October 28, 2019

Well i am back from the dead lol. it has been a while since I have written, i know that you all have been missing out on the almost weekly letter haha. But everything is going good we are working pretty hard here in Tarapoto the work is great and it is hard but i love the people and i am able to gain a greater testimony of the Jesus Christ. 

This week i had my face blow up due to a  tooth infection and now i am going to the dentist here to get a root canal. but i don't have much time and i don't like typing haha. until the next almost weekly letter.

Mis Ovejas

Yah so sorry for not emailing these past couple weeks but I didn't know what to write. We did have a baptism last week--a young kid whose parents are members but he never was baptized because his parents were inactive for a while. We ended up finishing teaching him and I ended up baptizing him. It was an awesome experience! This kid had a true desire to be baptized and to follow the commandments. And how many blessings the Gospel holds for those that follow the commandments, we really can see miracles in our lives as we pray to seek celestial guidance. We can become completely new people thanks to the atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. 

14 Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you.

15 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.

16 And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you.

I have been studying a lot this week about the Lord's atonement for us and why he chose to make a sacrifice. I have learned that through his sacrifice he has the power to understand our situations, our pain and discomfort, our sicknesses--everything!  and he can help us to overcome these trials primarily through our faith in him. Secondly, through his atonement we can be healed and cleaned of all things. How great is the power of his atonement in our lives.

 Also in this week, we have been working with a kid called Wender. He's pretty amazing. He's 19 and is really trying to learn and understand our message. He actually has a baptismal date this next month so we are helping him prepare for his baptism and it is going amazing. 

We also found a lady and her family this last week. The missionaries actually taught her like over 20 years ago and it's going amazing. We are helping and teaching little by little to help them find faith and confidence in others due to some experiences that they have had. They are a little hesitant but we know that we will able to help through the message of the restored gospel.

Also this last week my USB's and memory card to my camera got a virus and wiped everything so I lost a good amount of my photos that I had so that's a little sad. But everything is good. My health is good and we are working here in my area Punchana. Until next time!!

no hay tiempo Pues July 8, 2019

Hola!!!! ¿Que tal? 

Another week another experience. One thing i have noticed is that i don't think that i have had a week that is normal or the same in the mission. I think that it helps that i am constantly learning something new. I am grateful to be able to develop christlike attributes while I'm in the mission.  I don't really know what to write about haha. I am learning a lot about myself in this change. This has been the hardest change with my companion. He is a lot like me --he thinks he knows everything and doesn't like to listen to others. But i am definitely learning a lot about holding my tongue haha. I am enjoying my time here. Sorry people not much this week.

Punchana Iquitos, Perú

This week has been good. We have been working diligently with the members as well as our district to brain storm how we can better use our time and work in our area. I think that sometimes we look for excuses to not work as hard instead of looking for the blessings to help us find and teach. Yesterday pretty much every house was drinking for fathers day. This is difficult because our area is very small so we couldn't really find an area where there was no alcohol and were there wasn't music blasting. But in reality this was an opportunity to find those who have the same values as us that don't drink or those that observe the sabbath day. But I am so grateful to gain a greater testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Its really amazing how many people we talk with they feel that are missing something in their lives but they can't really say what it is, and our message brings a peace and happiness and fulfillment into their lives. I think that as we realize our identity as children of God we are able to recognize his love for us and learn to live and love his commandments. This is truly when the blessings come to us .

My companion and I are still learning how to work together in our area but we just need to look for those who are interested in our message. We know that only through their  agency will these people accept our message and apply it to their lives. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve those around me and to represent my savior Jesus Christ, Don't get me wrong-- the mission is really difficult because we are all human. We all have our faults and these can be road blocks at times but as we allow ourselves to do the will of the lord we are able to grow and overcome these difficulties.

This week I have been studying Alma in The Book of Mormon and i thought i would share these scriptures with you because i know that we can ask for forgiveness from our Heavenly Father through his son Jesus Christ and we are able to communicate through prayer. i am so grateful for you all hopefully i will have more to write next week!!!

ALMA 34:17-19, 27, 31-35, 38

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your ^afaith unto repentance, that ye begin to ^bcall upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is ^amighty to save.

19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in ^aprayer unto him.

27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your ^aheartsbe ^bfull, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your ^cwelfare, and also for the welfare of ^dthose who are around you. 

 31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and ^aharden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the ^bday of your ^csalvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and ^dhardennot your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.

32 For behold, this ^alife is the time for men to ^bprepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of ^cthis life is the day for men to perform their ^dlabors.

