Week 11 -- Mission Conference in Cusco

Wow, this week just flew by as usual, seems like all the weeks are just blurring together. I can't remember what happened when. But so glad it has been another week here in Sicuani. And this week was a little different from the others, because we went to Cusco on Tuesday, so the week just went by super fast.

Well, to start off, Tuesday, we went to Cusco to hear from Elder Evans. Elder Evans is the member of the Quorum of the Seventy that is in charge of ALL the missionaries in the church, so it was awesome to hear him speak. We had all zones of our mission come for this huge conference, and it was so cool to see some old CCM friends and few others that I had met over my short time in the mission. Elder Evans spoke on some great topics for missionaries and gave us all great advice. He spoke a lot about finding new people to teach, using the Book of Mormon effectively, and just some general advice on how to be a missionary and fulfill your purpose as one. So after, I was so filled with knowledge and just loved hearing from him.

Also while we were in Cusco, we got to go to the numerous shops there and eat at Chili's, which was amazing since I miss real American food. Cusco has parts that just reminded me of the US and it kinda was sad, but I really enjoyed the mall there and eating some great food. Then we had to return to Sicuani and start working again. But Elder Martinez had to stay because he had to go to Lima to get his Peruvian ID card. So I was stuck with some other Elders in my zone, but it was a great opportunity to see how other missionaries teach. Elder Martinez was gone until Friday, so it was a lot of time with other investigators. But by Friday and the weekend, we taught our investigators and had some numbers going for us. Our investigators are doing great, and we are trying to progress towards baptism each time more and more, but some are not getting the real reason we need to be baptized. One girl is almost there, but we are still working with her each week. So our numbers weren't that great this week, because Elder Martinez and I weren't teaching our investigators until Friday. But somehow our numbers were almost to our goals and we nearly hit all of our key indicators.

That is about it for this week, hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving this week and it is gonna be weird not having one here, but I'll be ok. Well, until next week....chao!

Sumaq pizza in Sicuani

Some members who were so proud of their cows, haha

Elders from the CCM at the mission conference

Elder Allen at Chili's

Just hanging out with some members who live wayyyy up on this huge hill

American food!

Week 10 -- Hermana Shoaf?

Wow!! This week has flown by and that is not an exaggeration! Probably the fastest week of my mission and there will probably be more to come also. Really not much has happened this week, still exciting here, but not too eventful.

First off, our numbers this week were not too bad, but we definitely can do better with lessons with members, and contacting way more. Our mission has a goal to contact 15 families and teach 5 of them by the end of the month. That is pretty difficult because usually the family dynamics are never a mother, father, and kids. But we need to teach families, because of how important the family unit is in the church. We definitely need to get moving on that more. Also our investigators are doing pretty well; we have gotten a few new ones this week, but we are trying to converse more with our older ones. We have a person who accepted a baptismal date on the first lesson and that was super exciting, hoping it all works out for her. Also, Jhon, our last baptism, received the priesthood this week and it was awesome! So glad he has stuck through the hard times to get to this point. And finally with the investigators, we have a family that will probably be fully active here soon and hopefully we will baptize their daughter and they will all be active in church again.. So excited to see the results.

Well, my studies have been pretty good too. My goal is to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of my training here in Sicuani in January. I am on track to do so and right now I am in Mosiah. So lots of cool stuff in studying the scriptures. Also I am trying to study the language by reading a lot, so the scriptures are in Spanish and I am reading the Liahona in Spanish also. Then working on the words I don't know. So my Spanish ability is growing, and lessons are becoming way easier because I know what to communicate to others. haha

And finally, something really weird and awesome occurred. I was in a member's home and she has a missionary nametag from the 1980s of an Hermana Shoaf!! I dont know who it is, but I am assuming I am related to her....?? The sister said that her name was Kimberly Shoaf, so do we have a relative named this?? Let me know! I thought that was amazing.

Well, not much else has happened. I get to go to Cusco tomorrow to hear from the Area Presidency and a member of the Seventy. The whole mission is coming for it, so it should be fun seeing all the missionaries and getting some pretty awesome training.

Well, that's about it, miss everyone like crazy, and cant wait to see what else is in store here! Crazy! Well, until next week!

