On the Move Again!

After 23 moves, we did it again! We moved into our new house! I feel like we need t-shirts that say, "I survived a move in Peru!" The first huge obstacle was that the elevator up to our seventh story apartment was broken. So everything and every person had to go up and down seven flights of stairs, including a piano. There were no moving vans or U-hauls. When it rained they had to stop moving because there was no protection for our furniture. There were very few boxes; mostly garbage bags. All our clothing was stuffed in boxes and garbage bags. There was only shrink wrap to protect the furniture. It was all quite an adventure. Despite all of that, the people who helped us move were kind and helpful and willing to do whatever we asked.

The front of our house. Its hard to see in the light,

but there is a wood door, some gray stone and

a wood garage door. The windows up top are

from our bedroom.

These are the cute garbage collector ladies in our

neighborhood. They push the cart around together

and pick up our garbage three times a week. They 

were so proud of the treasures they find like a shirt or a

 pair of pants or recycling materials. "Gifts" they said.

This is a park being developed in our neighborhood.

We hope it is finished before we leave.There are 3

or four trees and some patches of grass.

This is the faithful groundskeeper. He is always 

working. One day Mark asked him how he liked

taking care of the park that was not. He laughed

so hard! Mark always makes people happy.

We are very happy to be in our house. It is a quiet and peaceful place; no noise or busy traffic. And we have so much more space. I didn't realize how cramped we were in our apartment until we moved into this house. We have large closets now for our clothes, in fact we each have our own. We have much more cupboard space in the kitchen. We have a small courtyard with grass and a patio and we have a balcony outside our second story bedroom! The other night we sat on our balcony and watched the most amazing clouds. They were moving fast for clouds. They really were beautiful in the blue sky. Some of them were huge! They looked like giant ships gliding slowly through blue water. It made me feel more at home to know that some things are the same in Peru, like clouds, dirt and wind.

                                           Stairs and Living Room

Living Room and Dining Room. That is the

garage door in the background. The wall is

all windows to the outside.

It is the middle of summer and miserably hot, and we are without air conditioning. After they got all the new air conditioning units installed in our house, they realized that there was not enough electrical power to support them. And they were right. It has been quite a trying experience for two over- indulged spoiled Americans. For example, we cannot run the air conditioning and the washer and dryer at the same time. We cannot run the air conditioning and use the oven. I cannot use the oven and do laundry at the same time. It has been quite a juggling act to get everything done that we need to and still remain halfway comfortable. We only have air conditioning in two rooms, our bedroom and the office. I call those two rooms the cool zones! They are an oasis for us.

Mark's new office; much bigger and carpeted!

                                                          Our bedroom. A cool spot.

We have had people here at our house working for three weeks now to get this all figured out. I am sure they are thinking we are pretty demanding and needy Americans and that we expect to live in great luxury. I love air conditioning and in Chiclayo, in the summer it can be miserable! It has been really good for us to remember that this is how the missionaries live all the time. I don't know how they ever cool off. They have no air conditioning in their apartments and none in any of the homes they visit. A lot of the churches and most public buildings do not have it either.

Our cute kitchen. I love the red!

In order to get us the power we need the electric company had to hook up a new connection to the power line. The greatest problem was to find it! One day two men came with a sledge hammer and just starting making holes and digging. First they put a big hole in the road in front of our house, but then decided that the line was not there. So next, they dug out a huge hole through the sidewalk. They had to dig down six feet in order to connect to the line. They worked out in the hot sun for many hours for two days, but finally they found it. It was a reason to celebrate! Our sidewalk will never look the same again, but we will be nice and cool in our house!

We found a man under our sidewalk!

We have a very small yard now, so we have a gardener. When they told us he would be coming three times a week, we were astounded. Our yard is about 40 feet by 20 feet and it is just a little grass with three tiny trees! The first day the gardener came, we left to go inspect rooms. When we returned two hours later, I expected the grass to be neatly trimmed and that the yard would be perfect. There had been a few weeds and the grass was long. We were surprised to see that after two hours of work, it did not look any different! The gardener did this for three days in a row. I really am not sure what he did! Mark and I went out and worked in the yard for thirty minutes to pull the weeds and trim some grass. The only tools we had were scissors! It was very stressful and crazy trying to do the yard with scissors, but we do not have any other garden tools. Our gardener uses clippers to cut our grass which are not much better. Where is Tucker when you need him! He could have had it done it in five minutes!




