I Know These Things are True

8/20/18  I cannot believe that I have gotten to this point... I have seen so many get to their last p-day and watch them all write something special ha ha. I'm not much of a writer but I would like to share how I feel now and a few more thoughts on what's happened during these past 2 years...

Recently I have been reading my journal that I have kept and written in on and off during my mission. Aside from laughing a ton it has helped me realize something, that even though while writing I thought that what I was writing wasn't relevant or important... it is very important to me now, and I am so happy that I wrote at least something... because it has helped me realize that ever since I got on the plane it's been a learning experience. 

The MTC and my first area were really rough- I will be honest. I was (and still am haha) immature and was not able to stay focused to save my life... it took me a long time to get my act together, and I had to work really hard to start improving in that aspect. More than anything, God's grace made it possible, because people do not change as fast as I did. I know that there was divine intervention there, because if there wasn't, I would probably be the same as I was then. working through that was just the beginning of the changes that would happen throughout my mission.

I soon found myself in my second area, Moyobamaba. By then I could speak better and was somewhat confident in myself and in my abilities as a missionary. But that was soon put to the test! I soon found a lot of opposition in almost everything that we did, day after day we tried and tried without seeing much results... There were several occasions where I went to sleep crying because of how hard it was, but oh man were we blessed. Everything good that ever happened in that area was a blessing from heaven. We had real success, converts who are still active in the church today, and I was blessed in the experiences that I had. It was all for obedience, we did our best, and the Lord came through. Up until now it has been my favorite area.

After Moyo and up until the offices, things were crazy, two short transfers in two different cities were exciting and I learned several things in those transfers. I had my hardest companions in those changes, we had a lot of difficulties but we always were able to work out our differences. In all we were blessed, we also saw a few baptisms, but I don't feel like they were real converts. It was then when I learned not to baptize people just for numbers, and I felt a lot of guilt for not being more careful... But then I soon got to the offices and the whole mission changed...

 It was strange being in charge. I was used to having someone there to help me but when you only respond to the president, I had to rely very heavily on personal revelation. It was there when I learned that the Book of Mormon is so important. Not reading made things very hard and I felt the spirit much less often and with less strength. It really is the iron rod. If we are to have His guidance we need to read it and treasure what it says. Since my time there I have seldom gone a day without reading something from the BOM. 

And now I'm here.. haha the hardest area for last. It has been really rough but I have learned more about the will of God and what He wants for me. I also learned that I need to accept it, and be happy with what he has given me. It's not easy, but necessary. I would like to end with my testimony:

I know that this is the true church, there is opposition because it is the truth, and that we can obtain happiness here and forever if we keep our covenants and stay true to the Lord. He lives. He loves us more than we know and has a plan for each and every one of us. The Book of Mormon is true and is the evidence that this is God's work. It has the power to change lives and hearts, and heals all who need Christ. It testifies of Him and guides us in our lives. Prayer is the way we receive revelation and guidance and without it we would be lost forever. I know these things are true because I have seen their truthfulness during these two years and cannot and will not deny it. This I share in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

T Minus Three Weeks

6/18/18  Well its been a while... These past few weeks have been fun haha, we have had some cool experiences, but for now I would like to quickly talk about our investigator that we have and the progress she is making!

First off, a couple weeks ago I wrote about a lady who is super duper catholic and had turned down various missionaries before I got here. She had a dream about the Book of Mormon, which I wrote about and we were trying to help her understand it... well she still has no idea what it means haha... buuuut, she had another dream! and in this dream she saw her mom and what we have determined to be the temple! Her mom passed away a few years ago, so putting that together, we were able to talk about family history work and the work we do for the dead! It was an awesome experience to be able to explain that to her, especially because she has had a very difficult past, especially with her parents. It was a joy to explain what the power of Christ can do. She now has a baptismal date for the end of this month!

Its been amazing to see such a change in so little time. The answer was simply the Book of Mormon. it has the power to change lives and I cannot express the appreciation I have for it. It is revelation straight from God, and I know that it will help anyone who needs Christ in their lives. I think the scrip´ture of the week should be Moroni 10:3-5. The promise is true, and I invite all who have doubts to ponder the words of moroni. Have a great week, and HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

7/2/18   Well, it finally happened haha, Sister Marianela got baptized this last Friday, and what an experience it was! I mentioned her a few weeks ago and talked about her conversion and her experiences that she had, and the end result was a wonderful service that was possibly one of the most interesting and stressful that i had been a part of. 

