Whoop, Whoop! First baptisms!!

This week we had two baptisms and one wedding! Great week! Satan works just as hard as we do so it is important to always be on top of what’s going on. We had one investigator ask us to move her baptism date the night before. She had been really prepared by the Lord and has a beautiful testimony.  Yesinia is the only member in her family and they don´t like the church at all. Nobody wanted her to get baptized other than her and her boyfriend. They got married on Saturday. We were at her wedding when she asked us to move her date; really sad moment. My companion and I left the wedding with heavy hearts. Fortunately we had another baptism to go to.

Ingrid is our 15 year old friend. She got baptized Saturday. She was going to get baptized with her older sister Yomira, but Yomira had a few things to work out. Two days before Ingrid got baptized she told us that she wanted to wait. After a lot of prodding we found out that she was moving to her dad´s house next month. The nearest church is three days away by boat. There is no way that she would be able to attend regularly. She talked to her parents and they agreed to let her stay here where she can go to church every week. After that we just had to find her a baptism dress. White is a little hard to come by. Ingrid has such a beautiful testimony and knows that her Father loves her. We left the baptism feeling great for Ingrid but feeling really down for Yesinia.

That night we prayed for her to feel the spirit and know that the church was true. Twenty minutes later we got a text from Yesinia saying that she had prayed, that she knew she should get baptized, and that she wanted to get baptized Sunday morning. What a miracle! It’s a great feeling to know that Heavenly Father can make things like this happen. These small moments when things work out are testimony builders. When we get dropped by investigators, or they don´t come to their interviews or church, and when people refuse to listen I remember these moments and it’s all worth it. The good and the bad together make the mission.

There s a quote by Elder Holland that says, “Maybe missions aren´t easy because salvation wasn´t cheap. Maybe we have to feel a tiny portion of what the Savior felt.”  At times it is really hard. It’s hot and the people don’t listen, I don´t speak the language well and I’m tired; but it’s worth it. This week two people entered the Fold and I got to be a part of it. I feel so privileged to be here. He never said that it would be easy, but He said it would be worth it.

--Haley didn't add this to the blog, but I (Bill) know many of you wonder about the living conditions...so here is a little blurb that she wrote to me.

The apartment is great. It's one room but the bathroom has a door. We have a flushing toilet but we can't put paper in it, gross. Our shower doesn't have hot water and there isn't much water pressure so it's like taking a shower from a garden hose. We have an electric burner for cooking and we have a guy that brings us filtered water every week. We are supposed to have mosquito nets but we don't right now; we don't have enough posts to hang it from. The mission home is working on that. We have beds. The mattress is the same type that we had at SVU [college] so it's pretty good; they are plastic to fight off bed bugs. We have a dorm fridge; we call it refi. I haven't seen snakes because we aren't allowed in the jungle parts of the city.  The tribe that lives just outside the city aren't super nice. When I get transfered to a more jungley area we will. Pucallpa and Tarapoto are where the tribes are nicer.

Chicken Feet...Hot Potatoes...KiriKiri (sorry, no pictures)

Hola Familia y Amigos!

This week was a most def better than last week. I am kinda used to the food…still don´t like tomatoes. This week I had CHICKEN FEET for lunch, I thought it would be really gross but it’s only KINDA gross.
They don´t have very much flavor, it’s like eating crunchy rubber bands. Yesterday we ate at a member´s home. They made chicken fried rice like we do at home; it was heaven. For dessert we had this creamy Jello stuff made with yogurt and milk. SO GOOD, I am going to have to figure out how to make that.

This week I gave my first talk in our ward. We had a few investigator families there so I was super nervous. I got through it OK, and I didn´t even swear on accident. We had 3 family home evenings so I need help. If you’re reading this and you have a game to play please email me (haley.burrell@myldsmail.net)...hot potato isn´t super fun anymore.  We need games that a family with small children can play and that can be prepared on the spot please.

My companion and I are both trying to be really patient with each other. I realized that she isn´t a morning person and she realized that I don´t know she´s talking to me unless she says my name. It was pretty funny, Tuesday night she was on the phone with our district leaders. They were speaking Spanish and I was reading up on the lessons for the next day. At some point she starts laughing at me. She said that she had been talking to me for almost 5 minutes.

