Hello Everyone,
Interesting week we had here in our area. First off i sent a lot of pictures of us doing some service! haha we had to strip paint of a much of metalic windows and doors!! we had to do it all with sand paper and was a pretty messy job but it did make for some good pictures! i hope you all enjoy them.
This week i started something new... its a book more like a scripture journal i have called... quien soy yo?... which means who am i. When i am reading the scriptures and i find a christ like attribute i like or a scripture that i like or would describe the person i want to be i write it all down and memorize the scripture... i have some like... proverbs 14:29, proverbs 21:23, proverbs 16:16, 1 corinthians 9:14 things like that! but one of my favorites comes from 1 corinthians 13:4-8 there ius a poem that comes from these verses that i really like...it talks about charity.
Love is always pacient and kind,
it is never jealous,
Love is never boastful nor conseded,
it is never rude or selfish,
it does not take offense and is never resentful,
Love takes no pleasure in other people sins,
but delites in the truth
Love is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure.....whatever come.
True love never ends!
its a good set of scriptures...
We had enterveiws with the President this week and it was very good to have our last enterviews with him. He will be finishing his mission in less than a month and we will be receiving a new President, PResident Rowley from santiquin utah! I am going to miss President Chipman and all he did for me as a missionary. I have learned so much from him. He told me and my companion that out of the entire mission we are baptising the most! it felt so good to be able to know that the lord is happy with the work that we are doing. IN 7 weeks that my companion has as a missionary he has 6 baptisms... this was the first week we didnt ahve a baptism... but we have 2 next week and 2 the week after! keep us in your prayers!
we did have an unfortunate event happen this week, yesterday the buishop call us into his office and tol dus that there were rumors going around in the ward about us. This caught me by suprise and i was shocked at what he was about to say next. he told us that many of the members have been saying that we are corrupting the young mens organization, that we have fallen in love and done inappropriate things with the young women, have been inappropriate with the primary of the ward, and that we arent working and taking our calling as missionaries seriously! He told us that we are doing our jobs and that we need to change! i cant beleive the bishop accused me of being imappropriate with a child! i have never even picked a child up!!!!!!!!
I WAS SOOOOOOOO UPSET! i began to loose my pacients with the bishop! i wanted to klnow who was saying these horrible things and figure out what it was that they were saying them! apparently we have lost the support of the leaders of the ward, we figured out that it was the president of the young womens organization that started many of the rumors, she found out that apparently one of the oyung women has feelings for one of us and started these so taht we would get transfered out of the area!
out of the entire stake our ward has had the most baptisms and converts for 3 months straight and the bishop is going to make all these false claims at me! i was so hurt and so frustrated that i had to leave, my companion and i left to our room and knelt down to pray and plead pacients and help from the lord. i do not know what is to become of all these rumors but i am informing the president so that he knows that this is going on and we can get it worked out without any problems....
i realize that we have nothing to be ashamed of and no reason to get down, it just hurts to know that we are doing all we can to help and serve these people and they would say these things about us! as a missionary you come to love the people so much that to see this happen really is hard on a missionary and you do loose a bit of focus, because you feel so terrible. but i do know care what people think about me and my companion! i know the lord is proud of what we are doing here and we have never ever ever done anything to unbecome a missionary! we will continue to press forward with a firm faith in christ and do all we can here, at least for the time we have left!
well please keep us in your prayers for these things! i have an upsetting feeling like satan is really trying to stop the work we are doing and has been successful in hurting our ward, pray for them and pray for us! i hope lal this gets worked out!
love elder davis
Monday, December 31, 2012
May 28, 2012
Hello Everyone,
Well this week has been like every other full of ups and downs!
First off, i would like to explain a little about Pedro the young man that we were helpping. Pedro is a young man very special to us, he is not completly mentally capable of understanding the consequenses of his actions and what he does due to his disability. This week we encountered Pedro sitting on the corner of the street crying. We approached him and asked him what had happened and he related a story that he had had a fight with the family that was helpping to take care of him. As a result of sed argument the family had kicked him out and was no longer willing to take care of him. The family with whom Pedro was living is not the best example. The brother was recently released from prison and he and the father are members of the local gang here, envolved in robbing, assault and other crimes. We were very worried for Pedro and his well being, we took him to the house of a member and got him something to eat, because he had not eaten that day. We left immediatley and went to the house of Julio which is the father with whom pedro was living, it was late and everyone in the family was heavliy drunk. We could not find a better solution, so we took the few clothes that Pedro posses and left without having the chance to speak with the family.
We got pedro settled in with a Sister in the ward who has 2 specail children and was willing to take him in and give him a home. One of her kids is a very specail young lady named stacy, stacy is 13 years old and can not really speak and is partly deaf, but she has a great spirit and everyone in the ward including us as missionaries love her to death!
About an hour later we deceided that we could not help Pedro leave without speaking with the family. After kneeling and offering a prayer of protection we left to confront the father of the family, who unfortunatley was a bit intoxicated. We conversed with him keeping our distance and being aware of what could happen. He told us a completely different story than that which Pedro had told us. He told us that Pedro was a misbehaved young man, he couldnt control his sexual desires, and was very violent at times. My companion and i couldnt beleive and didnt beleive what he had told us, judging him to be and angry drunk. He told us that because Pedro left from an orphanage we would have to go there and speak with the director to let them know pedro was in our care.
