Week 26 Letter

Monday, Dec 12, 2016

Hola Famlee! I hope you are enjoying your cold winter while I am sweating buckets. haha. This week...was just one of those weeks that all missionaries have, and it just took me 6 months to get there....A stupid but very wise quote from a friend "it sucks to suck" has been ringing in my head, and haunting me during all hours of the long and sleepless nights. Literally no sleep this week. Who am I kidding? I never sleep. Looking back, I don’t even know why it was so bad, just lots of little things every day that adds up, ya know? comps are hard, ward members are hard, lack of lessons is hard, slamming doors is hard, men yelling horrible things at me every day for the past 6 months is hard, progressing investigators breaking apart is hard, my health going out the window is hard, lots of new changes to the mission is hard, missions are hard. And I knew it would be. And I would rather be here than working and going to school life before, but this week just everything added up and I felt like such a failure of a missionary. it sucks to suck! And then Sunday night when you’re showing your cook/RS pres/mom how to dance like an American it just feels all better for a second. And then you pray more intently than ever before when your comp is sound asleep, and then you read the conference ensign in English at 4am and remember that it's a new week, you just feel better. Neal A. Maxwell said "Certain forms of suffering endured well, can actually be ennobling...Part of enduing well consists of being meek enough, amid our suffering to learn from our relevant experiences. Rather than simply passing though these things, they mis pass through us...in ways which sanctify us." Wow. Deep. Ali Lee, get over yourself and be meek and humble and endure your suffering. Really. Honestly, I am not even suffering and this week wasn't even that hard and I had so much to be grateful for. Soooooo all of this is to tell you that we can have a hard week and still be a successful missionary and still be happy and learn more from it more than any other week. I have seriously learned so much this week. And Revelations 7:17 says that God shall wipe away all the tears from our eyes...so while I have developed the literal inability to cry, I think that it is the thought that counts. We will have nothing to worry about when we are righteous and ready to enter in the kingdom of our loving Heavenly Father. So ya. Life is good. So good. 

This week a circus has been going on....check out the picture...real heck of a circus. haha. Also, I ate Ceviche which is breaking the number one rule of the mission...but my cook made it and said it was okay and the fish was cooked....(Ceviche is a famous Peruvian specialty in Trujillo; a dish with fish only cooked from lemon juice) it was SUPER good....but the fish was not cooked so that was great....i repented...and lost a little confidence in my cook. haha. I also drank Coca Cola for my first time ever in my life....nasty. I also repented of that. And of the inca kola soda I drank. But sometimes...all the time you should not drink the water here so when investigators give you water or coca cola, you take the pop. haha 

So my life is good. I Hope you all have the greatest week ever and enjoy your holiday season. I love you all. 

THINK OF ME when you listen to Christmas music and play in the cold...it seriously feels like I am still in July and Christmas is months away. hahahaha

Pics: a Christmas tree we set up for an investigator, the circus and our Christmas cactus...

Love, Hermana Lee

Week 25 Letter

Monday, Dec 5, 2016

BOOM! Kicked Novembre in the head. Happy diciembre! I can’t believe that Cameron is home. That is so crazy and doesn't feel real. Maybe because I am not there, but still. It is also weird to see pics of snow in Rexburg and really any kind of weather that is not super hot and sweaty and sunshiney. It has warmed up a lot here, and it will be hotter in January and February. It really doesn’t feel like Christmas time. It feels like it is still July. oh! This week I hit my 6 month mark on the mission. So weird. It feels like 2 weeks. 

The Christmas devotional was so great! I hope you l could watch it. Funny story, so we were in our building watching it right, and the voice overs are obviously in Spanish. I don’t know what I was expecting, but there isn’t a voice over for the choir...yeah Ali, duh, but it just caught me off guard. haha. But I am really excited for this Christmas season. With the 'light the world' we have been able to teach new investigators. It is awesome. And this week, we are having an open house in our chapel for the public. So we have to invite everyone on our area the day before...because people won’t come if you invite them a week or even 3 days ahead...time doesn’t exist here and it is pretty hard sometimes. But I am excited for this event. We are in charge of it but the ward has helped a lot.

Jean Carlos got baptized! He has 14 years and is super great. Another youth baptized him which was way cool. Jean Carlos moved here from Lima. His mom Jacky who is a recent convert lives here with her other 2 daughters and the grandma. Jacky works out of town and is only here for a couple of days once a month. so it was awesome that she could come to the baptism. But it has been so great to work with this family. The first time I taught Jean Carlos in their home, I felt like I had been there before, which obviously I haven’t. And it has become one of my favorite homes/families to visit. The spirit is so tender and special. This family has real problems and hardships, but they push through with such incredible faith. I love it. We are also teaching Cielo, the sister of Jean Carlos. 

okay, so i am the first American to serve in my area for a super long time, and the first sister missionary/American sister to ever serve in my area since forever. So I am the first real American that a lot of kids have seen. While my name tag says "Hermana Lee", I am more commonly known as princess, Queen Elsa, Barbie or nothing but a gasp. It is hilarious. We will knock at a door and little kids will come right up close to me and just look up and stare at my face, hair or eyes. It’s pretty funny. Or some of the older kids who "study" English in school will yell "hello" life’s rough as white kid. haha. 

I hope that you all have a great week, and enjoy this Christmas season. I love you all!

Think of me every time you put pitted black olives on your fingers before you eat them... yeah, okay, listen, you know how the can says in really big letters "PITTED olives?" yeah, this literally means that they are pitted and HAD a pit INSIDE. Who knew? Not me. You know how many times i was sent to the store to buy olives?  a lot. I guess that I just thought that god created olives for our fingers...here the olives are purple and have a ton of vinegar and are pretty nasty (but I eat them like I love them...) the first time I ate one, I was so confused when I spit out the pit. and then I had a flash back to all the times I bought olives, and I pictured in my head all the brands of olives and the designs and marks on the can and I remembered "pitted" being really big. haha. My life. 