33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many ^awitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not ^bprocrastinate the day of your ^crepentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the ^dnight of ^edarkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful ^acrisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth ^bpossess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become ^asubjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth ^bseal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

38 That ye ^acontend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the ^bname of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and ^cworship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in ^dthanksgiving daily, for the many ^emercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you. 

sorry i got nothing this week

This week we have been working super hard in our area, but we need to find more and more. My area is pretty small so i feel like i know a decent amount of the people in my area.

But yah i have been with my new companion here for 2 weeks, and his name is Elder Mendoza and he's from Mexico, Puebla but we have been sick this last week haha so that's great. But we are out doing the work. Yah we have been meeting with a lot of people but the majority of them are moving or they don't want anything haha. But I'm definitely learning a lot about myself and about the gospel. I'm sorry I don't really have much to write about but I love and miss you all. 

May 27, 2019

Nothing much this week just a baptism and an earthquake haha. It is a very interesting week-- we are so happy to have the opportunity to have a baptism this week and to be able to teach Hermano Brando. He's so great! He's been meshing well with the youth in our ward and it has been great. The earth quake was weird...it was my first earthquake haha. But I don't have much time. I will get back to you all next week!

Cambio 3 May 17, 2019

This week is pretty boring. My comp is getting ready to go home in two weeks and he's a great missionary but we are not very diligent with our time and we have been slacking i feel. But I'm trying to get us on the right track. My companion woke me up this morning at 3;30 to ask what time it was and then after I couldn't go back to sleep we ended up playing soccer at 6 so I'm not super happy this morning.

This week like i mentioned we haven't had much, we have been meeting with some inactive members. We met with Hermano Jaime Garcia and he hasn't been to church in a while. His family was the first in our area to become members around 40 years ago and like him all of his family are inactive. We met with him earlier this week and had 2 lessons and he began to remember a part of his testimony and was crying and him and his daughter came to church yesterday. We have also been working with the mom of 2 recent converts and she is making great progress. It is super exciting and we really are excited for her to notice the blessing in her life. We also have some other investigators who are not keeping their commitments and do not have interest in learning more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and mostly about applying it in their lives. It's really sad because these people hurt and they want it to stop but they lack the faith needed to do the things that will help them in an eternal perspective.

I'm really just trying to put my head down and get to work. I'm grateful to all that are writing me take care!!

Jirón Napo #478
Iquitos, Maynas
Loreto
Peru

May 6, 2019

April 29, 2019

ya entonces, This last week has been interesting...My companion had many meetings and we had plenty of random things going on. He went home a few weeks early to start school and my new companion will go home in 4 weeks so I will again need a new companion, haha. But I was able to go with my companion to some of his old areas to say good-bye to some of the members. And there are so many beautiful areas out here. My area is pretty urban but these other areas are pretty remote and quiet and beautiful. One area is called Cistacocha and is just amazing. I'm a little sad to see my companion go but I am so happy for him, and my new trainer is super awesome as well. My trainer's name is Elder Giannerelli and he is close to the end of his mission but is still very enthusiastic about the work. We have only been together for 2 days but before he was the Zone leader and he is just a great missionary.

This week we ended up dropping an investigator because we felt he wasn't progressing and he also said that he felt bad that he couldn't keep his commitments. That was sad but we are also teaching  many other people and our time is sacred and we should treat it as such. As well we need to find those who are prepared to receive the gospel.

El Pascua - April 22, 2019

This last week we had changes...I'm still with my companion Elder Bustios which is also a Problem because he leaves for his home this Saturday which means I won't have a companion. So iI guess  we see what will happen. This week we didn't have any baptisms but we have plenty of appointments, but a lot of people don't keep their appointments which is lame but this gave us the opportunity to talk to other people, We are teaching 4 or 5 people and 2 of them are making great progress. There's a 17 year old we are teaching and he came to church yesterday. He lit up and stayed both hours and he's beginning to feel the blessings of the restored gospel in his life. His name is Brando Antonio and his mom is a single parent and she is also accepting our lessons and wants to continue. This family will be so blessed as they choose to follow the path of righteousness. 

