Christmas - A Little Different This Year!

December 22, 2014

So yes I have been chastised and I guess that I will just have to do a better job with pictures and longer emails.

This week has been pretty good for the most part!!  We are finding lots of people that are really open to talk with us about Jesus this time of year.  We usually contact people for about 2 hours a day. So we just need people to be home now when they say we can come and visit them.  But a really good week for the most part.

Me and Elder Cueto during the rainy season!

Chuno- - "Yeah, it is so nasty mom!!!!  But I stuff it down in
like 10 seconds so that I don't really taste it."

This week we were up on the mountain contacting.  It is the rainy season here in Puno so it rains close to every day and all night every night.  We were up on the mountain contacting about 20 minutes from our house when it just started to pour. We were stuck up there.  We were standing next to this house when this little old lady opened her door and told us that we could hang out where she keeps all her potatoes.  We went into this little shack for like 25 minutes and just shared our favorite scriptures it was a grand time really.

I have been working really really hard on memorizing more words in Spanish the past couple of days.  It is starting to pay off.  I can pretty much understand anything anybody says.  It is a lot easier when you can understand the question of the investigators.

We won't have a baptism this week and we were a little sad about that.  We  just couldn´t teach all the lessons fast enough to Brayan.  We have been working so hard and are not seeing much progress in anyone and that is discouraging.  We were talking the other day in estudiar compañerismo (companionship study) and  we both said how disappointed we were.  I remembered a little quote in preach my gospel that says how you shouldn't measure your success by baptisms.  Think at the end of each day if you have given the Lord your all and worked as hard as you can - then you have had a successful day.  I have remembed that every day this week.

I bought lights to put above my bed.  Here we are being all festive!

Chistmas is different this year.  There is really no way to describe the feeling.  No snow.  No family.  No friends.  No tree.  No......yeah no lots of  stuff but I have watched the video that the church put out for Christmas and we all have the greatest gifts on earth.  Jesus.  His atonement and life is the best gift we have and ever will be given.

We are teaching a lady who went to church for 2 years when she was 19.  She knows so much about the church....it is kind of hard to teach her actually.  Her daughter is really awesome though.  She said that she know it is true.  We just need them to go to church now.

I don´t exactly know when we will skype.  We just found someone who is going to let us use their house so yeah.  I get to call you on christmas eve on the telephone for like 5 minutes to tell you exactally when and all that jazz.  so I will call that night will all the details.

Love elder George

My Week In a Nutshell

December 15, 2014

This week was a pretty good week.  We didn´t have a lot of work to do this week but we worked hard anyways.  No appointments and a lot of people that were not home.  This week was actually kind of sad.  A really hard long week in the mission,

First off the good.  I have recieved 2 packages and I had to open one so yeah, I opened one.  It made my week a little bit better!!  American candy cost a arm and a leg here and so I have to ration and eat only a little here and a little there.  But thank you all everything is recieved with much gratitide.

There were some really good parts to this week too.  We had our Christmas devotional with President Harbertson.  He is the BEST.  He gave us a gift.  It was a Book of Mormon.  His challenge for us was to read it this year and in every verse question why Mormon included this story or what not. I am really excited to start after I reak my Book of Mormon in Spanish.

We had kinda a bad week with investigators.  Maritza told us that she wanted to be baptized when she was her moms age or so, 50.  We really struggled with this and have been praying really, really, hard for her.  WE have a lesson in a few days and will try to explain more clearly the importance of baptism.  We are teaching a part member family and the two little kids really want to be baptized and so I think that they are kind of a blessing for us.  Yessica is hard to get with her husband and be able to teach at the same time but we are working hard with them right now.  We just visited with a family last night and they are so amazing.  They have 4 little girls and make me think of home and my 4 sisters though they are all smaller but so cute and I just love them.  The 4 little girls love me and Elder Cueto and told us that we could visit whenever we wanted.  Their parents are pretty religious and have some questions but I think that when they pray they will know.

