Week #40 - Cajamarca

It was a pretty great week!! I can´t believe I reached the 9-month mark here in Perú this past week, on the 18th of July!! The time seriously flies. I´m so blessed to have the chance to experience all that I am experiencing in another country, helping others to come unto Christ and to see miracles.

Yolita, a ten-year-old and her 8-year-old little sister Lilly finally got baptized this past Saturday with Nicole! We have been visiting Janet Aliaga, a recent convert who was less-active for a long time, and her daughter Nicole got baptized this past Saturday!! It was such a neat and beautiful experience to help get them back to church and to be even more blessed in their families to have another member :) The Zambrano Ducos family had been inactive for 10 years, and we found them in the depths of the Molina (a part in our area that doesn´t have a limit). With the help of the members, they´ve been coming back to church for the past couple months without fail, and their two daughters had the chance to make covenants with God and be baptized. It was such a wonderful day.

Ray had his interview with our bishop, Marco Zeña, this past week, and will be receiving the Priesthood the following Sunday, and will get to bless the Sacrament the following Sunday!! I´m so beyond excited for him to be able to perform these sacred ordinances in the church, and bless so many people.

The two people we contacted, Kennedy and Marisol both came to church this past Sunday, and the Elders told us that they both have baptismal dates and Kennedy has read up to 2 Nephi already. I´m so excited for them and know their choice to become members of Christ´s church will change their lives and give their children such a bright future.

We had a pretty funny-quick-interesting appt. with a lady named Maria this past Saturday morning. She warmly welcomed us into her house, and we taught her the Restoration. When we got to the part about the First Vision, she interrupted us and asked, ¨What time is it?¨ ¨I told her 11:00 am.¨ She responded ¨Oh, well I got to go to the market. Thank you, chao!* and kicked us out of her house. Hahaha we pretty much died laughing afterwards. 

Also, another elderly lady opened her door when we knocked, and immediately when she saw us said ¨NADA QUÉ VER!!!¨ and slammed the door. We had no time to respond let alone react to what just happened that we started busting out laughing... Good times. We always try and make the most of every single experience we have on the mission, because these opportunities only happen in these 18 months that we’ve got! 

Also, when we were contacting like crazy this week, we knocked on a door and a BOSTON TERRIER came running towards us!! Literally MADE MY DAY!! Edgar our Boston Terrier who passed away a couple years ago, is the same breed, and they have loads of energy. It was the first time I had seen a Boston Terrier here, and the lady we contacted wanted to hear our message and happened to know members of the church in our ward. We´ll be visiting her this week, and I’m not gonna lie, I´m super excited to see her puppy too!

This past Friday we had Zone Conference, and my companion and I both had an assignment to explain our method of studying the Book of Mormon and Preach my Gospel to our zone. It all went super well, and I learned so much from conference. 

I know that our Savior lives and loves each and everyone of us. The Atonement is a gift we are forever indebted to, but as King Benjamin says in Mosiah 2, ¨And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.¨

All that God requires of us for what He did in sacrificing His son, is that we keep His commandments, the loving instructions He´s given us to guide and protect us. What a simple thing to do in comparison to the infinite sacrifice Christ offered us! If we strive to do only this, there are marvelous promises:

¨...Consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. ¨ (Mosiah 2:41)

I know that this promise is true, and that God truly wants to bless us in ALL aspects of our lives. Trust in Him, trust that He KNOWS that you have need of temporal things. Put your faith in Him and His commandments, and you will see these blessings in your lives. 

Have a wonderful week!!

-- 

Hermana Doney