Week 50: After Carlota got baptized, she walked back into the room and yelled, "FELIZ!" It was the cutest thing!

Lunes, 16 de Marzo del 2015
     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.

Feliz St. Patty Day!

     When we were leaving, everyone kept telling me not to leave.  I miss Patapo a lot.  Once we got back to Pomalca, we went out to contact and teach.  We ended up finding an old woman stuck on the high sidewalk above the torn up roads with 2 huge bags, so we helped her.  She thanked us and then we went to do more service until lunch.

     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!

Hna Dodson, Hermes, Carlota, Hna McGinnis

Elder Olsen, Hna Dodson, Hermes, Carlota, Hna McGinnis

Carlota's Baptism

     After that, we let out the water from the font and Hna McGinnis and I got our heads stuck together from our bobby pins getting hooked to one another.  So we were struggling to get the water out while our heads were stuck together.  It was funny!  haha
     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

Me soaking wet from filling the font.
The huge grasshopper on Hna McGinnis' shoulder

     Then we went home with our food and sat on the floor and used our beds as our tables.

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

this is what it looks like after it rains

Week 49: I am in Pomalca with Hna McGinnis!

    So, my camera somehow deleted all my pictures from my goodbyes in Patapo.....I am so sad. :(

Lunes, 9 de Marzo del 2015
     My last P-Day in Patapo.  Crazy how time flies and crazy that I am getting sent away.  This morning during our studies Mila, the aunt of Rossana (who lives in the same house as us), came knocking on our door asking us if we could help her with a situation that she was in.  Rossana had accidentally locked some keys inside of another cuarto, and she needed to get them out.  We decided to help her. It took quite a bit of time but in the end we unlocked the door, using 2 broomsticks, a mirror and a string!  :)  Hna Mila was so excited that she didn't have to call a locksmith.  Hna Furness and I felt completely awesome for having solved the problem. :)
     Once we finished study time, we headed out to say goodbye to people and to also buy some things.  We said goodbye to Moroni and Karen and then we went to lunch.  We ate arroz chaufa...the Peruvian version of Chinese food.  It was really yummy.  After lunch, we went to internet.  Then we took pictures with Yohana.  After that, we took a moto to visit Erika.  When we got to her house, we saw her sitting inside and then she started crying.  We took pictures with her and her daughters Kiara (7 yrs) and Hahory (baby).  Erika cried and kept saying that she "didnt have ganas (desire) to go to church because she wants to be with me"....haha...she was just joking, but she wanted me to know how much she was going to miss me.  She cried our entire visit and she kept hugging me a lot.  When we left, she stood in the doorway and watched as we walked away. :(
     Next, we went to the church and took some pictures and ran into Dominga (Elder's pensionista) and her granddaughter Joselyn.  We took pictures with them.  Then all the way back to our cuarto, we took pictures.  When we got back to our cuarto, I read my letters and also made tons of recuerdos (little cards) for everyone.
     At 6:00pm, the pain came to my heart.  We visited the familia Risco.  Before we told them about my transfer, we shared a message with them....then we broke the news.  They just stared at me in shock and then they started to cry.  We were all crying and hugging.  We took a picture of all of us. We said our goodbyes and said a prayer.  Enmanuel offered it and the last quote from his prayer is , "Please help all of us be more humble and help me and my family stop sinning."  Right before I left, he looked at me and said, "You are beautiful.  I am going to miss you teaching me about God."  Then we left. :(
     After that, we went to visit Geraldyne, Itamar, Gloria and their mom.  We made a list of goals and plans for them to accomplish.  It was a really successful visit.  Before we left, they gave me some jewelry and a little teddy bear.
     We met up with the Bishop and headed to visit Jose.  We taught him about faith and repentance. He was so into it and he is just so ready for his baptism.  We focused on the lesson and at the end, I gave him a card and then we left.
     We headed to dinner, which we took pictures with everyone (Mila, Harry, Antony, Ingrid and Rossana).  I am going to miss the Dulceria and all my friends that work there.
      We got a call from Mery telling us that everyone was waiting at our cuarto.  We hurried home to find Enrique, Shirley, Frances (their daughter), Yohana, Esteban, Sebastian, Mery and her 2 daughters.  We took pictures with everyone and said goodbye.
     We planned for tomorrow and then I packed...and cleaned.
     One thing that happened today during our time in the cuarto, is that Francisca, her husband and their daughters Ingrid, Shirley and Frances came to say goodbye.  Francisca cried and cried, and we hugged and hugged.  It was really hard to say goodbye to her.  She is an amazing woman, who was always helping us in the work.

Martes, 10 de Marzo del 2015
                                                                 TRANSFERS!!!
     This morning we went and said goodbye to Victor (Rossana's brother) and Solema (woman who runs the Dulceria for Patty, who lives in Utah).  We also said goodbye to Jose.  I started crying.

with Solema

with Victor (brother of Rossana) in the Ducleria

with Jose

     We hurried and left because we had to get to Chiclayo.  Luckily we got there in time. I was shaking because I was so nervous.  And like always, I was the last hermana to find out where I was going.  When they said Hermana Dodson, I stood up and they said, "leaving the zone Pomalca area Patapo....and staying in the zone Pomalca area Pomalca to be a sister leader with your new companion HNA MCGINNIS!!!!!
     I literally screamed and ran to her!  It was awesome!  Everyone was so excited for us, and I am so pumped because I will be doing intercambios with the hermanas in Patapo often!!!  God loves me. :)

saying goodbye to Hna Furness

With our new companions
Hna Areguen, Hna Furness, Hna Dodson, Hna McGinnis

     When we got to Pomalca, we dropped off my luggage in our "cuarto"...its really a house!  We have 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a kitchen and 2 family rooms!

