Fam!

How are all of you!? Well, this week has been a good one, especially with getting new investigators that I feel have a really bright potential. I am beginning to see how meticulously Heavenly Father works in order to guide us to those people who are just waiting to accept this gospel and to come unto Christ.

Noelia; the girl who I told you about last week, we had another lesson with her. As we started to talk she just didn’t want to listen.  Her eyes were all over the place and we just felt like our words were passing right through her ears. However, through the power of the spirit, our conversation slowly switched gears to the topic of the atonement and repentance. Didn’t know why at first, but as my companion and I began to say words like "clean", "lift your burdens", "forget your past", her eyes immediately focused.  Like Holland says, "through her EYES we were able to find her need".  She began to tell us how she wants to be a new person and by the end we committed her to a baptismal date for the 21 of June. Please pray for her!

Gaberiella; we met her mom on the street and for some reason she wanted us to visit her daughter because she needs guidance in her life. Well, from this comment we were expecting this girl to be a little rebellious and will not want to listen. But, as this 14 year old girl began to talk about God I felt I was talking to a 30 year old, spiritually. We began to talk about Joseph Smith and she was captivated by the idea that he was 14 years old as well and she wanted to learn more. She has such an amazing potential. Seeing little miracles like this each day makes me realize how much God knows me and the people we teach. 

Jaime; one day as we were walking along the street, feeling discouraged.  All of the sudden I caught the eye of a woman with her baby in hand walking on the other side of the street. As I made my way over to the other side of the street, I didn’t even say one thing, and this women says "Come to my house and share your message with me. I am free right now". Haha wow, this has NEVER happened to me before. It goes to show how a little smile and eye contact can affect a person. She is completely receptive and we gave her a BOM to read. She is beginning to share everything she is learning with her husband and is progressing!

This last Saturday we had a baptism of yet another little 9 year old whose parents and practically whole family are less-actives. It was amazing to see this process of his. At first this boy had no interest in this message but little by little I was able to see the change in him.  All the way to the point of him asking when he could be baptized. He has such a strong desire and he has changed so much. To see the little smile on his face when he walked in the baptismal font was priceless. At the end of the service we asked his parents to bare their testimonies and they were both just bawling. I could feel the spirit working on them, allowing them to remember the joy of the gospel. 

This last Sunday was the Sunday of less-actives.  We were able to get five families that we have been working with to attend this last Sunday. It was such an amazing site to see, to see people enter into the ward after many many years. Causing them to remember the spirit and happiness they once felt many years ago. 

I am going to end with the lovely prayer one of our less actives offered in one of our activities.....Padre nuestro, que estas en los cielos santificado, se ha tu numbre venga a nosotros tu reigno, hagase tu boluntad aqui en la tierra como on lose cielos. danos hoy nuestro pan de cada dia, perdon nuestros ofensas como tambien nosotros perdonamos a los que ofenden......................what? haha This can’t be happening right now, I thought as my companion looked at me with a smile. haha Heavenly Father definitely has a sense of humor. Oh the things that happen each day here are crazy.

Well, this was my week! i hope all of you are doing well. Just remember this week to LOVE those around you. You may forget the nice comment, the little smile, or the small act of service that you did.  But for the person receiving this love, will never able to forget it. Watch the talk of Pres. Monson again if you can. I love you and miss you all more than you will ever know. Talk to you next week!

Love, Jess

p-day fun

FAM! 

Hey! How is everyone? Thank you so much for all of your pics and emails. They really keep me going each week! Let’s see, yesterday we got the call for our transfers and......haha no change. I am positive that the Lord wants us to be together for a reason. And if we work with all our hearts, minds and strength we will find why we were meant to be companions for this time!

Well, this week has been a little bit of a struggle with appointments falling through and such.  But its ok because there were lights at the end of the tunnel! You just have to look for them. There were some mini miracles that happened this week. Many of them were with inactives. 

There is an inactive single mom who has two kids who live in conditions that are extremely extremely poor. The kids maybe eat two slices of bread and one glass of milk each day. And at times I don’t think the mom eats.  But despite this, she has the desire to completely change spiritually. She has made many mistakes in her life and because of this she hasn’t entered the ward for 12 years now. She doesn’t feel worthy enough to attend. However, wow, this last Sunday as my companion and I waited at the door of the ward house, the time had passed to enter but all of the sudden as we began to walk back. We heard the voices of her two little kids behind us. It was such a spiritual experience to watch her walk into the Sacrament room, after 12 years of inactivity. This day was her day to change. The Lord gave us a miracle that day.

