responsibility

November 17, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!

Well, another week has come and gone! The time really goes by so fast! Because the weather never really changes here, its always hot and sunny, it seems like it is still July, but before we know it, it will be December!

This week we still didnt have any investigators progress. We have about 20 investigators that we visit every week, but none of them want to make the changes needed in their lives, or they dont see the importance of making these changes. We have also been working with a lot of menos activos, and we have many who are progressing! I love working with the menos activos. Helping them come back to church is just as important as a baptism, if not more because they already have made covenants with the Lord and know the gospel. 

We have a young couple we have been visiting for the past couple of months and they are the greatest. Everything we teach they are willing to act on. The wife has started reading the Book of Mormon for the first time this week and she loves it! When we went to visit and she had actually read and remembered what she read and marked things she liked and learned I was filled with so much joy. Her husband is also so happy that she has started reading. They both said they finally realize how important the Book of Mormon is and they enjoy reading. I love them so much! They should receive callings in the rama this next week. They are going to help the rama so much. We are trying to help them go to the temple as well. 

We have also been visiting these other menos activos, a mom (50) and daughter (30). I also love them so much! The daughter is my favorite and I just want to be able to help her and I want her to find a good husband because she is so cute and deserves a good man:) We visit them and usually share something small and help them grind corn or something for their negocio... but this week we have started reading the Book of Mormon with them. At first they were a little hesitant, but now they wait for us to come. I hope we can help them return to church becaue they really are so great and could help the rama so much as well. 

We also had District Conference (stake conference) this weekend. It was so good! Everything that was said was needed. We also had another menos activo attend!:) I really liked what one of the hermanos from the district presidency talked about. He talked about the work of salvation and these are some things I liked that he said,

WE ALL can be a missionary by our example. We teach others by living the gospel.

WE ALL have the RESPONSIBILITY to serve the Lord. We dont need a plack to do so.

WE ALL have the RESPONSIBILITY to visit!... menos activos, converts, active members...

WE ALL have the RESPONSIBILITY to help others get to the temple. 

WE ALL have the RESPONSIBILITY to work with the missionaries.

Dont forget how important every single one of you are in this great work of the Lord. He needs all of us. I know that the missionaries cant do this work alone... trust me, we have tried and look where it has got us... no one is progressing. I know that until members and missionaries start working together this work will progress very slowly. I know we all have a part. Find your part!

 

I love you all so much! Thanks for your love and support!:)

LES AMO MUCHO!

Hermana Monson

follow christ now

November 12, 2014

MI FAMILIA!!!!

This week it was nice having an extra hour to visit people because I no longer have an hour of training. Its so weird that I no longer need training! I still feel like I just got here! I teach a lot more now, sometimes I control the lessons, I probably talk way too much, but I dont think Hermana Hess minds. We were able to contact a lot of people who seem to be interested, now we just need to find out if they really are. We have really tried to find families and there is one in particular that seems great. We are really excited to start teaching them more. 

This week we really struggled with having lessons with members. We need to be better at asking members to go visit people with us. It is hard sometimes because there isnt always that support from the rama, but that is what we are going to focus on this week! We believe that if we can get the rama to help us more then the missionary work here with start moving forward a lot faster. I think that will really help our investigators progress as well. We have also visited with a lot of menos activos and almost all of them say that the rama doesnt have any unity and no one visits them. We are going to try to visit these menos activos with their visiting teachers. I really hope that this will help everyone feel needed in the rama so that they have a desire to work and serve and return. Really we cant do missionary work without the help of the members!!!;) ;)

This week none of our investigators were really progressing. I really just felt so frustrated and sorrowful. I didnt understand why it was so hard for them to understand or if I was doing all I could to help them. I feel so much love for them and when they dont keep their commitments and do these things to help them learn and progress in the gospel I just feel so sorrowful. I think thats how it is for our Heavenly Father though. He probably looks at us and wonders why its so hard for us to be exactly obedient and do His will all the time. I hope that I can help them learn and understand the gospel better, because I know that is what they all need in their lives. I want to help them see and know that. 

This week I got a little sick. It was the worst. I felt like I was burning up and I had the worst stomach pain, my head hurt, I just wanted to close my eyes, oh and the worst part, when I had to go to the bathroom, I HAD TO GO! haha mom I felt like you. Just kidding.:) Really being sick as a missionary is the worst. I was so blessed that during the time we were out visiting people I didnt feel too sick. I really am so grateful! 

This week people have continued to tell my Im getting fat. I have really learned to just make a joke out of it and laugh about it. I dont know how I keep gaining weight, and I didnt think it was that noticable, but whatever, its part of life right?:) 

Dad I sent you the answers to all your questions. Sorry I dont always have time to tell you everything. 

This week I have taught and studied alot about the Plan of Salvation. I am so grateful for this perfect plan and for the knowledge we have of it. It really is such a blessing to know of our divine potential and know that we can return to our Heavenly Father someday. With this divine potential comes great responsiblities. It all starts now. Our decisions now truly determine our destiny like President Monson said. Choose the right NOW. Change what you need to NOW. Follow Christ NOW. Really the NOW is so important. If we focus on the NOW and change the little things we need to, to become more like Christ we dont need to worry. I like Alma 34:32-34. We really cant wait. I know this plan is the plan our Heavenly Father has for us. He loves us. He wants us to succeed!

I love you all so much! Thanks for your love, support, and help!

Les Amo Mucho!

running late

November 5, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!

Well, it has been another great week. Hermana Hess is easy to work with and it has been good for me to have to teach at least 50% of the lesson. I am greatful for her and the example she is to me. We still need to be better at talking to everyone, but we are still focusing on families and we chase down every family that we see. I dont know if that is what we should be doing but whenever we see a family we cannot let them pass without sharing this good news that we have!

