3/31/2014 Email

Well this week was definately a different one, but none the less an amazing one! I cant Believe that a year has gone by! It went by so fast! I cant believe how much i have experienced and learned and for all the amazing people i have met. I will forever be greatfull for this oportunity to serve my Heavenly Father and the people of Peru! We spent a lot of time doing service and helping plan and do activites with our zone and with the ward but everything turned out perfect and we still had time to have some amazing spiritual experiences. Side note me and Hna Bazan decided were going to be event planners together one day (: haha We had a farewell for our zone leader who goes home next monday which was super fun! and we had a karaoke night with our ward which turned out super fun too! it was a good week! Me and my companion have had a rough time because we both feel like ill be leaving this transfer and it makes us both so sad! i cant tell you how many times we cried this past week just thinking about it.. this part of the mission is so hard. i hate it. But i know that ill learn something from each companion and from each area(: Two of our converts are pregnant which is really fun because i imagine that the cute belly im touching is my aunts or sisters. haha  We are still working with a couple of investigators who have had baptismal dates but fell through.. but were not giving up on them yet! We also met a couple really good people that were excited to work with! I felt really humbled this week and realized how much i have to work on here and in general.. I thought and studied a lot about service.. and how there is nothing better we can do than to serve others.. and nothing that will make us feel better. Im sorry i dont have a ton of time to write all of the experiences im having but i wanted to remind all of you about conference this week!! 

How cool is it that we have an actual prophet that we get to listen to and that we also have the 12 apostles to lead and guide us. I know that they truly recieve revelation for us and that there is nothing more important that we could be doing this weekend than listening to them! Sit down and take notes(; then you can all share with me what you learned!! The church is true! I know it! THANK YOU for all of your love and support and for your prayers. (: 

Have an amazing week and prepare yourselves for an amazing General Conference!!! (: ill be watching it from down here in peru! 

Besos y Abrasos!

Hermana Weller (:

3/24/14 Picture

Me and the assistants!

3/24/14 Email!

Well lets start out with FELIZZ CUMPLEANOSSSSS to Angel, Bell and molly(: love you three!!! 

and also i hear that Bell and  Molly are both getting baptized this saturday!! how exciting!!! Baptism is so important.. and it is so great that you both have the oportunity to be baptized and recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost while you are young. Remember to write in your journal about your baptism and how you felt so that you can always remember that special day! I can promise you that your Heavenly Father is very proud of you and loves you both soo much! and so do i(: 

Well this week was a good one(: Monday we played soccer.. again(: and yes.. i did score 2 goals! just had to share that (: 

We worked a lot with our converts this week and im so greatfull to be a part of this change in their lives.. i love watching them become more and more happy and closer and closer to our Heavenly Father. AHHH the church is so true(: Sunday we had our ward and all of the missionaries from our zone (16 elders) go out and visit the less actives and invite them to an activity this weekend and also to General Conference. It was an awesome experience to see our youth and also adults go out in pairs with the elders! man i just love missionary work. I couldnt be any  happier and wouldnt want to be anywhere else in the world than here in the mission. (: This week i complete 1 year... i cant explain how sad that makes me... time goes by way too fast and i dont want this spiritual journey to end. I just want to enjoy each moment of these next 6 months and give all i have to the Lord. 

Monday night we had a family home evening with some less actives that have started to come back to church and we talked about the atonement. It was such a powerful lesson. I was thinking a lot about why we get so nervous or scared to confess things to the bishop.. Our heavenly father already knows what we've done... he knows us perfectly.. our thoughts.. our intentions.. everything. We should fear what he thinks more than what a bishop or anyone for that matter thinks and he ALREADY KNOWS. All it takes is for us to be humble and do what is necessary to repent. Repentance should not be looked at in a negative way.. it is a word of comfort.. a word of hope and love. and our Savior, Jesus Christ paid for the mistakes we made... we cant let his sacrifice be in vain. We will all make mistakes and mess up... thats why we are here, to learn and to become better each day. Repentance should be a part of our daily lives... and we should never wait to correct our wrong doings and to ask for forgiveness. When we know we are in error... we should pray for forgiveness in that moment and pray for the strength to change and not to do it again. We are promised that if we truly repent he will forgive us and wont remember our sins any more. 

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow:Isa. 1:16–18;

·         I, the Lord, remember their sins no more:D&C 58:42–43; ( Ezek. 18:21–22; )

·         I have such a strong testimony of the Atonement and of the Love and grace of our heavenly father. If we made mistakes and still dwell on them.. we should not hesitate to talk to the bishop and to get it taken care of.. there is peace and happiness in being forgiven and looking forward instead of backwards. (: Our Heavenly Father loves us.. and wants us to be happy and to feel at peace. Turn to him and He will comfort you and guide you in your life(: 

·         D&C 25:10 And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the ^athingsof this ^bworld, and ^cseek for the things of a ^dbetter.

