Monday, August 31, 2015

Hola Familia y Amigos!!

 It was my pension´s husband´s birthday my last night so we celebrated and said our goodbyes. I love their family so much. They made us feel so loved and at home. :)

Well, this week was probably one of the craziest, exciting weeks of my mission! We had transfers this week, I forgot to mention last Monday that we were going to have them because I honestly was not planning on transferring at all. Hermana Bergeson and I were hoping to stay together another transfer but figured that if someone left it would be her since I just got there. But the Lord likes to shake things up a bit so I got transferred to the complete other side of the mission in Chosica! I went from Surco, the edge of the mission, to Chosica, the other edge of the mission. About a 3 hour bus ride. Chosica is super different than my other areas but I love it. It´s more of what I had imagined the mission would be like here. There are hills of dirt everywhere and the houses are built all the way up the sides. It’s a lot of uphill walking and mountains of stairs, I’ll have legs of steel by the time I’m done here. :) And if that wasn´t a big enough surprise, the Lord thought he´d throw in another curveball and call me to be a trainer. I have a daughter!! Well, a step-daughter. :) I am finishing the last 6 weeks of the training of Hermana Saracho from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is awesome and we are going to have an awesome transfer together. We are very different which will make things interesting but also provide a lot of opportunity to learn from one another. It´s been a little bit of a stressful week trying to adjust to my new area, new companion, new people, everything new. But I’ve felt the Lord helping me every day and I know he won´t leave me alone, but will strengthen and bless me to adjust and do the best I can. I will try to send more pics of the area because it´s super different and fun. You can probably look up Chosica, Peru in google and maybe see some pictures. :) But I’m doing well and loving it more and more here. Lots of dogs, dirt, and drunks...but it´s an adventure. :) 

 My new room and my new companera!! Hermana Saracho from Buenos Aires, Argentina

Then on Thursday we had the incredible opportunity and blessing to talk to Elder Bednar along with the Lima North mission. I got to see my friends from the MTC which was so fun and also Kaylee Kingston from Sky View. They are all doing awesome. :) Elder Bednar is incredible and I felt the spirit so strong through the whole meeting. There are no words to describe how I felt to be there in the same room as an apostle of God and have him talk with us personally and openly. He is actually super funny and we had a great time. Elder Goddoy of the 70 was also there with him and their wives. They all spoke to us and taught us amazing things about how to be agents and not objects when learning and teaching. It totally changed my view on how to teach the gospel and how to learn the gospel in a way that edifies and makes us agents, not objects. We then had a Q and A which was incredible and we received some incredible teachings and counsel about missionary life, the atonement, the importance of the Book of Mormon, and how to really come to know and become like Jesus Christ. I wish I had more time to tell about everything but I’m about done with my time. But it was absolutely incredible.

I love you all so much. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers and please keep sending them my way. I know this church is the truth and that it is led by Jesus Christ himself working through his chosen prophets. I love this work and seeing the miracles of the Lord in my life every day. 

Have a great week everyone! 

Hermana Cox

Mate, the famous drink from Argentina. My companion is convinced to make me  a Argentinian :)

 Our church in Surco, my old area. And the delicious yogart we bought on Pday. Had puff cereal things on top with honey. :) And lucuma yogart flavor, a fruit here that is absolutely delicious. :)

My companion and I and the other 2 Hermanas in our ward. We share a room and pension and everything so that´s super fun. They are awesome. Hermana Ekins is from Washington and Hermana Martinez is from Honduras. 

Monday, August, 24, 2015

Familia y Amigos!!!

Sorry about the letter last week, I tried to send it and my computer froze. By the time I got it fixed the time was out and I didn`t get to send it...also now I can`t find it so I guess it`ll just be a week lost in time! :) But the most important parts were that we had interviews with President which are always incredible and help me so much. He truly is an inspired man and I am so grateful to have him as my President. I don`t remember much else of what I wrote...probably some spiritual thoughts and insights to missionary life as usual. :) 