our house
we live in the upstairs

staircase to our cuarto

our bedroom

my bed

my collage

my desk

dining room

kitchen

bathroom

the toilet is in the shower :)

     We headed to lunch and my new pensionista, Cecila told me that she knew that I would be coming to Pomalca.  haha  We ate lunch and then we headed back home so I could unpack.
     At 3:30pm, we went out to teach.  There is a butt ton of dirt here in Pomalca.  They don't have any paved roads.  We visited with some less actives name Fany (mom) and her daughter Hali. (8 yrs). We were teaching them, when Hali cut off Hna McGinnis and asked, "Do you like queque (cake)?"  to which Hna McGinnis replied, "Si."  Then Hali asked, "Do you like soda?", to which Hna McGinnis responded with , "Si."  Then Hali put her hand out towards her mom and says, "Plata (money)?" haha We cracked up.
     After their visit, we went and visited another less active named Rosio.  She has a son, and she was very warm and welcoming to me.  It felt nice to be loved and not just compared to Hna Ortiz who was in Pomalca for 6 months.
     So the coolest thing happened on the way to dinner.  I decided to contact a woman and her sister came up behind her...and her sister can't speak, so she was using sign language.  I started signing with her. Even though the signs are different in Spanish, she was impressed that I knew sign language. Her name is Kelly.  I hope that we can help her learn more about the church because she is a really cool lady.
     Today was a good day.  It's going to be hard getting use to a new area, but I am ready.  I am nervous to be a sister leader.  Intense.

Miercoles, 11 de Marzo del 2015
     This morning we went on a search for members that we don't know.  We couldn't find them, so we headed to a contact reference named Cristina.  She is 93 years old.  She wants to be baptized so she can go to the temple and be sealed to her husband.  She is so adorable.  We set her baptism date for the 11 of April, so we have A LOT to teach her in a short amount of time.
     Then we went and visited Luz, a recently rescued less active, who is now active.  We taught her about the Articles of Faith.  She is a great hermana who is so willing to work with us in the work.
     Then we went and visited Anaximando and his "wife" Victoria (member).  We are working with a hard situation....Anaximando and Victoria had their first child together when Victoria was 14 years old and he was 18 years old.  Well, after having 3 kids, Anaximando left and got married to some other lady.  Well, after being married to her for 20 years, he left her and went back to Victoria.  Now Anaximando's wife will not give him a divorce, so he can't marry Victoria....they are an adorable couple though.  They seem really happy and in love.
     After them, we went and visited with the familia Espinoza.  They are less active and really sweet. Their names are Cesar (dad), Diana (mom), Cirgio (12 yr old son), Sebastian (9 yr old son), and Enrique (4 yr old son).  They are a happy little family who listen well and know the answers....they just don't "act" too much.  They are making progress, though.
     After teaching them, we contacted some people on the way to dinner.  We had a huge fruit salad! Yummy!!  Then we went home, planned and got a call from Hna Furness, because I accidentally took my payment for the cuarto with me.  Oops!
     Oh, during contacting today, we taught a familia in the park.  They are evangelitas (strong believers).  We taught them about the importance of families and they seemed to really enjoy it. They also complemented my Spanish, which was much appreciated, because I was starting to feel bad about my Spanish....but they lifted me back up. :)
     There is so much dust and rocks here...it is crazy...so I come home completely COVERED in dirt. It is ridiculous!!  haha

Jueves, 12 de Marzo del 2015
     This morning we had our district meeting.  My new district consists of Hna Haro, Hna Mejia, Elder Brunis, Elder Olsen (zone leaders), Elder Lewis, Elder Hinostroza (district leader) and Hna McGinnis and me (sister leaders).  This district is really full of leaders!  haha
     Once we got back from the meeting, we went to lunch.  We ate chicken with peaches.  It was really good.  After lunch, we went home, talked, studied and then went out to teach.
     We headed to an area outside of the central part of Pomalca, called San Antonio.  It is super cute there and the people are really nice.  We taught some less actives who have desires to return to church, but "things" just seem to always pop up.
     As we were on our way out, we got contacted by two women name Berta and Elvira.  They are really sweet and we taught them a little message about the importance of families.
     Then we hurried and took a moto to our next cita with a less active.  She wasn't able to visit with us, so we headed to the ward activity  at the church.  We got there at 7:00pm but no one showed up until around 8-8:30pm...we had to get back home, so we had to leave.
     After dinner and planning back at our cuarto, the husband of the woman who cleans our clothes, dropped off our clean clothes. :)  We finished planning and got ready for bed.

Viernes, 13 de Marzo del 2015     FRIDAY THE 13TH....
     As we were planning tonight, we realized why almost all of our citas fell through today....it was Friday the 13th...haha....No, not really, it just happens sometimes.  hahaha  But as we were trying to teach in the afternoon and not finding anyone home, we decided to pray for guidance as to where we should go.  When we turned the corner, there was a woman with tons of buckets, so we took that as a sign and asked her if we could help.  She said, "Yes.  Stay right here with these buckets, and I'll be right back."  She took off and about 20 minutes later, she popped her head around the corner and called us over.  It turns out that we signed up to lug huge buckets of water to her house, which was described to us as being "close by"....not.  We picked one up together, each holding a plastic handle. Our fingers felt like they were getting cut off.  We carried them down a really windy dirt path...about the length of my house to the Loftis' house.  Once we dropped one off, she called us back up to bring some more.  By the end, we were soaking wet from our knees all the way to our toes.  And because Pomalca has so much dirt, we looked like we had dark skin from the mud that was forming on our legs. haha

lugging water buckets

     After we killed ourselves from dragging huge buckets of water to another part of town, we headed to our cita with Fany (less active) and her daughter Hali.  We asked them what we each had to do here on earth to be able to return to live with God in heaven again, and Hali responded...."Die!" hahaha  I love kids!
     Then we headed to the best cita of the day.  It was with our downstairs neighbors, Carlota and Hermes.  Carlota is going to get baptized the 21 of March, and she is so excited!  We talked about a lot of commandments, one being to keep the Sabbath day holy....which means that we don't buy anything on Sunday, and she just looked at us in shock and then turned to Hermes and said, "Looks like I have to buy it all Saturday."  She was willing and ready to start living this commandment tomorrow.  She is ready for baptism, and her husband said that he will be ready with a little more time.  I think what will happen, is that he will see his wife get baptized and then he will want it more than ever.

