Hey fam! How are each of you doin!? It sounds like you are all doing great! Sorry I don’t have tons of time today to write but it’s all good we will be able to talk on Christmas! I am super excited to talk to each of you and see how much you have changed -- especially the little ones! This week has been a good one. It’s finally nice to have a companion at my side. Hna. Bazan has been great! This change from Tacna to Moquegua has been really hard for her emotionally. It really took a toll on her. But it’s all good, we have set goals for this next week in order to help the sisters in our zone and to see the work of the Lord press forward!

This week we had our Christmas party in Tacna which was really fun. We went down there for the day and six zones got together to eat, do skits and to listen to President and Sister Zobrist talk. It was so special. We did some games, each zone did their own skit-- and they were hilarious, I can’t even tell you how hard I was laughing. After, we all ate PANETONE and hot chocolate which is the typical food that they have here for Christmas! It was so fun!

Yesterday we had such a special lesson with Edson about missionary work. After he gets baptized this week he wants to prepare to go serve a mission! In this lesson he began to cry because he was going to be able to serve the Lord full time and he has always looked for a way to do so in his life until now. He is so unbelievable. He is going to be one of the most amazing missionaries I know. He hasn’t even been baptized yet and he already has a firm testimony of all the principles that we have taught him -- especially the Book of Mormon. Ever since we gave it to him he has read a half hour each day and he says after he is done with all of his studies at like two in the morning he starts to read the BOM for hours! I am so happy for him!

In the mission I have truly felt the true reason for Christmas. I can especially feel this spirit when we contact on the street. We have been carrying around our little DVD player with the video He Is the Gift and as we see families in the park or people waiting for the bus we sit down and show them the video. It has been so amazing to see the faces of the people when they see this video, forgetting about themselves and the material things that we often focus on, focusing completely on our savior, Jesus Christ. Especially during this time we need to do as the first presidency says, “FLOOD the earth with this gift of Jesus Christ.” And as we do I can testify that we will feel the savior right by our side!

I love you so so much! Sorry the computer is going to shut off and I need to send this! See you soon!

Love, Jess

at the christmas party with the Pres

my comp and I at the plaza in Tacna

my zone at the christmas party

A message from Hermana Bennion's mom:
I spent a few enjoyable days with your daughter in Moquegua when I was picking up my daughter from her mission. I got to stay in their apartment and I thought the bathroom with its shower head over the sink was worth photographing. The night gowns were pretty cute too. I was impressed with the discipline and goodness of your daughter. She's doing great things in the ward and with investigators. It looked like a pretty rewarding life as a missionary.
-Rebecca Bennion

Here are a couple more photos. We were served a delicious Sunday lunch at some member's home. The other photo is in front of our daughters' last apartment. 

FAM! 

Hey how is everyone doin down in freezing Utah? haha I’m kinda jealous of the cold you guys are having.  Here it is unbelievably hot.  You hardly ever feel a moment of cold. It is really funny walking around at night seeing the Christmas lights in the widows of each of the houses and at the same time sweating bullets. Everyone here in Moquegua has an amazing spirit of Christmas and I love it. In fact, yesterday my companion and I put together a Christmas music recital and it turned out to be amazing! I don’t know if I told you before but we had been working and practicing this entire month with the missionaries, ward members and primary kids to put together eight numbers with narrators before each number. It was tons of work.  We organized to go on the radio in order to announce it to ALL of Moquegua. Pres. Zobrist came down to talk at the end and the spirit was so unbelievably strong.  We had about 400 people there and the missionaries got many references which was our objective! It was great!

This week has been a little bit crazy because my companion left for the entire week but it was all good.  I decided to take advantage of the time that she was gone to go on splits with the two sets of missionaries that we have in ILO. These two companionships live in the same house so I got to know them very quickly. And it was super fun to get to know them a little bit more. I had many special experiences with them and learned from each of their talents and gifts!

However, I wasn’t alone for the whole week.  Hna. Bennion came back on Saturday and Sunday with her mom to be able to direct the music recital yesterday, which was super fun to be able to get to know her mom.  While Hna. Bennion was playing the piano for the sacrament meeting I sat with her and translated what the speakers were saying which was kinda fun. It kinda gave me a flash back to when we went to Mexico to visit some of the people Adam taught and we had no idea what was going on.  But she told me that she could feel the spirit even though she couldn’t understand. She was able to sit in on a lesson with Hna. Bennion and I where we challenged Edson (19 years old) to be baptized and he said yes! Hna. Bennion’s mom was able to share her testimony and we translated. Edson is so ready.  He has understood each lesson we have taught him and he learns extremely fast. He is one of those old souls who knows everything spiritually but we are just here to remind him of the things he has already learned before this life! He is going to be such a powerful missionary!

Ana Nunes is still planning on getting baptized but has been having a few complications with her health lately and had to go to Arequipa to figure everything out. But we are planning on getting her interview ready this next week.  Just help us pray for her spiritually and physically. She needs our prayers!

This morning I went to pick up my new companion Hna. Bazan from Panama. Here is a little view of what she is like.  I walk into the terminal. She sees me, runs toward me as fast as she can and hugs me, almost knocking me over haha. She is the cutest thing ever.  She is always happy, smiling and laughing but when she talks about spiritual things her testimony is so strong! I knew her for one day (we both trained at the same time) so we got to know each other at the mission home a while ago. I am really excited to work with her and to learn from her in this next transfer!

