After studies, we headed out and bought some things from the mercado (toilet paper, conditioner, repelant, pens, milk and butter). After that, we went to the house of Cecilia to make Mac-n-Cheese!
After lunch, we headed to internet. The internet here in Pomalca is super fast! Yay! The sad thing is that my camera somehow deleted most of my pictures that I took in Patapo....so I am really sad. :(
After internet, we headed home to relax. I finished decorating my wall, and then Hna McGinnis turned to me and said, "Will you dye my hair?" I agreed. She bought black hair dye, because she wanted to fit in here in Peru more. haha After we washed out the dye, Hna McGinnis looked in the mirror and said, "I look a lot skinnier with my dark hair." Then I said, "Well then, next P-Day, let's dye my body!" Hna McGinnis in her innocent voice said, "No wonder everyone here looks so small and skinny...." HAHA I am going to love this companionship!
At 6:00pm we headed out teaching. We visited a woman named Maritza. She is a recent convert and she said that her house is having some struggles with "spirits". We said a prayer with her and then went to dinner. After dinner, we went home to plan and get ready for bed.
Martes, 17 de Marzo del 2015 ST. PAT'S DAY!
This morning we went to Patapo to visit and study with the Hermanas there. (Hna Furness & Hna Areguen) We wanted to see how their studies were going and share some tips and spiritual thoughts with them. When we got off the combi, everyone was welcoming me back. People were calling out to me, telling me that they miss me. When we got to the house, Hna Rossana welcomed us in and she was so excited to see me. It was super nice to be in Patapo again. Before we left, we put on the green mustaches that my mom sent and took pictures.
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| Feliz St. Patty Day! |
After lunch, we headed out teaching. We taught Teodora and Jose, the couple that recently got married. We are planning their baptism for the 11th of April. Later in the night, we visited Carlota and Hermes. We went over the baptismal interview questions, so that when Carlota had her interview with Pres. Williams, she would feel more prepared. After we finished the lesson, she made us chicken salad sandwiches and passion fruit and peach juice.
Then we stopped by the house of Rocio (a less active) to see how she is and she was in bad shape. She had gotten offended by some members yesterday and now she wants nothing to do with the church....except for us. It was hard to see her like that.
Then we headed to dinner...chicken salad sandwiches....hahaha. Then we went home and talked forever about the mission, hardships, converts, and spiritual experiences. It was a much needed talk.
Miercoles, 18 de Marzo del 2015
Yesterday, my foot started hurting again...so this morning, we only visited our downstairs neighbor, Carlota. We wanted to finish her lessons and let her know that she has an interview with Pres. Williams at 4:30pm today. Then we went back upstairs, so I could rest my foot. During this time, I studied and also started filling out a booklet called, "Mi Familia". I want to fill it with pictures of all the family, but it's hard when I don't have pictures of my grandparents or my great grandparents....cough, cough....so if you want to send me pictures that would be greatly appreciated! I would like head shots of everyone from all stages of their lives, like one baby, and then fun ones as kids, teens and adults...and if any of them are with me, it would be even better! I want tons of pictures! :)
We headed out at 4pm to pick up Carlota to go to Chiclayo to have her interview. I love Pres. Williams so much. He is very funny, open, loving and he just shines. When she finished her interview, President said that she can get baptized on Saturday!! As we were leaving, Pres. Williams handed me some crutches. haha
When we left, Carlota couldn't stop talking about what a great guy Pres. Williams is.
When we got back to Pomalca, we went out teaching. We visited Graciela (less active) and we talked about prayer. She has never had a desire to pray with us or alone, but now she is really willing, because she wants to have a better relationship with God.
We visited Anaximandro and Victoria. We taught about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Even though Anaximandro is super old, he still sits down and reads the Book of Mormon whenever he can. Dedication. :)
Our last cita was with a family- Santos, Judith, Frances (22 yrs) and Blanca (Gma). Frances is a member and got baptized a year ago. His parents, Santos and Judith, have been having missionary visits for 1 1/2 years...we are hoping that we can touch their hearts with the spirit and convert them. We talked to them about families and the blessings that we receive from the church. It was a really good visit.