This week for service we helped a family tear up their house. They live in Versalles (the river overflow) and their house was on stilts. They knew that the house was unsound so they moved into their neighbor’s
house and started making plans to build a new house. Well one night it was storming and the house fell down. Nothing was damaged because it had all been moved earlier. We helped them clear up what was left of the house. Unfortunately they still don´t have a new house because we only get one day of service a week. I think we are going back there to make sure they actually have a roof before the rainy season comes.

This week it was super hot. Like 85 with 150% humidity; and the mosquitoes love it. I had to stop counting the bites. Sometimes a cold shower is just the right medicine for the heat and the itchiness. Speaking of itchy, one of the elders in my group has chicken pox. It’s pretty bad; he has them in his throat…triste [sad].

Also this week I cut eggs and strait milk from my diet. It’s hard because members use eggs and milk all the time. My stomach just can´t handle it so I don´t use it in breakfast or dinner. For lunch I just
have to pray a lot.

Numbers this week were not as good as the spiritual experiences this week. For the month of October we only have one scheduled baptism. We are really happy for her. She is getting married to her boyfriend on
the 26th and then baptized later that night. Our other investigators who had dates for this month dropped them. Delkar and Karine were having issues as a couple and she ended up not wanting to take the lessons. Delkar is still doing well but we can´t set a for sure date until we talk to him and Karine about getting married or living separately. Our investigator, Rosario wants to get married to her boyfriend and get baptized. She´s 17 and we can´t get the permission needed for baptism or for marriage. Her date is in March because that is when she turns 18.

My companion Hna Orellana decided not to extend her mission and is leaving her on November 20th. Chances are I will stay in this area and get a new companion. My training won´t be finished so I will probably get a Latin companion.

Learned a new jungle word this week! KiriKiri- it means B.O. I have had many opportunities to say it; usually it’s to the zone leaders. They are white guys from Utah. They speak really good Spanish and they will talk to me in English occasionally. I don't get to speak much English so it’s a real treat to be able to joke. I haven’t quite figured out how to do that in Spanish yet.

The goal for this week is to have a positive attitude at all times; even when it’s hot, sticky and I know that I probably stink.

Lots of prayers for all of you!

Dogs, Cats, and great big Rats

This week was… well let’s be honest. It was a bit rough. The field is a lot different than the CCM. For one there aren´t as many rules or people watching over you so you can basically do what you want. Thankfully the CCM teaches discipline so we don´t just go crazy here.

It’s a little lonely because I can´t talk to very many people including my companion. We have prayer and companion study every day. The language is getting better. Hopefully soon I will be able to just rattle off sentences with no problem.

My very first zone is Punchana. We cover all of Mi Peru and Versalles. Versalles is the river overflow. All of the houses are on stilts and it stinks. You know all the commercials that say “Save the Amazon, dispose of you trash properly” and then it will show the dirty river? Yeah, it’s the people’s trash. Don’t worry, I don´t think your trash is going to make it all the way down here and clog up the streets. It’s pretty stinky is some places.

All the streets here are washed out. Also there are a ton of stray cats and dogs. The reproduce freely and I have gained a new respect for people who spay and neuter their pets. Most of the animals eat pretty well because of all the trash. Only the old, new, sick and pregnant dogs don´t get food. The cats don´t get much food either. They have to fight the rats. The rats here are just as big as the cats so the cats usually lose the fights. Most of the animals have mites or mange so we don´t touch them at all.

The lessons are going great. We have several families that we are teaching and that are progressing. A lot of the people here are not married because it’s so expensive. We usually plan around that when we first contact a family. 

We met a new family just Wednesday; Delkar and Karine. They have 2 little girls. They accepted a baptism date the very first lesson. It’s really cool to see the people progress here. Delkar already has a testimony of our message because he prayed in the very first lesson. He wants to get baptized and knows that marriage is a commandment. Karin also wants to get baptized but she doesn´t see the point of marriage. We shared The Family A Proclamation to the World with them. Hopefully they will agree to get married. They came to church yesterday too, fast and testimony meeting. Delkar shared in gospel principles class that he had a testimony. It was amazing. He was truly prepared by the Lord. Delkar and Karine always ask the perfect questions. I am able to explain very simply the answer and then Hna Orellana will go more in depth.

