Week 10 - Everything is Breaking!

October 18th, 2015

Familia,

SO GABLE!!! Don't go and die on us!!! But really that is the best way to end up in the hospital because then you can just enjoy the slushies and all the attention on you :) You should tell dad to do it that way instead of falling out of attics and stuff like that :)

(Gable ended up in the hospital this weekend due to an infection in his finger that spread up his arm to his shoulder. Nothing a night of IV antibiotics and unlimited slushies and movies couldn't fix.)

Hermana Willes and me
enjoying our coconut!

Well this week has been another adventure!!! 

I just am going to start by saying I beat A, B and C to the top of a cocconut tree :) Thanks for instilling the dream in me to climb a cocconut tree Grandma Briggs! Because I got to and I got a coconut down too! (This is from a favorite children's book given to her by her grandmother.)

We had a broken fridge, a plugged sink and a broken DVD player this week. We got all of them fixed...but the fridge was sparking everywhere because there was corrosion in the cord, so the elders brought us electrical tape to fix it but didn't realize both sides of the cord were open, so we wrapped the tape around it, plugged it into the wall and all the electricity went out! Immediately after that the zone leaders called and told us they were coming to help us! Tender mercy big time!!! There are so many little moments like that here!

We now have a new family!!! Chelith and Carlos! They actually read the pamphlet we gave them and had tons of questions; which never happens, so we are really excited to teach them. They live on a stilt house over a little river and don't have electricity in their house. They have so very little but they have their family ...4 little kids, and have had their ups and downs, but I know the gospel can help them.

Actually, the gospel can help everyone :) 

Like the other day we went to clean the font before a baptism and the Elders hadn't drained it from the week before, so we had to drain it and it wasn't working right...we had to turn this big crank thing outside of the church house and it just stopped working. All of a sudden, out of literally no where, this guy who looked like he had been cutting grass walked up and helped me figure out how to get everthing to work! And then he just left!! It was such a testament to me that God is watching out for every single one of us to help his work progress! 

We also had a baptism on Saturday of a 21 year old young woman! She is incredible! She stopped drinking the first lesson before the missionaries even taught her about the word of wisdom! She is strong in her testimony and has so much help from the young adults here. And I'm starting to be able to hold conversations with people so that's progression :)

Well, love you all so much!!! You are constantly in my thoughts and prayers!

Love,

Hermana Briggs

Week 9 - Follow the Spirit and Everything Works Out!

October 12, 2015

Familia,

Awww, thank you so much for your letter this week!! I figured out how to print off stuff and it was the best thing that ever happened to me so i can read them throughout the week!

I forgot Miriam was playing soccer!!! Tell her congrats for me! The BYU arts thing (Homecoming Spectacular) sounds so cool!!! and the falling stars...that is one thing I forgot when I came here is that there are different constellations!!! So cool! 

They really don't know how to play the piano here and no one is really musically talented at all so the first Sunday when the pianist was barely making out the notes and literally EVERYONE was off key I thought I was going to cry :) But its the way it is and it's fun to play the piano for people. I wish I would have brought the Marshall McDonald books, but another hermana here has them so for 3 more weeks I get to play them!!! 

Also we live by a park and a bar...2 great things for a fiesta combination and man do they party...and blast the music....luckily I found earplugs from the plane :) And there is more trash in this city than I have ever seen! I don't think people know what a trash can is or actually where to find one! 

We had a baptism this week and felt really bad because not many people showed up...and actually no one showed up until 30 min. after we were  supposed to start.  We didn't actually start until 1 hr. after that....Peruvian time...I thought I was bad. :) But it was of a 15 year old boy whose whole family besides his dad are members....and he is just so cute and their family is so strong and supportive of him! He just started living with their family and is only half siblings with them but they treat him them same as any other hermano. 

Baptism of the 21 yr. old woman and her nephew who had

to be rebaptized because there was confusion about

his birthdate and he was baptized when he was seven,

so he was rebaptized!

Also kind of funny before I got here they baptized a family and the mom gave them the wrong date for the son's birthday so they accidentally baptized a 7 year old! So he has to be baptized again this week :) He is also the same kid who came and took my  bag of melted ice cream out of my hand that I got from a member and just drank it...and he gave me a mango :) He reminds me of Karston Schwendiman :) 

My companion is from San Diego, California, so my Spanish learning has been a little bit slower than I wanted, but we try to speak only Spanish during the day and I am slowly being able to understand more and talk...only with the spirit. We get along okay...she kind of reminds me of Miriam 'cause she is grumpy in the morning and really won't talk and likes talking to the other hermana next door better but we are slowly trying to be more united...especially in the lessons.(ha, ha sorry Miriam :))That is a goal we have and we are working and getting better...Sometimes she just looks at me and then I have to speak and sometimes it takes a little bit to come up with something.... :)

We have really, solely lessons  during our working time and tract along the way...We teach about 4 or 5 lessons a day. The people are receptive and we really don't get rejected ever, but people just have a hard time keeping commitments. We've been working a lot with less actives and recent converts lately.

