Mission Week 32 Pocollay Peru

Life is hard. Life is full of challenges. Life is full of sorrows. Life is full of needs. Life is hard, however, we know that it is possible. Life is full of challenges that will help us grow and become stronger. Life is full of sorrows that will help us to learn how to support others in their times of need. Life is full of needs that only the gospel of Jesus Christ can fulfil.

This week was an extremely difficult week for me however I have been able to learn more than I have ever before. I came to internet feeling slightly defeated when I realized, we are only defeated when we submit to defeat! This life is a battle and we will continue to battle until we win or we submit to defeat and I will not submit to defeat.

In Pocollay we are passing for many difficulties but we are passing and we will continue to keep passing these difficulties until we are changed! There is no way for us to progress with out the stress of change. I feel like this last week was extremely challenging but I have seen many areas of Pocollay progressing. Ricardo was going to church by himself for the first time in his life. I was surprised to call Jesus for the first time and he said that he had already changed his clothes and was out the door. One thing that is coming to my mind right now is that I am trying to help this ward fulfill its full potential but am I doing it in the lords way. I must cast away all ambition and pride. Elder Uceda talked to us a few months ago and he spoke of a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley, President Hinckley said to the missionaries, You are nobody, You are no great person, but you are all that the lord has to do his work. 

We have work to do, you and I, so very much of it. Let us roll up our sleeves and get at it, with a new commitment, putting our trust in the Lord.

Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;

But with joy wend your way.

Though hard to you this journey may appear,

Grace shall be as your day.

We can do it, if we will be prayerful and faithful. We can do better than we have ever done before.

The Church needs your strength. It needs your love and loyalty and devotion. It needs a little more of your time and energy.

 I hope that this week I can look forward to the difficulties of the following week and that I may be able to help one more person everyday I am here!

 

Elder Tanner

Mission Week 31 Tacna, Peru

This week has been a hard week but it has been a good week. I found myself not knowing where to go or what to do in so many different situations. I eventually found myself letting god direct everything in my life! When I handed him everything he showed me what he could do. We found more less actives and every person who we could never find before. It was amazing. We had been looking for about five less actives in the same area, We had tried to find them with my last companion Elder Perez and for some reason they were all leaving their houses when we happened to be wandering by because we felt like we needed to. Some of them invited us to teach them others told us that we could pass by during a specific time to visist them. I know that when we let god guide our path, he will never lead us astray.

Love Elder T

Mission Week 30 Pocollay

This week we have been visiting a ton of the less actives that we have been trying to visit for a long time and for some reason. Every single one of them was in their house and the one we could not find went to church anyways! We were visiting a ton of young men whom are all in very different stages of the progression... some of them need to change many habbits and living styles before they can fully enjoy the blessings of the gospel however the good news is that they all want to come back to church! We are working with about five young men, three sisters and three young women whom all want to come back to church. We are working with other less actives to but these ten have said with a firm voice that I need to go back! It was amazing and this sunday we did not have a ton of investigators come to the church but we trippled the size of the gospel doctrine class! When I first came here, Elder Taylor asked me what was my vision for the ward and I said I want to see 100 people sitting in the chapel every single sunday participating in the sacrament, we usually have about 60-70 but this sunday we had more than ninety.
We still need to find new investigators. We are finding that many of the old investigators are not interested in the gospel with the change of companionship but those who are interested are progressing at an even faster rate as we focus in on those who are ready and prepared by god not man! We need to find new people! We need to help these ten souls to come back to church with a testimony that is unbreakable and more than anything we need God to be with us every step of the way! I can honestly feel gods hands changing my life as he works through me to help his children! I know that without him, I am nothing... Its is dificult to speak in spanish when I am not in tune with the spirit. Like an instrument I must be prepared to be the mouthpiece of god but he is the artist and I am nothing more than a instrument without a voice when I am not in his hands. I have seen so much change in the past week it has been amazing! I look forward to another week hard week of demanding challenges and I will be ready to face them if I am with the Lord!

