Mission Week 70, Ferroviarios Peru

I had a very fun accident this week. I almost got run over by a car but All went well. I tore a huge hole in my pants. but I just ripped them down the seem and We have a member who is Called Mamita Lily She fixes all the clothes she stole my shoes once and had them repaired. She is awesome.

Its been a great week, There have been so many changes. We have not only experienced changes in companions but many of our investigators are encountering new problems and challenges in their lives. We found out that a recent converts dad has started to have problems with the word of wisdom because of marital difficulties. The amazing thing about the gospel is that there is an answer for everything. We want brother Jaime to go to church because I know that he would find the friends and support necessary. Its amazing how god lets us pass through adversity to help strengthen us physical spiritually and morally. I know that the adversity that we face in the mission is just a way of showing how much confidence the lord has in us as missionaries.
This week I have been studying adversity and how much it is related with patience. I love the definition in Preach my gospel for patience...

Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do God’s will and accept His timing. When you are patient, you hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully. Patience is related to hope and faith—you must wait for the Lord’s promised blessings to be fulfilled.

In these few days that I have been with Elder Otsuka, I have been able to see the great gift of patience that he has. He has never lost patience with me, but patience is not just responding to adversity with faith and calmness. I have always been able to control my temper but Admire greatly the hope that my companion has in situations that have little probability of realization. I am focusing a lot on developing more patience.

I do not know what awaits us in the upcoming change, however both Elder Otsuka and I will be prepared for whatever challenges the lord sees fit for us.

 

Love Elder Tanner

Mission Week 69, Ferroviaios Peru

This week we met the new mission president. Tuseday in the morning all the missionaries from arequipa went to the Church in Umacollo and we all sat nervously waiting for our new president to address us. President Johnson got to the church and the entire chapel went silent. He walked in with his wife and the two had giant smiles. I could tell that this president would have a large influence on my life. We listened to both the assistants. they explained a few things but when president johnson spoke he told us stories about his mission experiences. He told us about how in his mission there was an area that had not had baptisms for a long time. He with his companion prayed and fasted and decided to put the goal of 25 baptisms for the month. Through SO much fasting and prayer they accomplished the 25 baptisms the day before the end of the month. The fallowing months they continued to multiply thier success on the fourth month they spent a lot of time teaching more than fifty people at a time. They found a lot of success through serving in the fields with thier investigators and they baptized more than 200 people in that month. He exclaimed that we through covenants with our heavenly father could accomplish the same. I was amazed.

Afterwards we had lunch with president In a pizza place. I sat off in a corner with my companion. We ate some delcious pizza and right before we were going to leave I saw that President was talking to one of the Assistants and pointing at my companion and I. We walked out to leave and the assistants waved us over and told us that president wanted to go and visit the members and investigators that we were goign to visit. Close to the end of the day we drove with president to the lesson and It was amazing. We taught the plan of salvation and you could feel the spirit so strongly. It was amazing. We did not have much time to talk afterwards but It was an amazing experience for My companion and I. I hope that you all had amazing spiritual experiences this week too!

 

Mission Week 68, Ferroviarios Peru

Hey Mom,

 

This week was HARD! And fun! We had great numbers this week but We were not able to meet with the investigators that I wanted to meet with. We found two new people to teach. They are two friends from Bolivia who traveled to Arequipa on promise of work and in the end there was no job. They are stuck here and are just trying to make it along living in a room about the size of my old walk in closet... They have a game of uno and spend most of their free time playing that game. We have focused on them this whole week. They feel alone and need friends. I have also been improving my teaching skills because My companion does not have a strong background in the church. He usually shares his testimony and gives some advice which is perfect because he has a very strong testimony. He has had so many life experiences and he can usualy relate to the problems the members have and he brings so much experience to the table. Its amazing to see how the lord can take anyone and turn them into a grand instrument of change. I know that the lord did the same thing with me. He changed me. In my mission I cannot believe the things he has allowed me to see and the experiences he has allowed me to pass. I cannot explain with words the feelings and emotions one feels while watching someone come to realize that the gospel is true and they can be forgiven for the past. I know that The Gospel is true that this is the key to find peace in life. Sharing this has brought me so much joy and fulfillment I can not stop smiling! 

