Monday, November 9, 2015

we should literally get onto our knees

welllllll looks like i'll be "dying" here in this area as sister leader and I'm training again... her name is hermana garcia. she's SOOOOO nice! she's from Lima. we get along great and are very united,

so we had leadership meeting with president this week and me and the zone leaders really tried to receive revelation on what the should train our zone on after the meeting... so we prayed and got together and planned it and it was a reeeeaaaly nice training that we did. we trained together. so me hatch and muñoz took turns talking and we really wanted the zone to receive their own revelation and feel the spirit. we trained on the atonement and setting goals and giving an account of what we achieved during the week to the lord in our prayers. it was an awesome training. so we talked about how we should literally get onto our knees with our agendas and tell the lord what we did for that day, repent, and seek council as to what we can do better. so I've been doing that and let me tell ya its awesome. i really love it because i can see what i need to do better and the lord helps me know what to do to achieve my goals. and as i study the atonement i understand better the importance of doing the lord's will. so this week was awesome. i can't wait to share my testimony with you guys in person. i can't wait to share the gospel with everyone back home because i wish i would of done that before my mission. i am so grateful for this gospel. it has helped me understand my purpose even more and has helped me understand how to learn from my trials. i love you all so much. read the scriptures daily please. i always always think about how much i miss studying the scriptures and praying with you guys daily! i'll never forget how awesome it was when dad would explain the scriptures and it would just all of a sudden come to life for me. i love you all. CTR xoxoxoxo hermana blackmore(the cool one)

Monday, November 2, 2015

i don't have time to think about you guys!

haha this week has been hard..  but that's how it is. one of my comps didn't understand the importance of inviting to a baptism EVERY lesson. she didn't get why.. i tried explaining it to her and she said that if the spirit didn't tell her to then she wouldn't do it.. i told her that the spirit didn't have to tell her to do her job and we should be fearless and bold but not overbearing. because when we don't invite to a baptism we are backing up the progress of the investigator.. once we were in a lesson and i felt that i should invite to a date in specific.. it was the second lesson.. so i was like alright i'll do it! so i started doing it and my companion nudged me.. she was thinking "are you crazy!" and he accepted! and is progressing like crazy.. we walked out and i told her... we should invite to a baptism date no longer than the second lesson... and she insisted we would lose investigators that day but i explained that its better to lose them and not waste our time. if we lose them for inviting them to a baptism then they don't wanna repent and aren't going to progress and we can leave them and find people who will progress>!! its all one big cycle! BUT... i love missionary work!! i remember at the beginning of my mission i used to be a little scared  of what everyone would think. but i've learned that there is absolutely no shame in being a disciple of christ and there is no shame in helping others come unto christ for their salvation! i loveeee this church soo much. its the bomb..

hahaha honestly i keep soooo busy with my calling that i don't have time to think about you guys! just at night when i'm laying in bed.hahaa dad i would honestly be fine with it if mom brought me a container to the airport full of potato soup for me to eat until lana gets there.. loll  i hope they can change lana's flights but i doubt it... tell pres marks that he can release us on the 9th at whatever time..... but i just threw out everything that i won't be bringing home... just a few souvenirs and some clothes from here that i will wear at home. its not much. well i love you all so much! be good and we will talk next week! hard to believe that you will only be receiving 4 more emails from me and lana!! love u!!

 

Monday, October 26, 2015

i'm 90 percent jungle

what up dad!!!
 
might as well just pick me up at 5 in pg and we can go out for supper or something. and just talk for a while! i'll probably hug you for 5 hours dad!!! hahaha and then we can go pick up LANA!! LAMAROOO YAY! i wonder who will be more tan. probably me!! just kidding. that's not important... buttttttttt anyway... yeah so i picked up all my junk from the offices yesterday and i threw away sooo much useless stuff... and don't worry.. i do NOT plan on bringing my bed sheets hot.. not even my pillow and not my clothes.. just a few skirts that are still good and some shirts. and stuff that the members have boughten me. my pillow is pooched (dad's word) it officially ripped in half last night.. its had a good year and a half. can't wait to have my old pillow back (the one gramma Penny gave me. i'm sure its still put away right??) i'm so glad i didn't bring that pillow here. its sooo nice. but yeah i'm leaving my shoes here. dad, everyone wants my shoes. there are lots of sisters who suffer because they didn't bring good shoes and i feel bad so i'm going to leave them here. just going to bring the shoes on my feet which will be the ripped ones i have so i can leave the other shoes here for sisters who need them. be prepared to receive your daughter from the jungle... i'm 90 percent jungle and 10 percent canadian now... hahaha my skin needs treatment, my hair, my feet, everything! lolllll i hope you don't all get to freaked out when u see me. 

anyway this week was awesome! we worked hard and found 4 awesome families! we found a family who lost 6 kids. 4 in an accident and 2 when they were babies. only one is alive..... we taught the plan of salvation and the spirit was incredibly strong! the dad was crying and really wants us to come back. i think i have only cried in front of an investigator 3 times on my mission and when we said the last prayer i couldn't hold it in and i teared up... we left and as soon as we got around the corner i stopped to cry.. i had a good little cry for the first time in verrrrrry long. i told my comp that i couldn't imagine how they feel. i couldn't imagine losing brendan lana tennyson and vicky without knowing about the plan of salvation. that family has been through so much. they are very humble. its moments like that where i wanna stay here forever and find everyone and teach them according to their needs. but yesterday there was a special conference for peru and bolivia. there was a lot of emphasis on keeping covenants and going to the temple. its so awesome that we have the opportunity to make covenants with the lord. our covenants protect us so much but is the only way we can enter into gods presence. 

dad, my testimony on prayer, families, and priesthood has grown so much. i know god answers prayers. its amazing. i love my families so much and families really are a huge part of gods plan for us. and without priesthood power no pasa nada... i love this church. its so true that i almost don't believe it.. hahah 

but i hope you all are enjoying the crisp weather! i'm over here breathing water and super hot all the time. hahah

and about x mas... we can do whatever you all wanna do! that would be awesome dad if you could get xmas off!! and mom to. i would be happpy with whatever you all decide to do. i just wanna go to el cine :) hahah but hey dad maybe i can go to work with you once dad and keep you company and we can just talk about our missions. is there a spot for me or would that be too difficult?

fun fact: remember how picky i was with my food? before the mission i would never eat an onion or cooked tomatos or potato soup etc... welllllll i eat onions now (WHAT!) and i'll eat potato soup any day... i'll eat whatever.. except cow stomach or weird stufflike that. but i'm like the least picky person now! so weird eh!! my comp has 5 months on the mission and is sooo picky and its crazy cause looking back i was wayy pickier than her.. i told her that there is no such thing as a princess in the jungle and sometimes we just have to accept what happens cause there is nothing we can do about it... LIFE....right dad?? 

