Learning Learning and more Learning

This week was ROUGH. We started out with a million companionship goals and we felt sooo good and thought we would have a great week, but it turns out when you pray for Charity, God is going to try you. There are christlike attribute activities in Preach my Gospel, and I am going to do one every week. I have a feeling a lot more trails are coming, but this also means more blessings for me and my lovely family back home.

Speaking of family, I was reading in D and C chapter 100 and WOW it hit me so hard. I don´t need to worry about you guys. I KNOW I am doing my best when I get good news from home. NOTHING makes me happier than letters from home with great news. I love you all so much and you all are what keeps me going some days. I was super homesick the other day, but I stopped and thought... Why? I wanted this so bad, and I´m finally here. I´m doing it. I´m teaching poor people in their huts in the mountains of peru. WHY would I want to go home right now? So I slapped myself in the face and got to work. 

Some funny things that happened this week:

1-- My BFFs (tiny children with dirty faces) ALWAYS ask for more stickers. Dad sent me stickers for my birthday and I ran out last week. Oh my goodness... big mistake. There were 5 children who wanted stickers, and all I had were pictures of Jesus. I gave them each one, and oh my gosh... it wasn´t enough. THEY ALMOST KILLED ME! Hermana Inga just watched. she did nothing while 5 children grabbed at my nametag, ripped open my backpack, reached in my pockets and leeched onto my leg. So yeah. If you give a kid a sticker, they will expect you to give them a sticker every time you see them.

2-- We were teaching a very serious lesson about Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy (please know that it took me 1 minute to remember how to say that in English) in the front dirt walkway of a "house", and at the most spiritual part, the bench we were sitting on collapsed and we fell backwards into the dirt. Needless to say, the spirit was gone haha. She didn´t come to church... Dang it Satan. Stop breaking things. it´s distracting.

3-- Someone in our ward was telling us that she asked another member "How do you expain what happened to the dinosaurs" he responded.... get this... "They all died in the flood".... um, bro, you gotta read the bible. haha. 

4-- Language problems... in a lesson practice with Hna. Inga, after saying that we need to live the gospel in this life I said "Todos murieron" which means everyone DIED instead of "todos moriran" Everyone dies. Good thing it was just a practice or they might think that if we get baptized, we die. haha. oops. 

5-- There is a train that goes through our little town at 3pm every day. We call it the Gringo train. The gringos always stand at the back and wave to us. THEY LOVE ME! Cuz really, who expects a random blonde girl to be in the middle of the mountains of peru. I feel famous every day at 3pm... until they leave and people slam their doors in our faces and hide when they see us coming. Esta bien. Es la obra.

6-- Our investigator Ambrosia is so funny. She literally is like a child and I love it. The stickers that I gave her kids were little suns, and she didn´t know where they were coming from, but it started when we started teaching her. We were in a lesson one day and there was a sun sticker on the wall. She said "ooooh! Xiomara, give me that sticker. It is from God." She put the sticker on her forehead and asked us to pray. I just thought... "um... no, it´s probably from Walmart, but if it builds your faith and makes you want to listen to us, then shoot. God sent that sticker. Let´s pray"

7-- People yell at me a lot. I just barely started being able to understand them. Here´s a few of the gems this week

  "Dame la llave de su cuarto" (Give me the key to your room) NOPE! not gunna happen

  "Regalame su cabello" (Give me your hair). um. nope.

  there are more, but I forgot what they are haha. maybe that´s a good thing. 

ILOVE YOU ALL!!!