Also we are teaching the daughter of an inactive family and as we have begun teaching they started going to church again. Their daughter is 13 or 14, and she is receiving the lessons very well. She is participating and growing as well. We hope to help her parents to remember there testimonies of the gospel. But they are a great family and we so happy to be teaching them. Also we have been teaching a family (a mom and her 2 daughters), the moms name is Amparo and her daughters names are Fernanda and Camila. They are a special family we met by knocking on doors and they have been growing as we have taught.  They said they weren't  sure is God exists, but they keep asking us to come back. We know that they are a special family and they will be deeply blessed as they come to know their loving Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Ghost they will come to know these things, Along with reading the scriptures and attending Church. Sadly they are moving to Lima for awhile to be with her husband but we are confident that she will accept the missionaries there as well. There are so many blessing that we have in our lives and sometimes we look right pass them. Last night my companion and i along with sisters in our ward held an Easter Sunday Devotional, or in other words, Un Devotional del Pascua. It was so great! We kept it simple and sincere  which I think is important when talking about God's plan and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We reminded those in attendance that as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we remember the Atonement of Jesus Christ every day and every week as we partake of the Sacrament. And thanks to our loving Brother Jesus Christ we can return to our Father in Heaven and live in his presence with our families. Thanks to a teacher, brother, Son,
carpenter, and Leader all is possible. We will live again because of the sacrifice of the Father, and His son. And His Son so willingly did it because He loves us.

Amazing no!? This is such an important part of of our purpose here on Earth. I know that God has a plan for us and we can follow the example of our brother Jesus Christ to live with him again.

I'm so grateful to know of the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, because this is His Restored Church and Gospel on the earth. The same church He organized Himself when He was on the Earth. And we can receive the same blessing that God has promised us as we follow the straight and narrow path.

I love and miss you all but we have work to do. Until next time! Cuidese!!

April 15, 2019

This week has been super crazy! We have been getting to work, and have had so many meetings and changes and so many crazy things going so much traveling from the mission office to our house and it has been really crazy. We have to do so many things in preparation for our baptism this Saturday but it's really exciting. I was able to talk to my family but I have no more time.

April 8, 2019

We have a baptism this week with Hermana Jennifer Vasquez, and we have a lot a visits too. 

I was able to watch General Conference--it was awesome! I loved Sister Eubanks talk! It was what I needed Sunday morning because I have been having a hard time feeling the Spirit. But I was fasting and praying and her words just touched me and I'm so grateful for everything I have here.

I love you all.

April 1, 2019

Sorry internet isn't working today so I don't know what to do. Haha. I'll just try to send some pictures this week. All is well just working and learning.

Mar 25, 2019 not much this week and I don't have any pictures

Yah not  much this week just struggling with the language. We have 2 fechas this next months and we are super excited haha. I have grown a lot since being out and I'm excited and scared for what's to come. I got sick this last week and still am sick. My face swelled up and I need to go to the clinic this week. Other wise all is well. The people are nice just hard to understand. I feel that my testimony is lacking right now and it's hard. Missions are hard. But I have learned to love the difficulties in my life because I will be blessed for my righteous desires. Also I have learned of the importance of loving the people. 

No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.

A nadie le importa cuánto sabes, hasta que sepan cuánto te importa.

sorry not much this week

18/03/19 

Today was an awesome day! We got to sleep in till 6:30 and eat breakfast at 8:00. I have never felt so tired in my life haha. Everyday is new and we have been tracking down the members that live in our area and its been pretty hard because the ward directory is old and a lot of people go inactive and have moved, but we got through the list and found 25 members homes. I have been learning more and more Spanish but it is very hard haha.  My companion Elder Bustios has been forcing me to do things like answer the phone, or contact people on the street, and it is so scary but it helps a lot. I realized that you really question what you know especially when you try to teach it in a different language. But it is alright--I know that the language will come i just have to speak and put my head down and get to work. It's so much different than i thought a mission was going to be, i don't even know what i was expecting but a mission is a lot harder than i thought it was going to be. Everyday gets easier there is an adjustment period, but i am so grateful to have the opportunity to be serving a mission. I know I would regret not going. My companion and I have contacted a lot of people this week. The hardest part is the second visit people won't be home when we schedule our visit or they act like they are not home. We tried contacting this lady yesterday and she was outside her house in her rocking chair and we went to contact her and she faked that she was asleep, so we sat there for 3 minutes trying to get her attention and she kept on faking sleeping. It was really funny, i haven't had any crazy experiences yet but I am excited for what is to come. We have been trying to work with the members as much as possible, its been great! We've worked with some returned missionaries, our bishop and the ward mission leader.

16/03/2019

Today was a great exhausting day in the mission, we started out by waking up early to play soccer with the Zone at the Punchana building. We had to wake up at 5:30 and go to the mission leaders house to pick up the keys for the building then go to the building at 6:00. Then returned to do personal study; went to the bank to get money for the next 2 weeks, that took about an hour and a half. Then we returned and did the rest of our planning and studies. We followed the directory to look for members in our area but we didn't  find one member. But we did enter a casa of a Hermano named Joe we planned a visit for next week. 

11/03/19

Man is it hard but the labor blesses us so much and I know I will be blessed for working diligently. I'm putting in some pictures from when I arrived.