Que tengan una buena semana y que siempre recuerdan quien son.. y que tienen un Padre Celestial que les ama bastante (:

Con mucho Amor y Respeto

Hermana Weller (: 

3/10/14 Pics!

love my comp!!!(: 

This is how we iron here in Peru...(: 

Our cute wall we decorated (: 

The door to our room (:

3/10/14 Email

Hola Familiaaaaaaaaaa (: Come le va eh??

This week was a rough one but those are always the best (: I learned a lot this week and feel like me and my companion have grown closer together and have both learned a lot from eachother. Almost everyone started school again.. they just ended their summer break or vacation and now everyone will be back to school and back to work which will make things a little more dificult for us but hey all we can do is keep working(: We had one rain storm this week that lasted about 10 minutes.... now everyone is saying that the huge rain storms arent ever going to happen which will be the first year in.. forever that it hasnt rained.... i still have hope that theyll come though.. i need to wear my new boots at least once!!!

This week we got to meet again with Gabriella, their house is seriously my favorite.. its straight out of a magazine.. which is funny because looking at it from the outside it looks like a normal peruvain house. Her husband is a plastic surgeon and makes good money, but at the same time they are so humble. He was a member but is working on coming back, she pretty much knows all about the church from him. They were in Argentina the past two weeks and so we had been waiting to meet with them, when we did she asked us when she could be baptized.. we told her that was up to her and she said saturday.. so were planning her baptism for this weekend! The thing that i love most about her is that she litterally has everything she could want.. but at the same time is willing to sacrifice whatever she needs to to follow our savior and do what is right. She said "i need to know everything that i need to do to complete the promise that im going to make with my heavenly father.. what i need to quit doing, what i need to start doing.. tell me everything." she amazes me! I wondered.. how many of us. being members for years have that desire to sacrifice everything and to do everything we need to to follow what our Father in Heaven wants for us. Sunday in Gospel principles was the lesson on sacrifice.. perfect(: heres some parts that i love....

Sacrifice means giving to the Lord whatever He requires of our time, our earthly possessions, and our energies to further His work. The Lord commanded, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Our willingness to sacrifice is an indication of our devotion to God. People have always been tried and tested to see if they will put the things of God first in their lives.

 

Even though sacrifice by the shedding of blood was ended, the Lord still asks us to sacrifice. But now He requires a different kind of offering. He said: “Ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood, … and your burnt offerings shall be done away. … And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19–20). A “broken heart and a contrite spirit” means that we offer deep sorrow for our sins as we humble ourselves and repent of them.

 

Only through sacrifice can we become worthy to live in the presence of God. Only through sacrifice can we enjoy eternal life. Many who have lived before us have sacrificed all they had. We must be willing to do the same if we would earn the rich reward they enjoy.

 

As our testimonies of the gospel grow, we become able to make greater sacrifices to the Lord. Note the sacrifices made in these true examples:A member of the Church in Germany saved his tithing for years until someone with priesthood authority could come and accept it.A Relief Society visiting teacher served for 30 years without missing an assignment.A group of Saints in South Africa rode for three days, standing up, to be able to hear and see the prophet of the Lord.At an area conference in Mexico, members of the Church slept on the ground and fasted during the days of the conference. They had used all their money just to get to the conference and had nothing left for food and shelter.One family sold their car to get the money they wanted to contribute to a temple building fund.Another family sold their home to get money to go to the temple.Many faithful Latter-day Saints have very little to live on, yet they pay their tithes and offerings.One brother sacrificed his job because he refused to work on Sunday.In one branch, the youth gave freely and willingly of their time to care for the young children while their parents helped build the meetinghouse.Young men and women give up or postpone good job opportunities, education, or sports to serve as missionaries.Many more examples could be given of those who sacrifice for the Lord. Yet a place in our Heavenly Father’s kingdom is worth any sacrifice we have to make of our time, talents, energy, money, and lives. Through sacrifice we can obtain a knowledge from the Lord that we are acceptable to Him (see D&C 97:8).

I love the part that talks about how we need to sacrifice not only our possessions but our time... talents.. energy.. and ultimately our lives. Truly the only way to show our love and our gratitude for our Savior and for HIS sacrifice is to sacrifice all that we have.. we may need to sacrifice time to show others our love for them.. we may need to sacrifice our wants or desires in order to be obedient.. we may need to sacrifice our energy or money or time to help build up the kingdom of Zion.. more than anything we have to be willing to sacrifice our will for the will of the Lord. I know that if we do these things we will be blessed and that we will be so much happier. I love this work and i know that the sacrifice that im making and that all the missionaries around the world are also making, to leave our families and friends and everything behind and dedicate everything we have.. every minute, every thought, every ounce of energy to the work of salvation.. to help other people and families come to the knowledge of this amazing gospel and all the happiness it brings.. is the best sacrifice we could be making at this time in our lives. I love being a missionary.. and i love working side by side with the Lord in order to help his children grow closer to him. I know that this church is true.(:

I hope that each of you can think about a sacrifice that you could make in order to aline your will with the will of the father even more. i love you all and hope you have the best week ever!!

