Araquipa Mission

FAM!

I love hearing all that you are doing and the amazing things that you are accomplishing.  It makes me so happy! Well, many things happened this week.  I will tell you many things in detail when we talk NEXT SUNDAY! Crazy how quick it is coming.  I don’t even want to think about that! Man, but I will just tell you a little miracle that happened this week . . .

We went to visit a very poor family who is planning on going to the temple this July.  As we were setting goals for them in order to get there the mother began to cry and said that their major goal as a family is to get his son, Luis, back on the path because years ago he made a majorly bad decision that has determined his life direction now.  Since then he has not come back to church. So, as hard as it was to call him out of his room he came out and resisted a lot but we planned a visit with him the next day.  As we sat there getting to know him and asking questions we had the feeling to talk about the atonement of Jesus Christ and he began to cry telling us that he KNOWS that he has made many bad decision in his life and he wants to CHANGE.  There was such an amazing spirit in that lesson. This Sunday we were sitting in the back and his family was sitting in the front.  He walked in for the first time in five years and everyone saw him and not the family. But his little sister got up to give her testimony and as she looked around at the congregation she just stopped talking, staring at her brother, looking shocked. I will never forget that experience! The power of the atonement is amazing!

I have been traveling a lot lately in order to do divisions with the sisters.  I have seen so many humble homes and humble people willing to change and ACCEPT the atonement of Jesus Christ. These people here are unbelievable. They are not focused on the material, they are naturally focusing on the spiritual always! They are such amazing examples to me and I feel so blessed to be in the midst of these people who teach me so much each day!

Thank you so much for all that you do for me and the support that you are each are in my life. I couldn’t do this without you! I love you so much. Each day REMEMBER the atonement of Jesus Christ! I will SEE you this Sunday!

Love, Jess

Mama y Hija - REUNITED :)

FAM!

It sounds like all of you are doing sooooo well.  That makes me super happy! This week in Pedregal, zona MAJES (mahas) haha President has been joking with me my whole mission about sending me here because of my name and now it’s a reality! 

We started out the week not knowing anything but with the desire to know everyone! But honestly heavenly father has put so many angels in our way this week to help guide us.  Just the first day we were walking around with a map looking totally confused, as I turned my head there was a lady standing on the corner and we both had the feeling to go and ask her.  Happily she accepted to take us throughout all of the streets, as we were talking she told us about all of the difficulties that she was having in her life and she knew that in this time in her life she needed Christ. We are going to visit her this week. What a miracle.

Another day as we were walking trying to look for the houses of the members, my comp turned to me and said, "Ah I wish that a member would just come up to us and say, ‘Hey hermanas, can I help you navigate your way through these streets?’”  As we continued to walk all of the sudden a voice behind us was yelling. "Hermanas, wait, wait! I just saw you with your plaques and I have been searching for you all over the place because I am from Tacna and I have not been going to church, but here I want to start over again but I just didn’t know where the church was!" This was literally an answer to our prayers. Heavenly father puts the people in our way!

Those were just two of the many miracles that I was able to experience this week.  I can’t even list them! But I will tell you a little bit of my area.  We have the center where there are tons of people walking constantly. Our area is HUGE including farms. The people are so amazing and humble. Our branch is made up of three areas but it is still really small. There are two sets of elders and us in our area and we all eat at the same pension which is fun! Each day we tell our spiritual experiences of the day and what we have learned.  It’s like we are at the dinner table with "the fam". I am so, so excited to be here with my companion Hna. Rivera.  She is such a huge example to me of love and charity. I know that there are huge things waiting for us here in Pedregal! 

Thank you so much for your faith and prayers! I couldn’t do this without each and every one of you! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. Keep enduring and SMILING!

Love, Jess

Goodbye Ana

Goodbye Moquegua.  With the Zone Leaders.

FAMILY,

Sorry I wasn’t able to write yesterday and I am passing by an internet really fast today to let you guys know that I am still alive haha,  so I can’t write much but....

