Carnaval

Oh mom I know how you feel.  We spent two days locked in our apartment.  There is only so much you can do!! Yesterday morning we went on a spider hunt and killed maybe 12 spiders in our house.  Then we watched movies in our beds, wrote in our journals, wrote poems, ate and well not much else.  Have you seen previews for the movie the Purge? I kept imagining we were in that preview, although not nearly as bad.  We just kept hearing fireworks go off.  Well we did that for the last couple of days.  We are also going to have conference tomorrow and we have been given the talk to read, Becoming a Consecrated Missionary.  So we have made goals for ourselves to do better and to become more like that.  Oh we also had pancakes for lunch yesterday.  That was good.

The Bishop did it again.  Sunday he took us into his office, ¨This girl wants to be baptized, let's do it Friday¨.  Uhhhhh bishop, still have the same rules as before.  Apparently she has been in seminaries for awhile.  We are meeting with her today to figure out what she knows and get this all situated.  Three baptisms in one transfer maybe and all have just been placed in our laps.

Honestly not much to report.  We´ve also had to be in our houses earlier because of Carnaval.  Apparently Jude Law has been in Oruro for it, we have been tempted a couple times to go and visit him.

We did go to the temple last Tuesday! Finally! It was the best day ever.  I love the temple and it is soooo pretty!

You asked last week if I needed money, dad should be able to see in my card report if I need more or not.  I don´t know.  Aslo can someone send me Madeline Davis´s email, I wanted to send her a letter but then decided that no, that´s too far and too expensive. Transfers are on the 8th or 9th.  We don´t see president a lot but I love him, he is the best! I am so excited to hear from him tomorrow!!

After School Snacks

Familia!!!

GDawg I got your package.  No worries!! and Before I forget next week I am going to be writing Wednesday not Monday!

 

So the other day we helped with a service project.  We were selling Jello shots to little school children.  I don´t think there was alcohol but you never know, they sold quickly.  What child wants jello as an after school snack? Heck I always wanted ice cream and coke. Way better.  We are going back wednesday to help.  

 

So Hna Routsong´s mom watched a documentary on the Cancha.  I don´t suggest that, you can always talk to her about how worried you guys are about us! We always talk about it.  I will send you her number hahaha maybe.  

 

So the other day we were going to a visit.  We got a call from a Natali.  We don´t know a Natali.  She was telling us how we had a visit with her.  We searched our planners for ten minutes.  No Natali! So we tried to find her.  Her house doesn´t exist.  She doesn´t exist.  We called her 15 more times in the next two days.  No Hay Natalie!!! Well i guess we weren´t supposed to be in that street at that time. 

 

The next day we conntacted this man named David.  He lived in Florida for 30 years.  He came back because the economy was bad.  We asked him if he was going to go back, he said, ¨Well duh, I hate it here.  It´s dirty, lawless, and the people are mean.  My house is very american then when I go outside it´s culture shock and I just want to go back inside.¨ We were laughing about that for days, we still are.

 

I went on intercambios! I got to stay in my area and I was happy.  It was with Hermana Webb.  She is from Hurrican.  She is so sweet and it was amazing.  She said that my Spanish is far better than it should be, I am a wonderful teacher, and I have wonderful examples.  Apparently I am just rocking it here. haha, no I wouldn´t have ever said that about myself.  She was just being nice.

 

Barinia was baptized! Oh my gosh everything here is so disorganized.  We started an hour late because the bishop is always late.  But it was good I think, not a baptism like in the states.  Oh also the water heater was broken, poor girl.  Her mom came which is way good.  They don´t have a good relationship.  She actually had a ton of family there, which for a baptizm is a little werird.  Imagine that!! I have never seen her more happy though!! 

 

Yesterday we had missionary day in the church or something! We made a list of people that needed to be visited by the ward.  Then we all went out in companionships and taught for an hour! Yea someone stole my family and I am still a little bummed.  

 

I met a guy today who served in Ogden.  We were talking about Utah.  I miss Utah.

 

All is well here! 

 

I haven´t died nor am I in a Bolivian Prison.  Also GDawg sent her package express, mom maybe yours wasn´t express.  It will come soon.  

 

Hermana Carol Parry

Figs and Dreaming of Italy

 

Family!!!

