ORCHID IN MOYOBAMBA

January 14, 2013

Changes. Well on Monday we just kind of hung out. Me, Brown, Anderson and our companions all bought a big rotisserie chicken and a bunch of French fries and had a nice little lunch. The new elders got here on Tuesday and the zone leaders on Thursday. Our new zone leader is Elder Vandemerwe, he is from Logan and knows Collin Reeder so that's cool. Any who this week Elder Bustos and I realized that we are teaching so very many families and none of them are progressing so we focused this week in teaching more with the members, but man is it hard for people to make time. We don’t have any baptismal dates right now, but a family did come to church yesterday that was the last family we expected to come. So we will see if we can baptize them this end of the month. We are preparing 2 maybe 3 families to get married here in February and the ward as well are preparing 2 so we are going to have a big old wedding. But the catch is because it’s a new year and there are so many elders coming in the mission, this change is a week shorter than the others. And the giant wedding in the municipality is the 14 of Feb… and the new changes will be the 12 of February. So we will just have to see. Anyways we had a great ward council yesterday and the auxiliary leaders are very excited to help us with all of the families and to give us more references. It has taken a very long time but this branch is progressing a lot. I just hope I’m here to see them become a ward.

Anyways don’t have much to say so, love you all, the church is true.

o yea my pension went to Lima so my companion and I are eating pineapples for 50 cents and cereal everyday so that's cool. Also I found a orchid so mom should like that.

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BIRTHDAY CAKE!

January 7, 2013

Well everybody I ain't going no where, Elder Bustos and I are staying together for another change and I think it is exactly what I needed. We are right on the edge of having a lot of success. We have so many families that we are teaching and this week I pretty much told everyone goodbye so that will be awkward this next week haha. Anyways yesterday we had more people in the church than ever before and there were a lot of great testimonies that were borne. Brown and Anderson and I will be together for a little bit longer so I'm not complaining I am excited to get to work. I don't have much to say I'm sorry I'm just really excited that I will have a little bit more time to help this area. My birthday was cool. Brown gave me a machete. I love you all.

Oh by the way, I lent my baptism tie to another elder and we don't know who has it because he is who knows where, so I am without a tie. So keep that in mind. Also Elder Brown wanted me to ask if you guys are planning on picking me up at the end of my mission, because Brown's parents are. They were thinking it would be cool to all visit together, but whatever. That's in like a year just, something to think about.

I'll write more next week. ciao!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SY!

December 31, 2012

Merry Christmas! Happy new year!

Well as I already told you on Skype we had a great old dinner Christmas eve so while you were eating delicious crab meat i was eating stake and brauts with potato salad and coca-cola. So it wasn't that bad of a Christmas haha. Any who Skype was great it seemed as if I had never left, I hope that Bain's fears of a robot brother coming home that she is unfamiliar with are now extinguished. I warned my companion about all of you and he finally understood what I meant. You are all exactly the same except Bree's finger is a bit heavier. As we worked this week we fasted with our investigator Nils, in order for him to receive his answer from his prayers. And through that fast he came to the conclusion that he is not yet ready for baptism. Which rocked me to my soul. Never have I had an investigator so ready and so exited to learn, with so many questions. But, I know that the Lord heard our prayers. We fasted and did all that we could so if it is the Lord's will I can do nothing more than all that I could give. I just hope and pray that Nils will continue with this excitement to learn. He did come to church this week so that was a great thing. But it still is hard to know that all of our 7 dates fell and that my good buddy Bustos and I will have our second change together without a baptism. I feel like I was put into this zone and this area because the President trusted me. In a zone 3 hours from the nearest airport. Where every area is a 45 minute drive away. Where there hasn't been consistent baptisms for a year. And where the branch is dying slowly. And in these 4 and a half months here I don't think the branch had progressed that much. I baptized 2 in my first change and both are less active. I know the Lord loves me and loves these people and will bless them through their faith and diligence. I am just jealous for the missionaries that will receive all those fruits.

Mosiah 23: 21-22

The lord gives us trials to test our patience and faith. If we trust in him we will be lifted up. There is a reason the first principle of the Gospel is faith. Because with out faith nothing can be done.

I have my fingers crossed I don't get changed I have lots of unfinished business here. Love you all I'll see your faces on mothers day.

Talk to you next year!

                     This is a nativity scene that the people display in their homes at Christmas!

SKYPE SESSION WITH SY ON CHRISTMAS

December 25, 2012

We got to Skype with Sy on Christmas Day...best present ever. Brandon called during the call and was able to join in a 3-way conversation with Sy. So cool!!!

 

  

PHOTOS OF MOYOBAMBA

These are some photos of Moyobamba that President Blunck posted on his mission blog.

