Lots of Questions... and Answers!

Hello family!!

Holy smokes, every week goes by faster...

This week was another great one!! Sadly our zone couldn't follow the weekly baptism streak, but we will be back before too long. :)

to answer some questions:

Does your companion speak any English?

Very little, he is studying but just phrases here and there. But we are working on that during language study.

Do the people you teach speak any English?

Just "hello" "wasunam" (what's your name) and "howaryu" (how are you). haha but almost all college students study English and are getting a very basic hold of it.

Did you ever buy a pair of shoes or are you just down to one pair?

I actually repaired them, and so the 2 original pairs are still kicking and looking great!

What is your typical meal at lunch?

Rice with Chicken maybe with some vegetables on the side with chicha morada or lemonade to drink is the typical meal. Sometimes you get like spaghetti instead of rice, or sometimes another side of papa a la huancaina.

How far do people have to travel to attend church?

The farthest away would probably be like 15-20 minute moto taxi ride...

What is the favorite sport in Peru?

SOCCER, or as they say here, FUTBOL.

Do people follow U.S. sports or is it mostly soccer?

very few people if any. US sports expands mostly to the use of Yankee caps as well as Chicago Bulls wear around here... haha

How big is your zone and what kind of an area does it cover?

This zone has 3 wards and 1 branch, there are 2 zones within the Stake. We cover a rather small part of Piura city, but we also have 2 small cities outside: Chulucanas and Morropon.

How often do you have zone conference?

About once a month.

Do you have to conduct the zone conference or does the mission president do that?

We do. We have special zone meetings for interviews and also multi zone meetings and normally that is where President takes part and plans the majority of what will be done. But the monthly zone meetings is what us zone leaders want to teach according to what we learned in our leadership council with all the mission zone leaders, assistants, sister trainers and the mission president.

What is the neighborhood you are living in like?

its a more upper class part of Piura, mostly residential. Calm, ready to receive the gospel. :)

Best or most interesting thing you've eaten this week?

hmm... well actually best thing I will be eating this next week: BAGELS!!!!! I have been looking for those things my whole mission and I found them today! I bought classic and also cinnamon raisin and I bought cream cheese so I am so excited for breakfast this week! :)

Happiest moment of the week? :)

hmmm... This week I got to go to Morropon! We had exchanges with the missionaries there so I got to go visit this little bitty city. It is a really small branch: the missionaries there are the 1st and 2nd councilors of the branch presidency... but it was really awesome. From the rain it is now super green there!! It reminded me a lot of Tambo Grande and I was able to give suggestions to these missionaries from what I learned from my time there. That was a lot of fun being with Elder Huaranga, a super awesome missionary from Huanaco, Peru. He cooks a stellar dinner and they are doing some great stuff there in Morropon.

There is a lot of stuff told!! I dont know what else to say.... haha

all is well!!! I am happy and having a blast!

Well, gotta go!! Love you all!

Elder Russell

Time is Just FLYING!

Another week come and gone!! How fast they fly but it went really well!!

And I remembered by camera!! 

And today we went to SECHURA!!! We went sandboarding as a district. We didn't get to stay around or say hi to any old friends, but I did see the Hermana who washes the missionaries clothes and I waved from the truck. But that was fun! So I got videos and some pics.

To answer questions:

Do you have any investigators coming to church?

Yes!! This week a member brought 2 new friends to church and we are going to start teaching them on Tuesday! Also R and K came to church! They are our progressing couple. They LOVE the Book of Mormon and it is changing their lives. We just need to get them married. But they came to church and they are super awesome.

Do you have a good mission leader in the ward?

Yep! He has about a year and a half with the calling but we help him out. He is a nice older man and always happy. He likes his calling and helping us out.

Do you get to eat any fresh fruit this time of year?

There are always lots and lots of Lemons. So Lemonade is a really big thing here. Oranges and Bananas also I have been eating recently.

How far away from the ocean are you?

Like an hour away -- about 40-45 miles I think.

Do most people there have cars?

Some, mostly everyone just has a moto taxi. And you can forget about trucks. In this ward I have met the first member to own a truck in my mission...

