Hola mi amigos :)
This week was a BLAST.
Started off the week with a nice earthquake at 2 am.
It was really really strong. And I didnt know what was going on and it was so early in the morning. Luckily there wasnt any damage and we were all ok. We had like a million people text and call us to make sure that we were ok. So we didnt get alot of sleep that night.
The next day we had A MULTI-ZONE CONFERENCE and it was SO GOOD. President Johnson is hilarious and it made us all want to go out and work hard. I also sang Savior Redeemer of My Soul/ Called to Serve in Spanish and it went well. Thanks to Elder Law who played the Piano for me. Hes INCREDIBLE. He changed the whole song and made it like a million times prettier. It was awesome to get to work with him.
We then had our District Meeting that night. It was weird to have it at night but we had it at night because during the Peru Soccer games there is NO ONE in the streets and no one wants to talk to us. It was a super fun district meeting. We have English Class for the Latinos every meeting and right now our English Leader, Elder Anderson, is HILARIOUS. He says everything in English even though it always confuses the Latinos. He starts of every class by yelling ''ITS A GOOD DAY'' and asks everyone why its a good day.
This English Class the Latinos had to present themselves in English so all week the week before Hermana Batallanes and I were practicing her introduction. I taught her how to say ''y'all'' and it was SO FUNNY when she said it in her presentation. Because our district is 87% gringos so they all laughed and were like Hermana Howe is definitely your companion. It was super fun.
The rest of the week was awesome!! We're finding lots of people that are prepared for this gospel.
We run into the Elders every single day still (even on P-day when we weren't in the area we ran into them)
I sang ''Soy un Hijo de Dios'' for the Baptism of the Elders and that was fun- They asked me during the baptismal service if I could sing. I like being able to share my talent and helping to bring the spirit through song.
God truly prepares people. One of our Investigators, Pamela. is AWESOME. She had a boyfriend who was a member and she got to know the church through him. But they broke up but she was still interested in the Church. So shes been waiting to find Sister Missionaries in her area. And we some how ended up sitting next to each other on the bus one day. And we talked and She was so excited to find us!! She also invites all her friends to listen to our lessons and they're all super interested in the Church!!
God has planted seeds here :)
I love getting to be in this work and help others come unto Christ.
I love yall
Have a great week :)
Until we meet again next P-day
Hermana Howe <3
DyC 112:10
FOTOS
1- Arch of Tacna. Pretty cool right.
2-THESE ARE SO COOL. They have lots of animals like this here and its so cool!!
3- Just waiting for my ''Tú'' ;) but He can wait 13 months.
Guys.
This week was full of hard work. SO much contacting. Lots of prayers to find those that are ready for this gospel. So much Spanish. ( I have this goal to not talk with the other North Americans in English, its not working out super well but I'm trying) But I LOVE it here in Tacna. The people are so humble and loving. In every house we go to they feed us (I really am praying to not put on weight because everyone says that in Tacna that's what happens. So we'll see what happens.)
We have alot of people that we're teaching. Lots of teenage girls The elders, have given us LOTS of references of teenage girls. And these girls are SO prepared and want to make these changes in their lives. Its awesome to get to teach them and invite them to come unto Christ. Thankful for the Elders in our ward and their really awesome references.
We also had a practice emergency route to the chapel just in case we have an earthquake. And guys IT'S SO FAR. the chapel we have to walk to takes almost an hour to get to. So that was a fun morning. We raced the Elders there. But they won :(
This week, I had a cool experience with Prayer that I'd like to share.
We have this reference from the Elders. Shes an 18 year old that is apparently really awesome. We've tried like a million times to try and teach her but shes never home. Her name is Luz.
So after we planned our Day on I think it was Wednesday. I prayed that we would be able to find Luz and be able to teach her.
We went to her house and she wasn't there.
I was a little sad. But then Hermana Batallanes had the impression to stop and go back and talk to a woman we saw earlier who was in a wheelchair.
So we went back and talked to her. Guys shes the humblest sweetest person in the world. She told us that she has very strong desires to go to church and loves to read the word of God.
And guess what her name is.
Luz.
It wasn't the same Luz that I had prayed for initially. But it really taught me that God will always answer our prayers even when its not in the way that we thought it would be. He will always answer us and help us when we need it.
This week was really good :) I love this gospel and I LOVE being a missionary
I love yall <3
Much love from Tacna Peru <3
Have a good week
Until we meet again next P-day
Hermana Howe
Alma 29:9
FOTOS
1-me and hermana batallanes at this HUGE yard sale type thing (I need to learn how to spell words in Spanish because I know how to say them in Spanish) but this place is like a huge thrift store and almost everything is from the US. I saw lots of stuff i used to have as a kid. Also saw someone with an Auburn Sweatshirt so that was crazy.
2-I thought this hat was funny. Grits lol.
3-Me and a Moose Hat. Livin it up in Tacna Peru
Hola my beloved family and friends.
This week was ALOT of work. TONS of contacting and getting to know this area. Lots of hard work but OH HOW I LOVED IT. I really opened up in my Spanish this week. I just talk now and I feel a lot more comfortable. Yeah I still have SO much to improve and I'm gonna keep working on it. We met alot of members (thanks to the Elders that we share the area with) and we've met alot of people who are prepared for the gospel and alot that are NOT. But hey opposition in all things right?