Elder Martinez

Compañeros

The Macedo family with Jhon and his snazzy suit.

A Catholic church we saw when we went to the lake.

A dead bird on a van. I can't remember why I thought this was funny.

Week 9 -- It's getting real

Holy cow, another week down here in Sicuani!!

Not much happened again this week but it was still a pretty awesome week. To start off, things are getting real here, like being able to actually talk to people and actually hold conversations, it was so awesome! My Spanish is progressing a bunch with Elder Martinez, he is just so helpful with my Spanish and correcting it. I am able to actually talk and give lessons and it is so helpful. I think i can get to my goal of being fluent by Christmas.

Well also this week i was able to climb a super tall mountain and it was so awesome to see the view of Sicuani. The view is just so amazing, probably the highest altitude i have ever been at. I will send pictures after. Also today for Pday we went to a lake in Espinar, which is about 1 hour out. We had a super good time with the zone, doing a scavenger hunt, having a barbecue, and just hanging out. We got stuck at a construction spot for 3 HOURS. So that is why my email is way late. We should've gotten back around 3 but, it took forever.

Well our investigators are doing awesome and progressing fairly well. We are able to have lessons most hours of the day and meet our goals for the week. We are working on an investigator and we are hopefully able to baptize her this month. But she needs to receive a testimony and we need to teach more lessons to her also. Other than that, things are doing really well and we are having a blast with our investigators. Sometimes it is hard and it is really hard on my body too. I got burnt for the first time here, which is surprising, and it just kills because I am always in the sun. I know all this will strengthen me, and it will be hard as always, but i know that the Lord will provide with each day i am here in Peru. Miss everyone so much, and I hope that all is going well in the states. I miss it, but I am here and this is what I am supposed to do. Well, until next week!

Week 8 from Sicuani -- First Baptism!

Wow yet another week here in Sicuani!! I am just having a blast here though! But first to start we had a baptism this week!! It was so awesome! Jhon, who is 13 years old got baptized on Halloween and it was a wonderful time. To see him go into that convenant was so awesome. We also had the opportunity to confirm him a member of the church on Sunday too. So that was so cool to have a baptism the second week in the field. We are also hoping to have another girl get baptized this coming month so we are excited for her too. Well not much has happened besides just proselyting in town and to all of our investigators. They are all doing well, we are pretty booked most of the time between less actives and recent converts too. But i just love everyone here. They are so awesome! A funny story, we were teaching a young man about the Restoration and he fell asleep! Literally! So funny though, but we asked him about it and he had no idea what we taught him, so that was interesting. Also i got to try Alpaca meat! It was surprisingly good and we had it a few times since then. Kinda tough, but i like it. I have also found out i hate beets! Yuck! it is so gross. I am usually not picky but they are not great.

My money got in my card this week, and we don't really get much for a months worth, but it is enough. We pay our pensionista her stuff first and in the end i get 70 soles for personal stuff (25 dollars) and 50 soles for travel (17 dollars). It doesn't seem like much but things are much cheaper here and i can buy all my stuff for the month with this. Well my Spanish is coming along too, i am understanding more and more each day and i am learning more words each day too. But like i said not much has happened and i am just enjoying it here and cant wait to teach more and be fluent in no time. Well i miss all of you like crazy, this week i was getting a little home sick. But i am fine. Things are going fine, just miss the easiness of America sometimes. Well, that's that for this week, hope all of you are doing well and having a good time in the USA.

Week 7 -- Cusco and Sicuani

Wow what a week here in Peru! As you guys know I am no longer in Lima and finally in Cusco. So exciting to actually be in the mission and doing missionary things.

Well, I flew from Lima last Tuesday to Cusco and met my mission president and his wife. They are so nice and I just think they are amazing. We were able to take a tour of Cusco and see a bunch of landmarks, which the city is just breathtaking. Mountains on all sides and it is just so pretty! We got to go up to the top of the city by the Cristo Blanco statue and you can see all the city from there!

After we stayed the night in a hotel and waited for the next day, when we found out our companions or trainers and the area we will be serving in for the first 3 months. I was assigned with Elder Martinez, my daddy in the mission. He is from Guatemala and he is just so funny. I know that I will learn a lot from him! He speaks decent english but we are trying to talk only in Spanish.