That is pretty much my week in a nut shell.

Much Love Elder George

It's Always the Same But SO Good!

December 8 2014

Another week?  Whenever I heard some one say that in the mission the days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days I honestly thought that they were on drugs.  How can a week feel like a day?  How can a day feel like a week?  Well I know exactly what they were talking about.  I feel so blessed to be on a mission it is really one of the best experiences of my life.

So this week was really really good.  We taught a lot of lessons and a lot of people are really progressing in our area.  First off Maritza, she is awesome and really wants to be baptized.  There is one small problem.  She still lives at home with both of her parents and they want her and her older brother Jonathon to be baptized on the same day.  We have a cite......appointment (I forget that word for a minute) this week where we will talk to their parents and explain to them the importance of baptism.  Jonathan is not progressing at all and that makes our job really really hard.  We asked if she would be baptized on the 27th of this month and she said yes, we just have to work with her parents now.  Hermana Virginia is doing really well too.  She has 4 kids.  Luis, Jose, Micheal, and Jasmine.  They are so cute.  We are asking them this week if they will prepare to be baptized on the 27 also.  We have really, really, really, really, big plans for the 27th.  We hope all goes well and that our plans will all work out.  It will bless lots of lives if they do.

Last week we went out for pizza and let me tell you how insanely awesome that was.  I have to tell you something - - that was one of the most celestial experiences of my life here in Peru.  Really though, the rice and chicken is not so good for my insides and I have been, well in the john like all of the time here.  I am healthy I just well......don`t know really.  But really I am fine no need to worry.  It is normal here, at least for the white people.  And it is really only during the night that I have any problems.  When we are out and about during the day I am just fine.  I guess Heavenly Father makes sure I can get the work done that he wants me to do during the day and leaves me to deal with myself during the night.   When we went out for pizza everything got better.  How weird is that?  But I am grateful!!

Anyways it is hard to write about each day because they are all the same.  Walk around a lot.  Have a lot of APPOINTMENTS fall through and walk around some more.  Teach a little, show a little video to a family and try to get EVERYBODY to come to church.  We literally invite everyone we see to come to church. No one ever comes but our attendance is going up.  Our goal it to consistently have like 60ish people come.  That is huge for us really we have had 54 one time and that was like......awww - - I don`t even know how to explain it!!!

My testimony is the strongest it has ever been and I love Peru.  The people here are so awesome, when they are sober, and I just awww.  Don`t really have word for it.

Elder George

PS mom could you give my Andrew's Email

Dogs, Drunks, and Six Weeks in the Field

December 1, 2014

Another week!?!  So time is  crazy in the mission because we will work and work and work and then it is P-day and I get to write my family.  I feel like just yesterday I was in this gross little shack writing another letter. ;)

I just finished my first change in the field and what a 6 weeks that is had been!!  I have learned so much and my testimony is so much stronger!!  My companion, Elder Cueto, is from Santa Cruz in Bolivia.

So I was reading in the Bible and I read a scripture that I love so much!!! It is in Matthew 19:26!!  I love it, go read it!  "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all thing are possible."

Any ways the work is going really good.  We contacted this family in the street and the mom's name is Virginia.  She is so awesome.  We taught them the night that we contacted them.  She loves the fact that you could say a prayer and really talk to Heavenly Father, not just say the same repeated things over and over.  She was more than happy to say the prayer at the end of the lesson.  She didn´t come to church but two of her little boys came.  They love us and they loved church so that is good.  Our other investigator that is coming along really well is Maritza.  She has been to church twice but hasn´t committed to baptism yet even though she tells us that she knows that is it true.  Soon, I can tell.  I will just keep praying for her.

We have problems with dogs like everyday.  The other day we were just walking down this path, definitely can´t call it a road, when we heard 10 or 12 dogs running and barking.  At first I wasn´t worried at all because what is new really here?  But after about 20 seconds I got a little nervous. We turned around, and you know how in the movies when there is a bunch of dust following fast moving objects, well I got to see that in real life.  Something new right.  But WOW.  Yeah we threw a lot of rocks and ran a little and in the end only dog got to us.  Perfect way to end a day.

