Week #54 Balancing Act

Living proof that you can give up your family, friends, and phone for 18 months and still be completely happy!!

This p-day we made pancha manca a la tierra. Which is a meal that is cooked under the ground with hot coals! It was super sweet and there was a river with a blackberry farm and we played soccer. It was a really good p-day, I think one of the best my whole mission!

This week we had a reunion of the Zone and our leaders talked about consistency. I really liked what was said. They emphasized that sometimes we have good days and sometimes bad days in the mission but the most important part is our diligence. If we are continually being obedient and  balancing all parts of the mission then blessings will follow.  For example if we are already teaching lots of people and only focus on that then we may stop looking for new people and future teaching opportunities will be lost. As missionaries,consistency in our daily actions ensures success in the future. I think this message translates well into everyone's life. Consistency and balance in all things is important. I  imagine that back home everyone has a million things going on, school, studies, sports, friends, work, sleep, family, church. Finding a way to balance and organize all of our commitments while maintaining a spiritual connection with the Lord will bring the maximum amount of happiness. This week we went to visit a less active named A. She is a single mother with three kids. She is a big inspiration to me. She has about a million things to worry about. She wakes up at 5am every single day to get ready for her kids breakfast, lunches, everything, and then she heads off to work. . She works all day and then after work she studies and works more. She gets home at night late, 11 or 12, sleeps for a little bit and then starts the next day. WOW. She has to do everything by herself. I cant even imagine how difficult it must be. We tried to commit her to read her scriptures 15 minutes every day. But  there was just not enough time in the day for her, she was so great and  promised us that she would find a solution. A has two free nights a week when she doesn't teach dance,  so she signed up for institute! All though she could have used this time to rest, or do a million other things she decided she would use this little bit of free time to be dedicated to the scriptures. I'm really so proud that she decided to do this and I have faith that she will be blessed for this choice. 

Love you all 

Hermana Huish} 

Week #53 Good week, Sad day

Hello family.

So wow this week went really well, we worked with a lot of less actives and I'm happy for that. However, yesterday I received some  really sad news about one of my previous companions, Hermana P. She was my companion back in October. We went through a lot together. My President told me I was put with her for a reason.  Hermana P had a very difficult life, lost both of her parents, lived on the street  and has a very dark past. She struggled. At first It was hard but we worked through things and had good moments and bad moments as companions. She went home in November and she had no one. She didnt have parents. She had no one to take care of her. She lived alone. Last night I received the bad news that she was found dead. I cant even explain how I have been feeling, I really still am in shock and don't know what more to say. But please keep in your prayers for the little family that she does have or anyone else that was close to her like I was. She was a tough girl but had come a long way and changed so much. I will always have a special place in my heart for the Sister P.

Love you lotsss and see you soon!

Hermana Huish

Hermana P. is the dark haired girl in all my pictures below...

Week #51 Power of prayer and fasting

Hola!

This week went by so fast and honestly the days all blurr together but It was a really good week. We found alot of new people to teach which is super cool.

Last week I was really frustrated that people were not progressing, so this week Hermana Espinoza and I fasted and prayed a TON so that every one that we were teaching could progress. I want to testify of the power of fasting and prayer. Fifteen of the people that we are teaching came to church yesterday! 15! That is outrageous! Our investigatores or recent converts and our less actives  were all at church. It was truly amazing. Normally we have one or two investigators attend church and the past couple week 0. And this week 15! I could not be more thrilled. I bear whittness of the power of fasting and prayer. If we really want something we have to show God what we are willing to do to make it happen and he will help us. Its truly amazing.

Also C or recent convert had some really cool experiances with prayer. C sells cheese and this week she had a ton of left over cheese that didnt get sold. She shared with us that she decided to prayer and ask God for help to sell her cheese. She decided to go to a different market and she sold all of it. She had nothing left and was so grateful for the inspiration to go to a new market.

She also shared an experience about her husband. He is a carpenter and has  alot of problmes with his back. Its really hard for him to work, but he has to. One day his back was hurting him so badly that he could finish his job. The pain was awful. He told me that at work he knelt down and prayed for help from God. He begged God to take away the pain in his back. As he finished his prayer and went back to work  the pain disappeared. He finished all of his work that day. It is truly amazing how God answers our prayers.  In Nephi18 when Jesus Christ is teaching the people in the Americas he counsels them "therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name. And whatsoever ye shall askthe Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall recieve, behold it shall be given unto you." What a beauiful promise that Jesus gave to the people. I testify that we have a loving God who wants us to be happy. We have a loving God who answers prayers although sometimes he doesnt answer them like we want, or how we expect. But I know that God always answers our prayers through his spirit. In 3 Nephi 11 Jesus Christ says "I bear record of the father, and the Father beareth record of me and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the father and me..." We recieve answers to our prayers through the spirit. We just have to be spiritually tuned in to hear the answer. We can receive answers through the spirit through the scriptures and through other people. 

Love you all!

See you in the summer

Hermana Huish

Week #50 Christmas and the greatest gift

                                 Skyping the family on Christmas day!

