January 29, 2011 - Hard to see Great Elders Go - but good to see New Elders come!

o tuesday we made a stop at the airport and sent off 14 Elders and 2 Sisters on return flights to their homes...and then the remaining 4 of the group of 20 left yesterday and today. definitely a tough thing to watch seeing that there were many AMAZING missionaries that finished their service. that same plane that took the leaving missionaries, had just dropped off a group of 18 new missionaries (3 sisters/15 elders), all of which are awesome and excited to be here. there are two from California, 1 from Yorba Linda(Anaheim) and the other Rancho Cucamanga, so they brought back many memories of things i didnt realize i missed ha. we stopped on the way into town on the little bus at the temple grounds!!!!!!!!!! my first time to even see it and it was the first time President Turk decided to do it with anyone. so we got out of the bus and walked in through the back of the property where the temporary wall was open, then silently walked until president got us into a circle where he shared a few words and his testimony, where the Spirit was felt VERY strongly. then he said a prayer and we left and everyone was very excited, seeing that they will most likely be the first elders who are here now to see the temple finished. it was a way to strengthen our vision of the Lord´s work, leading God´s children to the Temple and Exaltation! This week my comp and i were able to accompany President and some church guys from Lima to a new chapel that just got done in a little town an hour away where the contractors turned over the keys to the local church leaders. it is BEAUTIFUL and what was even more beautiful was to see all the members waiting at the gates outside dressed in their Sunday clothes on a Thursday morning to see for the first time their new meetinghouse!

this tuesday we are headed to Huaraz (look it up on google!) where we will direct the interview meetings and then a training meeting with all the Elders there, then Thursday afternoon we are gonna head back here to Trujillo!

this week was really busy with the old elders going home and the new ones arriving, but it was awesome to be able to meet the new missionaries who are so full of the Spirit.

this morning President and Sister Turk invited us over to their house to watch the BYU basketball game they recorded against SDSU and President cooked us pancakes. yes, we were surprised too, but we only saw the game, none of the commercials. that Ferdette kid is pretty awesome.

anyways, im loving my time aside President Turk, and feel the direction of the Lord here through him. Miracles have not ceased, I see them EVERY DAY and I know that the Lord loves me and my family.

Until next week,

Elder Nichols

oh ps. Tyler- as a missionary from Chile stepped off the plane to join our mission, the first thing he asked me was, "Hey, did you have a brother who served in Chile?" and obviously he ended up telling me he knew you and was your bud. is that the truth? his name is Elder Araneda (Familia Araneda) from Chillan, near Concepción.

HAPPY TO SERVE THE LORD! 1.3.11

yeah well all the photos i just downloaded to send got erased from the email and we have to be at a members house who invited us to eat but i am gonna write and send the pictures in like 2 hours because we have to send some zone information via email and i just spentall my time writing Pres. Turk. dont worry all of you i will be writing. thanks heidi and mom. i read your attached letter mom! also got your package this morning FINALLY!!!!! thank you a million!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love and miss you all

CHRISTMAS 2010

there i am with tony merz from bakersfield ha, included some Christmas ones, our Christmas tree, me in the plaza in Trujillo, and our food Christmas eve night!

The Everlasting Gift

I am grateful for this time of year and for the opportunity to represent the greatest Man who walked upon this earth. As Isaiah preached in the Old Testament and Book of Mormon (Isaiah 7:14/2 Nefi 19:6), Jesus Christ was the greatest gift we could have and have received, and as Heavenly Father sent His Only Begotten Son as an eternal gift, Jesus Christ came to give all mankind the most important eternal gift (3 Nefi 27:13-14), and I am blessed enough to deliver that gift to many people, families, and homes every day! It made me think of kids who sometimes get gifts in a huge box, and when opening, discover another box just a bit smaller, and the pattern continues unwrapping or opening smaller boxes. Similarly, Jesus Christ was given to us as the greatest gift, and now He offers to us an endless number of gifts, whether it be forgiveness, love, happiness, or an infinite list. I love my Savior and hope that you can feel and be witnesses to my conviction and desire to serve Him, until I can personally meet Him some day.

