I am so sad. I got changed from Chepen and I am now in Jordán in Esperanza. Which is basically two minutes from my first area in Los Robles.  It was so hard to say goodbye to the amazing people I got to know in Chepen. I really didn´t know it was possible to have so much charity for the families that I was teaching. It was painful to say goodbye, but I know that this is the Lord´s work and not mine.

This week we did some service and got a house painted, which was fun!  It was my last day in Chepen and we did this service project.  My new companion is Elder Farfán.  He was my old district leader in Chepen, so it is kinda weird that we already knew each other. Hopefully, we can have lots of success here in Esperanza. I have to say I thought my time in Esperanza was done, but I guess the Lord needs me again to come back to the hood.  I couldn't stay in the beautiful rice fields of Chepen and Guadalupe.

STORY TIME

So it was in the middle of the night Saturday night and I woke up to the room just shaking like CRAZY.  I had no clue what it was or what was happening, but I was so out of it because it was the middle of the night and didn´t know what was going on. The shaking went on for about four minutes and sufficiently caught my attention. I realized we just got earthquaked!  It was insane.  I woke up freaked out because I was in a dreamy state and thought it was the second coming or something.  Or maybe I was going to hell!   I don´t know, but it freaked me out.  We woke up and went outside after the earthquake happened, which maybe wasn´t the smartest idea.  However, it was a first for sure. Everyone in the whole town woke up from the earthquake.  It was crazy.

I learned this week a lot about faith and that we need to always nourish it and it will grow.  It is hard sometimes, but I know that when we actively seek out the things of God to fortalecer (strengthen) our faith, that it will crecer en algo hermoso (grow into something beautiful). 

 I love you all!

Hey!!!

Let me just start off to say that I am so honored to be able to teach such great and amazing people here in Chepen. I am in love with this place. There are such amazing things that I didn´t realize at the beginning. We are teaching three beautiful families who come to church and are such great people. One of which is the Familia Chavez, and they are just so awesome. It's the mom, daughter, and son and they are so intelligent. Pier, the son, reads the Book of Mormon and actually understands everything and he is only 11 years old. Elina, the daughter, has so many questions but she reads the Book of Mormon and the pamphlets we give her. They kind of bicker, as siblings do, but it is funny because it reminds me so much of my siblings as well. The mom sometimes calls us the dads of them, which is a little weird because we aren´t old enough to be their dads, but we just kinda go with it haha. Also, we have been working with a mother / daughter, Alison and Joana, and they are super funny people. It is like they are best friends, and we are also their best friends, so we are always telling jokes and laughing. They even gave me some toys they were going to throw out.  Hahaha!  But they all came to church!!  It made me so happy to see so many people in church this Sunday. It was so beautiful.

We went to Trujillo this past Tuesday for zone conference, which was awesome!  However, I got a flu vaccine and it hurt my arm because the nurse was not gentle.... I have also been suffering with a cold this whole week, but it is okay because we keep working!  It has been a great week of work. We found some good people to teach and have been learning a lot.

Also, just want to say, I got some CRAZY AWESOME GOLF PANTS that made this week go by like a breeze!!!  And lots of chocolate!!!!   I was so happy to see that. Thank you so much my amazing family!!!  The golf pants make it feel so nice, it is literally like I am wearing nothing and the wind just whips right through. It is literally heaven I can't explain it sufficiently.

I hope you guys are all doing well and remembering what is really important in this life. Work and school are good things, but the things that really matter are that which pertain to our souls and the family. I know that this is the true gospel and that even though we may not understand everything we can hold firm to the facts and knowledge and testimony that we do have to get us through the challenges of this life to have the hope needed to feel the love of our savior for ourselves and for others. I know we are all children of our Heavenly Father, and He loves every single one of you guys.

Have an awesome week!!

So this week I turned 19!!  How is that for crazy??  I have spent the majority of my 18th year of life here in the mission and now will spend my whole 19th year here (assuming I don't get hurt or sick hahaha)

We had a little cake with our district that I bought for everyone and apparently it is a tradition to shove your face in the cake if it is your birthday. I think it is the weirdest tradition but if it is your birthday, everyone does it. It is kinda funny, but also a little gross. Later the next day, our pensionista made us pizza!!!!  It was super nice of her, and normally I don't like pineapple on my pizza, but the pizza she made was good with pineapple, so I am satisfied.  We also drank lots of Inca Cola, which I actually really like now.  I will miss Inca Cola.  It was a little weird having a birthday away from home, because it feels like just another day, but it was good. We took lots of pictures to remember it.

Also, funny story - the other day we were walking past a group of teenage girls and one of them said loudly ¨tan guapo el es¨ which means 'he is so hot.'  Haha!  I don´t think they knew I heard them, but my companion started laughing and I felt kinda uncomfortable because that was the first time in my life someone has said that and then I later asked them for directions and contacted them because I didn´t know where we were at.

