Juliaca is my home! It is seriously the armpit of the mission as far as scenery and baptisms go, but I couldnt be happier. Maybe it`s the way we have to bundle up from the icy weather and mud, or how the people are so endearing and stuff our faces til we beg for mercy, or maybe that my companion is also a Nevadan and we share a mutual longing to eat Cane`s - either way, it is a paradise! And my heart is so incredibly happy to be in this muddy, cold place. It goes all against reason, but I take that as a confirmation that I am where I need to be right now. I testify that our deserts in life end up being our paradises, and that Heavenly Father leads us through them in order to help us learn from our afflictions and become even more like Him. Part of that process also includes having a fulness of joy in this life! I am a witness of that.
I passed through the trials of my life while being in Quillabamba, and I`ve come out singing and wanting to just serve everyone and anyone. There was a price that had to be paid of course, which was submitting my pride and will to Heavenly Father´s. But I can say now that my trials have led me to pray even harder, to rely on the Lord wholeheartedly, and to seek to love others despite their bad decisions. True happiness is really found in focusing on everyone but one`s self, and in seeking to be more like the Savior. It`s taken me a while to learn that, but it is better late than never! There is a peace that can be found in whole-hearted dicipleship, no matter how much we may sometimes deny that and seek to do what we want rather than what the Lord wants. I challenge each of you to go and ask Him what His will is for your life, and to seek to do it whole-heartedly. I can promise you that the Lord will give you the strength to do it, and you will one day find that we lose nothing of worth in losing ourselves in the Lord`s service.
Well, this is all for now! I dont have much else to share than by saying that I am giving my best to learning my new sector and in being a little more proactive everyday to do what the Savior would do. Life is great!
Love,
Hna Arroyo
1. Our view outside of our apartment. I`ll make sure to send a picture of the mud next week!
2. My lovely companion Hna Ramos and I.
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