Week 54 Letter

Monday, June 26, 2017

Ok, so this week was still so crazy, and flew by, and side note, Bruno Mars is on the station here at the internet cafe, and granade is playing and I’m just thinking of Shane. Hahaha. ANYWAYS...

PAULO GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! He has 16 years, and his mom has started coming back to church. But he is probably the most on top of it 16 year old kid that I have ever met. He is so great. And he has really helped out the youth group here with his example. He has really found his place and just shines. He will be a really great missionary. He got a new suit and everything. His dad who isn’t a member, and didn’t want him to get baptized....WENT to the baptism!!!! And it was so great. I love this family so much and can’t wait to keep working with them! David and Leydi are also jovenes that we are working with. Paulo has helped David out a lot too! So’ he is planning on getting baptized the 15th. All good things in our area! It’s been really exciting. 

So funny story...Trying to figure out the baptismal font was a real heck of a time. Only one person in the ward knew how to do it, but just moved far away...um what? Why no one else knows I know not. So we spent a lot of time working with a broken font. Because we couldn’t empty it, because there was something wrong with the sewage system. it was about 1/4 still filled up. And then an answer to prayers, an FM guy randomly showed up at the capilla. But, he didn’t know how to do it...so he called another FM guy who said he was going to come and help the next day...but didn’t...FM...hmmm....haha, jokes.... ;) So, what happened was that the morning of the baptism me and my companion emptied the font with buckets and cleaned out the dead roaches. Yup. I guess getting in the knee deep water was the closest I will ever get to swimming on the mission. haha. I hope that we don’t grow some kind of fungi from the water...hahaha. But it all ended really good, so that is awesome! Super fun. 

I love you all so much! THINK OF ME EVERYTIME YOU SWIM!!!!!! :) 

Week 53 Letter

Monday, June 19, 2017

Holy moly. We have been running literally. Everywhere every day. I am not even kidding. I and Hermana Wright have just worked harder than we have in all of our lives. And we have SOOOOOO much going on. So, in this zone there are way more Hermanas, so we are always busy helping them with their needs, and today we helped some move. We are also looking for a new place to live. With us and the 2 sisters that live with us, but oh my, my presidente and his wife have changed what they are looking for every day this week so that has been crazy, and our area is HUGE. My biggest area so we have been going all over the place and estamos teaching so much and I love it! We literally take no breaks. Our meals are 10 minutes, and I haven’t even seen my pensionista in days because we just eat on the go and eat dinner in our apartment at 9:30 or 10, especially since we are doing an experiment for presidente of staying out to teach until 10. crazy. We are so "obsessed with baptizing" that we didn’t even look over family pics until last night, and we haven’t even talked about the normal stuff! We just go go go! But really, Hermana Wright is the best. It is so dangerously fun to have to Americans together!!!!! I can be walking and make a Gus (from psych) noise and she totally gets it! and the other day I was whistling a song from 7 brides for 7 brothers and she joined me in harmony and she totally got it and it was just so good. we have laughed soooo much, but have worked sooooooo much harder. It has been so good. So, rewarding. I love her so much. We had interviews with presidente, and he told us "ya, I don’t know why I put 2 gringas together, I don’t like doing that for safety issues, but, the Lord said to do it" and it has been awesome. We don’t even speak in English because it just hurts our brains and it takes more to think in English and we just can’t. hahaha. It has been such a great week, that has felt like 4 because of all the things we do! And we have to book it now to go look for more apartments and end pday a little early to teach. You just learn how to go without breathing! hahahaha. 

I love my new area. We have been seeing so many miracles with teaching! The area presidency is really big on finding youth 15-25 years to teach, especially young men because the church here needs priesthood. We have had so much success with that this week! We invited 3 jovenes to get baptized! And Paulo is getting baptized this weekend! His mom just started coming back to church. We have visited them so much, and Pualo is the most profound 16 year old kid I know. So great! I am so excited for the work here! Missing Cajamarca, but you will ALWAYS miss your areas. And today I just found out that my investigators from San Pedro are getting baptized this week! A whole family that I was teaching! And 2 weeks after I left San Pedro 2 of our other investigators got baptized and they are doing so great. It just makes me soooo happy to see the church growing here! 

I LOVE YOU ALL! Think of me every time you drink lemonade and eat grapes. Or even raisins. haha. 

pics: We are close to the ocean! I LOVE THE OCEAN! 