Another really cool experience I had was with another inactive. She is 21 years old and is the daughter of the former Bishop who is extremely strict and I feel like this is part of the reason she fell away from the church these past two years. She has been going to a university and hanging with people who are not at all keeping with the standards of the church. She has not wanted anything to do with us these past few weeks. But one day we really felt impressed to go visit this family, and sure enough she was there. We all sat down with her and the parents, and the funny thing was as we began to talk, the parents slipped out of the room haha. We began to ask her questions about God, and if she thought she had a potential. There were questions that came out of my mouth that were not my own. And it came to the point where she began to cry and told us her desire to change the direction of her life. Once again, this was another miracle that Heavenly Father gave us this week.  The light at the end of the tunnel! 

Yesterday, we headed to a house of an inactive member but when we knocked on the door a young girl answered to tell us he wasn’t there. AH dang we thought. But right then we got the feeling to go in and share with her this message. It’s hard to say this but I think she has been the most prepared person spiritually that we have taught. As we asked her questions about her faith in God and what she wants for her life the spirit has never been so strong. And during that whole time I just thought that she is one of the people just ready to accept this gospel. And at the end of the lesson she asked "When can you come back?" What a miracle. I know Heavenly Father wanted us to find her and he led us there.

Funnies of the week:  As we went to teach another less-active, he answered the door with black hair all over his hands. And guess what he was doing? Skinning, by hand, cuies . . . rats. Yep. And all of the cuies he had dehaired were sitting in a vat of water. Dead. Mmmm lovely. 

Another one was, as we were reading the BOM with a less-active mom. All of the sudden her son who is 12 years old, who could probably pass off as a nose-guard for the NFL, walked in the front room with his tiny little towel just to get a snack to eat in the shower, he told us. Haha wow. These little things just make my day. Heavenly Father definitely has a sense of humor. 

Well, that was my week! The big thing that I learned from this week was that in our lives, amidst all the disappointments, we always have to be attentive, always watching for the small tender mercies of the Lord each day. If we look, and have hope, Heavenly Father will always put a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it is hard to recognize at first. 

I love you all so so much and I miss you more than I could ever say. Thank you for your prayers, I can feel them each day. Talk to you next week! Keep smilin!

Love, Jess

My Zone

FAM!

Hey! I can hardly believe that I got to talk to you and see your beautiful faces yesterday. Everyone seems to be doing so great which gives me so much comfort! Anna, Milo just seemed like one of the family sitting there in Midway. Ah and I can’t believe how big Mills, Eleanor and Abey are! It just about broke my heart when Abey gave me a kiss over the computer.  And how Mills was repeating every Spanish word that I would say. Ahhh it was so amazing to talk to you guys and realize I actually have a living family still.

Well this week has been great but a little bit of a challenge. It all started during planning.  My companion had a really bad migraine and soon enough we were in the emergency room with her. She went into the doctor and he said that she would not be able to work for four days due to the stress of the mission. Soo she stayed in the hospital and I had to direct the area for three days. Each day I had to call people to be my companion for the day.  Both of them were 17 years old and in the ward. During this time every decision, turn of the corner and every lesson depended on me and my young companions just followed along. I felt so weak but somehow I did it. I’ve only known this area for 5 weeks but things seemed to work out ok. The last night of these three days I went back to my penchanista’s house and Hna. Rivera said the doctor checked her and absolutely everything was fine with her. Was this a coincidence? Absolutely not. Hna. Rivera and I were talking later that day and came to the conclusion that Heavenly Father gave her this health problem in order for me to grow and get a little taste of what it is going to be like if she leaves this transfer. During this transfer I have been struggling with having confidence in myself. However, through this experience I was able to realize that I have the capacities, but I just have to have the faith. Heavenly Father lets us struggle because he loves us and this is definitely what I learned through this challenge. 

Let’s see  . . . like I told you yesterday, Jose Maria wants to get baptized but is waiting for a couple weeks due to family things, traveling and such, but all that matters is that he has the conviction and the desire to enter into this covenant! I’m pretty sure he is going to be the next prophet in the future.

Our other investigators that I was talking about last time, Rene and Marisol?  Yeah, during a lesson this week we were talking about the sacrament and how "those who have made this covenant with Heavenly Father, which you haven’t yet." They both looked at each other and said, "Well there is something we haven’t told you yet.  We have been baptized..." WHUUAA??  This completely threw me off.  For two weeks now they have been acting like they are investigators. But no worries. It is not only our job as missionaries to help others come unto Christ through baptism, but help these people through the most important part of all this, enduring to the end!