This week we had the baptism of Katy Torres. We had a little bit of a problem of not having water here in Olmos to perform the baptism, but then everything worked out! She was also really late for her own baptism, like and hour and a half late (I HATE Peruvian time), so that was also a little stressful, but I have learned that when there is a baptism it never goes exactly how you had planned. It was such a great feeling alfterwards talking to her and seeing how happy she was. That is one of the greatest blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, happiness. 

We have continued to work with Max and Lucy. We have talked with the branch president and so now hopefully they will have their interviews with him and be assigned a calling. They could be such a great strength and help to the branch. 

We also had two investigators come to church that havent come the whole time I have been here in Olmos. We hope to continue to work with them and help them progress. One of them, Janet, is a mom to a little boy who is a member. She is such an amazing woman. She already reads and studies the Book of Mormon, now she just has a lot of questions about the plan of salvation. Im grateful that she has been open with us so we can know how to help her. She seems so prepared and she would be such a great help to the branch.

Things are going great here. I love being a missionary! Thanks for all your help and support! I love you all so much!

Les Amo Mucho!

Hermana Monson

spanish mastering

October 30, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

This week has been so good for me. I have really seen the enabling aspect of the Atonement of my life. My Spanish has improved so much this week and I feel like it has become so much easier for me to teach and help the people here in Olmos. Before I would just kind of follow Hermana Tomlisons lead, but now having a new companion who doesnt know the area or the people I have had to carry the lessons and take the lead. I have seen myself grow so much and really have learned to rely more on the Spirit and the Lord. I am so grateful for this change because it has helped me learn so much. Hermana Hess is also a little less confident in herself so she is totally fine with me taking the lead. It really is just what I needed to be able to progress. She is so cute and nice though. She always tells me that she feels like I have a year in the mission.

Hermana Hess is from Tremonton, Utah. Like you mom, she showed animals in the fair (pigs not sheep though). She finishes her mission in the middle of December. She wanted to start running as well so now we run three times a week. It is great. I am so out of shape, but its so good for me. We found a paved road that isnt busy, next to corn fields and its so nice and pretty and thats where we run. I think it has to be at least 1.5 miles, but I dont really know. 

This week we had a zone conference and Elder Wadell of the 70 came and spoke to us. He likes to interview a few missionaries before these types of conferences, so I was 1 of 5 missionaries he chose to interview. I was so nervous at first and had no idea what I was going to say, but once I was in the interview and in his presence I felt calm. He was so nice to me and told me so many great things. One thing he told me was that a lot of sister missionaries go on missions when they shouldnt, but he told me that I should be here and I need to be here. That made me feel like I really am doing what the Lord wants me to and I am where I am supposed to be and where He needs me. He told me that President Williams probably wishes he had a whole mission of Hermana Monsons..... Im not so sure about that one! He told me that from my Spanish he thought I had been out in the mission for 8-9 months. That gave me so much confidence in my ablity to speak the language here. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to meet with him.  

We had to change Katys baptism for this Saturday instead of the last so more of her family could be there. It has been good because we have been able to go over some of the commandments again so she understands them and doesnt just know them. We are also still working with Lucy and Max (MA). They are great. We taught them about tithing this past week and Max said, "Every time you teach me something I already know I need to do it, so its just like an extra push to actually do it." They are amazing and always act on the things we teach. 

I am enjoying my time here and I love the people so much. I feel so much joy from the changes our investigators 

The Church is true!

I love you all so much!:)

Les Amo!

Hermana Monson

new companion

October 21, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!

Sorry this is going to be short. This week has been crazy and today, even crazier. 

This week we didnt have much success in reaching our weekly goals. Hermana Tomlinson was sick for two days so I was able to get in a lot of studying though in those two days. I have really gained a great love for the scriptures. They really tell us all things we should do. In those two days I really gained a greater love for my companion as well, and now we have cambios. I think thats how the Lord works. Just when we start to get comfortable where we are change comes into our lives so we can continue to learn and progress. Hermana Tomlinson has been a great companion and she will be a wonderful hermana leader. I have learned so much from her. As much as I will miss her I know the Lord always has a plan and a reason for everything. 

We are having emergency cambios today. I guess some hermanas went home because they are sick so ya, we have cambios. My companion will be Hermana Hess. Shes also from Utah. So pretty much I came all the way to Peru to meet people from Utah:) My Spanish really wont be very good now either. Its so hard to talk to your companion in Spanish when you both are better at speaking English. Hermana Hess has one cambio left in the mission, so I will probably be in Olmos until January or March (when it is really hot!). I dont feel like I know the area very well or know the people here very well, pero esta bien! Ill go and do what the Lord commands!

We are still working with Katy Torres. Her baptism is this Saturday. I am so excited for her! She is so ready. We have also still been working with Lucy and Max (MA). They continue to progress and havent missed a Sunday since we started visiting them. They have a beautiful family. Yesterday Lucy told us how grateful she is for our visits because we are the only ones who visit her and we are like her only friends. When she said that it hit me so hard. No one should feel that way. We brought it up in branch council, so hopefully there will be some changes made so that the members realize how important it is to do their visits, especially with the menos activos. Really everyone needs a friend! Dont leave anyone behind! Its just like President Hinckley said, every member needs a friend, a responsibility/calling, and to be nourished by the good word.

We have a new lider misional. He is amazing and has already been working and visiting with the Elders. He is animated and has a love for the work of the Lord. I think his help will really help Olmos progress. 