Sabado, 14 de Marzo del 2015
     During studies Hna McGinnis showed me an activity called the 40 Day Fast.  You make a list of things you want to "fast" from, that are taking you away from the spirit. We decided to do it, so we could become closer to the spirit.  We decided to fast after lunch, to have guidance in what to put on our list.  We ate lunch with the familia Barturen. They are all great people.  They are super nice and cook really well.
     After lunch, we headed to the area San Antonio to help Teodora and Jose (investigadores) decorate for their marriage celebration.  They got married today so that they could get baptized in a couple of weeks.  Once we finished setting up, we headed a couple houses down the road to visit menos activos that we had found.  Their names are Silvia, her son Felix (28 yrs),  Egnaluci (13 yrs) and her grandson Axel (4 yrs).  They said that they would be at church tomorrow. :)
     At 6:00pm, the Elders had a baptism at the church. (Elder Olsen y Elder Brunis).  It turned out great!  President and Hermana Williams ended up being there, too.  It was beautiful.  At the end, I asked Pres. and the zone leaders if Jose Sandoval got baptized and they said, "Yes!"  I could have cried at that moment.  I am so happy that he could make that beautiful covenant here in this life.  It is going to bless him and change him and his family a lot.  I am very excited!
     After the baptism, we tried to teach some families, but no one was home or they were busy.  What we ended up doing was contacting.  We had some really successful contacts tonight.
     Once we reached our contact goal, we headed home to plan quickly, so we could call the hermanas in our zone to see how they are doing and if there is anything we can do for them.  I got to call Hna Furness and her companion Hna Areguen.  We talked about the baptism of Jose.  They said that he really feels like part of a family in church and that he teared up and said that he knows that his decision is going to help his family.  I love Jose!
     Well, all the Hermanas told me that I make a great Hna leader.  I am super excited to take on this responsibility and learn from it and learn from all the Hermanas in the zone.  I am just so excited to start seeing a lot of miracles here in Polmaca.  We are working hard and we are trying to center ourselves on the spirit....and with the few experiences we had today, we can see that God is working with us here. :)

Domingo, 15 de Marzo del 2015
     Here in Polmaca we have church at 8:00am.  When we got there at 7:30am, the power was out...but we still had church.  I got asked to lead the hymns...haha.  Everyone was staring at me like, "new meat"...haha.  We had tons of people at church today.  We had several investigadores and less actives.
     After church, we headed home to study and at 1:00pm, we headed to lunch.  We ate with Glenda (returned home from her mission about a month ago).  She is really sweet.  After lunch, we visited the familia Yesquen and then a woman named Mirium.  At the beginning of our lesson, she wasn't listening too well, but by the end of the lesson, she was hugging us and told us to return quickly. :)
     At 4:00pm, we had correlation.  At 5:00pm we had ward council.  At 6:00pm we had a meeting for future missionaries.  They asked us missionaries (Me, McGinnis, Olsen, Brunis) to bear our testimonies about missions.  It was a beautiful service to encourage all to go on missions.  At the end, they had sandwiches and soda, but when we went to the kitchen to help with the food, the food was covered with ants!  So we were helping to shake the ants off the food.  haha  I love the mission!
 

 ants on the food :)

     Oh...one cool thing today was that Bishop Iman, who usually doesn't open up much to the missionaries, was talking to me, asking me questions, and even promised me that he would work really hard to help us. Yay!  I am loving seeing miracles come from obedience.

     "Paraphrasing C.S. Lewis...The Lord says to us: Give me all.  I don't want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work: I want you.  All of you.  I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man, but to kill it.  No half-measures will do.  I don't want to only prune a branch here and another there; rather, I want the whole tree out!  Hand it all over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wishes and wants and dreams.  Turn them all over to me.  Give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self in my image.  Give me yourself and in exchange, I will give you myself.  My will shall become your will.  My heart shall become your heart."  Lawrence E. Corbridge from the talk entitled "The Fourth Missionary"

                                                                          READ IT!

eating mac n cheese

Week 48: "Bless and watch over the Hermanas so that they don't die, because the motos are crazy!"

