Week 35 - Viru

Hey everyone! I had another great week here in Peru! I learned a lot this week and got to see so many miracles. As a missionary I have seen miracles in many different forms. This week i got to see the miracle of how powerful the gospel can be in bringing families together. The same family i have been talking about for a while is still progressing and they want to get married this first weekend in May. They, for the first time ever, knelt down this week and prayed together. They told us yesterday that they feel like they are heading in the right direction, and that they should get married and baptized. It makes me feel so good that they are doing their part and praying and really trying to seek the Lords guidance. It gives me the assurance that I am helping them do the Lords will. 

This week I also had the privilege of working with one of the Zone Leaders. We had an exchange with them and it went great. I got to be with Elder Muñoa and he taught me a ton. I included a photo with him. He is a very good leader. He taught me to be more open, talk to everyone, work a lot with the members, and to be a firm leader. It was interesting to get to talk to him about being a leader and to get his advice on how I should be a more firm leader. I am learning so many things here on the mission. It is so awesome. 

This week we also had a the District Conference here. It is basically like stake conference. President Rios came and talked as well. All of the leaders were very direct and really focused on being good examples, keeping the Sabbath day holy, and keeping the commandments in general. One thing I really liked is what one of the sister leaders said...she said that we should have spiritual experiences often. weekly and even daily. That is so true. We really should strive to have such a strong relationship with our Heavenly Father that we have spiritual experiences often through earnest prayer, following promptings, and studying the scriptures. President Rios also gave some great talks. He always uses examples to teach and he used one that I really liked in particular. He said if you have a million dollars in one pocket and five cents in the other pocket and someone takes the five cents they are a robber. They have robbed you. It may have been a small amount, but they have robbed you. It is the same with the commandments. If we just buy one little thing on Sunday or take a sip of alcohol we are breaking commandments. It may seem little, but we have broken the commandment. It may seem a little harsh, but we have the commandments to protect us.

Thanks to our Savior we all get to realize what we need to do better and work towards getting better. I am so grateful for the mission and for our Savior. I know he suffered for each and every one of us. I am grateful for the  Plan of Salvation and the answers it gives to so many questions people have in life.

Elder Muñoa and Elder Miller 

                                          In our pensionistas garden. Those are papaya trees

Week 34 - Viru

 

Another great week as missionary is now in the books. It was a great week filled with cool experiences. We got to do a little bit of service this week which was really fun. We helped our mission leader take down his adobe house so that he can build a newer and nicer house here soon. I really love doing service. It was fun to get a little bit of manual labor in. 

This week we have continued to work with a few families and we also found a new family that is super awesome. I'll share one experience from one of the families. Manuel and Monica are not married yet and they have two kids together. They are really awesome. Manuels mom passed away a few weeks ago and has completely changed in the past few weeks. I have talked quite a bit about him I think. Well this week he told us about a very cool experience that he had in a dream with his mom. People here have dreams sometimes when they read the Book of Mormon and pray It is really cool to see the miracles in these peoples lives. Anyway he and Monica came to church this sunday with their kids and they are working on getting married hopefully here soon if thats whats right for them. 

This week we also got to give a few blessings to people who have gotten sick and we also got to give a blessing to a lady who fell down her stairs with her baby in her arms and hurt her foot. It is amazing how the Lord puts you right where you need to be to be able to help someone. 

It was a great and busy week and on top of that we got to have interviews with President Rios and we got to have a little lesson with the assistents this week. It was so awesome. They are always so inspiring and I really enjoy learning from them and getting advice from them. My trainer Elder Sanchez is one of the assistents now so it was nice to see him again. 

I really love working with the people here. They are awesome and I'm learning to be patient and to love everyone. It is not always super easy but it is definitely something that will help me during my whole life. I have no doubt that this is the Gospel of our Savior and that the blessings are real. I know that President Monson is our Prophet and that President Rios is directed and guided by the Lord. The mission is such a blessing!

