Hey fam!

How is everything going? I hope that the 24th of July was a blast! Today is Independence Day here in Peru and no one is working so we are planning on just hanging out with different members today, which will be super fun! This morning we went over to the capilla to help clean with all of the members there. They tried to teach us their national anthem as we swept haha, which was a blast. I cannot stop talking about these members and how unbelievable they are! Also, for this Independence Day one of the members invited us over for lunch, some kind of traditional fish dish, which will be super interesting but hey no worries-- ya gotta try everything here!

This week went well! We have just been working really hard this week to get this baptism of three all sorted out with the interviews and everything! All three of them are so ready and have such strong testimonies. The mom also has such a desire to get baptized, but yet she is not married. So we set a date for them, the 21 of August, which is the "mass wedding” here--it is a lot faster and cheaper! But she accepted this date and we are going to try to start to work with the husband also. However, he is a little harder to teach because he only comes home every once in a while. But he is going to come to the baptism this Saturday, so I am praying that he will have a strong spiritual experience there! This family is unbelievable and I know that they have the potential to go to the temple in the future. I felt I have known them for a long time. Funny thing--I was talking with the mom the other day and she said, "So, my husband and I are going to Cuzco this next week and we wanted to take you two." haha Seriously? These people here are so giving--even when they have practically nothing. I am learning more from these people than I ever thought possible.

I don’t know what Heavenly Father was trying to tell me this week but for four days in a row at four different occasions our members mentioned the amazing story of John Tanner. As they all lovingly brought this story up in our lessons the spirit of Elijah burned within me, knowing that his blood runs in my veins and in YOURS! As a family we truly have a responsibility to carry out the legacy and life of John Tanner--to consecrate our lives completely like he did. I know as we try to carry out this legacy the spirit of Elijah will burn inside of all of you. Our members now want me to do a "John Tanner Night” in order to share his story in more detail which will be such a blast!

Our other investigator took a complete 360 and accepted a date for this next month! We had a lesson with her this last Monday and she accepted to separate from her boyfriend! She is so amazing and I cannot wait to see her life keep changing and the atonement working through her, slowly changing her heart.

This week we met an amazing single dad with a one-year-old child. They were abandoned by her mother about when she was born. And now, he is searching for a light, a hope in his life. He is so ready to accept this amazing message of the gospel.

Apparently on the 28th of August Elder Neil L. Anderson is coming to Peru to talk to all the youth! I am hoping that we get permission in order to go because that would be such an amazing experience!

Well, this week has been good. There is always something MORE that we could be doing, because we are all eternally indebted to our Heavenly Father. I have learned this week that we can all have spiritually, enlightening revelatory experiences through the most miserable times of our lives. Every experience can become a redemptive experience if we remain bonded with our Father in Heaven through that difficulty. "Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity." Heavenly Father can turn the "jails" of our lives into "temples" if we let him! I love you all so, so much and miss you more than you know! Keep smiling. Until next week!

Love, Jess

Cleaning the church with the members

Our Bishop cleaning - he's such a goofball!

Cute ward members

The Bishop's daughter, Nicol

 

Family!

How was the wedding and everything?! I hope that it was so sacred and special. Well this week was a little of a challenge but its ok there is always a new day and a new week to start over, working with all our might, mind and strength to make up what we faulted the week before.

Let’s see. We made tons of progress with this family of six! Their dad works in the mines and only is home for a couple days in the month and we met him the other day! He WANTS his daughters to be baptized into this church because he has already seen a major change in his daughter Carmen and he wants this for his entire family. As he was talking, I honestly couldn’t not get the vision of a bishop or a stake president out of my head.  He has a giant potential in this church, I am positive of that. His dad comes back in two weeks and we are going to try and have a baptism together with his three daughters, which will be extremely special and sacred for their entire family. Please pray for them.

We are working with a less active family right now with three kids.  They are really progressing! They both now have a calling in the ward and we are going over there each week to prepare them for the temple in October----ahhh which is going to be the most amazing experience for them. They have such a desire to follow the Lord and to become a family, united for time and all of eternity! These people here have such a desire to make covenants in the temple and I can’t wait to see the temple sitting on the grounds of Arequipa someday soon! What an unbelievable sight that will be.