We had gotten to the home at about 8 pm and met with the director, he informed us all about Pedros past, why he was in the home and what things had happened while in the home. Sadly we had Judged Julio without taking the time to fully learn each and every side of the story and we had acted very swiftly when we shouldnt have done so! the Director confirmed that as part of his problem Pedro can not control his desires and had attacked 2 workers while in the home, also he is a habitual liar and is very convincing.
All at once it hit me like a train! my own self pitty and guilt for what i had done. We had removed Pedro from a family, although corrupt as they may be, a family who was willing to put up with him and take care of him! We had put him in a home where he was able to put at risk a family that we love and care about and had made a complete full of ourselves thinking that we were doing whats right for him, and him knowing this entire time that he was lying to us and fooling us.
as hard as it was to do, we swallowed our pride and immediatley returned to Julio and his family, who at this point were all drunk and all furious! Where they live is called an invasion, where people just build shaks and there is no light and its in the middle of nowhere. We were worried that things were going to become violent with this family and kept a prayer with in our hearts!
We went and asked forgivness and told them that we were wrong and that we owed them an apology and did all we could to bare out our hearts and ask forgivness. IN the drunkest state that he was, Julio forgave us, just like that and told us that he was willing to do what he could to help. We RAN to the sisters house in the ward with whom pedro was living and pulled him out of there! we had him confess it all and had to have him be removed from the house because he had thoughts about stacy, and if anything happened to her i would kill Pedro! Anyway... we gathered all together the two families us and pedro at about 9:30 at night when we should have been in our room, we didnt know what to do with Pedro and niether one of the families would take him in knowing of his past....
Pedro was furious with everyone and wouldnt talk to anyone, he just got really quite and said he was fine and wanted to leave and live in the street, we did all we could to try and convince him to come with us and we would take him back to the orphanage... he wouldnt go. he was mad, he had been found out and he had been thrown out again....
At this point my heart was breaking to see him like this, but he would no longer accept our help. IT was very late and we needed to get home and eat dinner and plan, we had no other chice but to give him his clothes and let him go.... i will NEVER forget the image of him walking alone in the dark down the street as we walk in the opposite direction, and then turning back to see him sit on the corner and cry... i could do nothing to help him, i had done all i could and more, and he yet lied, deceived and put at risk the ones i love..... i wanted to turn back but my comp kept me strong and we pressed on.
We got the the pension very late and we hadnt said a word since we left pedro, she asked what had happened why we were late and told us we looked like a train wreck. i sat down at the table and my comp offered the blessing on the food and then i lost all sense of self control and just cried...... my pension realiezed what was going on and asked my comp for an explaination.
i couldnt help it, i felt so terrible for having to leave him and yet i knew i had done all i could do within my power to help this poor young man.... that night i didnt sleep much.. to this day i do not know what has become of pedro but i know he is out there and i keep him close in my thoughts and prayers.... he needs help more than we could offer but mentally, so that he can straighten out his life....
i learned a great deal from this and 2 things stick out to me.... as a missionary you have so much love for the people you serve you are willing to do anything for them.... and to see them fail, or fall, or be let go breaks your heart. But more importantly, i learned to never judge.... i took Julio, a drunk, rough gang member to be someone he wasnt, when all reality he was giving of his house, food, time and clothing to help a poor young man. And i took pedro a poor homeless 19 year old boy for just that, when in all reality he had played me and everyone else like a deck of cards.
The week didnt end on that sad note though, we did have an amazing baptism yesterday and are being very blessed here in our area! we have been really focusing on Preisthood holders and are preparing 5 young men for the mission! Andy Inga is the younger brother of another recent convert Darwin, who was baptised 2 weeks ago. Andy was never interested too much in the church and only recently started to attend church, he was very unsure about baptism when we extended the invitation to be baptised, we knelt in that same moment with him and he offered a pray, and received his answer. Yesterday i had the amazing blessing to preform the service and i will never forget after leaving the water, they shut the doors to the font and andy hugged me and thanked me for not giving up on him, when he had given up on himself we didnt and that made all the difference in the world to him.
The mission is truely the greatest and shortest 2 years that you will ever experience in your entire life, and you learn more about people and yourself with each and everyday! i know that the lord is walking where i have walked and inspiring me to say the things that he would have me say! this work is real and i can not and will not and never will deny that i have a father in heaven who is there for me and my lord and savior Jesus Christ knows me and loves me, and my job know is to show that same love to the people here in Piura Peru... its a great task, but with God nothing is impossible!
i love you all!
Well this week has been like every other full of ups and downs!
First off, i would like to explain a little about Pedro the young man that we were helpping. Pedro is a young man very special to us, he is not completly mentally capable of understanding the consequenses of his actions and what he does due to his disability. This week we encountered Pedro sitting on the corner of the street crying. We approached him and asked him what had happened and he related a story that he had had a fight with the family that was helpping to take care of him. As a result of sed argument the family had kicked him out and was no longer willing to take care of him. The family with whom Pedro was living is not the best example. The brother was recently released from prison and he and the father are members of the local gang here, envolved in robbing, assault and other crimes. We were very worried for Pedro and his well being, we took him to the house of a member and got him something to eat, because he had not eaten that day. We left immediatley and went to the house of Julio which is the father with whom pedro was living, it was late and everyone in the family was heavliy drunk. We could not find a better solution, so we took the few clothes that Pedro posses and left without having the chance to speak with the family.