Well, that is it for this week. This week I have truly felt the love of my savior Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for each and every one of us. If we truly take time this Christmas to find the true purpose of giving rather than receiving, it will be a Christmas that we will never forget. REMEMBER the true reason for Christmas and find your testimony of HIM. I love each of you so much.  Thank you for your love and prayers.  I couldn’t do this without the power of my family! Keep smilin!

Love, Jess

 

Went on Divisions with the girls in ILO. They are adorable.

Traditional dance show that we had at our ward.  So cool!  They preserve their culture so well here!

 Hey fam!

How is everyone!? It sounds like everyone is doing well down there. Everything has been going great down here in Peru. We were a little late today writing because we changed apartments! We are moving to the house of one of our recent converts who has a restaurant and she is going to cook for us.  I am so excited to live with her and her family! She is the only member in her family and we are hoping as we live closer to them the spirit will be able to make an impact on each of the members of the family.  Many exciting things happened this last week . . .

If you remember me talking about Ana, our investigator, she accepted to be baptized on the 28th of December! She is so excited. At first she was a little bit hesitant because she told her husband about it and he wanted her to wait to be able to study and investigate more. However, the other day when we were at her house she told us of her experience. Lately she has been very delicate physically not knowing what to do other that cry.  She began to cry in pain because of it as we were there (the lesson before this one) so, we called the bishop and he came over and gave her a priesthood blessing.  He gave her the blessing, she said thank you and he left. Yesterday she told us her experience.  She felt like during this week the pain in her knees completely went away and this was evidence to her that this church was true and that she is going to tell her husband, "I am getting baptized on the 28th. Are you coming or not?" (haha that’s exactly how she said it) and he accepted to come as well as her kids. She is so amazing, so strong willed even though physically she is week and this is evidence of how real the priesthood is! Such miracles!

We are also seeing a lot of progression in our less-actives and this week we are planning of rescuing many of them!

Our leadership conference was amazing.  We talked about the importance of contacting and through contacting we can change generations!

I received an even grander testimony of fasting this week. This last week I began thinking a lot about the family that was baptized in Buenos Aires and haven’t been able to get in contact with them for the last couple of weeks which was worrying me.  So I prayed and fasted that they would be alright and that night my comp answered the phone and two little girls screamed in the phone, "Is Hna. Mahas there?" My comp handed me the phone and as I heard their voices I knew it was them! Such a miracle! Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I talked to them for a little bit to find out that they are doing well, going to church and to the young women activities. Amazing how powerful the hand of God is!

This week my comp goes home on Wed and I will be here alone with a member the entire week which will kind of be crazy but it will be a great opportunity to get to know all the members! I will miss my companion so much but it will be great to get to know another amazing sister!

Sorry this is a little short but I gotta get to my apartment.  Thank you for your prayers and everything that you do for me. I couldn’t do this without your! I love you so much! Keep smiling!

Love you!

Jess

EL ES LA DADIVA (he is the gift) Remember HIM this Christmas! 

navidad.mormon.org    ---this is an amazing video

Leadership Conference with Hna. Rivera

FAMILY!
 
How are you all? It sounds like everything is going well for you guys! Well, this week has been a good one. We have been seeing many miracles with our less-actives this week and it is unreal to see the changes they are making in their lives and the things they are doing to remember the things that they once knew but just have forgotten. 

The other day we put together an activity called "the night of tradition" and each of the sisters brought a typical plate of Peru and presented it and told where they got the recipe, telling stories about their families. Later Hna. Bennion and I did a presentation about family history and how the spirit of Elija needs to be a part of their lives each day. It was a real success because, speaking of less-actives, there were many there who hadn’t come to church in 20 years. I sat there and talked to one lady who had served a mission and had been sealed in the temple with her family 30 years ago but slowly Satan pulled her away from the church and without even realizing it she has had 30 years of inactivity. We had many investigators and recent converts who came and were talking non-stop about their family and the dishes they had made, which was a beautiful site to see everyone wanting to learn about the individual lives of each person. Without Heavenly Father's hand in guiding these people there, I am positive they wouldn’t have come. Such miracles.   

We are working with many new families of investigators who have not heard one thing about the church. And that family with Maria, we are slowly working with them to set goals and traditions as a family to pray the find their Father in Heaven in their lives because it just seems like they have never known him in their lives. It is amazing to see the changes they are making in their lives in order to know Heavenly Father again!   

We also found an old investigator that hasn’t been taught for about two years. She is a single mom with four beautiful girls. We met with her the other day and she lives in probably the poorest environment I have ever seen. As we talked to her she began to tell us about the challenges that she has seen in her life. Even right now she doesn't have water to feed her kids. As she was crying my companion pulled out a song from the primary "He Sent His Son" (which we are preparing to sing in the Christmas concert we are putting together in December) and we sang it with them and their four little girls. As we sang the spirit of the Savior was so strong and I felt like it brought immediate comfort to the mother. The spirit is so unbelievable!   

Well, sorry this is late. Yesterday was kind of a crazy one traveling the Arequipa and having the leadership conference didn’t really leave me much time to write you guys. But thank you so so much for your letters, they really do lift me up each week so I can have the energy and strength to carry on the work. I love you all so much and miss you like crazy but I can feel your prayers each day and can feel you right beside me! Keep smiling!   

Love, Jess