New Zone

My new zone is super rich!  It's like living in Lake Oswego, mixed with street of dreams.  We're super close to the temple, and everybody has money here!  I see a lot of houses, and I think, "Wow, how are they using their money?" It's really interesting.  Everyone here is a whole lot less trusting, and they don't really care much about God.  So, What we've been doing is asking for directions, and explaining that we're new neighbors, and the people are always more willing to talk to us, and then when we've talked for a little bit, we can move into what we do, and invite them to listen to us.  It's working quite well!  This zone is known for being difficult, but the Lord blesses those he calls!  It's super interesting!  It's really powerful to see a family struggling, and suffering, and turning to God to figure it out.  It's incredible!  Our room is also really nice, with a reclining chair, nice desks, and a nice bathroom.  The only thing wrong is that there is no hot water, but I finally figured something out!  I found a kettle for boiling water, and a bucket, and mixed boiling water with cold water, and was able to finally be comfortable!  I didn't feel like an ice cube when I got out!

Well, I don't have a lot more to share right now, because it's a little slower than my old area, but I am learning a ton, and loving the work!  Oh one thing!  Here we have McDonalds, Burger King, and Sushi places!  The only problem is that it's all super expensive!  But one of these days, I'm going to eat sushi!!!

Well, I love you all!  Keep choosing the right, and the Lord will bless you!

Word of Wisdom

Tomorrow we have transfers, and I'm going to a really rich zone! It should be very interesting :) I'm going as district leader. This zone actually has sisters, so I'll get to find out how it is to be a district leader for sister missionaries!

Today, we made ties out of denim at the house of a member, and when I finish mine, it's going to look amazing! I'll send pictures :)

This week we were talking to one of our investigators, and he told us, "You don't have to worry about me keeping the commandments. I made a decision last night, and I'm not going to drink, or smoke anymore. This book (The Book of Mormon) is changing my life, and I feel so calm, just me and the book, and it tells you so simply, so beautifully, how to keep the commandments!" It was awesome! It reminded me very strongly of, "Does it teach you how to live?" Speaking of that, could you send me that poem?

I also had a really cool lesson where I was explaining the Word of Wisdom. I compared God to a father who wants to protect his son from a fire. He tells his son not to touch the fire, but he does it anyway. That's what happens when we break the commandments. Heavenly Father knows what will hurt us, and gives us commandments to protect us. He feels sad when we sin, and we have to suffer the consequences. The best He can do is provide a doctor to help us heal, Jesus Christ. It was really cool to see his point of view change in that lesson!

Well, that's about all I have this week, but next week will be full of new information!

Love you all!

Light All Around Us

My companion is amazing! He is really good at listening, and really wants to learn. He is really good at being interested in people, which means he's really easy to get along with. He said that he could make it cheaper to come to Cuzco to go to Machu Picchu, but I had to promise to come! We're teaching an investigator that's super awesome! His name is Ronaldo, and he was in the Peruvian Army, and wants to soften his heart (his words exactly)! We have lessons in a construction site owned by his family, which happens to be the largest building in our area, so we are going to take some pictures soon from up top in the night, and it's going to be amazing. I bought an SD Card Reader, but I didn't have time to get my camera, so next week I'll be sending photos!

We have an investigator right now that is really well versed in the Bible, and it's been a really good learning experience to teach him. I obviously can't answer every question he has, or explain every verse, so it was pretty hard. However, this week I found a verse that really changed our way to teach him:

Doctrine and Covenants 19:31
31 And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost.

It was a really powerful change, to only talk about how we gain testimony, and not fall into the debates over the legitimacy of points of doctrine!

I'm learning so much right now about how to follow the example of the Lord, and it really inspires me. I hope all of you continue working on trying to be more perfect disciples of Christ, because I know that it brings a light into our life that helps us to overcome everything. We don't have to wait for the light at the end of the tunnel, we can have the light all around us. We still won't see everything, but we will see enough from our experiences to have a hope, which then begins to change us. I know my Savior lives, and that through his power I can be what He knows I can be. That's basically the whole point of being here, to help others understand the same!

Love you all!

Authority and Baptism

This week wasn't super eventful, but we found one investigator that is in the Peruvian Army, and he is super interested in the gospel! He said that a while back, two missionaries went and gave a seminar like thing to his unit, and he was really interested. He is really good about reading what we leave, and seems to really be excited about learning more! He asked us about where the authority of the church comes from, and how it is passed on, so I showed him my line of authority, and it was really cool to be able to teach exactly how that works! It was really cool.

We also have an investigator who really wants to learn, but is also really cemented in his religion, and is having difficulty with the Book of Mormon and some doctrines. One of these is baptism, because we do it in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but he says we should do it in the name of Jesus Christ. There is scriptural evidence for both, but the evidence for Jesus Christ is more recent in the bible. It was a really interesting point that I had never thought about before, but on Sunday, I had a revelation. In Mathew 28:19, it says "baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," and in Acts 2:38, it says be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ." The difference between these scriptures is that one is talking about the people who baptize, and the other talks about the people who are baptized, respectively. The verbs here are to baptize, and to be baptized. When we baptize, we do it in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. When we are baptized, we follow the example of Jesus Christ, and promise to be willing to take upon us his name. In other words, we baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and we are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. It was so cool to understand how these verses worked together to increase the understanding of baptism!

Love you all!