Lunes, 2 de Marzo del 2015     [ Polmaca, Peru]
     P-Days are great days to meditate and realize the things you want to do, so I did just that.  After studies, we went out to buy some things and then we went to internet.  My emails were great this week.  I highly enjoyed them all.  They got me thinking about the work in the mission and the beauty that comes from it.  There were many things that I loved, but I loved two quotes that my mom sent me.  I can apply both of them to myself and to those I teach.  "Sacrifice allows us to learn something about ourselves- what we are willing to offer to the Lord through our obedience" and "As we are obedient, we become willing to sacrifice such things as our time, our energy and our means. Sacrifice changes our natures; it is the process by which we become holy enough to be willing to give up all we have for the Lord if we are called upon to do so."  I love that.  We should all reach that level of holiness.  We should all try and be more obedient to show God that we are willing to sacrifice.  When we sacrifice worldly prizes for God, we are blessed with more happiness in this life as well as in the life to come.
     After internet we packed up our stuff and got ready to head to the cuarto of the hermana leaders. (Hna Ortiz and Hna McGinnis) When we got there, we played the card game of Monopoly.  It's super fun!  And then Hna Furness and Hna Ortiz left to go to Chiclayo so they could take a plane to Lima. I stayed with Hna McGinnis.  I seriously love her to death!  We talked about plans for our futures and our desires.  It was really fun.
     At 6:00pm we went out to work.  We visited a less active.  We ended up just letting her talk to us about her worries and her problems.  After that, we just contacted.  We had a good time.
     At 8:00pm we ate dinner....a chunk of chicken and a pile of french fries. Small world....Hna Reid served here in Polmaca for 6 months, so anytime we told people that we knew Hna Reid and that she trained me in Motupe, they would get really excited.  It was cute.
     After dinner, we headed home, planned and got ready for bed.  Then we talked and talked.

Martes, 3 de Marzo del 2015
     We woke up at 6:30am and during our morning prayers, the fans in the room turned off. Well....this is significant because that meant that the power had gone out, which meant that I would have to shower in a completely black bathroom.  The bathroom is super tiny, and there is no shower stall, so I was afraid that I was going to accidentally fall into the open toilet.  It was ridiculous! haha        At 8:00am, we left to go into Chiclayo for the hermana leaders' meeting. I was really loving being able to participate in their meeting, even though I am not a hermana leader.  I learned a lot of things that I can apply in my mission.  Hna Williams taught the class about love.  She shared the story of the adulterous woman.  I love John 8:1-11...that story is amazing.  After we read it, Hna Williams asked us, "What do you imagine this woman felt like at that moment?"  It got me thinking about myself-And that all of us should be like Christ, and kindly guide others towards Christ with love and without judgement.  Of course, we need to look at ourselves first. (Matthew 7:1-5)
     At 10:00am, the meeting for all the zone leaders and hermana leaders started.  President Williams pointed me out several times during that meeting. :) It felt amazing.  It was very spiritual.  One thing that I really liked that President Williams said was, "You have to inspect what you expect."  Which means that we have to be wise and practical in our goals.  After we set goals, we should analyze them and see what it is that we need to do to reach them.

with President and Hermana Williams

     For lunch we had Chili's!  We got a huge yummy hamburger.  It was so good!  It had pickles!! YUMMY!!  After lunch, we got back to our meeting.  The meeting ended at 4:00pm.  Hna McGinnis and I waited in the office for our companions to come back.  Around 4:45pm, they showed up.

Hna Furness, Hna Dodson, Hna McGinnis, Hna Ortiz

     Hna Furness and I headed back to Patapo.  As soon as we got back, we headed out to work.  We visited Marilyn, who is the girlfriend of Carlos (less active).  We built up a little more trust with her. Hopefully she will accept our message one day.  After her visit, we went and visited the familia Risco.  Enmanuel and Maria Jose made us cards.  They are beautiful.  I seriously love this family. We taught them about baptism.  The lesson was powerful.
     After teaching, we headed to dinner.  Everyone had missed us and was so happy we were back. :)
After dinner, we went home.  We had to bring water from the outside in with buckets so that we would have water to flush the toilet and to bathe in, because they turned the water off and it won't be back on until Thursday.  Gotta love when you have to bathe with a bucket of water and a cup.  haha I love Peru!

Miercoles, 4 de Marzo del 2015  [a full day in Patapo]
     Because Hna Furness had to go to Lima on Monday, I had to go to Polmaca and so we had missed some of our citas.  Hna Furness had taken our phone with her, so I had no way of contacting them to let them know.  Anyhow, one of the citas was with Erika, so we went to visit with her first. When we got to her house, she came outside and acted like she was killing us.  She had invited her dad over for the first cita that we missed.  He isn't a member, and he had made a treat for us.  :( We felt bad, but once we explained what had happened, she forgave us.  We taught her about tithing and fasting.  She is super excited to start doing both again.
     After teaching her, we went to lunch.  After lunch, we went out teaching again.  Our last cita of the day was with Jose.  I seriously love him.  We taught him about the spirit world, the resurrection and the kingdoms of glory.  He happened to be wearing a cross necklace and asked us if the LDS church used the cross.  We told him that we don't, because we focus on Christ's resurrection instead of his death.  Right at that moment, he took off his cross necklace.  He is so ready to give his life over to Christ.  He is so excited for March 14th!
     P.S.  Someone else that we visited was Elita and Carmen.  When we showed up, they told us that the Elders had come by to teach them.  They told them, "The sisters are teaching us", and then proceeded to tell them about all the things that we have taught them.  They made us look like really awesome missionaries!  :)  I love missionary work.

Jueves, 5 de Marzo del 2015
     This morning we had a zone meeting.  Everything we talked about, was what we talked about in the leaders meeting in Chiclayo.  It went really well.  We took some fun photos.