Our area is in the Sicuani stake and my ward is Vallecito 2. The area is surrounded by mountains, not huge but they are so beautiful. Sicuani is about 2 hours south of Cusco, and it is a town that is full of agriculture and humble people. All the houses here are so different, it is actually quite humbling. They all are made either out of brick for the nicer ones and then most are made from dirt bricks. Most don't have roofs, but the people are all so generous and nice.

Another weird thing that is most people don't have cars and the mode of transportation is walking or these mototaxis. They are basically little motorcycles with a seat in the back. Kinda scary but they are so fun to ride in. So I have walked a lot lately and the houses of the investigators are pretty far sometimes.

Also many people here only speak Quechua here and sometimes it is hard to speak bc we don't learn it. But I have picked up some words here and there, but the language is quite weird.

Our house that we live in is in a members house and we have our own rooms. We live with 2 other elders too that are in our ward. We have a penchinista, or a person who cooks our meals and does that stuff for us. She is so awesome! We call her mamai, which is Quechuan. She is pretty short too and she cooks us the best food!

So far I have tried a few local items. I have tried chichamurrada, or a drink that is made from purple corn and it is actually quite good! The other weird thing that I have tried is chuno or papas negras, which is basically a rotten black potato that is squished by foot and is put in soup sometimes. I thought it was all right for some reason, but my companion hates it. I am so excited to try cuy, or guinea pig, because our mamai has a bunch of cuy that we will get to eat every once in a while.

Life here is pretty interesting with the culture and it is so different from the US and even Lima. Animals are everywhere and cattle are walking in the streets. Also there are crazy amounts of dogs, so many! But I do love it here, the people are so nice, and the little kids just love me because of my freckles and all that my whiteness entails. They always call me a gringo or tourist while I pass them in the street. I think it is quite hilarious.

Our investigators are doing well. We actually have a baptism this Saturday for Jhon, a younger guy. We are so excited. All others are pretty good, my Spanish is improving more rapidly each day and I am learning so much from Elder Martinez.

Sicuani is pretty exciting and I am so happy to be here for the next 3 months. My testimony has grown so much so far and I am learning so much also. I miss everyone like crazy and hope the best for all of you. But I am here doing the Lords work and I am loving it forever! These two years will be so quick and I will be back before you know it!

Week 5 from the CCM

Hey everyone!!

Cant believe it has been 5 weeks here at the CCM and that this is my last week of training before I go out into the field in Cusco. I am just so excited to go and do all the things that the Lord wants me to do!

Well, this week wasn't too crazy or exciting. First I need to explain about conference last weekend because I forgot for some reason last week. Lol But conference was amazing and I just loved hearing from all the prophet and apostles! My favorite talk was Bednar's talk at the very end about sharing the gospel with others because it is just so important to me and such a blessing to have.

I learned a lot about sharing my thoughts to all you and just wanting you all to know how important this work and this mission is for me. You all have been a great support, and I hope you can feel the love that I have for this church. Other topics that hit me was about the sacrament, tithings and fast offerings, and personal revelation. Overall it was a wonderful spiritual experience and I just loved that whole weekend.

Well now to this week. First of all, I have gained like 15 lbs here for some reason. I never have before, and me being a lanky tall kid, it is weird having that much more weight on you this fast haha. But I guess thats what I get for eating a bunch of rice and carbs all day and not really working out all that much.

This week I also have improved a massive amount in my Spanish ability. I was able to write a whole talk in Spanish for Sacrament Meeting and it was pretty awesome saying things that I never really knew I knew how to say. Our investigators are doing well, our lessons are coming together at times, but we still are far from being great Spanish lesson-givers. Also I was able to listen to a few devotionals only in Spanish without using a translator and being able to understand a big amount of all of it! So exciting! I just can’t wait til I am fully fluent. Which by Christmas is my goal to be fluent!

I was able to go to the temple again today. And I was also able to understand the whole endowment session only in Spanish, so again, being here has increased my ability to understand the conversations. But today was the best session yet, feeling the Spirit stronger than in any other lesson. I was also able to pick up some Spanish scriptures (which I will be using every day so I got myself some nice ones), a Spanish hymn book, and a few things of snacks. So today was a nice P-Day for sure.