With love and care,

Elder Kyle Favero Nichols

P.s. Reflect and think about the gifts that we receive from Jesus Christ. (there is no end, tried it with my comp last night)

BUENOS. . . .12.27.10

Thank you so much for your special thoughts dad. My comp and I talked much about those things last night as we prepared to sleep and seeing that this last week was busy and tough to work and teach as much as we wanted, we missed having all the time so much, that we are going to work some of our prep day time, and we are not going to do work visits with the other missionaries in the zone until mid January. Thanks to our president, we will have the blessing of bringing forth more fruit as leaders so that the zone really can follow our example. Pray for me and remember that I love and admire all that you have taught and shown me by your way of living and working. I look up to you greatly and strive to represent my Savior and my family to the highest.

I am grateful for this time of year and for the opportunity to represent the greatest Man who walked upon this earth. As Isaiah preached in the Old Testament and Book of Mormon (Isaiah 7:14/2 Nefi 19:6), Jesus Christ was the greatest gift we could have and have received, and as Heavenly Father sent His Only Begotten Son as an eternal gift, Jesus Christ came to give all mankind the most important eternal gift (3 Nefi 27:13-14), and I am blessed enough to deliver that gift to many people, families, and homes every day! It made me think of kids who sometimes get gifts in a huge box, and when opening, discover another box just a bit smaller, and the pattern continues unwrapping or opening smaller boxes. Similarly, Jesus Christ was given to us as the greatest gift, and now He offers to us an endless number of gifts, whether it be forgiveness, love, happiness, or an infinite list. I love my Savior and hope that you can feel and be witnesses to my conviction and desire to serve Him, until I can personally meet Him some day.

With love and care,

Elder Kyle Favero Nichols

NEW. . . . . 12.20.10

my area is HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hotter than a 4 barrell pistol out here and its killin me with diahrrea because i just came from ice cold wind and rain. my area is a mix of low class and extremely poor but we live right behind the stake center in a widowed 45 year old sister and here two teenage kids and her house is a WAY RICH NICE HOUSE with hard floors and all. we live right off the panamerican highway like i did in paijan if you remember ha. my area touches the ocean but its like a bay with marshes and then a ways up the coast are all the fish factories but gladly the wind takes the smell up north! i live on:

Jr. Samanco Nuevo Chimbote, Ancash, Perú. might be able to find it on google. did some sweet stuff with our new mission leader yesterday and today and went on splits yesterday and found and amazing family who is ready for the restored gospel. i love how it doesnt matter where i am, who im with, who i teach, and when i teach, because WHAT I TEACH is Christ´s gospel and truth, and it brings the same blessings and changes to each one of His sheeps´ lives that i am equally satisfied and happy. i know that theLord blesses us when we Love and Serve Him, and i am so happy and grateful to be here in Perú teaching my brothers and sisters what our Heavenly Father desires of us.

Cant wait to talk to you all. miss and love you all a ton

Elder Nicholito!

GOOD BYE Huamachuco 12/13/10

welp these last few days were hard but joyful. i had the priviledge of ending my time here with a baptism! also the 1st counselor from the Otuzco branch, my first area, came to visit with his wife, who was my first pensionist Hna. Esther :) Elder Morales and I spoke and like the little girl I am, as much as I was determined not to cry, ended with a tearful testimony. hate that! ha, but yeah got to my room last night to send in the key indicators and got a surprise call from President Turk, asking if i would accept the call to serve as zone leader again in the southern most part of the mission, with another young elder who has a year! Elder Erickson will be my comp, he is a great kid, from Portland, OR and we will have the largest zone in the mission, which covers two stakes and we have the goal to make a 3rd district with the 4 branches that are in those two stakes so i am WAY excited to work with a lot more missionaries now in place of working more with members, to help them fulfill their purpose and responsibility as servants of the Lord. cant wait to talk to you all and wil be happy to fill you in on a lot! tonight i will be having a little go away Family Home Evening in the casa capilla, instead of doing it in a members house like every other monday! the people are all sad as i am, and dropping off my clothes to be washed in the morning, Hna Leonor just started crying and i felt like i was abandoning my brothers and sisters, but as President Turk told me, i did my duty, and the Lord has new tasks for me. i love the Lord and His Atoning Sacrifice, and thanks to His Resurrection, we will be able to live forever as happy families alongside Him and our Heavenly Father. I know that the Book of Mormon is literally the only thing that holds me together, and is the only tool that truly brings the lost sheep back to our Savior´s fold. i miss and love you all with all my heart!