I haven’t sat down all week! We have just gone, gone, gone!!!!!!!! Like, 5 minute lunches (the big meal here) and dinner at 9:30 or 10. We have literally run every day to get to lessons and I am still gaining weight. Haha.  And we are looking for a new house which is really stressful because our presidente and his wife and secretaries are telling us different things every day. But so crazy. Oh my mom so crazy. Like we didn’t even look at family pics until last night. That’s normally the first thing comps do! But I don’t think i have laughed so hard in my mission ever. Hermana Wright is the best.

Week 52 Letter

Monday, June 12, 2017

So cambios are pretty much the worst thing ever on the mission.  I left Cajamarca last night and now I am in Trujillo still as an hermana leader. My companion is a gringa! The first American I have had! She finishes her mission this transfer. She is 7 brothers and sisters in her family and is from Oregon and I love her. So great. She doesn’t know Ingles and I don’t either so much and we live in the same house as 2 Latina missionaries. So it’s going to be fun. Also, one of the other sisters that lives with us and is in our ward is hermana Pacheco, who I trained, got sent home for her appendix issue and now is back. So awesome. And I sent hermana Soto my trainer off to her last training before going home today too, so that was sad. Haha. 

These transfers are bitter sweet.  We had just started to see progress this week with investigator of GOLD this week Orlando. He is soooooo awesome. And then Maria also. She has been an investigator since my first transfer in Cajamarca, and Poco a Poco has progressed. And just recently she has progressed so much and I really love her. Her daughter is a convert recent, it was sooooo hard to say goodbye to her. She just cried and cried.  She reminds me a lot...A LOT of grandma Jenkinson.  She works sooooooo hard, helps her grandkiddos sooooo much, is sooooooo funny and cooks really goooood. She is the Peruvian Linda Jenkinson, for reals.  So great. It was so hard saying goodbye to the members. Ahhh! Janeth who is mi amigasa, and hermano Leo and his wife hermana Maria. They are like grandparents to me. Hermano Leo was explaining to me that it would be really sad that he won’t see his youngest grandkid go on the mission (because of his health and age) and he was really sad. And then I told him that my grandpas have passed away, but that they are ALWAYS with me, and they are with me through some people on the mission like him. And we cried. And Hermana Maria never stopped crying and it just was the worst thing ever. I miss them soooooooo much. My heart feels like wet toilet paper, the kid of toilet paper from schools. And yes that was a psych reference and I am just so sad right now. Hahahaha. But transfers are good too .lots of growing opportunity. While I will miss the people a lot, it was for sure the hardest time that I have had on the mission. Hardest companions, my whole shoulder deal, a difficult ward and just I don’t even know how to explain it. But the lord calls us to His work, and you just go for it with all of your heart. Might, mind and strength, locking ALL of your heart to the Lord and His work. Elder Godoy taught us that locking ALL of our heart means that we are obsessed with baptizing, even when we are in really hard areas. And when we are obsessed with baptizing, we talk to everyone; we don’t worry about sleeping, eating, home, and family. So, that’s what we do! I am so grateful for a fresh start in a new area.  It’s not a baptizing area, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be! Locking ALL of your heart means that every area is a baptizing area. Wow you learn lots on the mission. Lots of good stuff. So I am excited to be here. Even though it is so hot compared to Cajamarca. Hahaha. But, so good. I love the mission. And it goes by sooooo fast. I love you all! 

THINK OF ME every time you hug someone so hard. I never did that before the mission, and then on the mission, you just do it to greet someone. Soooooo much. Also, do you know how many cheeks I have kissed? Oh my. I was way out of my bubble here. Haha. But a year later, ya its normal. Hahahaha. 

PICS: LEO y MARIA Lopez

MARIA (investigator) with her daughter DEYSI and granddaughter Fabiana

LEO with his awesome poster from Cajamarca. He is so great. His familia is my favorite in my entire mission I think. Haha. 

Week 51 Letter

Monday, June 5, 2017

Ok family. Time is a crazy thing that I am starting to believe that no exists. 

Anyways, first of all, I am so grateful that 5 years ago Danny and Jet walked through our front door for the very first time. I instantly knew that they were my brothers and that God put them in my life for a lot of reasons. It's funny, every time I go back and think of our family memories or vacations; Danny and Jet have just been grafted in there. Like I swear Danny went to Disneyland with is! Haha. But I am so grateful for them. This week I got to share our story with my compañera, and it made me really appreciate the Lord's hand in our famlee!  

