FAM!

Hey fam. It sounds like each of you are doing sooo well. That makes me sooo happy! This week has been so amazing with my new companion Hna. Brown. She is from Draper, Utah. She has studied to cut hair and do salon stuff, which is her passion. She is so humble and obedient and I am so grateful that I am able to be with her this last little bit of my mission! She is also going to go home one change after me so we kind of have the same experience and feelings at this point in our missions so being together is helping a lot; just keeping our head in the work of salvation until the very, very end, giving every last ounce that we have. It is amazing. It has been an exhausting but a week full of miracles with Hna. Brown. We saw many miracles because of our fast that we did. I have such a testimony about the power of the fast, the blessings truly come!

This week the less active that we are working with, her name is Irene, at first she didn’t want anything to do with us, however, she has completely turned around and this Sunday she came early, fasting, stayed to the very end and asked the president of the branch to get her life in order. To see the change in her has been such a testimony builder to me, especially of the power of the atonement in our lives each day.

Do you remember the experience I was telling you about the last week with Brayan? He accepted a date this month to get baptized. He is so ready and he is going to make such an amazing missionary. He knows everything about the bible and he is so receptive to spiritual things. He is truly an escogido!

Carmen and Ruben, who want to go to the temple in July, they are the less-actives that we have been working with were having a lot of problems as a couple, however, they had an interview with the president and doing the LITTLE things like reading and praying each night and I can literally see a LIGHT in their eyes now. They are progressing so well!

Another less-active family that we have been teaching has accepted a date to go to the temple also. They have been really struggling these last few months; however, they decided yesterday that they are going to go SI or SI!

We have been seeing so much progress in the branch. We are really pushing visiting teaching and home teaching. All the missionaries are going on splits with all the VT and HT to get them involved in the work of salvation and we have seen such a spark in the branch!
 
Well, these are miracles that have come from the hand of the lord and I am so humbled to see the lord’s hand each day in the lives of these people. I love each of you so much and thank you for all that you do for me, especially your prayers. I can feel them! Keep looking for miracles each day with a smile! LOVE YOU!

Love, Hna. Mahas

My new comp, Hna. Brown from Draper, Utah!  She is so amazing!

FAM!

It sounds like everyone is doing so well! I love hearing from all of you.  It lifts my spirits so much! This week has gone very well. I have been with many temporals for the entire week but it was a special experience to spend time preaching the gospel with these special members and I feel like it allowed their testimonies to grow even more and made them excited to be even more involved in the work of the Lord! I learned so much from each of my temporals! It was really hard to see Hna. Rivera go, because she has blessed my life so much in the transfers that we have been together and I know that we will continue to write and keep in contact. It is her goal to go to BYU so I am going to help her do that, which will be so, so fun!

We got our call on Saturday about our changes and another GRINGA comes to Pedregal. Her name is Hna. Brown.  She is also from Utah and I was her hermana leader in Moquegua, so I have done many divisions with her and she is awesome. She knows how do follow the spirit so easily and she is always looking to have fun! She is so cute.  She ends her mission in August. It will be so fun to work with her!

This week I have seen so many miracles. We have been working with a less-active family Denise and Arnold.  They were very inactive before but the Lord has helped them progress so much. This Sunday, Arnold received the priesthood and Hna. Denise is going to receive her temple recommend this week! But when we were there, Denise’s brother was sitting outside and he always gives "smart" comments about how he already knows everything about the bible when we go to his house. But this time as we started the lesson we said, "Hey get in here.  Come talk to us." and from there he started to contend with us but as we began to talk about faith he got quiet and it turns out that he has been trying to find the truth his whole life but hasn’t been able to experience it yet.  He has always rejected talking about it. BUT yesterday he came to church and stayed the entire time! And had so many questions! We never know who is sitting outside waiting or inside the house of our less-actives waiting to hear the gospel!

Many of our less-actives and recent converts have made a huge advancement with their family history and they are having so many spiritual experiences doing it! Actually, I had never done this before, however, we have an investigator whose entire family are members but her entire life she has rejected listening to the missionaries. But, yesterday through talking to her about her family history we stepped into her house and taught her about it! She was so moved about the thought to get to know her ancestors. It was so special to see that change!

