Week 47 Letter

Monday, May 8, 2017

Hey, I don’t have a whole lot of time, but hey! How are you all? This week rained a lot and has been doing a lot of cold. But that’s okay! We were running around with our heads chopped off trying to find new people to teach, so that has been really great! We have talked to so many people! And it payed off. 

OKAY FAMLEE:

Wednesday night at 10:30 we hopped on a bus for a long ride to Trujillo for a council...counsel...counsol...consejo. Anyways, it was a rough ride, but we made it to Trujillo at 5:30am and we went straight to the apartment of the sister leaders in central, Hermana Soto...AKA my trainer. SOOOOO Fun to see her. It made me think of all of my time in Esperanza with her. It was an answer to pray to be with her that day. Then, after the consejo, the secretaries forgot to buy us bus tickets back, so we had all the afternoon in Trujillo...so MIRACLE: we went out with other sister lideres that are now in Esperanza....WHAT? My first area of 6 months! It was the BEST DAY EVER. It felt like home. The dirt, dead dogs, sick dogs, drunks, heat, teaching, it all just felt so natural. It was really hard to explain it. It just felt so right. I of course visited my converts and they are all doing well. I think that is the greatest joy of the mission, to go back and see that these people, who you watched change their lives, are still going strong, and even stronger than before. Hermano Santos and Alejandro have the higher priesthood, Santos is the ward secretary, Alejandro is in mission prep classes, Vicky and Anita are going to the temple often to do their family work, Danis is doing well and the others are assisting every week! It just made me so happy to hear about all of them! And 2 of the less-actives we helped come back are going through the temple this week! I don’t think that I have ever been as happy as I was Thursday in Esperanza. It just felt so good. And to visit the members, go out teaching with them like normal, all was such a huge blessing and miracle that I had been praying for. It was such a perfect afternoon. Ay ay ay I can’t even begin to tell y'all how happy I was. It was just so hard to say goodbye again. Heartbreaking. I of course went back and saw margarita my pensionista and she almost passed out of shock and joy. haha. I can’t send pics today, but I have a ton. Esperanza is seriously my home. So if I don’t show up in the airport in some months, just know that I am probably in Esperanza. hahaha. No, jokes. But this whole time in Esperanza made me think and reflect about a lot of things, why I came on a mission, why I’m still on the mission, what I want to do, my goals for the rest of the mission. It was really a once in a lifetime opportunity that was almost too good to be true, but an experience where I LEARNED A TON. This one day, I think I was the happiest in all of my life, but I learned more in these 6 hours than in any training, class or counsel I have ever been in, INCREDIBLE. 

So, that happened and was the highlight of my week, and probably mission. haha. But it gave me motivation to work even harder here in Cajamarca. So that’s good. We have lots planned this week! 

Also you should know that my PT is going good. I’m getting better and sleeping better these last days. I got back again tomorrow. But I have been really strict about doing my PT everyday on my own time to get better faster. I have seen so many real miracles with this. 

My pensionista is going to Lima for my birthday, so I don’t know what I will eat. hahaha. Hopefully something light. The Peruvians eat sooooo much!!!! You won’t judge me if I go on a strict diet for a while after my mission, right? I really need to clean out my body. I probably have tons of worms. hahahaha. Jokes...but not really. 

I LOVE YOU! THINK OF ME EVERYTIME YOU listen to Billy Joel. I heard Uptown Girl the other day and it was great. haha. 

OH MY GOSH I want taco chili bake sooooo bad. And pineapple cake. Well, not now, I’m kind of sick but whatever. hahaha. That’s crazy about the stake conference because we had stake conference yesterday too! Tech was screwed too, but that’s Peru for you. Our stake president is the best. He is a lot like dad. His family is great too; I have a lot of respect for his wife. They don’t live in our ward but with the zone leaders we had a FHE with them once. They are so powerful. 

Ya, there are the scriptures about the stripling warriors and their moms, but you already knew about those. So check out these scriptures I found for you with ALL OF MY LOVE: 

Proverbs 18 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

Proverbs 1520 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Ezekiel 16:44 ¶ Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, as is the mother, so is her daughter. Thanks for being awesome so that I could be. ;) hahaha. 