                                              Our huge yard/courtyard/carport/garage. We
                                               have a little patio to the left. The cement is
                                               for our cars.

               
                                                  Guest Room  and underneath the Den.

We have an empty lot on the right of our house, a house on the left of our house and an empty lot behind our house. The houses in Peru are built right next to each other, even in the nicest
neighborhood in Chiclayo. So we share a wall with our neighbors on the left. It is interesting. We have a park. There are a few patches of grass on one side and a few trees, but that is it. It is not finished. But it is quiet and we have space! My favorite part of our neighborhood is the lot behind our house because there are four baby owls that live there! They are so adorable. We noticed them the first morning we walked by there and now we look for them every time we walk. Some of them have favorite spots where they love to perch.


                                            The baby owls on one of their favorite perches.

Some days we only see one or two, but the lucky days are when all four of them are hanging out together. I can see them from the window of our office, because it is at the back of our house. So I just watch them sometimes with my binoculars. Yesterday, all four of them were there and I realized that they have two nests back there. They are in holes under the sidewalk! I saw two of them resting there and the other two were close by. It has been so fun to watch them learn how to fly and go further distances. I don't know how to explain how cute they are! When we get a little closer we can see their cute little faces looking at us and they turn their heads all the way around the cute way that owls do that!

Our baby owl friends. They really blend in with

the environment. In the background is the back of our house.

This is the Local Bird Preserve right by the gate of our "Gated"

Community: They are vultures eating garbage!

One day after getting semi-settled in our house, we had Multi-Zone Conference. We literally had one day to prepare, but like always, we had a lot of help, from the office elders and from above. We felt the need to emphasize the study of Preach my Gospel every day. It is the key to missionary work. I have fallen in love with that book. It has helped me so much to understand how missionary work is carried out. I did not have the opportunity to serve a proselyting mission, so this has been on the job training for me. Preach my Gospel has been a great blessing to me and I have gained a strong testimony that it is a very inspired book. It was written by prophets of God, just like the scriptures. I believe that it may be the second most correct book on earth!


                                           Zone Conference March 18-19, 2016

"Tengo un testimonio de Predicad mi Evangelio."

We also focused on the power of the Book of Mormon in conversion. There would be no missionary work without this miraculous book. The world is full of false teachings and doctrines, as Nephi prophesied there would be (2 Ne. 28:7-9). The Book of Mormon teaches us the truth. I have learned more powerfully, on this mission, the importance of the Doctrine of Christ. There is no other book of scripture, or otherwise, that states the Doctrine of Christ so clearly and so powerfully as the Book of Mormon does. It leaves no question about the way to come unto Christ. This is what missionaries do. We invite people to come unto Christ through faith, repentance, baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the way that the Lord has determined will lead us to Him and the Book of Mormon leaves us no doubt that there is no other way.

My favorite passage about this doctrine is in the Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 11:31-40. This passage is incredibly powerful and very sobering.

               "Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.

                "And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me . . .

                "And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they                        who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

                "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the                          Father;

                "And again I say unto you, ye must repent and, and become as a little child, and be                                baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.

                "And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a                    little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

                "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this                            buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

                "And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same                    cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock . . .and the gates of hell stand open to receive                  such . . ."

Did the Lord not get across His point?! How do men manage to come up with so many other ideas and false teachings? How have they been so blinded? The Book of Mormon teaches us the truth! We need not be confused or blinded by the craftiness of men.


                                           "Battleship" at Zone Conference.

                                           There is no missionary work without these amaz-
                                            ing missionaries!

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to attend the baptism of a cute little grandma named Lucretia who was in a wheelchair and could not even walk. She was a tiny little lady with long dark hair. I would have never known she was a grandma. Both of the Elders who taught her had to carry her into the font and baptize her together. Her testimony was so simple and sweet. and her three granchildren were also there. After the program, I had the opportunity to meet them. They were so proud of their grandma. They said, "This is our Abuelita!" (Little Grandma) I was touched that they were willing to come to a meeting they did not understand, to support their "Abuelita."