We got pedro settled in with a Sister in the ward who has 2 specail children and was willing to take him in and give him a home. One of her kids is a very specail young lady named stacy, stacy is 13 years old and can not really speak and is partly deaf, but she has a great spirit and everyone in the ward including us as missionaries love her to death!
About an hour later we deceided that we could not help Pedro leave without speaking with the family. After kneeling and offering a prayer of protection we left to confront the father of the family, who unfortunatley was a bit intoxicated. We conversed with him keeping our distance and being aware of what could happen. He told us a completely different story than that which Pedro had told us. He told us that Pedro was a misbehaved young man, he couldnt control his sexual desires, and was very violent at times. My companion and i couldnt beleive and didnt beleive what he had told us, judging him to be and angry drunk. He told us that because Pedro left from an orphanage we would have to go there and speak with the director to let them know pedro was in our care.
We had gotten to the home at about 8 pm and met with the director, he informed us all about Pedros past, why he was in the home and what things had happened while in the home. Sadly we had Judged Julio without taking the time to fully learn each and every side of the story and we had acted very swiftly when we shouldnt have done so! the Director confirmed that as part of his problem Pedro can not control his desires and had attacked 2 workers while in the home, also he is a habitual liar and is very convincing.
All at once it hit me like a train! my own self pitty and guilt for what i had done. We had removed Pedro from a family, although corrupt as they may be, a family who was willing to put up with him and take care of him! We had put him in a home where he was able to put at risk a family that we love and care about and had made a complete full of ourselves thinking that we were doing whats right for him, and him knowing this entire time that he was lying to us and fooling us.
as hard as it was to do, we swallowed our pride and immediatley returned to Julio and his family, who at this point were all drunk and all furious! Where they live is called an invasion, where people just build shaks and there is no light and its in the middle of nowhere. We were worried that things were going to become violent with this family and kept a prayer with in our hearts!
We went and asked forgivness and told them that we were wrong and that we owed them an apology and did all we could to bare out our hearts and ask forgivness. IN the drunkest state that he was, Julio forgave us, just like that and told us that he was willing to do what he could to help. We RAN to the sisters house in the ward with whom pedro was living and pulled him out of there! we had him confess it all and had to have him be removed from the house because he had thoughts about stacy, and if anything happened to her i would kill Pedro! Anyway... we gathered all together the two families us and pedro at about 9:30 at night when we should have been in our room, we didnt know what to do with Pedro and niether one of the families would take him in knowing of his past....
Pedro was furious with everyone and wouldnt talk to anyone, he just got really quite and said he was fine and wanted to leave and live in the street, we did all we could to try and convince him to come with us and we would take him back to the orphanage... he wouldnt go. he was mad, he had been found out and he had been thrown out again....
At this point my heart was breaking to see him like this, but he would no longer accept our help. IT was very late and we needed to get home and eat dinner and plan, we had no other chice but to give him his clothes and let him go.... i will NEVER forget the image of him walking alone in the dark down the street as we walk in the opposite direction, and then turning back to see him sit on the corner and cry... i could do nothing to help him, i had done all i could and more, and he yet lied, deceived and put at risk the ones i love..... i wanted to turn back but my comp kept me strong and we pressed on.
We got the the pension very late and we hadnt said a word since we left pedro, she asked what had happened why we were late and told us we looked like a train wreck. i sat down at the table and my comp offered the blessing on the food and then i lost all sense of self control and just cried...... my pension realiezed what was going on and asked my comp for an explaination.
i couldnt help it, i felt so terrible for having to leave him and yet i knew i had done all i could do within my power to help this poor young man.... that night i didnt sleep much.. to this day i do not know what has become of pedro but i know he is out there and i keep him close in my thoughts and prayers.... he needs help more than we could offer but mentally, so that he can straighten out his life....
i learned a great deal from this and 2 things stick out to me.... as a missionary you have so much love for the people you serve you are willing to do anything for them.... and to see them fail, or fall, or be let go breaks your heart. But more importantly, i learned to never judge.... i took Julio, a drunk, rough gang member to be someone he wasnt, when all reality he was giving of his house, food, time and clothing to help a poor young man. And i took pedro a poor homeless 19 year old boy for just that, when in all reality he had played me and everyone else like a deck of cards.
The week didnt end on that sad note though, we did have an amazing baptism yesterday and are being very blessed here in our area! we have been really focusing on Preisthood holders and are preparing 5 young men for the mission! Andy Inga is the younger brother of another recent convert Darwin, who was baptised 2 weeks ago. Andy was never interested too much in the church and only recently started to attend church, he was very unsure about baptism when we extended the invitation to be baptised, we knelt in that same moment with him and he offered a pray, and received his answer. Yesterday i had the amazing blessing to preform the service and i will never forget after leaving the water, they shut the doors to the font and andy hugged me and thanked me for not giving up on him, when he had given up on himself we didnt and that made all the difference in the world to him.