well thank you for everything you have taught me. last sunday i was asked to bear my testimony on scripture study and prayer within the family.. let me tell ya.. i talked about you and mom lots. i love you both so much. thank you for your love for me. i know you guys want the best for me. i am a weak person and have so many flaws but i will always try to overcome them. i trust that god gives us weakness to humble us, them those weak things will become strong. love u lots.!!!!! XOXOXOXCTR


 
 
 

Monday, October 19, 2015

well not much has happened here lately...

nope no goofing off for me just because its the end of my mission because i KNOW i would regret that! how are you all doing?!!!! i'm glad kalene made it home safe! i wrote her the last couple months of her mission. we sent pics back and forth. kalene has always been a loyal awesome and fun friend to me. i love her a lot and value our friendship a lot. after all she was one of my first friends when we moved to the fort! she's known me since 9 years old! woah! i am excited to see her again! i really wanna hang out with her and just talk about our missions. its really cool how a mission teaches you soooooo much. before the mission i couldn't have just prepared a talk for sacrament 10 minutes before. but here i always get asked to do it. once i forgot that the bishop had asked me to speak and in sacrament while he was at the pulpit he had reminded me by announcing that i was going to speak... i felt sooo bad! so i got up there with my scriptures and my preach my gospel and notes and it turned out pretty good. the thing is that the more we study, the more the spirit has to draw from us. i accepted the challenge from general conference to memorize a scripture a week. so i'm actually memorizing two a week. i'm memorizing alma 5. i just love that chapter. but anyway its true that i feel much more confident when i speak in public. or when i give my opinion in classes. i really love my mission. its been so special to me and i'm excited to keep studying my scriptures when i get home. i want to buy those books that gran uses to study. the book of mormon has one and the bible too. its like a book that helps you understand the doctrine better. 
    well not much has happened here lately... i havn't told you guys many stories because i'm saving it for when i get home and i make a slideshow with pics so i have stories to tell.... we moved today and its the nicest place i've lived in ALL my mission. i can say that i will die (a term we use when we are finishing the mission. so when you finish you "die") in peace.... haha we live with our new pensionista so that's super nice. she gives us good food :) i'm enjoying it. and my comp is awesome and all the sisters in the zone that i take care of are awesome! i love them all soooo much! i just want them to be happy and enjoy the work! 
    well i love you all and i'll see you soon. xoxoxoxox
me and my companion. from Lima         
 
us moving out this morning.. the zone leaders came over and helped us.. well they basically did everything hahaha this is them lowering the fridge.. jungle style.. hahaha we just threw everything down
 
yeppppp all packed and ready to go! this is how we get around.. haha and its legal :)
 
on the bus heading to a conference! .. hahha
 
this is what we use for transport.. motokars! they are cheap... we take about 3 a day
 
i alwyas get asked if im shakira... its sooo old!!! . and everyone thinks its so funny
 

Monday, October 12, 2015

I feel like i've given it my all.

Hey dad! Welllllllllll another week down. Nutz ehhhh. i will miss it!!! Haha wellll this week has been sooo hard… I was sooooo stressed and burdened I felt…. We have leadership meeting and it stressed me out more. My great sister missionary friend hna Jackson came from Pucallpa for the meeting to and stayed with us. It helped  me out so much cause she just talked to me…we went to the offices and I received a blessing from my zone leaders. It was the best blessing i've received my whole mission. We were sitting in the offices, me hna Jackson elder hatch and elder Muñoz and I was just telling them how I felt….. then I offered a prayer before the blessing to invite the spirit…. The tears started pouring down. HARD!!! I havn't cried in soooo long so they all came pouring out!! Then I said amen and I was crying hard… they put their hands on my head and the first thing hatch said was “peace be unto you”. And paused for about 15 seconds. And my tears stopped flowing and I got soooo sleepy and relaxed. I enjoyed the blessing a lot. He said that I would feel my family's love through the prayers they send up to heaven for me. And said lots of really cool stuff……  made me feel good! So now i'm on my two feet again working hard!!! I feel like i've given it my all. I feel like here i've done everything I can do and it feels good. I feel good. But thank you for always praying for me! And always taking care of me.
    Good to hear that lyssa went to visit jaxon!! It’s a long trip! haha but i did ask the offices for my travel plans! and they told me that lana should get hers within the next few 7 or 8 days from now. when you get her's can you send them to me so i can see when we meet up??? i'm sure we will meet up in LA cause the offices said that's where they were going to connect us. YAY! i'm so ready to see her. i miss her soooooo much. i know when we see each other we are going to cry and scream and won't care what anyone in the airport thinks. then we will find a payphone and call you guys and you'll get to hear us together at the same time! haha well dad yes i have been taking the vitamins. i think they help! i hope so cause its sometimes the only nutrition i get during the day... so thanks so much for sending them! when i get home i plan on eating lots of healthy stufff. i miss healthy so much. but anyway i hope they open up the ski hill this year!!! 

well i love you all and hope you are all being obedient to the commandments and always giving thanks to god. loveee u so much!!!\
 
this is a huge chunk of my area. it goes down real far and other streets off to the side too. it floods every november and december.

this is silvia. she lives in front of our home in front of a little humble home. she loves the missionaries and is very independent. she was born handicapped and is the biggest sweetheart ever! we found her one night just sitting there having a bonfire and it was so cute so we took pics!!

be grateful for what you've got! you can see the line of up to where the water floods every year. like 3 families live there.
 