We have an amazing family that we are teaching right now. It is a single mom and she has three kids. She lost her husband two years ago and now she says she is looking for the right path for her and her family. She is looking for comfort and peace during this time of unbelievable responsibility and trial. Tonight we are going to have a family home evening with this family and talk about the blessings of the temple and eternal families. I am so excited!

The topic of the temple seems to be theme of my mission right now. We are working with so many less active families and are helping them along the path to get to the temple right now. It is amazing to see the blessings that come not only when one goes to the temple but before, as these families prepare, I can see the change and the difference in their lives!

Well, I hope you liked my "chop" of a haircut. I don’t think my companion got the message that I just wanted a trim. But it’s all good--welcome to the mission! The unexpected! Wow, this week has been a challenge, but just know that through the power of the atonement we cannot only endure but ENDURE WELL. I love you all so much. Thank you for your examples in my life, without them I wouldn’t be here today.  Keep smiling through the tough times!

Love, Jess

Guess who I let . . . . cut my hair!

FAM! 

"How are you all?". . . (Huggy, please explain)  I think this week especially we have progressed a lot in our work here as a companionship.   But it was nothing we ever did, it was Heavenly Father pouring out his blessings in response to our fast in order to find people who are searching for the truth. On Monday we had a Noche de Hogar with a man named Raul. He has about 25 years and is so awesome. We showed him the Mormon Message of Uchtdorf with the man on the cruise ship who thought all the food and parties were not included in the ticket. It was awesome.  Watch it. Anyway, we began talking to him about the potential he has and how without the gospel he is living "under his privileges". And somehow the spirit led us to challenge him to baptism and he willingly accepted. However for 20 days he will be working in Cuzco which will be hard but we made him a schedule of things to read and pray bout each week and found a church in Cuzco for him to go to.

But, what the true miracle was that on Saturday we went to the house of Raul to have a lesson the day before he left. And as we walked in the whole family was sitting at the table and we ended up teaching the entire family. The grandparents are less-actives but the children are not members. But I honestly thought they were members, the way they spoke about god and prayer, etc. We invited them to church the next day and told them we would pick them up at 7:30 sharp haha (Arequipena time is 45 minutes later). The next day we knocked on their door and they were dressed and ready! What a miracle.  During sacrament meeting both the brother and sister, Rene and Malisol (about 25 years old), were asking us question after question and stayed for the entire three hours! Marisol was even taking notes during the classes.  They are so prepared. And heavenly father knew that!

Also, on Sunday a member brought an investigator, Carmen, who is really interested! Last night we were intending to visit Jose Maria but he wasn’t home. We tried again anyway to ring the doorbell, but oopps it was the wrong one. To our surprise this door was the house of the member who brought Carmon. And for some reason, my companion and I felt we needed to share a scripture with him. As we walked into the house, again to our surprise, Carmon and her whole family were sitting on the couch! So amazing. And she agreed for us to come and teach her and her family this Wednesday!

Wow, the little coincidences of walking into the family of Raul and ringing the wrong doorbell were things that only the hand of God could have directed. He is in every foot step, turn of a corner and knock of a door. These experiences are evidence to me that Heavenly Father KNOWS HIS CHILDREN so so personally and knows where to send his servants to find them. 

We had another lesson with Jose Maria. He knows he wants to get baptized but is a little hesitant. Yesterday we challenged him to pray to choose a date for his baptism and today we have a NDH with him and have been praying that he has found the date. Please pray for him!

This Saturday we have a baptism of a young boy, Mateo, who is 10 years old and is in kind of the same situation as the two boys we baptized a few weeks ago. The family is less-active but Mateo has all the desire to get baptized. Like family Hanco, I know this will spark in the family what they have been missing for so many years.

Funny of the week: We went to go visit our recent converts, the two little boys, to teach a lesson. They live in the 3rd piso, or floor, so we did the usual doorbell for these kind of houses . . . . throwing rocks at the window haha. We waited for a while and as I turned around to walk away something really hard hit me in the head. Oh wait, it’s a half-eaten chicken bone. I look up and there are the two Hanco boys laughing their heads off. haha They are crazy but doing so well. They are going to be such strong missionaries when they grow up.

