Notes from Peru. 1/20/14

Hey! How is it going?  

So yes, the answer to the million dollar question is yes, I am training. My new compañera, Hermana Chavez, is from Mexico. She is a sweet girl and is going to be a great missionary. I am still here in Mayorazgo. I am going to be here for almost a fourth of my mission. Can you believe it? I am going to be completing a fourth of my mission at the end of this month. Crazy! We had two more hermanas move in to our apartment, and so now we have 6! It is like BYU I all over again. haha! no, usually we are so tired at the end of the day that we all crash into our beds and our out sound asleep by 10:45. But that's good because it means we worked hard. 

Yes, I am a trainer now. It is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. haha! My new compañera is from Mexico. She is sweet and has a beautiful testimony. Thanks for saying I looked good in the photos. The night before we got locked out of our apartment and had to sleep in a different area and we only got 4 hours of sleep and then had to go straight to the meeting, so I am glad that I looked good even on my crazy days. haha! I am trying to not get fat too, but it is hard because the members give us so much food! and the way they show their appreciation is by giving us food. So yeah, I've been working on fighting the fat. haha. 

This week has been a humbling and learning week for me. It really hit me this week that the Lord has entrusted me, not only with training and helping build the foundation for my new companion, but also that He has entrusted me with all the people in Mayorazgo. It is really humbling that He trusts me that much, but I am learning that I really cannot do anything without His help. I have been praying a lot this week and rely on the Atonement every single day. Something that I learned in personal study was about how repentance is a blessing. It is a chance to better ourselves and use the gift of the Atonement every single day. This week I have been learning about the side of the Atonement that is talked about in Ether 12:26-27. When we seek for His help and are truly humble, relying on Him, and doing our best, in His mercy, the Lord covers our weaknesses with His power. 

I want to share with you all my testimony that this church is true. I love my Savior so much and know without a doubt that the power of the Atonement is real. I have a testimony that Joseph Smith was a propeht of God and that the First Vision, in which he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, is real. 

I hope you all have a great week. Know that I pray for each of you, and I love you so much!!!!

Love,

Hermana Waite

Email from January 13th

Holy smokes! Another transfer (6 weeks) has flown by! I think that I will be transfered tomorrow, but we will see. I finished my training this past week, and Hermana Gifford keeps telling me that she thinks I am going to train this transfer. Guess we will find out tomorrow. 

This week was miraculous! I know I always talk about miracles every week, but that is because miracles are all around us, we just need to take the time to look for them. This week we have 10 new investigators!!! That is a lot for our area, and some of them are a family!!!!! We were in the church teaching English the other night when a lady walked in and asked us if we were the missionaries. We replied yes and told her that we were from the Mayorazgo ward. She told us that was good because she had a friend in the church who had just moved with her four kids and husband and they were not members and wanted to introduce us to her. I just about fell over! We had one lesson with them, and it was super great! 

Sorry, not much time, but I want to share my testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that He is the Savior of the world. I know that when we feel like we just cannot do it any more, if we just plead for His help, He will be right there by our side. I know that when we feel inadequate, like we just cannot do all He has asked us to do, we can pray for His support, and He will lift us to be places we never thought we'd be. I know that we can use the Atonement every single day as we turn our hearts and thoughts to Him and re commit ourselves to do His will every day. This is repentance. I am so grateful to be here, and for the message that I have to share. I know that when we put the Lord first in our lives, everything works out for the best. 

Thank you for all your support and love. I love you bunches and tons!!!!

Love,

Hermana Waite

Christmas, New Years, and Beyond.

From Dec. 23, 2013

¡Feliz Navidad! Sorry, this one is going to be short. This past week was great! We had a multi zone conference that was really fun and we went to a place called Parque de las Aguas. There are HUGE fountains all over the park with lights and lots of trees and flowers. It was really pretty! We also had a baptism yesterday for a girl named Deborah! She has such a sweet spirit and we are really happy that she had the courage to make this decision in her life. We also had some super powerful lessons earlier on in the week. We could feel the Spirit super strongly. We have another investigator that is going to get baptized in January too! 

I wanted to share something that I found very interesting from church yesterday. This sister who was giving the talk made the point about how Christmas is not about the worldly things and how it is about celebrating Christ. yes, this is true, but then she said something that caught my attention. She said that in our birthdays, it wouldn't make sense is we celebrated without the person who's birthday it is. It is the same for Christ. This is His birthday, and I think that we should not only celebrate His birth, but also His life. Where would we be if Jesus Christ had not lived His life in the manner that He did? He is our perfect Example, our Savior, our Friend and Brother. I am so thankful beyond the means to describe for His sacrifice and His love. We need to let His love work in us so that we may become the people He wants us to be. I love you all and hope you enjoy this great season!

Love,

Hermana Waite

more pictures of el parque de las aguas! It was way sweet! I wish you guys could have been there. They also had a water show where they projected pictures and videos onto walls of water, but it was 3 D!!!!! Needless to say I was stoked. It was super chevere! Also, I know you guys are going to have jokes about bezos de moza. (kisses of youth) yeah, yeah I know, I am prepared for the jokes. haha! they are chocolates with marshmallow and graham cracker stuff inside. Kind of like smores.