We are planning to go to the temple dedication of the Trujillo temple on the 21st of June and we are trying to help the members receive their temple recommends also to be able to see it.  It will be so special!

Thank you so much for all that you do for me.  I can feel your prayers! I love each and every one of you! Keep pressing forward with a smile!

Love, Hna. Mahas

The branch president took Hna. Rivera out to dinner for her last night with the rest of the group of Predregal

Saying goodbye :(

FAM!

Hey fam! Sorry I don’t have tons of time because my comp has to do a lot of things today in order to be ready to leave to Arepuipa tomorrow! It is so crazy that she is going home this week! She has been such a blessing in my life.  During the first part of my mission she was my MOTHER and now still she continues to help me grow spiritually. It will be really hard to see her go but I know that we will be in constant contact after!

This week has been really special. We had our sister conference and we talked about REMEMBERING; remembering what we have promised in accepting our mission call and the way we should magnify that calling here! It was awesome to be there and hear everyone’s testimonies in how they decided to go on a mission!

Also, this week we had interviews with President which is always fun. He told us something really surprising.  He was talking to one of the 70 this past week asking him, "Hey, when do we get to see the first cornerstone put down for the temple in Arepuipa?" and he answered,  "I’m sad to say, not yet" Because according to Elder Waldell many think that temples are built according to the number of members there are but no it is according to the work the members do in sending in names through family history work and the members in Arequipa still haven’t shown their interest in this! So, this week my companion and I have been teaching in almost every lesson about family history and it has been such a spiritual experience for me to see all these people connect with the spirit of Elija!

We have been working with a less-active family these past few weeks and the wife really wants to go do the temple. "I will go tomorrow, if I can," she says.  But the problem is the husband.  He has parted from the church for a very long time and he doesn’t feel like he is ready to enter. But last night we had a FHE with them and he opened up to us and told us a very personal spiritual experience that he had had lately making him realize the urgency of his call as the father of the home to take his family to the doors of the temple! And we made a goal with them.  We are going to be with them constantly and they will start to go to temple prep classes! Such miracles.

This week has been great. I can’t wait to see what this week brings! Thank you so much for your love, prayers and support.  I couldn’t do this without each of you! Keep pressing forward with a smile on your faces always!

Love, Jess

Saying goodbye!

Sister Conference!

Fam!

It sounds like you are all doing great! This week has honestly gone by so so fast.  It seems like I talked to you guys on Skype yesterday! Everything goes so fast! This week has been a spiritual adventure full of ups and downs but at the end MIRACLES!

The biggest one that we saw this week was in our sacrament meeting.  We have been struggling lately in having many members and less-actives come to this hour for many months now. And we have been fasting and praying with our Rama council in what we could do in order to help the families here in Pedregal renew their covenants. We set many goals with them but one of these goals came from a promise that President Zobrist made to all the presidents of the Rama, bishops and missionaries of the Mission Arequipa, that if the leaders and the missionaries get to sacrament meeting 15 minutes early in order to meditate and prepare to take the sacrament we will be able to see the progress in our members and we will see the assistance grow. Well, we put this promise to the test these past few Sundays and THIS Sunday was the Sunday that the answer came.  There were so many members, less actives and investigators there that we didn’t have enough chairs or space to fit everyone, many were doubling on one seat. My eyes filled with tears as I saw this and I know that through small and simple things great things can come to pass and if we have faith that heavenly father keeps his promises we will be able to see the results if we look for them!

In the sacrament meeting the mother of our mission leader has not gone to church for eight years and when she walked in, I couldn’t believe it. So powerful!

This week we have been working with a less-active family. The father has been president of the Rama a few years back but now they are not going to church. We had a FHE with them the other night and I couldn’t believe what their little 7- year-old said in her prayer at the beginning, "Please father forgive us we have not been going to the church, which is a commandment. I hope you can forgive us.  We will go tomorrow and forever.  We feel so bad father, help us be better." What an angel, and we didn’t have to be too direct during the lesson because that little "burn" from their daughter. So pure. So special. And the next day, their entire family was at church right on time with their dresses and ties!

This week has been amazing. And I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for us this week! Thank you so much for your love and prayers.  I couldn’t do this without each and every one of you! I LOVE YOU! Keep pressing forward with faith and with a smile!

Love, Jess