Hna. Reid had a lideres (leaders) meeting with all the lideres in the Chiclayo Mission. We had to be there at 9:30am, so we left Motupe at 7:30am. When we arrived at the mission office there was a ton of people there for the meeting and I had to explain my wonderful life to everyone and their dog. Once we made it into the auditorium, Hna Williams and Pres. Williams pulled me aside to figure out what was happening with me and wanted to make sure my family knew what was happening with me and I also needed to email this doctor about my foot. This doctor is North American and works a the CCM. He wanted pictures of my foot. I love my mission presidents so much. They are always on the look out for me.
After we figured out my plan to email, Hna Williams just hugged me and held me as I cried. I just have melt downs at the most random times. Not when I'm talking about him (Matt) but when I'm talking about cookies or the pink hair thing on my wrist...I hate it.
After I emailed I got sent off with a couple hermanas; Hna Daza, Hna Perez, and Hna Cachi. Hna Perez and I stayed together in her cuarto and studied while the other two went out and taught. At 1:10pm we ate lunch and on the way back, a really ugly, hairless dog that only had short blonde hair right on the top of his head, tried to attack me! Good thing I had extra long arms (my crutches) to threaten it with!
We then headed to the mission office again, to pick up all the companions, but the meeting was still going so 7 hermanas and I went to another room and we all chatted until 3:30pm, until the meeting finally ended. And then I talked with the Presidente and Hna Williams until almost 4:30pm. Then Hna Reid and I headed back to Motupe. The entire car ride we talked about how amazing the Williams are. They are so funny and so loving. They are my "parent" figures while I can't have my actual parents here with me. They both told me over and over again today that God only sends tough people hard trials and that God must think I am "one strong mama for going through all of these crappy things" (words of Pres. Williams ) Once again, they told me to call them even if it is just to chat. haha They are too cute.
Once we got back to Motupe, I went to the pension and decorated my new planner. It looks really cute! :) I also taped together my picture book while waiting for Hna Reid to come and get me for English class @ 8:00pm. Well 8:30pm comes around and no Hna Reid. At 8:50pm ,she showed up with a chocolate cake in hand, and tells me that the elders bought if for us!! We share Motupe with the best Elders!! They decided to finally listen to our plea of wanting cake! (they always ask us what they can do for us and we ALWAYS say, "we want cake" ) :)
English class got cancelled so we ate dinner. (chicken salad sandwiches, popcorn, hot milk and chocolate cake!) Then we went home, planned and got ready for bed.
Miercoles, 2 de Julio de 2014
We had breakfast brought to us this morning. (3 rolls, 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 bananas, y shampoo) After we ate, we had study time. I studied in the scriptures and in the "True to the Faith" booklet. And one thing that I studied a lot this morning was physical death and in True to the Faith it reads, "You have probably experienced the pain that comes at the death of a family member or friend. It is natural to feel sorrow at such times. In fact, mourning is one of the deepest expressions of love. The Lord said, "Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die." (D+C 42:45) " The only way to take sorrow out of death, is to take love out of life."
