Go Forth With Faith

Well, we had a good last week as a trio! Carmen and Sergio had read in the Book of Mormon until 2 Nephi 24 in 8 days!! We are teaching some really great people, we are just working on helping them progress.

On Thursday we had a lesson with a guy who went to the capilla abierta, (chapel tour) and we went with a member to the appointment. Holy Hannah that was one of the most stressful lessons I’ve ever been in. He kind of talked himself in circles  and interrupted every 5 seconds and would not talk about anything but the Bible. At the end he invited us (and prayed for us) to be able to find the truth and gain wisdom..... it was stressful and frustrating in the moment, but we laughed it off when we left. 

We got transfer calls on Thursday and Hermanas Martinez and Obrien are both getting transferred and I will be staying in Granados to train a new missionary. We visited a few members yesterday because all our citas (appointments) fell through, and I just continue to be amazed at how great the members here are and how much I love them. 

This week I found a hymn that I haven't sung very often, but that I absolutely love!! Sorry it's long, but I love all three verses. 

1. Go forth with faith to tell the world

Of Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Bear witness he is God’s own Son;

Proclaim his wondrous word.

Go forth with hope and courage strong

To spread the word abroad

That people of all nations

Are children of our God.

2. Go forth with love to tell the world

The joy of families—

That we may be with those we love

Thru all eternity.

Go forth to serve and do your best

With no thought of reward;

Then you shall know the boundless joy

Of serving Christ, the Lord.

3. Go forth with pow’r to tell the world

The gospel is restored,

That all may gain eternal life

Thru Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Go forth to preach his glorious truths

Of peace, of joy, and love,

That all who heed his holy word

May praise the Lord above.

That’s what I’m here to do, go forth with faith, love, and power to spread the gospel and the love of God.  I’ve had this hymn in my mind this week to remind me. The church is true!!

*No pictures this week.

Just Another Week in My Missionary Life

This week we contacted a GOLDEN reference, met an atheist, had a baptism, and rescued Juanito.

The golden investigator was like a self-reference, cuz she contacted some other hermanas in Tottus (a supermarket) last week, so they sent us the reference. We went that same day and talked with Carmen and her 9-year-old son Sergio. They are from SPAIN!! and they are super cool and wayyyy prepared!!! We had a fantastic lesson and they had lots of good questions, so we are really looking forward to their progress. 

So I don't know what this is in English, but the guy we met is a panteista(???) like he believes in the forces of nature, like the wind, the sea, the forest, instead of God. I don’t know how that helps you in life, but whatever floats your boat.  That was a first though. "yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." (cough, cough)

Maykol got baptized!! Of course I was super happy for him, but I don't feel like I really had a part in his conversion because he had a testimony and wanted to get baptized way before I got here. The service was really great though! I played the violin and my companions sang for the musical number, and our ward mission leader baptized him. Maykol is going to be such an amazing member and leader in this ward. 

So yesterday, all our appointments fell, so we were going to try and find another investigator, when we found Juanito (the old guy in our ward) very far from home. He said that everyone in his house had left and he was bored all alone, so went to find friends. So we walked him back to his house, where it turns out that everyone was just sleeping. We had a pretty funny conversation though. He cracks me up. 

Have a great week! and "be anxiously engaged in a good cause"! (ie, please help your local missionaries) they will be eternally grateful and you will only get more blessings!!

Lots of love from Peru!!

Relaxing after service and church 

Maykol's baptism 

:)

Arise and Shine Forth!

Happy Birthday America! Hermana O'Brien and I celebrated by making an American flag, saying the pledge, singing the national anthem, and wearing red, white, and blue. A super fantastic family here invited us over for an FHE and gave us McDonalds and donuts! How much more American can you get??

On Thursday we had a super awesome multi-zone training with President. It was our zone (zona este) and zona central. President talked about the goal we have of 100 converts in one month and how we can get to that, and we did a really awesome practice with contacting in different situations.  I’m so grateful for the great leaders we have in this mission.  

Maykol is doing awesome, and is so ready for baptism. We had a super spiritual FHE with him and an awesome family last night. I really love this ward and the members here. They are so strong and are teaching their kids to be strong too (there are a TON of kids in our ward).  We are finding new people and looking forward to seeing their progress. I love being a missionary and sharing this gospel. 

Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations (D&C 115:5)

Over a year ago, some friends and I were in IHOP for breakfast one day, just talking and having a good time. The waitress asked if we were Mormon, and we said yes. She said that she could tell, and that we had a special light and spirit. I don't remember what else she said, but that was a cool lesson for me. If we are living the gospel and trying our best to follow Christ, we will be different and other people will be able to see that. Just by living right we can find missionary opportunities. So arise and shine forth! Love you all!

Hola Gringas!

More good news!! To celebrate (early) the fourth of July, I ate McDonalds for the first time in 13 months!!!!! We had permission to go to the mall today, so I took advantage of the food court(:  It was fantastic. 

And even more good news!! We have a baptism for the 15th!! His name is Maykol (pronounced Michael but with Peruvian spelling) He's 23. Hna Martinez and her trainer were teaching him, and he was super great, but then his family said that if he got baptized, they wouldn't pay for his school...but he came to church yesterday, had a super great talk with the bishop, and decided that his parents can't control his spiritual life. So we had a super great lesson last night and set his baptismal date! 

Also, we had intercambios (exchanges) this last week, and hna Lee is my hermana leader again and we got to go together! We had such a fun time together. She is the best. Then on Thursday, we had a lesson with a referral from the capilla abierta (chapel tour). First of all, his name is Napoleon so, he wins. Also, he's like way prepared. He’s attended a lot of other churches, but didn't like them, has completely changed his life and given up bad habits already, and had so many questions for us. He has a Book of Mormon, so we invited him to read it, and we set another appointment for this week. He couldn't come to church yesterday, but we are super excited to see his progress. 

We went to Chan Chan last week, which are ruins from the Chimu civilization, not the Incas. The Chimus actually joined with the Spanish to fight the Incas because the Incas were trying to take over everyone.

From Wikipedia: The Chimú culture was centered on Chimor with the capital city of Chan Chan, a large adobe city in the Moche Valley of present-day Trujillo, Peru. The culture arose about 900. The Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui led a campaign which conquered the Chimú around 1470.

Funny story. So yesterday after lunch, hermana O’Brien wasn't feeling super great, and then she started burping, and she literally couldn't stop! It was like hiccups, but worse. It was so funny and we were laughing so hard. I have her permission to tell this story btw.

Also, there's an old guy in the ward that everyone calls Juanito. He was bishop for a long time, then a few years ago his wife died and he started to lose his memory. So he'll introduce himself to you like 3 times in a minute. But he's still really funny. Yesterday at church we were talking to someone, and he passed by us and said, "hola gringas." I don't know why I thought it was so funny, maybe cuz he's old. But I laughed. 

Well, I’ll be missing one of my favorite holidays tomorrow. Everyone better enjoy their hamburgers, watermelon, root beer, and fireworks!!!! America is the best! #ProudToBeAnAmerican

"Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written." (Ether 2:12)

If a Book of Mormon prophet prophesies about America, you know it's the best. The Book of Mormon is true!

That's Juanito - we ate lunch with him yesterday 

 McDonalds!!!!!!

Hermana Lee and brownies

hna lee showed me how you can make lightsabers with pens and camera flash

Chan Chan - we visited these ruins last P-Day