September 28, 2015

Hey all!

I have a couple of experiences I want to share with you guys from this week. They're tiny little things that happened to us, but they meant a lot to me.

Yesterday Elder Aguilar and I went to Ayaviri. We wanted to get there in time for the meetings, so we left Choquehuanca around 9:00, got to Pucara and waited for a combi. Usually one will pass within 10 minutes or so, so we waited patiently hoping that a car would come. 10 minutes came and went, and nothing. Soon enough 20 minutes had passed by. Then 30. Around the 40 minute mark I was starting to get worried that we wouldn't make it there in time for the sacrament. So sitting there on the corner, I said a prayer. It was a simple prayer and I just asked the Lord to help us get there in time for the sacrament. Within 2 or 3 minutes of my prayer, a car came and picked us up. In the combi I gave another prayer, this time of pure gratitude. We arrived at the chapel right in time to partake of the sacrament. It was a simple experience, you could say it wasn't super exciting, but that right there meant a lot to me. It confirmed my testimony that God hears and answers prayers. That He really is our loving Father, and with a little faith, He will always be by our side.

That testimony was strengthened even more later that afternoon. We've been teaching a joven there in Ayaviri named Alexis. Alexis and his dad, Fidel, started coming to church a couple of months ago when a family member invited them. Alexis still comes a lot, but his dad hasn't been able to because of his job. Yesterday we found out that his dad was in the hospital. We had a bit of time until our next appointment, so junto con Jean Carlos, the mission leader, we went over to the hospital to visit him. When he saw us there in the hospital, Fidel burst into a huge grin. He then told us that the night before, he had dreamed that Jean Carlos and the missionaries came to visit him there in the hospital. He woke up full of hope, praying to the Lord that his dream would come true. He then told us that when he saw us there, he knew that the Lord had heard his prayer and answered it. Again, my testimony that the Lord hears our prayers and that He loves each and every one of us was confirmed.

I love this gospel. I love seeing the hand of the Lord in my life and in the lives of others. And I love seeing the joy that the gospel and the atonement of Christ can bring into the lives of the people here.

I hope you guys can also see that in your lives. Pay special attention in General Conference this weekend. It's going to be amazing, and I know that in this time you're going to receive answers to your prayers.

Hope you're all doing well. Hear from you next week

Jeremy

P.S. The following authorities are my bet for the new apostles: L. Whitney Clayton, Edward Dube, and Donald L. Hallstrom. Guess we'll see if I'm right pretty soon :)

September 21, 2015

Hey all! So I got to internet super late and have very little time to write. That said, I'm alive, I'm doing good, and I'm loving Choquehuanca. Today's transfers and Elder Blancarte is leaving. My new companion is named Elder Aguilar. Hope you're all doing great! I'll write more next week!

September 14, 2015

Buenas tardes hermanitos! Como estáis vosotros? Espero que hayáis tenido una buena semana, y que todo os ha salido bien. Interesting story, Elder Ramirez is teaching me vosotros so I can speak like a spaniard ;) (Well, him and the Book of Mormon)

Yesterday was one of the best days I've had here in this sector. Why? Because we finally got to go to Ayaviri. Ayaviri is a city that they gave us right when I first got here. There haven't been missionaries there since January because there were some problems, but for the first time since then we were able to go. That was amazing. We got there for the church meetings and everybody was so excited to see us. It was actually kind of cool watching people walk in to the chapel, see us standing there, and see the excitement come into their eyes. There are a lot of great members out there who are really excited to work with us. One in particular was our new mission leader, Jean Carlos. I've never seen such dedication as I did in him. We're going to work really well with him, and I think we're going to be able to work well with the branch president too. I'm still not really sure what to think of him. You can definitely tell that there was a fault of trust between him and the other missionaries.

So we spent the whole day there yesterday and we were able to meet so many people. Jean Carlos took us to a lot of old investigators, and I feel like they're all going to be able to progress. There was one in particular, a blind man named Rolando, who's faith just took me back. Despite the trials he's had, that man has a very close relationship with our Father in Heaven and you can feel his spirit the minute you step into his presence. We have an appointment with him and his family this week and if everything goes well we may be able to put a baptismal date. We also met a joven named Alexis who never met with the missionaries but has come to church on several occasions. His cousin is a member and he invited Alexis to church. When we asked him why he came, what he liked about the church, he replied "I don't really know. I just like coming here, I like how it feels." He had felt the Spirit before even meeting with the missionaries. That is amazing. I'm also hoping to commit Alexis to a baptismal date soon.

Amo al Evangelio y todas las bendiciones que nos brinda. Se que nuestro Padre Celestial esta siempre por nosotros cuando Lo necesitamos y que El nos va a guiar en cada momento. He visto Su mano muchas veces aquí en la misión y puedo testificar que El nos ama. Sigan adelante, hermanos. Nunca se rinden. Espero escuchar de uds. la otra semana. Hasta allí, los amo mucho.

September 7, 2015

Hey all! Sorry I couldn't get an update out last week, my contacts list was being screwy. I think I got it all fixed now though. :)

So this week, the work started picking up a little. In our mission we have a "norma de excelencia" which is 25 contacts and 25 asked references a week. I was talking with Elder Blancarte and we agreed that we can't meet any of the other goals that the mission has set, but we can meet that one. So we just went crazy contacting, and something funny happened. The more we worked, the more success we saw. We didn't put any goals for lessons or things like that, but we actually ended up teaching twice as many lessons as the week before, we had at least 15 more contacts and a lot more references. People we contacted that had no desire whatsoever to listen to us would introduce us to their friends or family. It's crazy! It actually reminded me of a story from the Old Testament. The Isrealites were traveling in the wilderness, when they came to a river. They were carrying the Ark of the Covenant and didn't know how they were going to get it across. They prayed, and the Lord promised them that He would part the river so that they could cross it. When they started getting to the river, though, it didn't part. It wasn't until the priests put their faith in the Lord and stepped into the water that it started to part and they could walk on dry ground. All they needed was the courage to get their feet wet. And it's the same with all of us. When we put our trust in the Lord and had faith that He would help us, we started seeing the blessings. Man, I love this gospel ;)

Hope all of you are doing good. Talk to you guys next week.