Some interesting stories...

Hola friends! It's been another great week in Cajamarca! We have some interesting stories too haha

Tuesday

As we were walking to an appointment in the sketchier part of our area (it's not super sketchy, just not as nice as the other parts), this older lady said that we were pretty and that she has sons we can marry....um no thanks. anyways, Carla accepted a baptismal date for the 17th!!! It'll be my first baptism and I'm so excited for her! I think she's ready and I really think the church is something she needs in her life. She and her brother Hernan (who was baptized like in march) can help each other and support each other. We told her that this week will be hard because Satan doesn't want her to get baptized, but that we will help her with anything. Super exciting!!

Thursday

is our day for daily planning and we usually go to the tienda that's close to our house to get snacks, cuz it usually takes 2-3 hours. We were deciding what to get when I saw in the ice cream cooler a carton of frio rico. It's vanilla ice cream with chocolate cookie pieces and chocolate  sauce, and it's super good, so we bought that. We ate the whole liter of it in about an hour. Needless to say, it was a bad decision and we won't be doing that again, but it was sooooooo good(: 

Friday

We ran around our area giving out invitations for the ward activity. The activity was pretty crazy. It was an international night, and each organization had a different country and had to make a food and do some kind of presentation. It was supposed to start at 7 but started at 7:40 (per Peruvian standard time) and some of the organizations didn't get there till like 8;15 with their food...but we had 4 investigators or less actives there so that was awesome! It ended up being a pretty good activity and there were a lot of people there. 

Saturday

We were finally able to meet with James and Violetta, but they hadn't kept any of their commitments..so we talked about how we have to act if we want to progress and learn, and shared the "faith without works is dead" scripture. It was a short lesson but they said they'd go to church and read the Book of Mormon. We just don't really know what else to do with them cuz they never go to church and don't really keep their other commitments, but want us to keep going back. So we're working on that. We also had an FHE with a member family and we shared two videos about Jesus Christ and that through His atonement we can receive help and forgiveness. As i bore my testimony about Him, I felt the spirit so strong. I know that Jesus Christ is our savior and that he perfectly understands our trials, and will always be willing to help us. 

Sunday

NONE of our investigators came to church...and we try to call or visit every investigator on Saturday or Sunday to remind them, but we only had one less active come. Sunday afternoons can be hard cuz we don't usually have a lot of lessons and when we do, they often fall through. Two of our lessons fell through, so we went to talk to the neighbor of one of the members. She's had missionaries from other religions come, but she said they all confused her. We had a really good lesson with her about the restoration, and gave her a Book of Mormon. She's traveling to Lima this week, so we're hoping to meet with her again next Sunday. Also, the evangelist missionaries that visited her told her that we like to share what we have, like it says in the Bible. This evangelist missionary told her that there's a basement in each of our church buildings where couples go to share their spouses with each other.....we told her that that DEFINITELY does NOT happen. idk where these crazy rumors get started, but man, people make up weird stuff about us...

Anyways, I'm still working on lots of things, and the mission is really really hard sometimes, but I read a talk by Elder Holland this last week about missionary work and the atonement, and he said this: I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience...I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul...If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that...When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions.

I wrote this down and put it in my planner to read every day. The mission is supposed to be hard, but when we rely on Christ and try to do what He would do, it can be a little bit easier. I know that He is our Savior, Redeemer, and our brother. He has lifted me up and helped me in my trials, and now I'm trying to be a better missionary so that other people can come to Christ and experience the joy of the gospel. I love you all so much, and with more wise words from Elder Holland, "keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing.Heaven is cheering 

you on today, tomorrow, and forever.

 

 The Hermanas of Zona Cajamarca (missing 3 sisters)

Moto selfie

We found this beaut in the street yesterday, I thought you'd enjoy this mom(: