

So, my area, La Esperanza...It is pretty much dessert. So grass is super rare, therefore dandelions aren't a thing. Maybe in Caja Marca, another area up in the mountains, so it is pretty green. But here, no.  Anyways, my area isn't really one where you first think of how beautiful it is. It isn't like castles of England, green jungles of Brazil, landscape and architecture in Portugal or the Acores islands, and it is for sure not like the beautiful scenery of Alaska. \and for sure not Tahiti. I definitely have the ugliest mission in the family, but I think that makes it the most beautiful, because it is my mission. You don't typically walk down the street and point at all the piles of dirt, rocks, garbage and various animal parts and say "gosh, how beautiful." You don't gasp in awe at all the big dead rats plastered on the streets. You don't normally sit in a lesson in someone’s house with dirt floor, no roof with nasty dogs and chickens running around your feet and say "wow, what a beautiful home." It isn't normal to see grocery bags on the ground of people’s homes with something inside moving; knowing that it is a guinea pig suffocating so that it can be the next meal. You don't walk down the street and look at all the various mixtures of dogs with no hair, lounges half ripped, warts, foaming mouths and say "What a beautiful creature." You just don't. Yet, every time I Walk up at to animal noises, crazy Spanish radio talk shows from the motor taxis and beaming sun, I feel at home. Obviously a different kind of home; but home. I walk outside and feel utter joy. This is my area. These are my people. So yes, it isn't an area of absolute wonder and glory, but it is to me. Does that make any sense? Long story short, I LOVE my mission. And I LOVE the area. 

Week 6 Letter

Monday, July 26, 2016

Another week. Crazy. It has gone by fast. The work in our area was really slow and hard for missionaries before us, so we want to turn that around. Starting from scratch was kind of hard, but now things are settling in... so, more and more set appointments. We met with our president. He said that he has a lot of faith and trust in us since we are opening the area for sisters. It is a rough area, but we can do hard things, right? 

We had 3 investigators that we are meeting with at church and friend of an investigator who wants the lessons too! It’s hard becuase their parents are way catholic and anti, but patience. The Lord will bless them for their faith and us for our patience and hard work. It was really sad that our other investigators didn’t come to church. It is hard to watch people want to change, but aren’t willing to do anything about it, or keep committments. Agency is so great, but sometimes, sometimes it’s rough. haha. 

We keep busy every day. We visit with a lot of people that the bishop tells us to meet with. We had 3 less actives at church too. Miracles happen! 

Hermana Soto is awesome and very patient. Language is sometimes a barrier, but my dictionary is my best friend and helps us out quite a bit. I really don't ever know what to write about! Too much happens, and then I feel like I can't even explain it! So, just wait until I get back. Then you can read my journals and stuff. I love you all!!! Have a great week! 

Sister Lee

Your questions - ok, so, laundry is sent out once a week. We are not on bikes, we live a block outside our area. Bikes are too dangerous here. Driving is...crazy...I am healthy and all good. i have to pay to buy water bottles because we never have any, but all is good. We have zone/district meetings every week, and we email with our district. We visit a lot of less actives that the bishop gives us or from our area book. We meet with investigators too. It’s a rough area; that’s why sisters weren’t in it before; even rough for elders. But, we are working hard and the president has trust in us. I love you! I hope you had a great day at the river.