I just thought these were funny. Sometimes it’s funny to take scriptures out of context without apostasy. haha.  I really love you so much. Thanks for being awesome. I can’t wait to talk to you Sunday! Sooooo sorry that I am not really that great with feelings....but just know that I love you! Te amo para siempre!!!!!

I’m not trunky, but I want like, 20 kids. At least 15, I have to beat you. ;) That’s the joke here in Peru, that I will beat my mom. hahahaha. I think that they have all caught on to the fact that I am super competitive. ;) 

Week 46 Letter

Monday, May 1, 2017

My birthday is in May (wow, this month) and Hermana Chacon's in June, so we wanted to celebrate together. We celebrated ALL of our birthdays with our pensionista and her family. 

Janeth is a member who comes out with us all the time. She served a mission in Chile. She is CRAZY! haha.

This is Janeth. She is in my ward and an x missionary. She knows my new comp and I really think that Janeth will SAVE MY LIFE this transfer. hahaha. She is so crazy and I love her.

It’s still really throbby but I have more range of motion. PT is going good. Sleep is still a hit and miss. Just, I’m fine. I’m good. But I just could really use some extra prayers from you, Hermana Chacon finished her mission and went home and my new comp is a little hard. Well, a lot, there’s a bunch of back story that I don’t even want to bother with because I’m doing my part. There are always hard comps, and I have had them. But...well...I will learn a lot this transfer.

My comp is from southern Peru and then lived in Lima for 5 years before the mission. I’m sorry, but she is my 3rd comp from Peru, and I assumed you knew that.  I love Peru soooooo stinking much, but really? hahahahahaha. I’m fine really. I was just being a baby for a sec. Emily Borders martin sent me a lifesaving email. haha.

Week 45 Letter

Monday, April 24, 2017

HEY HEY HEY! So this week was crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! 

First of all, thank you for all of your prayers! With the whole shoulder thing the options were very few and very ugly. But with lots of prayer, patience, and fighting with doctors here and in Lima and with the mission president’s wife, I got approved to have physical therapy here... a huge miracle. So I start that today. Yay, torture....haha. It can be really good or really bad. haha. 

It rains a lot here in Cajamarca, but the other day it POURED for an hour straight! Water was entering into ´people’s houses and it was hailing and it was sooooo crazy. Luckily we were in a lesson while it started and we stayed there until the thunder and lightning and hail stopped. Good times. The picture doesn’t really do it justice. 

President and his wife came up here to have a zone conference which was really great. Super awesome. I am really grateful for President and Hermana Marble for their help and concern of me and the other missionaries. 

I think the hardest thing here in Cajamarca is finding new people to teach. But, sometimes such is life and we can only try and try and try and try somethings different to work hard. I have no idea if that last sentence makes sense but I don’t know how to say what I want to say in ingles anymore. hahaha. Just know that life is so good. hahaha. 

THINK OF ME EVERYTIME YOU do a jumping jack, or pushup, or run....haha. 

I LOVE YOU ALL! 

Oops. Not a lot happened. Lots of walking to nobody wanting to listen to us, lots of ibuprofen or Tylenol, an adventure with a sleeping pill and nothing else. Haha well, I took 10mg of Ambien and...Well, I remember waking up from 3-5am. but then later my comp said that I fell out of bed and she was trying to help me and I fell again and it’s a really, really funny story that I can’t really explain now, but long story short, I don’t remember anything and I woke up at 10  and my comp was so freaked out. haha. My mission president’s wife just laughed. haha. She is hilarious. Ya. The problem is I don’t have any more Ambien. President brought me one to try. I have to get a doctor’s prescription and it’s pretty hard here.

Week 44 Letter

Monday, April 17, 2017

Well, how goes the life of y'all? 

This week...well, I got real good at using my left hand for everything. Everything...haha. But things are looking better now. So that is great. Thanks for your prayers. I've seen real miracles with this whole thing. 