Well, that was my week! I hope all of you had an amazing one. Just know that Heavenly Father is in every detail of your lives. I am so grateful for all of you and your amazing examples. I wouldn’t be who I am today without each of you. I love you soooo much. Talk to you Sunday!!!!! I will try as hard as I can to make this work. Pray for the Skype system ha. Love you and keep smiling!

Love, Jess

My little gym

Fam!

How are you? Seems like everything is going well for you! Well, this week has been completely focused on how to get this ward into shape. We have found that many things are very disorganized and we are trying to get everything in order and do as Pres. Monson has said, to work with the members! It has been a challenge but I know our work will be worth it in the long run! This week we met with each of the leaders of the organizations and set goals as missionaries and leaders. Especially, we are trying to get all the names of the less-actives in each organization so we can work together in order to get these people to remember their covenants and come back to Christ. We really focused on the less-actives this week. There are so many in our ward. It is unreal how many of these people were returned missionaries, counselors in the bishopric, or relief society presidents and now, deny that they really have faith.

There is one family that we went and saw, Familia Rivera. The entire family has the desire to go to the temple and is super strong in the church but the dad wants nothing to do with it. It was surprising that he let us in this last time. As the lesson started we were prompted to talk about temples. And this may have been a little harsh but I was prompted to ask, “Do you have the same desire to make this sacred covenant with your wife? Do you believe Christ will provide a way for you to read this goal?” He began to explain how he had forgotten what faith is. He has been waiting his whole life, even when he was a counselor in the Bishopric to find a life of peace and comfort, and it still has not come. We began to explain to him that faith begins when you ACT. And, letting him into his house what a small act of his faith. Satan is really trying to taunt him into thinking that he has no faith, same with the rest of us. In this moment my comp pulled out a BOM and we explained that if he would exercise his faith and start reading this book he would be able to find the peace and comfort that he has been searching for. This last Sunday he came with his entire family! Wow, God really creates miracles.

Same with two other families that we have been working with. Familia Rojas has not been coming for over a year but yesterday we knocked on their door and they were all ready to go in their Sunday best! Also, another man Hno Suniga has not come to church for over 2 years. Returned missionary and everything but just slowly began to forget the special covenants he has made. All we needed to do was remind him and the spirit did the rest! This made me realize that we all have to be extremely careful to never forget our Lord and the promises we have made with him!

We had an amazing lesson with Jose Maria this last Sunday. He came to church for the second time and is so excited to learn more and more. Our lesson was extremely special. As we walked into the lesson prepared with a lesson, however, my comp was prompted to ask, “What do you want to learn about?” And surprisingly he said, “The spirit world.” Well, ok. We started with that but someway and somehow the spirit led us to the topic of the temple. I had no idea why because he was 16 years old and this is usually a topic we discuss with older members, not usually with investigators. However, the spirit was so strong as we started talking about the sacredness of the temple. The next question we asked was, “What is your biggest fear in this life?” Weird question but it was of the spirit. And he answered, "Loosing one of my family members." Now we knew why the spirit led us to the topic of temples. At the end of the lesson we asked him, “Do you believe that this is the correct path for your life?” And he answered, “Yes, I do, without a doubt!" Ahhhhh such a miracle. He is one who was completely prepared and ready. Pray for him!

Well this week our ward was talking about activities we could to do to get the ward united. Haha And by the end they had concluded that I was going to teach classes in English each week haha! This should be a lot of fun. I’m not really sure how to teach it but hey, I am going to try!

Well, this week has been great! I hope it was great for you too! I have been thinking a lot his week about Joseph Smith and his trials. Especially the scripture that says "Your trials will be but a small moment but if you endure it WELL, ye shall be exhausted on high." Through our trials we need to not only endure but endure WELL. Whatever trials any of you are going through just remember the example of Joseph Smith and know that through the atonement you can not only endure but endure WELL your difficulties. I love you alllll soooooo much. I feel your prayers each day! haha I hope the Biggest Loser contest is going well. I’m pretty sure I am in last place! Anyway, talk to you next week! Love you!!!

Love, Jess

My crazy zone leaders

Hma. Flora from my group at the CCM

Fam!

Well, this week has been bitter-sweet....like all the weeks in the mission are haha. On Saturday we had the baptism of the 10 and 12 year-olds. It was so special to see these little boys dressed in white...waiting in a completely spiritually-hyper way to enter into the waters of baptism. But the real miracle of the day was the father who is separated from the family and never goes to see his kids because he works all day everyday.....He came! The mom talked to him the day before and he said he wouldn't come but right as the boys were walking into the font he walked in! What a miracle, it meant so much to the boys and as they were being baptized I looked back at his face. I don’t know what but something touched him and I hope in a way this experience allows him to remember the covenant he once made.