We had all the preparations set in place, the font was full, and we were all set! And then, literally as we were walking into the font, we found it almost empty!!! Wow what a shock that was! It then became a race to fill the font haha. It was not what i expected, but about a half an hour and 40 buckets of water later, we had the baptism! It was great, especially to hear the testimony of Marianela, who talked about how she wanted nothing to do with the church for the longest time, but her heart was softened and as she began to read the BOM she began to understand everything. What a great experience. 

Something else that happened that was curious was what her granddaughter said after. She is 8 and was a baptism for the branch, but before going into the font she said that there was a voice whispering in her ear that she shouldn't do it. She got scared, but did it anyways and felt much better after. There really is opposition in all things, even in something like that. There was something there that did not want us to perform those ordinances. But now they are members of the church, and will be blessed for their obedience. 

I know that this is the true Church, sometimes when we see opposition, we think that it means that it is wrong or incorrect, but for me, it is just another confirmation that it is true. It makes me think of what the savior taught in John 16:33. He overcame the world, and we can too. Have a great week and don't stop reading the Book of Mormon!!!

8/5/18  I am dumbfounded... I don't know where time went and the worst part is that I know that I will never get it back... Well it's been a fun few weeks, I realize I haven't written almost anything for about a month and I'm sorry about that, I hope that this letter will somewhat make that up! 

Anyways, my time here in Nauta has been interesting, its probably the most unique area that i have ever had, and its definitely has had its ups and downs. 

When I first got here there really wasn't much to begin with, just one real investigator and a ton of fake ones.... It has been interesting trying to find people who are really interested in what we have to say. One of the major issues that we face is that we do find people who have interest, but then we find out that they all work by the river, the majority of them travel several hours by boat to the thousands of little river villages there are here, and it is very frustrating when you find someone who is perfect and 5 minutes later you realize they wont be here for the next 3 months... I cannot even count how many times that has happened haha. All we can do is continue trying to find those who the Lord is preparing, and he really is preparing people to receive us.

This week we had a fun lesson in church, where an interesting scripture was shared, its in Ephesians 4:22-24. It really has made me take a look at myself, and think about my time here in the mission. It goes along with Mosiah 3:19, the natural man is and always will be an enemy of God. I hope you all have a great week, and that things go well! ~ Love, Elder Grover

The Home Stretch! From the Office to Nauta

4/28/18   So in the jungle there is a weird tribal thing where they embroider things in bright colored designs that are weird, you can look it up online, its called "shepiva". So i sent in a tie for them to embroider, and i made it a "flower tie" which is like a fad that hasn't died out yet.... so this is how it turned out, its different but it looks kinda cool!

5/12/18  It has probably been the most tiring week i have had in a long time, but also one of the most edifying ones. We had another mission tour but this time it was with a general authority, Elder Falabella. He helped us regain our focus, and gave us some fantastic ideas to use in our work. If i had to use a word to describe him it would be WISDOM. He really is just walking experience, and boy does he put it to use. I will give a brief description of how this week was: 

Monday: we filled out the weekly reports and then set off for Tarapoto! Elder Falabella was scheduled to arrive the next day, Tuesday, but we made sure to get there a bit early so that we were ready for him. 

Tuesday: Elder Falabella got there in the afternoon, we spent the morning making preparations and getting ready for the meeting that he would have with the the branch council presidencies of the area. My companion and i were present at the meeting and even though it was more geared for the members, i learned a lot from what he said. What i liked most was what was mentioned about observing and serving, instead of observing and asking. We shouldn't wait for someone to ask to help them, just find simple ways to help when you see it! 

Wednesday: Multi-zone conference with the missionaries from 3 different zones, about 40 missionaries in total. That was amazing, he talked a lot about goals, obedience and what happens when we keep trying to do the same things to get different results. It helped open our eyes to see more than we could, and to really understand how to do it. He said that we need to not only convert converts, but convert missionaries. Most of the searching we should be doing should be done through others, if it is done in that way, it is much more efficient. At the same time, he made it very clear that we cannot expect to have results without putting in our own effort. It all depends on us, and how diligent we are in truly searching for those who are being prepared to hear the message. After the conference we rushed over to the airport bound for Lima, and then Pucallpa. but only found 2 delayed flights which caused us to get to bed around 12... That sucked, but on the bright side we totally got to eat McDonalds in the Lima Airport! That was something that boggled my mind, in all honesty it was a very strange experience. Its something that i will have to get used to again haha.