DADDY!!!!! are you sure you are not going to be the one to cry first? I am stoked to be able to talk to you guys!!! Ok, so I said no to the dog, but I do have to admit, she is pretty cute. :) I like her name too. Where did you get her at? Oh! How sad about Jhonny! Thank you for being willing to help his family. I am sure that this will be a great missionary opportunity. How is the other neighbor? Guess who else is asking ?s about the Gospel.. Laurel Anne! I am super happy about it. :) Thank you for the $ too. That was nice of you. :) I am eagerly awaiting my package as well. You guys are the best! I brag about how great you are! Nbd. haha! Do I get a kings for eating guniea pig? I think that deserves a big fat kings to me. Just sayin. haha! So vacations huh? That's got to be nice! What plans do you all have for the break? Until when is the break? The mission activity was GREAT! the baptism ended up being yesterday, but it went super great too! Sorry this is short, but I am excited to hear from you in the next few days! Mañana I am going to first tell you when we can skype and then I have a few extra minutes to talk to you. We have 5minutes total. 

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Hermana Waite

From Dec. 30, 2013

HAPPY 2014 TO ALL!!!! I cannot believe that this year has already passed by so fast! For New Year here there are a TON of fireworks, the people wear yellow, and they also burn dolls representing someone and the old year. For Christmas, there were SO MANY fireworks!!!! I couldn't even believe how many there were! and I hear that there are even more for New Year! :O Our house was surrounded by fireworks! (don't worry, it wasn't super close). Only a few were lit off on our street. I do not think that I have seen so many fireworks in my life. If I accumulated all the fireworks I have ever seen, I do not think the total would exceed the amount I saw on Christmas. It was way sweet! We visited members and on Christmas day, I got the very best present of talking to my family! You guys seriously are the best!!!! I love you sooooooooooo much! and I am glad you are doing well. The past week we have pretty much been fed on Paneton, so now I am sick of it. haha! I understand why the people here only eat it during one time of the year. Even though it was the week of Christmas, we actually had a productive week! I know that when we try our very best, the Lord will provide a way and means for us to do His work, just like he provided a ram for Abraham. 

Spiritual thought for this week. Today I was studying in 3 Nephi 10:1-5. I learned that perhaps it is not so bad to stand alone. Before my mission, I was thinking that if I stood alone in doing what is right, that I would recieve the blessing of never having to stand alone again, but that is not necessarily so. In reality, it is a blessing to stand apart from the world. We as missionaries cannot read the news or watch the television, but even walking around we hear and see things that are super ugly. I know for myself that I do not ever want to be a part of that, and so I know that I must stand up and be different. Sometimes we may feel like we are rejected or outcasts because we choose not to follow the popular opinons  of the time, but this is a great privilege and a blessing. If we are choosing to stand apart from the world then we are choosing to stand with the Savior, and that to me is such an honor and a blessing that should be worth any sacrifice. I was thinking about the examples of people who have done this, and I am so grateful for their courage and example to me (Corbin, Mom, Dad- you guys are at the top of my list). Thank you three so much for the examples you set for me! I think about you often throughout my days and the weeks and I draw strength from your faith and examples. I love you all so much! 

Remember, look for opportunities to share the gospel every day, even if it is in simple ways. It is desperately needed. I love you all! Be safe, enjoy your new year!

Until next week!

Love, 

Hermana Waite

From Jan 6, 2014

MI FAMILIA!!!!!

I hope you are enjoying your time with Katia and her dad! Happy late Birthday Sister!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guess who else has a birthday coming up..... :) ( and no Dad, it isn't canceled. I talked to Obama, and he is going to make it a national holiday). haha!!!!!!

How's the week been? Everyone's health good? So Año Nuevo aqui. Some of the traditions here are way cool! I am going to do them when I get home. For example, there are a lot of yellow things, yellow flowers, yellow balloons, yellow clothes. It is all to welcome in a happy and prosperous new year. Some people also eat 12 grapes, one for each month, and as they are eating the uvas (grapes- new vocab for the week), they make 12 wishes that they want for the year.  There was also fireworks, and we even burned a muñeca ( a doll- or in our case an old picture- representing burning the old things of the past year). really though, it was pretty tame, nothing too wild. Even the ward party was past curfew, so we didn't go. I missed dancing a  lot :(, but that's alright. 

This week, it being new year, we have been sharing a lot about a story in the Bible. It is found in Genesis 19. This is the story about Lot. The Lord was going to destroy some wicked cities, but he warned Lot and his family to leave, but to not look behind them. Lot's wife decided to look back, and she turned to a pillar of salt. A few lessons we can get from this story. One, we shouldn't live in the past. What's done is done, and although we should learn from the past, we should not live there, as one of the apostles so wisely said.(I think it was Elder Holland). Second lesson, where was the heart of Lot's wife? It was in her worldly possesions and not in following the Lord. I want to challenge you all to not only follow the Lord, but to do it cheerfully and willingly. I am learning that it is not only important the things that we do, but also how we do them. When we are willing to give our hearts, souls,minds, our very lives and selves to the Lord, that is when we change and draw closer to Him and become the people that He not only wants,but also knows that we can be. 

This weekend we have been blessed with lots of miracles. I don't have time to write about all of them, but I will share them in more detail later. I had the opportunity to share my testimony of the reality of God and His Son, the plan of salvation, and the knowledge that families can be together forever through sacred covenants of the temple. I am SOOOOO grateful to you Mom and Dad, for the righteous lives you live, and for teaching Corbin and I about how to live the way the Lord wants us to. I cannot even begin to give my thanks to the both of you. Keep it up family! because I know that one day, we are going to live together forever with our Father in Heaven. I am so excited that I get to be with each of you forever. 

I hope you continue to be happy, obedient, and to enjoy life. Always remember to give thanks and to recognize the Lord's hand in your life. I love you each sooooo much!!!

Love,

Hermana Waite