                                           Goodbye to Hermana Valdebenito of Chile

We have been on our mission for 20 months now! It is so amazing! When missionaries tell me they have been out for 20 or more months, I automatically know they are very experienced and seasoned missionaries. So I feel that Mark and I are pretty experienced and seasoned missionaries. We do feel much more comfortable and confident in what we are doing. It is a great feeling. We have come a long way. Meetings are much easier to plan and it takes much less time to prepare. I used to spend hours preparing to train the Hermana Leaders. And speaking in Spanish is much easier. We still have our moments when we are frustrated with our inability to express ourselves, but know that the Lord has blessed us with the gift of tongues and that we have been able to get our message across despite our weaknesses.

                                                     Saying goodbye to Hermana Guillen
                                                      from Colombia. A faithful leader.

 In D&C 130:19 it says: "And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come." I love the fact that we gain the most knowledge through obedience and diligence. After 20 months in the mission field, I have gained a much greater testimony of these principles because I can see now how I have grown and all that I have learned. This mission has not been easy for me and I have struggled many times with many things, but I have tried to be diligent and obedient. I have tried to study the scriptures every day just like the missionaries do and I have studied Preach my Gospel and the Spanish language every day. It has been extremely difficult and sometimes I have even done things begrudgingly.


                                                   At Pimentel Beach with the new arrivals.

Hungry new missionaries. Last break-

fast in the "old" Mission Home.

Thank goodness that the Lord is so merciful and that "the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he has chosen." (1 Ne. 1:20) He takes us and uses us with all our weaknesses and our shortcomings. In the beginning, I studied Preach my Gospel because I was supposed to, but now I have a firm testimony that it is a book written through revelation by prophets of God. My knowledge of the gospel, the scriptures and the Doctrine of Christ have grown through studying this inspired book. In the mission, my testimony has grown more than I ever could have imagined. My knowledge and understanding of missionary work has grown and of how the church operates. I am grateful for all these experiences, good and bad, that have contributed to my growth. If we can just hold on when things get rough, and have faith in the Father's plan for our life, then we will know, "that ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6) I see now that I can be a much greater instrument in the mission, even than I was in the beginning, because of what I have learned and what I have experienced.

Saying goodbye to Cutter. El Gringito!

Treasures from Peru!

Feasting on the Words of Christ and other Delights

We had some big events in the last month. First: On Januay 20, 2016, the Missionary Department of the Church, headed by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, held a Worldwide Missionary Broadcast. They pointed out that this was the first time this had been done in 10 years, so it was a unique experience. It was really amazing to think of 80,000 missionaries all receiving this same training all over the world. Most of the broadcasts (like ours) were live, minus a few who were sleeping at that hour. The theme of the Conference was "Teach Repentance; Baptize Converts." This is what missionaries are trying to do in order to bring souls unto Christ.

We had the privilege of hearing from several General Authorities including Elder Neil A. Andersen - The Doctrine of Christ, a group discussion with Elder Bednar about teaching with the Spirit, Bishop Waddell (a good friend of ours and the mission) - The Purpose of Commitments in Missionary Work, a group discussion with Bonnie L. Oscarson about Teaching People and Not Lessons, Elder L. Whitney Clayton about working with members in  missionary work and closing remarks by Elder Dallin H. Oaks about Repentance and Baptism. I was so happy that Elder Oaks emphasized that our leaders want us to study Preach my Gospel every day!

Every missionary I talked to received a different impression from the meeting and that is fantastic and the way it should be. Whenever we attend any church meeting, we should be listening to the impressions that the Spirit has for us as an individual. My feeling from the Spirit was of the importance of Preach my Gospel. I don't think we can ever overemphasize or talk about this book too much. Everything taught in this meeting was directly from Preach my Gospel. I really believe the key to effective missionary work is directly tied to how the missionaries apply the principles of Preach my Gospel.

I was talking to the companion of a very effective missionary, one of the most successful in our mission. I asked him what he had learned from his companion and how it would help him to be a better and more effective missionary. The first words out of his mouth were, "He studies Preach my Gospel all the time." I said, "I knew it!" Then I talked to the missionary himself and he shared his testimony with me of the principles of Preach my Gospel and all the great companions he had that were such a great example to him of applying those principles in missionary work. I knew it!