I love this gospel! I know its true!

Love you all!

Les Amo Mucho!

Hermana Monson

conference

October 16, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

This week I finally got to watch conference! I love conference! Oh how grateful I am for a living prophet! I loved all of the talks SO much! Its amazing how each one of us can learn/gain something from each conference talk and receive answers to our questions... At least I was able to learn so much! It was sad to me that only 7 people came to watch conference both sessions on Saturday. Then Sunday morning a lot of people came because they though it was a regular Sunday. But Sunday afternoon we had 9 investigators come so that was good! I wish more people would take conference more seriously, I mean we are receiving the very words of God during General Conference, it is a serious matter!!!

This week I have been reading in Mosiah. President Monson said, "First, learn what we should learn. Second, do what we should do. Third, be what we should be." This applies to Mosiah chapters 1-5. In Mosiah 1 it says first we need to learn. We learn by studying the scriptures, by "searching them diligently". In Mosiah 2 we learn what we should do: look toward the temple (they faced their tents toward the temple), keep the commandments, service ("And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are in the service of your God.") And then in Mosiah 3-5 we learn what we need to be: like a little child, humble, children of Christ. I love these chapters! Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ the becoming part is possible. When we apply the Atonement in our lives we put off the natural man (dont sin) and become a saint (rise to a pure, higher law and do the will of God). We change. We look to help others. We make covenants with our Heavenly Father and are willing to take upon us the name of His Son and do HIS will. This principle President Monson taught can also be applied to this past conference... We have heard the words of the prophets and apostles and learned what we need to learn. NOw we must act on their words and DO what we must do. Then we need to become the diciples of Christ they taught us we need to be. 

Christ lives. We have his restored gospel upon the earth today. Learn it, live it, love it! 

I love you all so much! Thanks for your love and support!

Les Amo!

Hermana Monson

family

October 6, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

This week was a Little slow. Not many people were home, which we expected would happen with the elections (there were elections yesterday for president and city and all that), but we were able to get in some contacting and actually found a few people who had seen us before and were waiting for us to talk to them. When they said that it really was a testimony to me how important it is to contact and talk to EVERYONE. You never know who has been prepared to hear about the góspel and is waiting for you.

We have still been working with Katy. She still has the desire to be baptized, but we want her to attend church more consistently to know that she will actually stick with it and is truly converted. We have another investigator, Juana, who wants to be baptized as well. She is an older lady and has experienced a lot throughout her life. She has such great faith and desire to follow the Savior.
We are trying to place a date for Maria as well. She still is working on receiving an answer that this is the only true church. We are trying to help her recognize her answer. We are hoping to have a baptismal date for these three investigators this week. I know that they have true desires, it is just a matter of helping them feel prepared and receive an answer for themselves.

We have been trying to focus on The Family: A Proclamation to the World, not only with investigators, but also with the branch members. We hope to develop a stronger unity and family bond as a branch. The family is so important. I think its important that the members feel like they also have a family within the church as well.

This week we went to Chiclayo for a multi-zone meeting and President Williams really emphasized the importance of the family and how we need to be teaching investigators from The Family: A Proclamation to the World and the Book of Mormon. Really the family is so important! Its the basic unit God has established. I am so grateful for all of you and the wonderful family I have. The misión has made me realize how grateful I am for my family, how great of a family I have, and how much I love my family. I love all of you so much!

Because of elections we dont get to watch General Conference until this weekend. I cannot wait! I have loved Reading and studying the talks from last conference. One I loved this week and would like to invite you to read is Following Up by Elder Ballard. All of us are on a misión. President Brigham Young said, "There is neither man or woman in this Church who is not on a misión. That misión will last as long as they live, and it is to do good, to promote righteousness, to teach the principles of truth, and to prevail upon themselves and everybody around them to live those principles that they may obtain eternal life." This is our DUTY. Study the scriptures together, have family home evening, study Preach My Gospel together, and then share the things you have learned with others. I feel like I have prepared my whole life to serve a misión, but I could have done more, I should have done more. Aub, Jax, Karl, learn and study the scriptures, words of the prophets, and the Gospel of Jesús Christ in general as much as you can. Not only will it prepare you to serve a full time misión in another place, but it will prepare you to be a missionary everyday.

I love the góspel of Jesús Christ. It gives us all so much hope, happiness, and guidence in our lives. I KNOW it is true. I cannot deny it. Our Savior lives and He loves us!

Les amo!

Hermana Monson

be strong and of good courage

September 29, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!

This week has been amazing! I have felt happier than ever and I have really felt so much love for the people. I have also seen a lot of improvement in my Spanish this week. After I said the prayer for dinner one night my pensionista just stopped like she was in awe and was like your Spanish is so good! I have also talked to her and her family a lot more and no longer have to just sit and listen. The Atonement of Jesus Christ has help bring about a change within me. I have receive help and power to do things that seem almost impossible. I know that all of us can receive the strength needed to get over any doubts, trials, thoughts of discouragement, ANYTHING! We all need the Atonement in our lives. We all need to change. Often times we cant change our situation, but we ourselves can change. This is a great lesson I have learned in the past week!

We have had a few great blessings this week. A less active we visited had changed enormously. I guess before when the missionaries would visit her she was so sad and wouldnt look at you or talk very much and when she talked she trembled with fear. They said you could never feel the Spirit. When we visited her she smiled and laughed and talked almost the whole time. She has changed so much. We are still trying to help her see that she can receive the strength and help she needs through the Atonement and Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

We also have an investigator named Jusefa. She was never really interested about talking to us about the gospel, only about the United States. This week we visited her and somehow found out her husband passed away a year ago. She just cried to us the whole time. Now she is open to hear about the gospel. 