 

Monday, October 5, 2015

i believe it can be classified as heavenly love

hey dad!!! man this week was nutzzz and awesome! i'm learning sooo much. i am super happy because at this point on my mission i feel the closest to my heavenly father than i have ever been. it is such an amazing feeling. i feel so connected with him when i pray. i have a much stronger testimony on prayers. it was so nice to listen to conference this weekend. it was exactly what i needed. it made me so happy and i felt so good. i can't even describe the feelings i got while listening to these men and women called by god to speak. i am grateful for the 3 new apostles. i know they are called of god. there are a few things that impacted me a lot.

first: that we must magnify our callings! it is so important to fulfill our callings with all diligence without being slothful. there are so many people who need there hands lifted, who need sustaining and support and help.

second: it is extremely important to keep the commandments with exact obedience. obedience gives us spiritual protection and helps us firm our grasp on the iron rod. who cares if the people in the great and spacious building laugh at us. there is no shame in trying to achieve eternal life and trying to have an eternal family.

third: i LOVE MY MOM AND DAD!!!! the talk that holland gave left me in tears. i don't think i've ever cried so much during conference. i missed mom so much and i just wanted to hug her. 9 weeks and i'll get to hug her! she is the best mom ever! she bares with me, she prays for me she sacrifices for me and loves me so much. her mortal love for me is so much that i believe it can be classified as heavenly love. so thank you mom for being determined and saintly! you are the pure love of christ! 
    and dad..... thank you for warning me about the dangers of the world. for always telling me the consequences of good and bad choices, for not beating around the bush and for always being open and direct with me and never embarrassed to say anything to me and never afraid to offend me. thank you for always saying i love you to me and hugging me and kissing me! and for the whisker rubs on my cheeks! haahhaa you guys save me. thank you for doing family prayer always and scriptures with us. i miss you guys so much......

soooo we have interviews with the president. crazy to think that my next interview with him will be my exit interview. what!! time has flown. and also we had a good chat. i told him that if i get a new companion next transfer for my last change i would like her to be the hardest companion on the whole mission. i asked him to pray to receive revelation as to whom would be the hardest companion for me. i want her :) he thought i was joking and told me that in all his time here i was the second missionary who has requested this. the other missionary was an elder. haha he laughed and said that he was glad that i was willing to learn from my trials. well its true that there are a lot of trials on the mission. but its better to learn from them than not learn from them...

so don't forget to schedule my homecoming talk for the 13 of diciembre. i love you all so much! be good!!!

Monday, September 28, 2015

fly me back!

daddy!! I MISS YOU!! so i had changes... when the president called and said i would be sister leader in zona punchana(stilll in iquitos) i cried!!!! we cried!! my daughter hna arteaga was the best companion ever! i absolutely enjoyed my companionship with her and hna child. it was sooooo sooooo fun and the time blew by with her. now me and lana only have 10 weeks left on the mish....... so here i am as sister leader with another comp from Lima peru with 4 months on the mission. she's not sister leader but its funny cause sometimes she thinks that she's training me on the mission. haha she's very young so i cut her lots of slack. wanna know what i've learned with this new calling???? that when you pray for people you don't love everyday... you learn to love them soooo much and worry about them.. i absolutely LOVE the sisters in my zone. they are so amazing. they all have less time than me on the mission. i'm one of the oldest in the zone! i think there is like 1 elder who has more time the me. the rest are youngins! weird eh! never thought i'd be old on the mission!!!! i trained the zone on "the importance of our own conversion on the mission." at the end i invited them all to do three things that are very important that can help them be converted to the work... three things that have helped me convert myself.
1. get rid of bad/negative thoughts. you control your mind. your mind does not control you. do not think about the heat the excuses the walking the poverty.. etc.
2. Decide to change. only you can decide that you want to change...... we are here on the mission and we can either cry and be sad and complain the whole mission or change into the people that the lord wants us to become.
3. Apply the atonement in your life everyday starting NOW. accept jesus christ as your redeemer. he suffered way more than we suffer here. we are not alone. he walks with us every minute of the day....... mision peru iquitos is a very hard mission.... but do it for jesus christ....

then i invited everyone to keep saying everyday " i will do it for jesus christ"  its true that we are not alone. i remember at the beginning of my mission i cried and i complained and i thought to myself that this mission was insane and HARD.. then one day, i remember, i decided there was nothing i could do about it. i could either complain, slack off, miss home, be high tempered, or i could change! i could use the time to mold myself into the person god wants me to be! and let me tell ya..... i have learned SO MUCH!! AHH! i love the mission. i may not love living in hot weather or a crappy house but i love the mission. i love god. i love the atonement. i love the things i've learned. i feel stronger. your testimony is really something you will rely on when temptations come... before i gave my training in front of the zone i started with a dream that i ALWAYS have. i've had it abut 20 times on my mission......

in my dream i'm at home... having fun, relaxing.... sometimes lana is there and i'm sooo happy to have my sister with me... you're there dad... mom is there... the whole family... i'm enjoying it and all of a sudden i get a sick feeling and realize i'm NOT on my mission and that i still have a few months left to go,. and i wonder why i'm home and it boggles my mind. i get frustrated and look for as phone and try to call the president.... i panic and i yell out that i need to get back to the mission field... my time to change and do the lord's will is not yet finished! and i always tell dad in the dream to fly me back! 
   then i wake up...
and i am grateful that i am still on the mission and i have the opportunity to finish the mission. that dream i've had about 30 times. and it always motivates me to set goals to change. its good :)      

well i love you lots! remember a personal conversion is constant... it never ends!! love you alll!!

oh and dad me and lana fly out on the 8th... i don't know the exact time but i'm sure you will get the itinerary in about a week... i asked the offices. but please let me know when you get it!!! so tell everyone they can book off time for that day. and me and lana have already talked about the food we want! hahha  ARROZ AGUADO! LOL. and pizza! anything! i don't mind onions now by the way... weird eh??? i ain't picky no more... well not really.. i think.. and also we already planned to do a slideshow! i have it a little planned out... man do i ever have stories for you guys! awesome stories!! we are definitely going to put together a mini fireside... its going to be great.,.,

Monday, September 21, 2015

well its been a busy week. fun but busy

hey dad!! well i think that you havn't heard anything about our flight plans because they book them about 2 and a half months in advance. the secretary here said that he is going to book the flights this week. but apparently they call you about a month before to tell you the flight plans. but please let me know when you receive the flight plans. well its been a busy week. fun but busy. lots of lessons. we had an awesome baptism and today are changes. i've got three transfers here in this area so there is a chance i will go. i'm sure the next place i go will be the place i finish my mission because i've only got 2 transfers left... 11 weeks. crazyyyyyyyyyy
    one thing i have been thinking about a lot lately is how much i love love love this gospel. i love when the prophets and apostles speak with the spirit. they just make SO much sense! i was reading the liahona this morning on why its so important for a mom and dad to have a strong marriage. its because it will bless their children. the whole time i thought on you and mom. i know you guys aren't perfect but you love mom lots and mom loves you and that let me sleep at night. it allowed me to learn what kind of a man i hope for in the future. thank you so much for loving one another. it has helped me so much with my testimony. here in iquitos, its very rare when a couple is married, so i am able to testify to couples that a family with parents who are married will be blessed. i have grown to love love love the proclamation to the world! i almost got that thing memorized. i like putting emphasis on the part that says that those who abuse their spouse or children will have to answer to god.! cause here they struggle with showing their love to their wives .... and husbands.  but one thing i know is that this gospel is true and perfect. its SO true and perfect that i almost can't believe it! haha. i love it. so i was wondering if you could ask the bishop if we can give our homecoming talks on the 13 of diciembre. just like make sure he schedules it cause that's when the family will be there eh??