Second Event: Julie, Tucker and Cutter were able to come and visit us in the mission. They arrived on January 27, 2016 and it was a day we had looked forward to for a long time! Cutter turned a year old on January 13, 2016 and this was the first time that my husband had ever seen him. Mark was so excited to hold him and play with him. It had been 11 and a half months since I had seen him too! I knew it would be a blessing to us to have them here and enjoy their company, but did not realize the blessing they would be to the mission. Our Leadership Counsel was blessed to have Julie sing for them and share her testimony. She also talked to the Hermana Leaders in my Training Meeting and was able to share some words of encouragement and faith to a sister who had to go home because of some severe health challenges. I felt like everything she said was exactly what this sister and her companion needed to hear.

                                                        In the kitchen with my oldest

Papa playing with Cutter

Tucker had some serious discussions with some of the Elders and Cutter just spread joy and sunshine everywhere he went. There were sisters at Stake Conference who wanted to have their pictures taken with him. One morning Mark took him out on a walk to buy some eggs and he could not get away from a group of women who were just enamored with the gringo baby. They kept saying, " Gringito, Gringito!" We decided this is going to be his nickname now. They all had to touch him and squeeze his cheeks! It's not every day you get to see a Gringito in Chiclayo! I'm sure for most of the people here it was the very first time! We were sad when they had to go, but their other five kids were really missing them at home. We were so thankful for the sacrifice they made to come and spend some time with us.

                                                         

Hiking at the Pyramids of Tucume

At the Museum of the Señor of Sipan in Lambayeque

A couple of weeks ago, I turned to my husband and asked, "Did we ever live in the United States?" After 19 months in Chiclayo, this has become our life and our reality. It is getting hard to remember some things in the States, so it was funny to see Julie and Tucker's reaction to everything in Peru. It all seems so normal to us. Many things are very different; the traffic, the driving, the handling of food, the buildings, etc., but Mark and I do not really notice it anymore! The first time Julie saw a moto, she exclaimed, "Wait, people actually ride in those?" They had the experience of seeing the Central Market, (which Tucker thought was extremely sanitary), to visit pyramids (which Julie thought were a little disturbing) and to learn about the Señor de Sipan. They saw the countryside and the crazy way people travel at times. They also got to see two Peruvian beaches and the mall, which almost trick you into thinking things are the same as at home. It was quite an experience. Of course it was sad to say goodbye for another year and a half, but we have always felt the great support of our family in this service.


                                                  At the Mercado Modelo (Central Market)

Third Event: The Mission President had his 58th Birthday! He is really getting up there! I never understood I was going to be married to such an old man, but it is much better than I could have ever imagined! I am so thankful for this amazing man who is my most faithful friend in all the world, who does anything he can think of to make my life better and who has never said one negative word to any person about me. He really doesn't even know about all my weaknesses. He is so full of charity that he thinks I am perfect! Believe me, I am not, but I am so grateful for his unfailing love. He is such a great Mission President and I cannot believe all the things that he manages at one time. He is an inspiration to all the missionaries. I had the privilege of seeing him give a blessing to a very ill sister. He gives blessings to missionaries all the time, but this was only the third blessing I have seen and heard him give. It was just as tender and inspired as to one of his own daughters and I realized he really is a father to these missionaries in the Chiclayo Mission. They are so blessed to have him for their father and their leader! I love him with all of my heart.

At Pimentel Beach

The Birthday Boy: 58 years old

It is amazing to me that everything in the scriptures is about missionary work. I did not realize this until I served a mission, but everything we read in the scriptures as missionaries applies to us! This is yet another reason why the Book of Mormon is so important to missionary work. There are so many applications for missionaries and so many great examples of teachers and missionaries in this inspired work.

In January we had interviews with all our missionaries. This is always such a great experience. My favorite question is always, "What have you learned in the scriptures recently?" I have such amazing experiences discussing the scriptures with them and hearing their insights. The one truth I learned about the scriptures this time is that the scriptures give us hope! That is probably obvious to many, but sometimes I am slow to catch on! One after one, the missionaries shared scriptures with me and each time I felt so inspired and so buoyed up. I realized this is one of the reasons I love the scriptures so much! The scriptures give me hope! I always feel hope about something when I read them; hope for a better world, hope for life after death, hope that the atonement can and will heal us, hope that we can overcome everything. The list goes on and on.