 

Well I  have done some thinking.  Maybe to get people to stop stealing credit cards they should have thumbprint ones, when you buy something you just give them your thumbprint and the money goes through! Life would be so much easier, just thought of the week.

 

Hermana Routsong and I decided that if we met at BYU we probably wouldn´t have become friends.  Her plans for after the mission are to come back to SA and go backpacking and get dreadlocks.  My plans are to go to a study abroad in London and eat at Zupas and Starbucks.  Hahaha.  We actually laugh about that a lot.  I told her I was in fencing and she looked at me and said, you are too classy for me.  We get along great! 

 

So being in a foreign country makes me really miss our trip to Italy.  I think about it more than I think about my Jeep, haha, which is a lot.  That was a fun trip, next summer we are going to Spain.

 

So I bought some DVDs at the temple store so I don´t need a ton, but the ones you have send them! Also maybe send a flashdrive or two for my pictures.  The ward member has a washing machine and she washes my garments.  I pay her because then they can actually get clean.  We get 30bs for laundry but I still have to pay with my money sometimes.

 

We have a new zone leader! I can´t remember his name, he´s really funny.  He looks like a Latino version of Raymond from Everybody Loves Raymond.  We were laughing so hard in our zone meeting.  

 

We eat fig! A lot of it too.  Oh it is so good! While we are walking we find them, take them off trees and then eat them, a lot.  Hermana Lola has a fig tree and she gives us buckets of them.  We have decided if there is no fig in Utah we aren´t coming back.  Just kidding we miss Zupas too much.  The probably is they make our hands really sticky, so then when we shake people´s hands they are probably thinking, Crazy Gringas! Because that is what everyone thinks here.  People rip us off too.  

 

We were visitng the Colqay family this week and talking about Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy.  We had a member with us and she was giving them wasca, that´s quechua for discipline, for watchinkg soccer on Sundays.  I wasn´t really paying attention, I was actually thinking about you dad.  Then it was my turn to share. I started talking about the importance then I said, I love sundays with my family we do a lot together like watching baseball games. Hermana Routsong almost started laughing in the lesson.  I had no idea until later what the crap was going on.  Whoops.

 

We got to visit Presidente Hansen and the temple this last Saturday! Barinia had an interview with him so then we walked around the temple grounds.  Her baptism is Saturday! She is 15 years old and had enough faith to go with us to a complete strangers house and she tole him everything! More than she had told us, and when we heard the new stuff it broke our hearts.  There wasn´t a doubt in anyones minds that her baptism would be changed, so it is still Saturday.  She even invited the President to it! She invites everyone! It is so amazing.  

 

Alejandra bore her testimony yesterday in church.  Her mom actually came by herself 10 minutes late, we thought she had to work.  So I told Ale to care her testimony and she did.  It was amazing.  She asked me when her baptism could be so after church we all talked.  Blanca supports her decision but we all agree that she is too young to be baptized without her mom being firm in the church.  I know someday she will be! Her and Barinia have become close friends so I am sure she will help her!!

 

All is well here.  Nothing to exciting or crazy.  I might be hunted down by the police because at the bank I had to use Hermana Routsongs id number.  So i might end up in a Bolivian Prison.  That would be fun right!! 

 

Hermana Parry

Budgeting Problems

 

 

FAMILY!!!!

 

I am still alive!! First off Alejandra and Barinia wanted to eat saltanias with us today so they joined us for this pday.  I do not suggest ever doing this.  Plus they like to not have enough money so they always ask us for more.  Yea so no not doing this again.  However, they saw a picture of Sam and Isaac, they are over the moon obsessed.  Sam apparently you are very popular here.  They are really excited to meet you.  

 

Speaking of Saltanias, we ordered some during our weekly planning session and they were delivered right to our door.  Best thing we have ever done, my comp doesn´t want to do it again though since she said she couldn´t focus, oh the troubles of not being able to multitask.  Maybe I will do it again . .

 

I killed five spiders in our house the other day.  Everytime I do something gross or have to eat something gross I just tell myself, Kate Brown survived in the middle of nowhere, I can survive here.  There are probably bigger spider in Vanuatu, which they aren´t that big here, I can´t really complain.  

 

We knocked on this guys door, Edwin and he let us into his house.  It honestly looked like a European house.  It was so pretty.  I would change it just a tad and could live in it.  It didn´t have carpet though, no where has carpet.  That´s ok though because now we can see the spiders.  