well i love yallll!!!!!!! enjoy the cold while i'm here dying! lolll
 

pictures from today about an hour ago!! me and my daughter ( girl i'm training)
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

and then all of a sudden my fan caught fire!

hey dad thank you for your lovely email :) this week was a good one. busy busy as always. my companion finishes her 12 semanas and i start my last 12 semanas. i have been thinking a lot lately about the decisions i have made on my mission and the things that have impacted me the most. i have never realized more in my life how natural we are and weak. we fall all the time. sometimes without even knowing it. but that's why the atonement was necessary, i am so grateful for it. i love reading my jesus the christ book because it helps me get deep into the feel of the atonement. it makes me want to use the atonement everyday. i have been learning lots lately about many things. i've been reflecting on the things i knew before the mission and the things i know now. i really want to apply the things i've learnt on my mission to my life after the mission. 
   we have an investigator that is getting baptized this saturday. it was really enjoyable to teach him and see his progress. he is so ready for the gospel. his prayers are very sincere and he always thanks the lord for the opportunity that he has to be baptized and make a covenant with the lord. so i think about the covenant i made with my heavenly father when i was baptized. i received the gift of the holy ghost and think about how grateful i am to have learned on my mission how to discern the spirit better than before.
   the mission rocks! it really does :) i'm so grateful for it! i'm grateful that ten and jax are planning on going on one! they will never regret it if they go out for the right reasons :)
so this week was also insane because its one of the hottest weeks i've experienced on my mission. it was SOOOO HOT ALLL WEEK! no clouds and no rain and HUMID! i bet it felt like at least 45 degrees,,, ughhhhh i froze 3 water bottles and all through the night was putting them on my back and my stomach. and the fans were on full blast. we had stake conference yesterday and it just happened to be the day that the light was out and there was NO air conditioning and everyone was fanning themselves and the kids were going crazy and it was kinda sad cause no one was paying attention. it was very hard. its so hot that you feel like you're in a sauna. then to make it worse.. one night me and my comp woke up at like 3 am cause it was so hot and i hopped in the shower and came out and layed on the floor which was slightly a little cooler than my bed and we talked in the dark trying to cool off and then all of a sudden my fan caught fire! and i was like NO PLEASE NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! so i turned it off and unplugged it and it smelled bad and i about died that night. then i woke up in the morning hopped in the shower and was hot the rest of the day... tilll this very second. haha i remember last year it was about this hot! super crazy. i couldn't help but think of you guys in the cool crisp air.! AH! i am sooo grateful for seasons!!!! real seasons... that consist of spring summer fall and winter! lolll well i love you all lots. take care! XOXOXOX

Monday, September 7, 2015

i'll never regret it

dear daddy. hello. how are you. i love you. anyway.... this week was awesome. spiritual. and i enjoyed it. i have been reading jesus the christ. i'm on the saddest part. i read about how jesus suffered in Gethsemane and now he is about to be crucified. its so crazy how smart jesus is. he is so perfect. he knew he was going to die being crucified but he is so perfect that his trial was a complete and total false trial. he was 100 percent innocent. but to me its crazy that while he was being accused in front of everyone and pilate was trying to back him up, jesus was calm.. and just hours before that he had been suffering for his accusers in Gethsemane. and there they were, thirsting for his blood to shed. it makes me cry reading it but it also makes me want to be better. so for the rest of this week i will ask myself. what gift am i giving jesus christ? i will offer a broken heart and contrite spirit. i will try to be more humble. of all the things he asks in return it is that we love our neighbor. but you are right dad. it is so hard to keep an eye single to the glory of god. but why!! when jesus is the one who saves us from everything. it makes me sad to think that i am not perfect but then i think about how jesus doesn't want me or us to be sad. he just asks that  we repent of our sins and try to be better. that's the truth. he just tells us to keep the commandments and repent..

i love you all so very much, i'm so happy i decided to serve a mission. i'll never regret it. i'm grateful that brendan served a mission because he was an example for me that helped me so much. he is a huge reason i am on a mission and i strive to be better. brendan is so chill and nice(usually) that here on the mission i often think of him and how he reacted to people who treated him bad. i wish i was more like that. and dad i often think about the wise words you always had for me. you saved my life. seriously dad if you never would have taken the time to have soooo many heart to hearts with me and talk to me with love i know i would have gone very astray. so thanks to you and mom i am here. thanks to so many good examples in my life.. love you very much! xoxox

 
 
 
 

Monday, August 31, 2015

i love everything about the gospel

well sorry dad but my pdays i'm allowed to feel 10 percent trunky! hahaha just kidding. i promise i always stay focused. home does not keep me from working my hardesst... i promise! ya i'm pretty sure i'll be flown to mexico to meet up with lana when she finishes. that's what the flight people are saying. it'll be finalized in about 15 days supposedly.. yay! so we have only got about 14 weeks left on the mission... sad ;( but happy. and yes dad me and lana will want the fireplace on fullll blast. and we expect you to come skiing with us and make snow angels with us.
    well this week has been great! our investigator that didn't believe that god loved us is getting baptized because she knows now that he loves her! she is sooo smart! she will be a firm member for sure!!! so happpppppyyy! but i have been thinking ALOT this week how much i have learned. seriously dad. i can never thank god enough because he has been so good to me. he has taught me things that i will apply in my life forever. my love for the book of mormon has grown immensely. i understand it much better and love the new things i learn from it each day i study and ponder it. i have also learned that god answers prayers. he really does! all the time. the challenge can be recognizing the answers. but if we really are keeping the commandments and putting our part, its so much easier to recognize and act upon the answers.

i LOVE my mission
i love that i have been called of god to gather israel
i love my plaque ( i cried when i lost it but rejoiced when god lead me to find it)
i love the people
i love the book of mormon
i love feeling the spirit
i love jesus christ
i love everything about the gospel
i love my family!! 
families are forever!!!

 love bina!
 
our awesome trio!! FIERCE!!!
 
hahah that bus is awesome. all the buses here are like that. they are made of wood and are always booming with loud music. we take the bus when we have to go to the airport cause its way cheaper
 
 
 
 
 

Monday, August 24, 2015

in alma 37:23 it mentions a Gazelem... what is it?????!!