I know that the Lord prepares people for us to share the gospel with. Its not always in the moment that we want, but little by little we can find the opportunities to share the gospel.

Some of you have asked about my favorite foods here. I love all the fruit, especially the pears and platinos! I also like yuca frita and arroz chufa. Really theres not anything I dont like that I have eaten besides chicken liver and hearts.

I have been studying the conference talks from last conference in preparation for conference. I have a few that I think you should read and i invite you to apply them in your lives. Elder Cooks talk titled Roots and Branches- family history work is so important! DO IT! For us to be saved we need our ancestors, and for them to be saved they need us! Elder Bednar also said something once like if you want a sure way to be protected from the adversary participate in family history work. Really just take an hour on Sundays or something. 

I also loved President Monsons talk Be Strong and of a Good Courage. Have the courage to stand up for what is right!

I love you all so much! Thanks for your great examples and love and support!

Les Amo!

Hermana Monson

menos activos

September 22, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

 

This week was a little rough for us. We didn't have many people to teach and hardly any of our investigators were home when we went to visit them. The people we contacted also weren't very interested in hearing what we had to say. We also found out one of our investigators, Vanesa' hasn't been honest with us and she was going to be baptized this next week. We need to talk to her more about the Word of Wisdom. I don't know what happened, she was doing so well and then a few weeks ago she stopped coming to church and activities and it all went down hill from there. We are hoping to meet with her this week.
On the other hand, Max and Lucy (menos activos) came to church again! They are such a happy couple and I am so excited to work with them more. We want to help them get to the temple. Max really wants to come back to church, which has helped Lucy have that desire as well. Every time Lucy sees us in the streets she is so excited to see us. I am grateful it has been easy to gain her trust.
Obedience seemed to be the theme of the past week. I was able to study a lot about obedience and the importance of obedience, and then we talked about obedience in our District Meeting and in church. Really if we love our Heavenly Father we will be obedient and everything else falls into place. I want to be a consecrated missionary, like Tad Callister taught in his talk Becoming a Consecrated Missionary, and be exactly obedient to all of the rules and guidelines. I hope that I can accomplish this so that I can be an instrument in the Lord's hands and do all the work that He needs me to do.

I had to go to Lima this week to do papers for my visa. I'm not going to lie, it was such a nice break. I was able to see all of my district from the MTC that are in the Chiclayo mission, including Hermana Rasmussen! It was so good to see her. I also was able to go to the temple. I love the temple so much! I miss being able to go, so GO OFTEN for me:)
This week has been the hardest one yet for me. I have never missed home so much and I have never thought of coming home until now. I haven't had Satan work on me so hard. I feel like I want to cry all the time, and I feel like sometimes I'm not doing anything to help anyone by being here, but then I remember one of my new favorite quotes, "Come what may and love it!"... and I also remember what will happen to me if I come home and that makes everything better:) I also remember the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is real. I have felt it in my life. It has lifted me, strengthened me, and given me comfort. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us so much. He is always there, it is our responsibility to recognize that and run into His arms and feel this love. Sometimes that means we have to change our ways, but if we allow Him, He will always help us. Use the Atonement in your lives. We can do so much more when we have the strength of the Lord!

 

I love you all soooo much! Really I am so blessed to have such an amazing family! Thanks for all your love, help, and support!

 

Les Amo!

Hermana Monson

bugs

September 15, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!

One Word to sum up this week is BUGS! We found so many Little ant type bugs all over our room... then we found out that Hermana Tomlinson has lice (I hope I dont have it! You know how annoying and hard it is to get rid of!) then when we were changing her sheets we found cockroaches in her bed!!! It has been quite the week:)
This week we also had the baptism of Hermana Julia! It was amazing! She is a cute little old grandma. It has been so amazing to see her change so much. This week I have been studying the Alma the Younger and the mighty change he had in his life. I feel like Hermana Julia was that way. She seemed so confused and then it was as if everything just made sense to her. She had a change of heart and desired to follow our Savior Jesús Christ. Yesterday in Gospel Principles class Elder Oswald asked if anyone had any questions and she said, "How can I become closer to God?" She is so humble and just such a great example to me. When we went to visit her one of her grand daughters asked me how old you had to be baptized. I told her 8 and she got so excited and was like I´m 8! I want to be baptized! Hermana Julia is such a great example to her family.
This week we were finally able to find Vanesa again. She has been so busy with work and school and things so everytime we went to visit her she was never there. Yesterday we were able to talk to her and set a new date for her baptism. We have to finish teaching her a few lessons and then she wants to be baptized on the 23rd.
I love seeing the changes people make to follow the Lord´s commands.

I have had to eat some interesting things here when we eat with members.... like chicken hearts and liver. It is so gross. Haha we told our pensionista that so many people were giving us food and that we had started putting it in our bags when there werent looking (I felt like you dad) so she gave us a big stack of plastic bags to keep in our bag. She is the best!

Our misión president has changed a few things in the misión. We now will be in an área for 6-8 months. Everyone tells me I will get to be here for the summer season and how hot it is.... I already sweat like crazy! Thanks for the great genes dad!!:) It will be nice though being in the same área for so long.

We also cant teach anyone under the age of 18 unless one of their parents is a member.

And the best rule ever!... More fruits, vegetable, and smaller servings!:)

I am loving my time here. It is so great to be able to serve the Lord. I know that through Him all things are posible. He lives!

Les amo!

Hermana Monson

sin agua

September 2, 2014

HOLA!

