My Christmas in Peru

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

Our surprise Christmas night when the members downstairs gave us chicken, salad, paneton, and hot chocolate ;)
I hope that everyone's festivities went great and it was a special moment for all! Christmas here in Peru is a lot like new years eve. Everyone stays up until 12 eating singing drinking and dancing and then at 12 BOOM everyone lights off fireworks! 

More fireworks from the view from our window

Fireworks at 12 in the morning!

We as missionaries had a p-day as a mission the 24 from 8-6 where we had a dodge ball tournament (our zone lost the second round), a barbecue (the family of the president cooked so it was an authentic bbq hot dog and hamburger feast) and then we had time to mix and mingle until we had a talent show. 

Our district. me hna Rodriguez, Elder Llantop and elder Mejia

A picture of the court in which we played dodge ball . Our zone lost in the second round.

Our zone preformed a little skit in which a man was looking for a hidden talent. He navigated his way through different scenarios until he found elder toth who sang a very beautiful rendition of silent night. I was the overly loving pentionista who gave a mountain full of rice to the missionaries and insisted that they eat it all. It was bunches of fun... and we WON! Other talents were songs, dances, skits and it was really interesting to see how creative the mission could be! then we saw the president preform his talent were he did his rendition of YOU SHALL NOT PASS from lord of the rings. He made it into a example of us with Satan. It was priceless (I have a video but its too big to send ;(). Then we all got a bag of goodies, and we watched the movie "Remember the Titans" which is freaking amazing and I'm putting it on my list of movies that I want to own. Later we returned to our house, changed and left to try and find lessons!

Talent Show

Talent Show

Christmas day we got to talk to our families and I cried like a baby... again.... but hey I love them so what can you do! We had a turkey lunch with members, and then went out to try and find lessons! And that is how we passed our Christmas here in Lima North Mission.

Me with hermana Espinosa and hermana Himenez
Other than that the week was a flurry of trying to get to know everyone still, find new people in order to teach and try to baptize two kids that are visiting our ward, but because their uncle is visiting they want to get baptized here... and its been a big headache to try and figure out if we can or not or if we should. Were praying a lot for guidance from the lord. 

Hermana Huish and I
Things will start settling down when new years has passed away and everyone returns again to their normal schedule. thanks for all your prayers and I hope to hear from all y'all soon!

mucho amor de
Hermana Bowers

Transfers

Saying Goodbye to Callique! & Hello to San Carlos.

Good bye to the family Chackique that we were teaching in Collique!

Tania and her sisters that I will miss in Collique!

Kiara who with her sister plays missionaries, and shes always sister bowers. how adorable is that!!!

my FAVORITE family in Collqiue... family Davila!

Yahajra and I

with Beatice

with Yolanda

Me and my new companion Hermana Rodriguez who is 19 from Ecuador

Good bye to Hermana Zarate, one of my favorite companions!

Hermano Yimmy who is the best and always helped us with correlation meetings

Christmas Temple Trip

Christmas Temple Trip

So this week was an interesting blend of bitter sweet. OK bitter first, we had a very sad sad experience because we had a family fall into inactivity that we have been working with for quite some time. The mother had been baptized in January and her daughter we baptized in September, and now they told us that they don't want anything to do with the Mormons. It was so frustrating, and I don't want to go into detail, but it just goes to show the small things really do make a big difference in our lives and the road of god is really indeed narrow and straight. There are no justifications or rationalization.


But the sweet: we had another baptism this week!!!! His name is Anthony. We found him knocking doors trying to find the address of a less active. We taught him about the plan of salvation and he had TONS of questions. And when we gave him a book of Mormon he read it and is in now Nephi 17 more or less. He came to church the first week we invited him and made tons of sacrifices with sleep to be able to attend and take the discussion because of his work schedule. We baptized him Sunday morning and Aldofo, a young man of 21 who is preparing for his mission baptized him (it was his first time baptizing!!) But Anthony is incredible, he worked 24 hours Saturday in order to be baptized and then confirmed later Sunday. he was dying the third hour of priesthood, but hes a trooper!