We have another investigator, I think I told you about him. His name is Jose Maria ad he is 16 and is already going to a university studying electronic engineering. And his final goal is to move to the United States and work for NASA. Not only is he super intelligent in this area but he is also spiritual. He knows just about every detail in the Bible, however, he is completely humble. He is extremely receptive but has told his friends in the ward that he doesn't want to be pressured to be baptized. So right now our goal is to gain his trust. However, our last lesson was amazing. We centered our message on the BOM and the spirit was so unbelievably strong as we testified of its truthfulness right next to the bible. Wow, this week I think I have testified of this book more than any other subject in the gospel. And I realized something. Elder Holland said, "Pay attention to what you are telling your investigators because it may be that these things are the very things you need to work on." I think sometimes I forget about the convincing power the Book of Mormon contains, and this power changes hearts. I pray it will start to change the heart of Jose Maria slowly.

We have a family we are working with right now who are a little hard to crack. Let me give you a little taste of how they are. At our first visit, the 7 year old walks in and says, "There is one thing I want to tell you. I am catholic, and you can’t do anything about it" then walks out of the room haha. Wow! But that didn't surprise us because that is the disposition of the majority of the people here. With this family, the mom is a teacher in the Catholic school and is super hard to work with. However, the husband is completely receptive and has had these lessons before when he was a teenager. When we walked in he had his BOM ready to go. I’m not sure how long he has had it but obviously for a reason. During the lessons when his wife leaves the room he starts to ask many many questions with such desire in his eyes. HE WANTS this but doesn't want to go against his wife. We are going to work really hard with her. We have hope and like they said in conference, "We know they accepted this gospel in heaven, so we have to have faith that they will accept it here."

Two fun facts:

1. My companion snores like mom plus dad times 8! haha I get a little taste of home each night.

2. I ate my first food with teeth, eyes and finger nails intact. Wow, what an experience. It’s actually pretty good once you get passed the presentation.

This week has been hard and amazing at the same time! I have learned a lot about the atonement of Jesus Christ, especially of its enabling power to allow you to do things beyond your capabilities. Also, I have found that through our difficulties we cannot pray for our circumstances to change but to gain the strength through the atonement to overcome our circumstances! The atonement is the POWER. I love each of you so so much! I can feel your prayers each day and they help me move forward. Don’t forget to keep smiling!

Love, Jess

I ate my first food with teeth, eyes and finger nails intact. It’s actually pretty good once you get passed the presentation.

This is CUI.....aka RAT....my pench has them as pets then cooks them haha. Eat up! 

Jessie's apartment in Zamacola from Google Earth

FAM!

This week was a little crazy getting to know my new area and all the new investigators but it was great! It is unreal how different an area can be when it is only 10 min. away from my last area. I don’t know what it is but the people here in Zamacola have a completely different feel to them. They are a little less open here...haha.  I got rejected more this week than I did in my 6 weeks with my last companion. It was really hard to for me to see people immediately reject something that is so special to me and something that I know can change a life completely and bring eternal joy and happiness into a person’s life. However, when I start feeling this way...I am led to the words of Elder Holland in his conference talk. I’m not sure exactly the words but it was something like "You will have moments of abuse and rejection right now and in the future just because you are a member of this church...but...be ready to stand STEADFAST. This is the cost of discipleship."  I realized I will encounter this rejection everyday on this mission bur this is part of the being a disciple of Christ. However, I am also grateful I never got it as bad as the sister missionary in Elder Holland’s talk...who got food thrown at her. Wow. haha But maybe this could be in my future, you never know. But all we need to do is stand steadfast as members of this church in these last days.

My companion is an angel...she is from Chile, 20 years old, she has a very soft spirit and a soft voice but she is an amazing missionary. She has more patience than anyone I have ever known. She loves asking me questions and talking and laughing all the time. She actually speaks pretty good English. My Penchanista is a second mom pretty much....she always has our food hot and ready when we come and she is always calling to see if we are safe.

