Bolivian Money Explained

 

So today we went to Incachaca!!!!

 

jk sadly we didn´t, other missionaries couldn´t get enough lessons with members to meet our goal, so we couldn´t go.  We were sad . . . I still am sad.

 

Oh well!!! I ate two saltañas to make up for it.

 

Life in the Blocks is great! Just another week.  We actually when to the mission home saturday to watch the woman´s conference and have one of our own. PRESIDENTE AND HERMANA HANSEN MADE US MEXICAN FOOD!!!! WE HAD LETTUCE! WE HAD REAL CHEESE! oh now i am sad thinking that i can´t have any for along time again . . . it was amazing and the talks were beautiful. This time i didn´t even get an inkling of homesickness listening to good ol´Hal.  we also had really good cake.  It was so good!! We were talking to some gringas and one said that she missed Taco bell.  dude aim higher, it´s all about the zupas, Fiiz, Cafe rio and Cheesecake factory, or just clean water. Def not about the Taco Bell.

 

What else . . . i actually feel like i just talked to yall, this week flew by!!!

 

We invited 5 people to baptisms this week! One is Dana, she is the 11 year old. We did a lot of praying about this and with counsel from Pres Hansen we have a plan.  She has a mommy, sort of, in the ward. If for every sunday until her baptism, last saturday in May, she gets picked up by her mommy, we will baptize her.  We don´t want a child convert that doesnt ever go to church.  The other day she actually asked us for a test on all of her panphlets.  so yea, she is pretty golden.  

 

Bryana Claros, our pensions daughter, was baptized satruday, Dana and two other of our investigators came, Lorey and Ian.  It was a party! She´s been planning it for a year, no joke! it was frozen themed.  There was aclown though, i don´t gt why people think they are funny, they aren´t, they are scary! Actually Bryana kicked him so yea that was funny!! We sat in the back with Lorey and ian and well after waiting for our lunch, since they are our pension, for an hour, we had to go! We had to be in the mission home at 3! So we bought saltañas for lunch! Ian and Lorey are 18 and 19, they live together and aren´t married, that´s actually like 70% of the people here.  He is Chilean and i can´t understand him, but he knows english so it´s funny to hear him practice haha.  They are great and understand a lot.  WE have them the Law of Chasity pamphet and he said, chasity, oh i hate that word.  So pray that they will get married or move out!!! They are pretty golden, maybe silver.  They have a baptism date for 2 of May.  

 

President said in another email how happy he was with our work and he thinks our numbers are great! So yea that always makes me feel like i am doing good stuff.  

 

So i have developed a testimony of health care!! So many people are sick or hurt here but they don´t have money to go to the hospital sothey can´t! Or they just keep getting sicker becasue they can´t buy medicine, they also eat horribly so that can´t help.  Barinia might have an STD. It wouldn´t surprise us, she hasn´t had a very easy life, but she can´t get it checked becasue she doens´t have money. Really no one has money here, it´ssad.  To put it into perspective, our rent is 700bs, we get 600bs to use in a month, that is about $100.  Milk is 7 bs, coke is 9bs, taxis are like freaking 20bs, and truffis are 2bs, but we use them a lot.  So stuff isn´t expensive, but you go through it fast!! the fruit is like 10 or 20. We always compare it to american dollars then feel better, we are spending less than a 1 a day sometimes! 

 

well life is good! i am happy!! After this week i will have 5 months! WOW!!! where does all the time go? 

Stake Conference

Well family,

 

All of our best investigators are references from the ward.  So that is amazing! We are actually busy now! We don´t have enough time to do all that we need to do!!

 

We started teaching a girl who lives with the bishop, she has cancer, well she is a really old lady hnot a girl.  We were supposed to baptize her saturday, and that wasn´t decided until tuesday or something, but the water was cold, so we couldn´t.  The bishop decided not to tell us though so we were waiting at the church for an hour!! it was frustrating.  All the ward showed up and we were all ready, manucanchu Carmen though.  So yea, yesterday she said she doesn´t know if God exists so maybe it was better she didn´t get baptized, she has no faith because she is in such bad health.  