We have one investigator named Juanita and she has tons of friends who are members and so are lots of her family members. Also her ''Husband'' (they aren't married but live together and have a kid just like all the couples here) is a really less active member. Juanita wants to be baptized but has to get married first. So we're working on that with her and its been good! We'll see how it goes but if it goes well we'll have a wedding and a baptism at the end of this month :)
Guys my companion is great, the Area is great. We're working HARD and its all good :)
But the best part of the week was defintely GENERAL CONFERENCE.
yall I learned so much. I also got to watch 3 of the sessions in English. So I learned alot!!
Guys God loves us so much. That's alot of what I felt this conference. So much love from Him. Also the importance of the Book of Mormon for us. We can never forget its value.
I have alot I could say about General conference.
It was a good week
Today we went and hiked a little bit of the Inca Trail and had fun with the Zone.
(The Zone is all elders and Us so that's fun)
I love it here yall
I love serving the Lord
I love yall and have a good week
Until we meet again next P-day
Hermana Howe <3
FOTOS
My Zone and pretty pictures from the Inca Trail
BUENAS TARDES FROM TACNA
Guys I just got transferred to Tacna!! Its 7 hours from my last area by bus. (Casi estamos in Chile like wow) I already really love the area and I only got here like 3 hours ago! Everyone thought I wasn't going to be transferred and I'm one of the only people who finished their training and got transferred so that's fun.
This is the First time that theyve had Hermanas here in this ward so theyre all really excited!!!
We have no cellphone, no area book, no Libros de Mormon, pamphlets, NADA. BUT YALL ITS SO GOOD. Luckily we are sharing the area with Elders (who are also the Zone Leaders) And they've been soo nice. They showed us the whole area and we already know some members. The place where we pension (the member who makes all our food) She had a cute little "Bienvenidas Misioneras"sign.
SO this next week should be really fun- Vamos a contactar ALOT.
My companion is Hermana Batallanas and shes from Argentina and shes way sweet!!
But my last week in Belaunde was great!!! We did alot of prep for the Baptism of Maria de los Angeles and the baptism was AWESOME. So spiritual and beautiful :)
We also had Divisions with the Hermana Lideres and that was way fun! I was with Hermana Eliason (shes from Indiana AND GUYS SHE KNOWS WHAT REAL SHOW CHOIR IS. so we had fun talking haha) It was also super spiritual.
It was kind of hard to leave Belaunde. The familia Chavez and everyone were so sweet. And my convert Kathy :( And Hermana Miranda too. But its time for me to be on my own and be done with training. :) I'm really gonna miss them but I'm super pumped to be here in Tacna (the elders had 5 baptisms this past Saturday in this ward!!! We hope to have the same success haha)
My Spanish is so much better than it was before. I can hold my own in conversations and I feel alot more comfortable. EL DON DE LENGUAS IS REAL.
Lastly I'd like to share my thoughts from Women's Conference (which I got to watch in English HOLLA)
Guys our Heavenly Father has a deep love for us. I could really feel that love during the conferencia. I love the quote by Joy D Jones ''When we sin we are less WORTHY but NOT WORTHLESS'' Which is more than true. God is gonna love us no matter what. And when we remember this love WE CAN MAKE TRUE CHANGES.
I have seen people make these changes.
The power of repentance is REAL.
I love yall
and so does God.
<3
Thanks for everything
Until we meet again next P-Day <3
Hermana Howe
(OOPPSS sorry for all the Spanish. Have fun translating haha)
FOTOS
1-Colca my friends is beautiful!!
2-Hermana Stout is THE BEST and I miss her already. gotta love transfers
3-Baptism of Kathy <3
Guys this week was AWESOME.
It was a little hard but we have done so many awesome things :)
We had to drop a few people because they weren't progressing, which is always hard but we got A LOT of referencias yesterday so we´re gonna work with those.
We lost a little bit of proselyting time because Hermana Miranda had to go to 2 days of therapy this past week. (We have to go one more time tomorrow) That took like 3 hours of our time, but I hope it'll help her.
We spent pretty much all week trying to get Kathy fully ready for her baptism that we had this past Saturday (Guys she was actually baptized and confirmed!!!! This is a miracle). She´s super sweet and has an awesome energy about the gospel and She´s a super great example for her family, her mom isn't a member but the baptism I think really helped her see that this gospel can really help change lives ( She calls us elderas and not hermanas, we've had to correct her quite a few times). The young womens program here has been so helpful. They really help our investigators to jump right into the program.
We also are preparing Maria de Los Angeles for her baptism because MIRACLE her dad gave her permisión to be baptized. :) Shes all set and excited to be baptized :) Hoping that it all works out smoothly. We visited her with Kathy and she shared her testimony about Baptism and that really helped Maria de los Angeles.
I gave my first talk of the mission and it wasn't too bad. Everyone said that my Spanish was really easy to understand. I was so nervous but I did it :)
So that was the week.
