Families Are Key

Week 57 (August 14, 2017)

Hey everybody another week is gone and I'm not sure what happened. Actually, a lot happened so we´ll get started. 

So we have been teaching a teenager named David. He is the best we love this kid. And is getting baptized on the 26th of this month. We went to his house this week and he was there, so we went in his house and sat down, then his mom came in (who I never met), we quickly introduced ourselves and asked if we could talk for 5 minutes. She agreed and also called her daughter, Angela, (David´s sister) to come listen too. So we taught a little about prophets, and about joseph smith and then the Book of Mormon. It was all really quickly explained and set another appointment to come back. Then we invited them to pray and read what we had shared with them. And when I invited them to do it I felt the need to invite them to baptism. So we did. We said something along the lines of, "If you come to know this message is true, will you be baptized someone who holds the authority of God?" Then they said something that I wasn´t expecting. 

"But what if we already know it's true?" 

Yeah, they said that. Awesome right? We didn't set any baptism date with them. But I know that they will be baptized one day. Maybe really soon too. 

We´ve been searching a lot of experiences lately. Our mission president invited to help our investigators have more spiritual experiences lately. And the results have been miraculous. I haven´t just seen an increase in my investigator´s faith. But also in my own faith. I´ve seen and experienced a lot of things this week. You read just a little of it.  But there is so much more that goes on. 

An old man has been coming to our chapel for a few weeks now named Mariano. So we´ve started teaching him. He´s been investigating churches for his whole life and just recently has found the church of Jesus Christ. We had a visit with him yesterday where he told us his whole story of how he was raised Catholic but realized it wasn´t true. He thought that salvation was personal for everyone (which was true) but didn´t think that there was any true church. Until he found the true one. He told us that he was simply walking by the chapel and felt like he wanted to go in. So he went in. And he told us that in the priesthood meetings he felt a burning sensation inside of him that he never had felt before. He knew what we did was true. So we have an appointment with him tomorrow and I´ll let you know how it goes. (: 

I love the gospel! I LOVE YOU ALL! Keep praying, keep believing (: 

Good Week

Week 56 (August 7, 2017)

Cusco Zone with Elder Uceda

Well, This week has been full of investigators and lessons. It's been awesome! I`ll just tell you about a quick miracle we had this week. 

We have two investigators whose names are Silva and her daughter Vivian. Silvia has been listening to us for a little while already. But she hasn`t made a lot of progress. Her daughter Vivian is a new investigator we found this week. They came to church last week! It was cool because they came in and I didn't even think they would ever come! So we made some space next to us and they sat with us. But we had the most boring sacrament meeting of my life. They almost fell asleep. So did I haha. SO after the meeting, we were gonna have our class for investigators. But Silvia and Vivian were gone. And I felt the most distinct impression to run downstairs and find them. I was just in time. They were walking out the gate and we caught up to them and begged them to stay. So they reluctantly agreed to stay. 

We had an appointment with them later in the week, and we asked them what they thought about church. She replied, "Do you want me to be honest?". And I knew we were in trouble. She continued and said, "Elders, Vivian and I were ready to leave and never come back to church. We were ready to even tell you that we didn't want to know anything else. But when you came and got us and we listened to brother Erick`s class about the Sabbath Day, we felt something, and we are going to keep the Sabbath Day holy every week now." 

My jaw dropped to the floor. If we hadn`t have gone to keep them from leaving, they probably never would have joined the church. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost. 

The whole week has been so full of miracles I can`t begin to even tell you about it. We have 6 teenagers we are preparing for baptism now when we didn't have a single progressing investigator 2 weeks ago. The Lord blesses those who are patient. 

I didn`t have a whole lot of study time, but I read this week about Alma the Younger and his conversion. If you have time this week, go read Mosiah 27! and Underline all the principles of repentance that you can find. 

Love you all so much! 

Elders Haws and Iza

The Teachers Are On Strike

Week 55 (August 1, 2017)

Well people this week has been quite uneventful. I have been trying to deal with changes here. But the teachers in Perú are striking for a raise. Its gotten pretty extreme, to the point where people are burning the buses we use the travel. So only recently are we starting to send missionaries off to their new sectors. Its been a pretty sketchy week for some of our missionaries here in Cusco. Keep us in your prayers! 

Amidst all the terror of the week I was in the bus terminal picking some missionaries up and sending one off, and someone stole my camera. I had no idea until we got into the taxi and I ran back inside to look for it. But it was long gone. Frick my life. 

So thats been my week, taking care of missionaries so they don`t get bored while waiting to travel. We`ve found a bunch of new people to teach though and we`re hoping that they progress! 