10-03-19 (day/month/year)

Wow today was my 1st Sunday in the Punchana ward. It's so awesome here. The people are amazing but i still have a very hard time understanding them and speaking but i am very hopeful because every day gets better and better. Our ¨Pensionista¨is super funny, although i don't know most of what she is saying. Our ¨Pensionistas¨ name is Hermana Milagros which translates to miracles. To be honest we don't know the last name so we just call her Hermana Milagros, she is the relief society president. And her husbands' name is Hermano Adan and he is our ward mission leader. Their family is awesome! Their kids are really funny and they always have fun questions about the United States and i really like trying my best to answer. They think it is so fun because my Spanish is super bad. And this week has been super difficult. It is a non stop grind and i'm just trying to keep up haha. I love it though. This is an awesome experience. i am learning so much more than i thought i ever could in such a little time. Every day seems to be better than the last, but it seems that i am always tired. Also i had the opportunity to baptize one of the Hermanas investigators which was awesome. And this was my first Sunday in the field and its really interesting haha. This Sunday we had 82 people attend the Punchana morning ward which was a really good number. Its just so different to have no english all day except when my companion needs to explain something to me haha. He's from Argentina Buenas Arreas and he's been learning english on his mission and i'm his last transfer of his mission so after 8 weeks I'll have a new companion and it'll be more learning but i actually get along with my companion really well. He push's me to do things that i'm scared to do like talk to the people or teaching in the lesson when i cant speak the language . His name is Elder Bustios, he was born in Argentina but his parents are from Bolivia. It's interesting that i thought the mission field was going to be easier than the ¨CCM¨, oh man was i wrong! I can only imagine what Elder Smith felt, i have a little experience with Spanish and he had none with Portuguese. I love being a missionary its such an awesome opportunity to strengthen your testimony while helping others develop theres. Cant wait for this next week and the things to come its exciting being apart of the salvation of souls.

04-03-19 (day/month/year)

 Today is our last day in the ¨CCM¨ and we have a lot going on today. It was bitter sweet waking up this morning and knowing its the last full day with the district and my companions. We shared a lot of scriptures about how we can better prepare for ël campo¨, and we got a little distracted because we are all anxious to leave. Any ways we all had our last class with Hermano Meza and he was awesome, but honestly the classes were pointless haha. We got through the morning classes and made it to lunch. At lunch we all sat as a district and it was awesome i realized again how much these Elders mean to me. They are all amazing. Elder Sarreas who's name is Thanos, is just a gentle, caring 6'5" beast. He is so funny and he is always including everyone and making sure that they feel included and always making fun jokes to cheer everyone up. There is a special spirit about him and i know that he will touch the hearts of those around him because of how he makes them feel. Then there is Elder Jensen, he is a ¨happening guy¨ as our district would say haha. Elder Jensen is companions with Elder Sarreas, and he is also very tall 6'4". He always has plenty of stories to go around, plenty of puns, and all around intelligent fellow. He has some pretty good stories about the presidents and other historical events. More than that his knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ is so amazing. He uses history to connect to the prophecies in The Bible and in The Book of Mormon. He just has an amazing gift of comprehension, it opened my eyes to a lot more and to take the words in these book literal. I really admire his testimony, strength and personality. Elder Ruebush, he is such an awesome, humble missionary. Elder Ruebush was the first district leader in the ¨CCM¨ and then after 3 weeks i was assigned to be the leader of the district. I could always look to him for advice or help when i didn't know what to do. Elder Ruebush is super athletic, used to do cross country running and some other sports.He would demolish everyone on the field. He truly is just a great person and i know he will do great things! Elder Hoffman of Allen, Texas. He has just the best Laugh and you can hear him from a mile away, He is super amazing at playing piano. I don't have enough time to type the rest of this so i will finish later.

Final Week

Alright, so this week is pretty awesome. We were able to go out to the areas and go tracking. It was really scary, there's lots of dogs on the street and i totally forgot how to interact with humans at this point haha. though we were able to go to a cita or visit and it was with a woman named Sophia and she had 2 grand kids living with her. She has only met with the missionaries once or twice. She was unable to read very good and she works long hours. She wakes up at 1 in the morning and starts cooking breakfast to sell and she sells breakfast till 12 in the afternoon. She devotes a lot of time to provide for her family, now her home is a garage just a cement wall cement floor. now as we were sharing our message we invited her to read the book of Mormon. She responded that she can't read very good but she will try and have her grand kids help her, and the missionary we were with felt prompted to promise her that if she read the book of Mormon she would be able to read and it was very powerful. The Spirit was so strong and it was an amazing opportunity to meet with real people.