The mission is truely the greatest and shortest 2 years that you will ever experience in your entire life, and you learn more about people and yourself with each and everyday! i know that the lord is walking where i have walked and inspiring me to say the things that he would have me say! this work is real and i can not and will not and never will deny that i have a father in heaven who is there for me and my lord and savior Jesus Christ knows me and loves me, and my job know is to show that same love to the people here in Piura Peru... its a great task, but with God nothing is impossible!
i love you all!
May 21, 2012
Hello Everyone,
This week i would like to inform you all of a change that was made in the mission in order to send a package to the mission you will need to put this address!
deleted and added current mailing info
just fyi, since I am behind the mailing address is now
Chad Alvin Rowley
Elder Skyler Davis
Misiòn Perù Piura
Mz. H Lt. 4
Urb. Los Geranios
Piura Peru
if you dont put the name Andrew Stephenson it is dificult for me to receive them because he is the office elder who goes and receives our pachages so they need to be in his name. for future reference...
Alrighty then this week was a great week, we had many ups in the spirit and like usual it just proves to me that this is the work of Heavenly Father and he is proud of the work we are doing here in Micaela Bastidas!
About a month ago we were meeting with a young man named Grover, he is 22 years old and lives on his own and works in his house a carpenter. He was raised Catholic and was eager to hear the message we had to offer. We taught him 2 lessons and things were going great! When we introduced the Book of Mormon he was a bit hesitant to accept it, he had always beleived in the Bible but was very closed minded to new scriptures. We continued to visit him for a breif time when one day we went to visit him and he told us that he could not accept the book of mormon to be true because he had not received an answer from God. We deceided to leave him a chapter to read in the Book of Mormon and told him that if he read it and prayed to God he would receive his answer! He told us that it would take a miracle for something big to change in his life to know that it was true, my companion and i bore the most sincere testimonies we could and left it in the hands of the lord... We didnt visit grover for several weeks knowing that the lord would tell us when it was time to help him once again. This week my companion and i had an appointment fall through and we stood on the corner of a street and offered a prayer to know where to go, we both looked at one another and just started to walk, when we arrived at Grovers house we knocked the door and he welcomed us in. When i entered the house i knew something had changed! i could feel the spirit so strong and i knew that he had changed. He told us that he had read the chapter we had left him, he prayed and received his answer! We didnt know but he used to be a heavy smoker waiting and trying to quit! the moment he offered his prayer he told us that he had lost the urge to smoke and for 20 days now he had been smoke free! he told us that with our testimonies and his prayer he knew that he had received his miracle. He told us that he would like to be baptised but would like to wait and resolve other problems he is facing with his family right now! I know that the lord answers prayers and that he is here walking where we walk and filling our hearts with the words that we are to say to help reach his other children!
We are working with a young man named Pedro, he is 19 and is a special soul. He is partly handicapped mentally, he is socially very open but does not understand or retain information. When he was a young kid, his father used to beat him and one day through him out... he lived in a place named casahogar which is to help young people that didnt have families and needed somewhere to go. When you complete 18 years they kick you out and you are required to live on your own, we encountered him sleeping in the street one day and my heart broke to see him like he was. He is very short and with his disability he looks just like a child. When we found him he didnt have clothes or shoes or where to sleep or food to eat. The mission rules are very clear about what we are supposed to do and the things we are should do to help the less fortunate, but following the rules wouldnt be enough to help young pedro, he needed somewhere to live something to eat and someone to help him overcome the life he has lived.... We gave him all that we had in that moment and found a family who would take him in and feed him and clothe him... that night i dont think i slept more than a few hours, my companion and i got up in the middle of the night and just talked about all that we could do to help him.... we deceided we would do all that we can to help him, it brings me to tears seeing him like that knowing that i can do something to help him. He is now living with a family, he has 3 square meals a day and is clothed and working! Pedro is so specail to me and i know that even though we broke a mission rule by giving him money to by food, we kept the commandments in serving those who are without.
We had another amazing experience this week saturday night, we had been meeting with a young man named Andy ^chino^ Inga, his brother darwin is a recent convert that we baptised this last week. Andy had been assisting church but had never known if it was true and he never received an answer to hus prayers. We met with him saturday night late at 8:30 and we taught about baptism, we told him that we knew he was ready and we would help him prepare for baptism this 27th of May, he told us he was nervous and finally told us his doubt, he didnt know if the church was true. We told him the only way he could know was to pray to and ask God and that if he did so he would receive an answer. We knelt in that same moment and Andy offered one of the most direct prayers i have ever heard from a 13 year old young man in my life! he told god that if this was his church then he would be baptised. When he said amen we waited in silence, and more silence and more silence. We were there 5 minutes kneeling without saying a word. Finally Chino spoke, he told us that he knew. I asked him how he could be so sure, he told me that he felt a purification and that the church is true and that he would be baptised this 27th!
