Hello!!!

This week was pretty exciting!!  We met a mother and her daughter, Monica and Nicole. They came out of nowhere, but they have a fecha bautismal this week on Friday!!!   They came to the baptism we had for Hermana Flor, and they said that they really liked it and want to be baptized!  So we are rushing to make sure they understand everything and live the commandments to make this covenant with the Lord.  It was seriously a huge miracle. I am super excited for them though, and hopefully everything goes smoothly this week!!!  So please pray for them that they will feel peace in this decision.

This week we had our first zone conference with President Hinostroza, it was super cool!  It was also the mark of a whole year that I have been in Peru, so we took some pictures with those from my group for our year mark.  I really liked this zone conference because it focused a lot on Christ, everything we did was surrounded by what Christ would do.  How He taught, how He lived, and how we could be more like Him. It touched me a lot to really think hard about the Savior and how I can apply more of His principles in my life and to model my life after His.

Other than zone conference and two baptismal dates, this week has been pretty chill!!  Today we made pizza as a district.  We went to the Macro and gathered a bunch of stuff together and we were there for an hour and a half, to find out they don't accept cards and we had to leave all the stuff we gathered right there..... we then went next door and got all the things we needed and then spent three hours cooking pizza learning, on the fly!  And I have to admit, it was actually a pretty good pizza.  I didn't know making pizza dough was so easy, just flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Who knew? I didn't! Hahahaha

I read the prodigal son the other day and there was a scripture that says that the heavens rejoice for a soul that repenteth than the 100 others that were always there and that actually really touched me, that Paul could repent and be one of the greatest apostles known and Alma the younger could change and be one of the greatest missionaries.  I know maybe I didn't do things as bad as them, but if I can model my life after Christ and repay Him by serving His Children, well that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I am so grateful for this gospel, and my Savior, who I continue to learn about every day while I am here, doing His work. I have a lot more to learn and comprehend, but I know that this constant search and battle to become more like Him that the righteous will always win because we have the help of a power much stronger than any other on the earth.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

HEYYYYY

I am so happy this week because I had the wonderful opportunity to help our sweet hermana Flor enter into the waters of baptism this week after FIFTEEN years of listening to missionaries. It was a huge blessing and a miracle to see such a powerful woman make a huge decision in her life to follow the example of Jesus Christ and to keep the commandments for the rest of her life. I feel so honored to be one of the missionaries that after 15 years was finally able to help her. I am soooo excited for her and I know the Lord has so much in store for such a wonderful woman!  We started off visiting her when I was with Elder Farfàn, and little by little we helped her understand the importance of reading the scriptures and making commitments, and she slowly opened up her heart and received more of an understanding and I am just in awe of how much she has progressed.

Today we got to play soccer with President Hinostroza and the asistentes which was super duper fun. I was honestly quite surprised to see our mission president out playing soccer with us and getting physical too!  It was crazy!!!  Super awesome, I am super excited to hopefully play more soccer with him in the near future.

Today we went to McDonalds for lunch and I ate a whole lot. We also took some pictures at the Plaza de Armas in the Centro.  It was super dope, I am super full now.

We also had Pollo a la Brasa with our pensionista and I took some pictures of our delicious Pollo with our pension family.  I love Peru so much, we have the best area in the world. I love the church!!!  I love Peru!!!!

I know that missionary work is the most important work in the world at this moment, and that everyone can be healed by the power of the gospel, and I encourage you guys to share this wonderful blessing that we have with one that does not know about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I sincerely know that this is the true church that has been restored by a true prophet of God, and hermana Flor strengthened my testimony to see such a powerful woman humble herself and to take the steps necessary to follow our Savior who gave us a perfect model of how we should live our own lives.  I know that He lives, and he loves each and every one of us even if it is sometimes hard to feel it. Have a great week!

Hey guys!!!!

I now have 52 weeks in the mission. That is crazy, just 52 more weeks to go basically.  That is so scary but exciting at the same time.

This week was pretty relaxed, everyone is celebrating the independencia de Peru, so it is pretty vacant now. My companion and i got a delicioso pollo a la brasa last Friday to eat at night, however that stuff destroys you in the morning so that wasn't fun. We also had a noche misional, where we brought my friend Andrew who recently got baptized, and we also left with many jovenes preparing to leave on the mission!!  It was a pretty chill week, but it feels so weird to think that I am at the halfway mark.  I have so much more to learn.