It was an awesome with the trio, we taught a lesson this week and we felt the spirit so strongly there even though it was just a practice visit, we all testified and had a plan but i know that through planning and study we are able to teach by the power of the holy ghost. also today is a sad day because its our last time to visit the temple for 2 years so it was just a special experience with the trio its a very sad week, but also exciting at the same time. I'm thankful for everything for all of you and grateful to be a Missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'm so grateful for President Nelson and the first presidency. 

I'm so excited for the things to come!!!

Feb 13, 2019

I had really awesome experience this week we had latino roommates who are awesome and we love them so much. One of the Elders, Elder Cruz, gave me a tie and he said that it was his brothers who had died a year ago. He didn't know why but the first day he saw me he just knew that there is something special about me and that he really wanted to give me this tie. It was such a spiritual and emotional time. haha. I love going to the temple and actually having a purpose to going. but my favorite thing so far is scripture study. If we ever find time because being set apart as a missionary is so different when you read its amazing. Other than that nothing too exciting has happened to me besides being assigned to be district leader the last 3 weeks of the MTC/CCM. I'm running out of time because we had problems with the computers and we barely have anytime. But I know I am very grateful to be called and set apart as an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have seen the truthfulness of the gospel bless those around me. I'm grateful to serve the Lord and learn so much. Also I know that I need to do better at writing emails with a lot more info but in the CCM they're very strict on time and I apologize.

2 weeks Down! Feb. 6, 2019

Well you heard correct its already been 2 weeks! just have 4 more till I'm finished in the CCM. I'll be honest -- I totally thought the CCM was going to be a cake walk, but boy was i wrong about that. I get more sleep here at night than i did back home, but i am so tired all of the time because from 6:30 in the morning till 10:30 at night we are always learning, moving, staying busy. So that was a big big shock to me lol, Mentally and spiritually it breaks you down, because you thought you knew but nope, you were wrong. 

We have listened to 3-4 MTC devotionals from Elders Holland, Bednar, and Stevenson. They were such powerful talks especially elder Holland. He loves the missionaries so much and he does not hold back anything because of his love for us. It's a really special experience to be set apart as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The spirit is more direct especially as we bear testimony of the gospel. i would invite you all to search ponder and pray to know how you can more effectively invite the spirit into your lives. Because i know that i have been so blessed in my life to know gospel truths. Because the gospel really does bless individuals and families and i am grateful for the experiences in my life that have prepared me for my mission. 

Today we got to go the temple which was an amazing experience as usual but this time was especially amazing and i am grateful for the spirit that I felt today. My companionship had our first lesson with a fake investigator (our teacher) but it was awesome, the spirit was strong and the Spanish was terrible haha. but it was an awesome experience to have. We put a lot of time and energy into the lesson and we still are waiting for feedback from our teacher. i cant wait to come home as a Returned Missionary it'll be awesome! I'm still getting used to email so bear with me because everything i wanted to say leaves my head when i sit down and start typing haha. Also i saw some scaffolding today so i thought I'd throw that in there for my old coworkers haha. Love you all and email you next Wednesday!

I'm here @ the CCM alive and well!! Jan. 30, 2019

Thanks for all the emails and i added all of the people to the list that emailed me about that haha. so my flight was a 5hr and 30min flight to Atlanta and then a 4 hr layover, then it was a 7hr 25min flight to lima and we got in about 12:30. and by the time we got settle at the CCM, it was probably 3:30. and the next day it was getting to work with so many classes and work to do to learn Spanish and advance our understanding in El Evangelio (the gospel), and that when we become missionaries we change our focus to christ. it's been an awesome experience here to gain a greater testimony of the gospel. i feel very lucky for the district that i have, everyone gets along well so far, and we all help each other so much when it comes to learning the language. I've met a few handfuls of peruvians so far and they are some of the nicest people ever i love it. latinos in general are just awesome i love them. oh i should mention my companions haha,  yah companions

I'm in a trio! Which is pretty cool, one of my companions name is Elder Hurst and he's from Oregon and he'll be serving in my mission in Iquitos, and my other companion is Elder Smith and he is from California and he'll be serving in Cusco. i am running out of time but i just want to let you all know that i love you and President Nelson loves and our Father in Heaven loves you, and i know that Christ loves you too. I'm Grateful to be called to serve a mission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that i can successfully serve a mission because the Church of Jesus Christ is true, cant wait till next Wednesday, hopefully I'll be better prepared to email. I'm alive and well and loving it here!

January 22, 2019 At the airport with Taylor. The adventure begins!!!!