 

This week has been so great!... other than we havent had any water the past couple of days! Elder Nash was right.. It is so hot here and pretty much a desert. Because of this no hay agua! (there isnt water!). We have had two days without water and I cant even imagine how it would be for some of our investigators have gone a week without water! I never thought about how blessed we are to have water. You use it for everything!...  to shower, wash your hands and face, to flush the toilet, to clean, to drink... haha ya, lets just say our bathroom is a bit gross and we smell great!:)

Really though, everything here is great! We were able to have a lot of contacts this week and find some new investigators. We also had 9 investigators come to church! I dont know if I have ever felt so happy. Sacrament meeting started and none of our investigators were there. I was sitting up on the stand because I was playing the piano and then I looked down at my companion and she was giving me the look like, ¨LOOK!¨ Just then one of the families we are teaching walked in the capilla. Shortly after another investigator came. I cant even describe the joy I felt. It was amazing!

I was reading in John this week and found something I love! In John 21:15-17 Christ is talking to Peter and He asks him, ¨Do you love me?¨ Peter answers, ¨Yes, of course I love you.¨ To which Christ replies, ¨Then feed my sheep.¨ Christ asks Peter this three times and the third time I think he was a little annoyed, but everytime Christ told him if he loves him then he needs to feed His sheep. I was thinking about this and I was like wow. How many times do I just say oh ya of course I love Christ and think thats good enough. If we truly love Him we will do as He asks and feed His sheep. I loved this and made me want to serve Him as best as I can. I´m so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary!

I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Through Him our burdens may be light and we can do all that we think is impossible!

Thank you for your love and support! I love you all so much!

 

Les amo!

Hermana Monson

spiritual gifts

August 25, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

This week has been another great one! It had its ups and downs, but really everything seems great when you are serving the Lord! We had two baptisms scheduled for this past Saturday, but both fell through. Although we had to reschedule the baptisimal dates for both Vanesa and Carlos because we were not able to meet with them as much as we needed to, they are still progressing and have the desire to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. We were also able to contact many people who were interested in learning more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have appointments scheduled with them this next week, so it will be cool to get to know them more and help their relationship with our Heavenly Father and brother, Jesus Christ, grow. We have had a hard time visiting with people this week because no one was home and we just dont have a lot of investigators. We are in the process of finding some so hopefully this week will be better! The area I am in, Olmos, only has one rama (branch). It is really different than our ward. Usually about 75 attend sacrament meeting, but it seems like there are a lot of inactive members. We work with a lot of them as well as converts.... which alot of them are inactive as well. 

Some of you have asked about my companion. Her name is Hermana Tomlinson. She is from Kaysville, Utah. She has been out on the mission for 1 year and I am her first gringa companion. We get along well. Sometimes I feel a litte more mature than her, but thats okay:) She thinks Im hilarious so thats cool.

The food here is great because our pentionista is great. We drink a lot of fresh fruit juice/smoothie type things because we cant drink the water here. I have a filtered water bottle so that has been great but now I think our mission president said we can only drink bottled water so I will probably have to start buying it. This week so many people have given us food and you have to eat it all or you offend them. We went to like three houses in a row and they all gave us huge plates of rice... like way more rice than I ever ate in one sitting at home. Afterward I looked like I was at least three months pregnant. I probably looked bigger than Bree! I felt so full after. More full than I have ever been. That made me hate rice just a little bit. Haha good thing thats what I will be eating it for the next 17 months:)

Olmos is a pretty small town and so everyone remembers us when they see us. We are the only white people within miles. All the guys on the streets whistle, hiss, and stare at us. Everyone says oh gringas whenever they see us, even the little kids. I dont think that will ever change. 

I still fell like I cant speak Spanish. I was studying about Spiritual Gifts and realized although I may not possess the gift of speaking with tongues yet, I still have other spiritual gifts that I can use to help touch the lives of the people here. I realized how important the Spirit is in our teaching and how we must seek after the best gifts (1 Cor. 12:31). It is through these spiritual gifts that we can bless the lives of others (D&C 46:26). President George Q. Cannon said, "How many of you ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to manifest Himself to you through these powers and these gifts? Or do you go along day by day like a door turning on its hinges, without having any feeling upon the subject, withough exercising any faith whatever; content to be baptized and be members of the Church, and to rest there, thinking that your salvation is secure because you have done this?...If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I am full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections." None of us are perfect, but I know that we can become a little more perfect by seeking the best gifts. We cant just sit here and be content with who we are. We need to be constantly striving to become more and more like the Savior. Yo se que El vive. El sufrio para nosotros para que nosotros podemos regresar con nuestro Padre Celestial. Yo se que solamente mediante El podemos ser perfeccionado. Estoy muy agradecido por el Evangelio de Jesucristo y por las muchas bendiciones yo recibo mediante Jesucristo. Gracias por su apoyo! Te amo mucho!!!

Con amor,

Hermana Monson

olmos

August 21, 2014

Hola!

Sorry I dont have much time again!

It was so hard to leave my district in the CCM. They became my second family. It was even harder saying goodbye to Hermana Rasmussen. I couldnt even look at her when I said goodbye without shedding a few tears. We left the CCM at 2:40 in the morning and then flew to Chiclayo. My bags were the heaviest once again. I dont know why I packed so many unnecessary things. It was so hard carrying my suitcases up all the stairs to our appartment.  But anyways, we got to Chiclayo and were assigned companions. All of us new American hermanas lucked out and got American conpanions. I am sooooo grateful. Hermana Tomlinson is a great companion and teacher. I have learned a lot from her. She has helped me get to know our investigators and has helped me know what I can do to help them. My first area is Olmos. It is two hours from Chiclayo... The city of Limes. It is so dirty. Literally everything is covered in dirt or trash. I love it though. The people are great and so loving. I havent had a hard time adjusting at all.  Our pentionista (the lady who cooks for us) is amazing. Her food is delicious and her house is the cleanest house I have been to here in Peru. She is in here 60s and has 4 or 5 kids of her own and is now raising her grandson and a kid from the jungle. She is the best! I feel like I can understand a lot of the Spanish, but I cant say everything I would like. I had to bear my testimony in church on Sunday. That is so easy for me now. Well, everything is great! Love you all, sorry I dont have time!!!! 