 

So the Bishop isn´t a fan of us.  We had a baptism the other day, Jose, and the bishop was 50 minutes late.  Then he asked us why we didn´t start on time.  Well the person being baptized and the person doing it were 50 minutes late.  Then he asked why no one was there, well you announced it.  We don´t know.  Then he got mad because our mission leader had the clothes and we didn´t.  He tests my patience a little, however my goal was to have more patience so maybe he is the reason I am here!!

 

Hermana Routsong said I have horrible handwriting . . . 

 

Our first cambios were yesterday!! Yes I am still with Routsong.  Which is good, not ready to leave her yet.  We decorated our agendas and bought a rollos de queso the size of our desks to celebrate!! Well we bought it Saturday then picked it up hot yesterday! We had fun.  Her good friend is going to Potosi tomorrow so that´s sad.  They won´t see each other for a long time!! I still think I am going to be here in Cochabamba most of my mission.  Mainly because of what Presidente Eyring said.  

 

You don´t have to buy the living scriptures, I can get them at the temple for cheap.  I also bought a new towel, those microfiber ones are choppy.  We got a member to wash our garments today! We had to pay though.  Que choppy.  I would do it for free!! Well all is well in Las Cuadras.  Oh PS, can I get another study journal.  Somewhere down the line, still in my first one but I like them so in awhile I will need another.

 

Hermana Parry

 

PS I will cut up the card and yea just put money in my bank account. We went to the cancha again . . . I bought stuff . . . can´t do that again anytime soon. 

Dreaming in Spanish

 

This last email was miles better than the other one.  I have been thinking about it all week, because I didn´t have enough time to think and respond last time.

 

For our district meeting Hna Routsong and I taught a lesson on Paciencia.  I read the entire story of Job in my morning studies, There is one scripture i love, Job 11:16. our afflictions pass as the waters do.  They can´t stay, it is impossible for them to stay, just as the water can´t stay.  You never step into the same river twice, the water is always changing.  Then i read in DC 121:7-9.  Remember, we are not as Job, we still have people who stand by us and love us.  So as we all might still be going through this little upset, remember that the affliction will pass, and God is with us, and we aren´t as Job, we have each other.  It´s a little late, but still applies.

 

Entonces, our new pensionista is amazing.  This week we had hamburgers, with fry souce and avocados and fries.  We are so happy, however, the family we left is apparetnly struggling, but we didn´t know that so we have to go back to them for dinner.  Only if they don´t serve us meat, we can´t eat a round a meat at 8:00 in the night, and we can´t hurt the feelings of the Claros family and leave them too! They are such a blessing to us, in so many ways.  I told them that when I come back, or if they come and visit, which I think they will, I will buy them Harry Potter 1 because they can´t get it.  The boy who reminds me of Isaac, was so happy! 

 

We had lunch with a member.  Yea never doing that again.  I will send the picture of the food.  Let's just say that mountain was Mordor. We couldn´t eat the rest of the day.  I literally couldn´t finish it.  We felt awful the next day too and only ate lunch.  It was awful.  Honestly if I never eat with a member again I will be the happiest missionary ever.  Which reminds me.  Send me pics people!! I want to see some of Jake when he was in the airport.  People I am not dead.  

 

Hna Routsong recieved a package of See's chocolate.  Oh it was heaven on earth!! The chocolate is so much better in the states.  We also shared it with the Claros family and they loved it too.  

 

Hna Routsong told me that I have taught her that not everyone is perfect.  We all have faults and perfection is a goal, but it is an impossible goal to achieve.  That made me happy! She is my companion for a reason but I am glad to know that I am her companion for a reason too.  

 

Barinia can most likely be baptized in three weeks! She just has to have a special interview with president.  She calls us her angels, it is becasue we are white I know it.  She is learning a lot and I can tell that the gospel means a lot to her.  She is going to the doctor to find out if she really is pregnant today.  She is good friends with Alejandra, our other investigator.  She is helping Ale come to church too.  However, we can´t baptize Ale if her mom is super inactive.  It´s sad.  We do have a baptism this saturday though.  For Josè.  He is the nephew of the Bishop.  He´s the one that the bishop wanted us to baptize that one saturday without any lessions.  Well now he is ready so it´s this saturday.  The bishop just wants baptisms.  He doesn´t really get that we need to make sure people are ready for their baptisms.  He wants us to havwe a service for Barinia this saturday too.  We told him we couldn´t and he kept asking why.  Like five times.  Finally without een telling Barinia the news that she has to talk to president we said that she has to have a special interview and who knows what will happen.  The bishop . . . lets just say I miss Bishop Eyring a lot.  

