Inviting People to Change

It’s been another great week in Guadalupe! 

Last week we had a lot of really good lessons and Santos and Henry went to church with their two boys!!!!! It’s the first time they've been in my time here. They went when the elders were here in my area, but when the elders left, they stopped going. So we're hoping for continued progress with them. 

This last week has been good as well with some good lessons and some frustrating ones. Rosalia, the convert who I talked about a few weeks ago, has yet to read the Book of Mormon and just has a million excuses for everything. She says she has faith, but obviously not enough to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. It’s frustrating because her daughter reads lots of stuff on the internet and then tells her mom...but something funny is that her daughter calls us the police. So when we get there and knock on the door, the daughter will yell "mom the police are here!" haha I think it’s funny, it makes me laugh.

We had two investigators at church yesterday: Hermano Ventura (the dad of one of the families we're teaching), and Edgar. Edgar is a reference that we contacted Saturday and we invited him to church. He actually went and stayed for all three hours!! It was the best! So we’re starting to see some more progress and we're praying lots and trying to exercise faith. 

Missionary work is so dang hard but is also so rewarding! Sometimes it can be frustrating, but this week I found a quote from Clayton Christensen from his book Everyday Missionaries that says "you succeed when you invite, regardless of how it turns out." I love that! Because everyday we invite people to change, to repent, and to pray to their Heavenly Father, and even if they don’t do it, we've planted that seed and done our part. I love the people of Peru and I LOVE THE HEAT!! not really but I’m trying to tell myself that until I believe it. Guadalupe is the best and we are going to see miracles here, I just know it. I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Hermana Stevenson

Hermana Holmes - the Elders think they're pretty funny

 Hermana Lee

 Our district

This ditch finally filled up with water so a bunch of kids were playing in it

Temple Tuesday

hey hey! So I’m so so good! Being at the temple today has been literally the best thing ever. I don't have hardly any time, but I want you all to know, that I know without a doubt, with every fiber of my being that this is the true church of Jesus Christ and that this work is His. My testimony has been strengthened by this time spent inside the temple and on the grounds, and the temple truly is the house of the Lord. All ya’ll who live by a temple, make the most of it and go often!!! I love you all!

 Trujillo, Peru Temple

I am a 30-year-old Russian

So to explain the subject line: an old lady told me she thought I was 30 years old, and then a member said I look Russian. So do with that what you will. 

It´s been an ok week. We just have a really hard time with people not keeping their commitments. Hardly anyone reads what we ask them to read, or prays specifically to know if our message is true, or goes to church. So that´s super frustrating. But on Friday and Saturday we had intercambios (exchanges) and the way we do intercambios has changed. Now they're always in the hermana leaders area, so there were four of us there. So I was with hermana lee from my CCM (MTC) group when we were proselyting and it was the BEST!! We spoke English all day, had super great spiritual lessons, talked about the CCM and all our friends from there, and about food that we miss. And it was there in San Pedro that a member said I look Russian. 

So on Sunday we were walking through the front gate to the church, and there was a family going through the door into the church building, and I was like, wait I know them!! It was familia Campos from Cajamarca!!!!!! (Felipe was our mission leader, and his family was pretty much my family in Cajamarca). They were in Chepen visiting family, but knew I was here in Guadalupe, so they came to our branch!! It was literally the best to see a family who showed me so much love in the hardest parts of my mission so far, and I love them so much! So that was kind of the highlight of my week. 

Other than that, I just have a million bug bites that are driving me crazy, but next Tuesday we get to go to the temple!!! I am so so so excited, it´s been so long! 

I love you all so much and miss you like crazy, but I’m trying to find the joy in missionary work and in serving Heavenly Father and his children here in Peru, and slowly, I am finding it. Have a great week!!

 Our district - the Zone Leaders are missing

 This is a fruit called maracuya and I think it looks like lots of little fish eyes. But it's good.

 With Familia Campos!!

Happy new year!!

Friday we had a lesson with Rosalia, she got baptized like a year ago, but isn't active. We have been trying and trying to get her to read the Book of Mormon, but a big problem is that she and her daughter like to read stuff on the internet...so she has issues with ridiculous things. But on Friday we both testified about how when we trust God and not the internet, and when we pray with faith, God will answer us and tell us what we should do. The spirit was so strong there and finally she said, ok, I’m going to pray. So the spirit finally got through to her! So we'll see what happens.

Saturday was my birthday!! Hna Mancilla called me old all day (funny, cuz she's 6 years older than me), but it was a good day. We had a lesson with Santos and committed her to talk to her husband about getting married, because she knows the church is true and she wants to get baptized. She is the best, and we're hoping to see their family progress together to be able to be an eternal family. Our pensionista gave us pollo a la brasa (like rotisserie chicken) for dinner and then gave me a cake! After I made my wish she held it up to my face and said I had to take a bite. So I went to take a bite and she shoved the cake in my face!! haha I guess that's the tradition here. But it was a good day. 20 years old and 7 months in the mission....haha

So yesterday we were visiting some members, and they have turkeys and ducks and chickens out in their back patio, and they were working out there, so we sat there and talked as they worked. But the turkeys kept trying to get close to us to check us out, and they're kinda big so it was scary. But they gave us sticks to fend them off. I also  accomplished a life goal, and touched the weird red neck thing on one of the turkeys. It was weird, I don't recommend it. Then the members gave us paneton (a sweet bread), and I was just sitting there eating it, and one of the chickens came up to me cuz it wanted some. I kept shooing it away with my foot, but it kept coming back. Then it wanted some so bad that it jumped up on my lap! ack, it kinda scared me, but I knocked it off pretty quick. I would have been very happy to give it all of my paneton, but I figured it would be kinda rude right in front of the members. So i ate my gross paneton like a good little missionary and didn't complain. 

This morning I was reading Elder Holland’s talk from April general conference about how every day can be a good day because the Lord will always love us and support us. At the end he quotes some verses from Isaiah 40 and 41 that I just love. 

 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

 10 ¶Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

 13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

That was pretty cool to read especially because I’ve been having trouble with having energy and being awake in the heat. But wow it's an amazing talk, and I know that these verses are true! God is always with us and will support us in every good thing we do. I love being a missionary and meeting all the amazing people here. I love you all and hope y’all have a good week. 

Hna Stevenson

These are "muñecos", basically just scarecrows that they burn on new years at midnight. 

They're kinda creepy. 

Cake getting shoved in my face

Us with 2 girls from JAS (YSA) they're both super cool and fun. We climbed the virgin hill with them this morning