Family!
Oh boy have I got soo many things to tell you. First of all, thank you for the wonderful emails! I am sitting in a little store in Independencia Peru, very thankful for the opportunity to read English.
I am serving in an area called Independencia. It is like something out of a book. It is a town right outside the main city. It is a very humble place and honestly whenever I walk out of my apartment door I still can't believe where I am. My trainers name is Hermana G. She is from Bolivia and guess what... she is 28 years old. I kinda feel like I'm preaching the gospel with a superviser instead of a companion, but saying that, she is wonderful! She knows so much and when she teaches the Spirit is so strong. She speaks a little English. Not very much though, and she really wants to learn though so she is greateful for the chance we have to teach each other different languages. So after we were assigned our trainers they sent us off with our trainers to find our aparments. My apartment is on the third floor of a building. It is very small, and exactly what you think an apartment would be like in Peru. We only have working water in the morning until about noon so after our showers we fill up buckets of water to flush the toilet the rest of the day. There is no AC so the fan in our apartment has quickly become my absolute best friend.
We don't have someone who cooks our food. We do breakfast in our apartment in the morning and this is usually some fruit or a smoothie or some oatmeal and we eat lunch with a member. They serve us soooo much food and you have to eat it all or they get offended. So I am sitting in these tiny houses, eating a huge plate of hot chicken and rice, wondering how I am not going to die but I know they give us so much food because they love us. The members are so caring and so nice. It is truly amazing. I am having no problem growing to love the people here.
So the people build their houses up the mountains so I am climbling hills and stairs to get to every house. I am hoping this will help me not gain weight with all the food I am eating. Some of the people we teach live in very poor conditions. All I can say is family is, we are VERY blessed with what we have. Some of the homes here have their living room, kitchen, and bedrooms all in the same room.
I will be honest, this week has been really hard (mostly because the language). I feel like I can't talk to anyone! I understand quite a bit though, but talking is a different story. However, Hermana G is trying to give me more opportunities to talk during the lessons. I know I just need to have patience with myself. I talked to one of the gringo elders in my district on the second day here during our district meeting and he said the first two weeks are the hardest, then after that you start to understand what is going on and understand the lessons. In my district there are about 12 of us (4 hermanas). I am the only gringo hermana. There are two other gringos but they are elders and have been out for 8 months. Yet they are really nice and it has been nice to have someone to talk to in English. There is also a couple serving in our district and the wife is so sweet. whenever she sees me she gives me a hug and tells me to keep pushing through.
I did have one really cool experience last night. We were teaching a family the importance of family home evening and they asked me to talk about my family. In my VERY broken Spanish I shared the scripture in 2 Nephi 26:25 that mom loves. I talked about how my parents have built our home on the principles of the gospel. When our family is built on these principles, it is easier to feel the love of our Savier and also the love for one another. I shared a picture of us, and they all thought is was so precious. The mom of the family literally hugged the picture. So even though this has been the hardest week of my life (literally), I keep being reminded daily why I am here. I am here because I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know the gopsel blesses families and I can't wait to be able to actually speak Spanish and share this message with the people here in Peru. Our mission focuses a lot on families and I love that. President Juchau also talked about families in my setting apart blessing.
New things I have done this week:
ate a chicken foot
ate a cow heart
got whistled at by Peruvian men on the street
showered in cold water
attempted to preach the gospel in Spanish
Mom I want to let you know my shoes are great and so are my clothes. Overall, we packed very well. It is super hot here and I come home sweaty and dirty every day. However, none the less, I am happy. I am trying to find joy in the little things. When I get down I think of you guys or my friends (all serving missions). I know all is possible through our Savior Jesus Christ.
Ok so we have 3 INVESTIGATORS WITH BAPTISM DATES. I ask you guys to pray for E, E, and D, I wish I had more time to write about each of their circumstances, but I will as the weeks go on. They all have dates for the following week. The work here in Peru is crazy. We are teacing all the time. I am so grateful for this and love my area.
I love you all and I feel your prayers. I am sending some pictures so you can see a little what my area is like. Pictures don't do it justice though. haha its just something you kinda have to experience.
All my love,
Hermana Vernon
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| My trainer |
