Week 33 - The Way to Happiness is Work!

Sweeping leaves among the flowers.

March 28, 2016

Loco Familia!

Oh, I laugh so hard every time I read your letters! I think I say that every week! I'm so glad that you could be having so much fun as our amazing family! Keep having fun together and growing together!

So, the highlight of my week was probably the Women's session of  General Conference! Conference for missionaries is like Christmas, birthdays and every other holiday combined into one! Oh, it's so great! And we brought one of our investigators with us, too, who loved it so much she was crying with me. It was such a special experience to sit and listen to the choir sing and to hear the cute sisters sitting behind me singing along with them in Spanish. Really, the gospel is for everyone...everyone in the entire world :)

After "gracefully" falling in the mud ;)

This last Tuesday we were walking to an appointment, (after I had slipped and fell in the mud, haha!), and all the lights went out in our entire area! It was dark so we had to go back to our apartment to wait it out. We cleaned our house by candle light cause we never have time to clean :) But I learned that day really the power of teaching...we felt so empty after only being able to teach one lesson that day. The way to happiness is work!

Also, we have been working a lot with the members this last week and it really has paid off. The members are the way to help the people progress. And we had a cute old man attend church with us on Sunday. He has one leg that's shorter than the other but he works so hard! And he already is 78 years old. But he had bad experiences in other churches that told him old people weren't allowed, but the members of the ward really just wrapped their arms around him and he was able to feel the love of the Savior. 

My bag, after falling with me!

I have been reflecting a lot on the life of the Savior this week and just wanted to bear a sure witness that I know that it is only through Him that we can be cleansed. I know that He lives. I know it. 

I hope you all keep smiling and shining the light of Christ for the world to see!

Lucas (Luke) 22 y 23 esta semana-this is what I've been thinking about a lot this week is these 2 chapters. All about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Love you all!
Hermana Briggs

Week 32 - The Lord ALWAYS makes up the rest!

March 21, 2016

Bonita familia!!!

Esta semana, que puedo decir, mas milagros!!! (This week, I can say, more miracles!)  Haha! Okay, I actually really started writing in Spanish without thinking about it!!! Oh boy, ya, that's the point I'm getting to!

These are some of the kids I gave bracelets to that
 grandma sent me...they are now my best friends :)

Yesterday we decided that we were going to try to keep the sabbath day holy in every way that we could, which included not paying the motokars to take us to church. Our church is 30 minutes away walking, so we decided to do that. On the way back we were running late and I also had a feeling we needed to contact someone which made us even later. I said a little prayer saying, "Please help us make it back on time, there really isn't anyway possible, but we are doing all we can." A couple blocks later a motokar pulled up and said he would take us for free!!!!! I was in shock! And guess what? We arrived exactly on time back home. Really that should have not happened because we were still in paro (everyone is on strike) yesterday and gas is super expensive. Everyone has been charging us double, so for free was crazy!! But really I know it is because we were trying to do our part, and the Lord ALWAYS makes up the rest. 

Also, we were in the dentist a lot this week trying to finish my companions root canal...ouch! It isn't fun in the US and less fun here. I had to laugh watching the dentist reading the x-ray in the bathroom light and sending someone to buy tissue paper when my companion asked for some. 

Me and Hna Alberto doing service for Hna Juanita....
taking down millions of spiderwebs with brooms!!!

Hermana Alberto is such an incredible example to me! She has such a huge desire to do what's right in the Lord's way. We were teaching a first time lesson this week and the Hermana had so many questions about really where we came from and what our purpose is. I really was just so excited that we could help her understand really her purpose in life!! And the light in her eyes changed when she understood.  

Well, this is mas o menos  (more or less) my week! Sorry it's so crazy and confusing. But I just wanted to share the favorite scripture of our newest convert. It's in Moroni 7:12. He now quotes it almost every lesson :) Everything that is good comes from God, and all that is bad from el diablo (the devil). Really if we are focused on the good in life and following our Savior, we cant falter. Look for the good in everything this week and I promise you will find it!

Love you tons!!! Keep smiling brightly!

Love, 

Hermana Briggs

Week 31 - 17 Milagros (Miracles) Peru Style!

March 14, 2016

Familia!!!!!

My new companion, going in for a root canal!

I think I could name this email 17 milagros…or more like 1000 milagros! Really, we have seen the hand of the Lord so much in this week!