Easter here is a little different...there are no Easter eggs and chocolates...so we improvised. We made little baskets and filled them with chocolate for the sisters in our zone. I think I have some pics. I'm not crafty but my comp is...so that’s nice. haha. Here we celebrate they holy week....and Friday is more important than Domingo. Actually, TONS of people (even members) don't even recognize Domingo as Easter. They celebrate the death of Christ and stay home from work and watch all the catholic movies...so that’s kind of sad because the resurrection is what makes Easter Easter...and the resurrection is what makes life happy! So I am so grateful that we got to contact so much this weekend to share the message about Christ's resurrection and His restoration of His church. These are my favorite Easter scriptures from my studies...

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Revelation 1:18

"Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, wherby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up." Mormon 7:5

Awesome story. This week we let go of a lot of people. I hate doing it but we don't have a lot of time, and so we shouldn't make our priority the people that aren't progressing and the people who don't have a desire YET. So we were feeling kind of down. And last night I was soooo tired and just felt so drained. But, it wasn't 9 yet...so we contacted and we found a golden family. It was so amazing. And then we felt sooooo happy and excited and pumped up after. Sometimes you have to have so many dead ends to have a success. 

Well, I wish you all a happy week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love ya! 

So I went to the doc again and things look better...MIRACLE!!!! Sleeping is still rough but ya, such is life. The doc wants me to do at least 10 sessions of physical therapy and other stuff....but when I talked to Hermana marble (the Pres wife) she said that we can’t do PT on the mission...so I have to go home and do it or she is going to look up some exercises on the internet and bring them to me Thursday...and I'm not going home so I will just live with it and pray a lot.. He just says I’m really inflamed. We just took an x-ray that only shows the bones which aren’t broken. So I don’t know. It doesn’t hurt as bad now; I’m just sore and throbbing all the time. 

Answers to your questions - 

1. Smacked my shoulder into an iron lock sticking out of a door. I was almost running...walking really fast. 

2. Monday the 3rd of April (3 weeks ago) 

3. Right shoulder, for the first couple weeks constant pinching and throbbing. It also felt really heavy. 

4. I was in a sling for about 2 weeks. But as of today, no more. 

5. After a week we went to the doc and told me to use a sling and do nothing with it. 

6. It was swollen on the outside for about 2 weeks. 

7. Before my pain level was 8-10. Recently I have had good days and bad but as of yesterday noticeably different. Today I’m sore and tight because the doc was moving it around. 

8. Celebrex and Tylenol. 

The doc says that the swelling inside has gone down. I really feel a difference but it still is achy. I’m not sleeping which is probably the worst. It hurts to type and to open doors.

Week 43 Letter

Monday, April 10, 2017

So a lot of crazy stuff happened this week, but I am alive and fighting onward! Diego, oh Diegito got baptized this week! It was so awesome! He is such a funny kid who is looking forward to turning 12 to get the priesthood and pass the sacrament. His mom is a convert recent. Diego finally got permission to get baptized. It was so fun to really make sure that he was serious about getting baptized. Lots of progression. He is so awesome. 

This week I have learned a lot about patience, and the humility to ask for help. I finally went to the doctor for my shoulder. No broken bones, which I knew....just that my muscles are really inflamed and that’s why I can’t move my arm and I feel a lot of pain. A member who is a nurse was telling us that something was displaced, because I was all swollen and something was sticking out. But I got a blessing, and then went to the doctor and miracles happened. My shoulder blade is still intact. haha. Miracles of the priesthood are so real! But I am so grateful for my comp and all of her help, as well as the help of my pension. Dad will understand that no sleep is kind of rough, and sleeping in a bed is practically impossible. So in the mornings my pensionista let me sleep on her couch or recliner so that my shoulder blade wasn’t touching anything. So I have been getting a little sleep. I’m not dying, there is no blood, and someone else isn’t dying so there’s no reason to cry over it. haha. Just patience to let it heal and faith to be healed. :) 

Pics: some crazy awesomeness. But hey, mom and Shiloh, check out this cereal bags. You need to buy your cereal like this!!!!!!! Side note...THINK OF ME EVERYTIME YOU EAT AMERICAN CEREAL THAT ISNT LIKE STYROFOAM. haha. I don’t know how to spell that. hahahaha. It’s tasty, just well, not the same. hahaha.