TARAPOTO FOR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

December 17, 2013

Hey everybody! Well on Monday we just played soccer so that wasn't too exciting. On Tuesday we had a great training on how to commit our investigators more in order for them to try their faith. On Wednesday we went on another three hours van ride to Tarapoto for the Christmas celebration. We got there at about 6 or so and we sang happy birthday to the elders that will have birthdays in December and gave our gifts and sang songs and played jeopardy and we slept with the elders from Tarapoto. The next day had a great training about how to use all of our missionary tools. And also how to just get more baptisms because we are so very close to reaching the goal as a mission for baptisms. We need only about 150 more, but the was about a week ago and we alone baptized in our zone like 6 on Saturday. So if the toughest zone can baptize a ton then I think we will get the goal. We then ate dinner with President and the zones, which was delicious chicken cordon bleu. Then elder Brown and I, who happened to be sitting by each other like always, received two packages each. And no other elder did. A few other gringos got little packages and man did we feel bad. I don’t know what the assistants were thinking passing out the packages in front of all of the elders, but let’s just say there were a lot of glares and Brown and I felt pretty bad. But anyway you know I didn't wait until Christmas to open my presents. I got a sweet package from the ward with a sweet hand-cut Christmas tree note. And goodies and really expensive looking leather bound Jesus the Christ, which I cherish. And then I opened the well awaited Christmas present from the family which was full of letters and pictures and all sorts of random awesome toys and treats which I enjoyed a lot. After all the fun we had to go and do an interview for the baptism on Saturday, but Hermana Clara decided that she emotionally isn't ready to be baptized. So that was a downer so we are just trying real hard to baptize Nils this week. We fast all the time and are always praying but when all is said and done the people still have agency. We are only here to invite people to come to Christ, not drag them. So we have faith in the Lord. It was great talking to dad and the short time I got to talk and hear my sister’s voices even though right at the golden moment the signal turned bad. But that’s fine. The world isn't going to end on Friday so I'll talk to you guys on Tuesday and Bain can tell me all the funny things she wants. Any who we thank you guys for your prayers they help a lot with the little things that pass on a daily basis. Just remember the meaning of Christmas think of what Jesus would be doing at this moment… probably giving someone a real big hug... so just give more hugs yea chevère

Peace sees you on Christmas-

O also we are changing P-day to Tuesday this next week for Christmas so I will not be writing a letter this next week…

ANOTHER CAVE

December 10, 2013

This week we went to another cave!!! It was cooler than the other cave we went to a month or two back, well until we got lost. Elder Brown and I were just having a really great time when our guide took us down a wrong path and we were then lost for a good three hours… lets just say that we were the last group of missionaries that will be going on cave tours for a good few years hahah. Tuesday we just had a normal day nothing really happened we taught a ton this week, but with little success. Our two baptisms are for this Saturday the 15th and one went out of town for business this weekend. And we can't get a hold of Nils. So we are praying hard for miracles. We are also hoping that maybe by some means we can baptize a family of 4 on the 29th. So lets just say that right now we are focusing a lot on trusting the Lord.
I can't translate scriptures into English very well, so I will just write it in Spanish and you can look it up haha

Alma 5:45-46 ( y esto no es todo ¿no suponéis que sé de estas cosas yo mismo? He aquí, os testifico que yo sé que estas cosas de que he hablado son verdaderas. Y ¿cómo suponéis que yo sé de su certeza?)( he aquí , os diso que el santo espiritu de dios me las hace saber. He aquí, he ayunado y orado muchas dias para poder saber estas cosas por mi mismo y ahora sé por mi mismo. Y ahora sé por mi mismo que son verdaderas; porque el señor dios me las manifestado por su santo espitiru; y este es el espiritu de revelacion que esta en mi.)

I have fasted and prayed many times for my own conversion and also for the conversion of others. I have trust in the Lord, I know he completes his promises. I will do all I can in order to baptize these people and if it is His will then it will be done, because I have trust in him.

I gave a boss awesome talk in church and burned all the members with pure doctrine and I think they all are going to start helping a bit more if they want the blessings promised in the scriptures. O yea we got the shirts done I had to re-draw the picture so it isn't exactly as the one I sent, but nonetheless they came out very very cool. I and very happy with the design and so is the zone.

The weather is nice, but it has been raining a ton this week and everyone seems to disappear when it rains..
I will be calling Friday at 6, well six in Peru so you need to figure out that time there, haha. I will call dad's cell and if not I'll call the home phone. So get ready ya so we can coordinate the Christmas call
There is another picture of the shirt, but it didnt load maybe ill be able to send it next week

love you all