                                           
                                                             Singing at a Baptism

I was interviewing one missionary and he shared with me how much he loves to read the Book of Mormon. He said before the mission, he really did not enjoy reading the scriptures, but that now he has realized, that no matter what is going on in his life or what challenges he is having, after he reads the Book of Mormon he always feels better. I said, "That is exactly how I feel too. The scriptures always give me hope." He agreed, "Yea. That is such a good way to put it!" I am so thankful for the scriptures in my life. I know I am weak, but I could not make it through this life without them. They are the foundation of my testimony of Jesus Christ and of my faith. They have increased my knowledge of the gospel and have helped me to find the answers I have needed. (2 Nephi 32:3)

One scripture that has given me hope recently and increased my love for the scriptures is 2 Nephi 31:20. This scripture teaches us many things and is quoted often, but I received a different insight that has given me more hope. It tells us that we need to, "Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and all men." For me these are not easy things to do. Even with my faith in Jesus Christ, when things have been their worst, I have not always felt like I could keep "going" forward, let alone "pressing" forward. The words "pressing forward" themselves imply that this is not going to be easy, because we are moving against something. It is called opposition and we have a lot of it in this life. All of this makes it difficult for me to have a perfect brightness of hope at times, but one thing I have learned in this mission is that no matter our circumstances, we all have hope in the atonement of Christ. This still does not mean that it is easy.

Last of all, we need to have a love of God and of all men. Some people are easy to love, like the missionaries, but others are very difficult to love. So we have this list of things we need to do and it could almost seem impossible, but I believe we are given the answer in the second part of the scripture. "Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." To me the answer to the first part, is like with so many things, the scriptures. If we feast upon the scriptures, we will be able to keep pressing forward, we will have a perfect brightness of hope and more love for God and our fellowman. These are all blessings that have come to me from feasting on the scriptures. Then we are given the hope that if we do these things, we will receive eternal life, which according to the scriptures, is the greatest gift of all. (D&C 14:7).

Yesterday, we had the privilege of attending the baptism of the 18  year old son, Daniel, of Jose. Jose is a recent convert of 9 months. He received the Melchizedek Priesthood in November and it is so wonderful to see him growing in the gospel and in his role as a priesthood holder. He was given the opportunity to baptize for the first time and it was his son. What a special experience and the testimonies of Jose and his son were powerful. The Holy Ghost bore record that their words about the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon were true.

                                                       

                                                              Visiting Sister's Rooms

I also had the opportunity to work with two sisters, yesterday, and to teach two lessons with them about the Book of Mormon. I had the great privilege of bearing my testimony of this sacred powerful book, the Book of Mormon. I was impressed with their ability to teach and in their faith that the Lord would guide them to know what to do. After a lesson with Anna, who is preparing for baptism the end of this month, we tried to visit two other investigators, and neither of them were home. We were walking on dirt roads in the heat of the day, and the sisters got a little bit frustrated. One of them asked if we could say a prayer, so in the middle of the dirt road, with dogs and people all around, we stood in a circle and had a prayer. The sister prayed with much faith that we would be directed to someone who needed our message that we had to teach.

We resumed our walk down the middle of the street. There were people on either sides, but after a few moments we almost walked right into a woman and her son who were walking two dogs. She was really sweet and friendly and seemed very comfortable about talking with us and told us some things she knew about the Mormon Church. After some minutes, she finally admitted that she was a baptized member of the church, but after moving to Chiclayo a few years before, she had quit coming to church. The sisters wrote down her name and address and phone number and arranged to visit her the next week. Her son of 9 or 10 years was so cute and had a special glow about him. I knew that he needs the gospel in his life. So the sisters now have a woman to rescue and a son who needs to be baptized. That was one miracle that day, that we happened to bump into these people who need the gospel after our prayer in the street.

I read chapter 8 in Mormon the other day and it is so powerful. Mormon talks about our day, when it will be said that miracles are done away. Just like so many beliefs in the world today, that teaching is false. There are miracles in this work everyday. The restoration and the Book of Mormon itself are miracles. The gifts of the Spirit I witness everyday are miracles.  I am so grateful for the scriptures and that they teach the truth. I am grateful they teach us the Doctrine of Christ. The Savior taught His doctrine very clearly to the Nephites and declared that anything more or less than this was not His doctrine. We need to feast on the words of Christ everyday so we understand and know the truth and we are never lead astray.



                                           When we visited the Sister's Room in December,
                                            their apartment was right over a restaurant. The
                                            stairs were full of corn stalks, that's how we
                                            fatten up cuy (guinea pigs) in Peru. These little
                                            guys were living upstairs getting ready for the
                                            slaughter!