Elder Cueto and Me

We had some problems with drunks this week too.  One tried to fight us.  Elder Cueto was ready and told me if it happened again he would take care of him because he didn´t want his little baby to get hurt.  He loves having a white "hijo."  I am his "son" in the mission and he is my "dad" in the mission.  He love that I am white.

I am a little sad today because one of my friends from the CCM, who I really love and  that was in my area when home.  He hated the mission and the language.  It was really really hard for him.  But who isn´t the mission hard for right?  The Zone Leaders gave me his package that came today and I felt really bad opening it and seeing the pictures his family had sent him and all the things.  I emailed him hopefully he will get it and feel of my love for him.  He really is a great guy and I am blessed because he was with me in the CCM.  He will always be my friend!

We are working hard and are seeing the blessings of it!!

Love you all keep praying for me I can feel of you love and support the 8000 miles away!!:)

Much love,

Elder George!!

The Children - I LOVE the Children!

November 24, 2014

This week was really good!

Last preparation day we went to Julaca, Elder Cuetos first area, to visit with his first baptism.  It is a pretty large family with 6 kids.  They baptized the whole family!  And they were just the nicest people.  We were sitting on the roof when we were called down to a little room.  At first I was a little scared because they all stood against the wall as I walked into this room.  Once I got into the room I could see the whole family was there with party hats.  Everything was green because I am a "greenie" and a "greengo".  They told me that because my "father" of the mission, my trainer Elder Cueto, is part of their family, I am part of their family too!  If I ever need anything call them and they will help me in whatever way that they can!

This week there was a big strike!  Everything was closed for 3 days.  It is so hard to work and teach during strikes.  No one is in the streets and no one is home.  I really don't understand it.  Where do the people go?!?  I honestly have no idea.  But it was fun to just pretty much hang out with a few of the other missionaries for 3 days.  We mostly just hung out and watched Mormon movies and Mormon messages on the little portable DVD we have on one bed.  Oh the life of a missionary.

We helped out at the hospital this week and it was so fun.  There is a group in Lima who has kind of teamed up with the church to help kids with cleft pallets.  They give operations for free.  Cleft pallets are a big problem in this area - lots of children have them.  So we moved boxes up and down for about 2 hours and then finally got to spend time with the kids.  That was the best part!  They were all so cute it was really hard for me to understand them.  We had gone out earlier and bought toys and things for the kids.  They were so surprised when we started giving them the toys.

We have been having a lot of success here lately.  I am so thankful.  All it really takes is work and obedience.  We have been wanting to have at least one baptism next month and have been working really hard towards that goal.  Isabel and Luis are progressing and they told us about their daughter this week, Maritze.  She is a really awesome investigator and follows through on all of our commitments.  She came to church with us yesterday and told us she keeps having dreams where she is baptized.  She said that she knows that everything we say it true and so we are working with her a lot!!!  We are going to ask her to be baptized on the 27th of December.  We are also working a lot with Yessica.  She brought her husband to the last lesson, and even though he said that he wasn´t interested  at all he participated a lot.  He even said the prayer at the end of the lesson.  The spirit can change people and their hearts.

I love Peru and promise that if you get me the vitamins that I will take them!!

My testimony has grown so much and I have grown so much as a person!  The old Elder George was good but I am such a better person now.  Okay I am still me but just a little different.  Nothing has changed changed, but I have changed.  It's really hard to explain.

Lacey, tell Nawrocki that I love her and that I help the little kids with their math in Spanish!

Love Elder George

Every Emotion in the Book!