Our Zone

Hna Dodson and Hna Furness

     After the meeting, we waited for a combi with the elders.  By the time we got a ride, it was 2:00pm.  We ate lunch and then went home.  When we got to our cuarto, Shirley was waiting for us to pick up our dirty clothes.
     At 3:00pm, Hna Furness wasn't feeling well, so she rested.  As she rested, I organized the area book, put up papers on the walls to help us reach our goals.  At 7pm, she started feeling better, so we went to visit Yohana.  We taught her about tithing and fasting.  She is excited to start fasting, and said that she always pays her tithing.
     At 8pm, we went to Jose's house.  He was just as ready as could be to learn more. :)  We taught him about the Word of Wisdom.  He loved it.  He accepted it and he was very willing to give it all up. He doesn't drink alcohol, use drugs or smoke, but he does drink his coffee and tea, but he said that he would give those things up.  We were teaching him the blessings that come from living the Word of Wisdom, and then he asked if it was okay to share the gospel with others.  Of course, we told him that he could, and that it would help him understand the gospel better as he shared it.  He is excited to do that.  Before we left, he asked us what chastity meant.  We gave him some information about it and told him that at our next cita, we would give him a lesson about Chastity. We asked Jose to give the closing prayer and he said, "Bless the hermanas and bless their families who are far away.  Bless them...because thanks to their parents, I have these wonderful hermanas here to bring me to your truth."   After he ended, he looked at us with tears in his eyes and said, "You must suffer a lot.... because your families are so far away."  We responded that it is impossible to suffer when we have people like him who love us and pray for us and care for us everyday.  He smiled and just kept talking about how wonderful our families are for letting us be here and that they must be just as amazing as us.  haha  I love the mission!  I love universal love!!

Viernes, 6 de Marzo del 2015
     This morning we had our weekly planning.  We decided with the elders that we would be putting up boundaries, so as we were planning, we realized that we would be losing a lot of our investigators. :(  After planning, we went to lunch and then back home to study language.  Then we went out to teach.  We visited Gloria and Itamar.  We read Alma 24 with them, to help them figure out the purpose of life and how to prepare to meet with God.
     After that, we went to visit the familia Risco.  Enmanuel came to the door and invited us in.  He told us that Gma Risco wouldn't be able to join us because she is really sick and throwing up.  We told them that we couldn't come in and teach them unless there was an adult....so Enmanuel made sick Gma Risco come out and sit so we could teach them.  Well, as we were teaching, Gma Risco had to run out of the room a few times.  Enmanuel gave our closing prayer and he said, "Bless and watch over the hermanas so that they don't die...because the motos are crazy!"
     We taught a few more lessons and then we headed to the Noche Misional.  Before it started, we divided the area with the elders.

map of our divisions

     At the 8pm, the activity started.  We listened to a message from the Bishop and then we played a game with balloons and cups.  You have to blow up the balloon and then let the air out and push the cup across the floor to the other side of the room and back again.  It was really fun.  Then Elder Caceres decided to teach everyone a new game called, "I give you a Book of Mormon" or in Spanish, "Te regalo un Libro de Mormon".  It is played like this.  One person has the Book of Mormon and walks up to someone and says, "I give you a Book of Mormon."  The receiver then says, "A what?" and the giver says, "A Book of Mormon."  The receiver then takes the book and gives it to someone else and says "I give you a Book of Mormon" and the new receiver says, "A what?", and then the new giver asks the first giver, "A what?" and then the first giver responds and then the new giver responds, and it is just repeated over and over, until everyone in the room has answered everyone's questions.  I don't know if that makes sense, but it is really fun.  haha Jose even played the games with us!
     After the activity was over, we went to dinner.  Then we went home and planned and got ready for bed.

Sabado, 7 de Marzo del 2015
     This morning I felt really sick, so we stayed in until about 3pm, and then I felt well enough to go out and teach.  Today was a pretty good day.  We visited a lot of people, to let them know of the changes that we made with the Elders.  We had to say goodbye to a lot of our contacts, because  they were in the Elder's area now.
     Our best lessons were with the familia Risco and Jose.  We taught Jose about the law of chastity. We had to teach him next door at Harry's house, because Jose's neighbors were having a really loud party.  Harry is a sweet old man that works at the Dulceria, and he listened to the lesson, too.  It went well.
     After that, we went to dinner and then went home to plan.  We are setting our goals really high, but we have faith that we can do it.

Domingo, 8 de Marzo del 2015
      Well, Feliz 11 months in the mission!  Time has flown by!!  Today we are going to find out cambios (transfers).
      Well, this morning, we headed out contacting at 8am, as we were waiting for Victor (the nephew of Rossana) to come to church with us.  At 8:45am, we headed to church.  We had a good turn out. Nelson (ward mission leader) taught our lesson in Gospel Principles. He is the coolest teacher.  I love his teaching style.
     After church, we headed out teaching and finding new people to teach.  We ended up finding a lot of families.  We were having a ton of success!!
     At 1:30pm, we went to Francisca's house to eat lunch.  At 2pm, Francisca and Viviana went out teaching with us.  We did divisions- I went with Hna Francisca and Hna Furness went with Hna Viviana.
     At 3pm, we went back to the church where we had a meeting with the Elders, so we could switch references and information.  At 4pm, we met up with Nelson and talked about a few needs and took a picture together.

Hna Dodson, Hna Furness, Nelson, Elder Caceres, Elder Encalada

     After we were done, we went to our cita with Jose.  We taught him about tithing and fasting.  Jose is so ready to be baptized.  We planned his baptism with him and he said, "I want Hermana Dodson to sing at my baptism."  I told him that I would.
    At 6pm, we headed to ward council.  When we got there, we found out that it had been cancelled, so we ended up telling Nelson about the plans for Jose's baptism.
     At 7:30pm, we went to visit the familia Risco, but they weren't home.  As we were trying to decide where to go next, we both got the impression to visit Rosa and Victor.  Rosa was home with her two daughters, and they were all crying.  They were having some family problems, so we prayed with them and shared some thoughts and feelings with them.  At the end, Rosa offered a prayer and thanked God for sending us to her house at that exact moment.
     We went to dinner and then went home to wait for the call about transfers.  At 9:48pm, our district leader called.  I asked him to tell us the cambios, but he had to go because he was getting a call from the zone leaders.  He said he would call back as soon as he was done with them.  Thirty seconds later, he called us back....and he said, "Hna Dodson, you are leaving Patapo."  My jaw dropped.  I couldn't believe it, but I could at the same time, because every single time someone is going to get baptized, I have to leave....right before the baptism. Bummer. :(  Now I won't be able to sing at Jose's baptism.
     After getting off the phone, I started packing.  That is worst part about transfers.  Next week y'all will find out where I am headed.  Pray for me.