dad! what's up?? well i've got a few things to say. first off. to inform you all i will be flying home with lana. i got permission from my president and the missionary who does all the flights will make sure our flights connect for the last part in vancouver. but he is going to try to fly me to mexico to where lana is before she takes off. we will see! so now the family knows that they can plan to be there that week if they are able to. 
    so this week was awesome!!!!! i can't remember if i mentioned that we are in a trio. with hna lozano. she extended 2 weeks cause she's waiting for her parents. and we have SO MUCH FUN! i love the spirit we feel and we enjoy the work so much together. we are always laughing and talking to everybody. its been so great! we had an awesome week. 
 
 
we found a woman who is 30, she's single and has no kids or friends or nothing... because of her character. she stopped us on the streets and pulled us in. she said that she just couldn't take it anymore and wants to stop being mad and hating everyone. she says she hates god and that he is bad. and she has gone through lots of sad things in her life that makes her think that. she said that she wants to change and has tried therapy and everything and nothing that works so now her last resource is god. so we explained the plan of salvation. it was a very unique lesson and she had a billion questions. she just wanted to change the perspective she has of god so little by little we are helping her and she is willing to complete the invitations we make her.. so while i was in family history i was reading a talk and realized it would be perfect for her. its called "he will never forget you" or something like that. and i printed it off and we went over to her house and she read it and at a certain part she started to cry! and we all started crying cause the spirit was strong and for once in her life she was recognizing that she was feeling god's love! our heavenly father loves her soooo much!!! so she came to church with us and had sooooo many questions in gospel principles that after we went into a room and taught her. her spirit hungers so much for the gospel! it really is amazing! we have a cita with her tonight and i'm so pumped. i love people like her who are willing to change and do whatever it takes to change and be happy. she is sad because everyone hates her she says. but we love her!!!!!
      well i love you all so much. i hope you have an excellent week!
ps. question dad.... in alma 37:23 it mentions a Gazelem... what is it?????!!

Monday, August 17, 2015

i couldn't imagine my life without it

hey whats up! this week was a good one. i enjoyed it a lot because a sister who is waiting for her family to arrive next week is staying with us and proselyting with us meanwhile and our trio is a smash! sooo fun! working hard and the spirit is strong in the lessons. today me miner and hna jimenez and our comp are going to eat spaghetti for our 14 month mark. it should be fun. and we are going to eat ice cream for 30 cents! hahaha freeeeek its so hot out right now! i'm dying here and i forgot my ponytail so you can imagine how huge and hot my hair is. lolll. hmm what can i tell you guys. everything is the same.... working hard hard hard hard and finding awesome people and studying and growing closer to the lord! it really is the best place to be. i often pray to the lord that my testimony won't fade away when i get home and that i can always read my BOM and stay strong in the gospel. i love this gospel so much i couldn't imagine my life without it. it really was a huge blessing to be born into the covenant.
    that is crazy that ethan got his mission call! isn't he like 14?!!! they grow up so fast. that is so great. i bet he will be an awesome missionary! who is next to go out? and where is he going
    so my comp got lice! woot! so we spent all night picking it out and found the queen and king lice and we killed them. she was soooo mad it was funny. she was like"i'm soo dirty!!! ewewewewewwwww!!" hahahaa she's a funny  one. everyone says they are surprised that i havn't gotten it yet cause you usually get it at least once on the mission. but i've suffered other things so i hope i don't ever get lice! hahaha well i love you all very much. dad i hope you don't starve without mom!! lol love you!!

Monday, August 10, 2015

i already knew what questions i had to ask her

what's up! this week was killer! wanna know why?? cause i started a purification.. its where you write down ALL the things you are doing or thinking that could take the spirit away and you write the things you want to accomplish for example i put  wanted to strengthen my faith and be more patient.. so then you write down the plan on how you will achieve that.. it was awesome. then you fast.. let my tell ya.. its HARD!! and every night you have to consult with the lord about your purification.. so that's what i've been doing. think i was able to cut out all 20 things on my list?? NOPE! but i sure feel a change in my life since i've started.. its awesome. we have been seeing miracles... i feel like i'm not so stressed... i feel the spirit more.. its soo great. i love it. i feel like i've been more patient with the elders... for example.. we can't go on the internet till our whole district is here and my beloved district leader is always soooo late. and by the time he gets here there are no machines left.. so i always call him in the morning to remind him and he still fails to get here early and then when he gets here i hand it to him... lol so this monday he was later than ever but i didn't say anything :) in fact i was extra nice to him.. and it was so easy to just not care... so yeah i feel like i have more control of myself! hahah so yesterday we went to the hospital to translate for the gringo doctors that came in.. sooo i was the only sister that was there out of the missionaries and guess what room they put me in... gynecology (i dunno how to spell it.. my mind is in spanish mode) so yeah we helped about 10 patients and you can just imagine the things i had to see and translate.. but it was soooo cool cause i learnt sooooo much about the woman's body!! i was sooo shocked at how much i learned when i left the hospital! it was sad to see some of the cases that the women here have. the gynecologist agreed that woman suffer a lot and have so many different pains. but i got to see an ultra sound too. so today i'm going in again to translate ;) with hna miner!! woot that means that after i'm done here at the internet i get to roll with her till 5pm! yay! love her.... we are going to pick up her packet in the offices and we know its going to be great cause her family always sends LOADS of munchies! so that will be great. haha but yeah the doctor was training another doctor.. and he has 20 years experience and he is the best! he was so patient with her and explained so clearly to her! he was SOOO great. he wanted a pic with us after and tried to put his arm around us and i was like woah!! ehhhhh sorry but as missionaries you basically can only shake our hand.. haha he was like OHH SORRY!! hahaha but it was cool cause he was treating me like i was a doctor in training too.. like when the peruvian woman would tell me her case i would explain to the doctor and i already knew what questions i had to ask her because of the previous patients.. and the doctor would ask.. "ok what do you think is causing her pains from what she is telling us?" and i would respond..." her back.. and one thing she needs to do is get physical therapy to strengthen her back muscles and that will help with her internal pain... she also need to go on birth control to regulate her insides because her miscarriage irregulated everything" and he says " EXCELLENT!" hahahahha it was soooo fun! so i'm excited to get back there today. i learnt a whole different vocabulary in spanish..(won't mention what words) but it was fun.  
translating for the docs
well i'm super stoked for this next week that's coming cause we will have more proselyting time! and we have found awesome investigators.. all this week i have been coordinating a huge family history activity that we had for all of iquitos.. lots of work but it was a success! the president and his family came and sat through while we taught and explained . and they called me after and said it was well done :) wellllll i'm glad dad that you still do things to please mom. a woman likes that and you get brownie points to. happy wife happy life. 