Luckily for us, who have the knowledge of the after life, know that we can see and live with our loved ones again. This knowledge however will not take away the sorrow and pain of losing someone dear; it does give us a hope. :)
During companionship study, I shared my thoughts on this and Hna Reid told me about a book that talks about how a life without love would be like. It's called "The Cure". She says it's really good. Buy it so I can read it when I get home. You should read it too. As Hna Reid described the book to me, it reminded me a bit of the book, The Giver. :) After those studies, we figured out our payments to the cuarto owner and our pension. The cuarto is s./150 each and the pension is s./443 each. Then we had language study. I feel like each day I am getting better but then when I actually "speak" it I sound like I don't know anything! After we went to go get the rest of our money out of the ATM and since we were going straight to the pension, we just brought our dishes from breakfast with us, which included a tea pot. So we were two gringas, one with crutches with a HUGE backpack (full of books for my stay at the pension for the rest of the day) and one with a tea pot, and both at an ATM. We stood out big time! haha
Once we got our cash (soles), we went to lunch. (Pina juice, chicken pasta: beets y potatoes y carrots and mayo- it's really good and for dessert 2 mini oranges) After lunch, I started my sitting at the pension. I wouldn't mind it, but the couch I sit on has no padding on it at all. haha It feels like I'm sitting on cardboard boxes with 2 blankets on it. haha Well during my down time, I finished reading Mark in the Biblia, took a nap and then talked with Lucero and Edita and Ana for a bit. They are so funny. Lucero is always making jokes about how I am going to marry someone here and teases me about my foot. haha
At 7:30pm, Hna Reid came and picked me up for corolation and consejo de Barrio. And the entire time we (the missionaries) were giggling. And during one of the prayers, Hna Reid snorted and Elder Coons busted up laughing, and after that Elder Thompson said, "What the heck was that?" and then I started laughing. During one of our breaks during the meeting, the 4 of us were singing Queen's 'Bohemian Rapsody'...it was so funny! Elder Thompson was SO into it. He was singing every little part and sang the instrument parts too. When the meeting started, he was still going crazy because the chorus line was running through his head! haha Oh, funny thing. Before the meeting started, the Elders left and came back with drinks. I asked them, "Why did you not get me something?" and Elder Thompson said, "We did get you cookies, but Mr. Butterfingers over there dropped them." haha
We left the meeting at 9:00pm and had dinner. (fruit with condensed milk drizzled on top and tea) Then we went home and planned. We have a multi zona conference at 8:30am in Chiclayo so we have to wake up at 5:00am, so we can leave at 6:30am. Uhhggg...haha...it's okay! We get to see the Williams again!
Jueves, 3 de Julio de 2014
We woke up at 5am and ate breakfast at 6:00am. (avocado on rolls and leche) At 6:20am, the Elders met us at our pension so we could head to Chiclayo. We laughed and shared a lot of stories on the ride. And we really started laughing when the door on the bus van got stuck shut. Thankfully, they got it open so we could make it to the meeting on time. We took a taxi to the mission church office and I saw a couple of hermanas from the CCM. It was fun to see them!
The Williams started the meeting by giving a background about themselves and their family. They have lived in 7 different states. And when they were telling us all about their children, they said "Sorry Elders, our daughters are happily married, but hermanas, our sons are in need of wives...so who is heading home soon?" We all busted up laughing! Pres Williams is so funny. He reminds me of my dad.
The meeting lasted from 8:30am-1:00pm. After the meeting, we had lunch. (Pizza Hut!!!) During lunch, we found out that my doctor appt. was not until 7 pm so we were trying to figure out what to do with all our time, and Hna Williams told us to hang out with her while she was at the office. So we got to know her a bit more, but then she had to leave, so Hna Reid and I hung out in the chapel and Hna Reid played the piano and sang while I studied. After only a short while of doing that, Hna Williams came back and told us that we were going to stay with her and Presidente at the Mission Home. So we went with them to their home and they showed us the room we were to stay in, and then they told us to make ourselves at home. So we sat on the couches and I was pulling out my scriptures and I have some pictures in them and Presidente came over and took them and was looking at them all. We talked a bit with them about life and our families and then they gave us lucama yogurt. Lucama is a fruit here that tastes like caramel.
We then hung out in our room and talked and studied. At 6:30pm, we headed out to the internet to print off my receipt for the doctor. Pres Williams was so worried about us traveling alone, but we do it daily, so we told him that all was well and we went on our way. Once we received our receipt, we went to the doctor. He told me that I can walk again....slowly and not much. I have to slowly work my way up again. Bummer. Oh and I am not allowed to walk on dirt roads, so that is going to be a hard task. haha The doctor sent me my x-rays and we headed back to the mission home. We got back at 8:10pm and helped Hna Williams in the kitchen to set dinner out and she started naming American foods that the Rissos had bought them to make them feel at home. It was PEANUT BUTTER and PRINGLES and NORMAL MILK! She fed us all those things! We ate peanut butter on wheat toast! For dinner, she made German pancakes (you cook them in the oven) with peanut butter and syrup. And they gave us the milk, pringles and peaches! They were spoiling us.