I got TRANSFERRED yesterday to Zona Siguas, Area Pedregal.  It is way up in the mountains,  a little pueblito. I traveled 7 hours to this new area from Moquegua yesterday. And I will give you a little picture in your minds of what the trip was like.  Remember when we went to Greece and our entire family was in the bus heading up the mountain, curve after curve and the missionaries had to push us up?  It was like that hahaha. And the area that I am in now is like that little village at the top, but it is a huge village here in Siguas. I am here with my old companion Hna. Rivera.  This is her last transfer in the mission and we are both new here in Predregal! It will be a fun challenge!

It was unbelievably hard to leave Moquegua.   So many miracles, memories, people that I love, but I know that a change always makes us stronger so I am ready to work here in Siguas!

It was Marife´s baptism our last Saturday in Moquegua. Oscar baptized her which was such a spiritual experience for him. She needed to go under 3 times because she is so tall haha. But he did it and it was so special to see him raise his arm to the square. Marife has such an amazing testimony of the BOM and the atonement. She is going to be a missionary!

Sorry I can’t write too much but I gotta go and learn my new area! Thank you so much for your prayers with the list that I gave you last week, I truly saw the affects. I love each one of you so much. And I hope you have an amazing week full of little miracles! Keep smiling!

Love you,

Jess

Baptism of Marife!

Gabriella, menos activa, who now is ward missionary.

I couldn't hold my tears in with her.  Hna. Lucia honestly changed me.  So hard to leave her.  She was less-active but after Oscar (her son) got baptized she came back and is now in the relief society presidency.

Marife and her mom, who is going to be baptized in two weeks.

Oscar, most amazing convert ever.  So hard to leave.

Edson - another best convert ever

FAMILY!

Each of you sound so good! Thank you for all of your reports of your lives.  I love listening to all the good things that you are doing! This week has been a little bit crazy with traveling.  At the first of the week we went to Arequipa then on Thursday of the same week we went to Tacna (which is like two hours away) to have a multi-zone with president and his assistants. It was crazy.  But through these trips I was able to experience spiritual experiences in EVERY moment!

This week was really special.  I will mention a couple of the experiences that we had.

One day we were going to all of our lessons and one by one our lessons were falling through.  When it came to be 6:00 we were going to another appointment when all of the sudden we passed by the bread store that our recent convert owns.  We both had a feeling that we just needed to enter.  As we entered we saw her son, Henry.  We had talked to him many, many times before and it was extremely hard to get through his wall. But we both received the feeling to ask him if we could talk. Right before he invited us in I was remembering that Anna (recent convert) was mentioning every time that we visited her the her son Henry showed me a new video of the prophet today, "my son Henry" read the Book of Mormon with me today, etc.  As we began to talk to him we asked him why he had that desire to help his mother strengthen her testimony even though he wasn’t baptized?  We were silent and we asked, "Do you know these things are true?”  He said, "Yes.  I want to take the same step as my mother."  In his face I could just feel that for many months he has been waiting for this opportunity to be extended to him and he IMMEDIATELY accepted to take upon him the name of Christ. 

This was literally a miracle and I can’t thank my Father in Heaven enough for preparing Henry and his entire family! This Sunday their entire family assisted Ana, Henry, Ronald (another son) and Jenny (Ronald’s wife). This family is so special and chosen for this time! 

We also had an experience with one of the less-actives that was reactivated, Guido, during sacrament.  To our surprise, the bishop was extending callings and Guido got called as the president of the Young Mens! And I just thought of a couple weeks before this he was on our list of less-actives that we almost decided to let go because he wasn’t keeping his commitments.  And now he is called as president! Heavenly Father has HIS time for all things!

Mari-fe and her mother Juana are doing really well.  They are both obsessed about the restoration and are constantly wanting to watch more videos about Joseph Smith and the Book of the Mormon.  At the end of this month we are planning their baptism together as mother and daughter which will be so special!

This week I couldn’t even count how many tender mercies and miracles Heavenly Father has put in our path. But through his hand each of these people were able to progress and move forward in this journey! Thank you so much for your prayers and your love.  I couldn’t do this without each and every one of you! I love each of you so much! Keep smiling! 

Love, Jess

Multi-Zone

Our Zone!

President - always with his jokes :)

with Hna. Waldron - sister leader who is going home!