Then we went to dinner, went home and planned. We talked forever about our lives, our futures and our hopes and dreams. It was refreshing.
Jueves, 19 de Marzo del 2015
We had our district meeting this morning. We talked about Christ and the ups and downs of missions. When we had our lists complete, Elder Hinostroza asked us "With the good things that you learn from the mission, is it worth going through the hardships?" We all agreed that it is worth it, because we have all learned so much.
After the meeting, we headed home and talked about the benefits from our childhood, and the many things we want to apply into our own families, that we have learned from our parents. Then we went to lunch. Hna McGinnis went into the kitchen and turned the water on at the sink, and water started spraying everywhere. I laughed forever and Cecilia was in the other room when she heard what was going on and so she came running in and rescued the poor hermana McGinnis.
After lunch and study, we headed to the little civilization called San Antonio to visit a few people. All the way out there, the moto was super bouncy, so we giggled and had a good time flying back and forth in the back of the moto taxi.
We had great lessons with Teodora, a less active named Kimberly and a woman named Elsa.
Once we got back to Pomalca Central, we headed to dinner early (yogurt and cereal) and then continued to visit. We ended up running into some members and they gave us a reference named Antero. He is a member and his sister Maria joined us. The lesson went really well. I really enjoyed their company because they are really nice and very accepting.
Then we went to teach the familia Espinoza. Tonight they were acting really weird. They wouldn't answer our questions and didn't seem to be really listening at all. It was really strange.
On our way home, we stopped by to say hi to a less active named Melissa, that the elders are teaching. Today is her birthday, so I popped my head into her work and wished her a Happy Birthday. She hugged me and told me that it meant a lot to her that I remembered her birthday, because I was the only one who remembered! She is really cool...I really like her. I wish we could teach her.
We headed home, planned and got ready for bed. We had a race to see who could get into our pajamas first. It was fun.
Viernes, 20 de Marzo del 2015
This morning we had our weekly planning and it went well. The only problem was that the power was out again since 10:26pm last night. We had to get ready by the natural light that comes into our cuarto. It was a bit of a struggle, but we did it! :) The power came back on around noon.
We went to lunch after planning and then studied language until 3pm. At 3:00, we left to pick up some hermanas to take them to the party for the Anniversary of the Relief Society. After we dropped off the hermanas, we filled out some paperwork for Carlota's baptism. Then we went out to visit.
We visited Fany and Hali. When we entered their home, Hali looked at Hna McGinnis and asked her if she had dyed her hair. Hna McGinnis responded, "Yes." Hali said, "Yeah, I know because you look weird now. That color does not look well on you." We all laughed. The entire time that Hna McGinnis was teaching, Hali just kept staring at her in confusion, and so Fany asked Hali what was wrong. Hali said, "I can't understand her...I think that she is speaking English." Fany explained that we are from America and that we are still learning to speak Spanish, and so it sounds different because our tongues don't move like theirs. haha After we left, McGinnis said, "Well...I feel completely uplifted." haha
Then we went to visit a woman named Matilde. She was a contact that Hna McGinnis and I met when Hna Furness went to Lima. She was really nice and receptive. I hope that we can help her find the answers that she wants.
After that, we headed back to the church to talk with some of the women from our ward and the Relief Society party was huge by then. It was for the entire stake, so I was able to see a couple of ladies from Patapo, so that was really fun. :) We were served soda, chicken sandwiches and cake.
Then we went to visit with Rocio and Edu, her son. She didn't really listen to us, but she hugged us for a long time before she sent us on our way.
We went to dinner, went home and planned. Hna McGinnis got sick, so she went to bed early.
