7-24-16

Familia!

Sorry about being a lazy writer sometimes, it just is hard to think of what has happened for the whole last week and try to make it interesting. Don't get me wrong, I love being here but realmente, it's a lot of walking around and doing the same things that doesn't really make sense to share week after week. The good thing is, these last couple of days we had a lot of weird little things that happened that I guess I can share. ;) First of all, a missionary just got home from our ward who is super pilas and helping us a ton! He has been introducing us to old friends, neighbors, a random tia that is visiting from the United States this month, and even hosted a family home evening in his house and picked up one of our investigators to go to church! It's so weird, and so nice to have some help from the members. It's also fun to hear all of his crazy stories from his mission in Colombia. And I thought these peruvians were loco.... haha This week we also had a fun ward activity that was a dessert festival. We were able to bring a family of investigators (who we actually contacted that same day!) and they loved it too. It was kind of embarrassing though because we had to leave early but we also wanted to try everything- the hermanas from relief society packed a little bit of everything on little plates. There are definately perks to being a missionary. Stefy also came to visit me and say hi! 

We also have had some interesting experiences in lessons this week. First of all, while teaching a conversa (who is less active) the other day she had this psychiatric attack and started screaming and had fire in her eyes. She then started crying and rocking back and forth. We didn't know what to do but we called her daughter to come and calm her down. The lady told us that she had been possessed by a devil. We're still not really sure what really happened but we finished the lesson quickly and got out of there. We also had two lessons super bacanes. First of all, one was with Hermana Richardson in Independencia. We were teaching a man about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a public square and another man came and sat down next to him and started paying attention and listening closely. There were a ton of people passing by- at one point the man stopped us, looked me straight in the eyes and thanked us for what we were doing. He told us to keep working and relying on God. It turns out he was a member from Centro de Lima, but I seriously think he might have been one of the three nephites!!! haha but seriously. We also had a really cool lesson with a guy named Luis that we're teaching. He has a lot of problems with a lot of commandments and although he has desires to change, he feels like he's too weak to do it. We taught a lesson focused on how the atonement not only helps us overcome death and sin in some distant future, but helps to strengthen us in our weaknesses now. The spirit was so strong and we asked him how he felt. He admitted that it was something different than he has experienced before and we testified that it was the Holy Ghost. He asked us how we knew what he was feeling, and we said that we could feel His presence enter as well. It was one of the most powerful experiences I've had so far.

I'm glad to see you guys are having fun celebrating America- there were two huge fiestas this week. One was for Virgin del Carmen and the other for el Apostol Santiago. There was a lot of live music, food, fireworks, and drinking for the whole weekend. We could see almost all of it from our house in the cerro! I hope you guys have a good week!

Hermana Stone

festival de postres

July 19, 2016

This week was really good. I don't really want to write much (la flojera!!) but we were able to go to Centro de Lima again and had our first interviews with our new mission president. He is great and has a lot of ideas to keep us mejorando siempre. We felt two temblores (earthquakes) yesterday. This time, seriously we are going to finish buying our stuff for the emergency backpacks! Our investigators are good, just a little hard to find! I am doing well, healthy, no weird bugs... Hope you have a good week!

We finally ate the cookies you sent me in my Christmas package :)

I made Hermana Llerena wake up early to go on a hike with me, she wasn't this excited when we woke up early but it was worth it :)

This week has been.....interesting.

Familia! 

I always love talking to you guys. This week has been.... interesting. As always. I don't remember if I mentioned a family of investigators that we are teaching (la familia Cueva) last week. Anyways, this last Sunday they were waiting for us in the windows to come to church with us. We had taught them several times where the Spirit was so strong and we could feel the promise in DyC 50:22 be fulfilled that says: "Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together." We felt like this family was an answer to our prayers and would be our miracle for this month. When we went to teach them again (now after they had attended church) they asked us to please not come back. They were really nice about it and thanked us for renewing their faith in God, but that they would not be doing it in our Church. We were devastated but were forced to also take a new perspective to our efforts. We were able to feel that something the Lord wants us to do is strengthen the ward in which we are at right now. President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “There is absolutely no point in doing missionary work unless we hold on to the fruits of that effort. The two must be inseparable. … Every convert is a great and serious responsibility” We felt inspired to look for ways to help our investigators feel the Spirit in our meetings and to help our converts and less actives be more "steadfast" to really help this area improve. We found the ward directory and started visiting all of the less active families that we don't know. We have already seen a miracle from that. The first day we went to look for a few less active families and knocked on one of their doors. There were several who (somewhat rudely) told us to go away and never come back. However, there was another family who immediately welcomed us in. They told us that they were facing a lot of problems as a family and that the night before we got there, they prayed asking God to help them have the courage to make the changes in their lives to come back to the church. We showed up as an answer to their prayers and this last sunday, all four of them came to church. We also have seen some huge changes in the animos of our ward leaders and things are improving little by little. We have seen many little tender mercies from God and have felt the Spirit constantly. I feel so happy to be a missionary. It's so hard to explain but... oh well. I am getting a little tired of writing and President Uchtdorf says it better than I can anyways:

"Waiting can be hard. Children know it, and so do adults. We live in a world offering fast food, instant messaging, on demand movies, and immediate answers to the most trivial or profound questions. We don’t like to wait.Some even feel their blood pressure rise when their line at the grocery store moves slower than those around them. Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding,deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace."

Be patient. Enjoy where you're at. Have a good week!!

Sav

For the Beauty of the Hills....

Work Visit with Hermana Gomez

Our primary class with their drawings of themselves in the armor of God and the Standard of Liberty

Fourth of July Preparations

Happy 4th of July!

Familia! 

I love hearing from you every week, and even more.... seeing the pictures. It is weird to think that everything is so bright and sunny and full bloomed flowers and beautiful. I am also happy to hear that you'll be celebrating the Fourth of July. I too, am proud to be an American! (Today for P day we are going to grill hamburgers, watch a movie and play football. Not fútbol soccer-for the first time ever- but football football! I also have my red white and blue on :) 

This week has been crazy. We have taught evagelicos, testigos de jehovah, catolicos and every kind of person. I love it because they all have such different view points and opinions that we can relate to. This week when we went to Plaza Norte, Hermana Kingston and I took a picture as Frozen, there were two moms that wanted to pay us to take pictures with their kids. There was also a big protest in my area this week (The government wants to take out one of the only green areas to build apartment buildings) The news came and while passing by wanted to interview us. We just pretended that we didn't understand and kept walking fastly haha We're just so famous!

We were able to meet the new Presidente Godfrey and his wife and 3 of 6 kids that will be living here during their mission. They're very young and also sweet. We will have our interviews with him in the proxima semana (next week). One of the funniest moments we had was teaching a reference named Diego. He wanted us to meet his handicapped son who was in a back room but we had to sneak past his blind super roman catholic mother to avoid her condemning us like the last time we tried to invite her to the church. It was hilarious tiptoeing past but it worked well! We have seen a lot of miracles in our area- We were literally led to an awesome couple who attended church yesterday and even in the very first lesson, felt the spirit strongly and said that Joseph Smith must've been a prophet- it only makes sense. And it's true. I love being a missionary- little moments like these make all of the walking and blisters and bugs and rejection be worth it. I hope you're all well. Set off some fireworks for me and say hi to everyone in the BBQ! 

Love,

Savannah

Frozen. When people walk by and ask us if we are the real life princesses and want to pay us to take pictures with their kids.....Too bad we can't haha

First work visit alone in my area

Shout out from the internet cafe