 

We got to help our mission leader here do a little bit of service this week. We helped him take down his adobe house so that they can build a new one here soon out of bricks and cement. I swear im not that chubby that my stomach sweats like crazy it all dripped from my chin haha

Peruvians from Utah

 

Week 33 - Viru

This last week was another good week here in Viru! We had a family home evening planned that fell threw last Monday night with a member family because they forgot about it. It was not my favorite way to start a new week, but we rescheduled it with them for last Thursday and it was awesome. We got our two families who are progressing towards baptism to join us in the members house that night and we talked of our Savior and about how we have a portion of his light. It went very well. The members shared their testimonies and that really brought the spirit so strongly. These two families that are progressing are so awesome. The dad in the one family whose dad was baptized last week has changed so much. Elder Herget told me that he wouldn't even listen to the missionaries a few months ago, and that he didn't have a super good relationship with his girlfriend. Well this week we went and visited them a few times and one night we found them all sat around the table eating dinner together and talking. It was so awesome to see. The gospel really does bless families so much. They are planning on getting married the seventh of May and getting baptized shortly after. I am so excited for this family. They are so awesome. 

Yesterday was the elections here in Peru, so we mainly visited just members because lots of people were out of their houses voting. We got to visit one family of active members yesterday that has just been a little bit down it seems like lately. The mom was sick and I think that was tough for them. She is getting better now and they are doing a lot better as a family. We shared a Mormon message with them about dads and talked a little bit about the Family Proclamation. I really enjoyed visiting with them about the Mormon Message because it showed a family who lives in the country on a farm. The dad of the family actually works in the fields here, so he enjoyed it too. 

This week I have really felt how important families are in the plan of our Heavenly Father and how he blesses them. When we do our part or strive to do our part he paves the way and takes us by the hand and guides us; as missionaries, as leaders and as families. 

Today we are in Trujillo for our p-day. We ate at a Chinese restaurant and it was delicious!

I'm excited to keep pressing forward in the work of the Lord. I'm very grateful for these two years that I have to serve the Lord and for the things that I am learning. I have a lot to learn and its a pretty fun process! I know our savior lives and that when we come unto him he helps make our weaknesses become strengths.

Week 32 - Viru

This week was a little bit different from the rest that I've had here in the Mission but nevertheless it was still a great week. I was a little under the weather at the beginning of the week and so was my companion so we spent a little bit of time resting this week and the Whitney's (a married missionary couple) doctored us up really good and now we are good to go! We didn't get to visit the people as much as I would have liked to, but we did visit the Ortiz Family quite a bit this week.(The Family I've talked about for the past few weeks) They are awesome and the two kids who served missions in the family really have been really good solid anchors for the whole family with the passing of their mom and everything. They are doing very well and the Dad was baptized this weekend and his son(the one who served a mission) got to baptize him and confirm him. It was such a cool experience to be a part of. Hermano Luis is the sons name and he is super funny. I really enjoy visiting with them. We are continuing to work with Luis's brother and his girlfriend right now to try and help them progress towards marriage and baptism if that's what the Lord has in store for them at this time. We used the Family Proclamation and also the wise man story and showed them how they can build their family on the sure foundation of the gospel. We are working with this family and one other one that is progressing and It is so awesome to see the impact this gospel has had on their families. The promised blessings of the gospel are real. 

Wow conference this weekend was so awesome. I really enjoyed every single session and was sad to see it end. I learned a ton from it. It really inspired me to want to be the best I can, especially as a priesthood holder. Elder Holland is probably one of the most powerful speakers I have ever listened to and I really enjoyed his talk. This really is a gospel of progression and striving to getting better little by little is what its all about. I also really loved listening to The Prophet. He didn't say a ton but what he did say was powerful. I really am so grateful for this gospel and the opportunity to choose that our Heavenly Father has given us. I know if we choose to have the best attitude and put forth our best effort we will be happy in this life and in the life to come. 

 

He added this after I asked him what was wrong with him and why he was so sick.  I tried not to sound like to worrying, over-protective mother.  :-)

 

We actually were jumping a little bit hahah we were very excited about the new temple oops I forgot to mention that! I just had a cold that wouldn't go away so I had to rest a little bit extra. Im all good now don't worry mom. The Whitney's take good care of us when we are a little under the weather.