Monday,
October 12, 2015
Hola Familia y Amigos!
Wow, another transfer
has begun...time is flying! This transfer I will be staying in my area in
Chosica but have a new companion! Her name is Hermana Chavez from Guayaquil
Ecuador (yeah definitely spelled that wrong). She’s the best and I already love
her so much. She is afraid of dogs...and here in Chosica there are 5 dogs on
every corner so please pray for her in this aspect. She is a hard worker and we
have so many plans for this transfer! She has such a strong desire to serve and
help the people and knows what her purpose is. I can already tell we are going
to have a transfer of miracles!!!! I´m so excited.
Last pday of last transfer! The Hermanas of Chosica
The new Hermanas of Chosica this transfer...recognize the tall one? Hermana Samuels, my companion from the CCM! I´m so excited she´s here!
My new companion, Hermana Chavez! She is from Ecuador and is the best!
So something fun from
this week before I start into the serious missionary business. :) Here in Peru
we eat a lot of rice, potatoes, and chicken. Pretty much that every day. So our
pension decided to try and give us a little break and mix things up...let´s
just say it´s been a rough week for my stomach. :) This week I have eaten
oyster, crab, fish, clam, squid, and octopus. Not lying. Never in my life did I
think I would ever ever ever eat those things. My family knows I do NOT do
seafood at all. But I can now testify of the missionary superpower of being
able to eat everything served to you on your plate. Wow, I feel sick thinking
about it...but also just a little bit proud of myself. Ok SUPER proud of
myself. Dad, I hope you are too. I was thinking of you the whole time and all
the times I told you never in my life would I eat things like that. :) Ok back
to the missionary-life stuff....
One pic of the "seafood surprise" we ate the other day...all the other little pieces of things in the rice are octopus and squid. :)
There is so much that
needs to be done here in this area. After this week ended, Hermana Chavez and I
just sat down together and cried a little talking about everything we´d seen
throughout the week. There are so many needs here and so much work to be done.
I honestly feel like Alma when he saw the wickedness and apostasy in the land
and left his judgement seat to go out and teach and bring the people back.
Chosica is the edge of our mission and less developed and organized. The wards
are functioning and there are a lot of great members, but also a lot of
apostasy and confusion about doctrine and order. But we were able to turn to
the Lord and receive revelation about what we need to focus on first and how we
can start working one step at a time to help this ward and all the people in
our area.
Yesterday we ate lunch
with a member of the ward named I.... Her family doesn´t have much
because she is a single working mom with 2 kids and her aged mother, but she
still gave so willingly to us. After we sat down to share a message and I felt
impressed to share the scripture about Jesus Christ coming to the Americas in
the Book of Mormon and instituting the sacrament. As we talked about the
importance of the sacrament and the blessing it is for us, she confided in us
and told us that she has not been taking the sacrament for 8 years. She told us
that when she married her husband (who was not a member and not the best person)
her bishop told her that she could no longer take the sacrament and also
withdrew her rights to hold a calling or anything in the church. She didn´t
understand why because she has never committed a big sin, yet accepted it and
kept attending with faith that someday she could participate again. Her husband
was awful to her and finally a year ago she separated from him. She also told
us that she is endowed but during this time felt that she was in some way
unworthy and so she removed her garment and hasn´t had her temple recommend
during this whole time as well. She said that after she separated from her
husband she finally went and talked to the bishop now and he told her that she
could buy her garments and that they would talk about if she could now take the
sacrament but nothing has really been done about it and after so many years she
still feels this guilt inside her that she´s not worthy. Yet she has stayed
true to the church and kept going and participating even though she has been
missing out on all of these blessings for so long. As Hermana Chavez and I sat
and listened to her we both just cried and tried to express to her the Lord´s
love for her and what a faithful member she is to have stayed strong even
through everything that has happened. We have plans to talk with the bishop
this week to make sure that everything is ok for her to once again begin taking
the sacrament and receive her recommend to enter the temple again. We promised
her that we will be here with her every step of the way to help her be able to
enter the temple once again and renew her covenants. She shared with us her
testimony of the gospel and that she knows that the leaders of the church and
members aren´t perfect and that they make mistakes. But she doesn´t feel angry, just grateful for
her testimony of the truthfulness and perfectness of the gospel that has helped
her through. She is just one example, Please pray for her.
This week we also were
shown over and over again that there are many members who really don´t have a
testimony, in fact, many who don´t know what a testimony is. So we are going to
be working really hard this transfer with increasing the testimonies of the
members and less-actives in our area. Please pray for M... and her son
J..., M..., S..., X..., and the Familia C.... All less-actives
who we are focusing on now.
But we are also seeing
many miracles and I really feel that this next transfer we are going to be able
to do so much good. I feel so excited and motivated to help these people and a
great love for them.
There are so many
faithful members here but also so much work to be done. But we have been
praying, fasting, studying, and doing all we can to search for the help of the
Lord to really do the work he needs done here in El sol. Here comes a cambio of
miracles.
After all that we´ve
seen this week, my testimony of the importance of the little things has really
increased. Going to church, having family home evening every week, doing our
visiting and home teaching, reading the scriptures every day, and praying
sincerely personally and as a family. SO IMPORTANT!!!
I know that Our
Heavenly Father really is our loving father in Heaven. Jesus Christ is his son
and performed the atonement for us. Joseph Smith restored the church through
revelation in this dispensation and President Monson is the living prophet of
God on the earth today. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints truly
is the Lord´s true church on the earth today. I know it. And I feel so grateful
for the chance to share that knowledge every day.
Love you all! Please
keep the prayers coming this way!
Hermana Cox
Here is a pic of the other sisters in the ward with some members
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