Thursday: After a couple hours of sleep, we got up and immediately began setting up for the conference in Pucallpa. While doing that, we got the news that Elder Falabellas flight was delayed and that he would be getting there 3 hours late! So what did we do? President Li stalled for those couple of hours while we went and picked up Elder Falabella and then we got to listen to him for about an hour. It was the strangest conference that i had ever been to... but at the same time it was pretty edifying, although he shared pretty much the same stuff that he did in Tarapoto. After that, we rushed over to the airport to come back to Iquitos.

Friday: The final conference was in Iquitos and it was like the gran-finale of the whole tour. Elder Falabella did pretty much the same thing but really just let us have it. There were quite a few times where he told us what we were doing was wrong, and as much as it hurt, it was still awesome. He put a big emphasis on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and how incredible it actually is. It helped me redirect my vision and refocus on the things that are more important. What really got me was what he said about goals and hard work. There is a quote in Preach My Gospel by Elder Ballard that talks about this, and summed up it says: If we dont learn how to set and reach goals, we will look back and realize that we only accomplished a portion of what we could have really achieved. Did i feel like that applied to me? In a way, yes. But its ok, thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ :). After the conference was the leadership council that we hold every month, but this one was interesting because President Li directed the whole thing! The assistants are usually the ones who direct the council, but President did it while Elder Falabella was there and it was interesting to watch. But in the end we got stuff done, there was a lot to talk about with Elder Falabella there. It was amazing to say the least. 

Today: we shopped and cleaned, normal!

In the end, the week has been an eye opener for us, and i am really excited to head out to the field with this new knowledge. I will be going to a new area with new opportunities and a fresh start. Cant wait to give it my all! Scripture of the week is Abraham 3:25. We are here to do everything that he commands!!! Have a great week!

photos: baptism of Maritza, the mother of a return missionary, it was definitely a struggle but totally worth it! Mcdonalds in the airport! and the amazon!!!

5/21/18   Well, first off, the internet here is pretty bad, so I don't think I will have time to write a group email, I don't even think I can send more than one email at once (you can pretty much say goodbye to pictures...) Another p-day we will see if I can find a better place to write. Anyyyyways, things are awesome! Its actually been very different, especially as I try to readjust to life in the field. I am loving having more time for simply working, studying and really just doing more things! Less responsibility is also something new, in reality its just a shift of focus, there's less that I have to take

care of so it gives me a lot more freedom to simply focus on my area.

My companion is another mind-blower, he is a whopping 5 feet tall! haha its is a spectacle working with him. He is from Guatemala, and his name is Elder Ordoñez. He is really awesome, same age as ty so its kinda weird working with someone that's like my little brother. He has a natural ability of talking to people, it is cool to watch, it is easy for others to trust him, so for him contacting is a zip!

The branch is pretty small, around 80 people attended yesterday but there are some awesome members, especially the branch president. Today we are dedicating a lot to cleaning the house haha, it is very dirty, and nobody has taken the time to really clean it for a long time. (missionaries are dirty haha) It doesn't sound like there are a lot of fun activities to do or cool places to visit, so the P-Days might be kinda boring, it will also be interesting because I am far away from an ATM that is trustworthy, so taking out money will be interesting. I also think that I am going to be using everything that I have, as it has been raining a lot and there's has been quite a bit of mud! well, to

wrap it up, I am stoked to work here, and I know that if I lose myself here I will see miracles!!! I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

5/28/18  Well, in all honesty I don't' know what to say haha, 2 weeks back out in the field and it has been a ride already haha, I cannot believe how fast time has gone... but then again, whenever you are busy time always flies haha. There is A TON of work to do here, it really has been a blessing to come here, it is unlike anywhere else I have ever been and to be honest it is a blast. The branch is awesome, a lot of the members are old members, there are not a lot of recent converts who attend on a regular basis so that's kinda sad haha, but that's why were here! We eat with the branch president every day except for breakfast, which we cook haha and that's nice because I still have some kind of liberty with regards to my food. 

