Week 44 - Viru

June 27th - e-mail:

This week was an awesome week here in Viru. We were able to meet and get to know a few new young families which was so awesome. It isn't super hot either so that was an added bonus. It is crazy how in just a few months i went from sleeping with just a sheet to sleeping with two blankets. I am definitely enjoying this cooler weather.

This week we met two new young families and they are awesome. One of the couples is reading the Book of Mormon right now and is so prepared. It is so awesome to see how the Lord really helps people to change and how he works in them and prepares them. The second young family that we found was super awesome as well. They told us in the end of the first lesson that their house is our house. The Lord really does prepare these people to receive the gospel. 

This week we also had a really great lesson with a family that we have been working with for a while. Carlos and his wife Elisa, they have two kids and they have been going through a few trials lately. Their youngest son has been getting sick a lot and every now and then it gets really serious. The dad is also having trouble finding a steady job. They are so great and always so nice to us. I honestly couldn't imagine having to go through these trials as the father in the house. We talked about the plan of salvation and the dad teared up as he explained the comfort that he felt as he learned that even though we make mistakes in this life, or even though we sometimes do things the hard way, we get second chances. As we left that lesson I once again felt so strongly that i am so blessed in my life and really don't have any reason to complain or whine. 

I know that our Father in Heaven loves us and that he will deliver us from our trials and help make weak things become strong to us. I am so grateful for all that he has given me in this life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary for these two years. It really is a blessing. 

Week 43 - Viru

June 20th E-mail:

This week was a good week. It was an interesting week. We did quite a bit of walking, but we got to help a few families out this week.

Yesterday we had a really cool experience. We knocked on the door of one of our old investigators and his brother from Lima answered the door and let us in. We talked to him for about a half hour and he told us all about his life. He told us that he is separated from his wife and his kids, but he came to visit them for fathers day. He had a really strong testimony of Christ, however, and he has been able to find strength in Him. We shared the Book of Mormon with him and we talked about eternal families as well. As we talked to him I realized just how much the gospel blesses families that live it. I also was reminded by this man that we aren't ever alone. I am so grateful that my family is united in the gospel. What a blessing. 

Yesterday, I gave a talk in church and I had the last talk. I went up to speak at 10:35. I was really wondering how in the world I was going to take up all that time, as I walked up I was laughing a little bit along with the first councilor, but I talked of Fathers and used a talk from Elder Holland a little bit as well. It went very well and I really hope I was able to help the people. I know talking a lot has never been a weakness of mine so I guess the Lord was letting me use my talents a little bit. I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and for the guidance that it gives to us in our lives. As a missionary I have come to realize just how real that gift is. 

I am very excited for one week more in the work here in Viru. We had changes yesterday and I'm staying here with Elder Cruz for his last transfer of his training. I'm excited for one transfer more here in Viru! I know this is the work of the Lord. I know he is patient with us and is always willing to help us become better. I know he blesses us with opportunities in our lives so that we can learn, grow and find happiness. 

Hoops in Viru

Our branch president works at a brand new court here and we got to go try it out last Monday.

It was a good time.

The zone in our new zone jerseys

the zone at the top of the castle a few weeks ago

Week 42 - Viru

This week was a pretty good week. Last Monday we went to the Castillo de Tomabal. I included the picture of my district at the castle. It was a pretty good pday.

This week we have continued to work with the members a little bit to move the work forward here. One night we found one member in the house of one of our investigators and we didn't even know they were friends or knew each other. The member didn't know that her friend had listened to us either. It was pretty funny. Anyway, the member has gotten super excited and has been visiting her a ton. It is such a blessing to have members who are willing to step into the work and help their friends. The members name is Hermana Olivia. She is like 65 and so funny. The other day we were in her house teaching her family and in the end of the lesson we knelt down to say the pray and as we knelt down she said ¨esta es una prueba de la vida¨ it was so funny. She basically said ¨this is one of the difficulties of life.¨

We have also been working with Monica and Manuel a little bit and they are doing really well. Yesterday we went on a little walk with them to their friends house to visit them, but their friends were home. It was cool to see them walking all together as a family though. That is why we are here. So that families can be more united today and forever. 

This week we also had a little training with President Rios again. It was a training for the new missionaries and their trainers. He started out by telling us that we are part of 77000 young people who the Lord has called out of the whole world to share the gospel. That really motivated me and helped me realize the importance of this opportunity. 

I know our callings come from our Father in Heaven. 

Elder Miller & Elder Cruz

By the castle that we visted.  El castillo de tomabal

Elder Miller & Elder Cruz 

Elder Hart and I

His dad is going to be a mission president in Brazil here soon. What an adventure that will be for his family! They are from Utah.