Elder Tanner

Mission Week 29 Pocollay

 My old zone no longer exists and we as a mission we have half the leadership that we did and a lot more of responsibility. I have been pretty shaken up with conference and changes and I am very drained right now. I will write for this week tonight or someday this week when I can sit and gather my thoughts but right now no...My companion is leaving to an area that will be in my district. My new companion is Elder Naranjo(orange) He is from texas but his parents are from columbia! He is suppose to be a fantastic missionary. I look forward to working with him...

Elder Taylor and I are going to be okay, we just had two companions who were different.... I was watching the conference and I honestly started crying during the talk of Elder Holland.... I felt for a moment the burden that I had put on my mom... I thought about how much you are helping us and how much we depend on you and i thought much of how much I have failed to help you in your efforts to keep all of us afloat! it killed me...Honestly Mom you have a son WHO NEEDS YOU!!!!

 

 

Mission Week 28 Pocollay

This week was a very humbling week and definately a week of growing. I have definately been able to see how someone can change there life through the gospel. The other day Elder Perez and I went to visit a recent convert and she showed us that she had shared the name of her Grandfather through Family search and It showed that He had been baptized and confirmed and she is now waiting to see the other ordinances done. She was so happy and she keeps on ¨nourishing her family tree to help it grow more and more.

Elder Perez and I have been doing well. I am very pleased with this past week. We have been planning more and studying harder and working more as a companionship. We had a mountain of visits fall through. These last two days we had everything planned ahead of time and not a single planned visit happened. Saturday at about seven thirty I was really frustrated and I just looked up and asked what is it that you want us to do because we are trying and its not working, and I got the feeling like that was what I needed to do. I needed to ask god what he wants and less of what I want. I need to be more loving and humble. After that I sat down and talked to Elder Taylor at the dinner table and I just found answers to questions and they were not complicated answers just things I had forgotten.
Why is this week so hard?
The Lord wants this week to be hard!
Why did all of our visits fall through?
The Lord had other plans for us to do!
Why is there so much pain and suffuring in the lives of the people here in peru?
The Lord loves them enough and He knows that everything they suffer through will only make them stronger!

I have to be honest IT KILLS ME to see how people live here. I feel so shallow and spoiled! I think you know how empathetic I can be and it hurts and I cannot even begin to imagine..

Mission Week Twenty Seven Pocollay

Today I was getting ready to leave and I thought do I have everything... I checked my pockets opened my backpack and looked inside the folder and Saw in the folder a few photos letters and a mirror. I spent five minutes looking at each photo of my friends and family and I felt like I was just sitting in a room spending time with each and everyone of You! That moment I said I have everything, but people are missing!!! I know there are more of you out there reading this blog who need to be in my folder wherever I go! For all the people in Peru to see! This folder Leaves with me in the morning and comes back with me at night! AND I NEED YOU WITH ME!!! It may not be much but I can always look at your smiling faces and remember the moments that are most important! You all have impacted me so much and I am who I am because of all of you! SO if your photo is not here send me one so I can Have you with me wherever I go! I am thinking about you! I love you! and I want you to keep you by my side every single day! 

Mission Week Twenty Six Pocollay

 

 

 

Elder Ancajima is my zone leader and this week we had divisions. I stayed in my area with Elder Ancajima and we had an amazing day! Elder Ancajima Has been in Tacna for his whole mission! A few changes he was in Arequipa but that does not stop everyone from calling him the Tacna Missionary. It was awesome because we were able to work with much of the old investigators and find a fairly large number of less active members and we have started teaching them all! Elder Ancajima is from Lima and he likes to listen to music! The whole time we were on divisions we were relating so many things to the gospel it was a very inspiring time and I was able to realize that being here in the mission makes my life after the mission better! Every moment i have here in the mission is making my life after the mission more satisfying. With Elder Ancajima I was able to express all of my worries and ideas in a constructive environment and I Grew spiritually and I definately have raised my expectations for pocollay and my mission!