Hello there crazy family :)
Love the pictures,
as always! Looks like Haidyn is the only one enjoying Summer though lol. What
is everyone else doin??
This week was a
good one. Went by fast, as usual, but that’s how it is every week. Can you
believe transfers are already next week?? I have a feeling I’ll be leaving this
area :( But if not, I’d be a happy camper. It seems like we finally have such
great investigators. I don’t want to leave them, but that’s how the mission
is...
Vanessa, Aracely,
and Mariel all accepted baptism, but not a date yet. Hopefully this week. We
also have Karin and Jimmy that really started progressing :) Karin has
always wanted to be baptized from day one, but isn’t married so we didn’t think
much of it. Then we taught her husband. The first night he straight up told us
he didn’t believe any of what we were telling him. We invited him to pray about
it though and left. The next night we come back and he changed completely! He
read the Book of Mormon and loved it. He did admit he has a little drinking
problem, but is willing to change. I learned a lesson teaching them
though. Hermana Rivera is so great at looking for the best in people. I won’t
lie, sometimes I judge. When I met Karin and Jimmy I thought, "They’re not
going to ever progress." Wrong. I need to look at people the way God sees
them. I really love that about my companion. If it weren’t for her, Karin and
Jimmy wouldn’t be progressing at all. It’s a trait I’m now trying to work on
more. They’re great though :)
We also found
Jorge Louis again yay! He has actually been asking everyone if they could tell
us to come visit him. We have gone so many times and he was never there. It’s
been almost a month since we last saw him! We found him this week though and he
is sooo different! He has been reading like crazy! I think the distance from us
is what he needed to really realize what he needs to do. He told us, "I
really missed my hermanas" haha. He came to church Sunday and stayed all
three hours. He’s a keeper :)
I also had a Flashback
Friday kind of thing :) I got to go back to Piura! I almost cried I was so
happy :) Wanna know the greatest thing ever? Almost every convert is still
active in the church. Richard has a calling. Julio is just the greatest. Edwin
is still attending. And Cesar is just going through a hard time. Edward is the
only one who isn’t goin to church. He pretty much has fallen off the face of
the earth. They can’t really seem to find him.
It was funny
though because we had an appointment with Edwin, and Julio was gonna be there
too to help. Julio walks in and sees me at the end of the hall, stops walking,
stares for a minute at us, looks down at his Book of Mormon and screams,
"Hermana Roper! I’m reading my Book of Mormon!" haha. I was
alllllways on his back about reading and he was so proud that he was reading
lol. He said that every time he wants to do something bad or drink, he sees my
face telling him no haha. Whatever works I guess!
Cesar, though, is
just hurt. I guess a member stood up in priesthood and said, "Is there
anyone that can buy this guy a nice white shirt to wear to church?" and
Cesar was super embarrassed :( He hasn’t come to church in three weeks because
of it. We tried to go see him three times but he wouldn’t come out. Julio was
like, "Hermana Roper is here to save the day!" ha but he still wouldn’t
come out of his house for me.... :( He’s reeeeeally mad. Poor guy. Annnnd D&G
aren’t even listening to the missionaries any more, dang it.
While I was in
Piura we met a woman named Karina. She honestly lives in a single room. I was
SO humbled. She has nothing. Her husband is cheating on her. She has a 5 month
old baby. And she has no job. She has a degree and everything but she can’t
leave her kid alone. She’s super worried because her son is goin to start
eating soon and she has no food for him. She says every once in a while her mom
brings her food to eat, but that if it weren’t for her mom they would starve to
death. As she sits in this room all day, her husband is out buying his other
woman whatever she wants, while his baby boy doesn’t even have diapers. It was
honestly one of the saddest cases I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a lot in the last
year. The thing that was amazing though was her faith. She was like,
"Other moms might give their kid away or do bad things to earn money. I
won’t, though. I’m not a bad person. I know God exists, and will help me. I
just have to make it through the hard times, but I know there will be an end to
my suffering." She is amazing! I just came away wanting to be such a
better person. As I complain about little things, there are people that live
off of basically nothing. We are so blessed. But like Karina, we all need to
recognize that God does exist, and that no matter how hard times get, He will
help us out.
I don’t have much
time left. It always goes by so fast! I had a funny story, but no time. So I’ll
tell you a funny Peruvian belief my pensionista told me this week. She said if a woman tries to make a cake
while she’s pregnant, it won’t work. Where the heck do they come up with this
stuff?! Oh man. I love Peru.
Anyway, have the
best week! Love you all so much :)
Love,
Hermana Roper
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