Mission Week Twenty Four Pocollay

Sickly week.  But did get some fun pictures.

We LOVE Elder Shaw Tanner!!!

Mission Week Twenty Three Pocollay, Tacna

This week we had changes and I am no longer in my beloved Moquegua, I am in Pocollay. Pocollay is in Tacna. Tacna is about the size of boise it is beautiful. Its much greener than My desert flower moquegua. I do not think I will have any problem finding a camera battery here! Our area is huge! I am in Pocollay 3 there are six missionaries in a single ward! Its a HUGE area! We have a baptism this saturday, after all things were said and down Juana ran into a few doubts and postponed her baptism date but I am so greatful that she had the courage to do so and wait until she and the lord are ready for her baptism! I will miss the Vargas Family and the tapia family dearly I dont have any pictures but Elder Guzmán will send them to me today! That stinks about the fires!

 

Pocollay is amazing, I live with my companion Elder Perez. He is the youngest of 8 kids and the second missionary in his family! He is a little short but he is super hilarious! I have been laughing a ton! Also ELDER HEATH IS IN MY ZONE OF TACNA!!! Also Bonilla is here too but he is on the other side of Tacna! I am going to see if I can visit my old pensionista she is coming to Tacna with her daughter mafer to compete in a gymnast contest

Week Twenty Three Moquegua

First I am going to say that you guys always give me great things to tell my investigators! Second This past week has been a lesson on obedience we have had a lot of success not in baptism in numbers but we have been working harder on being more obedient! We were told this week that we would need to prepare for the talk that Elder Uceda was going to give. Elder Guzman and I were Fasting the day before and day of and for both of us it was probably one of the best days of our lives. Also Elder Guzman is by far the best friend I have ever had in my life... I do not know how to describe it. We have only lived together for three months but I know that he was definately my friend in the pre mortal life! A large part of Elder Ucedas Coucil for us was about obedience. He said that obedience will bring the blessings of god also that All of the latin missionaries had to learn english. English is the language of the resturation and the translation of the scriptures is close but it is not perfect. If you want to have a more perfect understanding of the gospel you have to do it in the language that god chose to restore it! He talked about how the culture here in latin america is extremely critical and for this reason a lot of the missionaries have fear of being made fun of But if we have faith fear is nothing! The other part he talked about was how to improve our studies and our obedience, He told us to be more obedient flat out... It was amazing to hear with the power that he spoke and the spirit that you could feel! 

Also This is my last week in moquegua... I am going to be completely honest when I say that another miracle has fallen in moquegua. Hermana Juana is a woman of about fifty years old, she is very ROUND and she is always extremely happy and coming to church her daughters are all members and they do not go to church all of the time but they all have very strong testimonies. Juana has been listening to the missionaries for ten years. She has never accepted the challenge to be baptized but she told Elder Guzman and I that she would think about a date. I was fasting and praying all day friday and saturday that I would be able to see her become baptized... I wanted nothing more but the lord decided to give me something more. This sunday I went with our mission leader to a new family we are teaching and Elder Guzman and Alejandro went to visit hermana Juana. After waiting in the house of the new family Elder Guzman Called me and told me that Juana had made the decision to be baptized the twenty second, my heart jumped and then dropped and then jumped, First because she had chosen a date to be baptized, second because it was the 22nd and it was not probably going to be in less than a week, third because there was still hope, And then Elder Guzman said of august, and she wants you to baptize her! I started to cry, After ten years of listening to dozens of missionaries she is finaly going to take a step to further unite her family. It was an extremely spiritual lesson and I know that it is a blessing from the lord. Love you all so much.

 

Elder Tanner 

 

More pictures from Moquegua from Alexjandro

Mission Week Twentytwo Moquegua/San Francisco

In little words: This week has been hard but a good one. Two days we left and we only we could only find two people to teach but those two lessons were fantastic. We also had divisions with our district leaders. Elder Turnblom and I were able to find many of the investigators who had been eluding us for quite some time. Eliodoro shared with us his feelings and he told us that he could not say that he did not have the ability to go to church and that he needed to make changes so he could go every week! It was amazing to see how one of our investigators can see the importance of going to church. One thing that many of the less actives here struggle with... Our Ward council did a 180 this week! They are really focused in the families but before it was dificult to plan with them but this week we planned with the spirit! In every aspect of the mission the Holy Ghost is crucial! I have realized that without it I really cannot do anything let alone talk. Our Zone Conference was amazing and Elder Guzman and I have been thinking about potiential, and how we have unlimited potential how much more we have to achieve. Excuses exist but when it comes down to it is our determination versus the devils and we decide who will win. I am looking forward to the multi zone conference in tacna with anticipation. 

