Monday, March 9, 2015

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Hola de Peru!!!!

Wow, another week has flown by! This will actually be my last time emailing for two weeks because I leave for the field next Tuesday and don´t get a p-day that week. So the next time I email will be the 18th I believe! Wish me luck!!

It´s been a pretty good week, just trying to work as hard as I can. I set a bunch of language goals this week to help keep me on track and that has been really good for me. I feel like I have been overloaded with learning the language and now if I want to get any better I really just need to practice. So I’m excited to get out in the field and be able to start that! We get to go tracting on Saturday to get a feel for how it will be so that will be nice to see how well I end up doing when I try and communicate with people on the street! I´m excited to do that but a little nervous too. I´m glad we get this opportunity though, it´ll help me with the transition into the field for sure.

I´m really excited to begin this adventure for real, but to be honest it terrifies me as well. I can carry a decent conversation in Spanish and teach the lessons, but it´ll be so different once I’m trying to speak as fast as the natives. I hope I get a companion that I can work well with and who will be very patient with me because it´ll take some time before I think I’ll feel totally sure of myself when speaking. But then again, that´s the best way to learn so I’m excited to just get going. I´m expecting these next few weeks to be pretty exhausting and hard, but I also know for sure that Heavenly Father will be with me every step of the way and will give me that strength to do whatever it is he needs me to. When I went to the temple this morning that was weighing on my mind a lot but by the end I just felt so much love and assurance that the Lord will not leave me. He sent me here because he knows me and knows what I can do here. I just need to rely on Him every day and I know I will be able to make it through and fall in love with being a missionary all over again. Pray for me lots, but know I will be working my hardest and trying to enjoy every moment.

I´ve also been thinking about my time here at the CCM throughout the week. It´s been amazing and amazingly hard all at the same time. :) But the top 5 things I think I’ve learned here at the CCM are:

1. OBEDIENCE. Our president here and his wife are very strict and we all learned very quickly that absolute obedience is necessary if you want to have a happy stay here at the CCM. It was hard at first because I was still getting used to all the new rules as a missionary but I have come to realize how important it is to be obedient and show the Lord we love his commandments. I´ve also seen the power and blessings that come from being strictly obedient to all the rules.

2. I´ve learned how to get along with so many people who are so different than I am. Not everyone here is exactly the same, even though we all have strict rules we have to abide by. My companions are amazing but we are very different in our culture, our thinking, and our behavior. It´s been hard but also very rewarding as the Lord has been teaching me how to love and work with so many different kinds of people. I know it´s a skill that will bless me in the mission field and in life.

(My district)

3. Focus and diligence are key as a missionary. I´ve talked about it before but it´s so easy, especially in the CCM, to slack off or not take studying and learning seriously. As I’ve put forth my effort to make the most of the time I have here to learn, I’ve seen the Lord bless me and quicken my understanding.

4. I´ve learned the importance of the Spirit in everything we do. The spirit is key to missionary work and we can´t do anything without it. Lessons, studying, speaking, following promptings, and everything is nothing without the spirit as a guide. My relationship with Him has improved so much and I can´t wait for it to get even better!

5. Lastly, I’ve seen God´s love and support of me more than ever as I try to improve myself and draw closer to Him each day. I love how close I feel to Him and the relationship we are gaining. I know so strongly that He loves me and is here for me always. He also loves the people of Peru and wants me to do all I can to help them come to Him as well.  I can´t wait to share this love, His love, with them.

I know that was a lot of pensamientos (thoughts) but that´s really what most of this week was for me. I guess I can share a few funny stories. :) One day we were outside teaching and I had sat on an edge that happened to be very wet. When I stood up it totally looked like I had peed my pants pretty heavily...awkward! At least I caught it really fast and my teacher let me go up and change. :) Than today at the temple I set my stuff down to go take a picture and saw a slug. I took a picture because I thought it looked cool and then went to take pics. Then when I came back for my camera case I found that the slug had crawled all over it and left a big trail of slime all over. >That was gross, but pretty funny as well. :) Then last night when I was using the sink to wash my hands a beetle crawled up the drain and into the sink...that was exciting!  The beetles here are pretty cool but nice and big...So many things to get used to :)

(Peru, Lima Temple)

(My Slug Friend)

My scripture for the week is Mormon 9. It´s an amazing chapter on miracles and it just reminded more of how many miracles are all around us that we don´t even realize. I also believe we don´t take advantage of all the miracles God is willing to perform in our lives if we will only ask him and have faith. I challenge you to read it and look for all the blessing promised in the chapter, it´s amazing!

I love you all so much!!! >Thank you for the prayers, I really feel them strengthening me. And know I’m praying for you too! Wish me luck next week! Talk to you in two!! :)

Con mucho amor,


Hermana Cox

(The Distribution Center)


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