In with the New, Out with the Old; A Change of Heart

Happy New Year! It's so hard to believe that 2015 is over and that we spent the whole year in Peru. We passed another milestone.  December 27th marked the halfway point of our mission. We were out 18 months on that day. So we are now serving in the second half. December 27th was also my Dad's 80th birthday, but that's a whole other story and miracle. We are all so grateful that he is still around and continues to give great service. There is one memory I would like to share about my dad. We were living in Florida. I was sitting in Sacrament meeting. My husband was the bishop. A woman got up to speak that I had been visiting teaching for 2 or 3 months. She was a single sister. She started talking about a wonderful home teacher in California that had really blessed the life of her less active mother. He had gone to visit her at a time when she was ill and she needed a blessing. Because he had sought her out, he was able to give the much needed blessing. Then he invited her to come to church and offered her a ride. She accepted. As the woman finished the story, she said, "This home teacher's name is Charles Boice and he is the father of Dianna Williams." It was quite a coincidence that my Dad and I were visiting a mother and daughter living in two different states on two different coasts. But I was not surprised that my Dad was serving and blessing someone's life. He has been doing this his whole life. He has always been such a great example to me.

Chiclayo Peru is one of the most interesting places to be on New Year's Eve! Last year I told about the tradition of burning a muñeca, which is basically a stuffed dummy that represents yourself. At midnight they burn the muñeca to represent burning the old self and becoming a new person in the new year. The day of New Year's Eve there are muñecas everywhere lining the streets to be sold. They are even on the back of moto-taxis. There are child versions also, but adults are the most common.


                                                              Muñecas for Sale!

The fireworks display on New Year's Eve was amazing! For hours the sky was full of huge fireworks. It was the most intense between 11:30 and 12:30. We are lucky to have a perfect view from our seventh story apartment. We will be moving into a house in a couple of weeks, but we were hoping to stay in our apartment for New Year's Eve and it was well worth it. The moon also decided to be part of the celebration. It was positioned right where some of the best fireworks were and looked like a giant half cookie hanging in the sky. It was amazing!



    That's the moon to the right. It's fuzzy and hard to see because their was so much smoke in the air!

     The Moon is a little brighter in this picture. It looked really amazing in real life. My photography
       skills are not good. You can also see the skyline of Chiclayo.

Mark had the privilege of baptizing a mother and daughter, Nilda Flor Bravi Nuñez and Dayana Nicolle Chirinos Bravo. The names in South America can be a little challenging because they are long - they keep their father's and their mother's names - and they are different. Mark did so well. He practiced their names over and over again. He wanted to say them right and he did; he said them perfect. The only problem was that he was so worried about their names, that on the first baptism, he forgot to say, "Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ." The poor Elders who were the witnesses were a little afraid to tell the Mission President that he had said the prayer wrong! It was still an amazing occasion to witness their entry into the path to the Kingdom of God.



                                        These are the sisters he baptized on Halloween Day.

They had a lot of support from the ward.

I had the privilege of working with two sisters in our mission and it was one of the best experiences I have ever. They were so well prepared and did everything perfectly, just like right out of Preach my Gospel. They made great contacts, had wonderful lessons prepared and taught very naturally together. To one less active sister, I had the privilege of bearing my testimony of a living prophet, to another family of investigators, the restoration of the Priesthood, and to another woman, the power of the Book of Mormon. The sisters were introducing the Book of Mormon to this woman and telling her that it was going to change her life. She looked right at me and asked, "Has the Book of Mormon changed your life?" I told her that it had. "How has it changed your life?" For me that is not that easy to explain. I have never been less active or struggled with any major sins, but I have had doubts and challenges. There are so many times it has changed my life in so many ways. I tried to explain to her that it has changed my heart and my feelings when they have not been what they should, that it has strengthened my faith on many occasions when it has been weak and that it has helped me to have more patience and charity when I have needed it. One morning recently, the words of the Book of Mormon pierced my heart and I felt that I needed to be a better person.

I also had an interesting experience I have not had before. At one point, we decided to go back to the sister's room for a bathroom break and they stopped at a tiny little store to get one or two items they needed. There was an older gentlemen there, maybe 65-70 years old, who they had visited with briefly on a few occasions. They introduced me to him. He took my hand and held it and without any shame flirted with me saying, "Aye Carramba!" He tried out a few English words on me, then as we were leaving, he took my hand again and said, "Bye, bye baby!" The sisters just laughed and said, "Sister Williams, he really likes you!" I was so flattered that a 70 year old man was enamored with me!!

