July 26, 2010

Hey Fam!

How's it going! I'm looking at the pics that Tooty sent, and it looks like you all had a great time in Star Valley and with the Bearnson clan! Sorry that this will be a little short but I have to take care of my camera. There was a virus and I have to transfer all of my pics... it's lame.

This week was really great! My companion and I are figuring out how to take care of a zone with 24 missionaries! It's not the easiest thing to do. It's fun though! I need to tell you all about an experience that I had two weeks ago. There was a baby born here about 21 years ago here in Lima. That baby was given up for adoption and adopted by an LDS family. That baby came back here as Elder Jay to the same area of his birth. He looked up the name of his mom and she just happened to live in my area. We went looking and found her! What a miracle! We got to be there when he met his biological mom for the first time and now we are teaching them! There is a lot more to the story but I don't have time. The lord sure did make a lot of miracles happen so that he could find his mom. I'm so blessed to have been able to be a part of this story. It's not something that happens everyday. Well family, I sure love you! Hope everything is well!

Love Elder B

July 19, 2010

Hey mamá!

Wow sounds like you are all having a blast! Awesome! We had transfers again. My companion and I are still together but wow have some things changed! We are now a zone of 24 missionaries! wow... we have lots of work to do and it will take some trial and error but we'll get it all figured out. We are working hard and trying to do all that we can to get the most work done possible. There is a lot of responsibility outside of our area but we are figuring out how to balance it all out.

I hope that your all having a blast with the fam and everything. Sounds like a great time to me. I'm safe and well and doing great. I sure love you all a ton! Sorry this is short I don't have much time today but I love you all and let me know how everything goes. Mom can you send me a bunch of pics please. I wanna see how Star Valley is doing and how all the fam is getting along. and to see how the trip with the Bearnson clan turns out. Thanks! I love you all! Stay tough!

Love Elder B

July 12, 2010

Wow! Sounds like you all had a great time in Star Valley. I sure missed you guys a lot but I'll be there for the 2012 sockey game. (Sockey is a family tradition. Think barefoot soccer with no rules!) The violence would be pretty shocking at first for outsiders haha. I sure do love it! I was kinda bummed that I didn't get to see the Deplee's. I hope that everything is going well for them. I'm kinda bummed that there aren't any pics in this email but I guess I can wait to see how the sockey game went haha.

We had another baptism this week her name is Agustina. She's way cool and will be a great member. We are working on the families thing. I'm not too big a fan of baptizing little kids and teenagers. The ideal is finding families, but we can baptize everyone else too haha.

This is by far the poorest area that I have been in. People live in homes made out of almost nothing. To have a perspective of things a family of 7 or 8 could live in an area of our living room and study easily. The roof could be made of plastic and sticks and the walls of particle board or something like weaved reeds. Things like carpet and hot water, private rooms are things for the very well off. Their way of life is not easy by any means, but they are happy. If I learn anything from my mission I hope that I can learn to be happy with what I have. Many of them live right next door to pig farms. Yea you can imagine how it is. You see many many people with sicknesses and diseases or some kind of injury that could easily be cured but they don't have the money to do it. Its a very hard way of life. We are infinitely blessed.

I can't believe that I have been here in this area for almost 6 weeks! The time is passing incredibly fast. I have received some awesome news! Elder Ponciano and his new companion Elder Schofield baptized Arevalos wife hermana Sara back in Mala! Awesome! I can't tell you how happy that makes me! The whole family is coming together! I don't have much time left but I'm going to send you some pics of the baptism so I have to make this a little short. (technical difficulties so maybe pictures next week!) I love you fam! Stay safe and have lots and lots of fun!

Love Elder B

Oh and tell Tyler hi and good luck for me!

July 5, 2010

This is the family Medina. They have their testimony all written out and wanted me to thank everyone for helping them to get married. They are a great addition to the church. This is from their wedding that we had about a month ago.

July 5, 2010

Hey fam!

Wow it was a good week! One of the coolest people that we are teaching is a girl named Rosiana. She is one of the brightest people that I know in the sense that you just look at her and you can feel her spirit. She is happy in the midst of everything that is happening in her life and it's not easy. Well for one thing she is always wearing a hat, and if you guessed right it's not because she likes hats, she has cancer. We went to her house the other day and she asked us "What do I need to do to be baptized?" I wasn't surprised at all! I knew that she would want to. We hadn't been able to teach her much, just one principle before this appointment. Her family is all members. They are inactive, but members. We are helping them too. I told her when she asked me, that we need to teach her a little bit then she can be baptized. So we taught her the restoration of the gospel and invited her to be baptized on the 17th of this month. She said, "well no I can't I have a treatment that day," meaning chemo therapy. She is such a strong person that is just always happy or at least has a smile. I'm very excited to work with her and see her baptized and confirmed a member of the true church of Christ.

The lord is blessing my companion and me with lots of people to teach. We taught a lesson with 4 men, which is something that doesn't happen much. We are just being blessed and trying to do everything that we can with the time that we are given. I'm so thankful for a family like you. All of you. My friends that are a huge support, my wonderful grandmas, my parents, hermanos! my aunts and uncles, cousins. We are all part of one big family and we can all be together forever. Eternity. If you think about it, if we all get sealed together during the millenium, eventually well make it to Adam and Eve and all of us will be sealed together. All of us are a family, friends neighbors, co workers everyone. So we need to let them know, like they are our brothers and sisters that there is something better for them out there. Love them. Teach them.

I love you all very much.

Love Elder B

June 28, 2010

Hey Fam!

Wow what a week I have had! Awesome! Everyone is leaving on the mish! Logan is gonna be my country neighbor! Awesome! There are lots of missionaries from Chile here. What mission in Chile will he be going to? There are a couple of families that I know whose boys are serving in Chile. And wow Ben gets to go to Hungary! Sweet!

Wow dad drove 2200 miles! Bummer dude... Which neighbors house is in foreclosure? I'm pretty sure I know which one though. Good job Zach doing some service hours. I'm sure you didn't even complain one bit haha. I'm pretty jealous of all of you that will be going to Star Valley, but I hope that you all have the best time ever. Yes! Send me lots and lots of pics! I wanna see how everyone is doing! Really I'm not homesick, the pics just help me to see what you all look like haha. I cant believe that I'm about to hit the year mark here in a little while. It's passing incredibly fast. I can't believe that only about a year ago I was in Star Valley working away with Grandpa and the uncles and cousins in uncle Jim's back yard. I can't tell you how thankful I am for that storm that blew all those trees over. Awesome Taylor gets to go with you! Everyone have lots and lots of fun alright!

Well this week we had two baptisms! Their names are Agustin and Tania. They are the younger brother and sister of a recently returned sister missionary (we are working on her mom too haha). I'm getting used to the way that things work as a zone leader. It's tough because at least one day a week I'm not in my own area. We have to do visits to all the other missionaries and see how they are doing and that means spending the night with them too. It's pretty cool. I'm learning a ton from all of them. They really are great missionaries. I'm praying for Justin to come to the best mission in the world! Mission Peru Lima SUR! I'm going to send you lots of pics today so this will be a little bit short. But know that I'm doing really well and loving the work. I'm trying really hard to put all my effort into it and do my best everyday. I don't want to come home the same person I was when I left. Thanks family for being the best in the world. I really would like to know how many generations the family has been in the church. Can someone tell me? People ask me all the time and I would like to know how to respond. Thanks for everything and stay strong in the gospel! Read the book of Mormon!

Love Elder B