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