I haven’t gotten a true feel of the ward yet but they seem great. There are a select few that are always willing to go to our lessons with us, which is great! However, as I said before, this ward hasn’t had a baptism in 5 months...and through talking with the zone leaders...they said that Zamacola has always been the hardest batch of people, with rejection, etc., compared to all the other areas. And from this week I can see how that could be....but it’s all good.  We ARE going to CHANGE that. We have a goal as a companionship to be more bold because our characters are more on the shy side.

This week we had a lesson with a 12 year old and his younger brother who is ten. The mom is less-active and doesn’t really want us there. Hna. Rivera has been teaching them for a while now and we went to teach them this last week. During the whole lesson we talked about Joseph Smith and these two boys are just infatuated with him, wanting to be as he was. As we were wrapping up the lesson I was prompted to explain that through Joseph Smith the authority to baptize was restored and right then I asked them to be baptized for this next week! Even though they are young...they accepted with full hearts and the spirit was so strong as they shared their simple simple, but amazing testimonies with us. These boys are so on top of it.  We have been visiting with their mom and after several calls and visits we got her permission to baptize them. We feel that this is not only going to change the lives of these two boys but also allow the mom to remember her sacred promise she made with her Heavenly Father. And through her boys she, we believe that she will start coming back to church! She came to church this last Sunday with her boys! Wow, Heavenly Father is amazing.

We also taught a young 16 year old boy who is super smart and already has a firm belief in Christ. As we talked during this lesson, once again we were prompted to be BOLD and challenge him to be baptized at the end of this month if he comes to know that these things are true for himself.  And he ACCEPTED! I can’t wait to see this gospel change his life because I can see such potential spiritually in him!

Wow, this week has been a little crazy but it’s all good! Even though this area is hard I just have to remember what Mike said in a letter to me once...."change the world...one soul at a time!" If I focus on one soul at a time Heavenly father will do the rest.  Whether that person is an investigator or a taxi driver, I need to talk to all to find that one! I don’t think Ii have learned how to rely COMPLETELY on the Lord so much in my life than while I have been out here. Fam, just know that I know with allllll my heart that GOD lives and know each and every one of us personally, more personally than we could ever realize. Pray to Him always and wait patiently for His answers, because each of the words you speak have been marked with "his seal and testament" and they WILL be answered. I love you and miss you more than you know. But our family bonds is what is giving me strength the press on! Talk to you next week! Always remember to keep SMILING!

Love, Jess

My new apartment

The view across the street

My new Penchanista

We found American chocolate!!!!!

I had to go with my companion to do all her visa stuff today, with all the Chilean group.  This is one of the crazy Chilean elders

Hey Fam!

I got transferred to Zamacola this week.  My new companion is Hna. Rivera, from Chile.  It is a little sad because I fell in love with the people in my ward but I know that Hna. Hubert going home, Hna. Zobrist being prompted to call and all of this was guided by the hand of the Lord and I will willingly go where he wants me! Hna. Rivera is so sweet and I know she will help me so much in becoming a better disciple of Christ! This area is 15 minutes away from my last area and it hasn’t gotten a baptism in 4 months so I am ready to work super hard!

General Conference was unreal! I am so grateful....our zone has 6 gringos in it and we got permission from the president to watch it in English! I can’t tell you how much the words of the prophets and apostles lifted me. I honestly can’t pick a favorite, each of them had an element I needed to work on. However, I did sense an overall feeling of urgency in each of the speakers voices...warning us of the future that lies ahead....it’s getting close you guys. "The world will not glide calmly to the second coming of the Lord"....We need to choose now to show our faith and not hide it under any circumstance...and stand STEADFAST....holding on to the rock our redeemer (I don’t think I have heard a scripture repeated so many times in one conference). This is our 4 minutes to stand STRONG....and the only way we can do that is through faith, obedience, gratitude and most importantly the atonement of Jesus Christ.  We cannot carry our "loads my ourselves." If we learn of Him and take advantage of His atonement we will gain the spiritual traction to stay on the path.  Even if in the near future, the fierce winds of evil beat upon us. At the end of each of the apostles talks, I noticed more than ever before, their words as they testified of their PERSONAL testimony of Jesus Christ.  They truly know Him and I know that without a doubt! Study their words and you will not go astray!

We had a baptism this week.  It wasn’t in our ward, but Luz Maria called us and asked that we specifically come! It was such a beautiful experience. After she was baptized we went in to the bathroom to help her change.  I asked her, “How do you feel?”  And she said "I feel like a completely new person."  Wow, this experience was amazing. It was a long road to get her to this point and was able to participate in this special day of hers. Also, this week a lady in our ward that we have been teaching has been coming to church for 1 year and hasn’t been baptized.  For a reason I cannot say. But yesterday after conference she talked to the stake president and he told her she could got baptized this week! This was such a miracle I won’t be there which makes me sad but it’s all good! This lady has endured through so much and the Lord showed her mercy and now she can officially be a member of this church! Such miracles. 