Elder Kyle Favero Nichols

photos

1. a new Alejandra
   
2. the elders with Alejandra ( our cook)
   

Baptism . . . what a blessing 12/6/10

We had a great visit from the Trujillo East Stake President and his 2nd Counselor. Moving along just like I had hoped for, and lots more Aaronic Priesthood holders to bless and pass the sacrament which is a great blessing for all. Alejandra got disanimated by her mom who is from another church and was confused, but we helped her and she will be baptized along with her friend Marisol this Saturday. Pray for a miracle for the Galdos Robles Family because some of the paperwork for their marriage is in a hold and i might miss their wedding and baptism by 3 or 4 days :(

we did baptize and confirm Hna. Leticia, and have been able to prepare the Family Group for lots of things. pretty much had a slow week due to the two day visit and had to dedicate a bit more time to that as well as our trip to hear Elder Uceda which was awesome! miss and love you all...haha 20 days and we will be talking!!!!!!!!!!! keep up the prayers and thoughts for my great investigators.

funny story, Alejandra never told us who she wanted to baptize her, so we just assigned Elder Castro, and ends up as he is going to the bushes to change she called me over and said she wanted ME to baptize her. as i did not come prepared, i had to put on my comps baptismal clothes, and talk about snug, i was a little bit uncomfortable ha

TILL NEXT WEEK!

photo: the lagoon getting ready to rain

Hey Check out the Mission Blog 11/29/10

www.terryandjanetturk.blogspot.com

i should be on there in photos and stuff!

the whole Christmas stuff will be on there too! their two kids are coming and in the plaza their little grandkids are gonna do a live nativity! ha.

we are also gonna sing the Lord´s song i think its called in spanish from Les Miserables!!!!!!!!!!

So here comes the best email of my whole mission! Prepare yourselves, Here it is! 11/29/10

well talk about truly happy for everything right now. yesterday we ended the week very well! Last Tuesday we had to go to Trujillo for interviews with President and those were the best! We practiced some of the Christmas carols and Sister Turk is so legit that she did some Preach My Gospel trivia with american cereal as prizes and i came back with some bomb Cap´n Crunch´s Crunch Berries(photo attached)

So i had/have been raising my voice about the need of leadership visits to the Family Group for some time, seeing that in my 6 months here not one branch or stake leader has come, so there are tons of members who have had worthiness problems, and i only have authority to interview to see needs and encourage, not deal with worthiness. apart from that, with tithing and fast offerings, the poor members want to give but i cant receive(unless given authorization...has only happened 3 times) so great blessings are being withheld from them, SAD/BAD, and i have felt like my hands are tied behind my back but the members are great and i have been doing my best to keep all organized and people happy and progressing. all-in-all it has all payed off and i can only thank the Lord. President told me Tuesday that i will be leaving the 15th of December(don´t want to!) and that my efforts have arrived to the hands of the Prophet and i am excited to inform you all that Saturday two brethren came from the Trujillo East Stake high council and interviewed many members, Sunday spoke on some important themes, and after the meetings interviewed some more members. then after lunch we went on splits in small groups with members and visited the inactives and all went well and was in preparation for next weekend when the stake presidency comes to ordain some brethren to the Aaronic Priesthood and a few to the Melchezidek!!!!!!!!!!!!! and most important of all, announce the organization of a branch and establish a 3 hour meeting block with Priesthood and Relief Society!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The First Presidency approved it last week as i was told by the area seventy Saturday, so all the materials that have never existed will be arriving as well.

