Monday, August 25, 2014

i'm pretty sure there's about 6 ants in my drink!

hello my beautiful awesome amazing cool family! whats up. hah so this week was awseome. we had a confernce with the mission president and his wife. it was awesome!



a few things changed. like if we are sick for more than 3 weeks we get sent home with no exception!! AHH!! so hopefully i never get sick. we were at a family home evening last night and the husband couldn't join us cause he has malaria! there's lots of sicknesses here so that kinda freaked me out. i DO NOT want to go home! yet.... lol. and also the way we plan our day has changed. we can only give half hour lessons and have to fill up our day by the half hour. at first i was like woah woahhhh that's not enough time to walk to the house and teach a lesson! and how in the world can i do that! that's impossible! but then i thought to myself.. ok.. the mission president receives revelation from the lord and when the lord commands us to do something he always prepares a way for us to do it. he will never command us to do something that is impossible to do. so i decided to let my faith grow a little as the president was announcing this.... then as we were planning i got all stressed out... bad idea... being stressed is NOT fun.. so i chilled myself out and this week has been awesome. we have been making more compromisos (commitments) with the investigators and have been teaching more lesson! so its been great! and to my surprise we have been able to teach half hour lessons! yay!
    hah soooo the other day we were talking about ants... there's sooo many ants in everyone's house. every time i drink juice i'm pretty sure there's about 6 ants in my drink. i've learned to not let it bother me... surprising hey?? TO ALL THOSE WHO THOUGHT I WAS HIGH MAINTENANCE... i'm not :) hahahah this mission has been a crazy adventure so far! can't wait to make a slideshow when i get home and present it to everyone and tell stories! like what bren did.. this one time i was drinking my apple cider and i saw a bunch of black things floating around... ants... hahah and to my pensionista (landlady) i was like " ummm there a million ants in my drink" and she was like oops sorry it happens sometimes" then she grabbed my drink and started picking out the ants with her finger! lolll i was like oh my goodness... good ol jungle life.. hhaa then she handed it back to me. and ya i drank it. lolll
    hows things with my bank card? is it on its way? can you ask mom to double check that i will be able to use it in peru? i got the money from western union. thank goodness.. i waited in line for about 2 hours but it was worth it. thanks!! and no one tried to rob me. hah its pretty safe here. safer than i thought it would be.
     so a few days ago it rained HARD(ill send pics) and so i was completely soaked.. we went home and i changed and left my super nice walking shoes out to dry. and when i got home that night i looked in my shoe and a freekin mouse chewed a hole on the inside! thank goodness that it didn't chew through the rubber bottom but i was so mad! seriously i could have strangled the heck out of that dang mouse!!!!! soooo i learned to always have a window open so that the odours of the room and go awaw cause that's what attracts the mice... oh well! lol so the lady and her husband that we live with are awesome. she took my shoes and washed them. so when we were gone they searched our room for the mouse... and when we got back our room was spotless! totally reminded me of what mom does... how she used to clean my room lol it was so nice of her! so we went over to her and thanked her and she started crying saying she was so grateful to god that we lived with her and that we are her daughters and that's why she takes care of us. her daughter is on a mission right now so she adores us! shes awesome though. always is bringing us stuff to eat and drink and she made us this awesome jungle bag! so now i use it on my p days.
     also.... my comp had a meeting so i paired up with this other american missionary.. shes super shy and has about 3 months on her mission. shes having a real hard time with the language.. so we went over to her area to proselite while our comps were in the training meeting... and i was nervous. because i knew i was going to have to take lead in all the lessons and contacting and getting around the city since we would be alone for about 4 hours. but it was awesome! so nice to see my progress! my spanish is pretty good now and now i know that i can do it.. i can teach full lessons and contact and help other people... its that with my companion she likes to take the lead so i never have known my full capacity but now i do :) it was nice to be with the american hermana for a bit.. it was so weird to be with a white girl! and so weird to speak english! but so fun! she was asking me so many questions and how to get better with the language. i felt so bad for her and she kept thanking me for being so patient with her.. shes awseome! anyway so we got to this less actives house and she was super busy and we offered to help so my companion cut the potatoes and guess what i did... gutted and cut up a chicken loll so now i know how to do that! 
 