 

We have a way cool reference, Leandro! he is 14.  When we called him to set a visit, he said, come now please! Can´t you guys come now! He also can´t wait to go to church, although we won´t have sacrament meeting for two more weeks.

 

The other day we had entrevistas with Presidente.  First off, dad i thought a lot about what you wrote in my last email, how everyone loved jake and how they were running to him and said all those amazing things.  I realized i want that.  I want my president to trust me.  Well, in my interview, he said, i just want you to know that i am REALLY happy about all the work that has been going on in Las Cuadras.  I love how you guys are working with the ward and focusing on the right things.  you and Hermana Routsong are a great companionship and that´s why the Lord needed you guys together more.  Well dad, i don´t have to worry anymore! That was an answer to my prayers! 

 

We had stake conference this last weekend, my first adult session on Saturday hahaha.  We went with the familia claros.  Sunday morning there was a future missionary meeting, it made me realize how chevere it is to be a missionary! Well all the missionaries in the stake, or my zone, sang the closing song.  First four started then every line in Called to serve, a companionship would go up from the crowd.  I thopught it would be cheesy but it was way cool! Presidente and hermana Hansen surprised us and came up from their seats at the end! I had goosebumps.  

 

The husband in the Familia Pary decided to make a reapperence and well Lucia is sooooo happy now! She has stopped asking us for money! We have decided that he is the key, if we can help him find a testimony the whole family will follow! now we have to start all the lessons over and hope he finds his testimony along the way.  

 

Today Hna RS and i decided to go visit some pretty churches.  They were all closed but one! It actually brought back a ton of memories! They are so pretty though! Two were convents and i think still in use.

 

All is well here, the dresses mom are light pink and the other purple in the back of my closet.  Hna RS suggested you guys send a camera cord this week! She will leave soon! Also can you send one a day vitamins! Still alive and FYI no more bacteria. 

Don't Die Mom

 

Wow my, don´t die, also do what the doctor says so you don´t get any worse.  I know you are stubborn and you don´t want to follow the doctors orders, but you might just have too!

 

So i got a surprise Friday at our meeting.  TWO packages!! i didn´t realize how happy that stuff would make me, ¨Freak yea! More soft tissues to use the bathroom, when there is no paper!¨¨Double freak yea!! Enough antibiotics for my whole mission! Maybe i won´t get another infection.¨ ¨Yes mopre garments tambien!!¨yea, dad you regifted me with that package, i did love that little study kit though, it was exactly what i wanted.  So i think a latina somewhere is having a party with the popcorn, christmas decorations and my camera cord that was in the other package, yea i think that´s long gone, sorry!! No Tengo!

 

Well, this morning i was in a bit of a war, we went PAINTBALLING!! I have some bruises.  I was the last one still in in my team, i had 23 bullets left, they all knew where i was though, then two from the sides, one in front, one in back just started pelting me!!! i couldn´t even shoot.  My LD hit my hand so i dropped my gun, i have a bruise and i don´t know if it is blood or paint on my hand, so i was out.  He cam up to me, ¨Lo Siento Hermana!¨ Ëlder es un guerra, esta bien,¨ He felt bad, but it´s war! We gotta do what we gotta do!

 

So we have been doing this project as a mission, each day we have a few verses to read and a question to think about.  They have all been about the Atonement.  In my patriarchal blessing it says i will have the ability to share this in my testimony from the bottom of my heart, it wil be unwavering, so i have decided that in each lesson to share about the Atonement.  My testimony has strengthened so much!! One inv. said he is all alone, he can´t see his kids and his parents are dead, i said, Christ walked alone to Calvary so you don´t ever have to be alone.  He said that God left Christ.  I said he had to so he will feel this ultimate pain so he will know EXACTLY how we aall feel.  He was crying by the end, i showed him that picture from the Sacred Gifts museaum.  We are never alone! The Atonement helps us with every aspect of our life! I don´t want to stand in front of Christ in the judgment day and have him say, ¨Why didn´t you ever use this gift that i gave you?¨I don´t want that for these people either.  The other day we explained repentence to Carlos and Noelia, they were amazed that God won´t remember them anymore.  They loved it! Carlos said that he wants to repent.  They just need to go to church! They have such strong testimonies and so many desires, they just can´t get to church! They Read too! Pray for them! They are our English friends from Virginia! 