CUIDENSE Y RECUERDE QUE TIENE UNA AMIGA EN PERU QUE LES AMA(:

Hermana Weller (: 

 

3/3/14 Pics

Go Karting!!(: of course..im#1 

Me and my hija with the flags of Peru and Arequipa! 

Ive got the world at the tip of my finger...(: 

Finally!!!! 

baptism time!! 

elders... 

me and my comp! 

Wedding time! 

Straight out of the water!

3/3/14 Email

Hola familia!!! Como estan?? Espero que todos están bien y que están felices y disfrutando la vida(: Its getting harder and harder for me to talk or write in english!! It surprised me this week because even when im talking with other “greengos” I feel more comfortable talking in Spanish.. when I think.. its usually in Spanish… when I pray its in Spanish.. even in my head.. crazy!!  Hopefully I don’t forget beautiful English(:

Anyways I cant believe how fast time goes by here in the mission. It feels like each week is a day.. last week I hit the 11 month mark which seems awfully close to the one year mark.. then begins the dreaded 6 month count down. I cant explain how I feel.. I miss home so much, I miss all of you but at the same time.. I love it here, im happy because I know its where im supposed to be and because I know its what the lord wants for me. I also know that I have eternity to be with my family and only 18 months to be in the mission.. and I know im going to miss peru so much!! So the best thing I can do is just enjoy each day and moment and do my best to serve the Lord(:  Also I cant believe that little Porter Bean is 2 years old!!!!!! Miss that little guy…

Well this week was crazy! Monday we went Go carting which was probably the funnest pday ive had in my mission! But that’s because I kicked everyones trash… little did they know that ive been driving go carts and such since before I could remember.. thanks gramps (:  The rest of the week we were getting everything ready for the wedding and baptism, and it was all worth it. Friday we went to the civil wedding.. funny story, theyre daughter hurt her foot and couldn’t walk so I piggy backed her all over town that day, her little sister kept saying “wooww greengos are strong” haha  but everything went good! We ate lunch together and then went to the church for the baptisms. The ward was so great and we had a lot of support there, all three of them were baptized and the mom gave the sweetest testimony afterwards…  she told us how many blessings they have received as a family while their son has been on his mission and that she knows that this is the true church. It was so powerful, maybe because I hope that you all are happy that im here and not sad that im not at home. And I hope that the work I do here brings you blessings. After the baptisms we had a small party for them and the elders brought foam spray.. right now in peru its “carnavales” a monthish long holiday where it’s a 24/7 waterfight… everywhere… water balloons, buckets of water, squirt guns, hoses, you name it. They even have a huge arosol can full of foam that they spray everyone and their dogs with.  Haha We´ve only gotten sprayed a couple times but everyone is usually wet that we see… ohhh peru and your craziness. 

This week was pretty humbling for me, one of the reasons is because we are teaching an 18 year old in active that doesn’t believe in God, one of the times we met with him he was so harsh on us.. but at the same time my heart hurts for him.. that he doesn’t know or feel right now the love of his heavenly father.. something that has brought so much peace and happiness in my life. It made me reflect a lot back on my testimony of my Heavenly Father, I know that he knows me.. he knows what I feel, what I think and what I need and want. I know that he loves me and will bless me if I am obedient to his commandments.

Alma 18: 32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he ^aknows all the thoughts and ^bintents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.

I love that scripture.. He is our creator, he knows us inside and out and loves us. HE EXISTS. We have a Heavenly Father.. he is real, he lives, and he  is the only way to true happiness.

1Nephi 11: 22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the ^alove of God, which^bsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the ^cmost desirable above all things.23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most ^ajoyous to the soul.

The love of God is the most Joyous thing to the soul. I know that this is true. I love my Heavenly Father and hope to always do his will and not my own. I know that we all have weaknesses and we make mistakes but that is why He sent his only begotten Son to pay the price for our sins. He is always ready to forgive us, all we have to do is humble ourselves,  ask for forgiveness and do our best to be better. I love this Gospel, I know that it is the true church of Jesus Christ and that it is the only Church in this world that has his authority and power. I know that one of the most important things we can do in this life is share the Gospel with others and to give service and love. Thank you for all of your support and love. I feel your prayers and am praying for you. Les Amo muchisimo!!!! Gracias por todo!!

Hermana Weller (: