Week 47:  ÉXITO! (Success!)

Hey Everyone!!

I hope y'all had a super great week! Sorry for not writing last week, there is this new form that I have to fill out and I didn't have time.

But this week was awesome over here in nuestro reino de BAYOVAR! I love this area. This week we have started to see so many blessings and miracles; I feel as though God is blessing us tons for our faith and hard work! We have gone many days without eating dinner and walking on blistered feet this week, but hey without sacrifice, there is no victory. 

Our ward is changing a lot. Members that used to not like the missionaries are warming up to us and really taking part in missionary work. Moral is boosting and there's a spirit of unity and love growing here! Yesterday, there wasn't enough seats in the chapel so that everyone could sit in sac meeting! The Gospel Principles class was so full that we barely fit everyone in the room!

On Friday Juan and Andrea got married! It was super stressful to get their papers ready and to get the money by the deadline, but it all paid off! Andrea and Fabricio were baptized on Saturday! (Crazy story: Juan didn't get baptized because 2 weeks ago he told us that he got baptized as an 8 year old!!! He went inactive right after and didn't even remember what the church was when we contacted them in the street just a month ago!) But now the Huaman Family are all members and I love them so much! I am sooo happy that the Lord sent me here to Peru and I could find and help the Huaman fam to change and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ! 

One thing that I am learning lately is that if we want success (whether in missionary work or life in general) we need to cultivate and exercise FAITH! We need to TRUST in the Lord's promises and we need to keep a positive attitude. We need HOPE! 

In Preach My Gospel it says: "Hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance. It is believing and expecting that something will occur. When you have hope, you work through trials and difficulties with the confidence and assurance that all things will work together for your good. Hope helps you conquer discouragement. The scriptures often describe hope in Jesus Christ as the assurance that you will inherit eternal life in the celestial kingdom."

This has helped me be more positive and be more patient through hard times.

I love you folks, have a great week!

-Elder Hale

BBQ WINGS!

The hills of BAYOVAR!!

Baptisms on Saturday!

The Huaman Family

Week 45: Sickness, No Water, Busy and Miracles

Hey everyone!

The title of the email is 4 words I would use to describe the week. And I'll explain how:

So first of all, sickness. On Friday I got a little tickle in my throat and thought it was no bug deal till I woke up Saturday morning with the stuffiest nose and I was sneezing all over the place. Eyes were super runny and soooo tired.Haha, I think it was the worst cold I've ever had! On Sunday I had to give a 15 min talk in church too!!! I looked like a zombie giving a talk, haha. AND to make it even more stressful, a member of the Seventy came and made a surprise visit to our ward. But it all went good and I woke up this morning feeling a lot better. :)

No Water: Since Tuesday we haven't had water in our house and I've felt like I've been on an episode of survivor. We had to go to the ZL´s house twice this week to shave and shower. And we cant use our toilet. Its been rough...BUT this morning WATER CAME BACK and I finally took a hot shower for the first time in a week! #blessed

BUSY: This week has been crazy with baptismal interviews, work visits and getting documents and stuff ready for this couple that we are marrying! This week has honestly felt like 2 or 3 days. Time went by WAY too fast. 

Miracles: The couple that we are marrying, Juan and Andrea are SOOO AWESOME. I love them so much. I have a deep care for them and preoccupation for their spiritual well being. They are a young couple with 3 kids and are super dedicated to changing their lives and coming to Christ. They were willing to get married ad baptized as soon as they could. Juan doesn't have a job right now so they were getting discouraged thinking that there was no way to get enough money together to pay for their marriage. BUT we had a great lesson about faith and sacrifice and they were willing to arrange a pollada (an activity, selling chicken to neighbors and friends to raise money) the next day. We scrambled to get everything prepared and they made EXACTLY enough money that day to pay for their marriage. COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT! It was a huge MIRCALE. :)

We also had the miracle of watching two of our investigators, Isaac and Cosme, make their first covenant with their Heavenly Father on Saturday. We had a really tender and spiritual baptismal service for them. 

Also, I just wanted to add a kind of weird but super spiritual experience I had yesterday at church: We were singing the closing hymn in sac meeting (I know that my Redeemer lives) and I noticed a super old lady in the ward sitting by herself and she was singing her heart out. She had a terrible voice, but it was so evident to see her devotion and her love for the Lord just by her character and appearance, I was filled with the Spirit in this moment and felt so much love and gratitude.

Welp....have a great week! READ THE BOOK OF MORMON EVERYDAY

—Elder Hale

Pic with the zone playing soccer last p-day.

BAPTISM!

With Isaac

With Cosme

Week 44: I LOVE being a missionary!

Hey Everyone! Today we are all going to eat mex food as a zone so I don't have too much time right now....BUT I am so so happy to be a missionary and really I enjoy it so much. Doing the Lords work brings such fulfillment and satisfaction and joy!

Well here is a little update on our area:

Isaac: He's an awesome teenager that is gonna get baptized on Saturday! He loves his BoM and reads it everyday. Nothin better than seeing someone treasure the Blue Book. :)

Cosmet: He was going to be baptized last Saturday but had to leave on an urgent work trip. He gets back on Wednesday and we are hoping that all will go well for his baptism on Saturday!!!

Juan and Andrea: They are my FAV people. They are a fam that we contacted on my first day here. They invited us right into their house and they were super interested and came to church on Sunday. Last week we invited them to be baptized and to get married and they said YES to BOTH! We are getting their wedding set up for the 23rd of this month and baptized the next day! I am so happy and excited for them and hope everything goes well. Keep them in your prayers pls!

Well, other good news is that I FINALLY got my hands on some diet Coke this week! First time in 10 months, haha. It was DELICIOUS and definitely a tender mercy. :)

—Elder Hale

While eating at a members house for lunch this week, they plopped a 

whole fish on my plate, haha! This bugger had some sharp chompers too.

Me and Elder Nash feasting on some 

Pizza Raul in a work visit on Friday!