 

Two weeks ago, I forgot to mention it sooner, I dreamed in Spanish!! It wasn´t all in Spanish, only part, but I think that is pretty awesome.  I am learning a lot.  I don´t have to think in English before I say stuff sometimes.  It can always be better though, so don´t stop praying for me.

 

So this morning I read the story of Joseph in Egypt.  The whole time I was singing the songs in my head.  Oh I love it! Mom, the summer I get back we are going back to Tuachan so see more plays.  Anyways, the chapter when Joseph was in prision said a few times, ¨The Lord was with Joseph¨  The lord blessed the house of Potipher becasue Joseph was there.  The Prison guard like Joseph becuase the lord blessed him.  I love that! The Lord never leaves us in our darkest times.  He is there but stuff happens for a reason.  If Joseph wasn´t sold into Egypt his family would have died in the famine.  No one would have interpreted the Pharohs dream and they wouldn´t have gotten all the food stored.  The Lord has a plan.  There is a plan.  We just have to be patient and follow that plan.  It is hard, Joseph was in prison for two years.  We just have to wait.  Then I was reminded of DC 121 and 122 again when Joseph Smith was in prison.  They were really similar.  And the lord had a plan for both of them.  Patience! It is my ultimate goal on the mission.  

 

Hermana Parry

Today I Played Baseball

 

 

 

I don´t know if i have the right words for this week.

First off, i am surprised it is Monday already! Yáll were right. the time goes by fast.  

We have a new penchinista family and we love them soooooo much.  They are members and just are amazing.  They are a very American family and i honestly feel like i am at home.  The mom has visited the Bountiful temple and she wants to go again.  I said she can stay at our house.  hahahaha.  She has a son, Brandon, who i swear is a latino Isaac.  It makes me actually miss Isaac.  Chiste, i miss you at other times too.  

We were teaching a family, the Baswoldo family and i taught with the spirit, because i said something i have never thought before.  We hold our faith on the inside, it is in our hearts, but when we read, pray and attend church, we put our faith outside our bodies and it has the opportunity to affect others.  Yea and i said it in spanish too.  Don´t know how much she understood, but i tried.  

We teach a young 15 year old girl Barinia.  She told us two days ago that she might be pregnent and her boyfriend is 23 . . . Yea we don´t know what to do right now.  She wants to have a baby and isn´t upset.  We feel like she doesn´t understand her sin.  She wants to be baptized so badly though.  We have a lesson with her tonight to maybe something will happen.  

I am a little worried that when i get home i won´t be as punctual anymore and i won´t care about how i look.  Stuff is different here. yea so i made goals to care.  We wait for hours sometimes.  The people here just talk and talk and talk and talk! I get impatient becuase i can´t understand half of it! I get bored halfway through and then get distracted.  

We have so many good and amazing families here.  They just can´t ever attend church because they have to work! We can only do so much! We have 7 people with baptism dates and we have to change 5 of them becuase they weren´t at church yesterday.  Alejandra also really wants to get baptized but we feel we can´t because her mom is inactive, she said yesterday, why should i walk all the way to church when there is one close that is the exact same.  I have never even heard of that church she talked about . . . 

Wards here are also different, people go in whatever they want, i mean like cameo shorts, and then after they go and buy good at a nearby tienda.  Sundays´are so hard for us, no one is home or they are sleeping.  We just walk around in circles a lot on sundays.  And it is bad beause we always want ice cream.  They other day i had dinosour ice cream.  

I went on exchanges the other day! i can speak in spanish.  to a latina companera.  She is cute, i can´t remember her name though.  Names are hard.  Her entire area is MORDOR! Holy cow, i loved it though, i want it.  I really connected wther her investigator. 

TODAY I PLAYED BASEBALL!!! we had a zone activity and i played catch with a bunch of people.  I liked it.  After i ate my italian gelato.  