Week 24 Letter

Monday, Nov 28, 2016

So this was good, but I don’t remember too much of it. We had a great mission conference with Elder Godoy of the 70. He is awesome! He talked a lot about our purpose as missionaries. A l lot about how here in this part of the world our focus is not less actives or even a lot of recent converts, but more of just investigators that are progressing....wow! Super different than what the missionaries were taught before with their old president, so there are a lot of changes to well, everything in our mission, and I am totally on board with it. But Elder Godoy is super powerful. He also talked a lot about how the mission is not a time to find your spouse and for basically the elders to stop talking with young women in the ward and be super careful with us sister missionaries...so that was awesome. Basically just common sense. haha. But a really powerful conference. And then, after, the assistants to the president told me that Elder Godoy was going to have an interview with me, so that was great....but really. We talked for literally 5 minutes and it was awesome. He asked a little about my family, the best thing of my mission, the hardest thing of my mission and then some counsel. I love how direct he is. We also have interviews with our president every transfer, and our interview was the same. 5  minutes. So great. jaja. 

This week we taught tons of lessons with new investigators, so that’s way awesome. But no one here is married. We talked to a couple that has been together for 48 years but faults marriage....what???????? Crazy. But hopefully we will have a wedding this next month! Followed by a bautismo. 

I hope y'all had a great thanksgiving. I hope y'all ate so much that you couldn't walk after...because that I how I feel every single day after lunch. My pensionita loves me and hates me...jaja. 

As a missionary you really just learn to go with it. Like when the teacher for society relief or young womens doesn’t come to church you just teach. Or when you’re sitting in the room of the sacrament and the bishop announces that you are going to give a 15 minute talk with a devil smile. You just get up and do it. haha. That happens a lot here, and I am pretty sure my ward i tired of hearing from me, but they all are so loving and great. We are really blessed in our ward.  

So ya, Have the best week ever. Enjoy Cameron mucho. I LOVE YOU ALL! 

THINK OF ME WHEN YOU use a doorknob....here they don’t have doorknobs to the house. So you ALWAYS need a key to get in or leave. for all doors, even bedroom doors. I forgot that doorknobs are a thing. haha. 

PICS: THANKS for the Thanksgiving card! 

A generation pic with my "mom" (trainer and my trainee  (is that a word?) Everyone calls it that the trainer is the mom and the trinee is the son or daughter. I don’t really like that, but I like this picture. haha 

And then my signature picture....but with a mango. :) 

Week 23 Letter

Monday, Nov 21, 2016

So this week waas probably the longest week of the mission...I started training a new missionary, we had tons of meetings and looking back it actually wasn´t that long...haha. It was super sad to say goodbye to Hermana Soto, but she will be awesome in her new area and I have a new comp! Hermana PACHECO. She has 20 years, is a convert recent of 2 years and is from Lima. She is super great. she is still super new to the gospel so I have to teach a lot, but by the end of these next 11 weeks, she is going to be a scripture mastorian, super obedient and a super hard worker who will be able to walk fast. ;) I have really come to appreciate the phrase "We love Heavenly Father and Jesu Christ because They first loved us." (Elder Hales). It can be hard to love someone you don't know. But I have to love her first so that she will love the mission, the people, the work and the gospel. We had an awesome training with our President, who brought a lot of fear and then a lot of comfort. So that's great. I’ve been in the mission for 5 months, the mission field for 4 (más o menos) and I have to train and be the leader and be super happy 24/7. I had to do that before, but now it all of a sudden feels harder. haha. But that is okay. It’s gonna be a great next couple of months. 

Anderson was baptized! He is 10 year old and so great. He is super serious in gospel things. and his answers are always so deep. His family is less active. We rescued hi grandma, and he started coming to church with her after a lot of teaching and even pleading....and then, he has a friend in primary and it is sooooooooo awesome. Anderson started to bloooooooom. We are now teaching his family too. They aare super great, and are an x missionary/sealed in the temple but have to work on Sundays. But miracles happen. Anderon, who really has zero words (it’s like pulling teeth to get him to talk...but when he does its great) shared his testimony after his baptism. So great. His parents also shared their testimony. And a pineapple cake after was the perfect ending. ;) 

Thanks to Anderson, we are now teaching his cousin who is 8, Kevyn. He is a timid shy boy who "felt so good and like in the house of God" at the baptism of Anderson. So he is preparing for baptism. As well as 2 young kids and Danis a 21 year old girl who is pretty golden. The sad thing is she studies all day every day from 7am-10pm so we can only teach her after church Sundays...but in December she is going to Lima for 3 months...but like I said before, miracles happen. I love finding new people to teach. It’s great. Takes a lot of work, but it is rewarding. haha. 

Also, this week (I PROMIE I AM NOT TRUNKY) i had just said goodbye to Hermana Soto and was in the taxi/bus played "summer of '69" "Take on me" and of all randomness "Sound of Silence." yup. I think that was a little tender mercy. hahaha 

Funny story...sometimes while I wait for my comp to get ready I read the dictionary. Today I read a Spanish word "jaboncillo." jabon ids soap. so Jaboncillo is "cake of toilet soap." awesome. I will be for sure using that word....hahahaha. 

THINK OF ME every time you drink juice that is not peach juice.....thats all they have here! Peach juice....like from canned peaches. Yup. Peach juice. or inca kola; a bubble gum flavored pop that is more common than water here.  

Love you,

Sis Hermana Lee