The Plan of the Church

Wow. Time is flying by, I don´t feel like I have much to say because I feel like I just wrote you all a letter.  Things here in Paucarpata are going well. We are going through a little bit of a baptism drought, but as I´m sure you all know, mission success isn´t based on baptisms. We continue to have wonderful experiences each week, and I am continuing the grow and learn more about this beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ.

So...yesterday we left our house running around to recover all our investigators to come to church, and when we got to church we had missed the sacrament. I almost cried. I have truly come to love and appreciate more than ever before the sacrament in my life. Think about it like this. Imagine that you have a white shirt, and you have to wear that shirt everyday...Monday through Saturday. When Sunday rolls around, that shirt is about ready to be washed, but if you don´t wash it on Sunday, how is it going to look on Monday? Or a better question, how is it going to look when you wash it the next Sunday? God has given us the opportunity to wash ourselves clean each Sunday...don't miss your chance.

I have been studying a lot about the restoration this week, and I feel SO lucky for the knowledge that I have about this gospel. We are the church of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is a talk that I would love for you all to read or watch this week if you get a chance by Elder Tad R. Callister called "The plan of the church"...I actually am not completely sure whats it´s called in English, but I am going to attach the talk so you can read it. It´s amazing. It talks about the organization of the church and how it is the same organization that Christ established. He cross references with some scriptures from the Bible to explain how the church was organized when Christ was on the earth. It really is amazing.

The Plan of the Church

I´m sorry I didn't write that much. I had a lot written before, but it all got erased. Boo!

Hope you are all happy, healthy and doing well. Love you all!

1 YEAR

This week was tough, I am learning a lot of patience...with myself.  The Lord is testing me, and teaching me that I need to learn even more. I am focusing on the atonement this week in my studies. I have come to realize that I will never fully understand the atonement of Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice for us, but we, as children of God, have the ability to understand it to the extent that is necessary.

I got my third parasite this week! I´m on fire! This time I don´t know how I got it since I´m only eating with my pension, and I never eat in the street, but, luckily for me...we live in a Pharmacy. Literally...we have two doors in our room...one to outside, and one to the Pharmacy, so the lovely doctor ladies helped me, I rested for a few hours, and we were back to work the next afternoon.

This week I learned a lot about promises, and sacrifice.  And I am grateful for each and every sacrifice I have had to make in my life, because from great sacrifices come great rewards.  Remember when you feel alone, when you doubt the abilities that you have, or the love that your Father in Heaven has for you...that He will always be a God of promises. That when you put YOUR part is when you will see the results. I have learned that asking, and asking, and asking won´t get me very far if I don´t promise to make sacrifices as well. I like to think in examples, and I have been thinking a lot this week about how this could be put into a childish example for my little brain to comprehend. Still working on it.

We are teaching a woman named Maria right now with her two kids. Shes a single mother who found the church online, and requested for missionaries to visit her, and here we are. The first day that we went to visit her we were making a return appointment, and she was begging us to return the next day. I know that God prepares people, and I feel like she truly is prepared. She is SO not how I expected her to be when we called her to set up an appointment, but she is awesome. She gave me a leather jacket last week. Haha. She´s kind of a partier...so we are working on calming that down this week as we teach the commandments. Haha. Just want to throw in a little info about Maria so if I take pictures with her, or when she gets baptized that you will have a little background info about how we met her and stuff.

We are having a sister in our zone from Mexico make Tacos for us today....and it will be my first taco in 1 year. I CAN´T WAIT.

Love you all.

Priesthood blessings and prayer.

Okay...

So...I absolutely LOVE my companion. She is probably one of my favorites of my whole mission. We just joke around with each other all day long, and laugh, and tease each other. She´s hysterical. Last night we were laying in bed half asleep and she says..."Hna Stone...I need to tell you something, but....promise you wont get mad, or be offended?" I sat up and was like..."No...what happened? What did I do?" And she just starts dying laughing and says..."I just wanted to tell you I love you!" HAHAHHAA. We laid there laughing at each other for like 3 minutes.