We have an investigator who is so ready to be baptized but like everyone else here has the problem of living with her boyfriend without being married. But I am positive that she will quickly make the decision to either stay with him or not, because of her immense desire to start her life over and follow her Savior Jesus Christ. I don’t think I have seen any other investigator on my mission that has such a thirst for knowledge like she does. After we taught our "principles of the gospel" lesson on Sunday she came up to me and asked me for the book. And the next day when we went to visit her she was halfway done with it! She is amazing.  She just needs to repent, make this major decision and she is on her way to eternal salvation! :)

I cannot say enough about my ward and the help they are to this work. Just a little example; the other day we were waiting for a bus to go to an appointment we had with a new investigator and right then we saw 3 people from our ward walking towards us from different directions.  The first thing they all asked was, "Do you have an appointment we can come with you to?" Haha we ended up going to this investigators house with three members. :) Their testimonies were so powerful for this single dad and one-year-old child. Also, the other day we had a visit with the family of six and as we walked inside our bishop and mission were already in there talking to them. There is no power greater than the support of the members. Be one of those members for the missionaries in your wards!

Well this week was a little hard but I know that through the power of the atonement we can overcome our weaknesses and work our hardest the next week. Remember that the atonement is not only for bad people to become good but for the good people to become BETTER! I love you and miss you all so, so much. Keep smilin. I’m praying for you each night and thank you for your prayers!

Love, Jess

making my comp do some workouts from the missionary workout book. Haha not too happy----good morning!

Family!

How is everyone doing? I hope that everything is up and ready for the wedding.  That day is going to be so so special! Well, this week has been really good.  My companion is a true strength to me.  She knows how to work and have fun, make jokes and laugh all the time! We are working really well together and are beginning to see a lot of progress in our area, especially with the help of our mission leader and our bishop.  They are such strengths to us.

This last Sunday was a true miracle.  However, it did not start out that way. We set out that morning to go and pick up our investigator, Carmen, who is unbelievable. And I had no doubt that she was going to be dressed and ready. However, when we got there no one was at her house.  My comp and I stood there at their door just completely shocked, and as we walked away from their house I just had a giant clump in my throat trying to think of what we had done wrong or what we could have done differently. In sacrament meeting I was feeling a little sad as a result and I opened my hymn book to get ready to sing the sacrament hymn and all of the sudden I see in the corner of my eye a person in the doorway.  It was Carmen!  We waved at her to come in and sit by us but she insisted that we both come outside. As we made our way outside, I turned the corner and I see their entire family of 6 kids in their Sunday best waiting outside the door. This was a miracle and I couldn’t have asked for more that Sunday.  All the kids went to their classes and absolutely love it. Carmen is practically already a missionary and constantly baring her testimony to her sisters and her family. This is the golden family Heavenly Father has given us and I can’t wait to work with them this week to move closer to Christ as a family unit!

There was another investigator, Vanessa, who we taught on Saturday and she committed to come to church with us the next morning and she did! She honestly already seems like a Mormon.  The questions she asks and the answers she gave in the classes were perfect. She is so ready for this gospel in her life.

We are also working with a less-- active family with 5 kids.  It was extremely hard at first to get them to church but this last week they came with their entire family and we are seeing such progress with them. Our goal is to point them towards the temple.  Can’t wait to work with them a lot more this week!

This week we had a Karaoke Night with our entire ward and our investigators. It was an absolute blast. I have never felt so much unity and love in a ward.  They all just feel like family. I wish I could send some videos, because wow, our bishop really put on a show--showing his hidden talents of dancing and singing. haha

Slowly but surely we are continually making progress here and I am seeing miracles each day. The secret is that we just have to LOOK for these blessings in our lives. This is such an unbelievable work and missionaries are not the only ones called to carry it out. Each of you have a badge painted on your heart and as a result we need to try to fearlessly share this gospel with all those who are looking for it. I love you all so so much! Keep smilin!

Love, Jess

two of our investigators and my penchinista on the right

 

Hmmmmm....I wonder where the hot water knob is?....Oh wait...we don't have one haha