Viton is a young man who we had the great blessing to baptise this week!!!! he is 15 years old and was a very strong evangelico when we found him. we met viton playing futbol one day and he told us that he would be open to having us come and visit. We did so and he was very receptive to the gospel and as soon as we said the words he knew they were true. The only problem that we had was his mother would not permit him to be baptised. A month ago we met with his mother and asked her permission to preform the service and she told us that she would not allow it! he was welcome to attend church but could not be baptised. We continued to try and make small talk with her each and every time we visited! This week he told us to stop by his house and that he had told his mom that he was going to be baptised but she accepted because he knew it was true. We went to visit her and speak with her again. She told us that Viton had spoken with her and that she didnt think he was ready to be baptised still. Worse yet his older sister came in and started to tell us that he was misbehaved and she doesnt want him to be baptised either. I kept a silent prayer in my heart and put my faith in the lord that he would give me the words that i was to say in order to help viton! He was upset that his family could not see what it was in the Gospel that he saw and when his sister told him all these he freaked out and fell into tears! he told her that he was going to be baptised because he knew that the church was true and that it was the right choice to make! His mom was suprised and he received permission! it was amazing to feel the great spirit that was in that room and i know that the lord was there and that he helpped soften the heart of his mother and that Viton will be a strong young man in the gospel
There is nothing greater than this work! i am scared to leave it and greatful that i yet have so much to do for the lord here in Peru! i hope you all remember forever all that the lord has done for you and what it is that you can do for him to show him your love and gratitude!
This week i would like to inform you all of a change that was made in the mission in order to send a package to the mission you will need to put this address!
deleted and added current mailing info
just fyi, since I am behind the mailing address is now
Chad Alvin Rowley
Elder Skyler Davis
Misiòn Perù Piura
Mz. H Lt. 4
Urb. Los Geranios
Piura Peru
if you dont put the name Andrew Stephenson it is dificult for me to receive them because he is the office elder who goes and receives our pachages so they need to be in his name. for future reference...
Alrighty then this week was a great week, we had many ups in the spirit and like usual it just proves to me that this is the work of Heavenly Father and he is proud of the work we are doing here in Micaela Bastidas!
About a month ago we were meeting with a young man named Grover, he is 22 years old and lives on his own and works in his house a carpenter. He was raised Catholic and was eager to hear the message we had to offer. We taught him 2 lessons and things were going great! When we introduced the Book of Mormon he was a bit hesitant to accept it, he had always beleived in the Bible but was very closed minded to new scriptures. We continued to visit him for a breif time when one day we went to visit him and he told us that he could not accept the book of mormon to be true because he had not received an answer from God. We deceided to leave him a chapter to read in the Book of Mormon and told him that if he read it and prayed to God he would receive his answer! He told us that it would take a miracle for something big to change in his life to know that it was true, my companion and i bore the most sincere testimonies we could and left it in the hands of the lord... We didnt visit grover for several weeks knowing that the lord would tell us when it was time to help him once again. This week my companion and i had an appointment fall through and we stood on the corner of a street and offered a prayer to know where to go, we both looked at one another and just started to walk, when we arrived at Grovers house we knocked the door and he welcomed us in. When i entered the house i knew something had changed! i could feel the spirit so strong and i knew that he had changed. He told us that he had read the chapter we had left him, he prayed and received his answer! We didnt know but he used to be a heavy smoker waiting and trying to quit! the moment he offered his prayer he told us that he had lost the urge to smoke and for 20 days now he had been smoke free! he told us that with our testimonies and his prayer he knew that he had received his miracle. He told us that he would like to be baptised but would like to wait and resolve other problems he is facing with his family right now! I know that the lord answers prayers and that he is here walking where we walk and filling our hearts with the words that we are to say to help reach his other children!
We are working with a young man named Pedro, he is 19 and is a special soul. He is partly handicapped mentally, he is socially very open but does not understand or retain information. When he was a young kid, his father used to beat him and one day through him out... he lived in a place named casahogar which is to help young people that didnt have families and needed somewhere to go. When you complete 18 years they kick you out and you are required to live on your own, we encountered him sleeping in the street one day and my heart broke to see him like he was. He is very short and with his disability he looks just like a child. When we found him he didnt have clothes or shoes or where to sleep or food to eat. The mission rules are very clear about what we are supposed to do and the things we are should do to help the less fortunate, but following the rules wouldnt be enough to help young pedro, he needed somewhere to live something to eat and someone to help him overcome the life he has lived.... We gave him all that we had in that moment and found a family who would take him in and feed him and clothe him... that night i dont think i slept more than a few hours, my companion and i got up in the middle of the night and just talked about all that we could do to help him.... we deceided we would do all that we can to help him, it brings me to tears seeing him like that knowing that i can do something to help him. He is now living with a family, he has 3 square meals a day and is clothed and working! Pedro is so specail to me and i know that even though we broke a mission rule by giving him money to by food, we kept the commandments in serving those who are without.
