Sister Samantha Cox: Peru Lima East Mission

June 1, 2015

Hola Familia y Amigos!

Wow, I can`t believe we are finishing up another transfer! I have officially finished my training and am now a "Real Missionary" :) I have learned soooo much this transfer and have grown so much. I LOVE my area and the people we are working with so much. The ward, the investigators, the menos activos, and the recent converts. They are amazing and it`s incredible how much love I can feel for people I’ve only known for a few months. I officially hit my 4 month mark on Wednesday which feels super strange. Every month goes faster and faster. This week we have transfers again but we don`t find out until after internet time so I guess it`ll be a surprise for next week! I feel like I’ll probably be leaving my area since I`ve been here for 2 transfers but really anything could happen. Pray for me this week with whatever happens! It breaks my heart to think of leaving...I really love the people so much. We have so many people who we are helping and I have grown so close to. Good thing we`ve got eternity to be together. That`s the hope of the gospel. :)

We had 2 lessons with S... this week and both were incredible! She is so amazing and I know she knows it`s true. She tells us every lesson that she believes it all and that she feels something incredible every time we come to teach her. She just is scared to make the change from all her traditions of her family. I know she will accept the gospel one day, I just hope it`s sooner than later. Yesterday in our lesson we read 3 Nephi 11 together and talked about Christ and his visit to the Americas. The spirit was soo strong. In that chapter the first thing Christ teaches to the people after they have felt his hands and feet is baptism and he lays out specifically how it should be done and everything. She has told us twice before that she is not looking to change her religion and we`ve told her that we will respect that, but she still wants to keep learning. After we were talking about everything I asked her if she had any questions. She asked if after baptism there was more. I was able to testify to her that Yes, there is more. Much, much more! Heavenly Father has soooo many blessings that he is just waiting to pour over us if we will just take those first steps. Baptism is the first step, then receiving the Holy Ghost, then the temple and all the blessings that come with that, and then when we continue faithfully, we receive the gift of Eternal Life, the greatest of all the gifts of God. I felt the spirit so strongly as I testified to her with all my heart of God`s love for her and that he was waiting with open arms for her to come to him. The spirit was so strong and she just sat there and couldn`t help but smile and I knew she felt the spirit testifying to her. We invited her to pray and really ask God if this is his plan for her and to give her strength to act. I love her so much and can honestly say I feel what real charity is. The pure love of Christ for another person. It`s not about the numbers or trying to get a baptism, it`s about truly loving a person so much that we want them to accept this first step and enjoy all the blessings the Lord has in store for them. It`s an amazing thing and I can`t wait to continue to learn more about this charity while I`m here.

We also had another lesson this week with one of our recent converts, R.... We were finishing up our lesson and she had kind of been a little distant the whole time. We asked if there was anything we could do for her or if she had any questions for us. She began telling us of some experiences she`s had in the week that really put her down. She is from Los Provincias (the provinces of Peru) and a lot of people look down on them here in Lima. They are seen as a lesser, poorer, people because they aren`t usually educated and live self-sufficiently on farms and things with their families. Apparently a lady she ran into during the week had said some really hurtful things to her and she was pretty sad about it. But she told us that the thing that was the hardest was that a Hermana in the ward who lives close to her had also treated her poorly and made her feel really discouraged. Our ward is a mix of some pretty rich areas and some poorer areas so there is a little division at times and R...

was explaining to us how the reason she has a hard time coming to church is because she just feels judged and ignored by some of the members. She just broke down and started crying and it tore me apart inside to see how sad she was. We just sat there with her and I cried along with her. She then bore her testimony to us that even though all this was going on she knew that she had made a covenant with the Lord and that she would follow through with that, no matter what others did or said. She doesn`t go to church for them, she goes for the Lord and she will stay strong because she made a promise to him and no one else. The faith of these members is amazing and it makes me want to be better and stronger. It`s so important to treat everyone with so much respect and love. Just because people are new in the church and don`t know a lot yet, or because they have less than others, is no excuse to think we are better. Usually they are the ones with the purer hearts who are truly closer to the Lord than we are. Being a member of the church is a huge responsibility that we must treasure, not an entitlement or a competition to prove who is the best saint.

Wow, so many things I could share but I don`t have a lot of time. But it was a good week and I really learned so much. I love being a missionary. I wake up and just have a smile on my face because I’m so excited to see what the Lord will help us do today. I feel his hand in our lives and I feel the spirit guiding our words and actions. It`s truly amazing. It doesn`t mean it`s easy, but it`s an experience I wouldn`t trade for the world. I love you all so much! Have an awesome week!

Hurray for Israel!!

Hermana Cox

We had a primary activity where the kids acted out stories from the Book of Mormon. It was sooooo cute! I love it :) The pics aren`t the best but oh well :)

The tall one is Elder Netzley, one of the Assistants who we share a ward with. He is also from Cache Valley! Super crazy. He went to Mountain Crest and knows a bunch of my friends. He goes home in July so maybe you`ll see him around!