My favorite meal!  Rice with a fried egg and fried banana

my dinner

My last day in Patapo

picture of the street we live on

our house is behind all the trees on the right

building where they fight roosters

saying goodbye
Hna Furness, Hna Dodson, Karen, Moroni and Moroni Jr.
Their daughter Rhianna wasn't home because she just
started school today

 

Week 47: I got to do intercambios with Hna Corona in Lambayeque!

Lunes, 23 de Febrero del 2015  [Feliz Meses en la Mision para Hna Furness!!]
     This morning after studies, we went to visit Jose at work because he talks about us to the kids all the time.  We called him to find out where we were meeting, and he told us at the park up the street from OUR church.  Well, we headed there and he was standing outside and waving.  We answered all the questions that the kids had and then we took some pictures with them.

with Jose and the kids at the school

     Jose invited the children to visit the church and told them that it was really beautiful.  He is a great guy!  After talking with them for a bit more, we went shopping and bought the things we needed.  We headed home to finish up some cards before heading to internet.  It was lunch time, but we weren't hungry, so we didn't eat.  We just went and printed out some talks that I wanted.  Two are by Brad Wilcox called, "His Grace is Sufficient" and "If we can laugh at it, we can live with it."  Both are great!  I highly recommend reading them both.  I also printed off a talk by Elder Holland called "Remember Lot's wife".  It's amazing!
     After that, we headed home and relaxed, read, drew, and talked.  Once P-Day was over, we headed out to our citas.  Unfortunately, every single one of our citas bailed on us.  Luckily, we found Lili and Antony.  We read some of the Book of Mormon with them and talked to them about whether Segundo is going to give Lili his permission to get baptized.  She said that he won't give permission until she has been going to church for a long time.  I really hope she will come to church.  She still feels uncomfortable coming to church, because she doesn't have a skirt to wear.  We told her that Heavenly Father just wants her to be there, and that he won't care if she is wearing pants.  We left with a prayer and some hugs and kisses.  Lili is really special.
     After teaching them, we went to dinner.  While we were eating, Harry came in and handed us a bag of mangoes.  He told us that a young man named Jonny told him to give them to us.  When we looked out, the "young man" ended up being Jose.  When he noticed that we saw him, he waved and then ran away.  We ran out of the restaurant to try and catch him, but he was way too fast!
     We went home and then took our dirty laundry to Shirley and Enrique.  Then we went back home to plan and fill out the area book.  Then we got ready for bed.

Martes, 24 de Febrero del 2015
     This morning we went on a wild goose chase.  We were searching for a woman named America. We had Columbus' luck....and didn't find her.  :)  Anyhow, we ended up contacting some people and one of them was a guy named Luis.  He asked us when he could visit the church.  We told him on Sunday.  He said that he wished he didn't have to wait so long.  Hopefully he really comes.
     At noon we taught Jesus and Manuel Risco, the parents of Gma Risco.  We shared Luke 7: 3-5, which is about judging.  I shared the story about the dandelions in the front yard.  They liked it. When we were leaving, Jesus cried because she wants us to stay at her house forever!  Jesus is 83 years old and Manuel is 93 years old.
     After teaching them, we went to lunch.  I ate my favorite fried egg, fried bananas and rice.  It was delicious!  After lunch, we went home and got ready to go teaching some more.  At 3:00pm, we met up with Dominga, so she could come teaching with us.  We went and visited Erika Vasquez.  We taught her about the  Plan of Salvation.  Dominga and Erika really hit it off!  It's when people reach out that people start to feel comfortable going back to church!
     After that, we went to visit Katty.  She is so ready to hear our message.  She was listening really well and we even invited her to baptism.  She accepted and said that she would prepare herself.
     We said goodbye to Dominga and met up with Sharon at the Dulceria, so she could come with us to visit Angela and Estefany.  We decided to be direct with them, because they have been listening to missionaries for years and are not progressing.  We talked about knowing for themselves and that they need to put forth effort to know.  It was a really good lesson and the entire time the spirit was super strong.  There was one point when I was talking about Joseph Smith and the silence and the focus in the room was tangible.  I really hope that they do their part now and ask, meditate and act on their answers.
     After that, we visited Venessa Juliana (daughter of Celia).  We talked to her about the importance of being at church and reading the scriptures.  We all shared spiritual experiences and by the end, she agreed to start studying her scriptures again and going back t church!
     Then we went to visit the familia Risco.  Everyone was home and it was super fun to have them all there at the same time!  They are a lot more united and happy!  Before we left, we got lots of hugs from them all.  I love their hugs!  By the time we left their house, it was almost 8pm, so we dropped off Sharon and headed to see Jose.  We had an amazing experience with him tonight.  We entered his house and he told us, "I only got to Chapter 5 in the Book of Mormon.  I'm sorry that I didn't put forth more effort."  We told him that being on Chapter 5 was GREAT!!  Then we discussed Joseph Smith and when we told him that he was called to be a prophet, he perked up and said, "That is one of the needs of the church!"  We had discussed with him earlier that the legs of the table (church) are prophets, apostles, priesthood and revelation.  We both smiled huge, because he was catching on quick.  He then realized that Joseph Smith restored all four legs of the church.  He told us that he wants to study better because Christ wants him to.  At that point, we invited him to baptism for the 14th of March.  He accepted!!  He said, "Yes.  Because after I am baptized, I am going to feel like a better person and that I will have the emptiness filled!"  We ended with a prayer.  He thanked God for us and then told God that on the 14th of March, he would be making a promise with Him that will allow him to enter into His kingdom."   We walked out of that house smiling, shining and speechless. All we could do was hug one another!