Finally in my studies, I haven't read as much in the Libro de Mormón but I was able to read a lot in the English one and have now gotten to Alma 36. So my studies are coming along fairly well and I am so excited to leave here and actually start my full mission in Cusco! I will be leaving Tuesday morning very early but I won’t know exactly when until Monday. But one thing is that I might be able to call someone at the airport, so keep an eye out for a call on Tuesday morning, if I am able to. I have heard rumors I might.

I am doing well still, I miss everyone like crazy and am always praying for you guys! Thanks for all the prayers and love! But this will be the last email here at the CCM, and I won’t be emailing next week since I will be traveling, so look for an email or update the week after this week. Well, have a wonderful week everyone, and remember to do what is right! haha

Week 4 from the CCM

Hey everyone!!

Only two weeks more in the CCM. Everything is going pretty well here at the CCM. This week wasn’t too crazy or as exciting as some others but there has been a lot of growth for me. First off, I started to read only stuff in Spanish and not in English, so I am trying to grow in my Spanish learning faster by doing this. So I have finished 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon and it is so awesome to understand parts of what I am reading, so that is an improvement. Also I have started to study the Predicad Mi Evangelio only in Spanish, so my vocab is growing just from studying that for an hour a day at least. My grammar classes are going well also. I learned so much from my lessons and I have been able to practice them a lot with the Latinos in the CCM right now, so more practice.

Elder Larkin, my companion, and I are doing pretty well. No problems have ever arose between us. He isn't catching onto the language as much but I am trying my best to help him out. Our lessons with the investigators are going well, we have the Restauración lesson down pat and we have been getting better at teaching the Plan de Salvación also. We are still trying to be the best at lessons but sometimes it is so hard to say something in Spanish that you know so well in English.

Also in our district, we got new teachers in the morning yet again! So we have two female maestras for the morning class now. They are so nice and are really sweet to our whole district. They will be our teachers the last two weeks I am here. But our district is so crazy at times. We probably have the craziest one and sometimes that gets in the way of the spirit in our classes. We have gotten better over the last week though, and it is pretty crazy still, but we have learned to be more reverent. I’m trying my best to keep my sanity around some of them, but we have gotten so close and just love each other.
Also another thing that has occurred is that we got new roommates yet again because our Latino roommates left after their two weeks. So we got 3 new roommates in our room and they are all Latinos again. So more practice with Spanish for me again! It is actually quite helpful. But we haven't talked to them much yet.

Also, we got to go to the temple again today and again it is such a blessing to be able to visit the house of the Lord. So amazing inside and I will definitely miss the opportunity I have to go here in the CCM when I don't have a temple in Cusco to go to. So it was my fourth time going to the Lima Temple here. We shopped around after at the store. I got a lot of snacks as usual, but everything is so cheap here. The Peruvian sol is like 3 soles for 1 American dollar. So I can buy a pack of cookies for about a dollar here. So I am enjoying that for sure. haha If anyone wants me to buy them something, it is pretty cheap here, haha.

Oh and on another note, something I found out was so weird. Another Hermana here at the CCM also has a family of 14 kids!! How crazy is that!? I just though it was so weird because I was always the one with the biggest family around, so definitely weird. Well, most of the weeks to come will be pretty quick and my time here in Lima is coming to an end. Crazy to think I have been here for 1 MONTH, WOW!

Miss you guys like crazy! I can definitely feel all your prayers for sure! I just want to let everyone know that I love you guys! I am trying my best to learn the language and get ready for Cusco, but at times it is hard. But I know that with the help of prayer and with the help my Savior Jesus Christ I can get through this. This is definitely one of the hardest things I have done and it really hasn't even started yet, but I am so excited to get out in the field. But next week will be my last email to you guys at the CCM because I leave the next week and I wont be able to email that week since I will be transferring to Cusco. So I hope all of you guys are doing well and are blessed. Love you! Talk to you guys next week!


PS-------  Watch the video “Missionary Work and the Atonement” on Youtube!! So goood!! Definitely a humbling video.