Also, Elder Uceda, a native Cusqueño came to our mission. He`s a member of the Presidency of the 70 and he is a very powerful servant of the Lord. He came and told us a lot of things. But I think the thing that stood out to me most of what he said was, "Si no están dispuestos a obedecer con exactitud, no estás a ser un dios". This stood out to me because it says a lot about our Father in Heaven. He is perfectly obediant. Whether it is to His father´s will, or his own goals. He is perfectly 100% obediant. And so is His son. Jesus Christ. Our goal goal as missionaries is to become like him, and to BE WILLING to sacrifice as he sacrificed for all of us.

We all have the opportunity to become like our Heavenly Father, but if we really want to be like him, we need to love him, and obey him. 

Love you all so much! Take it easy! 

HEYY

Week 54 (July 24, 2017)

Well, once again we are on transfer Monday. And I'm staying in my sector. I'm so grateful to stay Santiago and continue to serve these wonderful Cusqueños! 

To be really completely honest this week was super calm. We spent most of our time visiting and helping our investigators progress on their way to baptism! We haven`t had any investigators come to church in over 4 weeks. But this week we had two!! IT WAS A MIRACLE. 

David (14)
We found David last Sunday hanging out with one of our ward members. They were walking down the street and we talked with them for a minute. I asked him if he was a member and he said, "No, but I'm gonna get baptized!" We asked if anyone was teaching him and he said no. So we set a day to teach! Our first appointment was on Tuesday, we asked him if he believed in God, and he said and he does like everyone else here. And that was it. He asked for us to come back the next day. CRAZY. And we did. We taught him the restoration and we invited him to pray. And set an appointment for the next day (this kid is gold). We talked the next day and we asked him if he prayed. He did!! And he got his answer!! He said it like this, "Yeah, I got my answer. I said my prayer and I felt normal. But I started to think more about what you guys taught me, and I felt so happy. I felt like someone was hugging me! I got my answer!"  So we invited him to be baptized and he accepted. He`s getting baptized on August 12th! 

Josué (14)
Recently we`ve been working a ton with references. And with the members because here in Cusco, the people are not very open like you would think in South and Central America. But we visited a family and they gave us the reference for a part family. Or a family where not everyone is baptized. So we went to find them and the less active dad answered. He was happy that the Elder`s came so he invited us in and we shared something short with their family. Josué is their oldest son. Josué is very interested in the church. He came this week to sacrament meeting. We are just trying to help him receive an answer from the Spirit. 

We`ve been seeing a lot of miracles here! Everything is just falling into place! And for me personally. I was reading Elder Uchtdorfs talk about loving and not fearing or using fear from the last conference. It's so good! 

I was reading and he quoted the Savior in John when he said " In the world, ye shall have tribulation, but fear not. For I have overcome the world" I read that and for some reason, I couldn`t keep reading. My eyes were fixed on that phrase. And after reading it 4 or 5 times more I felt such a strong feeling come over me. Almost as if the Savior himself was talking to me saying, "You`re doing good, don`t worry about what you`ve done, I`ve overcome it." 

Christ is our Savior! I know it! But He`s not just a Savior! He`s our friend! And is always by our side! He knows each and every one of us personally! Just trust in him. And all will be well. 

Have a great week people! 

I'm Going Downhill Now

Week 53 (July 17, 2017)

Well, this week I burned one of my shirts to mark my one year in the mission. I cannot begin to describe how crazy it feels to be already at a year. It's nuts.

To be honest not a ton happened this week. But I´ll do my best to sum it up. 

We´re spending almost all of our time finding new people to teach. We´re trying to focus more on finding the people that God has called us to find. And it's been amazing to see God helping and guiding us to these people. We´re talking with families and knocking doors to find anyone. The people here in Cusco aren´t the most accepting people because they are so caught up in Catholicism. But that's been taking up our time. 

If there´s anything I could say to all of you back at home or in the mission is to trust in God at every stage of your life.

I was reading the talk about looking up and not looking around from general conference. I could feel that God was telling me to trust more in him. In my whole mission, I´ve trying to look up to God. But have been so easily "beset" (as Nephi would say) by sin.  I was reading in Mosiah about Abinadi and King Noah. I got to the part where Abinadi was about to be killed and he bore a solemn testimony against King Noah. And for just a moment, King Noah looked up. He believed what Abinadi was saying. And he wanted to change. He even thought about letting Abinadi go. But then the priests spoke up. And King Noah looked around. His gaze left the heavens. And he was once again caught by the world around him. 

Sometimes I think that we are too much like King Noah. And when the world comes at full force. We look around. We need to always look up! 

Typical passageway in the hills above Cusco

Zona Cusco