Regarding our investigators, we pretty much filtered the majority of them haha, we are now left with a grand total of 1 progressing investigator haha, and the funny thing is that she has been investigating for a looong time. When I first got here, everyone told me that she didn't want to get baptized because she had already been baptized in the catholic church haha, so the first thing that came to mind was the Book of Mormon. After asking if she had read the book, she said no, but she did pray to know if it was true! hahaha, I was shocked, so many missionaries and she hadn't even read the darn book!!! So we left her 3 Nephi 11, which talks about baptism and the authority to be baptized. After she read, she said that she felt the need to be baptized!!! And then after praying she had a pretty gnarly dream! She told us what she saw and I have no idea what any of it meant haha, so we told her to pray and ask for guidance so that she may understand what it meant! Every time I see the power of the Book of Mormon, it simply confirms to me that it is all true, that God lives, loves us, and has a plan for us. Our investigator doesn't have a date yet, but I know that if she keeps reading, that will change very shortly.

So I have a confession to make, I still haven't taken any pictures haha, but next week I promise to send a few!!! The scripture of the week is Alma 57-58, the story of the strippling warriors always blows me away. Have a great week!

(excerpt from family letter) 6/4/18 Its been kind of slow and even though we are searching every day its hard to find people who are really prepared. A lot of the people travel because of work opportunity and other don't even live here... Its been interesting teaching lessons to awesome families and then discovering that they wont even be here during the rest of the week... Well, all we can do is have faith, we have a few people who are awesome and are learning the gospel, we even have a married family that we are teaching, and just the simple fact that they are married is a miracle haha. I am really grateful for those blessings, if it weren't for the few that we do have, it would be a real struggle right now, especially because President Li has such high expectations of me... He really wants this place to be more productive and that's one of the reasons he sent me here, especially because this city has a long history of disobedience and other dumb things that have happened, he practically sent me in as the fixer-up guy haha. But in reality its a huge blessing to be here, and I cant believe how fast the time has gone by. I just hope to have a few more baptisms before I ship out!!!

Changing Gears

2/24/18 ALRIGHT, so its been 3 weeks since ive sent out a picture, so my update will be a bunch of pictures with a brief explanation about each one!!! READY, SET.... GO

1. CHANGE NIGHT: we get to do all the calls for changes, and it is always a blast to have missionaries guess where they'll be headed in trembling voices haha. Its especially fun to mess with them and have them pass around the phone, thinking that they have a change when its really their comp who has one. We also always buy food! this time we ate "rico-rico" which is rotisserie chicken, french fries and fried rice!!! it makes no sense and the combination is the weirdest thing but it is one of Peru's pride and joys, and oh my goodness is it delicious!!! 

2. NEW MISSIONARIES: a new group of missionaries arrived and it is one of my favorite days of every transfer, so much excitement and wonder haha, i still remember my first day and oh boy was i freaked out! boy what a blessing it is to give insight to the new missionaries before they head out to their areas. Here we are eating lunch with President Li, his wife, and the newbies!

3.DONUTS AND THE ZONE: Well these were absolutely delicious haha, a newer Elder had a birthday so we bought a big thing of amazing donuts that a member prepared. This is also a picture of our zone, the Iquitos Zone. we all work in the center of Iquitos and it is awesome to serve with these elders. There are 2 districts, the offices and another called Sachachorro. (we took this pic today so thats why we are in Pday clothes!) 

So yeah, its been an awesome week, working hard and doing our best! Unfortunately the baptismal date that we had fell through due to family issues, and we are in the process of helping her back! Scripture of the week is found in DC 108:7 Strengthen your brethren in all that you do! It's been my personal goal this week and I have seen blessing as I have tried to apply this scripture! Have a great week!

3/3/18  Well this week has flown by and I always feel like they do, if anything it just keeps on going faster. We had our leadership council this week where we mixed things up a bit and tried changing the way we solve the problems in the mission. Usually we get everyone together and ask a question and listen to everyone's ideas about solving the problem. We usually have a problem with participation haha so we put together smaller groups and started talking about simpler problems according to the needs of every zone. All in all it came out all right! I just hope that we start seeing more progress because of it. We also got to train and its a fun time haha, but it will be even more fun in the Zone conferences that are coming up because we will be traveling to Tarapoto again and even JuanJui! It hasn't been opened yet and there are people there who want to hear the gospel! I can't wait to see that place again! I will also be going to Moyobamba! (my old stomping grounds!) I'm super stoked for the opportunities that I will have to visit and teach! Lately I've been studying the wars and Captain Moroni... He was 25 when he started as a general! I can't believe that! He was so young and yet was able to command thousands! How I wish that I could be like that haha, it would definitely be exciting! But really all that we need is faith, because "without faith, you can do nothing" DC 8:10. I love you all, have a great week! And enjoy the fun office moment when we bought half the mission new mattresses! 