Where do most people in this town work?

Transportation, Construction, or the marketplace selling are the most common. Then you get the special jobs that vary.

Now that you've spent some time there...what is your favorite thing about Tacala?

EVERYONE is awesome!! Really receptive! We found 8 new investigators this week and hopefully we can help them all get on board to get baptized!

What can you tell us about your new Pensionista and her family?

She is named Dorina. She is awesome!! Good food and pitchers always filled with ICE COLD drinks! Which is my favorite part of lunch.

Favorite Peruvian thing this week?

hmm... Service projects! Getting to help fortify the lower class houses is always hard work, and I like taking off the collared shirt for a couple hours here and there.

Did you have an activity with your Zone today? If so, what was it?

Nope, today was a district activity! SECHURA!!

Well, I don't have too much time... But this week was great! We are really starting to get some people to teach and help progress! And our Zone is awesome!! Hopefully, if all goes well, this Zone can baptize weekly! And that is something to be very proud of! And also Reactivating. I think we can also "Rescue" weekly as well in the Zone, which is also super awesome. To "Rescue" someone, you have to teach them the 5 mission lessons, they need to attend church at least 3 times, and they need an interview with the Bishop. In other words, we need to reactivate them. This week we reactivated K, whose cousin is a recent convert. So that has been fun!

We are working hard and flying around! And holy smokes time is just FLYING!!!

This week I got my hands on one of those Church Administration books, the one that talks about Ward Council and the Work of Salvation, and such. And with that new knowledge we are starting to help out the Ward Mission Leader and the ward council a bit more effectively.

I am having a fun time!! I am now in Alma 43! Hopefully I can finish within these next 4 weeks, I need to start reading faster!

When does this other Peru Piura missionary leave?! Will I get to know him before he goes out?!?! That is so awesome!!! This is the best mission in the world!!

Have a great week!!! Love you all!!

Elder Russell

Saying "goodbye" to friends in Lopez Albujar

Baptism in Tacala

P-day in Sechura!

The Church is True!

Hello family!!

Holy smokes, I am so sorry, I forgot my camera AGAIN!!! Right now I am going to write it down in my agenda for next week. I got lots and lots of photos. House construction, Baptism, my new apartment, all that jazz you want, Mom. :) Sorry I forgot!!

Sheri and Mom, you both guessed pretty well about my new area! Almost half of it is actually paved roads, it is the highest living class I have proselyted in actually. It is a nice place and lots of quality visits!

The ward is strong. Around 130 people attend more or less every week. There are 800 members in the directory, but that is a current project in the ward: clean the directory up. Because there are LOTS who have moved, who don't live within the ward boundaries (like addresses in Tambo Grande...? haha), but the ward is strong and awesome. Lots of potential and we are going to make it even STRONGER! :) I LOVE working with ward members and leaders now.

Yep, we had a baptism! He is really awesome. He apparently has come a long way and the whole ward seems to love him. He is super educated in religion too, for example Elder Miller was teaching the offices of the Priesthood and F started explaining why it would be called the Melchizedek Priesthood and talked all about who Melchizedek was, we were all astounded! He actually reminds me a lot of my piano teacher in Massachusetts (Mom, you'll remember. I forgot his name... Nathan? But who was originally from Utah?) He has the same kind of personality. haha :) So that was great, and the other missionaries are actually teaching his Dad too! so that has been awesome. 

Pictures to come! :)

Most interesting thing you've learned about your new area?

hmm... that there is always more to do! The area is hard to master the directions because there is no rhyme or reason to the addresses...

Something I have learned while being here is the power of working with members. Pretty much all recent converts here were referrals, so we are going to keep working hard with those.

Funniest experience of the week?

hmm... I got a story about how I now have a new nickname in the zone: Carusel (carousel, in English). But how that came to be I would have to explain through a verbal explaination. So in May, or when I get home, remind me about that and I will expain. :)

Qualities you admire about your new companion?

