Monday, August 28, 2017

Spirit and more spirit!!! 8-28-2017

Hola Familia!!!!! 
So this last week was pretty exciting!!!!! I've learned a ton!!!! But I'm gonna share an experience that I had. This last week we were teaching an investigator named Samuel! He is so cool!!! But over the last few weeks we have learned that he doesn't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. So we decided before our visit in Tuesday that we are going to teach about the Book of Mormon to maybe help him to gain that testimony! So we studied and then in the lesson we showed a video of Jeffery R Holland giving a testimony about the Book of Mormon and then we started helping him to understand the importance of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and then we started showing him the evidence in the Book of Mormon and in the bible and then Samuel started pulling out evidence of the Book of Mormon in the bible and in this moment we felt so strong the spirit and Samuel started to cry and he was listening to me and then randomly he cut me off and was like " Hermana can we pray right now? Lets pray right now kneeled down" and I was just like ya its ok!  so we knelt down and he said a prayer! Honestly it was the most beautiful prayer I have heard in my whole life!!! The spirit was testifying so strong! Everyone was crying!!!! IT was amazing!!!! One of the most powerful experiences of my life! I know I grew in my testimony of the Book of Mormon but as well Samuel could also gain a little bit more of a testimony!!!

We also had a great intercambio this last week. I'm gonna be honest it was so tiring to go down to pacasmayo because of the bus trips but it was worth it because I learned a lot. and hopefully the next time we go down the bus ride will be better and the car sickness will pass. haha But Hna Delgado is awesome and she honestly taught me a ton!!! It was good to talk and to teach and just learn how I can be better. 

I read a quote this last week in preach my gospel that says that the goal of a good missionary is one that always looks to improve!!! I want that to be my goal up until I go home. Always looking for ways to improve and to be better and to help a los demas. I just want the people I serve and the missionaries I serve with to be happy and I just want to help. I just hope I can help in one way or the other!!!  

Thanks for all the love and support and for all the prayers!!!
I love you all so much!!!
Love Hermana McNamara

Monday, August 21, 2017

Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching!!!!! 8-21-2017

Hola Familia!!!!


Ok!! so I just have got to say! Do your home teaching and visiting teaching. It was so sad this last week when we visited a new member and found out that her mom ( who also is a new member) is in the hospital really sick and she could very possibly die and then we got to church and nobody had visited them!!!! This poor sister has no money wasn't eating so that she could pay the doctor bills and she is literally alone here in Cajamarca with her mom and its just super sad because she could have had some one if her visiting teachers or home teachers visited her!!! We got to the third hour in relief society and I stood in front of all the sisters and had to tell what was going on and I could see the shame in their eyes, and I just begged them to visit this poor sister!!! Her visiting teachers came up to me after and committed to go visit her and I felt better! But seriously do your visits! You have no idea what a blessing you can be for these people!!!! Sometimes they just need a friend but please do your visits!!!!

Ok now onto the fun stuff! Yesterday I had to give a surprise talk in sacrament meeting and that was cool to do!!! It was totally not planned and I only had enough time to write a few notes and so when I went up I was just praying I could follow the spirit and well I didn't read any of my notes and about 3 sisters were all crying when I finished..... I pray that I was able to follow the spirit! 

We also have had some pretty fun dancing in the rain, the weather is changing here in Cajamarca and its really cold!!!!!  I've got a nice cold!!! But the work still goes on and me and my comp have decided we are going to enjoy the rain and not just trudge through it!!! Bring on the Rain!!!!!!! ( There is a song called bring on the rain and I seriously have been singing it all week in my head! ) 

Love you  all!!!! Have a great week!!!!!! 

