Hola familia!
6 weeks down! 66
more! Haha this week went by sooo fast though. It was a crazy week, but it was
great :) First of all HERMANA MARYURI WAS BAPTIZED!! She had her baptism
Saturday. First, we went to a Primary activity, which was crazy. Our primary
activities are nothin compared to here haha sheesh. It was a straight up
fiesta! It took all I had in me not to join... But okay, so we were filling up
the font for her baptism and the power goes out and along with the power we
have no water. Worst thing ever on the day of a baptism!! So we just had to
wait and it finally came on :) So... I thought her baptism was going to be this
amazing spiritual experience. NOPE. Baptisms here are nothing like at home.
Probably the craziest baptism ever! We had a lot of support from the Ward, but
that doesn’t mean they could shut up for two seconds haha. It was so loud, with
kids screaming, including Hermana Maryuri’s daughter Catalina. Actually,
Catalina was whipping the other Elders with her balloon so that was great... Oh
and then Hermano Dios, the one who baptized her, had to repeat himself 7 times.
Aaaawesome. But ya know what? The covenants are all the same :) She was
confirmed on Sunday so it was great.
This week we also
had a training in Piura for all the new missionaries. I feel so much better
knowing I’m not the only one who doesn’t know Spanish yet! Haha annnnd it was
so good to see everyone. I miss Hermana Petersen so much! I pretty much ran and
tackled her. It’s true when they say you make best friends on the mission. Yep.
One made.
So, I spent a lot of
time on the bus this week. It takes 6 hours to get to Piura so I got to spend
12 hours on a bus haha. We went the night before and stayed at the mission
home... WITH HOT WATER!!! It’s a miracle... I know. Hermana Rios and I were
there with Hermana Callizaya and Hermana Hood. Hermana Hood is from Utah and it
was so nice to talk with her. There’s other people who feel the same way as
me!! We just talked about how we don’t know how to forget ourselves and go to
work. We want to love it here soooo bad! We both have the same personalities.
We both just want to find a way to be happy NOW, not after we learn Spanish. We
want to enjoy every minute. So that’s our goal. But, for a few minutes, it was
just so great to talk in English :)
Another
investigator I LOVE... Hermano Victor. I don’t know if I told you about him,
but he’s so great. His wife is a member and they have the two cutest kids.
(They don’t even spit on me or stick gum in my hair or whack me with balloons!)
He’s seen a lot of missionaries. The last Elders that taught him stopped
visiting when he said he didn’t want to be baptized so now he thinks that’s all
missionaries want to do is baptize so that’s a struggle. But last night we
decided to go visit him. He really opened up to us. He told us that every time
he reads the Book of Mormon something bad happens. Since we’ve had him start reading,
their house was flooded with sewer water and he’s had trouble with work. So he
stopped reading. He said when he reads the Bible nothing happens, but every
time he’s ever read the Book of Mormon, he or his family struggles. Satan is so
real. God has a plan for us, but so does Satan. I know Satan sees how much
potential this family has! They’re so close to being a complete, eternal family.
AHHHH! He’s so great.
This week we’ve also
had problems with our branch. There’s so much contention and the blame is
always put on the bishop. We don’t really now how to strengthen our branch at
this point so that’s what we’re working on this week.
This week I
learned a lot of things, but an important thing I learned was that I need to be
myself. At first I had this picture of a perfect sister missionary that I
needed to be, but this was sooo wrong. This week I’ve loosened up a lot and it’s
been such a better week! I know that certain people need certain missionaries,
and that if we were all the same this work wouldn’t progress. I don’t want to
lose myself in this process and need to enjoy the time here. Missions shouldn’t
just be endured. They should be enjoyed! :)
Each week gets a
little better, I learn a little more, and I gain a stronger testimony. I’m
grateful for these times of struggle because I know there’s a light at the end,
and I’m so determined to get there. I haven’t been spit on, sat in pee, had gum
in my hair, run from knives, and had dogs chase me for nothing haha. I’m
grateful for this time because I know it will bring many laughs in the future
:) Love you all soooooo much! Have a great week! :) Here’s to week 7 in Peru :)
Love,
Hermana Roper
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| Hermana Maryuri's Baptism & Catalina |
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| Moto :) |
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| Primary Activity |
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| Let the "Fiesta" begin! |
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