When Time Touches Eternity...

Holy heck, we almost died in a massive earthquake! Just kidding!  I didn't even know it  was an earthquake at first.  I thought I was falling asleep. Hahahaha, no worries :)

Well. It was a really bittersweet week. We actually had a lot of success! First off Fabiola was baptized on Saturday and it was great. She really has a strong desire to repent and  always be worthy. It is a huge testimony to me of the power of the Atonement. Also we had more lessons with Kathy, the pregnant lady, and she is amazing. She is so sweet and so prepared for the gospel it is ridiculous.

We also found a family this week! They were actually a contact from  President when he came and they are a family of 10!  I really have hope that they will progress as a family. But it was actually  also a really, really funny lesson. So we knew the dad had like a problem with his arm and couldn't work, but we had never met the rest of the family. Well, they let us in and we were just talking to him and his wife and his wife starts crying and telling us how hard it has been  because her husband was like shot and almost died.  Then this sweet crazy mamita lady stands up and starts unbuttoning her husbands shirt and we just about died. But really she was just  showing us the  bullet wounds all on his chest. Horrifying, but way less horrifying than I feared. But they really are a great family with a lot of needs that the gospel can fill.

In other random funny stories, we got in a taxi this week and he wouldn't haggle prices with Hermana Rush so we agreed to just go collective, which means we pay 1 sol and he can pick up other passengers on the way, but usually no one ever gets in. Well 5 more men got in and we were crammed in a little tiny car and it was so dang funny I almost peed laughing at our awkwardness. Oh,  the life.

Well, saying goodbye was horrible. First off I felt for her because she has been here so long and has so many strong relationships here. She just cried and cried, and they all cried.  She has changed so many lives here with her example, and love, and spirit. She is an infinitely stronger, more amazing missionary than she can see. Then it finally came time to say goodbye in the bus station and I cried like a baby. This change with her changed my mission. I literally fell in love with it. Every part of it. I feel confident and happy.  She taught me how to love people and my companions. She lifted me and made me a better missionary. She is a woman of great faith, and I will miss laughing and talking dearly, but I am so grateful for the time we had.

Well, I am excited to get back to work! Changes are  hard, but I have learned so much from every one. Onward and upward! I love you all so dang much. Be happy :)

Remember the moments when time touches eternity :)

Lauren

I Just Really Am Not Creative Enough to Title Emails

My Family Who I Love!!!

I love you all so much :) It is ridiculous. But! You already knew that :)  I consistently just feel like I am filled with a spirit of gratitude. I am so blessed :)

One thing I was really grateful for this week was the Book of Mormon. It just hit me how much I love it, how strong my testimony is of its truthfulness. I was reading in Preach my Gospel where it says that we don't have to answer the hard questions or the weird questions, we just have to ask them if they have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. When it all comes down to it, if the book of Mormon is true, and we have read it and we know it is true, nothing else matters. And the book is true. We were also talking to Diana this week and we were a little frustrated. She wasn't reading the Book of Mormon like she should be, and she was asking a lot of deep doctrine questions. Finally. we asked if she was reading the book of Mormon, and she said not as much as she should be. Then we just talked about how important that was, and I felt impressed to read Moroni 10:4 and then also 5 and 6. It just talks about how you can't deny the power of Christ. We were able to testify to her that you can't deny the power of the Book of Mormon and you will feel that undeniable testimony come if you are really reading it and praying.  That testimony will carry you through much more than just your doubts. I know that it will carry you through your fears, trials, and heartaches as well. That book has power that I can't explain. The little blue ones that we carry every day are just pages of paper, but opening that books brings a palpable feeling of the Power of God. Read that book like your life depends on it :)

I live in fear because there is a ginormous spider living in my dresser, like tarantula. But I don't know where it went so I just pull my clothes out really fast and squeal. I haven't seen it in like 5 days though.... so either it is planning an attack or it died. 

Also, i never realized how important white teeth are until I got to a place where they aren't. But they are. TEETH ARE SO IMPORTANT. Hahahaha new husband requirement.... decent teeth.

So yesterday was a typical stressful Sunday. We had assigned members to pick up all of our investigators and we had to be at the church early. Well one of the members who was in charge of like 5 of the investigators wasn't answering her phone and it was really getting close to time so we ran out to a taxi and sped all the way up to the top of the mountain to get Fabiola.  Because if she didn't come yesterday she couldn't be baptized this week. But we got to her so it was ok :) Stressful and hilarious but ok. The down side is that due to a family emergency, Kathy and Karmin couldn't come, so they are being pushed to September for their baptisms :( So that was a little rough, but it was unavoidable so it will be ok. Trials of faith :) 

Also yesterday, we were sitting up on the stand because Hermana Rush had to speak and two straight up Isrealites walked in and sat down in the back of the chapel (long hair, Jesus clothes and disciple shoes). It was so scary. Hahahah. Then after the sacrament hour the elders stayed RIGHT with them so they couldn't talk to investigators. They were actually really young and they talked to us and they just have really flawed doctrine. But they stayed for the second hour too and it was just really stressful, ahahahaha, but also hilarious. Oh the joys.

Then in the 3rd hour yesterday one of the members of the Stake Presidency taught all the adults and he talked about raising families in the gospel and it was a really great lesson. They talked about how the only place that compares to the temple on earth is the home. I am so thankful for parents who gave me that kind of home and I want to have that kind of home someday too :) I love this Gospel and the opportunities it gives to families. 

Well next week is cambios, so no email til the middle of the week :( I am going to miss Sister Rush, it has been a great transfer! I hope you all have a great week, be careful in all your travels and such :) Be happy! Happy first day of school!!! hahahaha suckers :) 

I love you!

Lauren

2 Timothy 1:7

This is the view from our balcony!

