Our Carli girl is 20!

Ah! Thank you again to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. I think I should probably tell you all how absolutely hilarious my birthday was. Like you said mom, "I will never have another birthday like this one again."  I have a picture of everything I ate on my birthday...and I am just going to be completely honest (bahaha..like I`m not always completely honest in my pathetic letters) I have never....NEVER eaten as much food as I ate on my birthday in one day. Do you understand what I am saying? Never...in 20 years eaten that much food. But the Peruvians show their love through food...entonces, no worries...because I am VERY loved here in Para Chico. Ha.

The day started with my tea (I knew I was going to have a feast so that`s all I ate).  My companion and I had 3 appointments and no one was home, so we treated ourselves to ice cream...(big mistake)  For lunch my pensionista made my favorite food...Ricoto Rellena. It`s like a red pepper (but super spicy) filled with meat, and onions and other yummy spices...baked in cheese. DELICIOUS. I'll send a picture.  She also bought my favorite soda. Then we went to a members house where she fed me...wait for it...hot chocolate with...FRUITCAKE!!! I tried so hard to be nice and eat it...and then almost threw up outside her house.

Afterwards we went to our mission leaders house for a meeting...and they had a birthday party for me! It was awesome. It was me, my companion, my mission leader, his mom, the stake president and his family, and the bishop. HAHAHAHA. When I got there they made me a cake...and brownies. So...of course I had to eat that too. (At this point I felt like the grinch when he`s getting stuffed to the brim with pudding and fruitcake and wants to throw up all over the who's at their Christmas party.)

Then...we went to our final appointment for the day...where my investigator made my OTHER favorite food thinking I was hungry (Loma Saltado...french fries with steak, tomatoes, onions and rice...except I don't like the rice...but of course I ate it) And...this is Jorge...this isn't a member...this is my investigator who I thought hated me...so of course I had to eat that too...but wait...his wife and him bought me a 40 DOLLAR CAKE TOO...and yes, they sang happy birthday with all their doctor friends from Lima, and I had to eat that too. When we left my companion and I looked at each other and just DIED laughing. Oh wait a second...I forgot. When I got home that night...my pensionista made me a cake too. Not a little slice...a HUGE cake. I'm sorry...this letter is probably so pathetic...but can you believe that? I didn't eat the next day cause I still felt sick from the day before. Haha. So...LONG story short....My birthday was great. I`m in my twenty's now sooo...I've started calling everyone jovencito. Ha.

Okay...the missionary stuff.
We had a baptism this week! I should probably start writing more about my investigators so it isn`t always a surprise when we baptize someone. Our baptism is named John and he has 19 years. He had a lot of problems in his life, and the remission of his sins was SUCH a blessing for him.

This week I had such a cool thought that I want to share with you all. I was studying this week about the light of Christ, and thinking about different sources of light...of course the first source of light that came into my mind was the sun.  The sun is the center of our solar system, and never moves. Everything moves AROUND the sun. And the same thing occurs in the church. The Savior is the center of our beliefs. He never moves...but everything we do, and believe, and know revolves directly around Him, His teachings and His sacrifice. Put Christ in the center of your life, and everything else will fall into place.
"Live in such a way, that those who don`t know Christ, but know you, will know Christ because they know you."

Love you all. Enjoy your week. I think about you all everyday, and pray for you and your happiness.

Xoxoxo,

Sister Carli Stone