I have seen the Lord's hand every day!!!! On days or moments where I just want to be done, and I get a prompting to forget about myself has been incredible!!! And when I follow the promptings of the spirit, everything works. Yesterday we had a lesson with a 16 yr old girl and she has been less active for 2 years because her family aren't members. I got a prompting to just listen and not to think about what to say...and every time I needed to say something the words came out and I understood her!!! The electricity went out after that so we went to dinner and I prayed for the lights to come on and they did so we could keep teaching that night!!!

Also, I have never sweat so much in my life!!!!! I am so much tanner already it is ridiculous! 

I have felt the spirit so strong testify when I am teaching. Even when I don't know what to say...it is given in the hour and minute if I are in tune with the spirit.

I have to go, but I love you all so much!!! Keep being the amazing people you are and try to be better!

Love,

Hermana Briggs

Also ponderizing scripture for the week is D&C 20:37

Week 8 - Still Alive and Loving It!!!

October 5, 2015

Familia!!!!

This is a picture from the internet,
 but this was one of the best looking
dogs I could find. The others I couldn't
 handle looking at on this blog!

Wow what a week for all of you! I feel like I'm watching you all grow up from Peru...wait, I guess I am :) But enjoy the bunnies for me!! They are so cute!!! We just have ugly diseased stalker dogs here....man they are ugly! I'll have to send you a picture of one...and there are almost as many of them as there are people!!!

Anyways this week was great! Another good week as a missionary.

Cool experience. So we got to watch conference in English!!!!! I probably was more excited than a little kid on Christmas morning!! But I learned on Saturday that I need to be better at following the spiritual promptings I get. So Sunday morning came around and I felt I needed to sit in the Spanish session....and my first thought was "Ya, right...I really like English" But then I remembered the promise I had made to follow the spirit better and so I went to the Spanish session. Literally 5 minutes before it was supposed to start, the other latina sister I was with got a call that some of her investigators were there to watch it and they couldn't find a seat. So they took our spots and were able to watch it and we were able to find more spots for the other latina sister and another investigator, but I was kicked back to the English room because there wasn't room for me in Spanish. I realized then that I wasn't supposed to be there to watch it in Spanish, I was there to save that spot for the investigator. It was such a small thing, but such a testament to me of what following spiritual promptings can do. 

Watching General Conference Oct. 2015

We have a new baptismal date with Lleraldi this week!!! Oh, she just glows with the spirit and knows it's true and shows it in her actions!! She has completely changed and much of it has come through the help of the members. She has had so much support from the other young adults and they have just loved her. 

Let me say this.

NOTHING HAPPENS WITHOUT THE MEMBERS.

When we joined this church we covenanted to take his name upon us. That means we are all missionaries and must be trying to help others. Every one needs a friend and a calling as Pres. Hinckley said. 

And it is true! 

Also, I am really starting to develop a different love for the people. Once you can kind of understand what they are saying you develop a different connection with them.

Also, I tried ponderizing a scripture this morning! Totally is awesome!!! Alma 7:12 - Jesus Christ knows exactly how we feel and will help us through everything!

I love this work and I know it is work...the gospel doesn't just happen in our lives. We must work for the things that matter most!!!!

I love you all so much and are always in my thoughts and prayers! 

Love,

Hermana Briggs

Answers to your questions!

Living quarters are actually okay! We have 6 rooms total kind of crazy! One room for our clothes, another for our beds, the kitchen area, our desk area, a laundry room (but someone does our own laundry and we just wash our garments) and the bathroom....everything is black tiled and there are always bugs in the house. It is a apartment kind of living quarters. 

The city is interesting :) Some roads are dirt and others are paved and we ride in these little motorkars everywhere. I call them the digesters because when you ride on the dirt bumpy roads you literally feel like all your food has been digested because it is so bumpy! Or the egg cracker...like the trampoline game :) 

Everyone stares at me all the time and we get whistled at probably about 30 times a day...I'm starting to ignore it but sometimes I just want to punch them!...but that's not Christlike.

Enjoy the Elk hunt!!!! (Brandon and Gable) Oh that will be so much fun!!! I'll eat some chicken here for you....we have it literally every day and fried platano...lots of fried or boiled potatoes and platano. And they have so many different juices I can't even count them all...some have peanuts or quinoa in them or maracoya is my personal favorite...anything with maracoya is good :)