Several people have asked me about Thanksgiving. It was much better this year! We stayed away from the whole turkeys and just bought a nice turkey breast. It's not the same and not as fun as a whole turkey roasting in the oven, but it is much more safe and less traumatic. We had the Office Elders, the sisters from our ward and Edna and her three children for Thanksgiving. So there were 12 of us. It was a wonderful and fun occasion. Edna's children are Stephanie 31, Danny 20 and Eric 18. Danny and Eric are both preparing to serve missions. Edna also has a son named Jean who lives in Lima.





                                                      Sisters with Thanksgiving Spirit!                                                                                                

Thanksgiving Dinner 2015

Thanksgiving Guests: Starting with me and going

around the table; Me, Stephanie, Danny, Sister Kelly,

Sister Romero, Edna, Eric, Elder Haddock, Elder

Prestwich, Elder Banks and Elder Lopez.

Edna is our housekeeper and her life has not been easy. She has been a widow for 18 years now. She grew up in the jungle. Her mother was a housekeeper for a "Gringo" family, so Edna was around them a lot and tasted a lot of "Gringo" foods growing up. She married when she was 17 to an abusive man and had her first two children with him, Stephanie and Jean. Then she divorced from him and eventually married a nicer man. After they were married a few years, he was killed in a moto accident. She told me that her daughter Danny was two and her son Eric was 4 months old. She joined the church about eight years ago. The gospel has been a great anchor in her life, but she is still very stand-offish with men. She has been very patient with my Spanish. I have learned from her that the Peruvian people are very humble and teachable. She loves it when I teach her how to make Gringo foods. She always says that I am her teacher and I am the one who cannot speak Spanish!


                                              Eric, Stephanie, Danny and Edna. She looks
                                                       very  young with her pigtails!

The other day I had an awesome experience. I went to a different place to get my hair cut and met a man named Josef who cut my hair. He was different from many others who have cut my hair. Usually I have always had to initiate the conversation, but Josef was very interested in who we were and why we were in Peru. It was a lead in to a great conversation about the church. He wanted to know about some of our beliefs; Do you believe in heaven and hell? Do you believe in miracles? When do you have church services? Why only on Sunday? I told him we have a living prophet that receives revelation and gives us guidance and that we have 12 apostles just like Jesus Christ did in His original church. Then he asked what I think is a golden question! He said, "Why Mormons?'" At first I did not understand his question and did not know how to respond. But then I decided to answer it the way I wanted to and assumed he meant, "Why are you called Mormons?" That was a easy question to answer, "Because we have a book called the Book of Mormon!" I told him that it is another witness of the Bible and of Jesus Christ. He told me that he studied to be a Catholic Priest for five years and now he cuts hair, but that he loves to read. He showed me a book he is reading about how to live a "holy life." I told him he should read the Book of Mormon. Then he asked what missionaries always love to hear, "Where can I get a copy of this book?" Such beautiful words. I sent my husband out to the car to retrieve a copy I stowed in the glove compartment for an occasion just like this.

When he finished cutting my hair, my husband showed him the book and told him a little about it. He was so excited and said, "I have never heard of this before!" He said that he was going to read it. It is so exciting to be an instrument to introduce someone to something they have never heard of before, the gospel of Jesus Christ. As I have thought about the conversation and the things that Josef told me, In Preach my Gospel it says, "They often do not know they are looking for the restored gospel until they have found it. For example one convert said, 'When I heard the gospel, it filled a hole in my heart than I didn't know was there." I think that Josef is one of these people. He obviously had a problem with something in the Catholic religion and is reading books about how to be closer to God. I think he is looking for the Gospel and for the Book of Mormon, but he doesn't know it. He also has a family with three children, 8, 6 and 2. What a blessing this could be to all of them. I am very excited to return to the shop next week and see what he thought about the Book of Mormon! I have a feeling he is going to love it!


                                                                Christmas Party 2015


                                              Sharing Christmas Traditions of Ecuador

                                     
                                               Sharing Christmas Traditions of Bolivia

Christmas Skits!

Only acting here!

                                          Always lots of imitations of President Williams!