Wait...now that I read that story it really isn't that funny. Oh man...I´m going to be so weird when I get home. Well...anyway, I love my companion. And also last night...the most fun thing happened! So...one of the sisters in our sister training group had to go to the airport for her Visa in Lima, so we took her to the airport and stayed with her companion last night, but when we got there a super cute sister that got here last week comes up to me and says..."Okay...I totally know you! You don´t know me, but I know you. Your moms friend, Rachel Johnson, is in my ward, and she gave me your blog and I was reading all your emails before I left for my mission. You are so funny! I hope we can be companions!" I just sat there hugging her and laughing and crying of happiness. I was so embarrassed that people actually read these emails, but I felt so good knowing that SOMEONE thinks I´m funny...and she wants to be my companion!! YES!

So...this week I was super sick again. HOLLA! I got some sort of throat infection...and it lasted Wednesday until today I´m feeling a ton better. I got a priesthood blessing, and prayed for the faith that my blessing would be fulfilled. I heard the other day from a missionary, and I loved it, that when we receive priesthood blessings that they come directly from our Father in Heaven, and what we SHOULD do is pray to have the faith sufficient for the blessing to be fulfilled. I´m feeling better now though...I took some crazy Peruvian pills that healed me. Ha.

This week we were teaching a lesson and I was sitting in the lesson basically dying because I was so sick. My head was pounding and I couldn't breathe and my poor companion was teaching the entire lesson cause my eyes were glazed over, and I was sitting there praying for help to just feel the spirit so I could know what to say. I prayed and prayed and prayed and the only thing that came into my mind was..."Talk...just talk. Sit up straight, and talk." I sat up straight in my chair...leaned forward and started speaking. I honestly have NO idea what I said, but I just talked and talked until I had nothing else come into my mind. My companion looks over at me with her jaw dropped, and the woman and her son had tears in their eyes.  I have a testimony so strong of the gift of tongues.  I feel so lucky to be able to serve in a place where I don´t speak the language...for experiences like this.

Have a lovely week! I´m off to hike to a sketchy waterfall....pictures to come next week.

Love you all!

Found pinkbery last week in the mall. BEST DAY EVER! Couldn't be happier!

God lives. I know it.

This week was super crazy! Let me try to explain a little bit this transfer for you all. Imagine living in Kona for 6 months, and the next day moving to San Fransico. That´s how I have felt this last week. Adjusting has been pretty tough, but I am super excited to be here in Arequipa. I´m right in the city! I´m loving the traffic, car horns, millions of taxis and buses, yelling people, fireworks. This city is such a blast! All week I was just trying to get to know my area, the ward, our investigators, the less actives, so I can get to work here with my new companion. She finishes in 2 transfers so I think I will probably end up killing her...and the next sister that comes in will probably end up killing me. Ha.

Yesterday was a wonderful fast and testimony meeting. The first Sunday of the month has become my favorite here on the mission. I have learned to love fasting. I never realized the power that fasting has, and the miracles that can come from a humble heart, and a desire to trust completely in the Savior. Faith for me has always seemed like something simple that everyone has, but I have learned that unfortunately that is not the case. Faith takes a lot more than just believing...and I pray each day to have more faith in the Lord knowing that only He can bring the miracles I have seen in my mission.

We had an interesting experience the other day teaching. We went to visit a less active sister who married a guy who isn't a member and we ended up talking to him in his door way for a minute. He looks at me and says, "Can I ask you a question?" I responded and told him yes. He said, "If you found out right now that God didn't exist...what would you do?"...........he started to repeat the question when I didn't respond thinking I couldn't understand. Ha. The moment he asked me that question I started praying with everything I had in me that the Lord could help me respond to his question, and that it would be His words, and not mine. I looked at him and said, "Well...I am going to be honest with you. I have never even imagined a world without God. I don´t have one doubt in my mind that He exists. I truly cannot tell you, because I know that He lives. I know that He always answers my prayers, and that I would NEVER be where I am today without a loving Father in Heaven." He looked at me and said..."You don´t even have a small doubt that he doesn't exist?" I smiled at him and said...."God lives. I know it, and I know that you know it." It was such a cool experience....especially knowing that I was not talking, but that the Lord was using me as an instrument in His hands. What a blessing it is to be a full time missionary!

I love you all!! Have a wonderful week :)


Last week we did a skit about the Book of Mormon for all the institute students in Tacna and I was one of the mothers of the 2000 stripling warriors...our stake president asked 3 companionships, and we were super lucky to be able to participate. Luckily for you all, the stake president had it professionally recorded, and I will be getting a copy here in the next few weeks to bring home. It will be hysterical.

This is a picture I took as we were leaving Tacna last week. Who would have thought I would love the desert so much. Haha.

This is my new companion!