We had another amazing experience this week saturday night, we had been meeting with a young man named Andy ^chino^ Inga, his brother darwin is a recent convert that we baptised this last week. Andy had been assisting church but had never known if it was true and he never received an answer to hus prayers. We met with him saturday night late at 8:30 and we taught about baptism, we told him that we knew he was ready and we would help him prepare for baptism this 27th of May, he told us he was nervous and finally told us his doubt, he didnt know if the church was true. We told him the only way he could know was to pray to and ask God and that if he did so he would receive an answer. We knelt in that same moment and Andy offered one of the most direct prayers i have ever heard from a 13 year old young man in my life! he told god that if this was his church then he would be baptised. When he said amen we waited in silence, and more silence and more silence. We were there 5 minutes kneeling without saying a word. Finally Chino spoke, he told us that he knew. I asked him how he could be so sure, he told me that he felt a purification and that the church is true and that he would be baptised this 27th!
Viton is a young man who we had the great blessing to baptise this week!!!! he is 15 years old and was a very strong evangelico when we found him. we met viton playing futbol one day and he told us that he would be open to having us come and visit. We did so and he was very receptive to the gospel and as soon as we said the words he knew they were true. The only problem that we had was his mother would not permit him to be baptised. A month ago we met with his mother and asked her permission to preform the service and she told us that she would not allow it! he was welcome to attend church but could not be baptised. We continued to try and make small talk with her each and every time we visited! This week he told us to stop by his house and that he had told his mom that he was going to be baptised but she accepted because he knew it was true. We went to visit her and speak with her again. She told us that Viton had spoken with her and that she didnt think he was ready to be baptised still. Worse yet his older sister came in and started to tell us that he was misbehaved and she doesnt want him to be baptised either. I kept a silent prayer in my heart and put my faith in the lord that he would give me the words that i was to say in order to help viton! He was upset that his family could not see what it was in the Gospel that he saw and when his sister told him all these he freaked out and fell into tears! he told her that he was going to be baptised because he knew that the church was true and that it was the right choice to make! His mom was suprised and he received permission! it was amazing to feel the great spirit that was in that room and i know that the lord was there and that he helpped soften the heart of his mother and that Viton will be a strong young man in the gospel
There is nothing greater than this work! i am scared to leave it and greatful that i yet have so much to do for the lord here in Peru! i hope you all remember forever all that the lord has done for you and what it is that you can do for him to show him your love and gratitude!
May 14th 2012
Well first off i wanted to wish all you moms out there a Happy Mothers Day and tell you all that i love you!
this week we had 2 great great great baptisms! one of which was very special to me! his name is Darwin inga i have been working with him for almost 3 months and bvefore he had passed for 5 sets of missionaries, he told me that he wasnt ready to be baptised and was confused between our church and the catholic church, all we could do was tell him to keep praying and to bare testimony, after hours and hours of visiting him, praying for him and helpping him overcome doubts he toldus that he had received his answer and he knew our church was true!
he told us that a voice spoke to him and told him.... why dont you get baptised in the true church of god?... and he knew that it was our church! it was such a spiritual experience and i loved every sencond of the baptism! when he left the water we went to change and he told me he could feel the sins leave him and then he hugged me and started to cry and told me that he prayed long and hard to find someone who could change his life and the lord sent me! i felt soooo overwhelmed that i could help make this impact on someones life and now he is preparing for the mission!!!!!!!!!!
i love this kid he means the world to me and it makes me feel so good to be able to have helped someone like that change his life and to come to know the truth it is a truely humbling experiemce to be a part of this work i know that it is true and there is nothing better to wake up every morning and put on the name badge and to know that every single day i represent my lord and savior jesus christ!
well i dont have a lot of time but i love you all and hope to hear from you all next week!
May 7th 2012
Hello one and all,
well first off thank you all so much for the happy birthday wishes! that was so nice of all of you! it made me feel really good thank you so much!
Well this week was a good week, elder Arboleda and i have been working really hard to be successful and we are learning a lot about pacientce! we are seeing a lot of different struggles here but are never down on ourselves! we know that the lord is on our side and that we will be successful! this week we had 3 baptisms that all fell through again on sunday morning before the baptismal service and it was a but hard to see happen, but there was a reason for it and something to be learned from it, you will never be more humble than on the mission! you try so hard to work and work and work and serve and serve and serve only to be let down at the last moment!
we have worked a lot this week and are ready for the 3 baptisms we ahve again this sunday! we are very excited again... we will keep working and keep your fingers crossed for us!
this week is mothers day!! and to all you mothers out there i wanted to wish you a....
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH!!!!
Well we had a great birthday party this week with a family in the ward and here in Peru apparently there is a great tradition that they try and make a cake on your head by slamming eggs and sugar and flour and milk on your head and face! and being that we are missionaries and that the member here love this tradition with us gringos! i received a lot of destruction yesterday! i sent a few photos and we have some good video of what happened but the video is too long i cant send it! needless to say it was a good birthday! i love the poeple here they are the greatest!!!!
well i love you all and hope all is well! i miss you like crazy and wish you all the best!
well first off thank you all so much for the happy birthday wishes! that was so nice of all of you! it made me feel really good thank you so much!
