Feliz Navidad!!!!!!!! 12-26-2016

Hola Familia!!!!

First off sorry I didn't get a letter out to you guys last week I ran out of time haha. There doesn't seem to be enough time in the mission to finish all the things you want. But a lot has happened in the last week. First off Jose Salinas the 78 year old man got married!! and then yesterday for the navidad he got baptized!!!!!!! hallelujah!!!!! It was so amazing!!!!!! He shared his testimony after and he cried and I cried and well it was a pretty big crying fest. He said hes been searching so long for the true church and he finally found it! It was amazing!!!

Also my comp. has been transferred and I'll be getting a new companion tomorrow. I'm a little sad Hna. Chacon left. She was my saving angel and now she's gone haha. But I know it will be good with my new companion. I haven't met yet her yet. but I'm gonna trust in my own attitude and in God. I know if I trust him it will be good with all my companions. Also everybody from my original district has left the district and I'm the only one left. It will definitely be weird but it will totally be awesome!!!

Yes I did get to speak with my family yesterday it was pretty amazing! I know all you returned missionaries know the pain of hanging up after. haha it was pretty crazy. I hung up and then I just sat there and stared at the computer and it was so sad because I cried for a good 30 minutes. Then the members house that we were in she brought me cake and my comp. was like remember why your here Hna McNamara.    It was good to have a cry but then after I was able to focus on the work with only a slight head ache from the crying haha.  But I can't even imagine what the reunion in heaven is gonna be like if my joy to see my family is this strong!!! This is my motivation,  it is to help the people here in Peru have the same joy that I felt when I saw my family but or them when they see their families.

There's not really much left to report! I hope you all have a good new years and well I see y'all next year!!!! literally haha

Love Hermana McNamara

What a week! Whew! 12-19-2016

Ok, So this week has been good! Really hard because we have no one to teach but really good!  I don't think I'm gonna get a group email out today but I will send photos to you. I really don't have anything to report about this week we just got in a lot of walking. I'll write a good one for everyone next week.

I'm really glad that the wedding and dads birthday went so well!

This week will be better! I'm excited I get to go to a wedding tonight for one of my investigators and hopefully a baptism is this week. 

Thanks for all your support!!!!  

Love Hermana McNamara

Lighting the world!!! 12-12-2016

Hola Familia!!!!

THE FAMILIA ALDABE GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya it was pretty amazing!!!!!!!!!! Hermano Fransico and Hermana Yovana got dunked twice because the person baptizing them couldn't say their names right, and Rodrigo cried when he came out of the water because it was so cold, but he's OK now. It was such a good day! It was awesome!! 

Victor fell back to drinking this last week and that's been pretty hard. I kinda feel like I'm not a good missionary because he spent the last week drinking but I'm being positive!!! Addictions are terrible and I know hes gonna get out of it he just needs a little help. 

Me and my companion are diligently seeking to find new people teach because after the baptism this last Saturday we have one investigator and lots of converts which is good but also really bad for the area. If we don't find new ones soon they will close this area and that just would not be good. 

I'm excited to see what this week brings and I'm hoping all of you are lighting the world!!! Have a good week!!!!!! 

Love you all thanks for all the support!!!!! 

Love Hermana McNamara

Let it be Christmas!!! 12-05-2016

Hola Familia!!!!

Well this last week has been good!!!! 

This last Friday the familia Aldabe had the interviews for baptism and they are set to go!!! This coming Saturday they are gonna get baptized!!!! IM sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo so Excited!!!!! I also was put on a diet this last week to help my stomach and its a good diet, but i cant eat potatoes or rice. My pennionsita about had a heart attack when she read the diet plan because rice and potatoes are with every meal here. But shes doing a pretty good job finding substitutes. We were in a lesson with an investigadora in her little store and she had a giant bag of potatoes and i just sat there and hugged them for a minute. haha jk only long enough for a foto and to make the investigadora laugh! After the foto she accepted a date for baptism so in my mind I think its the potatoes. Sometimes you've got to do something different for a miracle to happen. 

NowI  don't know if any of you have seen the new Christmas video that the church has for the navidad but I encourage all of you to go watch it!!! IT is literally so beautiful, but i also challenge all of you to #iluminaelmundo and share the video and everyday find some way to serve!!! 

This last week my recent convert Victor has been having some problems and yesterday we had an intervention with him and his best friend and it was literally the hardest thing i ever done in my life! I literally sat there crying with him because he needs help but he didn't know before this moment how to ask for help!! it was definitely a strengthen moment for my testimony in so many forms and i saw in one moment a really scared 26 year old man and then next a strong 26 year old ready to do what it takes to make it right with God and his family. I'm really excited to see how he progresses. And one note can I just say we are all truly blessed for the opportunity to repent. It literally is a gift from God that literally was given to save us! IT is amazing!!!

