la obra continua

1. Finished the BOM in spanish this week, and i have taken moroni´s challenge and pray to ask if it is true in spanish and ... I am still waiting for the answer....jk ya it is true even in spanish. hah I really do know that many prophets testified opf a redeemer that would come and pay for our sins, and that our path that we need to continue is simple. just believe in god and in his son jesus christ and act accordingly.

2. Our branch council is little by little getting more efficient but this last week i just had one of the worst laugh attacks of my life ( almost like the one in the arizona temple larsen fam) and the counselor was talking to the primary president. I looked behind and the president of the branch had his head down on the bench in front of him like some people in sacrament. And I just started laughing haah the poor guy is just trying to get things along without priesthood power here.

3. Pres. Zobrist came down for interviews. He is just such a great guy and i feel like every time i talk with him a little i just feel like we have so many reasons to be cheerful.

4. My district leader is probs one of the best i have had so far in the mission. He started a lesson that got me thinking the whole week. Whats the difference between pleasure and happiness. For me i am the most happy when i can get into my bed at night thinking ya i did everything i could have possibly done today to serve the lord. Happiness is effort.

5. Just for fun: My comp told me this week as we were turned out the lights ´´good night my best friend´´ her english is getting so good!

6. I love a good fast and testimony meeting.  A less active we have been teaching has plans to get married to the father of her baby. We´ve taught them about 4 times and he ALWAYS works on sundays and when we visited them saturday night he said there was no way he could come on sunday but....he came and they blessed their baby. Also, the wife or our rescue luis angel and his children came as well. The spirit was there and after i talked to his wife (sidenote: she has been present in every single lesson of luis angel for the past 5 months and doesnt want to come to church because she wants to be sure if it is true) cray i know. anyway, i talked with her after and she had tears streaming down her cheeks. I just looked at her and said, this is the spirit hermana. She hugged me and said, we will talk tomorrow. haha  by small and simple things great things come to pass. Walter the recent convert also told us after that he wanted to share his testimony but jsut got scared haah we all know how scary it is sometimes. 

IT is SOOO hard every week to try and explain the whole week, but i just want you to know that this work has never been stronger. the church will only grow stronger and stronger. President Zobrist, was telling me that everyone needs to be truly converted, because we are fighting against powers that will only grow strong er in the next 10 years. 

may we all fight the good fight, and pray to recieve guidance from above!!

We got to go to the baptism of daniella the daughter of our old penchionista. She is so so beautiful!! 

other photos include a parade wher i just had to take a few photos that us larsens would take haha 

´´this is the greatest season of the history of the restored church and we get to live it, we get to be here´´elder bednar quotiing gordon b hinckley.  

We have AWESME plans for the next week, stay tuned!

Zack i feel your presence here in peru bud. luh u! 

sorry for being so scatterbrained. 

oh i forgot great news about the pench

her daughter was baptized about a year ago but moved up north. she told us how she completely changed and really really opened up to us. we told her that she could have that happiness in her life as well and then she pointed to the room of her husband and said that he is the difficulty. She has gone to many activities in the church and has had many quetions about the temple, i know that we have stayed here to try and help her. She is our extra mother here and i know that she sees something different in the church. AGHGHH everything ROCKS!!!!

les amo demasiado! 

Miracles happen all the time

I will start by telling you that Me and my companion Hna Tituaña did NOT have a change which means that we will serve together in Mollendo for 6 months. That is a long time right? but, i´m so excited, we have many great plans and we will both celebrate our birthdays together and just many more things. The whole zone was together and the assitents called and said one sister that left and then said ya thats it. I didn´t believe it until they hung up. Needless to say, we almost cried we were so excited. I have never EVER heard of a companionship staying togethr for 6 months, that is just nuts. 

The work is continuing and i just love being part of this work.

Story numero uno:

So back in time when they took us out for la huelga when we went to arequipa, we contacted a guy on the bus named carlos. He travels for work and is in a place for 15 days then goes to the next one. We taught him 2 times while he was here and he came to church, then we didn´t think anything of it.  and then at the beginning of this week he called and told us he was back in town and wanted to meet with us. To make everything short, he told us of a bunch of experiences he had and that he went ot the church website and had watched basically all the videos and the joseph smith video. He said that he felt a peace in the message and wants to be a better disciple of jesus christ. We taught him of the restoration of the priesthood and baptism by the same authority and then he accepted the invitation to be baptized. He said but how will it be? What do i need to bring? it was so neat. He said a prayer and at the end had tears in his eyes and said, ´´that came from the heart´´. I thank my father in heaver for him always putting chosen people ready to act on the gospel in our path. He is blessing us more than I can even imagine. 