Te amo!

Hermana Monson

first week in olmos

August 12, 2014

Hola!

Today I arrived in the mission field! I will be serving in Olmos. It is in the northern part of the mission. It's not quite bordering Ecuador, but it's kind of close. My companion is Hermana Tomlinson. She is from Kaysville, Utah and has been out for 1 year! She is so nice and loving. I am excited to serve with her. I am so grateful that I have a companion that I can actually communicate with because my Spanish is really not that great. I Love my mission president and his wife. They are awesome! I can't wait to get to Olmos and start serving! I know the Lord is moving His work forward. I am so grateful I have the opportunity to be a part of it! Love you all!!

Love, 

Hermana Monson

last week at the CCM

August 7, 2014

HOLA!!! QUE TAL!

 

Well, another great week has come and gone! Its so crazy its already August! Before you know it school is going to be starting again, and before I know it I will be out in the mission field! I have one week left at the CCM. im freaking out just a little bit. I dont know enough Spanish and for a while I stressed and worried about that, but we had great devotionals this past week that changed my thoughs and views on learning Spanish. I have realized that I should wish that I had more time in the CCM because I cant speak Spanish very well, or know enough, or whatever... because as much as I would learn, I still wouldnt be doing anything to help move the work of the Lord forward. I think in every devotional we watched this week the speaker said the Spirit converts. That has really helped me. As long as we have the Spirit we can teach (D&C 50:13-14). Last night Elder Christopher Wadell of the 70 came and spoke to us. He said, "The Spirit converts. If you dont have the Spirit you will never succeed. And its true the other way around, if you have the Spirit you will always succeed. The Spirit is the key to everything you do." I loved this! Not only is it important for missionaries to have the Spirit with them, but its important for every single one of you to have the Spirit as well. How blessed we are to have the opportunity to have a member of the Godhead with us at ALL times IF we are worthy. I love the story of Ammon and how he was able to gather the Kings sheep and not lose a single one. If you read Alma 17:29 he was able to do this because of "the power which [was] in [him]" This power is the Spirit. Like Ammon, if we ahve the SApirit with us we can do anything the Lord wants us to do... even speak a language you dont know:)

Elder Wadell also told us about some changes that have recently been made with missionary work. He said (refering to missionaries today), "You are different. Your role is different. YOur mission is different. Your mission is not to baptize. Your role is to convert, retain and activate." In the past missionary work has been about numbers and convincing people to be baptized, now it is about CONVERTING so the members wont fall away after a few years. We need retention. Elder Wadell said now our goal is the temple. Baptism is just the beginning. Now as missionaries we will teach lessons 1-5 before baptism and teach all the lessons after baptism. We also will meet with and stay close to converts for at least a year after their baptism. I think this is so good. We dont want people getting baptized and then fall away after making covenants with God. I just look at how blessed we have been as a family to be sealed to one another for eternity. I am so excited that this is now the goal of missionary work. I am so grateful that the Trujillo temple will be finished by the end of next year ish so that the people in Chiclayo will have a temple closer to them.

This past week I went to migrations and interpol. We have drivers that take us everywhere and other people who work for the church that do all our paper work. It is so nice! Our drivers just drop us off and the other people meet us there and hand us a stack of papers to give to the government people. All we have to do is sign a few papers and put our finger prints on some papers. We we went we saw some elders who were just barely going to get their Peruvian ID/visa and they have been out for 20 months. So I guess you can live here illegally for a while, so I dont need to worry about that.

I am so grateful for everyones love and support! I am so excited to get out into the field and help bring people unto Christ. I know that we have a message that can change lives. I know this message is true!

 

Nos amo!

Hermana Monson

Last weeks in the CCM

July 30, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

I cant believe I only have two more weeks here in the CCM! It really has gone by so fast. I do not feel ready to go out in the mission field, but I think our district out of the four advancados are the most prepared.

This week has been great. We were able to go proselyting for the second time. It was so nice to see improvement because you dont really see day to day improvement in the CCM. I was actually able to teach/talk for half of the visit and my companion talked for the other half. Everyone was so nice and told me that my Spanish is so good, which its really not, Peruvians are just so nice! It is really cool how they set up this proselyting. We meet at a few different chapels and then ward members come and meet us there. Members of all ages come. Then each companionship is assigned to different members. We then go to inactive members houses and visit them. Then once we visit all the people we need to we just contact people on the streets or knock on other doors. The member I went with this week was a 19 year old girl. She was so sweet. She wants to go on a mission and gone proselyting both weeks I have, maybe more. I think this is such a great way for the members, missionaries, and inactive members to both learn and teach. I wish more members would take the time to help with missionary work. It makes it so much easier!

This week we also had a different P-day. Since the temple is closed and we had missionaries leaveing and new ones coming in so there werent as many missionaries, only 80, the CCM president decided to take us to Caral. Caral is the oldest city in the Americas. Its 5000 years old! It was so crazy to see how people lived so long ago. Our tour guide was saying that these building/pyramids looked like hills and then they cleared the sand off of them. Its so crazy to think how many cities could be under different hills or even new cities!