Mission Week 67, Ferroviarios Peru

I am On And I have some news! It was changes today and we doubted that there would be a change because There was absolutely no reason that there should be a change. I had only been with my Companion Elder Soria for a month and a half. I was in the office so I asked president why he changed us and gave me a suprising answer. He told me that the first thing he did when he looked at the changes board was ask himself who needed to train. The first person that came to his mind was me and he said that i needed to train. After that the first person he put up as training was me. After that when he found out that my companion whom i was going to train went home He was going to leave me with elder Soria but he thought that If anyone needed to have the only temporal missionary that there would be in the whole mission for this change it was me. I will admit my response to my change was bitter and I was not happy with it at all. I was not ready to recieve a new companion and I did not sleep the night that I was told my change because I was stewing for all 8 hours.

 

After going to church and listening to a class on Sacrifice, I was able to take in all the things that were happening and SUCK IT UP!!! as dad would say. It was definately a suck it up moment. The name of of my companion is Hermano Paredes. He is going to have a lot of fun. I am excited for the new oppourtunities that await and I hope that I am up to the tasks the president sees fit for me. I also will miss president Zobrist. I have to say that he has put quite the dent in my life. He has caused a lot of stress and a lot of joy. I have  learned a lot from his leadership and I admire his ability to inspire.

 

I love you mom!

Mission Week 65, Ferroviarios

 

 

This monday I woke up at three o clock in the morning with my companion so we could get on a bus headed to Chivay. Chivay is a city with a population of less then 5000 people. It was a long trip riding up to chivay. I slept most of the way. It was freezing the whole drive and all I had was my light jacket and a small fanny pack. Everyone said that I was going to freeze. I was sure that they would all be roasting when the sun finally came out. We were all freezing in the buss when we ate Breakfast we were all huddled together Eating our bread and butter with a little bit of jam! We got back into the Minivan.  We started our way back up the road we made a few stops along the way. Eveyone still was freezing and then a few minutes before we get to Colca BOOM! The sunh came out and Eveyone started to warm up. I was nice a toasty in my light jacket! While at Colca the Condors started to appear out of no where! They were gliding around looking for thermals. The Andean Condor can grow to have up to a ten foot wingspan. They are giant birds. It was amazing to see more than ten of the giant plane like birds gliding around a giant canyon. Colca is one of the deepest canyons in the world. It is twice as deep as the grand canyon. It has tons of amazing views and there are lots of little trinkets that you can buy! After that we went back down into chivay. We walked through the markets and looked at things that the people were selling. We found a lady who was selling the best ice cream I have ever eaten in all my time in the mission. She was an old investigator from Elder Malloy. After that we got to go to an all you can eat buffet! It was amazing to see so much food. It was not the best quality but all of us were so hungry we ate three or four plates. after that we got back in the car and started the long trek back to Arequipa on the way a few people started to become affected by the altitude and they found themselves with giant headaches and they started to puke. that was my trip to chivay.

 

 

Its hard in our area we are not having a lot of success. We have two investigators who are progressing one of them told us that her father who is a recent convert is a terrible abusive man and that she did not want anything to do with us ever again. It was hard and then the other Investigator Eliang said that her mom had told her that she could not get baptized until she talked to us which is reasonable.

We are focusing on working with the members to have more success we have lots of plans to help the ward become more missionary work pro active.

Mission Week 64, Ferroviarios

Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy. 

 

We are here in this life to do what makes us happy. That is our purpose and the lord has given us the path. The gospel or the Good News, Is that path. We spend all of our time testifying of the teachings of the prophets and the lessons we learn in the scriptures and I have never been happier. Its never easy but it is always possible! I have seen lives change, I have seen relationships and families saved, I have seen hope come into the eyes of the people who live here in peru. I have seen my life change. I am not the same Shaw Tanner that left on the mission a very long time ago. The lord has shaped me in so many ways. I declare that anyone who leaves themselves to be molded by the grand artist of everything they will find that their life and actions take a meaningful shape and they can find purpose in life. I cannot explain all the changes I have seen but I know that as we help other people change their lives we find ourselves changing as well. My invitation to you all is to find the things that make you truly happy and do it. I promise you that the gospel will be one of those ways to find happiness.

 

Con Animos

 

Elder Tanner

Mission Week 63, Ferroviarios Peru

Everyone here has the goal to fatten me up! THere is food in every lesson that we have with the members. Food without fail. The members are very accepting and everyone here wants the missionaries to be happy. The ward definately helps the missionaries feel at home.

Yesterday was fast sunday and I wanted goldfish and jerky so bad!!!

YESSSSS!!!!! BABY BARTCHI IS A LITTLE GIRL!!!!! YESSSS!!!!! I WILL SPOIL HER SO MUCH!!!! I am going to buy alpaca booties for the package!!!!