Historia numero dos: 

Walter I fee like i am bipolar when i talk about him because i just feel such a worry for him in a good way like I just care for how he continues growing in his testimony and knowlege.  He is doing great. He came with us on some visits with the youth and he taught really well. i can´t explain how happy i was to hear him testify and to share. He is doing all he can to get his kids to the church, but the mother is a jehovah´s witness and won´t let them... we will continue working on that

There is still a lot of work to be done here, and i just am so thankful for the chance to be here and to do it. The weather has made a drastic change and is now freezing so there´s that. I just barely unpacked all my winter clothes haha. 

When we found out about changes the husband of our pench came in and goes, prayers really do work don´t they. It was a sweet experience because they aren´t members but they have loved having missionaries in their home. They are catholic and assist every sunday, but little by little i know that they are figuring things out and the differences. 

luh you all and wish you the happiest of weeks. 

sis

pics include hiking to the cross last p day

pics of some good friends

Will I stay or will i go????? biting my nails

Mis queridos como están? 

Well another week bites the dust.  I just love bein here in the mission. Yes there are times that are tough, days where you cant physically stand up any longer, and times of desperation and anxiety of not knowing what to do. Now, let me tell you why i love being here in the mission. I am so happy. I´ve learned a lot this week to depend on the Lord. Sometimes i feel like i need to be strong for the converts, for the struggling members, for my companion, but i have realized that its not the way i need to be. I think a lot of the time people want to be independant, or self-sufficient, but i have realized that I can not do this work without depening on the lord. With Walter, I have been wracking my brain trying to find the way to help him understand of the covenant that he has made. He is ´´on paper´´ doing great. He reads the book of mormon and prays everyday has desires to share the gospel with everyone, and i mean everyone. I wanted to find a way to help him feel the power of the Atonement. One day, i just began my study with a prayer and just unloaded everything on the Lord, and just felt like he was helping me worry for his child. I know that I can´t do this work on my own, i nee dthe lords help with everything and he is the only one who knows the needs of every person. 

The other day satan was trying to get us down. Every single one of our appointments fell through. So we really walked from 10 a.m. to 1. and then from 3-8 haha. Even though it just didn{t happen that day, we were just so happy chatting with each other. I can honestly say that i have a best friend that lives in a different country, but i know that we will always remember our time together. She is doing great in her English, and i know that she will be able to have a better career in her house if she continues to learn more. Every night i pray that in the next changes she can continue witht a gringa companion. Have an amazing week my frineds and family!

remember this pic? last supper and we ate rice! what was i thinking???

temple

Want to hear a joke? la huelga. hahahahah

This week we were once again able to work the entire week and i am so thankful for everyone that we were able to meet with. The mission culture is to work carefully with converts and less actives. I understand why. Walter has faced some problems this last week, and even though he is reading the book of mormon praying and visiting with us every other day, he made a bad decision with some friends. I couldn´t help but say withing myself. how in the world is that possible? If he really prays and reads how can you go wrong. I listened carefully and realized that he is beating hismelf up more that he thinks. I am so gratefully for every sunday that we have the chance to renew our covenants and recieve the spirit again and again. I read something the other day that said that every day we need to repent. Honestly, i wasn´t doing that. When i read meditated, really why dont i repent every day, i am so prideful!! haha but truly, i am making an effort to see the things i do well, and be honest with myself that need a little improvement. 

One of my favorite times this week was the chance I had to teach Luis Angel and his Wife Milagros. Luis Angel is oficially rescued and had an interview with the president of the branch. His wife, even though is a sweetie, and wants to KNOW is lacking the faith to DO things. To search for herself. She said, it is true i felt something in your churhc that i have never felt before. My favorite part though as i was about to say was that sunday he said ´´When i was 20 i was baptized because i wanted to be good and unfortunatly i had a bad group of friends and i was far from the church after, but now, i really want to be better and follow jesus christ.´´ Such a good guy. 

This whole week we talked of the temple with members and all because they need reccomendations to be at the dedication that will come for the temple in Trujillo peru in June. I know that the spirit in the lessons that we talk of the temple is something different. I am so thankful for all the times i was able to go from the time  I was 12 until now. The spirit truly is the strongest there and is indescribable. 

As we repent we show god that we are teachable and willing to do HIS WILL. 

friends, romans and countrymen, like president monson said one time, ´´“No sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings.”^{3 ( of the temple)}

ciau mis amados

hna larsen