I got a new camera this week so I have been playing around with it and it is pretty dope.  It has been super cold here, so it has been hard to find people out in the streets because of how chilly it is.  It also is super cold in our room so I am always trying to cuddle under my blanket.  However once I got under the blanket, it is super hard to not fall asleep when we are studying so that is a challenge! Haha.

I love and miss you guys!!!  Hope all is going well!!!

HEY!!!

This week was a longgggg week, however, it was a good one. We had lots of family home evenings with families in the ward, which has been lots of fun. However I am dying because I get so much food now in addition to our pensionista, who gives us so much food.

We have been visiting a few kids that are partial member families, that are super young. About 9 or 10 years old, and I have to say, it is a little bit of a challenge teaching children because I know how to explain the gospel to someone who understands, but learning to explain it simply, has been great practice for me in my personal studies and in my companionship studies. I know I definitely didn't understand very much when I was that age, but I know if we learn the basic principles when we are young, it can help us in the long journey of life and prevent many challenges that could happen later. I know I am super grateful that I at least had the direction that helped me avoid situations that could have been harmful. I know the Lord was taking care of me, and hopefully I can do the same for His children here and help them get on the right path.

We also have Juan Mendoza, who we recently put a fecha for him this week. It has been a challenge because this man has challenges to hear and talk, so we have been writing down all the questions and things important to explain and help him understand. He is only 19, but I have lots of faith in him because he has come such a long way in changing  many things in his life to live the commandments. Because he has challenges with literally EVERY ONE. But he completely changed and I hope everything comes out well.

I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting yesterday. I was so nervous, not that I was going to talk in front of people but that I didn't prepare what I usually do when I give talks. I just made a rough list of bullet points and went up there and it was scary but calming. I actually liked it because the spirit was strong in the room. I love the ward here so much.  I wanted to know who were members when they were kids and who were converts, and the majority of the room were all converts. The work of the Lord has grown so much, and it is such an honor to be in the middle of it. The faith they have here is remarkable. They know there is a Padre Celestial who loves them, and that if they keep the commandments they will be alright. I have learned so much from the examples that I have here.

I came thinking I would be able to teach many here, but I think the Lord told me that I really came here to be taught. Taught the lessons of the basic gospel, which is to have faith, repent, make covenants, and endure to the end. Everything we need to understand comes back to the principles and ordenanzas of the gospel. Isn't it amazing? We don't need to get hung up on other topics or the science behind everything. If we follow his gospel, we will have exaltation.

Today we went to eat at a Chinese buffet, it was pretty good. We also played soccer, but a Venezuelan family that lives below us had a football and I was able to borrow it and I made everyone play the real game of american football.  It was so relaxing to get to play some good old american football.

I love you guys!!!! Hope everything goes well this week!!

Hey!!!!!

So this week has been super weird. There is an elder who is having a difficult time, so this week I have been on a week interchange with another gringo elder from Texas!  It has been super weird because I am used to Latinos, and this week things have been a lot different. However, the work goes on and I am making sure we are working our tails off to teach the people faith in Jesucristo and repentance!

We have a fecha for Hermana Flor Varas!!!!  She is un poco dura, however we talked with her family from Utah of all places and they are also helping her get motivated for her baptism. She has read almost to Jacob in the Book of Mormon, which is awesome!!!  I am super excited for her, and hopefully she can keep feeling the spirit as she makes these changes in her life.  She's about 50 years old, but she is like a teenager in the body of a grandma, so she is super funny.  We also have our friend Raul, who has been coming to church every Sunday for 10 years and even contributes in the classes and everything, but todavia quiere bautizarse.  We are trying to be his friends and ganar su confianza, but I feel like it might be his time now.

This week we also had an awesome noche misional, where we played a cultural trivia game!!!  Our team got second place, but that is because the other team cheated with their phones so I am a little upset about that. We did find some great references from this activity, and got to talk to all the jovenes preparing for the mission to get them excited to leave with us and serve their own missions.