3/17/18 I say winding down, but in reality I am only changing gears haha, travel mode to office/area mode. You never really wind down here, it's always going 100 mph, just in different ways.This week was fun! We got back from our adventures and we are on the grind again, planning, organizing, contacting, teaching. Its a non-stop ride but definitely a fulfilling one. 

We were able to recover our old baptismal date, Hilda is an investigator who wanted to postpone her baptism, but recently set a new date, so we are working with her trying to help her get ready. It's very interesting the way she sees things. The whole time we've been teaching her, shes been doing everything but treating it like it's a class haha. After leaving a chapter for her to read, she'll come back with notes and weird questions haha, and pretty much be expecting us to give her a test on the chapter, and after asking her if she prayed she goes, "I ALWAYS pray". The fact that shes keeping her commitments is awesome but she sometimes does it for obligation, and not out of a sincere desire to progress. Sometimes i feel like we do the same things, we try to complete with the bare minimum grudgingly and expect the full blessing from doing it, when really we can only enjoy the full blessings when we do it willingly, and with a humble heart. I know sometimes I fall into that temptation, but when I correct it, the blessing come flooding in. Hilda was also looking for a "sign" during this whole thing... and we have kept on telling her that signs don't come to those who lack faith, but rather signs follow those who exercise their faith (DC 63:7-11). This past week, she got a p/t job after praying for help and guidance and she took that as her "sign". If it works for her, it works haha. All I know is that she is experiencing a change in her life and I hope she keeps on changing. She'll be awesome. 

While studying, I constantly find myself meditating on weakness, and how we can overcome it. I think one of the most repeated councils in the Book of Mormon is that if we keep the commandments, we will prosper (Mosiah 2:22,41). Really it doesn't matter what weaknesses we have, if we do our best to keep the commandments and trust the Lord, we won't have to worry! I love you all so much, have a great week, and enjoy the pics of our sweet Golf sesh we had this morning haha (it was terrible, it was just a soaking wet field where we got sunburned and destroyed by fireants hahahah). CHAO

3/23/18 Aaaand I'm here again, don't know how when or why but another week is gone and I am still astounded. Well this week, was fun, but definitely has been a tough one. Our area is not looking all that hot after our trip and after the multi-zone conference here in Iquitos, and to make things worse the conference here didn't go all that smoothly like we had hoped. First off, our investigator is getting baptized today and we are stoked. We are truly grateful that she is making that decision to follow the Savior, and we hope that she will be a light of the Gospel for her family who wants nothing to do with the Church haha. Other than her, we have some prospects, some of the which are promising but in general I wish we could do more... Oh well, gotta learn that patience. 

The conference this week was cool because we had a visit from the area doctor, Elder Mayberry, and he gave us a training on health and the importance on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It was awesome, uplifting and enlightening (I definitely loved that we got to listen to another white person talk!!!). But like I mentioned, there were some complications that made things go kind of sour. All the technical equipment that we use (microphones and projectors) had problems, the conference started late because the keys didn't get there on time and we spent most of the conference running around trying to fix those problems. The worst part was that President was embarrassed and he told us we need to get that stuff completely taken care of for the next one... Especially because a General Authority may be coming soon and if things go wrong during that... yikes! So yeah, we are learning little by little, sometimes its rough but that's alright! That's why we are here!

Well, long story short, we are trying to hold our area together while at the same time taking care of the mission... Its a blast and also a challenge and I know that it wouldn't ever be worth it if it were easy! D&C 122:7. We are here to get experience, so every experience is an opportunity to learn and grow! Gotta make the most of it! Love ya guys, have a great week.

3/30/18 Well the blessings keep on coming, I am currently writing this between sessions of General Conference and I have got to say it has already been awesome, but I feel that the best is still to come! So for now I'll talk about the pics I was able to snag during our travels to PUCALLPA and during the rest of the week... 

First off, Hilda got Baptized!!! oh my goodness finally, what a process it has been with her. She started learning in November, and now is an official member of the church, I hope she continues learning and that she is able to continue shaping her life based on the Gospel! She is learning a ton about being more independent of her family and how to lean on Christ in times of need. After her baptism, she expressed a powerful testimony on prayer. We were definitely happy with how it all turned out. Here's the pic!