I can´t express my happiness and the great part patience has played in my missionary life!

The great news continues and i am glad to tell you that yesterday we invited 8 people to baptism and all accepted. A 21 year old girl Alejandra who is so sweet and humble(very poor) cooks for us in our pension and will be baptized saturday, and sister Lupe who has been inactive for 15 years(member from Trujillo who moved here years ago) came back and is so happy, and her two kids Ailton 12, and Cyomarah 8, will be baptized my last Saturday here, the 11th of Dec., along with the Familia Galdos Robles (dad Angel, mom Santos, daughter Janet 13, son Fernando 10, and son Luis 8) who will be married the 10th and baptized 11th! (Angel, the dad of this family is the brother to Agustina Cruz, mom of the familia Cruz, who Elder Del Aguila and i baptized)

I am pretty sure you can all feel my joy and see my smiling face, so just keep praying for me, those listed, and the soon to be Huamachuco Branch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you all with all my heart and know your prayers have blessed me and all i do!
Saturday when my comp was testifying about families, i realized how blessed i am for you all and your magnificent examples, seeing that my comps parents are seperated and he hasnt been able to see the same blessings in his life, i feel even more happy!

The Book of Mormon is the key to every lock and it is blessing and strengthening me every day!

another week flown by 11/22/10

o this last week was great, we worked our tails off and met a ton of great people! the familia cruz(the mom) that we baptized about 3 months back presented us her brother and his family is amazing. Familia Galdos Robles: Angel-36 Santos-28 Janet-13 Fernando-10 Luis-8. Each one of the children are amazingly sweet and intelligent. they are all (5) reading the Book of Mormon, came yesterday to church, and last night explained to us even better the sunday school class on the Atonement. i love the Lord and His example to stand for what is right and what is true. Yesterday we had an encounter with a very unkind man. he wasnt so aggresive in his speech but it was obvious that he had a hate toward us, the church, and the Book of Mormon. It felt so good to speak truths, share my testimony, and let him no that his words did nothing but complete promises from the scriptures. there really are enemies of God, and although he said more than 6 times that if we didnt change or share other things, that Hell was awaiting us. ha great to know as well as i have JUST been studying the millenium, that i will be able to see the day that he humbles himself before Christ. the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ brings peace, comfort, joy, and happiness to my life and i know without the slightest doubt in my heart, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God who translated the most correct book on the face of this earth, The Book of Mormon.

THE BOOK IS BLUE AND THE CHURCH IS TRUE! thanks for the saying jordan!

love and miss you all

THE FANTASTIC FOUR 11/8/10

a GREAT last week. the two young elders who arrived, both being this their 4th change, have a great spirit of love and hard work and it has brought help for the areas as well as the family group. yesterday we gave assignments to the members with the basic functions of the church and meetings so everything is nicely organized and we are going after lunch to play volleyball with some members and they are all excited to help in the work! my comp is in the picture far left from Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Elder Hargis in middle is from Idaho Falls, fun kid who loves the Lord. My comp is amazingly loving for all, teaches GREAT and loves talking with everyone which was a struggle with my last comp, and so now the Lord´s spirit is with us much more. i miss and love you all and hope the approaching holidays present opportunities to share the gospel. you should all watch the Mormon Messages on youtube everyday. one a day would really give you a shot of spiritual energy as they do me everytime im in internet.cuidense todos, les amo y deseo buenas experiencias este semana en sus vidas familiares y el trabajo. hagan todo lo posible por invitar el Espíritu a sus vidas por medio de su manera de pensar, hablar, y actuar! Chao!!!!!!!!