So I am getting to the point where I can talk pretty fluently in Spanish, however there are still some mistakes I make. I am now learning the words I SHOULD NOT say. It is kinda weird because things that are super offensive here, don't make any sense in English.  My last companion taught me a word that meant like dumb or foolish, and when we went into our consejo de barrio, I was explaining to an investigator and I wanted to say he`s a little slow to understand and a little dumb.  WELL I called this man something which translated means a drooler, like someone who drools, but it is a word super strong and everyone just started dying laughing and told me to never say that again.  I got so embarrassed because my last companion never told me it was bad!!  That has also happened to me a few other times with many other words which is unfortunate, but the good thing is now I am learning what I should say and not say. The problem is the Venezuelans say lots of words that for them are fine, but for Peruvians are super offensive. So when I am going between Peruvians and Venezuelans it is boggling my mind!  Hahahaha.

I love the mission so much!!!  I want to move here and rent myself out a little room and just stay. I don't want to leave. I am so happy to see lots of people progressing in the gospel, so much success here in the area, and to feel just so much love for everyone here. God  has really allowed me to see the potential in His children, and I have found such a great love for every single person I meet here in Jordàn. I hope you guys have a great week!!

Love,
Elder McGreer

Buenas tardes a todos!

Tuvimos un bautismo!!!!!!!!!  Se bautizo hermano Andrew Jesth Gomez Santos!! I am so excited for him and his family. He is 14 years old, but the first to get baptized. His family is from Venezuela, but I have more time here in Peru than they do, which is crazy to think about.  We had a surprise change this week and Elder Farfan left, and my new companion is Elder Cespedes from Bolivia!  He has 20 months in the mission, so he is experienced and we are working supèr hard.  This area of Jordàn has so much potential and I am so excited for what else lies in store. I am so happy for this family that we are working with. Just the other day we taught them how to have a noche de hogar, and it was so special. We shared a small message and played que pasaría si`, which is what would happen if.....and they were laughing so hard and just absolutely loved it. Hermano Manuel, the dad, is also listening to us and he was smiling and laughing. It honestly brings me so much happiness just to see how much this family loves one another. My heart literally melted when I saw Anyerli give a big hug to her brother Andrew after his baptism and the amount of love and support really touched me. I can't wait to see what the Lord has prepared for every person in the Familia Gomez Santos.

This week we also have been visiting the members and getting them excited about the gospel again and sharing it with their families and friends. Honestly, something that has touched me is the importance of family and having a strong foundation in the home. I have felt so much joy to see these families get strengthened, more joy than I have ever felt before. I am super grateful for my family and who they are, but developing the friendships and really showing a genuine love for the families here has made me feel an immense joy.

I love Peru so much. I love the gospel. Honestly, I never want to leave, I am going to stay here for a while. It doesn't feel like I've been gone 11 months, but time is going by so fast. I love the people here. Love you guys!!!!

Love,
Elder McGreer

Hey!!

So this week, we didn't have the baptisms that we wanted for Angerli and Andrew.  Sadly, there were some complications, and now we are waiting eagerly for the baptism of Andrew!!!  We are trying hard to help them, but we need to be patient and loving so hopefully soon they can all be ready to make more progress in the gospel.  ALSO I HEARD THE THE FAMILIA CHAVEZ FROM CHEPEN GOT BAPTIZED AND THERE ARE PICTURES!!!!   I am so happy for them!!!!   I was so sad that I couldn't stay there to see them get baptized but how awesome is it that this whole family got baptized?!?!?!?!?!?!?!    I feel so happy for them.

This week we got our new president and got to know him and his family. President Hinostroza, with his wife and three kids!!!   It is kinda weird because he is a lot younger and his kids are super young. So it is like we got adopted into his family, but it is super exciting to see where the mission goes now. I am excited to work with him and learn and grow so much more!!!!

I love you guys and the mission is great. Thanks for the love and support you guys show for me. I know this gospel is true, and I know that we need to follow the principles and ordinances of the gospel as closely as we can. If we truly want to be happy, we would keep the commandments. Because we will be blessed en todas las cosas, tanto temporalmente y espiritualmente. Sé que este es la iglesia verdadera y tenemos que mostrar nuestro amor por Dios for our obediencia en las mandamientos de Dios.   Mosiah 2:41   Love you guys!!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Spence