During dinner, we were talking forever, and the Presidente was still hungry, so he went and made himself a hot pocket thing and took a huge bite from it and he did the whole, "Oh that's hot...fanning his mouth with his mouth wide open...chewing ever so slowly." I was laughing so hard! haha Then Presidente had to go back to work, so we cleaned up dinner with Hna Williams and we talked in the kitchen until 10pm!
We then went to our room and said goodnight to the Williams. I got a long "mommy hug" from Hna Williams. It was nice. Then we got ready for bed and planned. The room feels like a hotel. It is so nice! I still can't believe we are staying with the Presidente and his wife for a non-emergency thing. :)
Viernes, 4 de Julio de 2014 HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!
I slept great in the beds at the mission home!! And the shower was amazing. The water pressure was so strong! And the best part was that we realized this morning we could wash our hands in warm/hot water!! After we got ready, we ate breakfast. (Special K cereal with Almonds, milk, toast & peanut butter, and scrambled eggs) We talked with the Presidente from 7:30am-9:50am, helping him understand more about the mission and what the missionaries do everyday. We helped him figure out what can be changed to make it run smoother. He told us that he really needed someone to talk to about that stuff. Then we left the mission home. We were on our way out and the door man helped us out and asked us when we would be returning, and we both said, "We don't know." and then he told us that we were very beautiful. haha
We got a taxi and the music playing was American. It was "This Thing Called Love" and "I Feel Like a Woman" I was loving life!
Once we got back to Motupe, we started/finished our weekly planning and then we went to lunch. (rice, chicken and tomato/onion mixture, soup with spinach and egg in it-so yummy!) Then we went out teaching. We went to Salitral and visited with a young menos activo named Ana. I made a big mistake and just assumed the child she was holding was hers, so when I offered the prayer, I blessed Ana and her daughter. After the prayer, she told us, "This is not my kid. I don't have kids." Awkward. We taught her and just laughed and joked around.
We went to the family of Julio y Jhanina. Both are menos activo. Julio is the one who likes us more than our lessons. Well today, they told me that I had a good Spanish voice! That the way I speak is understandable! yay! :) Once we taught the family about the Restauracion, they wanted Hna Reid to sing, so she did and then the dad told me to sing, so I did. They freaked out about our voices. They said the next time they are going to record us. haha The entire time, I felt really happy to be with them. I felt a true friendship with them. They want to play volleyball with us on P-Day when my foot is completely healed and rested!! And maybe one day, I can show off my "soccer skills" that they think I have because Hna Reid saw me play with a ball before I hurt my foot, and tells everyone that I play! haha
After we left their house, the children followed us to help us find a moto taxi and we started playing with them. Hna Reid was a witch mixing her brew and I was trying to "steal" the feet of the children by touching them with my crutches. They loved it. After 15 minutes, we finally saw a moto taxi and took it back into Central Motupe. We went to the pension because the doctor still wants me to rest part of the day. When we got there, we learned that it was the Birthday of Crisalina!! So we bought some paper and I decorated the card super cute and when Hna Reid was waiting for Diana (her working companion), she wrote a message in the card.
During my downtime, the Elders stopped by and dropped off some notes/letters to me. I received a note from Hna Kennedy (Hna from the CCM) and she sent me love, testimony of the Eternities and the plan and timing of God. It was much needed. I also received a letter from Victoria White! It made my day to receive a hand written letter from the USA! Especially since it had a little bit about Quest in it, because for the passed couple days I have really been reflecting on my experience and my testimony building experience that I had at Quest. The one thing I regret not doing is to have the entire Book of Mormon read before I went, but having read it completely through after the strength I received from Quest, has helped me develop a a stronger love and understanding of the Book of Mormon.