 

So the other day we had two new invs. at church, they are friends with a teacher.  They are golden! We shared the JS movie with them! I have such a strong testimony of JS, and after that, Cintia, she said, there was no way that this story couldn´t be true.  Freak yea!! it was great! 

 

Evan and Daddy! Happy Birthday!! I meant to take a cute picture, but I didn´t so sorry! 

 

So Bradly keeps making fun of me cause one day I said, Jooves and Apointamentos, yea neither of those are words.  So Then i just speak in english to him hahaha.  He actuallñy speaks english really well! 

 

Yesterday was our last day to take the sacrament for three weeks . . . next week is stake conference, freak yea we are in the same stake as pres!, then there are elections and it´s against the law to hold public meetings, then general conference!!

 

Dad, like Jake´s people, everything here starts late.  There is no clock here, it´s by the sky and when you can eat again! it is hard at times, that´s why i am worried that i wont´be punctual when i get back! AHHHH!!!! 

 

The other day Jose decided to go back to the jungle to live with his parents.  Lioterally, Chapari is the jungle.  We are way sad. WE can´t visit him anymore.  Also there is no church in the jungle! He had just started opening up to us too! Freaking jungle! 

 

My new leader de zona, he´s pretty cute. . . uh ohhhhh. 

 

The other day we traveled almost two miles to a visita, yea it was in our area, whoops, but we didn´t know that because we were still in the cancha! It is huge!!!!! They need a map of it or something.  

 

Well, I am still alive, I did get a cold though so my mission mommy, my pension gave me medicine! all good now! 

Staying with Hermana Routsong!

Pucha, Freaking Vina, I am stuck with Hermana Routsong for ANOTHER 6 weeks!!!

 

Haha no we are actually excited, and not at all that surprised.  Everyone else that we saw today in El Prado were like, ¨Wait you aren´t going to have a Latina?¨Nope apparently we need to be together still.  Maybe it is because of Noelia and Carlos who only like to speak in english. Which is actually hard for us, we can´t teach in english, but we can share our testimonies.  Maybe it is because of Barinia who still needs us, or maybe it´s because we need each other.  This morning we made goals, we need to better my spanish so maybe zero english for us from now on.  

 

So Theresa, who is like our mommy here.  She is the one who gave us Mordor of food.  Called us the other day, ¨Hijtas, come here it´s an emergency! Where are you?¨Ök Theresa, we will be there in a minute¨¨ Then we were walking, Öh crap hermana she is going to give us food. We go to her house, she made us Saltañas!!! She heard us talking about them and she got up early to make us them! They weren´t that good, but who cares!

 

So we are still visiting Dana, we can´t baptize her because she is only 11, she can´t even walk to the church by herself.  Man do we want to baptize her though.  WE gave her a lesson on fasting and tithing, she fasted the next day and gave us her tithing AND ofrenda money! We didn´t ask for that, she is 11 and not even baptized!! She knows so much.  Honestly she knows more than i did at 11.  We just told her to pray for her mom and help us work with her.  Then they can both recieve these blessings together.  The children here are so much closer to God.

 

Speaking of being clse to God.  I went to the temple Saturday! With Barinia!!!! Holy cow.  I did what President Eyring promised i would do.  Guys, i took a daughter of God to the temple and well, we were all crying.  It was beautiful.  The worker comes up to us, ¨What an amazing convert you have there¨.  Then we lost it again.  She was so happy.  She felt peace.  She doesn´t have to hurt herself anymore, or feel pain or unloved.  It was amazing.  That morning we were doing a project to feel the Atonement more in our lives and we read the story about the shepard who left 99 sheep to rescue one.  Even though this isn´t our only baptism, if she was the only one who i saw to the waters of baptism, i would be ok.  She will rescue those 99 other sheep.  She keeps talking about how she will go on a mission! I have no fear with her.  