We definitely felt the earthquake! It was about 3 minutes....and it practically felt like the street turned into jelly haha. I held on to my companion saying in my head....is this it? The second coming? haha. It was scary but no worries, I’m fine! I have my emergency pack to live off of for a month if needed....moms package...hehe  Thanks mom...I loved it! And thank you all for all of your sweet notes! 

Well this week has been one of many changes but I believe they are for a reason! I love and miss you all sooo much!

Love, Jess

The Zone

Luz Maria baptism

New comp Hna. Rivera is 2nd from the left

one of our rescatadas in our ward - less active for years and now is active again

Fam! How’s it going?

Well, this week has turned my world upside down just a little bit....especially on Saturday. The sister leaders called as we were heading out the door and said “You need to come to the mission home right now”....I thought.... Oh shoot, what did I do now...a little freaked out I asked for what.....and she continued, “Hermana Hubert is extremely sick and is going home today”. This completely shocked me, however, for some reason I felt at peace knowing that the hand of the Lord is in this situation. We went to the mission home and Hna Hubert was there and I was able to talk to her. She told me she had been in the hospital for 5 days now and they had no idea what was going on but apparently she was passing kidney stones and she had lost 20 pounds since she got in this area.  Something is seriously wrong and she needs serious help. From the CCM till now she has had sooooo many health problems. It makes me really sad that she is going home but I know in my heart that she needs to go home. Soooooo for now I am in a trio...we are not going to be together for our lessons but she is sleeping with us. So now I am with 2 latinas! haha. Her name is Hna Rivera and she is completely opposite of my companion. She is more on the calm and serious side. She is from Chile and is the cutest thing in the world...she is studying fashion design. The entire time I am with her she is always asking me questions about my family.  I love it! This week will be interesting but I know that god’s hand is in it!

On Saturday night we were able to go to our stake center to watch the RS Conference....haha but it was in Spanish haha. I caught a lot of the concepts! Even though I didn’t understand ALL of it.... I loved it anyway because I felt such comfort and familiarity when I saw the faces of the Presidency. I realized how much you can tell from just looking at a person. As I looked at each of speakers faces I could just feel their grand spirit solely through their smiling faces. And as they asked everyone to sing the simple primary songs...didn’t realize how much those simple words could lift my spirit so much. The gospel is simple and pure. This got me excited for general conference...it is probably my favorite time of the year....hearing the words of god specifically for us today! I hope I will be able to listen to it in English but now that Hna Hubert is gone I’m not quite sure. We will see!

On Thursday we had a huge activity called...The Danza Familiar....We invited families to prepare a cultural dance and invited people from the stake to judge. It was so fun to see the amazing culture of these people. Each family went all out with costumes, makeup and everything! Many of our investigators came and 2 of our less active families came as well...which was such a blessing. The purpose of the whole nighy was to get families to the temple. The prize of the 1st place winners was not just some chocolate or something....it was 2 free tickets to Lima in order to go to the temple! A really young couple won and when they found out... I don’t think I have heard someone scream so loud in my life haha. Seeing such joy in their faces made me realize how truly lucky we are to have such a beautiful temple so near by. Never take that for  granted....take advantage of taking part of those ordinances....monthly...even weekly! Because here in Peru they don’t have that blessing!

This week we have been working with a new family of 5... I am not sure if I told you guys this story but the mom of this family was walking along on day and all of the sudden so looked at us and stopped right in her tracks.....all we said was “e are missionaries”.... and she answered, II have a family that would love to be a part of this organization that you have” .....wow unbelievable. This woman is an angel. She has a 15 year old daughter and two 9 year old sons. This family is so receptive and open. It is unreal how much commitment they have to learn. I know this is a weird way to put it but I don’t know how else to describe it. It is like this family has been fasting for 15 years and now we have brought them their first taste of food....and they are continually thirsting for more! We always trying to leave when it is getting late but the mom always says .....oh, no just one more scripture haha. This family is so special and is the definition of the people who are ready to receive this gospel in these last days!

Our baptism for the 5th...turns ou\ she wants to get baptized in another ward with her friends...so no baptism for us but it’s all good...all that matters is that she is making that commitment with god!