 
 
   i was studying mosiah 3:19. and king benjamin was preparing the people to take upon them the name of christ and it says: 
 19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
i really like this verse. its helped me alot. this week i have been praying for the lord to show me the qualities i need to improve on. and every week he shows me and helps me be better. i'm always scared to pray for this cause a challenge always comes along for me to exercise these qualities. first i get super stressed and discouraged and then i pray for help and then i realize " OHH!! hes trying to show me how to be more humble or submissive or patient or full of love!" then i try to apply those things to the situation and i feel better.
    well i better get going!!!!! LOVE YOU ALL! tell ten i'm gunna kick his butt cause he never writes me!
 
me and hna rodriguez and cutting hair for a relief society activity

carlos y españa!!! and their ADORABLE baby!!!!!

service at carlos and españas house.. building that roof thing.. i forget what its called. it was fun!
so to the left is hna price then i'm on the other end. hna jensen is beside me. hna price is the abuela.. and then hna rodriguez is my mom.. hah get it? cause shes training me... and hna price dies in two weeks... (meaning she goes home) lolll


 
 
 

Monday, August 18, 2014

i'm a pro boxer!!

mom and dad!!! first of all dad, NEVER think that you fill your emails with too much doctrine and not enough personal stuff. its okay! i love reading and studying the doctrine you send me. it helps me so much in my week. it makes me feel like you are here encouraging me. its awesome dad :) wow i'm excited for when i will get to say "dad" again to you. and hug the priesthood!! its soooo forbidden to hug a boy its crazy cause i really do miss hugging you brendan and tennyson. wow i'm kinda sad right now because i forgot to bring my piece of paper that has all the points that i want to talk about. oh well..
     so i will be careful at western union when i go. i'll see if the zone leaders can come with me. they are super tall and big! lol hermana rodriguez (my comp) tells everyone that i'm a pro boxer cause she says i have a temper. but i don't know how she can tell that i have one because i'm always super nice! she was like "i can just see it in your face that you are tough" hahah! i was a little flattered but at the same time i don't want to come off as mean! lol but seriously we have been getting along SO much better! we have been having a lot of fun this week. 
for some reason i break down every thursday... the day where we plan our week and set goals. but after i break down we always talk and have a heart to heart and i feel energized for the rest of the week. the mission will never be easy and i've come to terms with it. but i always think to myself that a year and a half of this will help me learn to withstand anything in life! so many people think that a mission is easy and all we do is preach. that is not the case at all. we are always helping other people in so many ways.. family issues, service, planning activities, meetings, stress, and other personal things and more. it is NOT easy. but i'm so glad its not easy. i love learning and i can feel myself becoming stronger and stronger. i know its good for when i have my future children and husband. the mission is the best thing a person can do for OTHERS and themselves! thank you mom and dad for helping me get to where i am. like lana said in one of her emails, i always bear my testimony that families can be together forever and i find so much comfort knowing that i am sealed to you mom bren ten lana and vix forever and that our family will be together forever as long as we keep the commandments. i know that there is nothing that can make us happier than to keep the commandments. they are there for a reason. its so true that we can feel a sense of peace, belonging, and happiness if we keep the commandments. also, satan has less of a grasp on us. its crazy how much he wants to destroy families.GRR! 
     so about carlos y españa... the baptist missionaries have been spying on us hahah. they go visit them and tell them that they are making a mistake by listening to us and that if carlos goes to their church they will buy him a prosthetic leg. so carlos wanted to go to that church on sunday instead and españa was like.. " NO!!! you know that we have received an answer to our prayers and that THIS is the true church of god!" haha she makes me so proud cause at the beginning she didn't want to listen to us. then they came to church. we told espana that we should always respect other religions and be kind to the other missionaries no matter what because she's got a temper on her and says that she mouths them off sometimes. i couldn't imagine being in the position of carlos... being offered a leg and having to choose... i feel so bad for him and we are praying to figure out what we can do to help him.
       so i'm glad that the boys are going to the gym! my view on going to the gym has changed so much. its so important to stay fit and healthy. and i'm so glad that vicky is having an awesome summer! i remember being her age and going out to beazer to hang out at the farm with all my cousins and grandmas! it was so fun going to the creek on a scorching hot day and running around causing trouble! hahah. well its been pretty hot here but i'm used to it now. its crazy humid and my whole body is constantly wet and i'm always so excited to shower from my garbage can when i get home bahaha! oh man its crazy how much the mission changes you! i seriously never thought i would be able to handle living in the conditions i live in! but it feels normal(for now) i'm grateful for what i have. i'm so grateful for canada. i don't think i'll ever take it for granted again. people always ask me if i have my own car and when i say yes they are in shock. i love the people here. they are super humble and we always find people to teach. Peru is awesome! i'm hoping that i can be in this area long enough to spend christmas here.cant believe that august is halfway over... then it'll be september.. then october! WOAH! then christmas! then 2015!! and then the year countdown will happen but i'll be so sad to leave this place! good thing i still have 16 months here.. hahah i really am enjoying it and am doing excellent. can't wait to speak in spanish with you guys on the phone! me and lana always email back and forth. i love her so much. she's such an awesome misionera. when we get home we plan on living together and waking up at 6 30 every morning to study the gospel then have study together.. haha i'm so glad i will have her so that we can both adapt to the real world together cause i'm sure its going to be hard to get back to the real world. well i love you guys so much and thanks for the support!! love hermana blackmore
 