love you all soo much!!
 
forgot to say.. put the cd called "called to serve" and listen to in on a roadie to pg or something and listen to the words! and think of me and lana.. its amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i listen to it alll the time. its the closest to country music as its going to get for me haha.. but the words pump me up!  
 
always wanted a pic with a little peruvian child's hand in mine!
family history
 
when i saw sister child's family!! they were sooo happy! they just happened to go to my ward and still havn't seen hna child till later today! it was weird seeing an american. i was so happy to see them though cause i met them on skype during xmas and they are the kindest nicest family ever :)
 
pday photoshooot!!! haha yep calll me a poser dad... i know you're rolling your eyes!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Monday, August 3, 2015

i'm back to the beginning again

hey dad!!  i remember the love you always gave us. the hugs the kisses the i love you's and the scripture studys and the heart to hearts. that's what shaped me into the person i am today! i remember how kind vicky always was to me, she always shared with me always laughed with me and even when i was mean to her she would never ever be mean back to me. that's what i love about her. she's such a great person.
    well this week has been alright. i think that sometimes satan makes us feel horrible. all this morning i had been asking myself if i have become a better person on the mission because sometimes i feel like i'm worse than before. but i know the lord is working with me and helping me become better. i've gotta put my part in too and be obedient and seek counsel from him all the time. i finished reading the book of mormon so i'm back to the beginning again. i love how the book of mormon starts out! nephi had so much faith and was so obedient. i like that even though things were hard at time and seemed impossible he always trusted that the lord would provide a way. and i sure as heck don't wanna be like laman and lemuel. even though they saw an angel they still murmured and said "how can god deliver laban into our hands.. he is sooo strong..." etc.. i remember that god is great. he is the creator of all things and anything is possible through him.
      family history has been busy too. yesterday we sent 7 names to the temple. its awesome how the spirit is felt so strong in that room. i love it. we have also been coordinating a HUGEEE activity that is going to be for all of iquitos. i'm in charge of it so its been stressful but fun! i hope that lots of investigators come! well i love you all. i am so happy to hear that your summer is going over well. next month will cool down and you will be going into fall then winter! crazy!! i forgot what winter even means. haha love you all!!! XOXOX

Monday, July 27, 2015

has he fallen off the face of the earth?

dad! thanks for that email. it made me feel ease because as the mission comes to an end i think all missionaries worry about what they are going to do with life when they get home. it hurts my head to think about it. sister miner is finishing with me and she always asks talks to me about how nervous she is to get home and what she is going to do to adjust. but i was on the internet in family history this week and i saw on lds.org that there is a new plan to help missionaries adjust to real life when they get home or something like that. it seems awesome. its like myplan.lds.org  

 that's awesome that vix is going to a concert! marianas trench has about 2 songs or 4 that i like. they are alright. i remember that tatiana was SOOOO OBSESSED with them! hahahah  but hey how's ten? i've written him a billion times and he promised he wouldn't go two weeks without writing but its been like 2 months now. has he fallen off the face of the earth? lol
   this week has been awesome. but its interesting dad that you mention things of the world in your last email. i think that you are right. its hard as a young adult or teenager to not care about the things of the world. its a feeling we have to control because it is true, it doesn't matter if we have the best house or car. half of my investigators don't even have enough money to buy food for every meal :( i always think about how clueless i was before my mission. i would buy something absolutely dumb and not even think about the people who are starving and suffering. there are so many children here who are sick and starving. it was interesting because at 2 pm me and my comp were doing language study and then at 3 i train her till 4. and the bishop's wife, jessica called us crying and i could hardly understand her but all i caught was "sisters COME TO MY HOUSE NOW!" so we run outside and realize its raining insanely hard and i look across the street and the house was flooding. so we run back to the room and change into our pants and boots and run over to her house to carry buckets of water outside. but everywhere was flooded. we didn't even hear the rain from our room because its way inside an apartment building. all the streets were absolutely flooded and everyones homes except a few. it was sad. at some parts of our area the water was up to our waists so we couldn't proselyte there for a while. but there were massive spiders rats and cockroaches and garbage floating around everywhere. it was sooo gross. i could just imagine the disease in that water and there were kids swimming in it. but it was sad. people's beds and tables and paperwork were drowned under the water. and they don't even have the luxury of insurance. but god knows why it happens. he knows everything! i trust him and know that everyday he is preparing people to listen to the restored gospel. i love this gospel. i love feeling the spirit. i love my mission. it is sooo special to me. it is the best gift you and mom have ever bought me. its the best gift that my heavenly father has ever given me besides my family. i love you all. take care and read your scriptures and pray everyday!

update me on tenny! 

forgot to mention that at paintball last monday i did better than i thought i would! the elders were calling me hermana blackops.. and we played sisters against sisters and i shot them all. HAHAHA and they were OUT!

my daughter.. she learns from me. :) we were waiting for an investigator to finish getting ready to go to church!!!!!








Monday, July 20, 2015

he said he would never get baptized

hey dad! well that's a bummer that the internet is down!! this week has been fun. we are enjoying our time together and seeing miracles and teaching and finding lots of awesome people. we are teaching a grandpa who never before received the missionaries. his family is all members but he never wanted to pick up a book of mormon, he said he would never take the sacrament and said he would never get baptized but the lord has really helped us. first he prepared the grandpa. he got a disease a while ago but now he is bettter but the result of the disease is that he is in a wheelchair and cannot walk. so we started teaching him and he is getting baptized on the 8th of august. he reads his book of mormon diligently and loves it. he goes to church and takes the sacrament and we see a huge change in him. there family is so happy. its awesome. makes us feel good. i'm glad that the lord can use us as instruments in his hands. 
    well i bet its hot up there eh? its hot here too. but i'm super used to the hot weather. 13 months of this everyday.... what am i going to do when i feel cold?? DIE. haha well i'm loving the mission. its interesting because the mission is something that i cannot describe in words. it is a gift from my heavenly father. it really is. well i love you all very much! today we are going to play paint ball and i am going to shoot everyone. hehehehe bye!!