Well this week was a good week, elder Arboleda and i have been working really hard to be successful and we are learning a lot about pacientce! we are seeing a lot of different struggles here but are never down on ourselves! we know that the lord is on our side and that we will be successful! this week we had 3 baptisms that all fell through again on sunday morning before the baptismal service and it was a but hard to see happen, but there was a reason for it and something to be learned from it, you will never be more humble than on the mission! you try so hard to work and work and work and serve and serve and serve only to be let down at the last moment!
we have worked a lot this week and are ready for the 3 baptisms we ahve again this sunday! we are very excited again... we will keep working and keep your fingers crossed for us!
this week is mothers day!! and to all you mothers out there i wanted to wish you a....
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH!!!!
Well we had a great birthday party this week with a family in the ward and here in Peru apparently there is a great tradition that they try and make a cake on your head by slamming eggs and sugar and flour and milk on your head and face! and being that we are missionaries and that the member here love this tradition with us gringos! i received a lot of destruction yesterday! i sent a few photos and we have some good video of what happened but the video is too long i cant send it! needless to say it was a good birthday! i love the poeple here they are the greatest!!!!
well i love you all and hope all is well! i miss you like crazy and wish you all the best!
April 30th, 2012
Dear Everyone,
well this week has been one of the strangest and one of my favorite weeks of my life! haha let me explain but as a precourser to this letter i just wanted to make sure that you mom do not freak out please!
well here in peru we have a fun problem every saturday morning till tuesday morning about 80 percent of the population here in Miceala Bastidas are drunk and when i mean drunk i mean really really drunk, and there are no police here to regulate so you can imagine what kind of thigs happen... drunks are driving all the time and there are always crashes, which is actually sometimes funny to see, as sad as that sounds.... but anyway. The other day (saturday) my companion and i were walking down the street at about 7 or 730 at night and there were a bunch of drunks going at it on the corner, we deceided that it wouldnt be the best idea to go that directoin and deceided to swiftly make a 180 and go the other way, well they didnt like taht too much and started shouting at us (some very vulgar things) i wasnt too pleased by what was being said and was about to turn around and say something when i heard a voice in my ear, the voice told me (run and run now!) i didnt understand what was going on at first i thought that my companion had said something to me and i asked him...he said he hadnt said anything, again the thought came to me (run and run now!) right as that voice came into my ear again i turned around to see one of the drunks pull out a pistol and point it at us shouting that he was going to kill the mormons!!!! i grabbed my comp by the backpack and shouted !pistol corre! all the sudden we heard 4 shouts very quickly! the drunks were actually trying to kill us!!!! haha what the heck is going on i was thinking! i guess his gun jammed because he shouted that the next time he saw us he would kill us and we turned the corner and just kept going, we didnt look back to see if they were following or anything.... but only after it had all calmed down and we had made it to a members house we knelt down and prayed and gave thanks to god that he had protected us in this week.... the voice again came into my head and i heard (follow me) i thought this time for sure the lord was telling me something and so at the first sign of this impression i was up off my knees and walking, i didnt know where to but i was walking, my companion was confused and we were both a little catter brained at what had just happened but we kept walking....... we got the a bend where there were two roads and we didnt know which road to take.... so i just kept walking....
my comp and i arrived at an investigators house that we had been teaching for a long time but was never really a candidate for baptism because she was alwaus really quite and never really showed that much interest... she is in a part member family and her family is less active and a hard drinker..... we knocked the door right about as it was time that we should be in our room and i didnt know what was going to happen next i was just doing as told and (following him) she opened the door and told us that she had just finished saying a prayer that we would come visit her again soon, she told us that she had been attending church for 3 months and last night she received her answer to her prayers and that tomorrow she would like to be baptised!!!! what!!!!!
That night i made a call the the zone leaders and we organized an interveiw the next morning after sacrament and planned the baptism for sunday after the meetings (yesterday).... we spent all morning inviting all the members that we could hoping to receive support.... the most members that have ever attened one of our baptisms is 13! we ended the meeting and she passed the interveiw and was all ready to be baptised... we took photos of my comp all ready to preform for the second time a baptism when we looked in the room where the font is and it was FULL of people! we had over 50 people crammed into a room for 30!!! it was such an amazing experience and i know that Maria felt the love of the ward and support for her! the spirit was so strong there and i know that the lord had quided us and protected us so that we could be lead to her door and so that she could be baptised in this week!
we had finished the service when another investigator approached us and told us that the next week she too would like to be baptised!!!! we have been visiting Josmirah for 3 weeks and she has never shown much interest! her mom is a less active and her father is an investigator!!! she told us that she had asked permission from them and that she would like to be baptised this sunday on my birthday!!!! woot woot! the best birthday gift ever! to see my comp have his 3rd baptism!!! i am super excited about what is happening in our area and i know that miracles exist each and ever day if we only look for them! we were shot at, and protected, lead by the spirit to a baptism, and because we were obedient and faithful given another this sunday!
i love this work! the lord lives and guides us each and everyday! i know the holy ghost i real!!!! he speaks to me and i can hear his voice! for some it is a feeling for some it is a thought but for me God speaks through his holy messanger and i know that he loves me and guides me! this church is true! we are his messangers and salvation never was easy or never will be! in order for us to experience salvation we need to experience a little only a small amount of what our lord and savior suffered when he bled from every pore when he was nailed like a theif and sinner to the cross, and being the only truly perfect missionary in this world! he gave his life for this work and i am willing to do so as well! for i am not ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ! i will run from door to door and when i am tired and my feet ache and i cant run i will crawl from door to door! and when my knees are bloody and my legs wont move i will drag myself door to door and when i can not do so anymore i will shout and i will yell until each and everyone of gods children here in micaela bastidas have heard the message of the restaured gospel and each and everyone of my brothers and sisters know that JESUS is the CHRIST! the son of the only true and living GOD!!!!