Also while in Pucallpa, I had the opportunity and blessing to see my convert from more than a year ago! His name is Carlos, and he had a Family Home evening to celebrate his year as a member (it was the 10th of march haha) He has definitely made some huge progress in the church and was for a long time the Young men's President of the Ward! I remember when I left, he was still learning, but now he has a more profound knowledge of the gospel and how the church and Priesthood functions on the Earth. His mom and sister are now also baptized and active in the church! He is seriously the best!

To finish up I was also able to snag this very old picture from one of the Sisters who is finishing her mission... The craziest thing is that we all got here together! I cannot believe how fast it has been and how much things have changed. The picture is the first day we had in Iquitos, right before our lunch with President Li. In total we were 22, now we are 20, but will soon be 14 with the loss of the six sisters from our group... Now all that's left is the home stretch. 

Finally, a quick thought on something that I have been pondering lately. Sometimes I have a hard time with feeling like what I do is correct or that it will make a difference, and I assume that it must be normal for many missionaries. Reading the scriptures has helped me think about doing the Lord's will rather than our own. Christ, in sacrificing himself did just that, and even though He knew it would be the most painful, excruciating experience known to man-kind, He came through and atoned for us all. Sometimes taking a moment and asking ourselves, "is this what Christ would have me do in this moment?" will help us focus on what is really important, rather than what we think may be best. prayer is always the way to communicate with our Father, and like our investigator has come to know it, we can be blessed if we learn to pray often and fervently. I know that God loves us his Children, and I know that what happened today in a "Solemn Assembly" was the Lord's will. He chooses his prophets to guide us and help us return to him. It is our duty to listen. Have a great week and i hope you all are watching Conference!!!

4/7/18  So we had transfers this week, and Transfer week is always a very busy week... we have to pick up the new missionaries (they were mostly sisters this time) and we have trainings and other things to give during their first day. But if that wasn't enough, we had the monthly leadership council this week and that meant MORE training's and MORE meetings and LESS time to go work. Really in short, the whole office experience is awesome, but there is a lot that I miss from being in the field. But then again, I won't be in the offices for much longer!!! President is going to be traveling a lot this month for conferences and stuff like that for the lack of time we will have in the future to work out next months transfers... so we did them this week, and knowing where I will go is a little weird, especially the fact that I have to wait 5 weeks before I leave haha. Oh well!

This week there have been several lessons learned and I am constantly being reminded how much I lack... Some days are easier, some days are harder, but every day I learn something new. Really that's why we are here isn't it? 

President has been focusing on the importance of the spirit in everything we do and I have loved trying to apply it and learn more about it on a daily basis. The prophet and apostles also talked about it last weekend, and I know that it is so important for us to learn how to listen to the spirit. Here's an interesting observation that I made this week while reading a scripture in the BOM. In the Words of Mormon, in verse 7 Mormon talks about a wise purpose that God has for the Book of Mormon, but the way that he learns about it is interesting. He says that the spirit "whispered" to him, and that it was all done according to the spirit. Now, if I remember correctly, Mormon was a prophet... and the revelation of learning about the purpose of the Book of Mormon is something of great significance... After reading that, I thought about the conference and the revelation that President Nelson received regarding changes to the organization of the Church, and I thought... "President Nelson received revelation in the same way". So if Prophets receive great revelation through the whispering of the spirit, and that same spirit is what is promised to all who are baptized, wouldn't it be the same for me? In conclusion, we all receive revelation in the same way a prophet does! nothing changes! Learning to listen is something we really need to develop if we are going to follow his guidance. After all, the spirit can guide us in all the things that we do! (2 Nephi 32:5)

Finishing up, here are some pics of last Saturday. We cooked french toast and hash-browns!!! it was awesome! I love you all and I hope you had a great week!

4/14/18 Well this week went by fast, too, and really it was a week of just going out there and getting things done! We have been doing a filter of the people that we visit, and have been dropping people who really don't have the desire to learn anymore, and really doing that every once and a while helps a ton, it helps us focus on what is more important to us now. So, in the end we knocked lots of doors haha, and we did find some pretty cool people! Hopefully that will all pan out in the near future!

On the other hand, we recently just learned that a General Authority will be coming to the mission this month of May! Oh boy that is going to be a fun experience, the only thing is that we arent sure when he will be coming, and since transfers are smack-dab in the middle of May (the 15th). That means that if he comes during that week, a lot of planning will be required to make thing run smoothly. Oh well! I'm sure it will all work out. I am mostly excited to see what advice he brings to us, and more than anything in what ways we can change the mission. 

