From here down under!!!!!

09/26/2016

Hola Familia!!!!

Well this week has been exciting!!!! Victor got baptized!!!! It was honestly so amazing!!!! He really loves this gospel and the changes he’s making in his life are so cool! He love the motab its pretty awesome!!! 

This last week my companion had me try this really weird fruit and it honestly looks like snot! It’s called granadilla. Its wasn’t very good either!!!! bleh!!! But I can say I’ve tried a weird fruit! 

So this last week as well I’ve started having more problems with my stomach and eating solid foods was just not helping. So my pennsionista has been making me these special soups and lots of jello, and I’ve been drinking hot jello. Yup I drink jello before its be gelified! But it’s cool and actually helping. we are gonna keep this diet up for another week and if I’m still not feeling any better we are gonna talk with the mission nurse. 

I only have one week left in my training and then I’m a full blow missionary... aHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still don’t feel like I’m ready to finish my training but ya know I’ve got to take that leap eventually, so why not now. Actually I have no choice but now haha. It’s very possible that I could get a new companion next week but I’m thinking that my companion is gonna stay another transfer. So does everyone else so I guess we will see what the Lord has in mind for us. 

I am so excited for conference this weekend I’ll be in a nice little room for the English missionaries which will be good because this last Saturday at the women’s conference they only had English subtitles. So you can imagine how well that went note wise and trying to understand all of what they were saying. 

Its literally been a roller coaster in my mission because with a new mission president there are new rules and some of the older missionaries don’t like the new rules, one being my companion, she’s trying to be obedient but she often turns and complains to me how terrible this new rule is. One is we aren’t allowed to baptize minors unless their parents are member and are active, and before my mission president put this rule in place we had about half of our investigators were minors and all were progressing very well. so when they put this rule in place half of our investigators we couldn’t continue anymore with because their parents aren’t interested. It’s been rough! Now my companion has been getting really frustrated with this rule and I just kept reminding her God will bless us if we are obedient and so she’s stuck with it and this last Sunday we had 2 families in Sacrament meeting!!! Yay!!!! God surely blessed us and I know for a fact he is blessing those families!!!! He is doing pretty awesome!!!! 

I really am grateful for all the blessing in my mission. I saw President Marble this last week and he was just blown away with how good my Spanish is. I’m not sure what Spanish he is talking about but I am definitely trying to get better and I can speak a lot more. I know Gods helping me and I know he’s got a plan for me here in the mission and I just got to stick to it. It will be good! I’m excited!!! 

Anyways I love you all!!! Miss you all!!!! Please ask questions for all the stuff you want to hear from me!!!! 

Love Hermana McNamara

This is going to need some explanation....

I hate fireworks.

Hola familia!

Come experience the fireworks here in Peru and you'll understand why I hate fireworks now.

This week has been good! One thing I have learned this last week is that the people will point out when you are gaining weight. Its been fine you know. But man is it weird when they come up and pat your stomach and tell you to stop eating. I'm still holding back the response of you too ma'am, but ya know its all one big happy family here in Peru. 

So I sent some pictures and one is of Victor. He is getting baptized this Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The change I've seen in Victor is absolutely remarkable! I'm serious. He was a die hard partier before and now hes committed to live the palabra de sabiduria and the la ley de castidad. Which have not been easy because ever since we've started visiting with him all of his old friends have been coming over to his house more frequently and have been trying to get him to party! Its crazy but every time he says no. The ward has been super helpful as well in getting him to baptism its really so amazing and I wish I could copy and paste my journal with more details! But I cannot wait for his baptism!!!!! Also his mom is one of the pictures as well from a noche de hogar we did with the JAS in the ward but she is the sweetest lady alive and will probably follow victor in baptism in the next couple of weeks. I'm just hoping that I don't get transferred this next transfer because I want to be here to see her baptism and another one of our other investigators. The chances of me leaving this area though are very slim and the chances of my companion leaving are about 50/50 but ya know it all depends on the Lord and I'll go wherever he sends me but I'm praying to stay. 

I am trying to keep my emails good and keep y'all in the loop but I'm running out of ideas on what to talk about! So please please please ask me questions!!! I want to know what you guys want to hear about. 

This next week is gonna be good and I'm so excited! Also I really suggest y'all go study mateo 6 its a really good chapter about prayer and I just love it!! 

Love you all Hope you have a good week! 

Love Hermana McNamara

Translations:

palabra de sabiduria =  word of wisdom

la ley de castidad = the law of chastity

noche de hogar = home night

mateo 6 = Matthew 6

I hate Chickens and Roosters.

Hola Familia!

Ok so seriously I hate roosters and chickens. Waking up to them every morning is really getting old and well, I hate them.  

Ok so this week has been good. Last P day we went to the Canache and its basically just a nature park and the only thing we could do there was take pictures and walk up the sand dunes.... Well based on my pictures you can guess how big that dune was. High enough my companion got altitude sickness and threw up all over the top. It was pretty fun!!!! Also this last week I had an intercambio with Hna. Messina and I learned so much from her it’s pretty awesome!!! I was really grateful for the intercambio because me and my comp needed a break. but it’s all good now. We are getting along great! I’m just being a duck.  (some advice she gave me was to just be a duck, let everything roll off my back like water. and I took it to heart and its made a difference.)

I will admit though I didn’t want Hna Messina to leave. I started crying at lunch actually right before she left and my pennionista came over and was just hugging me and kissing my forehead and just saying " Mi gringita!!! Mi missionera" haha which translates to my gringro!!! ha-ha I felt much better after lunch! and honestly my pennionista is the best! 

So one of my investigators is progressing really well! His name is Victor I sent a picture. He’s awesome! I have seen a change in him I’ve never seen before in anybody else. PMG says " As we rely on the atonement of Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the atonement of Christ" And I’ve seen this in Victor. he’s happier then when we first met him, he’s more awake, more excited for life! Honestly he’s awesome!!! 

Oh and that picture I sent of the jello tamale, ya that was gross. I didn’t like tamalis before my mission and now I really don’t like tamalis. 

Anyways nothing much else to report! I’m trying to think of what else to write but can’t think of much else.... 

Oh the ward I’m serving in is having a talent show Friday and my zone leaders are making me sing..... yea glad these people can’t sing in tune. 

Anyways love you all and miss you so much!!!

Love Hna. McNamara

*items in italics I added from our "not so instant chat"