Other than that, this week went by super fast. I got to call home on mothers day and my birthday, which was neat. I hope you guys all had a great mothers day!!  I love my mom so much and all that she has done for me, and also my amazing Grandma and Granny.  I am super grateful for the amazing examples I have in my life that inspire me to be a better person. My mom has always been such a great example of a strong testimony and showing her love for the Lord through the way she faces adversity and inspires me to be the best missionary I can be. And for that, I am forever indebted to her.  I love you mom!!

Thanks to all who sent me birthday wishes and emails!!!  It really meant a lot to me. I hope you guys all have a fantastic week!

Howdy!!!

So this week we had lots of people at church and that was awesome!!!  We are working beautifully with the familia Chavez and I am so excited for them. They are such an awesome family. On Tuesday, my companion and I got some awesome food at this super fancy restaurant and we brought it back to the room, it was quite delicious. But besides that, I have almost been kissed like five times this week and that was traumatizing. Apparently, it is the culture here to give kisses on the cheek as you greet people, but the missionaries can't do that, and I don't know how to reject it and so it is just super duper awkward every time. It is funny though because every time some goes in for it, it is always me first.

Other than that we had a busy week working with lots of people. The week went by pretty fast. I have been reading lots and lots of scriptures really trying to understand them, and I am in love with how awesome the scriptures are. Make sure you guys are reading them every day!

It is crazy to think about how fast time is flying, I mean we are almost halfway done with this year!  I know that this gospel is true and that even though life is super duper hard, we can overcome the challenges someday with the help of God when we keep the commandments faithfully and with love. I love you guys all so much!!!!

Hey everyone!

This week was good. We had a reference for a family, and we went to visit them and they are awesome. The Familia Chavez es como se llamen. We taught them the restoration, and this same week they came to church!!  We were so stoked to see them come to church, because we invite so many people, but this family is super cool.

Other than that, this week we did lots of walking. Chepen is HUGE. My feet are super calloused and blistered, which kinda stinks. I can't wait to come back and get a pedicure or something becuase I need one. Something unfortunate is that we have lots of investigators that live literally in all different spots far away from each other, so we have to do a ton of walking. We can't pay for a moto because we always run out of money. Also, I need my coka cola or something....

I am still waiting for the heat to cool down. This place is HOT. It has been more breezy at night so that is good, but I am sick of sweating. I am always sweating.   Whyyyyyy??  But it is for the better. I know it is starting to warm up back at home so hopefully it'll cool down here!  Hahahaha

I love you guys all so much. In the mission, I am learning how to love others. It is a challenge to learn how to love, but I know when we strive to love as Christ loves than we can feel His hand work more in our lives. Loving one another sounds easy up until there is a challenge to love someone that is difficult to love. I know that if we can pay attention to the way we treat other people and focus on the Savior, then we can have this blessing given unto us. I know that if we all try to love as He loved, then the world would be a much happier place.

Something I learned in a General Conference talk I listened to this week was speaking with the tongue of angels. When we speak with kind words, when we speak loving words, we can speak with the power of the Holy Ghost which is the tongue of angels. Elder Holland gave this talk and it was super powerful. That really no one wants to hear all our complaints and everything wrong with the world, but if we speak loving words then we can really have power behind our words and our influence on those around us.

You guys are the best!  I am going to try and take more photos for you all.

Hey!!!!

So this week was pretty good!  I have to say, I had a surprise. An old friend from my first area came into town and we got in touch!!!  His name is Edwin. He and his family were inactive in Trujillo, however, with casual visits and encouragement they changed their lives. I felt like I had such an insignificant role because it honestly just started with ´hey I need the bathroom' and from there, he got his rights back from the church and is about to baptize his little girl. I am unbelievably happy with them, however, I didn't feel like I really did much. He came here into Chepen and bore his testimony about the change he had in his life, and the role I helped with that and it was just so beautiful for me. It was such a touching experience. On top of all that, his in-laws live here in Chepen and are not members. We visited them and they accepted us with open arms and a desire to learn more about the church and the role it had on their daughter and his husband. How awesome is that!!! I feel so happy that I could play a small part in bringing this family together and help them with their goals of becoming an eternal family.

Other than that, we got an unexpected message Friday morning from the zone leaders saying that we had to contact 100 people that day. Normally, the standard is just 20, but since it was Semana Santa here, the president raised the standard for the day. Many missionaries didn't do it, however, I can say that I contacted 101 people in a span of two and a half hours. Can you believe that?!   I talked with more people than I thought I could have. I learned some quick ways to discern who is interested and who is not, but young people definitely like to talk to the gringo in English. Even though I don't understand what they are saying when they try to talk English haha.

I hope you guys are all doing well!   I love this gospel and I know that it has such an impact if we let it in.  I love studying the doctrine and increasing my knowledge every day. Truly, this is the restored church of the Lord Jesus Christ.  If not, I don't know what or why or how this work can come to pass. Love you all!

Spencer did not have time to email this week, but he sent a few pictures.  For district conference, they traveled to Pacasmayo, on the Pacific coast.  Otherwise, he said it was a busy week, as usual.  He received a really nice card and a homemade bookmark from his sister, which he said was very touching.  So proud of him!