Familia!
Week number 8 done
here in Peru :) It’s so crazy to think I only have 4 more weeks of my training
left. I don’t feel trained at all! Haha I still understand hardly anything, but
I understand more than the first day so that’s all that matters right?
Okay so this week
did NOT go as planned... At alllll. But I guess that’s the fun. The only
constant thing in life is change ;) No. But really. This couldn’t be more true
this week. Remember how I told you I’d be going to Lima for my visa this week?
Yep. Didn’t go haha. That was the plan Monday, but who sticks to plans
nowadays? My companion went to Lima Monday afternoon with another Hermana and I
stayed in Puyango with her other companion.... That has been here the same
amount of time as me.... And doesn’t have Spanish.... And is from Utah too....
And we had to teach.... Real people.... Did I mention neither of us know
Spanish?!?!? And we’re both blonde? Also,
the District and Zone leaders for both of us were in Piura, which is 6 hours
away. That left two blonde Americans in the middle of Peru with nobody haha.
Talk about stress! The original plan though was that we’d just teach Monday
night and then we would go to the airport and I’d fly to Lima. The plan was for
me to go by myself... No Elders or anything! So I was freakin out lol. But as
we were about to leave to the airport, an Elder called and said our companions wouldn’t
be back til Wednesday. I’m not sure what is worse... Traveling to Lima alone or
having two blonde Americans try to preach the gospel haha. But we did it! We
survived! I have no idea how.... We probably made no sense at all. Thank
goodness for member help!
I learned so much
in Puyango though. Hermana Hood gave me a copy of “The 4th Missionary”... READ
IT! So good. It has really changed my perspective of the type of missionary I
want to be. Yes, I want to serve my entire mission, be obedient, and bring
others to Christ, but I also want to be changed by my mission. I don’t want to
serve and look back and realize that I have gotten nothing out of it. The only
thing we can give the Lord that he hasn’t already given us is ourselves. I want
to give myself to this work!
I also have a new
motto for my mission... "Make it look like a pillow." Pretty much we’re
walking in Puyango and I totally biff it. HARD. I wish I had it on video. So
many people around and there’s the dumb greenga laying on the ground lol. That’s
when Hermana Hood says, "Wow, you made that curb look like a pillow!"
So yep. That’s our motto. When times get hard, just make it look like a pillow
;)
Okay okay most
embarrassing story of the week tops my nice fall though... I GOT KISSED. By a
MAN.... It was awful.... I’m still embarrassed.... Don’t worry though, just on
the cheek haha! But still! He just came around and snuck up on me! Kissing
around here is totally normal. That’s just what everyone does. Every time we
greet women it’s always kisses, and for people around here it’s the same with
men.... But it’s not okay for missionaries! Haha so yep. I was kissed. And all
my companion could do was watch because it happened so fast! I don’t think my
face has ever been more red...
This week we have
the cutest new investigator! Her name is Carla and she’s 10. She also has a
little sister that’s 8 and loves being taught! Her mom’s a member so were
hoping to teach the entire family because that’s what it’s about. Completing families.
Satan is working so hard with families! I can see this so much more now that I’m
here. He is tearing families apart. I’m so grateful for my family and the
strength we have!
Oh... But during a
lesson with Carla I tried papaya for the first time. That should NOT even be
considered a fruit! I just had to bite and hurry and swallow it whole. So
gross! And the kids ate it like it was the best thing ever! Oh and speaking of
kids... TEN kids came to church with Carla Sunday haha. Remember the kid that
stuck gum in my hair and his grandma chased him with a shoe? Yep, he’s one of
em, and then there’s nine more just as evil! Haha! Talk about a crazy sacrament
meeting!
We also had a
great day of service with Hermana Maryuri. We cleaned her lil house and I will
honestly never forget the smell of her fridge, as much as I want to. All she
feeds her family is fish and she had never cleaned her fridge. It was YEARS of
fish juice! Oh man it was so hard to just smile and clean it. I am honestly so humbled
just after 8 weeks here. We had such a great talk with Hermana Maryuri. She has
so much embarrassment of her house and we just talked about how the important
things in life aren’t things. This is so true! I know that to be truly happy,
we need more than this world can give us.
Also...We received
the best excuse ever this week. We went to teach an investigator and a little
boy answered the door. So we ask him to go get his mom and he runs away and
comes back and says, "My mom said she’s not here right now." Oh did
she? Well that’s just great haha. We’ll
try another day ;)
The talk in La
Cruz right now though is the boy who hung himself this week. He was only 19.
Every lesson we taught there was some talk about it. It’s like Emery County!
Everyone knows everything about everyone haha. But this boy didn’t leave a
note, nothing. We watched all the funeral procession people walk past our window
again and it was so sad. I can’t imagine being that unhappy. Life is so so
precious! It’s been quite the sad week here in La Cruz for a lot of people
though because of it.
One more thing I learned
this week was a quote from Elder Holland that Hermana Hood gave me. SO great. It’s
kinda long, but so I’ll write some of it. "Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t
it get better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? I offer this as my personal
feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience.
Salvation never was easy. We are the
Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal
Head. How could we believe it would be
easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? In turn, how could we
possibly bear any moving, lasting testimony of the Atonement if we have never
known or felt anything of such an experience? As missionaries we are proud to
say we are Disciples of Christ, and we are, but mark my word. That means you
must be prepared to walk something of the path He walked, to feel something of
the pain He felt, and at least occasionally, sometime during your mission, shed
one of the tears of sorrow that He shed." I don’t have time to write the
rest, but so so good! It’s from a
seminar for new mission presidents 2008 if you can find it. You need to
read it :)
Thank you so much
for the support from everyone! I’m amazed at how blessed I am! Have the best
week :) LOVE YOU ALL!!
Love,
Hermana Roper
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