Elder Montero is awesome. He is such a happy dude. At first I was really silent in the apartment but now I have broken myself in and we are always laughing. But this week we held a Zone Conference and he was getting a little stressed because we had forgotten stuff but in all his stress it just makes him laugh and smile MORE! Like when I get stressed I can get angry or offensive but he never ever leaves his happy loving and hard working mindset. So I know why I got put here, I could learn a LOT from him. :)

Well, I don't have much time... But I love you all!! The church is true! Have a great week!

Elder Russell

Transfer to Tacala!

Hello there my dear family!!

First off I want to apologize to my dearest mother... This week I forgot my camera... I have kinda gotten out of my roll with transfers.

And yes. I had transfers. I have left the beautiful ward of Lopez Albujar and I am now in the beautiful ward of Tacala. My new companion is Elder Montero, from Bolivia, and he is super awesome! And we are the Zone Leaders of la Zona Miraflores.

So that is my new adventure! Hopefully I can do a little extra for the Lord here and help out all I can this Zone of 9 companionships.

Conference was AWESOME! Unfortunately we only got 1 investigator there. But one is still great news! M came with us! And I think we found how to get her 17 year old son interested. Now we just need to wait and see how things go back there and see if we catch word. But she will be baptized sooner or later, I truly believe. Sadly we couldn't get ahold of M this week either!... but we got ahold of a new family! They came to a member family asking if we could visit them! The 3 children and the mother are very bright and receptive. Hopefully all that goes well!

Now here in this area, I don't know too much yet. Next week I will tell you more. But I am in the same ward as Elder Miller!!! hahaha we have been in the same Zones pretty much the whole mission aside from when he went to Paita and I to Piura Central. But there are 6 missionaries in this ward. and the boundaries seem really big. haha But It sounds like we have a baptism SATURDAY!! Awesome, right?! I got here right on time. :)

This week I got to lay my hands on a SPECTACULAR talk by Merlin Fish. It is directed to missionaries but I think all leaders could really benefit from it. Here is a link if any of you want to check it out. Dad, I thought you might like it when I read your email and talking about how your calling is going. And if you have missionary children, send it to them! Maybe Katie would like it now that I am thinking about it! Send it to her! :)

http://www.et.byu.edu/~kb245/Mission_Files/Inspirational_Documents/Revelation.htm

But it really opened my eyes that I need to follow the Spirit a WHOLE lot more. I am just a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. I need to do it His way, and the way I am going to learn His way is through revelation. And consistent revelation at that. So I am going to get on my knees, but go a whole other level in how I say my prayers. I know that God wants to guide me. I have been blessed with MANY moments where He has shown me my potential. Now He has given me new material and I must improve and do more.

Conference was AWESOME. One of my favorite talks was President Eyring in the Priesthood Session when he talked about the Priesthood and Prayer. I really did think a lot about the Priesthood during conference this time. And there was a LOT about families and marriage. We got to use that material the same night in a family home evening and it went GREAT. I love Conference! IT is a whole new volume of missionary material!

What was the best thing about your week?

A lot. This week was just busy!! We helped V and V build their house, we took part in the Ward Easter Activity (sports and games tournaments Thursday morning), General Conference, and it just flew by!

Something new you learned?

The best new thing I learned was from the talk by Merlin Fish. I learned about the confidence to follow the Spirit and how real it is. Receiving revelation as a missionary can be powerful stuff!

Favorite Peruvian thing of the week?

When I was saying goodbye to a spectacular family in the Lopez Albujar ward, there is a return missionary who served in the south of Peru. He had been telling me that he learned Quechua in his mission and that he had the Gospel Principles book in Quechua. And he gave it to me as a farewell gift!!! I was speechless. Favorite Peruvian thing: Their Love and Charity. They are gift giving people.

Another favorite Peruvian thing is that I now plan to study Quechua a bit and try to pick up a little! Up north here nobody speaks it... But maybe in the future it will come in handy.

What are you most looking forward to in the coming week (or month)?

I plan to make everyone in this ward my best friend. A few already know I am not a good soccer player, (?..I always thought he was a pretty good soccer player..?) but I plan to know them all by name and have them confident in my power as a missionary so that I can help THEM be even more powerful missionaries and instruments in the Lord's hands.

Well, I love you all!! Have a great week!!

Elder Russell