Sabado, 21 de Marzo del 2015
This morning, we went to the Relief Society President's house to pick up a song to sing at the baptism later in the afternoon. After that, we went to the church to practice the song and to get the font filled.
At 1:00pm, we went to lunch at a member's house. After lunch, we went home and studied language and then went out teaching. We ended up teaching a contact named Rufino. During our lesson, a young man came up to us and asked us if we wanted to buy 24 gel pens for 10 soles...we agreed. We gave some away to the people we would meet, to thank them for their time. Everyone was excited and wanted to learn more. :)
Then we headed to a recent convert named Gladys. There ended up being a non member friend at her house, so the entire time Gladys was testifying of the truthfulness of the church and our messages. It was awesome!
At 4:30pm, we got ready for the baptism. Turns out...that we still live in Peru, where no one shows up on time, so the baptism didn't start until 6:00pm....this drives me CRAZY, but I love it! :)
When we finally started the program, Carlota was so excited. When it was time for her to get baptized, she and Elder Olsen entered the water, and she got baptized. We went to help her change into her dry clothes. We asked her how she felt and she said that she felt good and content inside her heart. When we entered back into the room where everyone was waiting, Carlota walked in and yelled, "FELIZ!" (HAPPY!) It was the cutest thing. She was just so excited. Then she bore her testimony. After the program, she came up to me and Hna McGinnis and attacked us with huge hugs. She is so great!
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| Hna Dodson, Hermes, Carlota, Hna McGinnis |
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| Elder Olsen, Hna Dodson, Hermes, Carlota, Hna McGinnis |
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| Carlota's Baptism |
Later, we went and visited Graciela and as we were sharing a Bible story with her, a man walked out of his house, looked at us and yelled, "I just want you to know....I"M CATHOLIC!!" And then he walked back inside his house. We all looked at one another and then started giggling. When we tried to move on, Graciela (65 yrs) was still laughing so hard! She is the best!! :)
After that, we bought our dinner and while we were waiting for our chicken in the restaurant, a huge grasshopper landed on Hna McGinnis' shoulder. Everyone in the restaurant started laughing at the two of us freak out and try to hit the grasshopper off of her. haha
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| Me soaking wet from filling the font. The huge grasshopper on Hna McGinnis' shoulder |
P.S. This morning as we were filling up the font, I got completely drenched...and then when we went to use the bathroom, the man cleaning the church, walked into the bathroom and started cleaning it. We giggled the entire time. :)
Domingo, 22 de Marzo del 2015
Well, I led the music again today. haha Today, the Sacrament was really special for me, because as I was sitting on the stand, I was near to the priesthood holders. As I watched them reverently handle the white sheet on and off the bread and water, I could only imagine them covering the body of Jesus. His sacrifice became very real to me today. There is a talk in the June 2014 Ensign called "Amazed at the Love Jesus Offers Me" by Cesar Lima Escalante. It came to my mind as I thought about the sacrifice that Christ made for me and you. Then to make the day even better, we talked about Christ in our Gospel Principles class. I meditated in the stories from Jesus the Christ and all the wonderful acts of charity that Christ did. It was a beautiful day.
After church, we walked Antero home, and his sister Maria let us in and gave us crackers and soda. We shared a short message with them and then headed home.
Once home, we studied and then headed to lunch with the familia Lalopu Tantajulca. Well...it was a MOUNTAIN of rice and beans. We prayed to be able to finish... and we did, but we left feeling like we were going to die!
After lunch, we headed to San Antonio and met with and taught some really cool people. Our lessons were led by the spirit and everyone was really open to us and asked us to return again soon.
By the end of the night, we came home, planned and reported our numbers. The district leader was pleasantly surprised by our numbers, because Pomalca hasn't really shown much success, so we were happy.
The funniest thing happened when we were writing in our journals. At 10:30pm (our bed time), the lights went out for about 30 seconds and then they came back on. We both looked up to the sky and said, "Okay, we get it....we are going to bed now." haha
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| this is what it looks like after it rains |
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