We have another family Yessina and John. They have a little boy named ChiChi. They are getting married on the 26^th, and Yessina is getting baptized that night. John was an inactive member of the church but has started coming with Yessina and ChiChi.

Another family is Dalia and Alonzo…also not married. They aren’t progressing because they never come to church. I can see that Dalia loves the church and wants to get baptized but Alonzo doesn’t really want anything to do with it.

Most of the families we teach are very, very poor. They live in raised huts in the overflow. We were asked to pray by a family that their house wouldn’t flood. These people are not rich, but they are rich in spirit. This place is amazing.

I found a lot of comfort in Jacob 5 this week. Verses 65-75 helped me the most when I was feeling discouraged.

Remember every member a missionary- I love you guys so much

She made it!

October 9, 2013.

Just got a quick note from Haley's Mission President.  She made it to the jungle (Iquitos).  She doesn't know where she is serving yet, but she said that several of the missionaries will have to take another plane ride to get deeper into the jungle.  WOW!  Her new p-day is on Mondays, so she didn't get to write much at all.  I thought I would share the photos that her Mission President sent.

Haley, President and Sister Gomez

Everyone else

Haley's got jokes

Haley's ugly rubber boots

So glad to hear about the snow, it’s getting hot here and I am leaving Tuesday for the jungle. Everybody I tell just fans their face and smiles. Glad I have light clothes. 

This is my last Pday at the CCM! Next time you guys hear from me I will be in IQUITOS! What what?!

A few things that happened this week:

Monday: Studied a lot. Not super interesting.

Tuesday: Pday, found the native shops and saw Hna. Loayza at the temple.

Wednesday: Felt and lived through my very first earthquake! It was about a 3 pointer. My teacher thought it was the spirit. Also went to immigration. I signed some stuff for my visa but I don't think I have it yet. I also spent 4 hours at an Interpol meeting a last week so hopefully it will be here soon.

Down town Lima is beautiful. They have a lot of really old really great gothic style buildings. I wish I was allowed to take pictures. We spent almost 6 hours waiting for visa stuff to happen. Saw a nun with a habit. She was very nice. I helped Hna. Dickey place a restoration pamphlet. Even though we missed dinner time we didn´t get pizza (usually happens but the last group was out too late). The kitchen staff saved us dinner.

Thursday: Had a very spiritual lesson with our investigator/teacher Marcos. He has been doing really great and committed to baptism. This lesson he told us he didn´t have a testimony but he still wanted to get baptized. Super disappointing.

Friday: I don´t remember what happened this day. They all blend together.

Saturday: Difficult day. We had a tiff in our district. Eventually it got solved but nothing has been as spiritual since then. It’s really sad because we all know the difference.

Sunday: Great day! Fast Sunday so we got to hear all of the new missionaries try to bare their testimonies in Spanish. It’s amazing how far we have come.

Monday: Wanna hear a joke? Great!

¿Que es la diferencia entre una pera y la novia de un misionero?

La novia no es-pera!!

What is the difference between a pear and a missionary´s girlfriend?

The girlfriend doesn´t wait/isn´t a pear.

I swear its funny in Spanish. Even the teachers laughed.

Our district also said goodbye to our night time teacher Hno. Bejar. He has a great spirit and he just brings such insight to the table. When he walks into class he brings the spirit and he does it in a way that we can still joke and have fun. I will miss him. We also said goodbye to Hno. Hinostroza. He helped Hna Nelson and me a lot with our lessons. It was very sad but I am grateful for the chance that I had to know them.

Yesterday was really crazy. We had a girl go home (from the group that just got here) and a girl get seriously ill. She has a pre existing condition that causes her to lose feeling and muscle control in her legs. She couldn´t walk and was trying to get us to let her go to the temple today. She has such a strong desire to be here that she just wants to be perfectly obedient (great choice) and do everything a missionary should be able to do. We explained that because of the physical effort to get to and from the temple plus go shopping the trip would be too much for her today. After a long time she agreed to stay here at the CCM. Hopefully her condition will clear up enough for her to go next week. I wish everybody had her same desire to serve.

Today!: Its Pday, We´ve gone full circle! We went to the shops you know where the natives shop. I got some NATIVE hair stuff and some NATIVE jerseys. Can you tell I'm feeling native? Perú is great, and I love every minute of it! I love and miss you all!

Hermana Burrell