Monday, July 13, 2015

they cook it in different ways

well how's it going!! i'm just chilling over here busy gathering israel...hehe i miss you all! can't believe its monday again! i'm having a lot of fun training. my daughter is awesome! she works hard and tries hard! she's fun as well and she's learnning the lessons really fast. its been a good week. i've learned that i still need to mejorar with my patience... its hard.. training and being the family history consultant of iquitos and having to monitor and handle everything. stressful but fun as well. i sometimes wonder if i will be the same bina when i get off the plane. that would be sad. i hope that i've changed for the better . the mission really is awesome. i've met so many kind wonderful people. sometimes when i'm walking i take a look around and can't believe i am where i am. its crazy that i live in the jungle. its been a really awesome experience and i'm so happy for it. it is awesome to be in tune with the spirit and see god do miracles. i hope that you are all choosing the right and enjoying summer cause it'll go by fast! time seems to fly by faster and faster and faster.... uh oh. i can't even remember when its like to eat north american food. all there is here is rice and chicken and they cook it in different ways but that's all. i'm used to it but its weird to think about pizza or spaghetti or arroz aguado or roast with gravy! hahah its weird to think about all the modern stores we have there too! because there are NONE here.i know it'll be a culture shock to see technology again. but i like it because those things aren't here to distract me. here, you never hear modern music.  its all weird peruvian music! hahah it really has a weird twang. but i want you all to know i love jesus with all my heart. i know he lives today. he is alive and directing his church. its important to follow the prophets and pay close attention to what the prophets say and obey them because god speaks through them. love you all!

Monday, July 6, 2015

Well I hope you’re all being obedient

Hello! Well wellll. that was a wonderful letter dad! thank you!! i love info like that!!!

wellll Hna arone went home and i was sooo sad! This was the fastest change in all my mission because we had so much fun!! So I got my pensinistas daughter to stay with me over night till they told me who my new comp was going to be. So I was sitting with kari in family history and she was like I gotta go to the bathroom… and books it out! And I was ALL ALONE! And I was like AHHH!!! So I ran out the hall and she wasn’t there and I went to the bathroom and I was like KARI YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME ALONE! And she was like oh right sorry,. Hahaha what's it going to be like when i'm home! THANK GOODNESS I'VE GOT LANA! She will be my companion for a while! So I talked to my president and he said it is possible so hook my flight up with lanas! At least in Vancouver!!!!! AH! So she just has to get permission to extend a week so she can fly the same day as me. Cool eh? So we will keep you posted on that.
 
 
   Sooo I'M A MOM! I'm training! Hahah its awesome! There were few sisters who came in this change but i'm happy I have this opportunity to train and do family history and have my area to work in! it’s awesome. So her name is Hermana Arteaga. She’s from Bolivia. I love people from Bolivia. They are SO kind and humble. So I love her very much. I protect her from everything and treat her the way I would want to be treated because I remember how hard it was for me when I was being trained for three months. She tells me she prayed hard to have a good trainer and says she is so grateful for me but i'm more grateful for her than anything. With her... I’ve realized the things I need to do better. It really is close to being a mom with a new baby! You want to be a perfect example for them and when you mess up you feel terrible! But she makes me feel good. Yesterday we walked out of a lesson and she goes “when you teach my jaw drops because I feel the spirit so strong” it made me feel so good I almost cried because sometimes I feel like I haven’t changed at all and that I have a LONG way to go before I become a good teacher but she made me realize that maybe I should give myself a little more credit. The goal is to become like Christ! I love the way Jesus taught. He uses inspired questions and good examples. (something dad does very well that I admire) but I like to study the teachings of Jesus to see how I can do better, or what I can add to my teachings that compared to him need lots of improvement.
 
   Well I hope you’re all being obedient and applying the gospel principles. Obedience is living proof of the faith we have because if we have faith we will obey and trust that god will bless us and help us on our journey back home to him.
 
Les amo mucho! Deseo el mejor por cada uno de ustedes. Espero que Brendan puede reflexionar su misión y recordar la significancia de siendo un representante de Jesucristo. No se olviden de leer las escrituras. Quiero que pueden leer 2 nefi 33 juntos como familia. Es el testimonio de nefi. Es EXCELENTE! Me encanta porque el es bien directo, y yo testifico de cada uno de sus palabras. Lée lo! Medítenlo y aplícalo! Y piensan en maneras que pueden ser mejores testigos de nuestro salvador del mundo.
Take care and i love you all!!

Monday, June 29, 2015

in my dream we are usually companions

hello dad. wellllllll i am proud of lana for getting through training her comp! now she's sister leader! that is so awesome. i miss lana a lot. i dream about her often actually and in my dream we are usually companions. its great! well this week was sad. it was my comp's last week in the field. she was very sad and i was sad because we had a blast this change. the change went by really fast and now i only have 4 left. 

 so right now my companion is gone and i have no companion so i'm hanging with hna miner. she was my comp in the ccm for a day before they changed me to the latino group. she is awesome! she's making me feel better cause i feel a little empty without my companion. i'm nervous to see the changes when i get off this computer  but i bet the lord will comfort me and make me feel better. i have been reading the book of mormon like crazy these past few days. i have been skim reading it and now i'm almost done it. i feel like i just can't get enough of it. skim reading puts a lot of info into my head at once and i'm learning a lot about the 2 nations. or the "other sheep" its so crazy how gods plan is perfect. i love the way he brought to pass the gospel.. the great apostasy... the restoration... the translation of the book of mormon... etc. this gospel has blessed my life immensely. 
   dad you mentioned that you can feel that lana and i have changed. and that it'll be hard to get back into the real world. that is very true. that's the thing i'm most nervous for. i don't even know how i'll deal with it. it makes me anxious and scared thinking about it. i am just so grateful that lana will be with me, she can be my companion for a while. i know that we are going to be sleeping in the same room together and driving around and going everywhere together. i just don't think i'll be ready to be alone without a companion. its crazy cause before the mission i loved being alone. now i feel like it is a hard thing. but everything will fall into place i'm sure. i love you all. i hope mom has a blast in australia with vicky! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY TEENY TEEENAGER SISTER! i still tell everyone on my mission that she's like my baby. i can't believe how fast she is growing up. one year and she will be going to youth dances! AHH!!! watch out dad! 

love you all very much. xoxoxox
quistococha!! all the newbie missionaries wanted to go there...they were soo excited. it was my fourth time going . so funny story about this pic. me and hna miner were taking pics and all of a sudden we heard the elders yelling like little girls and two seconds later we started getting bit by these bee looking things! i got bit about 12 times and i kid you not it felt like someone was jabbing needles into my skin! HURT SO BAD!!