Week 41 - Viru

This week was a great week here in Viru! My companion and I are learning a ton in our studies and we have had some pretty good success this past week. I cant believe how fast this change is flying by. I remember my first change in the mission seemed like it was going to be an eternity!
We had a really awesome multi zone training this week with President and Sister Rios and two other Zones from Trujillo. It was an awesome experience and we learned a lot. We also got to eat pizza in the end! Score! (There are pictures from the multi zone training on the mission blog)
This week we worked with a few families that are part member families and we worked quite a bit with the family that I talked about last week, Carlos and Elisa. We had a really awesome lesson with them yesterday. We talked about prayer a lot and the lesson went very well. They are very willing to learn and to progress. In the end they told us something interesting, however, that when we are there they feel super excited to study the Book of Mormon and to pray. When we leave, however, they get busy doing things and don't really give much thought to doing these things. What they said made me think a lot about the talk from Elder Holland this last conference that we had. We all get excited when we learn things about the gospel and when we hear a powerful testimony, but a lot of the time we fall back into old habits and the feelings don't really stick. My homework on the side for this week is going to be this talk by Elder Holland. It is a real barrier for just about everyone I think, but I know we can overcome it. For the meantime we left a small picture of The Savior with this family, so that they can hang it up in their house. Hopefully that will help them remember the small things like praying and reading that are so important.
We also started teaching a young man this week who has a really strong desire to be baptized. He has come to seminary for quite a while and has a ton of friends in the Church. His family isn't really super supportive and we don't usually baptize people in our mission that are younger than 18 years old without their parents too in an effort to help them stay active for their whole lives. This boy may be an exception, however, he has desires to serve a mission and to lead a good life. Who knows he could end up being a mission president someday or a Branch President. Everyone's got a divine potential.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord as a missionary. I know this is the Lords work and he is directing it.
I have included a photo from last week at the temple. This is the Viru Zone.

 This is the Viru Zone.

Elder Muñoa and i 

Elder Cruz, Elder Miller and Elder Muñoa

Week 40 - Viru

This week was a very great week. Being a missionary is a very rewarding experience. This week on friday I had a companion exchange with a few elders in the district. I was with Elder Ortiz for one day and it was a really fun day. He is a very powerful elder from Ecuador. We had a few set visits for the afternoon and just about every single one of them fell through. That was really frustrating, but I decided that we would start walking back to the area where our house is. In the path I decided to go visit an investigator that we hadent visited in a while. We arived at her house and she opened up the door a little bit, then finally let us in to visit her. As we visited with her she told us that she had been worried that we had forgotten about her, and that she had planned on going to church this sunday to get in contact with us. She is like 60 years old and her kids live far away. She told us that she just wants her family to all be together, so we talked with her a little bit about how the gospel blesses familiies and it was a great lesson. Every single week I am seeing really how much the lord is preparing people to accept His Gospel.

We are also visiting another family of investigators that came to church for the first time yesterday. They had a great experience and enjoyed the combined class during third hour about fasting. The enjoyed it so much that they decided to fast the rest of the day to see if fasting was even something that they could do. When we visited them last night and told they told us that I had to laugh a little bit. That is so awesome. The Spirit that you can feel in the church is real and really helps insipire us to act. 

Last night we also had a lesson with a few members in order to encourage them to share The Famliy Proclamation with a friend or relative. The members here are so awesome. I really enjoy visiting with them and listening to their thoughts and hearing how the gospel has blessed them in their lives. 

I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. I know that when we are obedient we are blessed spiritually as well as temporally. I also know that the Lord is always preparing people to accept his plan.

 

Week 39 - Viru (summary)

This last week was another great week in Viru. It is starting to cool down here a little bit which is really nice. It still gets super hot during the afternoon, but the nights are quite a bit cooler. I actually sleep with a blanket these days. The work is going well here. My companion Elder Cruz is learning really fast and doing very well during his first weeks here in the mission. It is cool to be able to learn with him. I have realized that as we have practiced the basics more I have become a better teacher of the gospel. We have started to work with a few different families that are part member families and I really enjoy working with them. It is really cool to see the desires these people have to have their whole family in the church. As a mission we are really focusing on working with the part member families, and I have realized that the lord really prepares these families. This monday we went and visited a sister who is a less active and she told us that she and her husband who is also a less active almost went to church this last sunday, but didnt quite make it for a few reasons. It is really cool to see how the spirit works in these people to prepare them to accept or return to this gospel. The gospel is not for perfect people. It really is for people who are striving to become better, and sometimes satan discourages people and convinces them to stop trying. I find strength and I know others can find strength in the atonement of our Savior.

This last week I got to go to a little training in Trujillo for district leaders, and that was awesome. I got to learn a lot about how we can do our responsiblities better. President Rios always teaches from the scriptures and I really enjoy learning from him. We also got to eat papa johns pizza for lunch, so that was definitely a treat. 

Today we went to the temple and that was super awesome as usual. It is always a faith building experience and I always learn something new everytime I go. I really enjoy having a temple so close to us here in the mission. The temple here has the coolest paintings. 

I know that this work is so important and that the gosple blesses families and people who try to improve and do what is right. I know that The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a sure foundation. 

Week 39 - Viru

This is what I got this morning:
I love that it is Spanish and he politely translated it for me....and you.  :-)

 

Hola mama, esta semana voy a ir al templo con mi zona por eso no podre escribir el lunes 23 sino

que lo haré el día Miercoles 25.

Les amo mucho, hasta el miércoles.

 

Hi Mom, This week i´ll go with my Zone to the temple, for that reason, I won’t write this Monday

the 23rd, but, Wednesday the 25th.

Love you