Two semanas mas!

Hello Family!

Another week has come and gone. Days just blur together, and most of the time I don´t know what day it is! The CCM has become sort of like a prison at this point. Maybe the word ´prison´ is too strong of a word, but I completely relate to how Rapunzel felt in her tower.

"Look at the [mission field] so close! And I'm half way to it!" I am so ready to burst out of these walls and get to work. But the reality of it all is that there are still things to learn.

I have felt a fire lit under me since day one to stuff my brain with Spanish and learn how to teach the gospel, and now it is raging! All of the 100+ missionaries here at the CCM went out to proselyte in the Peru Lima North mission this past Saturday, and the experience showed me what I need to study heavily these last two weeks. All of the North Americans, with a few exceptions, were paired up with a Latino companion. Mine was Hermana Moreno. She is from Mexico, so we totally related from the start with our love of mariachi bands and how much we miss tortillas, chile, tacos, and Beyonce. (Heavenly Father knows us.)

 

We loaded up this last Saturday and took a thirty minute drive on buses to downtown Lima, where the people are really poor. I was surprised to learn that the higher people live on the mountains, the poorer they are. (totally opposite from the US) And the houses remind me of the ones from Aladin, all stacked up on each other. It was surreal to see how poor they are...It hurt a little because I wanted to help them. But they didn't seem to notice that they are living in poverty. That was the best part.

 

Anyway, we all gathered at a chapel with ward members and other missionaries. It was really cool to see so many members and missionaries working hard to reach out to the one. (Matt 18:12) The beginning of proselyting was kind of hard. I found myself getting a little frustrated when I couldn't understand or contribute to the conversational Spanish that Hermana Moreno was leading. It felt even worse when two women rejected our message that is meant to bring happiness. I was so grateful for my companion in those moments, though! If she was frustrated with me, she didn't show it. Instead, she chose to be understanding and caring. But even with someone as amazing as Hermana Moreno, I was bugged about feeling like I wasn't contributing or supporting her enough as a companion. So I said prayer for help to forget my fears and testify, and them sucked it up. (You have to do a lot of this on a mission.) After the two no's we received, we were happy to meet with two families. I'll tell you more about the first. We met an old man who happened to be a member, although his wife isn't. And his love for missionaries was evident from the moment we walked in. He immediately took out this nicely framed picture of the two Elders who taught him the gospel. This old man only had a few benches and stools as furniture in his home, but he had this picture of himself with the missionaries so promintently framed. I could tell that it was special to him. We cstarted our message by singing I am a Child of God, and invited the family to church. Our main message was about the blessings we receive as we keep the Sabbath holy, but we felt it super important to also tell them how much Heavenly Father loves them. The Spirit was so strong, and I felt this huge love as I testified to them with my amateur Spanish. It is always such a blessing to see the changes that take place in others as they accept gospel truths. This family committed to attending church this last Sunday.

 

The power and authority of my calling as a missionary never fails to teach me about Heavenly Father's love for us. I always felt His love and guidance before my mission, but it's only intesified as I've worked to help bring others closer to Christ. He has been true to the promise He made in Docrine and Covenants 100:5-8 while I've sought guidance in how to meet the needs of others. And more specially when Hms Hunter and I testify of the this Restored Gospel. We both feel a huge increase in spiritual power that only comes from heaven. These are testaments to me that this Church is true. I have prayed about it, and I feel it in the very depths of my being.

 

I challenge you all to ask Heavenly father how you can bring someone closer to Christ today. I promise that as you forget yourself for a moment, Heavenly Father will confirm to yoiu His love for you, and the amount of love he has for those you serve. This will make you more happy than you can imagine!

 

Thank you for all of your prayers. Spanish is getting better everyday. Sometimes I find myself thinking in Spanish, which is crazy. But it's all because of the Lord!

 

Here's a cool word in Spanish. Try to say it super fast!

 

parangaracutinimicuaro

 

And how about this traba lenguas:

 

Tres tristes tigres comen trigo en un plato del trigal

 

Have a fabulous week!

 

Hermana Arroyo