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

 

 

 

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

 

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.

 

 

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!!!

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.,.,

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)

 

 

 

 

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