The Elders hung out with me for a bit and asked about the doctor and the sleeping conditions. They really enjoyed the part when I told them about the American food I ate. They were prettty jealous. I felt bad. :( Oh well, I will make them tortillas on a P-Day and serve them with peanut butter, which I will hopefully be receiving soon. :)
Once the Elders left, hungry and laughing (because I am hilarious) :), I sat and meditated about my hardships I've had these past couple weeks, and I realized that I have been praying for a better love and relationship with my Savior, and well with all these hardships, the one good thing I've gotten out of it all, besides cake :), is a solid relationship with my Savior. I have grown to turn to Him often for help and comfort. And He is ALWAYS there to comfort me. I love my Savior and I love the knowledge of the Restored Gospel. I have gained a love for my Father in Heaven and my Savior over the past weeks that no one can take from me. This church is the true church of Jesus Christ and I know this with my whole entire being and soul. I know God loves each and everyone of us more than we can comprehend. I love that He gave us a way to communicate with Him always. I love that He wants us to share every thought and feeling we have each day. I know He listens to us and answers our prayers- most of the time in ways we would have never thought of, but He will and does answer. God loves us. Use the gift of prayer and talk to the man who always wants to hear from you!
Around 8:10pm, the Elders showed up again for the party for Crisalina. Hna Reid showed up at 8:40pm. We were laughing and joking around and at 9:10pm, we got dinner. (potatoes, some beef chicken meat that I refused to eat, and milk) We ate really fast so that we could make it back to our cuartos in time. Then they decided that they were going to do the cake. Crisalina ended up not being anywhere to be found, so we said goodbye and hurried home. Once Hna Reid and I got to our building, our key wouldn't open the door. So we started knocking, but no answer. We went to find a pay phone to call the landlord lady, but when we did call her number, there was no answer. So we returned to the building...turns out 4 more people couldn't get their keys to work either. Finally the landlord lady heard us and came to let us in. We got into our room at 9:50pm and planned for a little bit and just headed to bed.
Sabado, 5 de Julio de 2014
As soon as we woke up, the power went out, so we did our exercises in the dark...yay! haha Thankfully right after we finished, the power came back on! Then we got ready for the day and had breakfast. (hard boiled eggs and potatoes) Then we had studies. After studies, we headed out teaching. Every single person was either busy or a man home alone, so we didn't teach anyone until we stopped by the house of 2 menos activos, Wendy (17) and Jamie (20). Well Jamie was home, but since we can't be in a house with single men, he said that he would grab chairs to sit on the outside and talk. We taught him outside and his friends kept walking by teasing him a bit about being with us gringas. Bless his heart. After the lesson, we invited him to pray and he did, and he blessed me and Hna Reid individually. I love when people use our names and not just hermanas. It makes it more personal. :)
After his lesson, we went back to our cuarto to do our training and language study. Then we had lunch (rice, chicken, tomatoes, and french fries). Oh, I figured out what the meat was from last night! It was hen. haha Anyways, after lunch, we went out teaching and we went and taught the sister of Lunanna (Nicol) about the Plan of Salvacion and we taught it as simply as we could and she seriously was not understanding. It was a painful lesson.
Afterwards, we had a baptismo of 2 children that we have been teaching with the Elders. Their names are Moroni (10 yrs) y Ivet (8 yrs). It was such a beautiful service. Elder Coons baptized Moroni and Elder Thompson baptized Ivet. Bless their hearts because you have to say the full name when you baptize or give someone a blessing, and everyone here has 6 names!! So right before they were baptizing them, the Elders were memorizing the names! They did it!! They remembered all the names!! And the best part was when Elder Thompson forgot one word in the prayer and dunked Ivet and the witnesses told him he needed to do it again. Ivet said, "No. I'm done." haha But before Ivet could get out, Elder Coons explained to her why she needed to do it again. So once she was legitimately baptized, everyone that got wet went and changed while the 5 other people attending went and sang himnos. Not very many people attend baptisms here, like they do back at home.