This week went by super quickly but it was full of little miracles. One neat story from Tuesday. Our area contains part of an air force base so there are tons of military families here. The sad thing is that a lot of the families have many struggles with their relationships because the husbands are always traveling and such. Lots of infidelity and struggling marriages. On Tuesday we brought a member to a lesson with us but the lady wasn`t home. We called another investigator to see if we could come visit her, but she told us she didn`t have time. We started walking to visit someone else when the same investigator, Hermana ***, called us back and asked us if we really could come and visit her. She said it was an emergency and that she really needed us to come talk to her. We hurried over and long story short, she told us about how she had an affair with her friend`s husband about a month ago but hasn’t told anyone about it and has been struggling with guilt and stress with keeping it a secret for so long. The wife of the other man is a member in the ward and she found out and has been causing a lot of trouble with the whole situation. There are a lot of other complications with everything but we were able to testify to her of the atonement and that she can find help. We asked if she would like to talk with the bishop and she agreed but only really had that night free to meet with him. We called the bishop and he happened to have time that night to meet with her. Our lesson during that same hour had called earlier in the day to cancel so we had that exact hour free to take her to the church to meet with the bishop and be there to support her. It was so easy to see the Lord`s hand in everything that happened. It was incredible to me to see how we could find this woman in a state of complete despair and desperation with no idea where to turn and then by the end of the night she was so much more at peace and had a direction to walk in. Things are still complicated and will be difficult to fix up, but she is on the path and is using the Savior as her guide. I don`t know if I’ve ever seen the atonement that up close and personal with someone we`ve taught yet and it was amazing to remember how merciful and loving the savior is. The whole time I felt nothing but great love for her and a desire to help her overcome her challenge and sin and taste of the redeeming grace the savior has to offer us. I feel like I got a little taste of the redemptive power of the atonement and it was incredible. 

I`m out of time but please keep praying for G... who is planning on getting baptized in September, M..., J..., Hermana Y..., Y..., C... (we found him the other week and he is doing so much better and wants us to come visit him), and Y... and her 2 daughters. 

Oh and this week I ate a chicken heart! Finally brought myself around to doing it instead of hiding it in my napkin...pretty chewy but if you swallow it fast you can`t taste it. :) 

Love you all!!!!! Have a great week! The church is true! Keep being faithful and use the atonement in your life every day! I promise it works and it is for us. :) 

Hermana Cox

 We had a fun pday at the beach with all the Hermanas which was a real treat and so much needed. I got to see all my past companions and enjoy a day in the sand and sun to relax from the stresses of the mission. Loved it.

 Pics at the beach! It was beautiful! It`s called Chorrillos. :)

 An example of a common meal here in Peru. Rice always with everything. ;) Potatoes, carrots, chicken, and beans are all really common too. Then we made brownies last Monday for FHE with our penionista. Yum!!!!! They don`t have brownies here in Peru so we bought a box of brownies and made it that way. Super fun. :)

 Hermana Bergeson trying to make toast with the iron....we have to get a little creative sometimes. :

 Baptism of the Elders in our ward

Monday, August 17, 2015

 During pday last week we ate all together in a fun little restaurant upstairs. Yummy toasted chip things with a delicious sauce similar to fry sauce. :)

 President Bednar is coming to speak to us on the 27th!!!! Happy 7 month celebration for me!!!! :

San Gabino, one of the apartment complexes for the air force base that we work in a lot.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Hola Hola!!!!!

Well this week was a little rough due to the fact that both my companion and I were a little sick. I have had a pretty nasty cold since last Sunday and the life of a missionary doesn’t really make time for relax and recovery so it`s been lingering a little longer. But I got some Peruvian medicine and feel a lot better today. The Lord definitely helped me so much and gave me strength and energy I didn`t think I had. When we do our part and show our desire the Lord will provide the rest. It`s frustrating to want to work hard and not be able to do all you want, but the Lord knows our hearts and is pleased with what we can give. :) 

 My peruvain medicine...and yes cough syrup still tastes nasty here too. :)

So you know how last week I talked all about our Metas de Excelencia (goals of excellence) and how we were so pumped that we had reached them all? Well it was perfect timing because this week President announced that we were changing them to new goals and indicators. Some things are the same but now the focus is more on working through the members to find referrals and teach with the members. It is something we`ve been trying to do but now there is a lot bigger focus which will be really neat. I am really excited to see how this will change the work here and I know it is inspired of God. It also means a lot of changing things around and trial and error. We were a little stressed this week with trying to figure things out with how this new process will work and how we can meet these new goals but I think we`re getting the hang of things a little better. 

We also had a fun little adventure at the beginning of the week. We had to go to La Molina (my old area) just my companion and I which is about an hour away in bus. So we asked directions from the zone leaders, hopped on a bus, and made our way through the crazy busy city of Lima by ourselves. We had to change buses and routes and things and neither of us had any idea how to work the bus routes but we found our way and got there and back safely. Definitely a blessing from the Lord. We were super proud of ourselves and very grateful. :)

 Some pics of my area. This is the nicer side of town and there are some beautiful parks and i love the vegetation. :)

We are seeing miracles every day and I am learning so much.  The gospel is joy and peace in a world of confusion and sadness. We have the promises of the Lord that if we live faithful we will receive the blessings and help that we need. Living the gospel is so simple, yet can be so hard. It just comes down to the desire and love for the lord to submit our will to his, trust in his words, and do what he has asked of us. He always keeps his promises to us as long as we do our part. 