November 17, 2014

What a week it has been!  I have experienced just about every emotion in the book this week!  I don´t know why, but it has been kind of a crazy week!  We are working so hard to build up this sector.  When we arrived we had one "investigator" and to be honest we really aren't too sure about him.  We are working so hard with Andres and still nothing really seems to be going our way!  He came across a documentary on CCN about Joseph Smith and decided to look into it more on the internet!  Why?  I don´t know -  - well I do, it's because Satan will do everything in his power to stop somebody from being baptized!

So yeah we have been working really hard in this area of ours to find people.  That is really, really, hard when your ward is not super helpful and won't help by giving  referrals.  Still we have knocked on sooo many doors and are starting to find people.  First, Yessica.  She is really awesome, she won´t bring her kids to the lessons and her husband doesn't want anything to do with the church.  However, she is really progressing.  She asks so many questions because she has family members who are active members which helps and she is really curious.  She didn't like me at the beginning because I don't really say much.  She didn't know I was a new missionary and just thought that I didn't like her or something.  When she was asking about missions she asked how long we serve for and what not. Then we talked about our lives and how long we had been out.  When she found out that I was still pretty new she felt really bad and cooked us this way good.....I don´t know what it was but she owns a restaurant and so it was safe.

Another family we are teaching is Luis and Isabel.  They are progressing but it is still really hard to visit their whole family because Luis is always working.  So we are trying to find him a job that will allow us to teach their who family at the same time!

This week I got really sick for about 2 days.  We would still go walk all day and work all day but I felt TERRIBLE!!!  One night I didn't get much sleep because the whole night I spent......well not sleeping!  It was the worst.  I finally had the bright idea to ask for a blessing.  My testimony of the power of the priesthood and of the gift of tongues was strengthened.  I understood every word of the blessing and started to feel better later that day!!

Oh my, I have lost weight and all my pants are starting to feel really really big - -  hahah!!  Our pensionista thinks that it is really funny and piles the food for me because she thinks that I am not healthy.

One thing that I hate down here is something called Chuno.  It is potatoes.  Not just any potatoes.  First you dig us the potatoes and take them to a some place that they can rot.  Let them rot for a long time, like wine the longer they rot the "better" they are!  MY HEAVENS!!  Let them rot for a long time and then put then in running  water to wash out all the bugs and "nasty" germs.  Then you serve them in soup or plain.  Not as bad in soup but TERRIBLE plain.  So is my life in Peru!

We have been having a lot of problems with robbers down here.  They other night we heard someone and they were trying to break into the house next to ours.  The next morning we went over to the church and somebody had broken all the glass windows in the church and so we spent the whole day cleaning us broken glass in the church.

Elder Cueto is becoming one of my good friends here!  One night this week we were talking about the beginning of his mission.  He said in the CCM he was always happy and never really had any problems, but once he got out into the field it was different.  He said that for the first 2.5 weeks he cried every night.  He then asked me how my first 2 week were.  I was pretty honest.  Told him that they sucked pretty bad, that couldn't understand anybody and he wasn't really all that patient.  I said it in English and realized that he couldn't understand what I was saying.  So I just asked him how much harder would it have been if he couldn't understand anything.  He told me he was proud to have me as his "hijo."  Son of the mission and that I would make a great missionary!

I love it here and my testimony has grown so much!  I love the people and the kids are SOOOOOOO cute!  I love when, in sacrament meeting, one of the little kids comes and sits by me!  There is this huge hill where a lot of kids ride their scooters up and down.  Whenever Elder Cueto and I pass we buy a little thing of oreos and give one to each of them!  They love us and they all come to church now.  Not because of the oreos but because they never had anybody they felt like loved them and wanted them at church.  They think it is funny when I talk in English to them and always ask me for different words in English.  They think white skin is funny and love that I am taller than 5 foot nothing!!

Much Love Elder George!

This was something that he sent to his Dad!  They worked the last couple weeks pouring concrete from a pump much like the ones in the pictures.
Not going to lie, when I saw this I teared up a little bit.  No matter what I said, I really did love those days where it was just you and me!  We were not always golfing, but I will forever cherish the memories that we made the last few weeks before I left!  I felt like our relationship grew a lot and that. . . well I don't exactly know but it was always good for me to just be with you!