Well this week has been great with a lot of twists and turns along the way! I have really learned to rely on the Saviors atonement with week. I cannot even fathom an elder brother having so much love for me that he would suffer and give His life! He knows what we are all going through in a very personal way. But because he suffered for us....We are INDEBTED to him...to render to him ALL that we have and are (Mosiah 2.34). I love you each soooo much and pray for you every night. Your spirits are always here with me! 

Love , Jess

this is the family from Ikitos that I talked about a few weeks ago

this is an activity we had where people did Peruvian dances haha

 

this is our ward!

Family!

Well, this week has been a combination of about everything. Many frustrations and disappointments yet, many tender mercies and mini miracles. The two people who were going to get baptized this last week fell through. Jiorgina...the older lady....her son found out that we were teaching her and refused to let us come back. I honestly don’t know why. And the other young girl won’t answer our phone calls. This made me really sad but then I remembered what Elder Holland said in a talk, #When you are rejected, you are standing shoulder to shoulder to the best life this world has ever known.....Why should we think it should be easy for y him?# I have found that this work is not easy because Salvation is not a cheap experience and Satan truly wants to take anyone he can....but the light of Christ is stronger. These baptisms that fell through were hard to see but Heavenly Father led us to more who are ready and willing. 

One is a middle aged woman who has a tumor and lives with her family in a very small house. She was a reference from two elders. They came with us on this visit. The four of us sat in front of her and began to talk about baptism and God’s plan for her personally. Her face slowly began to brighten with desire...we all noticed it...and we all looked at each other and just smiled. The next moment one of the elders asked her to be baptized and she answered without hesitation, #With all my heart#...sorry this computer doesn’t have quotes haha. We then asked her to go in her room and ask her Heavenly Father what date He wanted her to be baptized....and she decided April 5th! Amazing! After this, the elders were prompted to give her a blessing of health for her tumor. The spirit there was so strong. And as I stood there, I realized this is why I am here. Not to see these people as a baptismal statistic but to take upon myself the burdens of those in need and point their souls toward Christ. 

Another mini miracle is a family we contacted about a week ago. They didn’t give us their direction....so we just knocked and knocked on metal door after metal door to try and find them. When we were about to give up.... we knocked on one last door....and through the rebar we saw three little sets of eyes peeking through. Haha I recognized these little eyes.... these were the little ones we contacted the week before. They willingly let us in and we got to know them just a little better. The mom is married...which is extremely rare here. As we began to teach all the little kids gathered around and listened intently. As U looked into their little faces I remembered something my CCM teacher told me to do when teaching.... imagine these people in all white and see them as what they can become...such as a bishop, stake president, RS prs. So that is what I did....and I got the distinct impression that we need to get this family to the doors of the temple in the future. Fam, please pray for this family....because I want to do everything I can to lead them to the temple!  Because as I looked at them....something told me #This family needs to get to the temple#.

On Saturday, we had an extremely successful activity that our whole zone put together for our stake. The theme was #The Tree of Life#. We created a giant iron rod with pipe....and ran in through the entire chapel. We blind folded each person and there were three worldly rooms....the disco room....the cinema room...and the poker room. And as the people entered, all of the elders began to taunt them like in the great and spacious building. It was quite a hit haha. Afterwards we had testimony meeting in the chapel where the tree of life was placed. This stake is so strong...and as I listened to their testimonies I couldn’t believe how amazing the members of the church are in Peru! The vision of missionary work in South America is growing so fast!

Well this week I have built a testimony of prayer...like I never have before. You never have an appointment with the Lord....talk to him whenever and express your every fear, doubt or worry. But especially this week I have found something. I had asked myself, #If god has all power to heal, why doesn’t He just heal me right now?#  Well, he does have all power but because his goal is our eternal happiness. He allows us to discover our answers through experience.  Express thanks when he withholds an answer because he is allowing you to struggle and to act on your own faith without prior confirmation. The power of prayer is REAL and I know that for a fact. He is conscious of our every need, and no matter how alone you may feel...you can KNEEL.

I love you allll so so so much! I can feel your every prayer and giving power to move this work forward. I miss you more than ever but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I pray for each of you every day. Talk to you next week! Remember to just keep smiling!

Love, Jess

My Penchanista (the Bishop's wife that does all of their laundry and feeds them)

Trail run for p-day last week 

What I eat all day! She buys bushels and bushels for me!