Do you not know I have had diarrhea since Easters?

Hahahaha Familia!!! Whom I love!!

The title of this email has reference to Nacho Libre. Please watch it in my memory :) hahaha

Anyway. It has been a crazy week! Well, crazy as any other week I guess. The weeks just feel like they fly by! It is a little terrifying. Anyway.

First we have a new (ish) investigator named Kathy who I think I have mentioned, but I just love her. We had another lesson with her this week and she just gets it! She read what she was supposed to and then just told us all about it. We usually have to like review it all so that they understand it.... but she just gets it. Hahaha it is really just refreshing. Her sister also has a baptismal date for the same day and just wants to move forward with her life. Pray for them to keep progressing :) We have a FHE with them tonight and they both have baptismal dates for the 30th of this month. They are family of the recent convert family that are just awesome. They are family of Jossy as well so they have a good support system. 

Also this week, President came for a training and it was really really good. We talked all about the atonement and how it relates to missionary work and it was just generally really,  really good. I learned a ton. And then.... he left with me and Hermana Rush to work. Which we had kind of been feeling like might happen all week.  Just when we thought we were safe he came and told us he had two hours that he wanted to spend with us proselyting. Talk about panic attack. We ended up teaching Rosemary's family and it actually went well enough. He also contacted in the taxi and the street and we just listened and followed him in awe. Hahaha. So that was really good :) Albeit terrifying.

Well, that night at like 2 in the morning I woke up and had some really wicked sickness. So we actually ended up staying in all Saturday and everything but church yesterday. It is like the first time I have had to stay in for me and I was a little stir crazy. But Hermana Rush kept me rational and sane. Hahaha, I feel SO MUCH better today, like huge change.  The hilarities that came out of the sickness were almost worth it. Like on Saturday, after we called the Health Elder and he didn't answer we got a text in Spanish that said, "did you guys call me?" So Hermana Rush answered in Spanish, "Yes my companion has a ton of sickness." And he answered in Spanish,  "Which one of you?"  And so she answered in English because he is a gringo.  And then he answered in Quechua and she was like, "what the heck?" So she answered in really ugly Quechua and then it was just letters in response.  And that's when we realized it was the Relief Society President who we also called that morning. Ahahahah.   Then that night I was so sick that I couldn't handle eating the fish some members gave us, and Hermana Rush sacrificed and ate it for me, gaining forever number one companion status.  Hahaha It has been very eventful, albeit a bit frustrating.

I love thinking about the Atonement. All day yesterday while I was sleeping and being irrational, I kept thinking of the song "Breath of Heaven". I just love this Gospel and thinking about my Savior :)

Alma 26:22!!

I love you and miss you all so much! Congratulations on all the success at the fair. I am so proud of each and every one of you!  I have the best family in the whole world :) But i already knew that. I love you!

Hermana Bailey

First Llama I have seen.  It was in a sketchy zoo.

Baptism

Where in the Heck Did July Go??

But really. Where did that go?

ANYWAY!

I just love being a missionary. It is a little ridiculous. Like for real. I have never been so happy in my life! And so aware of my purpose... a mission just makes you reflect a lot. You see people and how their choices affect them and how they are doing in their lives and just think a lot. I have never felt so strongly how important the temple is and how important having a family and fulfilling the plan is. It is such a beautiful feeling! I just feel happy. I am so incredibly grateful for Hermana Rush. Being with her for this transfer has really lifted me up and helped me to be the missionary I want to be. It is insane. This gospel is so true!

Hey Mom. When I was little did you sing "As I Have Loved You" to me a lot? Random I know. But I have memories I can't place...

SO this week was really good! Jossy was baptized and it was a really powerful and spiritual night. She bore her testimony about fasting so that her dad would give her permission and it was really great, and we actually had a little ward support! So that was good. Then, we also had 4 investigators at her baptism! It was so rewarding and just beautiful to see how deep that little girl's testimony is.

This week we have also been teaching a woman named Kathy. She also came to the baptism and then in the very next lesson she accepted a baptismal date and just kept saying how she felt different in the baptism of Jossy and it just felt good and right and that she knew this is what she needed in her life and her future family's life. She is pregnant and super open and willing to learn so much. She wants the gospel in her life. And then she came to church yesterday in our recent rescue and her family's huge van full of missionaries and investigators!

Another really cool thing that happened yesterday was that after Jossy was confirmed in sacrament, they announced that there was a baby blessing and they blessed Diana's little boy,  Alvaro! We had no idea they were planning on doing that or that they even wanted too. I just started to cry because Diana and Jossy really just GET IT.  Please pray that Diana will be able to get married and baptized. She is just so amazing :)

Yesterday... was a great day. Our whole ward fasted for the missionary work and then we ended up talking about it in Relief Society and it was just really powerful. Then, after church,  we were teaching a less active and offered to help her peel garlic cloves.  So we just sat on a dirt floor and peeled garlic cloves and talked about the gospel for like 2 hours.  Then we went to another less active's house for dinner and while we were waiting for her to finish it, we washed her clothes for her family. On the roof. By hand. In freezing air with a beautiful view of Ayacucho. I think it is really important for them to see that us two gringas are just here to help and love them :) It was a great, beautiful day. I love this ward and this area, and I love seeing how the gospel works in the lives of humble people who are so happy to know it.

I also love Hermana Rush. I am just so happy and comfortable with her as my companion. It has just jump started my growth. I look up to her so dang much :)

Oh funny story I forgot. We locked ourselves out of our house Friday morning going to buy toilet paper and after trying like three times to go full cheerleader to get on our balcony thing and almost dying, we went and borrowed a ladder from a mamita and broke into our own house. Funniest thing ever.

Well. I love all of you with all of my heart. Have a great week at the fair! I expect pictures... hahahaha I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

I love you!

Lauren