Happy 60th Anniversary G&G Favero 11/8/10

Grandma and Grandpa!! How´s my old fart doin? Miss ya a ton grandpa, honestly think about mowing your lawn every other day and tell the family where i eat that i wish i knew how to make my grandmas garlic soup.(send me the recipe!) its so great to here that you two are happy and healthy, i know that the Lord has a PERFECT PLAN for each and every one of us and i am happy to see you two live the way that our Heavenly Father has desired for you. Your examples constantly give me strength and a greater desire to serve the Lord because i know that that is the desire you two have always had for me. im proud to be your grandson and be able to represent you here in Peru. Be happy and remember the wonderful fruits you have brought forth in this life. i miss and love you two with all my heart and cant wait to return and see you two and do all the old little things we used to do together. hopefully the thanksgiving and Christmas season that are approaching can bring peace and love into your home.

With love and care,

Elder Kyle Favero Nichols

GOOD NEWS - 11/1/10

im not leaving huamachuco!!!! im happy to stay and sad to see elder cosiguá go. elder morales is staying and will have elder hargis as his comp(another gringo to be with me!!!) and i will be training elder castro to be a district leader and take over my responsability as family group leader/branch president and the rumor is that im gonna leave here in an emergency change before the change is over to go and do what president turk has planned for me. hermano fernando really has amazed me. saturday in the afternoon we went to do our daily visit and apart from the fact that this last week he struggled a lot to progress in his fight against cigarettes and coffee, he started to pour out his sadness and feelings. he woke up and went to a little adventist church for 3 hours in the morning and i honestly have come to believe that Satan works in SOO MANY WAYS that something that appeared to be good for him, brought him thoughts of sadness and to the point where we arrived and he said he was in the middle of having thoughts of commiting suicide. in january, he lost his job, has no wife, feels alone, feels trapped in his addiction, and says waking up sometimes, just feels like saying he wants to stay asleep forever. all these feelings came down on him at once and hearing his words brought sadness to us 3 missionaries. but thank you to the Holy Ghost before we arrived, we ran into a man who sales posters of Jesus Christ in many forms, and half of them are from the Church, which is why he called us over. the 3 of us put our moneys together and bought the famous one of Jesus in Getsemaní and arrived with that in hand as well as a talk i printed off from James E. Faust titled "Power to Change". i know that our words in that visit came directly from Heaven through the power of the Holy Ghost and that all those feelings and words of sadness disappeared. he also said he didnt feel like going to church sunday which obviously brought us down a bit, but leaving we only talked about the good things that were happening and focused on the hope that comes from the gospel, and Sunday morning, before we were even leaving to go to breakfast, we heard a knock on our door, and what do you know?!?!?! hermano fernando showed up not only with a huge smile on his face but in a SUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! then from there said he came to help us go get investigators so that he could give them the welcome as they got there. to some, this wouldnt seem so miraculous, but i KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT that the Lord worked a great miracle in the life of hermano fernando so that he could regain his strength and desire to keep fighting his addiction. after church he stayed with us to talk, in the night when we visited him, he made his own solution so that by this coming sunday he is only smoking 3 cigarettes. right now hes at 2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 2 in the night. also surprised us this morning by showing up and helped me clean a little bit since its p-day and we cleaned a bit. the man is amazing and cant wait for you all to meet him!(if it has to be after this life, its worth the wait) thank you for all your prayers for me, and i just want you all to know that i cherish you more than you can imagine. my family means more to me than any other thing on this earth, and thanks to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and its saving ordinances, i have the comforting knowledge that i will be able to be by your side FOREVER :) miss and love you all

Just a little story - 10/25/10

HERMANO FERNANDO ALVARADO:

53 years old, single(but as he says he has his dog) ha.

we contacted him about 3 weeks ago in the plaza, elder cosiguá and i, and about a week and a half ago, i went to find his address for the first time while visiting the other area. we taught him, and since that day, he has now come to church twice, has stopped drinking coffee, and gone from smoking 20 cigarettes a day to 9 in just a week. He has 5 Liahona magazines that he is reading, also reading Jesus the Christ, and the Book of Mormon. He is the definition of a golden investigator, and we feel that we have found a FUTURE BRANCH PRESIDENT!!!