Miercoles, 25 de Febrero del 2015
     We had our district meeting in La Cria.  To get there, we had to take some weird bus...it wasn't a combi...it was a bus, and it was really worn down.  Once we got to the meeting, we talked about commitments.  At the end, Elder Watkins invited Elder Caceres to bear his testimony.  His testimony was about the Atonement and it was so powerful.  I really look up to him.
     After the meeting, we went and got Chicolas (frozen chocolate milk) and then we headed to Patapo.  On the ride back, we talked to Elder Caceres about the snowy weather in Utah and Idaho. He is scared because he has lived in San Antonio, TX since he was 10 years old and he has a really nice car (2012 Red Camero) and he will be taking that car to Idaho with him when he goes there for school.  Hna Furness and I were giggling at him and telling him that he will really stand out in his red car in the potato farms!  hahaha
     When we got back to Patapo, we went to lunch.  Then we headed out teaching.  We met up with Celia at the mercado so she could come teaching with us.  She is so adorable, but she is hard to teach with, because she likes to agree with the false doctrine that others offer.  Ahhhhh.....
     We dropped Celia off and then went to visit the familia Risco.  We shared a little message.  Enmanuel said, "Hna, you are a good person.  I am glad to have you as my friend and that you come visit us a lot."  My heart was brightened.  He always has something wonderful to say.

Jueves, 26 de Febrero del 2015
     This morning as we were getting ready to head out teaching, when we got a call telling us that Hna Furness would be going to Lima tonight to do some paper work, so she can stay in the country...and that I would be going with Hna Corona to her area to work. (Lambayeque)  I couldn't believe it!!  I was super pumped!  As we hung up the phone, it rang again.  This time it was President Williams. He only calls when it is really important.  He told us to go to the Elder's cuarto and tell Elder Caceres that he has to call him.  He said, "Do it quickly...leave now."  We ran out the door quicker than you could say 'okay'.  We flew to their cuarto and starting yelling up to them.  Elder Caceres poked his head out and asked us what we needed.  We told him to call President Williams right away.  Then we headed out to teach.  We visited Jesus Risco (mama de Gma Maria Risco) and Maria.  Maria gave us a note that sweet little Maria Jose had given her about us sister missionaries.  It said, "Las Hermanas son muy hermosas de verdad y yo las quiero mucho."  It made my heart melt.  As we left, Maria hugged us and cried and told us to never leave.
     After lunch, we packed so we could have our stuff ready to leave in the night.  After packing, we headed out teaching again.  We went visiting with Meri.  We stopped by Erika's house first.  She and Meri are friends, so this made the visit really fun.  Erika opened up and asked us some questions that she had about the church.  It was fun to see the understanding in her face every time we answered her questions.
     Our last cita of the day was with a reference.  Her name is Maria.  Maria is special...she is 101 years old and lives alone and does everything for herself.  She is very small...she is only up to my elbow and she is the sweetest little thing ever!  She grabbed chairs for us to sit on...not just plastic chairs...they were heavy wooden chairs, and she was carrying them without any problem!
     We left and went to dinner early so that we could head to Chiclayo.  We ended up getting on the same combi as the Elders.  Once we got to the offices, we waited for everyone to show up.  Hna Corona and Hna Wood were the last ones to show up.  We all talked for a bit and then I left with Hna Corona to Lambayeque.  The entire car ride and walk...we were just laughing and remembering our fun times together.  We got back to her cuarto and we talked for hours on end.  We planned and got ready for bed.  I have really missed Hna Corona!  She is the best!