It took a little over 3 hours to get there. We went on these big, nice tour buses. Some of the drive was on narrow dirt roads. It reminded me of our trip back East.... except the drivers could actully control this big vehicle without hitting other things;) Peruvians are amazing drivers! They are crazy, but its great! on our way we drove up the coast. it is so different than the California coast. On one side of the road it was a steep sand hill and then on the other side it dropped off into the ocean. I dont know how the sand doesnt run down into the road. It was really amazing. It was cool to see all the different types of landscapes of Lima/Peru and not just the city. I liked all the little towns outside of Lima a lot better than the city part. The city is just so dirty. It is so sad to see how they live.

This week we also had to move rooms so there was more room for all the new Elders. We now only have 4 rooms for sisters. There are 10 American sisters and 6 Latinas. It is so weird! Its the smallest amount of sisters we have so far. Hermana Rasmussen and I are now the sister leaders. We dont have to do much, just take care of any problems the sisters have.

We watched some more devotionals this week. It is cool to see the General Authorities outside of General Conference. Elder Anderson spoke about love and sacrifice. He said, "We sacrifice for the things we love and we love the things we sacrifice for." I really love this quote. We cant expect the things we love to just come to us without having to sacrifice for them. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and I want everyone else to have the same love as I do for it, so I am willing to sacrifice a short period of my life to share it. What do you love? Are you willing to sacrifice for it? I know that the sacrifices we make are so small compared to the sacrifice the Savior made for each one of us. He sacrificed His life. We arent asked to sacrifice very much at all.

I love you all so much. I hope everything is going well at home!

Love,

Hermana Monson

July 23, 2014

HOLA MI FAMILIA!!!!

This week has been another great one... until yesterday, I woke up and have felt sick. I don{t understand, I get 8 hours of sleep and we just sit in class all day so I shouldn{t be sick. But it{s all good:)

Well, we had a few changes this week. Elder Andersen is our new District Leader. No surprise there. hermana Rasmussen and I called it a few weeks ago. It has been such a great change for our district. Elder  Andersen is very motivated to be the best missionary he can be and he wants everyone else to be just as motivated as he is so he doesn{t let anyone slack off. I feel like because of that we have been a lot more productive and I have learned so much. I think our district is the only district that actually stays on task.

This week we got new missionaries. There are 4 new North American hermanas. They are all so cute. They think we act so much older than them. hah it has been fun having them here. I found a new elder that went to Jordan! he didn{t recognize me, but when I told him my name he knew who I was. He knows me as the girl who went to prom with Jake. Hah this whole week I thought he looked familiar and then I found out he was exactly who I thought he was. His name is Cody Glasett. He played soccer and ya, he{s a cool kid.

It doesnt seem like I have improved much with the Spanish, but looking back to where I was when I got here I realized that I really have. It{s just hard because you don{t see very much day to day improvement. Lessons have become a little easier to teach. Hermana Rasmussen and I taught our best lesson yet this week. We were able to teach without looking at notes and we were even able to answer our "investigator{s" questions. We were so happy and she even committed to being baptized... haha if only she were a real investigator. <our teacher said our Spanish is differ3ent compared to the rest of the class. We don{t know what he meant by that.. We think it{s because we are sisters.

The food is still great! We have dessert every lunch and dinner. it{s amazing! Because of this Hermana Rasmussen and I decided we should probably start exercising. We run every other day for physical activity, about 12 laps around the CCM (a little over a mile). Most of the girls don{t like playing sports so that was about all I could convice hermana Rasmussen to do. We do core and squats and push ups. Sometimes we play ping pong or volleyball. But usually on the days we dont run we just walk around the "track" (pretty much just sidewalk around the soccer fields) and talk.

Pdays we go to the temple and then go shopping for about an hour. the temple is tiny compared to any temple Ive been to, but everyone there is so happy and kind. The Spirit is just the same. we just found out that today was the last day we will be able to go to the temple because it will be closed the first couple weeks of August. I{m so bummed!!! When we go we are given head sets. Today I tried to do the session without a headset. I was able to understand it. But now we don{t get to go again:( When we go shopping we have gone to to this store called Totus. It{s very American. It{s really nice, kind of like a Target. We load up on snacks. We get hungry during the long days. Today we went to different stores. We went to Grajes (garages with different vendors, kind of like a farmers marker type thing, but mostly for clothing). We also went to Metros. Metros is also a grocery store, but it{s crazy and a lot dirtier than Totus. It is more like Peru.

We had great devotionals this week. They all seemed to be on how we need to work hard and not waste our time. One thing that stuck out to me was that a mission, or just like in general, will be hard. Elder Holland said something like "It has to be hard because it never was easy for our Savior." I think this is so true. He didn{t have it easy, so neither will we, but we can control how we react to the situation and we can change our attitude. After the hard times we will be blessed.

He amado mi tiempo aqui en el CCM. He ensenado mucho y llegando a ser mas cerca a Dios y Jesucristo. Yo se que Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador. Con Su ayuda, porque de la expiacion, podemos lograr algun! Me encanta el Evangelio de Jesucristo. Yo se lo da a nos muchos felicidades. Vive lo. Ama lo. (Sorry I don{t know if this is all correct, but it{s worth a shot) I love you all! Thanks for your love and support!:)

Love,

Hermana Monson

first weeks in the CCM

July 16, 2014

HOLA!!!!