Thanks Dad - 10/18/10

so pretty much this last week was GREAT as far as the work goes. we are now teaching 7 families and between them there are amazing people who are prepared to receive the restored gospel! i loved every single talk in the conference and continue re-reading my notes. my companion is doing well, just is very feminine and often acts like a little girl with his attitude and body/facial language ha. jorge and julissa who were planned to be baptized saturday, somehow disappeared saturday morning early...their grandma came and stole them and took them to her field to work for the weekend. pretty upsetting but yeah. have a baptism planned for the 30th, hermano absalón. great calm little man who has a bunch of cute little kids. will have to send pictures. thats pretty much it for now, the power went out due to the rain and wind so now that we have to go eat i cant write too much more, but i love and miss you all. send me pictures of your families! tell jordan to send me some pictures from his mission. 2 or 3! forward him my emails. ha. chao

pictures

1. im guessing that tie is from you dad? africa?

2. great view from up on the ruins of markahuamachuco(might remember that same spot haha from a while back)

3. the walls of the coliseo

well im extremely uplifted and ready to return to my area! 10/11/10

getting ready to leave trujillo tonight in 4 hours to return to huamachuco. glad to inform you that all you have helped me in and told me as words of encouragement and strength, i have applied, and have seen the Lord´s hand literally change my companion. he now doesnt want to leave my side(for example work visits) and calls me his best friend. i can testify that the power of acceptance allows even enemies to be best companions. the obvious little twirks are still there, but thanks to the Atonement and repentance, i have been able to soften my heart. saturday and yesterday were amazing and i felt the Spirit so strong. we will be having 2 baptisms for our area this saturday, and have found some great families, who are miraculously married! received an email of gratitude from Pres. Turk today and know that He is called of God to help us as servants and representatives of the Lord. i love all that we know as members of the true church, and am comforted by the power in the words of our living prophet and apostles of Christ. i wish to reiterate(dont know how to spell that) the words of one of the Apostles that in this moment dont remember who, but talked about not overbearing ourselves with tasks and things of the sort, and focusing on the necessities for now. and as i listened, i thought of ALL my sisters and mainly my mother! also to my brothers, and father...please analize what your priorities might be, spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional, and i know that the peace and guidance of the Lord will accompany you all more steadily and often, to calm our worries, and in place, give us solutions! i love, admire, and acknowledge you all for your examples, love, and guidance you give to me. i know that God lives, His son Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that the Holy Ghost is a divine witness and guide for us, and that the words of our living prophet Thomas S. Monson are more vital and more important to us than any other written or spoken word in these days. with much love and devotion - Elder Kyle Favero Nichols

welp thanks to all who gave me advice and words of strength!10/4/10

ive been able to enjoy this last week a little more and get the Lord´s work accomplished. my companion is learning a lot, up to him to apply and accept that its for his benefit, but i know our companionship studies help him a lot. very overpowering and likes to do things his way but im not giving him much space to do that. last sunday, a week from yesterday, we were ending the night, and walking down a dirt road a young man was walking in our direction but the other side of the road, and with a fast pace looked like in a hurry. i felt the Spirit tell me we should talk to him, and as he got closer i felt the impression stronger, so as he almost passed us, i awkardly jutted across to get in front of him, and as the Lord had planned, i contacted him, and he was very happy to give us his address of his family, and also the house where he was at a lot of the time...and without asking, gave us his cell phone number and said call whenever to come visit me. Cosme, 19 years old, after daily visits with him, now calls us every night after our visits, to tell us he said his prayers, and to remind us to come the next day. we sadly found out he is living together with a young girl, but we taught him the Law of Chastity, and he not only accepted to get married, but said he was going to go today and get the papers in order. he also last week, had a physical check by the doctor for a job in the mine he is trying to get, and although he had to do the breathing test 3 times, due to a little bit of lung difficulties, he passed, and said that he has a debt to the Lord, and wants to do everything we tell him so that he can show his appreciation and love to the Lord. awesome, amazing young man who was definitely prepared and another way to see how a simple feeling that the Holy Ghost gives us, can cause great impacts in moving forward the Lord´s Kingdom on Earth. no baptisms last week nor this week to come because we are going to trujillo to watch conference :( keep up the prayers for me, my companion, and Cosme! love and miss you all. have 30 more minutes in internet, and ill be writing president turk, and sending photos. chao!