Also a family that came to church last week, (this week no but they promised next week) the wife accepted to be baptized. The husband couldn't be there for the lesson as well, but were hoping that hell accept and that we can baptize the family completely! This is a mission goal I have, to be able to see a full family be baptized and so i'm super stoked to see how it goes with them! There a really beautiful family and married!!!!!


Visiting the temple was a real delight this week as well. We were really blessed to travel without getting lost (we were not 100%sure how to get there) but it all worked out and we bought stuff at the distribution center and we got to play Santa Claus this week giving it all away. One grandmother we've rescued is named Maximina and can't read. So I bought her the book of Mormon on CD and she was SOO happy to receive it! She told us how the missionaries always told here they were going to bring it, but for transfers or lack of access to the materials they never did. So we were finally able to complete this promise! Lunch at the temple was pacha-manga and it was DELICIOUS! The peace in the temple is some thing really incredible and if I could I would want to live there. Ha hah I'm looking forward to being a temple worker with my esposito when i'm older!

On the Temple grounds 

Lunch at the Temple "SCORE!" 

and the cherry on top is with the family Davila who are one step closer to getting sealed! They're all scheduled to get their temple recommend renewed this week, and then in January when the husband will return from work again they'll get sealed. This family has been really special for me and if they get sealed, then it was all worth it (my time here in Collique).

Merry Christmas everyone!

I think it is time for a new towel 

This is ready for the trash!

Climbing the Hill to Cerro in our Church clothes

The last p day we had, we went to Chili's as a zone and I ordered a big fat hamburger and it was glorious (still doesn't compare to the united states but was dang close) and then we got ice cream, and came home for naps.


On Wednesday we went to the area of one of the elders and hiked a Cerro as a zone. It was fun at first, but a little silly because the zone leaders insisted on proselyting cloths. so we started off, and then it got really steep and quite ridiculous for how we were dressed. We had to rock climb a wall at one point and so all the elders went first... and then the sister had to be hoisted up after so that no body saw up our skirts. Then afterwards because it was taking so much time, we carved our own path down the mountain and it was super steep! And it was all sand and rocks, so we went sliding down this huge mountain side... and the whole time I only thought of how crazy this is, and how crazy this must all look--- 16 people up in the top of the mountain in office attire and then sliding down the side. Aha hah. So we went up the mountain one way, and then came down another way which ended in a cemetery. It was HUGE and it was interesting to see how the graves are here in Peru. They`re little cement block above the ground that they build one on top of the other. I forgot sunblock this day so you can see how burnt we ended up getting. I'm in the peeling stages right now.

Climbing up the Hill

Half way up the hill.

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At the top

Going down!

Kinda crazy!

Really Really Crazy!!!!!

 

The Cemetery

Elders at the cemetery

Our dusty feet                                                                                         My sunburn :(

After we had a work visit this Saturday and I went to the area of the sister trainers to be with hermana Aquino. We were in the CCM at the same time and it was fun to talk about old times and how we couldn't understand one another for nothing. It was interesting to be in a different area, but I was glad to be back where I knew where we were and my investigators.

Me and the Sister's at our training

An Elder leaving for his Mission to Ariquipa

The chapel flooded during his farewell :(

Were experiencing a bit of frustrating with one family that recently (within the year) was baptized, and now wants to dist-activate. There was some drama within the ward, and the mother cant get over how Nefi kills Laban in the book of Mormon, so now only wants to read the bible. Its really frustrating the excuses some people put up, HOWEVER we continue forward! I love the advise that Utchdorf gives, which is "doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith". We may not understand all things, however we just need to put our faith in the lord and continue forward.


A barbershop opened up across the street from us and they were playing their rap music ALL NIGHT LONG. (a common occurrence here in Collique). However the sad thing is Sunday, on their first day of business... apparently they were robbed with people with guns! (there is a menos activo we are teaching above whose aunt told us the story). Its a little nerve wracking since they live across the street from us and all and this happened, however it just goes to show how the lord protects his servants. I have lived in Collique for almost four months now and never once had a problem! So were counting our blessings there.

This is our district wearing the T-shirts that I designed