Hna Corona and Hna Wood's cuarto that I got to stay in

Viernes, 27 de Febrero del 2015
     This morning Hna Corona did her weekly planning.  As she was planning, I was studying the talk by Brad Wilcox called "His Grace is Sufficient".  There is a lot that I loved from this talk but there was one part that stuck out to me.  He says, "I have born again Christian friends who say to me, 'You Mormons are trying to earn your way to Heaven.' I say, 'No, we are not earning heaven, we are preparing for it...we are practicing for it.'  A life impacted by grace eventually begins to look like Christ's life.  While many Christians view Christ's suffering as only a huge favor he did for us, Latter Day Saints also recognize it as a huge investment He made for us.  As Moroni puts it, 'Grace isn't just about being saved.  It is also about becoming like the Savior.'"  I love that.  I love that we are here to learn how to live so that when we go to heaven, we will be prepared to be with God.  The miracle of the Atonement is so powerful and we are so lucky to have this gift given to us to use everyday of our lives...and we should, because when we use His Atonement, we are showing appreciation for what He did.  Use the Atonement, not just for repentance, because the Atonement isn't just to help bad people become good, it is to help good people become better.
     At 1:00pm, we ate lunch. (Peruvian spaghetti and meatballs) As we ate, we joked around with Johana, the younger sister of the Pensionista.  She is super funny and she was excited to talk with a gringa. :)
     After lunch, we studied language and then headed out teaching.  Poor Hna Corona...Lambayeque is almost as bad as Pimentel...there is hardly anyone to teach here.  So we just knocked doors.  As we were walking down a street, there was a man outside his house looking at us, so we walked over and started contacting him.  A few minutes later, his friend (who looks like a Peruvian Bill Cosby) came over and talked with us, too.  They were hilarious!  The Bill Cosby guy's name is Luis, and he was so funny.  I was laughing so hard.  Anyhow, he asked me what parts of Peru that I knew.  I told him Lima, Motupe, Pimentel and Patapo.  When I said Motupe and Patapo, his face shrunk up into a sour look and he said, "It's hot there...but at least you haven't gone a little more north to Puira....because it is so hot there, that the people just run around naked!"
     They invited us to have some oro, a drink like inca cola.  As we drank, Luis talked to us about Michael Jackson and even pulled out some of his dance moves.  The entire time we talked with him, he kept shaking our hands and saying, "Thank you for your time.  I do not want to take more." And then we would try to leave and he would follow us to ask us more questions. :)
     After that, we went and taught a less active woman named Yolanda.  We read 1 Nephi 2.
Then we went to our last appointment with the familia Rojas.  They are a family of 5.  The parents and 3 daughters.  The daughters are 23, 21 and 17 yrs.  Just like my family in 3 years!  Weird!! Anyways, we talked with the mom and two oldest daughters about the Book of Mormon.  They all know the lessons really well, and are just "waiting" for their answer.  Well, since I was just a visitor to Lambayeque, I decided to be really direct with them.  I told them that unless they are completely willing to follow the answer they receive, that they are not going to receive one or recognize it when they get it.  They took it to heart and I really hope that they get their answer because they are amazing.  They invited us to eat bread with chicken inside and melon juice.
     Then we went to dinner, went home, planned and then talked the entire night again! :)  I LOVE HNA CORONA!

Sabado 28 de Febrero del 2015
     At 10am, we met up with our comps in the office in Chiclayo.  Unfortunately, Hna Furness lost her passport when she was on the plane, so now she has to go back to Lima on Monday to get a new one.  In the office, we ran into Hna Kingsford and her comp Hna Pranes (from Ecuador).  They have emergency transfers.  We talked with them for a bit and then left to go back to Patapo.
     We got into Patapo around 11am, so we started our weekly planning.  At 1:00pm, we went to lunch at the house of Julio and his new wife Maria. (dad and step mom of Moroni)  Well as Maria was serving our plates, the elders called to ask us who they were eating with.  I told them that I don't write down their schedule, so I had no idea.  Maria heard my conversation and told me to invite them to eat here with us.  They showed up after we finished, but Elder Caceres begged us to stay until they finished eating, so that they wouldn't have to be alone.  So we stayed until they were finished.  It was fun to laugh and joke around with them.  Maria gave us chicha de mani....which is basically peanut water.  It was super delicious in Pimentel, but not so much here in Patapo.  We chugged it down anyways.  haha
     After lunch, we all stopped by the Dulceria to tell everyone we were back.  They were so cute and told us how much they missed us while we were gone.
     After that, we went home, and Hna Furness felt sick so she rested from 3-6pm.  During that time, I studied the Bible and Jesus the Christ.  It was a great study.  I love the New Testament!
     At 6pm, we went out teaching to Jose.  He is the greatest!  We read Chapter 1 of Nephi with him, and he loved it.  We asked him to give the closing prayer and he told God that he cannot wait until the 14th of March, so he can get baptized and be completely happy.  He also prayed for us and said that he is grateful for our visits and all that he learns from us.
     Then we went to visit Yohana.  We taught her and her kids about the 10 Commandments, using the finger game.  It was good.
     Then we headed to the familia Risco, but they weren't home, so we went searching for others to teach.  No one was home, so we just went back to our cuarto and planned, studied and got ready for bed. I have a big hope for tomorrow.  I hope it all turns out to be a good and happy day!

Domingo, 1 de Marzo del 2015
     Holy....Cow...March!  How!?  Time is flying by way too fast!  Anyways, today was a good day! We went to church, but Jose wasn't already in there waiting like usual, but a couple minutes after the meeting started, he walked in and sat with us. :)
     After sacrament meeting and during Sunday School, I got called into the hallway.  Well Clara Leyton was standing there.  I was so excited to see her!  I couldn't stop smiling and hugging her.  She stayed for the rest of the church time, and then we took a picture together.

Hna Dodson and Clara Leyton 

     Then I went to coordination with the ward mission leader (Nelson), the ward missionaries (Sharon and Viviana) and the Elders.  Nelson is so funny, direct and dedicated.  I am so excited to work with him.
     After our meeting, we went to lunch with Sharon.  Then we called the hermana leaders to find out what we are doing for intercambios tomorrow.  We found out that I will be going to Polmaca to be with Hna McGinnis, and Hna Furness will be paired up with Hna Ortiz to go into Lima.
     At 3:00pm, we met up with Viviana at Jose's house.  We taught him about the Plan of Salvation.  He is loving studying the Book of Mormon every day.
     After we taught him, we went to teach Itamar and her mom, Maria.  We read the Book of Mormon.  It was good and we learned a lot from one another.  After that we taught Enmanuel, Maria Jose and Gma Maria.  We taught them the 10 Commandments.  Enmanuel's comment tonight was, "Your hair is so yellow and so soft."  hahaha  He cracks me up.  When we left, Gma Maria cried again.  I love this family!  They are very special.
     We went to visit a few others, but they weren't home, so we just contacted until it was time for dinner.  We ate dinner, planned, reported and got ready for bed.

Shirley, Hna Furness, Hna Dodson, Sharon
They all wanted me to do the "Dodson Braid" on their hair,
so I did and then took a picture.

pakuell or something like that...it's a yummy pastry here!

a drawing I did of Abraham's stuff