Hermana Pena and I at the airport to Lima

 
the monkey at one of the less actives that we visit! hahaha hes cool!

this is the familia Canayo. they feed us for our breakfast and supper. luz karen is the young one beside me on the end that reminds me of Leen. shes awesome!!! this family i love so much. if i'm here for christmas i will be with them. i love them ALL!! we get along so well and i'm thankful i get to see them everyday. 
 the other pic of of our district leaders! they are awesome! muy chistoso!
 
hahaha luz karen! she also always comes out with us!

this house is considered pituko.... but only this room was nice. the rest was dirt floor. they are an awesome family. see the big poster in the background? well its so cheesy cause it has quotes on it and a picture of whoever and EVERYONE has these types of pics hung on there house and me and my comp want to get one of us!

it was sunny and then BANG!! RAIN! i'm not even exaggerating when i say that you can shampoo and rinse your hair in this rain. it fell so hard we were soaked! we were out looking for less actives and it just happened :)

Saturday, August 16, 2014

my perspective is changing

HEYY FAMILY!!!
    This week has been awesome! we have received many answers to our prayers. the lord is helping our investigators with problems they are having and we teach with the spirit for every lesson. its awesome! and we had a meeting with the bishop yesterday and he was crying because he couldn't believe that so many inactives were coming back to church and people were accepting callings!! he was like "thank you so much!!" tears streaming down... so we haven't even met with half the inactives. we keep finding more and more and rescuing more and more and the lord is really leading us to them. there's a few that we are working with that said they have been waiting for us cause they need help. its been a week full of fun and miracles. my comp and i set a goal to always be happy and find the good in everything and its working. we are always so cheerful. we hit the gym every morning and it helps a lot. we lost an investigator because the leaders said that the investigator is staring at me and always trying to get close to me so we had to pass him to the elders. LOL i'm glad tho because we were very professional with him and clarified who we represent but he still continued to call in inappropriate names so they have to take him from us. its definitely a different world here and i'm going to kill this keyboard!!! the keys don't press well so i'm slamming the keys like a crazy woman haaahhaha.
   so i flew to lima city last tuesday and it was awesome!! got to see some elders in my group at the MTC! and it was COLD!!! it felt so good!!! hhaha AND i had a HOT SHOWER!!!!!! i put it on as hot as i could stand and enjoyed it while it lasted! hahah it was awesome. and it was soo weird being in a modern city! its so developed compared to here and it made me a little trunky haah. but i was glad to fly back to iquitos and carry on with my mission.
    so the members here really are great. they are super nice and take really good care of us! we feel so loved by them. they are always feeding us and giving us stuff and greeting us and all... its awesome. i love them. i feel like a therapist. EVERYONE always tells us ALL there problems with there marriage kids friends past... etc. and they are seeking for help. this week was awesome but overwhelming because everyone was telling us their problems! like lesson after lesson was them spilling all their problems. it caused us to push back a few baptism dates but we were so happy to help them. its crazy how much they trust us!! at the end of the day where everyone was telling us their problems we were EXAUSTED! its crazy how tired you can get from helping people all day. its so rewarding to see the progress tho. i LOVE my mission and i love being here. there are so many little moments and miracles that happen that remind me why I'm here and how much my own life and perspective is changing by being here immersed in the lord's work. like last night we found this awesome family of gold. the mom learned to pray and said the final prayer. it was one of the most heartfelt prayers i've heard here. she spilled her heart out and told the lord that she was so happy we found her and that she has a chance to go to church and repent and be happy. of course i was all teary eyed from feeling the spirit so strong and i was so happy because i knew the lord was pleased that she was talking to him. i could feel it.
    so i was reading my book of mormon and came across a short scripture that made me think alma 39:14.  says something like seek not the riches of the world, because you cannot carry them with you forever. and its so true. glamour and money and name brand clothes don't matter. and a fancy engagement ring don't matter. heck give me a piece of string and i'll tie that around my finger for the rest of my life! hahah the people here are so content with the little that they have and i love it. its so tranquillo.
   dad, when i get home me and lana are going to take you to the gym everyday! alright?? its so fun! i'm training like 5 ppl right now and its hilarious! there's a few members that come with us in the morning and have no idea how to use the machines! LOL its so fun! my comp thought that if she used the bicycle too much she would get super skinny like too skinny and i was like haaha no that won't happen with the amount of food they give us. and i taught her how to use the bench press and she says she feels so cool when she uses it but always makes me spot her with the single bar because shes scared it will fall on her face. its super fun!! well i love you all so much and trust me when i say i am enjoying the mission ALOT! thank you everyone for your support! xoxox
 