Well, it has been another great week at the CCM (MTC). This week we started teaching investigators, they really are just our teachers, but it is still good practice. At first it was kind of hard and I didn{t know what to say because I couldn{t say many things in Spanish. Hermana Rasmussen also has a louder personality so she would just take over the lesson and I would bear my testimony or say something when she wasnt talking. We have improved so much over the last week though. Now we split the time pretty evenly when teaching and we try to let our investigators talk as much as they can. Sometimes that{s kind of difficult because when we ask a question we don{t exactly know what they are saying when they respond so it gets interesting:)

On Saturday we had the opportunity to go proselytzing in Lima. We were assigned a latina companion. I was so blessed to get paired up with one of our latina roommates. She is from Ecuador. Her name is Hermana Cordova. We went to a stake center in Lima and then were assigned a few houses of less active members to go visit. Once we were done we were just supposed to talk to people of the streets. It was such a humbling experience. The area the hermanas went to was supposedly the safest and nicest, but still the buildings were so dirty and I don{t even know how to explain it. Lets just say we have SOOOOO much to be grateful for! My companion said everything in the area we were in was a lot smaller than the buildings in Quito, Ecuador and it was a lot dirtier. It was so sad to see how they live and yet we often complain about the things we don{t have. I can tell you all that you have more than you really need, so be grateful! The first house we went into I was so nervous and then the people started talking. That only made me feel more nervous. I could not understand a word they said. I thought I was improving and learning a lot of Spanish, but that is not what we had learned! haha. I had to ask my companion to explain everything they said but slower. The rest of the time I didn{t say much other than to introduce what we were talking about or to bear my testimony. It was a great experience, but I definitely need to work on my Spanish!

We are now intermediate missionaries (been here two weeks)! Since latino missionaries only stay at the CCM for 2 weeks we had to say goodbye to our latina roommates. It was so sad. Even though there was a language barrier it was so fun to have them in our room. Now we are lonely and only have us 4 American missionaries. New missionaries came this week though. I think we got 60 new missionaries. We have 5 new American hermanas so we are pretty excited.

On Sunday we watched a devotional by President Uchtdorf from April. It was AMAZING!!!! One thing he said that stuck out to me was "What kind of witness will you be? Will you take only a few sips of this water through a straw or will you let the water fill your hole body and serve with all your heart, might, mind, and strength?" After we watched this devotional we went back to our classroom and talked to our district about it. I felt the Spirit stronger than I ever have since I{ve been here. I think everyone except for a few Elders in our district was crying. Everyone had such great inputs on the devotional. It was very interesting though to see some of the elders reactions. I think one of the big differences between the elders and the hermanas is that all the hermanas are here because they want to be. That is not true for a lot of the elders. Some of them make comments about wishing they were on a plan going home or counting down the days until they go home. Really? We have only been here for two weeks!!! THis really bothered Elder Andersen and so he addressed it in our meeting because President Uchtdorf kind of touched on it as well. We talked about how we are already here so we might as well give it our all and work as hard as we can. That goes for anything. Sometimes we aren{t always pleased with the situation we are in and we wish we could be doing something else, but you{re not. So make the most of every situation you are in. Be positive.

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary. I am so grateful for the gospel and the way it has guided my life. I know that it is true. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for us and wants us to succeed. I know that our Savior died for us and through His Atonement we may be able to find peace and comfort in all the wrong that is in the world. I love you guys! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!!:)

 

Love,

Hermana Monson

It really is so crazy! It}s great having Braden in my district. He is so much more mature than a lot of the other elders. He is really dedicated and tries really hard to be the best missionary he can be. He is a great example to the rest of us. He is also the best in our district at speaking Spanish. Really I wish I could be as well spoken as he is.

Everyone is kind of envies our district and wishes they were in it. we are more productive and are a little better at focusing on the gospel and studying than some of the other districts.

Cassie{s baby is so cute!!!

How was girls camp Aub?

Dad, we use preach my gospel a lot. I haven{t studied the whole lessons as much as I should though. Thanks for the scriptures. They were great! I have been studying the Atonement this week. What were the things we studied before I left? Something about how the Atonement made all these other things possible...

The food here is great! This week we had these churros for dessert. They were probably the best things ever! They had this dulce de leche stuff in the middle. They tasted like a mapple bar... maybe even a little bit better. Aub, you would love them! I also love this fruit called granadia. It  has a harder outer shell that you crack/peel. THen inside there are these seeds and slimy stuff. You just swallow it without chewing it. I know it sounds gross but its so good! I thought It looked gross but I tried it my first day and now i{m hooked! I have one everyday! The bananas and oranges have also been so good as well. We eat rice every meal, except breakfast. I thought I would be sick of it, but I just squeeze a lime on it and its great. We usually have two choices for meals.... chicken, carne, fish, or pork. It is a lot better than I thought, and everyone says the food in Chiclayo is amazing so I{m excited.

July 28th is Peru{s independence day so dad I will probably be on a float so maybe Britton Johnson will be here to chase me down or something.

Some elders went to the immigration office the other day and they ran into my mission president! They said he seems super chill and cool. He said that everyone will have a lady to cook or them and only some will have a lady to do their laundry. Only if she is a member. We will also probably be living with members. By the time we get there every companionship will have a cell phone, so things are changing a little bit here too I guess.

Mom, I took your challenge. I have so many things to be grateful for!

Oh, one more thing. I forgot to make a copy of my passport ID page. The scaned picture should be in a document in the trash on my laptop. If you could just save it on the computer again and print a copy to put in my personal information drawer at home that would be great! Thanks!

I love you guys so much! Sorry I am behind a week on the emails. I have to write to you, take a picture of your emails, read them on my camera later, and then respond the next week, so sorry!

Have a great week!

 

Love,

Hermana Monson