Thanks for all the support!!!!
Love Hermana McNamara


Bring on the Rain - Lyrics
Another day has almost come and gone
Can't imagine what else could go wrong
Sometimes I'd like to hide away somewhere and lock the door
A single battle lost but not the war
'Cause tomorrow's another day
And I'm thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain
It's almost like the hard times circle 'round
A couple drops and they all start coming down
Yeah, I might feel defeated,
And I might hang my head
I might be barely breathing, but I'm not dead
Tomorrow's another day
And I'm thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain
No I'm not gonna let it get me down
I'm not gonna cry
And I'm not gonna lose any sleep tonight
'Cause tomorrow's another day
And I'm not afraid
So bring on the rain
Tomorrow's another day
And I'm thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain
Bring on
Bring on the rain
No I'm not gonna let it get me down
I'm not gonna cry
So bring on the rain
Bring on
Bring on the rain
Bring on the rain
Bring on the rain
Bring on the rain


Monday, August 14, 2017

Hike to Cumbe Mayo 8-14-2017

Info about Cumbe Mayo:

Cumbe Mayo is at an average altitude of 3,500 meters above sea level and 20 kilometers southwest from Cajamarca. Built by an advanced pre-Inca society around 1500 B.C.E, the Cumbe Mayo, which translates to thin river, is thought to be one of the oldest man-made structures in South America. It lies in the Archaeological Complex of Cumbemayo, a place where the highest hydraulic technology of ancient Peruvian communities and the impact of time upon nature are wonderfully combined.

Date

The canals at Cumbe Mayo are thought to be at least 3,000 years old. Archeologists aren’t exactly sure why they were built, but it’s thought that the canals were meant to slow down and regulate the movement of water. They were likely constructed using obsidian hammers.[1]

Aqueduct

One of the main attractions of Cumbemayo, or "Narrow River" in Cajamarca Quechua, is the aqueduct. This is a canal of approximately 9 km in length, carefully carved in volcanic rock to divert the water from the hills to cultivation fields and a large reservoir; which is presumably originally at the foot of the Santa Apolonia Hill.
Heading towards the aqueduct one can observe some stairways sculpted in stone, and a carved stone which had been used as a ceremonial altar. Also prominent is the Sanctuary a huge cliff resembling a man's head, whose mouth would be a grotto, where interesting but undecipherable petroglyphs have been found. The caves and shelters of the area evidence other stone engravings, where visitors claim to see anthropomorphic images.
The aqueduct winds down the hills toward the city of Cajamarca, stretching out over about five miles (8 km) in length. The canals brought water from the high grounds to the valleys below, which was especially valuable during times of water scarcity. A number of petroglyphs are also scattered around the aqueduct and in surrounding caves. These symbols provide additional insight into the people who constructed the canals.[2]

Cumbe Mayo and Los Frailones

Built by an advanced pre-Inca society around 1500 B.C.E, the Cumbe Mayo, which translates to thin river, is thought to be one of the oldest man-made structures in South America. It carefully follows the grade of the land, draining water from the hills’ melting snow, to the arid cities in the valleys below. As water was a scarcity, it was worshipped by the Cajamarca people thousands of years ago, and every drop was carefully collected.[3]

Petroglyphs

Cumbe Mayo petroglyphs
Besides the aqueduct, which is cut from the volcanic rock around it, a number of petroglyphs on the structures and in surrounding caves provide some insight into the culture that built the infrastructure.[4]

Stone pillars

Towering above the Cumbe Mayo, are Los Frailones, the Stone Monks. Los Frailones are massive volcanic pillars, some stretching as high as 60 feet(18 m). The stone forests suddenly appear from the landscape, starkly contrasting the flat, grass-covered plains around Cajamarca. The erosive forces of wind and rain likely carved out the pillars.
Many of the pillars, carved by wind and rain have taken on new shapes, resembling hands and even animals, and allowing the mind to wander in the pristine Peruvian setting. Their impressive and rare geological formations, where some will identify the shapes of monks forming part of procession. For this reason, this stone forest located in Cumbemayo is known as Los Frailones(The Friars).[5]
Although the stone forests and ancient ruins of pre-Incan society give the area a beautiful and almost spiritual dimension, it is hard to overlook Cajamarca’s tragic history, as the location where Spanish forces slaughtered the Incas, thousands of years after Cumbe Mayo was constructed.[6]