¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡FAMILIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This email might be even shorter than the last because reading your emails took about a year and a half, so I'm going to try and write fast and only tell the important details.  My thoughts get kind of jumbled when I have to rush, though, so we´ll see how this goes.

First of all, Christian, I´m glad your surgery went well!  I about died when dad said you looked like Voldemort, but I knew that was a chiste from the start.  Being able to breathe is a very good thing, and I hope that your recovery is successful so you can breathe as much air (ayer) as your little heart/throat/lung desires.  Dad, I hope all is well for you and that your arm, etc. can recover quickly!  I pray for you all every day.  Seriously, I am always praying for you.  Mom, good luck with your CDL exam!!  You´ll pro it up, of course.  Because that´s what you do everyday!  Thank you for being such a good example to me.  I love you all like crazy.  Parker and William, I wrote you personal emails, so no comments here.  Lo siento.

All of the Latinos left again today.  Why do I have to be here for so long??  I stay and everyone leaves me!  I don´t know why it´s easier being the one leaving.  It´s hard being the one left behind.  I didn´t think I would become as good of friends with this group as the last one, but somehow I was mistaken.  All the elderes and hermanas are so strong in their testimonies, open, and welcoming.  I love it.  I just love getting to know people from this culture.  It has been such a blessing in my life.  Apparently tomorrow, we´re going to be getting 38 HERMANAS!!!!!!  Can you believe it??  We´ve had 12, then 15, and now we´ll have THIRTY EIGHT!!  ¡LOCO!  5 of those will be from the states.  It´s going to be nuts!

Anywho, let me give a little highlight from each day this last week:

Tuesday: we went to the temple (I attached a picture of it!) then came back and played futbol.  I always want to take time to write letters, but then I just get caught up in futbol and don´t have any time left on pday.  I´m so sorry!!  During futbol last week, I ran into this big elder from the U.S. and my leg hurt for a couple days after, but then we both were fine by the next day.  Man, I love futbol.

Wednesday: while my district was doing a service project, the secretary who works here told me that if I ever come back and visit Peru (actually, she said when I come back and visit Peru haha) I can stay at her house.  She´s so great...even though I can´t remember her name.  I honestly have gotten worse with names since I´ve been here, and I think it´s because I rely so much on nametags.

Thursday: I taught my investigator Luis how to relate the scriptures to his life.  Honestly, this is such an important principle.  It makes them seem so much more real and applicable if we find ways in which we can relate them to our lives.  One scripture my maestro showed me that is an example of how we can receive answers from the spirit is 1 Nefi 2:16.  Nefi listened to his father and wanted to know if it was true, so he prayed con animo, and the answer he received was a softening of his heart.  Answers from the Spirit don´t have to be huge experiences; they can just be a burning in your chest, peace, love, etc.

Also on Thursday, our district sang prelude for the devotional, and we sang in parts and all of the Latinos loved it.  I love music.

Friday: In class, we learned about the importance of focusing on the ONE.  Like the woman who had the issue of blood in Luke 8, Christ could tell ONE person touched Him even though there was a crowd surrounding Him, and then He took time to show her love.  That´s such an important principle everyday of our life, on a mission, in our callings, etc.  We need to focus on the needs of each individual person and learn how to love and serve them individually and personally, because that´s what the Savior did.

Also, random funny comment from Friday, I asked a maestro here if it was hotter in Pirua, Peru, or Guayaquil, Ecuador, and he said, "It´s hotter in Ecuador--the temperature and the people."  haha there are seriously some characters here.  I love this place.

Saturday: WE WENT PROSELYTING!!  It was so great!  I had the same maestro with me as last time and we were in the same area, so we got to go back and follow up with some of the people we had taught previously.  We were able to talk to one man we taught the Restoration to, and he had questions from the Book of Mormon (which means he was actually reading it!), and then had questions about the Plan of Salvation, so we taught that to him, and hopefully he went to church on Sunday!  We taught 3 lessons total and were able to teach inside someone´s house for one of those lessons.  The last woman we talked to apparently has a daughter who is a member of the church, so that was a cool experience.  She knew a lot, but hadn´t heard the whole restoration, so we taught her than and she was very receptive.  The best part was leaving her with a prayer, and I was able to say the prayer.  We asked her if there was anything she wanted us to pray for, and she just opened up about how she has a son who isn´t making the best decisions, especially in regards to drugs, etc., so I prayed for her family and also specifically for her son.  When we show love, people open up, and then we know how to better serve and help them.  This work is incredible.  This gospel is life-changing.

Sunday: muy tranquilo.  Some elders and hermanas wanted me to write a little note to them in their journals, so I did that for pretty much all my free time.  It was great, though.  And that night, one of the elders made a big deal about asking one of the North American hermanas for her email address.  It was pretty entertaining because we had no idea what was going on, and everyone was just acting really awkward.  I don´t know if it was nervousness or just awkwardness.  Yeah, I am NOT doing the story justice...sorry.

Monday/Yesterday/Ayer: All the Latinos were in their own meetings, so all I saw were N. Americans plus one Austrailian.  That´s how it´s going to be for the next couple days, too.  So weird.  That night, I taught an investigator, but he was falling asleep the whole lesson!  Can I tell you how frustrating that is??  Extremely.  Oh well.  Hopefully, I was still able to invite the spirit and help him to know the truth of the gospel even amidst the drooping eyelids.

Some quick last comments, because I´ve gone over my time limit already:

Sometimes, I think I might have ADHD because I get distracted really easily.

Anytime hermanas and elders talk, E. Duzett calls it "trilfing."  Trilf is flirt backwards, but it´s better to say because then people don´t know what he´s talking about.  I don´t count, though, because I´m apparently "one of the guys."

E. Duzett went to high school with James Tidd, so I pointed out that I went to his graduation because I went to James´s graduation.  Funny connection.

An elder here from Provo has a friend who is cousins with the Holmes family!

Just to get an idea of the size of this place, there were 91 missionaries here in the last group.

I´ve had so many dejavus of the CCM since I´ve been here.  It´s kind of creepy.

A Latino elder who just left today looks EXACTLY like the short chef from Ratitoulli.  I can´t even tell you how much he looks like him.  Every time I saw him, I called him Rattitoulli.  So good.

There were 58 new missions announced, one of which is Ecuador Guayaquil West!  So, like you said, Mom, who knows if I´ll be in the same mission to which I was assigned!  haha Only time will tell.

That´s all I can think of for random pieces of interesting information, so I´m going to head out now.  I went way over time.  Whoops!  Just know that I love you all and am praying for you ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!  Good luck with all your snow and have a wonderful February vacation!

LES AMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Hermana Jesterday

Ps attached pictures:
(1) They always put up a flag for every country represented at the CCM, so I sent along a shot of those.
(2) Half of the N. Americans at the Lima Temple
(3) The hermanas
(4) A few of my little Latino buddies.  This picture was taken this morning so obviously I´m looking really good right now.  Don´t mind the 50 lbs of stuff weighing down each of my pockets.  Elder Garcia, Me, Elder Uriarte, and Elder Yapapsdofijsdf...something.

Ththththtthat´s all, folks!