Also, we found an investigator of GOLD. Orlando. He has 62 years and lived in the US for the last 15 years. He talked to coworkers that were Mormon about the church, but never met the missionaries. He came back to Peru in Trujillo, and again talked to a member who gave him the cell number of the zone leaders here. As he was getting out of a taxi at his house here in Cajamarca, we just happened to walk by...and...Boom! We taught him that day and he came to church and is going to an evening of home tonight! So awesome! He loved church and has been waiting for the gospel for a really long time. He shared some experiences with us and it was great. He lives with his sister who is an investigator ancient and so hopefully she will want to come to church too. It was a grand miracle. He is awesome. We also found some other great people. Right now we are teaching a couple of 7th day Adventists families. Pucha...I have learned a lot from the bible...ha-ha. Good stuff. 

Tonight I head down to Trujillo for a counsel. And then this weekend I found out my transfers. I have been here in Cajamarca 3 transfers...and my comp has 1 more left, so if I were to stay here, I would be here 2 more transfers...so I think I am going to leave, which I don’t want to. So we are going to work our guts out this week finding new people and future baptismal candidates. So that will be good. Anyways, I LOVE YOU ALL! 

Oh my gosh, AND...

Ok so you know how butter comes from cows and I didn’t know that? Well, in Cajamarca hay a lot of cows. So there are tons of types of cheese (menos American and cheddar) and so we eat a lot of bread and cheese. milk straight from the cow we aren’t supposed to drink but ya, I’ve done it (because saying no to Peruvians is impossible...the butter here is soooooooooooooooooo good. the best ever. so we will have to come back to eat the super yummy dairy products here and the butter. the only thing they lack here is real ice cream. I have really pondered cows lately, because I see them all the time. Without cows, we couldn’t live! no hay hamburgers, steak, roast, other cow meat, butter, yogurt, milk, cheese, whipped cream, cream cheese, sour cream (no exists here) or ICE CREAM! So I am extremely grateful for cows. Anyways, that is all.

Pics: dandelions and a pineapple skirt. How cool is that? 

THINK OF ME EVERYTIME you see a cow.

Week 50 Letter

Monday, May 29

Ok so this week FLEW by. We had 2 inter transfers, zone conference, interviews and lots of crazy stuff! 

Thanks for all of the Birthday wishes. Bdays on the mission are just normal days, just with the excuse to eat all the junk food you eat any other day. Haha. My pensionista bought me a cake and we had an FHE with some members who bought me a cake. They are so great. They help a lot in our ward. We also had our zone conference on my bday. Pdte came up with his wife. They are great. We ate hamburgers at lunch with BBQ sauce so that was a surprise really awesome. I felt so American this last couple of days with hamburgers, American chocolate, and cookies from a senior missionary couple from the states. Haha. Good stuff. 

Yesterday I taught the primary. My comp doesn’t like kids, so she sat in the back for the whole 2 hours...but I had fun! I love kids! They are terrrrrible, but it was fun. The lesson I had to teach was the law of consecration....but, you just go with it. Haha. Super fun. 

This week I have learned a lot about listening. I wasn't very good at that before the mission, but on the mission you have to listen so much to people. It’s essential. But I have also learned a lot about listening to other missioners this week in our inter changes. You listen, and then listen to the spirit so that you can help them, and ask inspired questions, and then listen more, and then listen to the spirit more to make fast but good judgments. It has been a really humbling experience this last couple of days. Awesome. I love being a missionary and teacher and fellow hermana in the work. Good stuff. 

Anyways, I will try to send some pics. Internet is painfully slow today. 

THINK OF ME every time you eat real hamburgers. Haha, it’s the little things.

Ok so this is a pretty normal 2nd dish here in Peru. rice, chicken, beans adn potatoes. i eat this or something like this all the time after soup with rice or noodles and potatoes and chicken...haha. then that weird looking thing is a dessert thats pretty good. then, the other day we ate at the pensionistas house of other hermanas so she made lasagna as the 2nd plate....with rice and potatoes...Who does that? haha. so think of me everytime you eat moms lasagna. And i hope you all thought of me as you ate at the buffet. haha.