Mission Week 80, Tacna PERU

Prayer really does work,

Hey mom! This week has been difficult but a great growing experience. 

This week was very hard. We spent most of our time visiting leaders and we had a hard time having visits with investigators. We did happen to challenge someone to baptism but that is based on the grounds that I baptize him on Christmas day.
Are there chances that I could stay here until Christmas?
We found two less actives this week. They are a hoot. We joked around with them talking about their mission experiences. Both are returned missionaries. We do not have a lot of experienced teaching Inactive married Returned missionaries but I am determined to help them get back to church.

Mission Week 76 & 77, Tacna Peru

This week... Oh my gosh. I have  never had such a stressful week ever. This week we almost lost one of the missionaries who we really need here. He is only eighteen and he is very stressed. He has had some health problems and the mission nurse did not help him a ton. The doctors here are super un organized and literally just told him to buy a hard bed and told him to leave. I was upset because I saw a missionary so stressed and confused that he just wanted to throw in the towel. Seeing him being stressed I went to the bank and took out around sixty dollars in soles and I told him we are going to go to the clinic and have them look at you know and they will tell us exactly what we need to do. I did it without asking for permission and I knew that the mission was not going to pay for it because they had already sent him to the clinic. I in that moment felt like I needed to have him seen. He went to the clinic had a few tests done and for the first time I saw him relax and the stress left. The mission will not be able to reimburse me but I knew it was worth it. If that is what it takes to help this missionary end his mission strong I will do it.

This week we have been able to work a little bit in the area but not a ton. A lot of the investigator did not make it to church however Evelyn DID GO!!! She is the suprise blessing of the week. She is making lots of changes in her life but is also the most determined. I was so happy to see her yesterday in the church. we had a lesson with her and she is not giving up she will take her time in picking a date but she is not going to give up.

Mission Week 75, Tacna Peru

The savior said to his apostles Follow me so many times in the scriptures. This week we had a special surprise visit from president Johnson he told us that he would like to take a little bit of time to talk to all the missionaries in the zone. After we all had gone to a church close to the entrance of tacna president started to share with us a large talk that was accompanied by lots of scriptures about humility and The Savior. I knew all along what he was going to tell us, I had felt it from the very beginning. The purpose of the talk was to prepare us for something that he had to tell us, Every time he talked about something related to this little announcement he started to cry. I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. It was extremely obvious how much this would cost him to say. After finishing an excellent talk and helping all of us feel the spirit and love he has for us he told us that many of us would probably be waiting with much anticipation for a special visit from an apostle. Elder Renlund would be coming to visit the mission but We, The missionaries from the Tacna Zone, would not be traveling to visit him. All of the missionaries had been given permission to travel the less than three hours to get to Arequipa, However Tacna is seven hours outside of Arequipa and we would not be traveling to meet the apostle. I knew that all the missionaries here would be extremely disappointing. President Johnson and Sister Johnson Cried and told us how much they had been fighting for us how much they wanted us to be there. I felt a heart wrenching pain as I watched many of the Sister missionaries in the Zone break down in tears. I recognized that this would be one of the only chances to see an apostle for many, if not all the missionaries who were from south america, and that they probably would never receive this opportunity again. President Ended by making promises to each and every one of us. Sometimes the bitter cup cannot be passed and we must accept the will of the lord. I know that President Johnson has been called of God. I know that this church is true and that Miracles exist. I love you all very much. Keep working!

Mission Week 74, Tacna Peru

Wow this week has been a amazing crash course of new things to do and to learn while doing them. We have had presentation with the stakes and lots of new oppourtunities to teach. The lessons that we have had this week have been few but the lord makes up for the lack of time! This week we have been able to find new investigators and challenge people to be baptized. It has been an amazing experience to see how the lord prepares people to meet the missionaries.

I have been adjusting to the climate in tacna it has been a little bit of a change but I finally feel like I am getting used to it. Its a lot more humid than arequipa and I like that a lot about it. I hope that I get to stay here for a long time.

This week we have had meetings with the stake president of Arias Araguez. We had a presentation with the sumo sacerdote who was in charge of la obra misional. It was a little bit difficult because the members who were assisting had been misinformed about the meeting and were told it was not going to be about the missionary work. It was a great presentation but the mood of those listening really made it difficult for us and Hermano Cornejo.

This week we have not been able to have a ton of lessons however the lessons that we have had were extremely beneficial. This week we were able to find new investigators and challenge people to baptism and three of them accepted. We have found that when we are dedicating all our time to the lord he is going to help us with the things that we need.

Some of my responsibilities are; Zone conferences. divisions with more than thirty missionaries. Training those thirty missionaries, Making sure that they have success. Meetings with stake presidents from three different stakes all of which have very different ideas and very different plans for the missionary work.  Making sure all of the rooms pensions and emergency supplies of the missionary are good.

They (Stakes) are all super close we can take a ten minute taxi to get to each one.

 

 

Got to go mom Love you!

 

 

Mission Week 72 & 73, Tacna Peru

 

Ferroviarios:

 

This week we were having a tough week with my companion, We had passed many dificulties but we kept positive trusting in god. Before we left to go to church this sunday I felt the need to pray after reading Mathew 7 verse 7 pondering deeply in Knock and it shall be opened unto you. We needed the windows of heaven to open and I was determined to ask for a miracle. After a short fervent prayer I walked out the door expecting nothing less than a complete milagro. In our Gospel principles class I was giving the lesson and I invited an ancient investigator to talk to the bishop, She had expressed her desires to be baptized but had always had a few doubts. I told her that if she wanted to be baptized she needed to talk to the bishop. I do not know why that is what came to my mind. Later that day when the bishop entered into the consejo de barrio he said that the lady had fixed her doubts and accepted to be baptized latter this week with her two sons. Here in Ferroviarios we have seen the results of being obedient in the morning and Diligent in the afternoon and We are seeing the miracles!

 

Tacna:

 

its cold... super super cold. i have been freezing since i got here. i am here as a zone leader. Tacna is also a zone all by itself. It has 32 missionaries. 

My companion is elder behotas. he is a little similar to me but we will learn a lot together. He is a new zone leader. he only has one change as a zone leader. the two of us we be in a huge struggle to keep on top of all the things to do for the zone while still working with the area.

 

I was on a bus for seven hours.... I have no idea how cold it is but I am FREEZING

 

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!