December has been a busy month with six hour Christmas parties with the missionaries and singing again at the plaza. This year the city wanted to join with us and be a part of our program one night. We sang on the stage this year, had an emcee and a sound guy to help us. Hundreds of people stopped to listen to our program. I was directing the choir and every time the choir sang, the emcee said, "Thank you, Hermana Williams!" He must have said that about eight times, so I was probably the most famous person there. My housekeeper was there one night and said she heard some men talking who were saying, "That American lady must be a millionaire!" So funny! I guess they thought I owned this choir or something and brought them all from the United States. We tried to explain who we were, but I guess not everyone understood our purpose! Mark even directed one number and danced for everyone. I told him that if he is trying to get released from his calling, he is doing a great job!

                                                      "Gracias, Hermana Williams!"

I had a special experience at our first Christmas party. After the closing prayer, I just started playing Christmas hymns from the hymnbook. Gradually a group of missionaries gathered around me who wanted to sing. It started first with an American and his companion and then gradually we had a whole group of Latino Missionaries who were singing with us. I was really enjoying this. I basically have a huge hole in my heart because I have missed singing Christmas music in choirs for several years now. It was so fun to sing with them! Then there was one moment when all these Elders were gathered around me singing that I had a flashback of my whole family gathered around me singing Christmas songs at the piano. I got a little emotional and at the end of the song, I told the missionaries that they had given me a special memory of my family. I thanked them for being my family that day. What a tender mercy for me at a time when I was feeling a little homesick for my family.

Another special experience for us was visiting two recent convert families and taking them some treats and gifts. We were able to spend some time with Jose and Lizbet and their family on Christmas Eve. The first time I went to their home, it looked differnet.  There was not much paint on the walls, and no pictures. But in order to prepare for this Christmas party with us and the missionaries, they had painted the whole room, put up new curtains, rearranged the furniture, put up drawings and paintings their daughter had made and put up lights and Christmas decorations. As I looked around the room that night, I saw a tiny Christmas tree in the corner with a tiny nativity placed carefully next to it. Then I noticed on the wall in front of me, a photo of the Lima Temple. Right below the temple, almost inside it was a picture of Jose and Lizbet and a copy of the Proclamation on the Family. This is a reminder of their goal and that they want to be sealed in the temple as a family. The feeling in this house was so different than the first time I went there. This reminded me of a quote by President Benson when he said, "The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums." (Liahona, Oct. 1989) When people know the truth, they have hope for a better world and their lives begin to change.

One fun thing they did that night was to sing for us. Jose and his brother both have beautiful voices and the more we told them how well they sang, then the more they sang for us. It was very cute and so fun!

                                   Lizbet, Jose, Jose's brother, son and 97 year old Mother.
                                   We had rooster meat, boiled potatoes and yucca, paneton, sweet
                                   empanadas and hot chocolate for Christmas Dinner. These are the
                                   newly painted lime green walls with pictures and Christmas
                                   decorations.

                                                          The Sister Missionaries

At the beginning of the month, my husband worked with two missionaries and visited a convert family of only two weeks, a mother and a son. The son, Beckert, is 43 and has been in a bed for almost 34 years. His back was broken when he was nine years of age in a bike accident and his sweet mother has lovingly cared for him all these years in the most horrible conditions you could ever imagine; dirt floors, tin and sheets for their roof and very little furniture. How she has done this, I will never know. She has the faith and the strength of a mother that loves her child more than herself. Many religious people came to their home to teach them, but Beckert was never interested in any of them. Then the missionaries came one day and he said, "Yea Mom, this is the true church." His mom told me that he is so happy and so excited to go to church every Sunday. We visited them the day before Christmas Eve and Beckert sat in a wheelchair with his emaciated, crippled body. His mother had him tied into the chair so he could somehow halfway sit and not fall out. Beckert has really needed a reclining wheelchair so that he could be more comfortable. Their new ward, who knows they have covenanted to bear each other's burdens, presented them with a new reclining wheel chair on Christmas Eve. I know there were many tears of gratitude that night, because when we presented some very small gifts, this mother cried and cried and hugged us and said thank you with tears running down her cheeks. I am so thankful for the amazing missionaries who have made the sacrifice to be here during the holidays to teach these humble sweet people the gospel of Jesus Christ. The feet of those who preach the gospel of peace truly are so beautiful!

Mark with Eckbert and his Mom.