Just remember, God has a plan.  We are all in each others lives for some reason.  Because of our faith and devotion, we are given trials that are only there to strengthen us.  We are all on the right paths doing the right things.  There are two paths ahead of us at times, both are good, one might be better, but i know becuase of our faith, both will lead us to where we are supposed to be.  It´s not the same for people here or others withough the church.  I don´t know what it´s like to have some of the trials you guys do or the peeople i am teaching, but i know that one path has a dead end, but we just have to cut down a tree, build a bridge, and find a way to get over it.  It might be a big tree, but we can do it!! 

Hermana Carol Parry

I Am Pretty Cool

Wow it sounds like you guys all had a crazy last week! I bet you all wish I was there, you know to clean up your messes, set up food, make food, and everything yáll don´t want to do.  No it´s ok I get it, I would have wanted to do it too!!

My companion and I have decided to make our own dinner and not go to the penchinista.  WE get too much food anyways.  We went to the supermarket, it´s almost a Dick´s.  We spent almost 400 B.  We got veggies, fruit, cereal, peanut butter, tortillas, cheese and other easy stuff.  I also got a Diet Dr. Pepper with cherry, you can say I am pretty happy about that! There was also a market in town because it is a holiday tomorrow.  Mom I found the prettiest box for your box table! I am obsessed.  Yea now I have to carry it with me forever but I had to get it! 

 

So during our weekly planning my companion said to me that because of me this is the happiest she has ever been on her mission! She´s like I have always been happy but with you it is just better.  So I am pretty cool.

 

I almost forgot, mom I found a yellow sweet tart! I thought of you.  We also have these really yummy mint m&ms oh they are soo good. 

 

Ok back to business, so I was writing another poem and I thought of something cool.  You know all the keep calm and carry on things? I made a new one, ¨Lift them up and carry on¨ I want that printed with a little silouette of the temple.  I am pretty cool.  

 

The other night I had a really cool dream.  I was praying before i went to bed that I could feel the presence of grandpa and Scott and Monte.  I just needed it.  I had a dream that Scott and Monte came up and gave me a hug.  Don´t know where grandpa was but I can´t complain after having a very spiritual experience like that!!

 

So yesterday we had 3 lessons with members! One member wanted to accompany us all night so we were like sure! I bore testimony to Daniella, she lost both her parents and is pretty much alone, that her family is being taught in the Spirit world by my family because I am teaching her here.  I showed her a picture of Christ with his arms out and told her that if she accepted this gospel she will be welcomed like this with her parents on either side of Christ.  I told her her parents are accepting the gospel and are praying that she is too.  Since she didn´t have anywhere else to go she came with us to our next appointment and well had lesson 3 too! So I hope to see a progress in her.

 

We went to visit Ester and Carolina the other day and their store WAS CLOSED.  They can freaking close it to come to church.  Come on.  They are so amazing and I love them so much!! We finally got the area book from the elders and I was looking through it, they have never come to church.  Que triste.  

Since half, well more than half, of the time people flake out, we decided to look for ancient investigators.  It is almost like a treasure hunt.  It was fun, but no one wanted to hear us.  I guess that is why they stopped.  

 

I was talking to Blanca, a menos activo, she is really sweet.  I told her that i have about 14 weeks left in this area and i want her to come to church each week.  she likes me a lot so i didn´t think it was too much to ask.  Yea she didn´t come yesterday.  Her daughter, Alejandra, is utterly amazing and she eats up the gospel.  she comes a ton! She wants to be baptized but it´s almost selfish to baptize kids when their parents don´t come to church.  So we still have to work on Blanca.  They are planning on moving to Florida in 3 years.  People here love Florida, i don´t get it . . . 

 

Pur penchinista is amazing and i love her.  she made pizza the other day! Then she showed us her scrapbook, she has been to 10 temples in Utah! including the bountiful one.  We were talking about that forever.  

 

We taught Victor Hugo again.  I told him that Joseph Smith wouldn´t have died, and that no missionaries would be away from their families if it wasn´t true.  I was pretty ¨Holland¨with him.  He seemed to accept it more, but we just don´t know.  It´s hard.  Especially becasue our next lesson isn´t until tuesday.  Thats the thing people are flaky and then they don´t want a lesson for another week! It´s the worst when people are flaky in Mordor, we go there almost for nothing. 

 

All is well here! Hope my stuff is well too, hahaha.  Glad Jake locked himself out of everything he needs.