Recently I've begun to read Jesus the Christ again, picking up where I last left off. Last I read was several months ago, and I had forgotten how in depth James Talmage goes with his analysis of the whole story of Christ and his sacrifice. I recently read the commentary of the Crucifixion, and not ever before had i realized what kind of details there were in a Crucifixion. An example and one of my favorite parts was when the explanation was given for the purpose of the vinegar. Before I had always thought, "why the heck was there a pot of vinegar at the middle of this execution scene?". The vinegar in reality wasn't just vinegar, it was a mixture of various ingredients and used by the executioners to dull the senses of the victims. So when they put it to Christ's lips, he rejected it, showing that he wanted to face this challenge with a clear mind and being fully aware. He didn't accept anything to make the pain go away, but rather faced it with his whole being and soul. I unite my voice to the apostles when they asked, "what matter of man is this... !?" He was absolutely marvelous, and learning more about simply his character and the way he acted has helped me so much in my focus as his representative. He is our Savior and I am forever grateful to bear his name.

If anyone is looking for a scripture to study this week, I would recommend the end of John, Chapters 18-19, which describes the arrest of Christ and his trials. Pilates behavior is also something to marvel, he did not believe in any other gods other than those of the Romans, yet he respected and revered Christ even more than the Jews did. It was a fun read for me, and definitely something worth a good study!

The Gospel is an Invaluable Gift!

1/13/18 Today we had a very interesting experience with someone who literally came to us looking for help. While re-watching the funeral for President Thomas S. Monson, someone knocked on the door to the offices to ask for help. He recently had been dumped by his girlfriend of 10 years and his job of selling burgers wasn't going to support his family of him and his 2 kids. He also had a past of almost a satanic lifestyle where he liked everything "dark" and "malicious" and now that he's hit rock bottom, he realized he's been wrong for a long time. After calling our bishop, we were able to talk to him about forgiveness for our sins and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and how we can repent to make things better. He then accepted to read the Book of Mormon, to attend church, and expressed very openly his desire to change. It was a miracle to be able to be there for him, and I was privileged that God allowed me to be there in that moment. I know that this gospel is the cure-all for anything that we are going through. Christ knows us and wants us to be happy, that's why He gave His life for our sake. I hope that we all can learn to use this gift more often so that we can feel the peace and joy that comes from sincere repentance. I love you all, sorry for not writing very much. I'll write more next week.

1/20/18 Well, I haven't been sending pictures lately, and I am sorry to inform everyone that once again I don't have any pictures to send... all we've been doing is WORKING AND WORKING. And boy what a life it is! Not too much interesting happened this week, but I will tell you about a contact that we had that was probably one of the most interesting contacts that we've had... We knocked on a door that opened very quickly and a young bearded guy walked out shook my hand said hello and invited us in in the space of about 2 seconds... we didn't get anything more than a hello out! So a bit shocked and quite apprehensively we entered his house, he pulled chairs out, shook our hands again and invited us to sit down. After sitting we finally got to introduce ourselves! And just as soon as we said our names he asked us what we do! After a brief explanation, we learned he was catholic and studying biochemistry! (someone to be studying something like that here is very rare...) We were able to get to know him a little more and shared our message, he knew almost nothing about the "Mormons" but he accepted a pamphlet and said he would read... So if the first visit wasn't crazy enough, the second was even crazier! we came back and it was the same "come into my house" in 2 second thing and he told us two things: 1. the Pope is in Peru and 2. He had read the entire pamphlet and understood EVERYTHING. He recited pretty much all of lesson one to us without looking back and reading... It was incredible! We had to explain a little more in depth to help him differentiate between the pope and a prophet of god... but he understood it all and then accepted a Book of Mormon and the baptismal invitation! I was blown away, but only time will tell if he will be able to progress and repent to get to be Baptized!!! 
All I know is that the work we do is the greatest work there is, hands down. I love it here, and it is not easy in any way. But if it were easy it really wouldn't ever be worth it. I hope you all have a great week and that things are going well. 