 

 

 

 

Being able to talk to my family at Christmas was a really bitter sweet moment. I wasn't feeling at all homesick until I saw  hem all again and I realized how much I truly do miss my home. It is difficult to be away, especially for Christmas, because it is a time when our family makes memories together but I just have to remind myself that I am here on a mission for a purpose. That  bringing souls unto Christ and sharing the gift of salvation with individuals is my focus. In D&C 6.13 it says "Thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all gifts of God for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvacion." I love this scripture because I know that I am helping people receive the greatest gift of God. This week L and I were baptized and although I was missing my family and home their baptism made all of the sacrifice worth it for me. I shared her testimony at the baptism and it was so powerful. She said how thankful she was for me and the other missionaries that helped her find the light of the gospel.  She has always been religious, her family is very catholic but the answers and peace that she found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints were  no comparison. She also shared  that she knows the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. It was just such a joyful experience to be able to help I build and strengthen her testimony. I could not have been happier this Christmas. 

 

Other things that we did to celebrate Christmas...

On the 24th we had our P day and the whole mission was invited to the district offices. We played dodge ball, had a talent show, ate hamburgers and hotdogs and then watched Remember the Titans. It was a lot of fun!! The whole mission was there and it was good to be able to see my friends from different zones. Everyone was in normal p day clothes including the president and his wife. It was a little bit strange to see the  president in jeans and a polo but at the same time super cool I felt like our mission truly was a family. 

The night of Christmas eve hermana Espinoza and I watched church movies until 12pm when the festivities begin.  In Peru the traditions are much different. For example, not even the children go to bed early but everyone stays awake because at 12pm the celebration starts with fireworks in the streets. There are not any laws about fireworks here so literally it is a free for all. The whole sky was lit up by giant, giant  Disney sized fireworks! Then, families eat Christmas dinner in the middle of the night. Its a fun tradition and Karina one of thee coolest members of the ward came and brought us a Peruvian dinner to eat at midnight. )Her aunt is the best cook in the ward. It was such a cool experience!  I am going to say Christmas in Peru is much more exciting and fun than in the US.

 

On another note...

The past Sunday I was really frustrated because of the lack of faith the some people have. As a missionary the greatest joy we have is when some one can complete a commitment that we give because we know it will help and bless their lives. But also the biggest sorrow that we have is when people don't complete commitments because we know that they are limiting their testimonies as well as the blessings that God wants to pour down on them.  Everyone was so busy with other aspects in their lives and with a million of other problems that they could not complete their commitments. This was hard and frustrating for me because I KNOW GOD BLESSES US WHEN WE OBEY HIS COMMANDMENTS!  "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."  We obtain blessings from God according to our obedience to his commandments. This is a law of God. He is literally bound to bless us when we are obedient. No exceptions. I have complete faith in this law that when we do what is right we receive blessings temporal as well as spiritual.  In Mosiah 2:41 it says God will always do his part he will never fail us. Its is us who are disobedient and fail god. We bring pain and sorrow onto ourselves. We have to have faith that God will always come through for us that he will always fulfill his promise to bless us in our lives, and help us with our problems. "For he will fulfill all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers." Alma 37.17 . We need to continue in perfect faith and obey his commandments knowing that we will receive blessings for our obedience and know that everything will be okay if we obey. "And thus we see that the commandments of God Must be fulfilled, and if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the things which he has commanded them, wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness." If we do what God wants everything else will follow! We just need to have faith that God will provide for all of our needs. As we are obedient and faithful I know that he will provide for us. 

At the beginning of the week we only had about 3 lessons. It was pretty awful. But finally we found a less active her name is K. She has had some many reasons and excuses for not coming to church. That she doesn't like the members or she has to work. One of the return missionaries in the ward stole her sons girlfriend. In the beginning of the lesson she had a lot of excuses.  We taught her the Restoration of the Gospel. We explained that the church is perfect  and God is perfect even if the members are not.  The whole lesson was very spiritual. She began to cry and she shared her testimony with us that she knows that God has blessed her. When she was active she was a really strong member. And she was a true witness of how God provides for our needs. One week she was really struggling financially. She only made 50 soles and she knew that she had to pay her tithing. She was embarrassed and she didn't even put her name on the tithing slip because she didn't want anyone to know. But she paid a full tithe of 5 soles. She had no money to clothe her children or pay for anything else. But she paid her tithing with complete faith that God would help her somehow. The following Monday her husband brought home tons of clothing for their children. He was in the city and he helped a woman with some boxes and she ended up being someone who sold clothing for children. She gave him tons of clothes for his children for free!! K was thrilled and she knew that God had provided for her needs. As she shared this experience with us she was in complete tears! She knew that she had to come back to church. Hearing her testimony was such a great experience for me. It was refreshing to hear such a strong testimony. After being so frustrated about the lack of faith that some people have she just reminded me how great God is. And how powerful he is. It was a really good moment. 

Hope you all had a wonderful merry Christmas!!!!

See you in the summer!

Hermana Huish