It started Monday when we were standing in the door of an investigato, making an appointment and a guy jumped from around the corner and ripped the bag off my companion and took off running…we had just been robbed!!! We just stood there in shock because every important document we had, the cell phone, her equivalent of social security card, all her money and the USB that had all her pics of her mission on it. Everyone in the length of 2 blocks took off running and screaming down the street after him like Lamanites J We started asking people where he went and it so happened that someone had tackled him and grabbed the bag and brought it back in a motokar. We were really just in shock that the Lord had been so merciful to help us stay safe and also to be able to continue with the work.

Also, Dany was baptized on Saturday! It really shouldn’t have happened but it worked! First, there wasn’t transportation to get there because there is thing called Paro right now in Pucallpa, where the people go on strike from working until the bills for water and electricity go down, but they go to the extreme to do it. So there are blockades in every intersection with nails to spike all the tires of the motokars, so there wasn’t a way to get him there because he is paralyized on one half of his body. He also was sick, and his mom was, too. The members of the ward decided they would walk the long distance to the chapel and Dany's brother came to fix their motokar.  All in all everyone made it to the chapel, even though it literally seemed impossible. My companion and I were in the dentist for a root canal for her the hour before the baptism was supposed to start. Really everything was against us, but I can testify so powerfully of the power of God. I had no idea how Dany was going to get better, or how he was going to get to the chapel, but I felt so sure about continuing that we did. And now he is the newest member of this church in our ward! He is so converted and the baptism was the most beautiful one I have seen here, although he had to be put under water 3 times J

So we have been walking a lot; everywhere, actually, because there aren’t motokars anywhere, but the Lord has blessed us so much to be safe and to have the guidance of the spirit.

And I also received my new companion this week, Hermana Alberto!!!!! She is from Cerro de Pasco, in the cold mountains of Peru, so the heat was a shock for her, too. But she has such an incredible testimony and knows the scritpures better than anyone I know! She had to have a root canal on Saturday and has been suffering from pain for a week, but she's so strong and really was crying when she couldn’t go out to work yesterday. I am so grateful for her example!

I want to share Helaman 5:12 this week because it has given me so much strength! As long as we trust in the Lord and build our faith in Him, Satan can try as hard as he can to knock us down, but guess what?? He just can´t J

I am so grateful to be a missionary through the craziness and all and know that the hand of the Lord is in our lives every day!

Love you more than words can tell!

Your Hermana Briggs

Week 30 - Divisions & Reactivation

March 7, 2016

Familia!!!!!!

This is of one of our rescued members
 who completed 15 años! We had to pass by to
 pick up some food so we got to take a pic with
 this beautiful girl! It is amazing to see how she
has progressed!

Sounds like another crazy week at the Briggs house!

This week is the end of my 4th change! I have absolutely loved being in the Vista Alegre Ward for the last 6 months. It really is such a great ward and I have had the privilege to get to know almost all of the members, having worked in both areas of the ward. And hopefully I get to be here a little bit longer :)

This week 2 of the families that we have been working with for 2 changes have been rescued!! Really when we started our time here, these were the 2 families I didn't think had very much hope of being reactivated. They were both really disanimated (dont know the word in english ;) and didnt have any desire to come back. But I can testify that the spirit changes lives. It was when they started doing the little things, like praying every day as a family and reading their scriptures together, that things started to change. 

This one is of
 us in el Parque Natural! last p day. Really
 like a safe jungle that you can go and visit
 with all the animals in cages, but the nature
 around you is actually real! Man the
 jungle is so beautiful! 

We did divisions this week and my companion left me to do all the hard appointments. I was super nervous because I haven't been without a missionary companion for a long time, so I gave a little prayer and went to work with the member. I was amazed to see how the Lord really was able to work through me and help me when things didn't go right...they never go perfectly :) Prayer is so real and I know that if we ever need help, he is always there to help.

Sorry it wasnt very long, the keyboard is giving me a fit :) 

But I love you all so much, think about you and pray for you daily. I wanted to share D&C 11:12-13 with you all...and to remember if you put your faith in the spirit, he will illuminate your mind and help you through all you need. 

Keep smiling brightly!
Love,
Hermana Briggs

The last is of a recent convert family that we have been
working with lately. They are really just amazing!
 I got to feel the power of doing family history with
 them and it was so cool to see their excitement
 grow for the work too!