Love you all! Thank you for the love and support! I love the Lord and I love his work. 

Hermana Cox

Our ice cream run last Pday!!!! We found the best ice cream and it`s super delicious!!!! I got a kind called tres leches which is a creamy sweet flavor with cake pieces and such. Hermana Bergeson got a chocolate flavor with fudge and brownie that was also delicious...yes we are at the sharing ice cream level of our friendship now. :)

Monday, August 3, 2015

Hola Familia y Amigos!!!

Wow, this week FLEW BY! Time flies when you are having fun and working hard. Well this week my companion and I had a goal that we wanted to meet all the ´´Metas de Excellencia´´ or goals of excellence this week in our area. We have key indicators and numbers that we record every week of the lessons we teach, to whom, how many people we contact and find, etc. In our mission the goals of Excellence are to teach 25 lessons, contact 70 people, and find 10 new investigators for the week. They are some pretty high goals but we had faith that with the Lord´s help we could do it. So we set out and worked SUPER hard all week searching for people and teaching and talking to everyone. We were a little worried because this week was Independence dayS (Yes Peru celebrates it in 2 days) so everyone was traveling or partying. But we had faith and set out to do work and the Lord blessed us with our desires.:) This week we taught 25 lessons, contacted 74 people, and found 10 new investigators.

WOW!!!! It was amazing! I feel like Ammon when he said, ´´I do not glory in myself for I know that I am nothing, but I will glory in my God, for in him I can do all things.´´ It was a week of miracle after miracle. It was made so obvious to me that the Lord knows how to do his work and he knows who is ready and who needs him. All he asks is that we be his servants, willing to go where he wants us to go, do what he wants us to do, and say what he wants us to say. When we truly give ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord he will lead our steps and work miracles through us. It's amazing to see and it applies to all of us, not just missionaries out in the field. All of us when we were baptized promised to stand as a witness of God and be his servant. How are we doing with that promise? I´ve thought a lot about that this week and really done a personal inventory of where my heart is and how much I´m giving to the Lord and how much I’m holding back. It was an eye-opener but I’m so excited to work harder and give the Lord my 100% devotion. 

One example of one of these little miracles happened Friday night. We had finished up our English class in the church and headed back to our room. We were almost there and realized we still had 10 more minutes before it was time to head in. We were exhausted and it would have been so easy to just go in a little early, but we decided to walk through the park and try and contact one or two more people. We saw a man sitting on the bench so we went over to talk to him and he ended up telling us that he is a member, but has been inactive for more than 10 years. He let us sit down and talk to him for a few minutes and told us of his story. He said he has really strayed from God in these past years and was feeling really lost and sad. He had come to the park to think and just wanted to talk everything out with someone, but had no one to talk to. He told us he knew God was looking out for him and really loved him. He told us he really wants to reactivate himself in the church and change his life around. We told him that´s exactly what we were there to help him do. We gave him a new Book of Mormon to start reading again, a pamphlet of the restoration, and decided to meet him again the next day to teach some more. We had our other lesson with him on Saturday and then he and his mom both came to church on Sunday. (His mom is not a member so we´re excited to help her too.) What a little miracle. Just 10 minutes. We gave the Lord 10 more minutes and he helped us find a soul in need who was looking for God with a desire to return to him. I KNOW that when we just give the Lord our time and our desires he will work miracles. 

Our investigators are doing well, a lot are progressing. Please pray for the Familia E..., Familia L..., Familia H..., M..., S.., J..., S..., Familia M..., J... H..., A..., and M... for this week. 

Love you all so much! Thank you for all the love and support! I know that your faith and prayers bless me and the people we are serving here.

Con Amor,

Hermana Cox

p.s. Funny story...our mouse friend is back! We hadn´t seen him for a few weeks so we just assumed he had left but last night we heard it running around in our room in the middle of the night. We weren’t sure what it was but then all the sudden I felt something run across my feet...YIKES! We spent the next 45 minutes trying to devise a way to trap it but finally just opened up the door for a few minutes and it eventually ran outside. Hopefully it can´t get back in soon. :) Oh the adventures of Peruvian housing!

pday at the church! Playing games outside with the zone :)

Happy birthday daddy!!!! We bought a cake and ate it to celebrate for you :) Thanks, it was delicious!