 
 
 
 
 
 

Monday, June 22, 2015

i bent down and grabbed his wrinkled skinny hand...

hello family! 
first of all happy fathers day yesterday to the best dad in the world! a dad who always made sure we had what we needed to progress who always did fun stuff with us and who ALWAYS told me he loves me! every day. and who honors and cherishes my mother :) thanks to my dad i am where i am! my dad is handsome and FUN! and once he accidentally blended up raw hamburger thinking it was frozen raspberries and he drank it before realizing what it was! HAHA (this has to go in the blog to dad. don't you dare take it out)
well this week was a little eventful. it was a great week. but a week full of emotion. well first of all me and my companion  get along excellently. she always laughs at me and says "estas LÓCA"(you are crazy) because she says i always do funny stuff. i don't know what... for example the other day i was climbing onto my bunkbed (the ladder is not secured at all because the zone leaders seem to not have time to secure it) and i fell right on the top step of the ladder! i crashed hard on the floor and my comp was killing herself laughing. then a couple minutes later i went to go up again being even more careful and i fell hard with the ladder AGAIN. and scuffed up my knee and my butt hurts now. so anyway she is not trunky at all. she is sad about leaving the mission next monday. so i also hit my one year mark and i thought it would be awesome to hit my one year but nope... we both moped around all day... all week actually. we were a little bipolar happy one moment and sad the next. we have been having success this change and seeing lots of miracles and elder Beas and elder Harmon have been helping us a lot with giving the sick and afflicted blessings and we just don't wanna go home. well i do but i don't. its crazy. 
     so yesterday we married a couple. i love this couple. they are olddd. one is 88 the other77 and they were sooo excited to get married it was ssoooo cute. but its a matrimonio where many couples get married. so there was music blaring LOUD and they were talking loud into the speakers and the other couple kinda just sat there not knowing what was going on but they had to be there so we brought them there. so they were sitting with the rest of the hundreds of couples and we were standing there with the elders and my comp looks and me and says she feels light headed. and i'm like UH OH! cause she faints really easily and when she feels like that i have to take real good care of her. so i made her sit down and put her head on my shoulder and i fanned her while a lady went and got us some water (cause i couldnt leave my comp and she couldnt walk at this point) and so the whole time i had to make sure she didn't fall asleep aka faint. i was ready there with rubbing alcohol just in case she was to faint cause i'd have to make her smell it to wake up her senses. but thank goodness she felt better. but all that night she felt sick so i stayed in with her and her stomach was killing her too. she told me that she was sick because i made her laugh too much hahah. i discovered that i'm good at immitating voices so i was doing that to cheer her up. but i called the elders and elder beas gave her a blessing. his blessings are awesome. he is a very very spiritual elder who absolutely loves jesus and his priesthood so its always uplifting to hear when he gives a blessing. he is very sensitive. so the next day my comp felt better! which was awesome because we got to watch the dedication of the Trujillo temple! it was BEAUTIFUL!!! i was so happy i got to watch it. it is the closest that i've been to being inside a temple since a year ago. so we got permission to go to the first 2 sessions. after the first session a lady came over to us frantically and was like "Felicita is here because her mom is going to die and she needs you there now!" felicita is the daughter of the old couple we married and are going to baptize... and i was like woah what! so we ran over to felicita and she told us what was going on.. she had been waiting for the temple dedication to finish to find us. so i told her we would go over there right then and there with the elders to give her a blessing. i was so sad because i love rovertina and oscar very much (old couple) so i ran over to elder beas and harmon and was like hey guys rovertina is sick and needs a blessing! and beas was like oh yeah hey i wanted to ask you something about pday tomorrow.. and i was like not now elder rovertina is sick. can you give her a blessing? and he was like yeah sure what time cause elder smith wanted to ask you something too. and i was like NO ELDER WE HAVE TO GO NOW!! haha so the got into a motocar and sped off when they realized she was going to die. so we go over to the house and all the family was there and we go to rovertina and i touch her face and and i have never seen anyone so sick in my life! and that's when the tears started streaming down my face. and i look up and Elder Beas was praying... preparing himself to give her a blessing. his eyes were teary too. so he blessed her and in the blessing he said that she was going to get better and next saturday enter into the waters of baptism. it was super cool. so i felt comfort in that moment because she was going to live. the ambulance got there and was able to help her. but we left to go to the second session of the temple. the whole day i felt like it was all my fault that rovertina got sick. dad... they are starving. they never have food. they don't have pension and i'm pretty sure no one helps them out. very rarely. we will go over there to teach a lesson and they tell us they haven't eaten since the day before. they are super skinny and i buy them their meals everytime i go there. they can't cook because they can't  see well and they can't hear well. we yell everytime we teach them so they can hear. maybe i feel like its my fault she's sick because i sometimes miss days where i don't see them and therefore don't buy them food thinking that maybe someone in her family will feed her. but it was sad because when the ambulance was there i was saying bye to oscar and he says to me as tears streamed down his cheeks " i don't want her to leave me. i don't want to live without her." i bent down and grabbed his wrinkled skinny hand and told him not to worry and to trust in god and the blessing she got and to say a prayer in his head. i was definitely in tears when he said that.. me dio much pena. mi corazon se sintio pesado y en ese momento estaba pensando en cuan dificil es para vivir en la selva a comparado a donde yo vivo.  
     i know when i go home i will value things alot more and complain less. i've never had to go to bed with a hungry belly. My eyes have been opened a little more since the mission and i see the world in a whole new way. i wish everyone in canada could be more grateful. including myself. because we have got it pretty dang good up north. but one thing i do know is that god loves us. very much. the atonement works and all thanks to Jesus Christ we will be perfected one day and have a risen and glorified body. we can be an eternal family! 
   se que el evangelio bendice a las familias y que milagros existen. nunca podré entender lo que jesucristo sufrio por el mundo. avecez me siento triste por la manera que las personas trataron a jesucristo. pero siento mucho consuelo en sabiendo  que el ha resucitado y esta feliz y las personas no estan lastimando le. yo amo a mi salvador. estoy bien agradecida que puedo arrepentirme y empesar de nuevo. aun que no puedo entrar en un templo porque no hay uno aqui cerca, mi testimonio de convenios y la casa del señor ha crecido muchisimo. dios es un dios de convenios y la obra del señor es sagrado y perfecto. nuestro amoroso padre celestial ama a todas las personas y por eso es posible que tambien las personas en el mundo de los espiritus puedan escuchar sobre el evangelio de cristo. amo el libro de mormon. me ha cercado mucho a mi padre celestial por medio el libro de mormon. ni puedo explicar en palabras lo que siento cuando leo mi LDM. espero que ustedes estan leyendo cada dia juntos :) les amo muchisimo y espero que estan felizes y disfrutando el verano. se va a ir bien rapido!!! y bien pronto voy a estar en los brazos de mi papá. alguien que estaba en mi mente todo el dia para el dia de padres. cuidense. xoxox 
  tu hija quien te ama mucho
    Hermana Blackmore.