Today, We are on a small trip with our district. We left at 3 in the morning to go to this really pretty canyon that's about 3 hours away and its been so fun!! This district is really cool and we´re enjoying it. The canyon and town se llama Colca. Guys its so pretty and really Peru. I don't know how else to explain it but its so cool.
I'm extremely happy and healthy here in the Lord´s vineyard. I love the people and I love being able to serve the Lord.
Until we meet again next Pday
Love yall
Hermana Howe <3
I PROMISE LOTS OF PICTURES NEXT WEEK
Last week of My training!! :)
HOLAAA, BUENAS DIAS!
Yall I'm so happy :) This week was really really great!
We spent our P-day in the doctors and just chillin at the mall. The mall is the place that I feel back in the States but as soon as I walk outside its like oh nope, definitely in Peru. But Hermana Miranda just has to wear a wrap on her foot and go to 3 therapy sessions. So it wont slow down our work at all. Which is good because we have lots to do!!
So guys. We set an official date with one of our investigators this week. Her name is Kathy, shes 12 and is the daughter of a less active. Her baptismal date is for THIS SATURDAY :) Shes super super great and has definitely been a Miracle. She has an awesome desire to be baptized and the young women here have been so helpful in including her in everything. She's basically already a member! So we're really excited about that :) She has her baptismal interview today so that'll be fun!
We also had a Zone conference this week and I was asked to do the musical number with another Hermana, Hermana Eliason. And it was super good. We sang Savior Redeemer of my Soul in Spanish. She's really talented and it was super fun to sing with her.
The conference was really good too. I always learn lots.
Our Mission President is really awesome. Short cool story from him. He has a son who is serving his mission in Milan Italy right now. His son was talking to one of the members there about her family and she was like oh i'm the only member in my family and I live here alone in Italy. And he was like where is your family from? and she said Arequipa Peru. And he was like My parents are the mission presidents there whats your family's address?? So the missionaries taught her family here and ¨President Johnson baptized her family members here in Arequipa! Isn't it so cool how the Lord works?? He truly has a plan for all of His Children.
Everyone keeps telling my Spanish is getting really good, but I still think I have a LONG way to go but the gift of tongues is real :) so i'm gonna place my confidence in the Spirit :)
I learn so much everyday.
Like I learned how to say ''May the force be with you'' Which is totally a phrase ill use alot on my mission haha. ''Que la fuerza esté contigo''
Today we're having lunch with our district and then going to some place thats supposed to be really pretty so that'll be fun :)
I hope yall have an awesome week
yall are awesome
I love yall lots :)
<3 Hermana Howe
Alma 32:27
HEY GUYS GUESS WHAT I DID . I took pictures :)
Fotos:
1y2- We got up at 5 am to do a service project and got back to the house as the sun was rising and Chachani looked so pretty so we went on the roof at took pictures (6 am Hermana Howe still has a smile on her face even with no sleep)
3-Hermana Miranda and I had a mini photoshoot before bed last night so we would have pictures to send today haha. Only two more weeks until transfers and i'm done with my training so we probably wont be companions for much longer :(
HOLA AMIGOS
Hows life for yall?? Yall are all probably great I'm sure. (Especially the recently engaged Seth, Congratulations my brother Happy for you even though I wont be there :))
This week was rough. Our investigators have LOTS of problems.
Seriously ask me about my first transfer and a half when I get back because I have some stories for yall.
This week was crazy.
P-day turned out to be really good. We spent it with some people from one of Hermana Miranda's old wards. One of them is from Washington and knows almost no Spanish and one of them is from Peru and knows almost no English. And Surprise, they're engaged. They met through one of the sister missionaries. They were really cool. I had to help translate alot. It was fun. They also bought us lunch and it was so good.
Guys
If you can ever try Arroz Chaufu DO IT. Trust me its so good.
We also went to the Doctor and Hermana Miranda has to go back today because she has a small fracture at least they think. So we'll see what happens.
The rest of the week was so fast. We contacted alot of people and are teaching alot of people. Yes we have lots of problems. But we're slowly working through them.
One of them is that the Mama de Marco, almost died this week. She has a really bad sickness ( wish I understood medical spanish to tell yall what it was). So we've been really worried for her. But shes doing much better now. So thats really good.
Also learning that I should learn a little bit of Quechua, which is another language here in Peru because there are alot of people that only speak Quechua. Its a crazy different language but its cool. Lots of the little old ladies speak it.
Our Mission President really wants this to be a month of miracles. So hes sacrificing sweets and CocaCola ( hes never without a bottle of Coke so this is a big deal) He's asked us to do the same. So we've been making lots of sacrifices this past week. We also fasted as a mission to achieve our goals. Sacrifices bring forth miracles.
You are all amazing. Thank you for your support and love :)
God has lots in store for the people here in Arequipa.
Im really glad I get to be here with these amazing people and learn so much from them everyday :)
I love yall
God be with you till we meet again Pday
Hermana Howe <3
1 Nefi 3:7
IMAGINE THAT THERE ARE GREAT PHOTOS HERE. Wow look how happy I am.
I keep forgetting to take my camera places to take pictures. I'll try harder this week just for yall :)
