Hermana Vernon-Called to Serve: I am trying my best to be brave! Letter from March 30th.

Hello my awesome family!!

Wow, what an amazing letter this week! Thanks so much for your words of encouragment. You guys always know exactly what I need to hear.

So good news this week... I am starting to understand a lot. I have a lot of fear to speak, but I am trying my best to be brave. Thank you for the reminder about the story about the bear. It put things into perspective a little for me. Nothing is going to happen unless I simply open my mouth. I have found when I do, the Lord is always with me and I am much happier. So my goal this week is to just talk and talk and talk.

So a little bit more about Hermana G. She loves to cook. Every time we go to someones house for lunch she is always telling them different recipes and how things are made in Bolivia. So not only am I learning the gospel and a different language, but I am also learning how to cook. Haha it's literally like she is my mom. I am very grateful for the chance I have to learn so much from a companion who has so much experience. She knows her scriptures so well! Because she does know so much, it is sometimes hard for me to even feel like i can speak because she usually says it all and then turns to me, and I feel like I don't have a ton to say. I know as I get more comfortable with talking, we are going to be able to split up the lessons more evenly.

So here in Peru, no one likes to get married. You will have families who are very happy, but simply don't want to be married because it is a really long process. So the problem we have a lot of the time is getting couples married before they can be baptized. Because of this, about every month we hold a civil wedding ceremony in the mission office and chapel. We got to help with it and it was really beautiful. There were 20 couples that got married. I didnt have my camera with me, but next time we go, I promise I will send pictures. It was fun to meet other missionaries as well. Talking with the other gringos is always fun. They promise me the best way to learn is to simply try and try and not to be afraid to make mistakes.

I was able to watch the Womens Conference! obviously in Spanish, but I understood the overall message. Mom is there a way you could send them to me in English? I could tell they were wonderful talks and I would love to read them. We will also get the chance to listen to General Conference. It will be in Spanish, but I am excited to see how much I will understand. We will be watching it in the capilla and we are taking some of our investigators with us.

We were supposed to have a baptism on Saturday, but there was an emergency. Hermano Es grandmother had to go to the hospital. However, we sent some elders over to give her a blessing and she is doing better. We rescheduled his baptism for the 11th of April. We have three baptisms that day! The other two are D and E. D is a 14 year old boy, and E is 22. Her husband is a member and he will be able to baptize her. Also, Ds brother is a member so he will be able to baptize him as well. It is so cool to see families come together through the gospel. I am starting to connect with my investigators. The first few weeks were really hard because I didn't understand what they were saying, or respond. But it's an amazing experience to start to feel the love for them and truly want to help them. I am also starting to love the ward I am serving in. The people here in Peru are very loving and are being very patient with me.

Ok so here are a few facts for the week!

-Whenever you greet someone here in Peru you kiss them on the cheek. So I am probably giving more kisses here on my mission then I did at home. Sometimes the men will go to kiss us on the street and we simply have to stick our hand out for a handshake. Haha we have had some close calls.

-You can't really find milk here. They have something very similar, but it comes in bags. So that has been a shocker for me.

-Sometimes we have the opportunity to ride in moto taxis. Haha and they drive crazy!! I feel like I am in a game of Mario Cart.

-Men don't believe in shirts here. I don't know why, but yeah. Shirtless men everywhere on the street.

Even though these first few weeks are hard, I see the hand of the Lord in everything I do. I was reading this morning in the first chapter of Jeremiah. I don't remember exactly but it talks about how he felt very young and like a child. That's how I feel some days. But the lord says not to worry and simply open your mouth and he will provide the words.

The spanish language is simply a tool. The spirit is the teacher.

I love you guys!

Hermana Vernon

P.S. Mom, I am still having trouble with my stomach. Hermana Erickson is coming by tomorrow to inspect our apartment so I am going to talk to her.

All my love!!!