 

In detail: This week we had an activity with the primary, We went to the streets and contacted people, It was good to see a recent convert Nilda talking to people left and right! We had about 80 missionaries that day! Some young and some old but everyone worked together to tell everyone the blessings that they could recieve through the blessings of the gospel. I was suprised and that at the end of the activity I was asked to give my testimony! I did not think much of it and that the kids would be distracted... I got up to the pulpit and it was intimidating to see 80 little pairs of eyes staring right at me. I remembered the look of a childs eyes as she her brother and her mom were running away from an abusive situation. Eyes that looked up to me like I was some kind of super hero. I remember how I used to look at the missionaries when I was little. It made me think... What more can I do to be the superhero that these kids deserve, these eighty kids who were going to be missionaries. It touched my heart and I started to cry but quickly regained myself and started testifying sobre los cosas que son mas importantes en este vida. Que nosotros necesitamos los bendiciones del evangelio! Realmente Ellos son el futuro del evangelio. Les amo mucho siempre voy a recordarlos!

 El siguiente Día Fuimos a la casa de Nilda Y la encontremos haciendo un cometa Grandote! La ayudamos terminarlo y fuimos a volear lo. (Lo siento for the spanish) We took her giant kite up to the big hill close to her house and it took to the air. We talked about the holy ghost and how he is like wind we cant see him but we know he is hear because we can feel his presence. Just then we saw an investigator whom we had been searching for! Eliodoro he shared that he was still very interested and wanted to learn more and we are going to ask him if he would like to get baptized in the near future and start preparing him! We have been running into so many people that we have not been able to find before. Elder Turnblom and I left the room with two lessons that we planned ahead of time and the lord blessed us for having faith and he guided us to people that were in dire need of finding us! My message for you all this week is follow the promptings of god whole heartedly, he will bless you and you will always be able to see the path that you have walked after the trial of your faith. The Lord will guide your footsteps one at a time and you will find yourself walking strange new paths and you will learn that you can always trust in the lord! I have a testimony of the guidance of the lord! He is here and he will always find something that we can do if we take the time to listen.

Elder Tanner

The kite is also another lesson we can teach! This kite is amazing. It represents the imagination of a child and the lack of pride, the humility and diligence of Nilda! Nilda lives in a poorer part of san fancisco. you can see the houses behind Elder Turnblom and I, They are not much more that wood with a tin roof. Many children live here and they are some of the happiest I have ever seen! They do not have grass or televisions, a lot of them don't have running water and they have to wait for their turn to receive their water from a hose but they are always extremely happy. This kite is made from nothing but recycled from broken wooden fences and walls. They use plastic garbage sacks and what yarn they can find... its amazing to see the ingenuity of all these little kids.

Mission Week Twenty One Moquegua

After spending a good amount of time recuperating, Elder Guzman and I have hit the pavement hard! Now covering two areas our number of investigators has DOUBLED and the amount of walking has been trippled! We have been Focusing more on Reactivating the members who already exist because our number of investigators has been starting to grow smaller but we are asking all the People we teach if we can visist their friends and family! One of those families is the familia Vargas! They are all going to church and avoiding classes on sundays to keep the sabbath day open for church activities! We gave the names of Elizabeth and Lucio to be considered to be called ward missionaries! They will definately help in the work of the lord!

 The other day we were walking in the street and we found fifty centimos in the street and we used it to buy oreos! It is just one of the millions of blessings that i have recieved every day in the mission. Look for the small mercies of the lord every day!

Lastly a little bit of scripture study from today!

 5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.

 6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?

 7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?

 8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

 9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

we all have a part to play in the lords grand and marvelous work! Ask the lord what is your part!