 

So I read a story from that family history book, if I can, everyday.  It is amazing! I love it so much and I love learning about them.  They are all amazing examples to me, especially Joseph Hyurum Parry! I want to write one when I get back!

 

So the other day at lunch, we had pizza, Hermano Claros said he was going to drop Brandon off at Utah and not pick him back up.  I said it was ok he could live with Us! Brandon was like, yea lets do it and party! So we might be boarding Brandon, who reminds me of Isaac soooo much! His english is pretty good too.  I love that family.  We WILL visit them, well and they will visit us too.  Brandon is going to try and go to EFY in Utah.

 

After a crazy night of feeling like my ¨Mommy¨Would leave me, she´s not, so now we have to go back to everyne and say, just kidding she is still here.  Training done! Time to party!

 

Hermana Parry

Helms Deep

Guys I had an amazing experience this last week.  We were walking and walking, taking fig off trees and eating it.  In the street in front of my a car starts backing out of their garage, first I see a black tire, then comes a bright, shiny, red four door Jeep with a black top.  It kind of made me really happy.

 

So we had an interesting trip to the clinic.  We have both been having problems with stuff and after they did some tests on us we found out why.  Hermana Routsong is pregnant with a little parasite that we have dubbed Smeagol, I have the battle of Helms Deep in my stomach with bacteria problems.  All is well though, we will live, we had to buy medicine though and we can´t eat cheese, which is sad because everything I want has cheese.  It is just frustrating because we do EVERYTHING to get our stuff clean and some gringos eat apples without peeling them and they are fine.  

 

This morning we hiked up to the Christus with lots of Hermanas and had our study time up there! It was fun! We will do that when y'all come down!

 

So two weeks ago we had our conference with presidente! I love that man.  He talked about how we can be more consecrated missionaries.  I have so many notes! After we watched Meet the Mormons, again, and ate popcorn and had homemade cookies.  Oh, it was wonderful!! 

 

Today I meant to buy one saltaña but they gave me two, that´s a blessing.  That is one thing we can eat haha.  Oh Hermana Routsong counts my sneezes.

 

So we found a way awesome investigator! Her name is Noelia and she is from Virginia, we speak in English with her! She has a lot of questions and loves to learn.  She keeps saying, wow they didn´t teach us this in the Catholic church.  Then on a whim I invited her older brother to join us for a movie.  After he bombarded us with questions, and was so interested.  Noelia said, I always want to tell you what they teach me and I try too but you never listen.  So that means she is interested! She just can´t read in Spanish that well and those elders haven´t given us our book in English yet.  

 

We are teaching our old pension family, the Familia Pary, and they don´t come to church for three hours because two of their kids never do.  So now we have to try and break all these family traditions they have.  They asked us to come back because they need help with their rent, yea the pensions don´t make money, all the money they get is for us, it´s a service.  That´s why we were eating so badly with them.  They were using all the money for themselves! Hermana Hansen always tells us when people ask us for money to say, I have something better to give.  Yes, I have used that!

 

So we have this less active, for years she was less active, and her visiting teacher came up to us, Ï can´t find her baptism date anywhere¨.  The other day when we had a lesson we asked to see pictures and she doesn´t have any.  So now she is an investigator?

 

Its always funny when we take members with us to lessons because they just give our people wasca, or discipline.  It makes it so we don´t have to be the bad cop so it's chill.  

 

Hermana Routsong is probably going to be leaving Mordor soon but it´s ok, she will always have Smegol to be with her! All missionaries get infection in the stomach so nothing to fret about, fret about me swallowing those giant pills!! 

 

Mom I just need those dresses and not even anytime soon.