Monday, July 27, 2015

Hola Familia Y Amigos!!

Wow, what a week here in Surco! My companion and I have been working really hard this week and finding lots of people to teach. The Ward is awesome and we had a lot of members come to lessons with us which is the best! They make such a difference. I forgot my notebook that has all the things I wanted to say, so hopefully I remember everything.

It sounds like everyone had a fun Pioneer day back home! We got to celebrate by going to the temple!!!!! Wow, I love the temple and I am so grateful to get to attend in my mission. I went with bunch of questions and it was amazing all the revelation I received and things that were made clear to me. It`s so true that when we ask with a sincere heart and do our part to search for answers, the Holy Ghost always reveals things to our hearts. I love developing this relationship with the spirit and this special communication with God. Then to make the day even better I got t see both of my previous companions outside the temple! I`ve been blessed with amazing companions so far and I’ve learned so much from every one of them. Hermana Bergeson and I had a great time together there and really had an awesome chat inside about things we had learned. We are growing so close and I love her so much. :)

Hermana Cox and Hermana Ramirez

 Hermana Cox and Hermana Davis

Hermana Cox and Hermana Bergeson

THEN, as if the day couldn`t get any better, Hermana Davis told me that one of our investigators from Mayorazgo that we have been working with the whole time I served there just accepted to be baptized in August!!!!!!!!!! I was so happy and we just hugged each other and cried as she told me how well she is progressing and that she truly has a testimony and is applying the gospel in her life. It was a little hard leaving Mayorazgo after having been there for so long and then not really having anything as far as baptisms to show for all the work I put in there, But now to hear that they are reaping the fruits of our labors now makes me soooo happy. It`s a joy I can`t describe and it makes every hard moment worth it. We got permission from President for me to go back and be able to see her baptized which I can`t even contain my excitement about! I`m smiling super big right now just thinking about it. :) Her name is R..., please keep praying for her and her progress as well as T... who also is working towards her baptism still.

But now back to my new area of San Roque! Wow, we are seeing so much progress here! We had an investigator named A... come to church with us for the second time yesterday. She has agreed to be baptized in August, but her parents want a little more information first so we are meeting with them this week. She is 18 and has a lot of family and social problems. But she is so sweet and is really growing in her testimony and loves our visits and coming to church. Please keep praying for her.

We also met with another investigator who agreed to be baptized and is amazing! She is praying about a specific date but has such a desire to follow Christ and change her life. I’m so excited to help her with this conversion process. Her name is M....

Now an update on this C... that we found that one day knocking doors. We passed by his house again one day and found him there. He talked to us for a second and told us that ever since his first little visit with us everything has been changing for the better. He said he talked to his wife and they are working things out now. He feels a lot more hope and happiness with his situation and that things are going to be ok. He has been reading the message about the Plan of Salvation and says it is really helping him. He told us he is taking it as a sign from God that this is something good and he wants to learn more. :) Such a happy feeling as a missionary seeing that the Lord fulfills his side of the promise to give people answers to their prayers and desires concerning the gospel message. Please keep praying for him as we try to help him apply the gospel in his life and learn more.

There are so many more stories I could share about the wonderful people we are finding and helping but I’m running out of time. Please keep praying for Familia H..., S..., Familia R..., Familia M..., P..., K..., and the L.... family.

Just a funny story to end....hopefully it won`t scare my parents. :) So sometimes when we are contacting people we run into people we call "sharks". Basically men that are only interested in our message because we are Young American girls. :) This week we contacted one of these people and he called us a few times to try and "talk more about the church" (Flirt). It was pretty weird and then on Sunday we received a text from him that said "Te invito a cenar"...or in other words we got invited to dinner. Yep...that awkward moment when your companionship gets invited on a date by a 35 year old Peruvian man you met on the Street. :) Haha but we`ve got his number blocked now and he`s not serious enough to actually come to church to see us so I’m not too worried about it. My companion and I were laughing about it all night though. :)

Thank you for all the love and support! I love being a missionary and I am learning more every day. Today I completed 6 months in the mission and it doesn`t seem real! Time is flying by so fast but I am trying to enjoy every moment.

Love you all so much!

Hermana Cox

 Our new district! 

 Sister Romrell from my old district. :) The one from Oregon that has family in California.

 We went to a big shopping center for pday, it was crazy full of people everywhere. And yes that is a hill covered in houses. That`s what a lot of them look like here. :)