ps forgot to say that yes we contact on the street. 100 contacts a week at least is what we do. its fun! we don't go door to door because we have a ton of investigators and less actives that we are visiting. our schedule for this week is pretty much all filled so we are going to do divisions again. :)

Monday, August 4, 2014

to get married you have to have luck... lol

dad! did you get my pics? you didn't say a thing about my pics! wellll i think i have talked a bit about my investigators caros y espana.. ya? they have the cutest baby girl in the whole world and carlos lost a leg in a crash. anyway i remember when we first went to visit carlos and espana. espana always ran away when we came but carlos was happy to see us cause he was super unhappyand discouraged about his leg and thought it was a punishment from god. he had no faith. so we kept visiting with him and he was starting to do better and better. he was understanding our message so good! and then little by little espana would join in on the lessons. shes super cool! muy chistosa! hahah she has a super fun personality.so we started teaching them both and espana started getting super happy when we would come! it made us so happy that she finally would join in on the lessons. she wanted to hear what it was that made carlos change and made him happier. she said she couldnt believe that he was having a change. so yesterday we were there and they were pouring their hearts out telling us how they want us to come everyday and how they love when we are around because theres something "different" about us :) it made us feel so good. and espana was like... guess what..! i'm going to get married!.... we were so happy because we have been talking to them about matrimony and the law of chastity and how they can only be baptized if they get married. its awsome to see their progress!!! makes us feel so good. its crazy because here nobody is married unless you're mormon. they say that to get married you have to have luck... lol huh?
         so my spanish is improving alot. i still have lots to learn and its super super frustrating because i can't understand everything that the people here say. they talk with A LOT of slang. its annoying because i would understand everything if their accents weren't so heavy and if they didn't talk with so much slang. but its okay ill get there.. poco a poco. i LOVE when we are in a lesson and i totally have the spirit with me and i can talk and talk and talk and talk and not have to think about what im going to say. thats the best and when i feel most confident. its amazing how much my testimony is growing. i'm getting a better understanding of the christlike attributes and the things i should do to develop them.

      i'm glad that bren went to that ysa thing! finding a spouse isn't as easy as some people think though.its so important to choose wisely.and that's awesome that you went to grandmas!! i miss it there a lot. some days i wish i could be home. the days that are hard.... the jungle isn't easy and neither is having a companion but its SO worth it. i love it here and i am having so much fun and i love the people. the people here love us sister missionaries so much to. its awesome.so i don't know if i mentioned this but the area we are in hasn't had sister missionaries for almost 2 years so its nice being the first sisters here in a long time because everyone is so excited to see us all the time. haha so how was grans house? does she miss me!! lol it will be so weird coming home and not having rules and not having to be home so early everyday and listening to music and watching music and not having a set schedule! i am collecting missionary planners so that i can use them when i get home. i always want to use one. seriously they are so productive.
   that's so funny that when you got into my car my subs were up loud and you felt like it was giving you a back massage!! hahaha who had it up so loud?? you do know how to turn the bass down right? LOL i bet ten feels so cool driving in it. you didn't give me lanas mail address DAD!!! hahah can i have it please? well i love you lots. thank you once again for your awesome emails. they help me a lot through the hard times in my week. i love you LOTS
    Hermana Blackmore