Easily The Best Week Yet!

November 10, 2014

HELLO!!!!!

This week has been really really good!!  I am feeling so happy and I don't really know why because I am always tired!!  Like really - always - tired!  We work and work and work.  AND when I say work I mean walk!  We have been really trying to find some people to teach - and the way to find is to contact - and the way to contact is to well.....WALK!!  We live on a mountain and so when I say walk I mean HIKE!

This is what a long day of walking and working for the Lord looks like

Puno from one side looking towards the other

 It is so tiring but we are starting to see results which is the BEST!!

So last P-day (the one day of the week given to missionaries write letters home, play soccer, shop, have a little break in "walking" etc.) and there was a big parade.  Their version of a parade is a little different than in the United States.  Elder Heslop, one of my really good friends in the zone, was talking with me when we were at the stake center.  The parade was going by and he said that the parade is all the Victoria Secret model rejects using a lot of energy to walk down the street.  Everybody was drunk and it was impossible to do anything so all the companionship hung out at the Stake Center all day.  Really good P-Day though!

We have a mission goal to contact 12 families a week, per companionship.  THAT IS A TON!!!!  We contacted 3 this week and we literally talked to every family we saw.  The most awesome contact of the week was a little family who literally has nothing; they are so humble and nice.  I love them!  Hermano Luis is really interested and his wife is too.  It is PERFECT!  Hermana Isabel was sitting down on the road with 6 or 7 HUGE bags of potatoes and was dividing the bags into smaller bags so that they could hike up the big hill to were their house while hauling the potatoes.  We simply asked if we could help them in any way and they insisted that they were fine.  We knew they could use help so we proceeded to pick up half a bag of potatoes and carry it up the mountain.  We continued to make trips until all the potatoes were at their house.  They were so grateful and wanted to pay us.  We told them they way they could "pay" us was to listen to a message we wanted to share with them that could change their lives.  They willingly accepted and we taught them yesterday.  The lesson was perfect.  They were so happy when they found out that they could pray and not say a recited prayer.  They could ask for blessings that they needed and show their gratitude for that which they have.  It is really hard to find a time to teach them though because Hermano Luis is always working, because they have so little.  He has 3 jobs in order to keep his little family afloat.  We will figure something out!

Andres was supposed to be baptized this Saturday and we went to go visit him on Thursday.  He didn't seem like his normal self.  When we asked him if he was okay he told us that his girlfriend dumped him.  CRAP!! (Although he probably learned this word from me, his mother, I really don't like him using this word!  Especially as a missionary!)  But we were able to work things out and he is planning on the 22 of September!  Hopefully something bad doesn't happen again!  I have faith that it won´t.

10 DOGS!  This guy that lives on a hill owns 10 huge dogs.  They are terribly scary!  We were walking along minding our own business when they started to chase us off what later we found out was this guys property.  The owner of the dogs just sat there and watched as we ran for our lives!  The owner called the dogs back after about 200 yards and just proceeded to laugh at how scared we were.  What a jerk!

The language is starting to come!  I can understand just about anyone.  I have been studying so so so so hard.  I felt like I wasn't really improving at all - but the other day it all kind of started coming together.  I still make lots of mistakes but it is starting to come.  It is really hard to explain if you have learned another language.  If you have you will probably understand exactly what I mean!

I´m happy and the work in good!  Today Elder Cueto and I marked all of the changes and that was crazy to see how fast time goes.  I feel like yesterday I was in the Idaho Falls Airport with my awesome family giving hugs goodbye!!

♥Three very sad little girls saying goodbye to the brother they love♥

 But the Work is coming along great!!!

Finally here is a list of 10 things I miss in no particular order.

Carpet
Cold drinks (everything here is hot)
English
Grass
Family
Sierra
Water
Hot showers - all the time
A car
American Food!!

Love Elder George!