Anyways love you all so much!!!! Thank you for all the support!!! Hope your week is good!!!!! 

Love Hermana McNamara

Here is a link to the video Cassie refers to:

https://www.mormon.org/christmas/light-the-world 

Wonders of Wonders Miracles of Miracles - 11-28-2016

Hola familia!

Ok so if y'all have seen the musical fiddler on the roof my subject line will make sense! HA this last week has been a week of miracles for me!!!! To start off Jose the 81 year old man is going to get married 19 of December!!! And we finally got to teach his pareja!! She is awesome!!!! This is 2 miracles for ya. Third in our lesson with Maria (Pareja de jose) she has been prepared for this gospel and I was able to really participate in the lesson!!! And she understood all of my Spanish!!!! That is a miracle! We were talking with the mission leader for this ward after and we was just amazed at how well I was able to communicate the feelings of my heart and help Maria! hashtag gift of tongues!!!! Literally is amazing what you can accomplish with the Lord!!!!!!!

This last week we had a conference of the mission because the area president came and talked to us all and it was so good. I was a little nervous going into it because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to understand it all. But about five minutes into the conference I about had a dance attack because I was understanding it all!!! It was truly amazing!!!!!!

The work here in this area is going great and sadly I don't have to much to report. We are doing a lot of contacting because lots of people I was teaching before with Hna. Chaparro have fallen and so now me and Hna Chacon are getting to know new people! 

Sad story actually my recent convert Victor has been really sad Hna Chaparro left, and this last week as well his girlfriend dumped him. And he drank 1 beer. But immediately his mom called us and we got one of his really good friends who is a member over to his house, and this week he is gonna talk with the bishop. He had it rough but hes gonna make it right. But one thing i thought was amazing is that his mom called us, she isn't a member, but she knew that we cold help him and I am just really glad she has that confidence in us!!!

Hope y'all have a great week!!! Thank You so much for all the support!!!!! As we go into December remember who is the Light of the World!!! 

Love you all!!!!

Love Hermana McNamara

Drum Roll Please - 11-14-2016

Hola familia!!!!!!

Well this last week has been good!!!! 

First off : Well Ivone got baptized and her confirmation is this next domingo! Now her baptism service was quite interesting. So it was scheduled for 5 and there were quite a few members who came, but at 5 there was no Ivone! We waited 45 and then we decided to go and try and find her. So we left and while we were gone she came. So we went back to the church and when we were walking into the church there was a lady there that we had talked to before in her tienda. Now this lady was not very nice and so I was a little confused why she was there. Well it turns out shes prima de Ivone and she came with Ivone to try and talk her out of baptism. That's why Ivone was late. Because right as she was leaving her prima came. Now Ivone was strong and she said no I'm getting baptized. She got changed into her white clothes and was waiting for it to start and yet again her prima tried to talk her out of it, but Ivone said no I'm getting baptized. So the service started and the ordinance was performed. And after, part of the program was that a few selected members would share their testimony and then Ivone. All the  members bore their testimony and before Ivone could stand up her prima stood up and started talking and she didn't say really really bad things but she brought up stuff that really just wasn't important. But before her prima finished you could see she got really uncomfortable and she ended kinda fast. Then Ivone stood up and bore her testimony and Oh my goodness! Her testimony was so powerful!!! It was amazing!!! then after Ivone bore her testimony the second counselor in the bishopric was welcoming her to the ward and he said " satan is going to attack you" and when he said this Prima de Ivone stood up and left. Haha last part is kinda funny. But it was literally such a powerful experience!!!!

 

Now why the drum roll??? because transfers is this week and ..................... Hermana Chaparro is leaving the area and her trainer is going to be my new companion!  I'm sad Hermana Chaparro is leaving but I'm also really excited to see what me and Hna. Chacon can accomplish here in Centenario. My time with Hna. Chaparro was good. Sometimes it was really really hard, and I'll be honest there were quite a few times that I thought I couldn't do it, I thought a few times about going home. But every time  before I could pick up the phone to call president. The mission of Christ would pop in my head, and remind me that His mission was not even close to easy so why should I think that mine would be. This thought got me through my time with Hna. Chaparro. It was hard but I definitely learned a lot from her. 

That's about all the excitement that I can think of this last week. Oh we did do a service project for the people here in this stake and I got to power wash the Stake Center. Ya there is a lot of dust here and power washing makes it like 10x worse. 

hahaha anyways 

Hope you all have a good week!!! Love you all and thanks for all the support!!!!

Love Hna. McNamara