1/27/18 Well its been a very fast week, I feel like I was just writing yesterday! Anyways this week all of the missionaries in Iquitos had their interviews with President and we got to help him out with that, revising area books and stuff like that. Its a lot of fun but kinda hard cause we cant leave for two whole days, and to top it off we had the zone conference this week that we organized. Busy busy! But even with the little time we had we were still able to go out and have family home evening with a family who will be going to the temple this next week! Super awesome experience and even President Li came with us. It was a very special experience, because this family was a family that the President himself baptized! There was a strong spirit there and we were even able to receive a few references!
Lately I have been focusing on doing the little things right and making sure that I am ready to help when I am called (pretty much always haha) Reading every day and having fervent prayers are what keeps me going during the day, and whenever I don't get to recharge my spiritual batteries for time reasons or schedule complications it really drains me by the end of the day. I know that the simple things are what help us solve the biggest problems and that if we dedicate the time to do them, many blessings will follow. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it is the inspiration that we need to stay spiritually alive during our time on this earth. It is the only book that has the answers to the deepest of questions, and anyone who really reads it can find the answers to what they need.  

2/3/18 Well another crazy week, we had our Leadership council again here in Iquitos and boy was that full of fun stuff, 8 hours of straight meetings haha. It was a fun time, definitely a spiritual experience and I think that it helped us get our minds and hearts set on what we are here to do. the main focus was time management, plans and goals. I loved it and giving a pretty lengthy training with my companion was also a great time. I really am grateful for the help that we received, I definitely felt that it was guided, and I know that these things do not happen if it weren't the Lord's will. He has his hand in everything. Every time I see it I am humbled to know that He is our Father, and He loves us so much. It really is a miracle to be here and to have the opportunity that we do to make correct choices.
This week we have been working hard to find more people that are really being prepared, and is it an easy process? No, not at all, it never has been, but it is always worth the effort. We have found several interesting people to teach this week, a lot of them are good people, very receptive but the key will be getting them to act! As missionaries we teach faith, repentance, baptism and the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end. When we find people to teach, mostly what they say is that they have faith and they believe in God and(or) Jesus Christ. But when the time comes for them to really act and start repenting, they don't do it! I know that its them using their agency but its so frustrating when someone doesn't make the right choice! We have the restored Gospel, we have basic truths that others in ancient times have tried to decipher and solve for centuries, and we teach it all to primary children!!! And when we start helping others to understand the greatness and simplicity of the gospel, they simply don't see it! They don't act to receive the blessings that they could so easily receive!!! I now understand why King Benjamin said that its so much worse for someone who knows that doesn't act than for someone who never knew... 

The Gospel is a invaluable gift, and not living it is so unfortunate that it makes you want to go crazy!!! But i know that God has a time for everything, and in his time everything will work itself out. I am so grateful to be here and for this chance to teach this Gospel. Its the Truth!!! Have a great week! and sorry again for no pics, haven't gotten the conference pics yet!

2/10/18 This week in Iquitos was FSY (basically small version of EFY) and we were invited to participate, President Li, My companion and I got to give quick talks about a few basic topics!!! it was an awesome experience and kinda crazy cause all those Kids went nuts over how tall we are haha, it was kinda embarrassing, they almost treated us like famous people... super weird! But yeah here is a pic (finally) of all of the kids, counselors and Us! Enjoy!

2/17/18 WOW, I have no idea where time goes, the days blend in to weeks and the weeks into months... Already halfway through February and last I remembered we were just starting February! Man, well its still a blast out here and they say that if its going by fast its because you're working hard! And ain't that the truth... there's always a lot to do! 

This transfer has been lightning fast, and its definitely been a bittersweet one... firstly, things are going much better in the mission... As Old missionaries are finishing up and the newer generation is coming in force, and that new lets go get it attitude is really helping us get the wheels spinning again. We've given several trainings this transfer about goal-setting and the importance of the spirit, and from what we can see, missionaries are being more obedient and diligent in their work and studies! So happy!!! but like I said, its not all sweet, the bitter definitely has been our area. We usually go out to work in the afternoons around 4 until 9, and some days we don't even get that much time to work. The limited time doesn't help us out so this whole transfer we have not seen a single baptism, but the good news is that this next week, we will have a baptism! Finally! I am so grateful for that, definitely a tender mercy, she is a single adult that was a referral from a member, and she has progressed so much since we first found her... She still does funny things like the Catholic cross thing they do when they pray and other things that don't make complete sense, but she has changed a lot and really has a desire to follow Christ. Its awesome to actually find someone who has that desire! Its been a Crazy week and i hope this next week goes by smoothly, the new missionaries will be getting here so that will be awesome and that always means pictures!! Have a great week! 

Scripture of the week: Proverbs 6:9 -we have been getting up at 6 to work out, so when someone "sleeps in" until 6:30, this is my favorite scripture to use.