I made a piano for my desk a couple of weeks ago. Pretty cool, just that I can’t play it now...haha. We made tacos last pday with our district. Just tortillas, the sour cream and refried beans... ;(  haha. No super tasty. And then one night eating a banana after a rough day....haha

So...I’m in a sling...but getting better! hahaha   I’m getting better. We went to the clinic. My bones are broken, which I knew...because it’s my muscles or rotator cuff or something. But it was pretty miserable. The worst is that it is so hard to sleep. But the doc gave me some meds to stop the inflammation and put me on rest for a week oh no. No, no, no. I meant to say aren’t. It’s hard typing with one hand!   Yeah, I got one. It was really great. It just hurts but the swelling has really gone down. I go back to the doctor Thursday.  I was walking in the dark super fast to get to an apt and smacked it into a big iron something that was sticking out of a door. Lame huh?   Thanks. I'm taking some meds all day that seem to be helping so that’s good. I go back to the doctor Thursday. The mission president’s wife has been talking to the American doctor in Lima and it’s not too grave I think. Just a slow healing process. But Pres and his wife are coming up to Cajamarca next week and we will see how it goes.   Not too bad now. Because of the blessing I think. haha. Seroiusly, miracles.

Week 42 Letter

Monday, April 3, 2017

Hey y'all! How was this week? Conference was so great no? It was fun to see Elder Palmer. But conference was so good. I loved how it was so focused on the Godhead, but a lot about the Savior. And then how we can come to know Him through the basics. Things that a lot of people, me included forget sometimes. Super powerful. But something that I loved was a quote that I found in an old Liahona Saturday morning before conference. I seriously searched for forever this morning on LDS.org to find it in English for you.

 “The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet. …

“… God’s revelation to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the Ark. Noah needed his own revelation. Therefore, the most important prophet, so far as you and I are concerned, is the one living in our day and age to whom the Lord is currently revealing His will for us. Therefore, the most important reading we can do is any of the words of the prophet … contained each month in our Church magazines. Our marching orders for each six months are found in the general conference addresses, which are printed in the [Liahona] magazine. …““Beware of those who would pit the dead prophets against the living prophets, for the living prophets always take precedence

Pretty great, no? SO POWERFUL. I love it. I have such a strong testimony that we have a living prophet called by God, to direct His work here. It is so real. And As I listened to conference I could feel the Spirit testify of the words of our leaders in such a special way. Awesome. Anyways, I love you all so much! Have a great week! 

Pics: So this last pday we bought pizza and ice cream. I so felt like Ali. haha. We also had a super great zone meeting. 

So this happened this week...And the story is so super dumb, I wish it was cooler.....We were walking at night on the sidewalk, and the houses are right up to the street. It was dark and I can't see very well in the dark as it is...but there was an obstacle a few steps in front of me, and so I was planning how I was going to dodge it and the buses that were driving by. And right as I was thinking, my shoulder smacked right into a huge iron lock that was sticking out of a door. How dumb is that? I wasn't even playing tennis and I've been out a shoulder all week. But we have this handy dandy little thing that I can’t remember how to say in English that I sleep with and use while I do leg workouts in the morning...it’s been real fun. haha. 

Caption:  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: (2 Tim 4:7) Thank you Paul! hahaha

We had a great FHE with this family and their niece (the far left) they are missing their 7 year old daughter in this pic. But they are awesome. Hermano Ruiz was a bishop and then in the stake presidency for 8 years. Super great. They remind me of you guys. So fun. 

I learned a lot this last transfer and will continue to learn more about that whole charity thing. Haha life is good. I don’t remember what all happened this week but it was good. We welcomed 2 new hermanas to the mission here in Cajamarca. there are 20 in their group, but they all are in lima east mission until Trujillo is all cleared up to send missionaries here again. haha. We also sent a sister home who finished her mission; that was crazy, because she had like 9 months when I started....and now I will complete 10 this weekend! Crazy. Time flies. But life is good. I do miss tennis matches, basketball, driving the kids all around (I REALLY miss that, no joke), dances, family home evening with the family and all that stuff, but that’s okay. I only have 18 months to live in Peru with a nametag (because I might move back hahahaha) so I should live it up. Which means, work my guts out. haha. We had a lot of great miracles this week, so that is great. And a baptism this week or next week, depending on scheduling and stuff. Lots of great stuff here in a slow moving area! haha. I LOVE YOU!