i love you all! never forget all that he has done for you and do all you can to do that same thing for others around you!
well this week has been one of the strangest and one of my favorite weeks of my life! haha let me explain but as a precourser to this letter i just wanted to make sure that you mom do not freak out please!
well here in peru we have a fun problem every saturday morning till tuesday morning about 80 percent of the population here in Miceala Bastidas are drunk and when i mean drunk i mean really really drunk, and there are no police here to regulate so you can imagine what kind of thigs happen... drunks are driving all the time and there are always crashes, which is actually sometimes funny to see, as sad as that sounds.... but anyway. The other day (saturday) my companion and i were walking down the street at about 7 or 730 at night and there were a bunch of drunks going at it on the corner, we deceided that it wouldnt be the best idea to go that directoin and deceided to swiftly make a 180 and go the other way, well they didnt like taht too much and started shouting at us (some very vulgar things) i wasnt too pleased by what was being said and was about to turn around and say something when i heard a voice in my ear, the voice told me (run and run now!) i didnt understand what was going on at first i thought that my companion had said something to me and i asked him...he said he hadnt said anything, again the thought came to me (run and run now!) right as that voice came into my ear again i turned around to see one of the drunks pull out a pistol and point it at us shouting that he was going to kill the mormons!!!! i grabbed my comp by the backpack and shouted !pistol corre! all the sudden we heard 4 shouts very quickly! the drunks were actually trying to kill us!!!! haha what the heck is going on i was thinking! i guess his gun jammed because he shouted that the next time he saw us he would kill us and we turned the corner and just kept going, we didnt look back to see if they were following or anything.... but only after it had all calmed down and we had made it to a members house we knelt down and prayed and gave thanks to god that he had protected us in this week.... the voice again came into my head and i heard (follow me) i thought this time for sure the lord was telling me something and so at the first sign of this impression i was up off my knees and walking, i didnt know where to but i was walking, my companion was confused and we were both a little catter brained at what had just happened but we kept walking....... we got the a bend where there were two roads and we didnt know which road to take.... so i just kept walking....
my comp and i arrived at an investigators house that we had been teaching for a long time but was never really a candidate for baptism because she was alwaus really quite and never really showed that much interest... she is in a part member family and her family is less active and a hard drinker..... we knocked the door right about as it was time that we should be in our room and i didnt know what was going to happen next i was just doing as told and (following him) she opened the door and told us that she had just finished saying a prayer that we would come visit her again soon, she told us that she had been attending church for 3 months and last night she received her answer to her prayers and that tomorrow she would like to be baptised!!!! what!!!!!
That night i made a call the the zone leaders and we organized an interveiw the next morning after sacrament and planned the baptism for sunday after the meetings (yesterday).... we spent all morning inviting all the members that we could hoping to receive support.... the most members that have ever attened one of our baptisms is 13! we ended the meeting and she passed the interveiw and was all ready to be baptised... we took photos of my comp all ready to preform for the second time a baptism when we looked in the room where the font is and it was FULL of people! we had over 50 people crammed into a room for 30!!! it was such an amazing experience and i know that Maria felt the love of the ward and support for her! the spirit was so strong there and i know that the lord had quided us and protected us so that we could be lead to her door and so that she could be baptised in this week!
we had finished the service when another investigator approached us and told us that the next week she too would like to be baptised!!!! we have been visiting Josmirah for 3 weeks and she has never shown much interest! her mom is a less active and her father is an investigator!!! she told us that she had asked permission from them and that she would like to be baptised this sunday on my birthday!!!! woot woot! the best birthday gift ever! to see my comp have his 3rd baptism!!! i am super excited about what is happening in our area and i know that miracles exist each and ever day if we only look for them! we were shot at, and protected, lead by the spirit to a baptism, and because we were obedient and faithful given another this sunday!
i love this work! the lord lives and guides us each and everyday! i know the holy ghost i real!!!! he speaks to me and i can hear his voice! for some it is a feeling for some it is a thought but for me God speaks through his holy messanger and i know that he loves me and guides me! this church is true! we are his messangers and salvation never was easy or never will be! in order for us to experience salvation we need to experience a little only a small amount of what our lord and savior suffered when he bled from every pore when he was nailed like a theif and sinner to the cross, and being the only truly perfect missionary in this world! he gave his life for this work and i am willing to do so as well! for i am not ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ! i will run from door to door and when i am tired and my feet ache and i cant run i will crawl from door to door! and when my knees are bloody and my legs wont move i will drag myself door to door and when i can not do so anymore i will shout and i will yell until each and everyone of gods children here in micaela bastidas have heard the message of the restaured gospel and each and everyone of my brothers and sisters know that JESUS is the CHRIST! the son of the only true and living GOD!!!!
i love you all! never forget all that he has done for you and do all you can to do that same thing for others around you!
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