JUST . . . . . . 9/27/10

want to tell you all how much i love and miss you! honestly i have been comforted by my great thoughts and memories of each and every one of you this week

and am gonna read all in the inbox and reply. dont have too much to say about my new companion, just that im struggling a LOT right now so keep me in your prayers. he is very feminine and has a bad attitude like a female and doesnt respond to us 3 missionaries when we ask him things so he has a lot to learn and develop, just as i do. thanks nikki for the quote of mother theresa! helped a lot. you always seem to lift me up with your words and quotes, so thank you.

Well, lots of changes and blessings! 9/20/10

returned to huamachuco last week safely but sadly came upon some problems that had occured when i was gone, and i had to callpresident which i dont like to do obviously. so thursday my companion had to pack his things and go to trujillo for an interview with president and now will be there in a new area this wednesday at changes. its obvious when the Spirit is with you more and as we have been in a trio these last 4 days, we have seen MIRACLES!!! one of which took place at 8 this morning! pictures to follow! the elders in area huamachuco 2 have 3 baptismal dates for this saturday, as well as 3 in my area, and another 1 which is a 8 year old son of a member family! the work is awesome!!!! i love the Lord and all that He has done for me and all of you, which allows us all to be an eternal family. i constantly think of how blessed i am to be sealed to my perfect family and always imagine you (mom and dad) working in the temple and i feel so close to you by accompanying in the Lord´s great and marvelous work. due to the problem with my companion its more likely that i will stay here now and train my new companion!! still anxious to find out who he is but its probably going to be a gringo seeing that President Turk has put new elders with companions of their same race ha. keep praying for me and the work here in Huamachuco...its progressing more than ever and i hope the same story goes for all of you in your homes and wards. love and miss you all and cant wait to hear from you all next week and give another update even better.

. . . .Welp. . .9/13/10

its been a different week these last 7 days. a week ago i left huamachuco to come do a visit in trujillo for the whole week! it was pretty awesome and i was able to learn and grow a lot. i gave a talk in the ward down here, and sunday night, the stake president invited my zone leader and i to the stake leadership training meeting and we gave a training on ward mission plans. lots of great thoughts and ideas were passed, and most of all, we were able to help them understand the purpose, need, help, and blessing a mission plan is. president turk called me saturday night to personally tell me that i am gonna train a new missionary this coming change which is a week away, and also said that he had a special assignment that he will be giving me at the time of changes. kinda worried of what he might ask me to do, but also anxious to work more and put as much effort as i can to what the Lord asks of me. the area im in right now (zone leaders) is the reddest zone in the mission, and just last week there were about 10 killings, and i personally saw 3, 1 being the death of an investigators daughter. so thursday night, we had a special little message my zone leader and i, and 5 sisters from the ward came and sang 4 hymns, and then friday was the burial service, where we were also present. very sad due to the things that some of the people said to the family(like words of hopelessness and negativity), but it is easy to understand seeing that they dont know of the restored gospel, but we were able to bring happiness to the family and the mom is amazing, practically bore her testimony at the burial service and didnt take part in the catholic rituals that they do when someone dies. in huamachuco, the missionaries did a great job of bringing 2 people to the waters of baptism, and although i couldnt be there, i am happy for them. what else????? um, looking for some pictures to send! love and miss you all. hopin to hear from tyler and steph! miss hearin about your families, most of all the pictures that fill me in on the kids ha. thanks nikki for that video. i love it