Once it was over, we got cookies (but we were fasting) to save and I headed back to the pension with Ana while Hna Reid went out with Edita to teach. While at the pension, I found a thought/quote from Hna Kennedy. (she is the blonde Hna from the CCM) These are her words:
HIS STRIPLING SOLDIER
"You are a chosen daughter of a king that reigns above. He knows your name, your hopes and dreams with unconditional unfailing love. Your place is here to shine forth among all those with troubled souls. His expectations have been set high, but your faith can make you whole. It is your turn to join the line of those that have been called. It is His will. It can be done through obedience, faith and love. He knows your strengths. He builds the weak to measure up to His trust. He'll walk by your side, protect you from all that is corrupt. Angels will come, surround your soul and be your constant guide. You can overcome the slanderer with His help by your side. You wear His name across your heart to represent the King. You'll walk the streets to preach His word as loud as those angels sing! You have the skills, you have the faith and now your on His time. For "the hour of your mission is come", stand firm upon that line. You joined a valiant army of missionaries far and wide, you are a disciple, who represents Him, and in you, He will abide."
While at the pension, I had felt nauseous all day. I got sick so they gave me dinner- crackers with jam and tea. Afterwards, Hna Reid showed up and we headed to our cuarto to plan.
Domingo, 6 de Julio de 2014
Well in the middle at the night, we lost power, so we got ready in the dark and because there wasn't power, we had cold showers. :( That was painful! After we were ready we went to the pension so we could eat breakfast (2 boiled eggs, crackers, and avocado) After breakfast, we did splits so that I could go to the church while Hna Reid went and picked up people for church. Before church started, Hno Jorge (1st Counselor in the Rama) asked me to lead the music. That is a hard task because they sing with no piano, meaning that I don't know the songs well enough to start them, but I agreed and led the music. Once church was over, a little girl came up to us with an invitation from the Church to go to an activity on Friday. She said, "The invitation says if you bring a friend, you could win a prize. So you come and you will get a prize." Then she ran out the door. haha The kids here crack me up.
Afterwards, we went to Hno Jorge's house because it is his birthday. We had lunch with a bunch of members! It was fun because the Elders came and ate by us, so we talked and joked around. We shared family pictures and stories, which was fun. The Elders didn't have pictures with them, so they promised us pictures of the their families soon!
After we ate, we headed back to the cuarto to study and get ready to teach. Today was my first full day back at work, and we had some amazing lessons. We met one reference named Milagros and her brother Kevin. They are tan bueno! They were really receptive and understood everything! We taught all the Restoration and the spirit was really strong. I am excited to continue to teach them.
Our last lesson of the day was with that family that has an amazing spirit about them (Juleisi, Fabriana, Katerin, Jesus Remiro and Dana) That family is AMAZING! When we first arrived at their house, they let us in and they all grabbed chairs and circled around us. By the time we started the lesson, we learned that Jesus (13 yrs) dropped his Lesson 2 pamphlet in the toilet. HAHA! So we gave him a new one. At the end of a really spiritual lesson, we invited them to Baptism for the first Saturday in August. They were really excited to do so!! :) Yay!
Afterwards, we ate dinner. (fruit, cake and tea) After dinner, we contacted some awesome people. I also got a phone call from Hna Kennedy. She was checking up on me and wanted to make sure I am feeling good about life. She is such an angel in my life right now. I love her so much!
Well, today was a long, hard day because I have to take walking slow/ with crutches and my tummy and head were not agreeing with me, but when we left our last cita with that beautiful family, I didn't feel sick at all. There is something special about them and that household. Oh, another bonus of going out and being able to walk, is all the children run to us yelling, "Hermanas! Hermanas!" and give us the biggest hugs and kisses. I love the children here and I am going to miss being greeted in this fashion when I go home to the USA. haha I'll have to pay kids to love me when I return home! haha
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| at the mission home in Chiclayo "The room feels like a hotel!" |
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| our room in the mission home "I slept great in the beds at the mission home!" |
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| "I can't believe that we are staying with the Presidente and his wife !" |
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| BAPTISMS! Sabado, 5 de Julio de 2014 Elder Thompson, Elder Coons, Moroni (10 yrs), Ivet (8 yrs), Hna Reid, Hna Dodson |
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| "Elder Coons baptized Moroni and Elder Thompson baptized Ivet. It was a beautiful service." |
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| "The best part was when Elder Thompson forgot one word in the Baptism prayer and dunked Ivet and the witnesses told him he needed to do it again, Ivet said, "No. I'm done." haha |
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