HOLA HOLA HOLA COMO ESTAN QUE TAL???(:
Did you miss me??(: My p-day got switched to wednesday this
week. Im still in provo and will either be leaving for Peru next week or will
be re-asigned. If i do get re-asigned i will find out tomorrow night and
hopefully get to call my momma and let you know where ill be going! I
cant believe i will be teaching real investigators next week! These weeks here
in the MTC have flown by! I am surprised at how much i love it here and am sad
to leave, especially to leave my companion and my district. We have all gotten
so close since we've been here. I'm starting to think the whole reason they
send us on missions is to teach us how to say goodbye to people. haha Here's
some of the most important parts of my days in the last week.
Tuesday: We read D&C 6 together as
a district for like 2 hours it was so amazing how in depth you can get into the
scriptures if you take the time and think about each verse. In verse 8 it says
something like" if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good
in this generation." I just kept thinking about how important it is for us
as missionaries to want to be here and to want to serve God. It gives me a new
incentive to try harder to really love the work im doing. We had a devotional
from David F Evans of the seventy that night and here are some of my notes.
- God needs you to be a participator and a facilitator not a
distractor.
-Leave all feelings of ME at the door, be here for the Lord
and his work!
-I will do whatever the lord asks me to do wherever he needs
me to do it.
-Alma 26:11-12 I do not boast in my own strength or in my
own wisdom, i know that i am nothing...But i will boast of my God.
-Grow in your willingness to YEILD your will to Gods.
-Incomprehensible joy awaits you if you yeild to him.
-Do not only recieve forgiveness but strive to RETAIN
forgiveness that he has already given you.
Wednesday: I talked to a teacher who told
us that Peruvians talk slower and also more clear compared to most of south
america so that was a good sign! we got to go out and use the feild and play
kickball that day and it was so nice to have a break and just let lose outside!
Thursday: We got a new district in our
zone, and our district is now the oldest in our zone! The newbies are all so
cute, i love it! it made us all remember our first week and how hard it was so
we try to help them in any way we can but it almost seems like their excitement
to be here and dedication has made us stronger! I memorized the first vision in
spanish and the first time i receited it out loud i couldnt help but start to
cry. That moment in our Churches history is HUGE and is so amazing to think
about! It just made my testimony of Joseph Smith and the Restoration ten times
stronger!
Friday: I was super frusterated with the
language and just didnt feel like i was making any progress friday and
saturday, it was frusterating but i know that sometimes the Lord needs to
humble us so that he can build us up..(wait for sunday:)) I talked to a girl
who had lived in Arequipa for a year and she gave me some good information, she
said to bargan with the people there for everything because they know americans
have money haha and that i will love it, the people there are all so nice and
they have really cool markets on the streets!(which i know i will love:))
Saturday: Not anything super exciting
happened this day except we had a girls night and ate a lot of junk food. i
dont dare weigh myself because i know i've gained a couple pounds(:
Sunday: Relief Society was awesome we had
Sister Oscarson the new YW general president talk to us. She was amazing and
talked alot about how important it is to be patient and loving just like our
heavenly father is to us. She talked about Jacob 5 and the symbolism in that
chapter, i invite all of you to read it and see what you can get from that
parable(: Then in sacrament our branch president tells us the two missionaries
who have to give talks on a certain subject right before they have to get up,
so everyone has to prepare a talk IN SPANISH and this week it was on baptism
which is kind of a hard subject to talk about! I did not prepare a good talk at
all because i figured i wouldnt be the one talking but guess what... i was.
haha And it turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences ive had here.
I did not have confidence in my spanish at all but when i got up there i forgot
i was speaking a different language. the words just came to me and i didnt even
read what i had written down. I could feel my Heavenly Father helping me and
the gift of tongues working. It was sooooo cool. Then i sang in a musical
number with all the hermanas.... yes i sang.. infront of people.. hahahah mom i
know you'll like that part(; As musical director i felt obligated, even though
i was with like 6 other hermanas it was still out of my comfort zone and i feel
like a lot of my mission will feel like that and will help me to grow! That
night i asked one of the elders to give me a blessing.. Elder McFherson, he
hadnt ever given one and i could tell he was really nervous. It ended up being
such a powerful and beautiful blessing. It was simple and exactly what i needed
to hear. I've learned not to be afraid to ask for blessings. Heavenly father is
always more than willing to give us the help we need.
Monday: Our district struggled this
day because it was supposed to be our pday haha Then we got a huge talk on
flirting because i guess its gotten to be a bit of a problem in the MTC since
all the sisters have gotten here, All the sisters think its funny because all
the elders seem like their 12 but it was a good reminder to keep our heads and
hearts in the right place. We got to watch some Polynesian Elders have a
littlegoodbye ceremony and they did the Haka that thing where they yell and get
all crazy on ya, you would think that that would totaly drive the spirit away
but it was so strong we were all crying. It is soo cool to see the different
cultures and how much people love their culture. It makes me excited to get
involved in the Peruvian culture!
Tuesday: We had a devotional from
Alan F Packer on family history and the importance of family, he talked about
how everyone in the world is our brothers and sisters and it put a whole new
perspective on missionary work for me. The people i will teach are my family
and i need to love them just as much as i do my physical family. One of my
favorite things he said was " You can do this. You are a chosen generation
and you have been saved for these days. Do not let him down. " very
powerful sentence! He also said "you will be responsibel for thousands of
people coming unto salvation. Even if you bring one sould unto Christ the
effects of that person are innumberal. "
The investigators we've taught this week have been a
little tougher on us. We have a woman investigator who told us no to baptism
and it was really hard to not get diapointed with a pretend investigator! I
cant imagine how hard it will be when people i care about and love dont want to
follow the gospel but i know that God has a plan for all of his children and
maybe sometimes just the seed needs to be planted. My spanish has come a long
way and even though im not 100%confident with it i know that God will help me
with what i need to say when i need to say it. I know that this church is true.
I would not be here if i didnt know that. I know that my Saviour lives and has
done so much to help us in our lives. One more quote or more of a thought is
that when you pray for forgiveness be specific with what you ask forgiveness
for. It helps us to be more accountable and also for heavenly father to help us
with those specific things. Dont wait to ask for forgiveness, i have learned
that our heavenly father is quick to forgive if we turn to him as soon as we
know we did something wrong. He loves us and wants to help us. Dont be afraid
to talk to him about anything because he ALREADY knows what your thinking and
feeling, but you need to tell him and ask him for help.
I love you guys and am so greatful to have you as my support
team! Thank you for all the things you send me! Im too spoiled out here! I love
hearing how your lives are going and i will try to write some letters today if
i get time! I am sorry i cant write you guys more but obedience has become so
important to me and im trying to do my best! i miss you all! keep me updated on
your lives and let me know if there is anything i can help anyone with!
The church is true! Hopefully the next time i write you i
will be in Peru! <3
Con Amor,
Hermana Weller.
:)
