Week #29- just going to do what we can!

This week was pretty good. President made a few new rules so we are trying to get used to them. Now our investigators have to attend church 3 times for all 3 hours before they can get baptized and they have to pay tithing and fast offerings. We also can only listen to music that we can get off of the church website and nothing else. We have done a little bit off service this past week carrying big metal frames for a house and then moving a lot of dirt and rocks. I havent done very much exercise for a while so my body was pretty sore. My companion is probably going to have transfers next week so I am trying to remember where everyone lives and all of the bus stops so that I can find my way around. It has been really hard because there isnt street names because everything is just dirt. We have to sweep our room everyday because all the dust gets in. We are going to have stake conference next week and someone from the quorum of the 70 is going to come. Then the next week they have voting so they cancel church to do that because it is a law here that everyone has to vote or pay money to not vote, so I wont be able to take the sacrament for a few weeks. Our investigators have been doing great and we have invited a few to a baptism date, but they have said they are scared or that they want to know more before they accept it. We also have a lot of investigators that arent married but live with their partner and have a few kids so they cant be baptized even if they want to. This is the hardest part here is finding someone that is actually married. But we are just going to do what we can to help them get married and later be baptized. We also found a family that has been less active for a while but they are really cool and have been members for a little bit over a year. We have a goal to help them be sealed in the Temple, and we feel like it will really happen. We always go to the internet cafes to write. we havent had any baptisms yet and we stopped taking the girl to seminary because she doesnt have time anymore We will always have someone cook for us and she does our laundry too. Thank you all for your support!
Love, Elder Monson

"My room- in the city of Horacio!"

Week #28- really close to being a ward!

This week was pretty good, we were able to find a few less active members so we have been trying to help them come back to church. This branch is really close to being a ward and just needs a few more priesthood holders to be able to be a ward. The missionaries that have been here have just been baptizing people to have baptisms and the converts werent really converted so they dont come to church anymore so we have been working with them a lot trying to help them be converted after their baptisms which is harder than it sounds. We have had a hard time teaching our investigators because they are all girls so we cant teach them without having another guy in the lesson. It is really hard to find people to come with us to lessons because all of the men work. We have been trying to teach english in the church on Fridays but only about 8 people come, and everytime we teach english I realize how much English I have forgotten. It is pretty funny when 2 americans have to ask each other how to speak english when they are the teachers. We have a big area, and we just have the 4 elders in our zone there are only 2 sister missionaries because this zone isnt the safest zone in the mission (and don't worry we haven't had any problems so far and I am twice as big as everyone). The weather has been about the same it is hot during the day and really cold at night. This week we did a little bit of service and we tore down a wall in someones house to make more room. It was pretty cool the bricks are just held together by dried mud so it wasnt to hard to break down, but it made a huge mess. Luckily the family has 3 daughters that helped us clean up the mess. I have been reading the Book of Mormon for my personal study for a while now and I am in Alma 41 now, I have learned so much from reading and I love my study journal. It is really going to help me when I have to give a lesson when I get home haha.

Love Elder Monson

Week #27- feels like I've been gone for 6 days, not 6 months!

This week was pretty normal. I reached 6 months this week so I got to burn a tie. We have been taking a girl to seminary at about 5:30 in the morning for the past 2 weeks so I am really tired. We also teach classes of English in this area and it is really funny to hear them try to speak english, but some of them are really good and know a lot. The people here are really humble and want to listen to us so we are really happy for that. The hardest part here is that no one gets married but they have been living with their partner for longer than 20 years or so. It sucks because they can´t get baptized if they don´t live the law of chastity. This area is awesome but the people are different, they drink and smoke a lot so we see some pretty funny things. One morning we saw a guy drinking and walking with his friend and then he started to wobble and he fell. It was so funny and he just looked around to see if anyone saw him fall. We have a few people with a baptism date for next week but they aren´t really sure. They are more like a goal for them, so we will see how it goes. We also had interviews with our Mission President and they went really good. Our new president is really spiritual and does everything with love. I love our new president and I think he will make this mission even better. Other than that our week was pretty normal. We don´t have a church, it is just a building. I haven´t gotten the package yet and my companion hasn´t gotten one in a while. It feels like 6 days, not 6 months. it has gone so fast! I doesn´t rain very much here so I don´t think it will be mud...

Love Elder Monson

Week #26- 6 months!

haha Well I broke a window playing soccer last week. The window of the stake presidents office haha but he wasn't there and we didn't tell anyone about it haha until the zone leaders went to that church with our mission president and the stake president. and were going to make another jersey for our district soon My companion is Elder Aspajo and he is really cool. He has helped me a lot these past few weeks. We walk really fast and a lot here. Our area is a lot bigger than my last area haha I think we are going to play basketball today because it is p day in our districts and we just have the 4 missionaries in our branch for our district. well i guess the thing you might want to hear most not really is that there is probably going to be a war between chile and peru and if that happens all the missionaries have to leave peru. I think it is pretty serious, but I don't know a lot about it. I barely felt the earthquake it was really weak and a lot weaker than the first one I felt. I have been waking up at 5:30 this week to help a girl go to seminary in the mornings so I have been really tired this week. I am going to burn a tie tomorrow for my 6 month mark!

Elder Aspajo & Elder Taylor Monson!

Week #25- transfer to Chaclacayo!

I had transfers for the first time and I had a HUGE change in areas. I went from the rich area to a really poor area. I am in Chaclacayo now in the branch Pariachi. There isn't any grass in my new area so there isn't any use cleaning my shoes. There is just dirt, dirt, and more dirt,  and hardly half of the "houses" have a roof. They don't live very good, but the people are so much more accepting. I love the people here. I really got to see how money can change people. My new companion is Elder Aspajo from Peru. He is about 5 feet tall. He doesn't even reach my shoulder, it is really funny. I have a few really good friends in this zone so I know it is going to be really fun. We live with 2 other Elders and one of them is the District Leader. He is from Utah so I get to talk some english. So I am really happy about that. The weather in this area is warmer, but freezing at night. The kids here are really funny, they haven't seen to many white people so they are always touching my hair, and rubbing my arm, it is really weird, but they are funny. I really miss my old area and all of the people I got to know, but this area is awesome, and I think Elder Aspajo will be my favorite companion so far. We have amazing investigators that really want to learn more about the gospel and are really accepting to what we teach. I am hoping that we will have success this transfer, and we are going to do everything we can to help these people. We still have a pensionista. I am good with things for the weather it is looking like I will be here for a while so it is going to get hot. We eat the same stuff pretty much. I still haven't gotten sick, and our apartment is pretty nice and a lot bigger than my old one.
Love, Elder Monson

"We locked him in a little area and he couldn't get out- it was funny!"

Week #24- birthdays!

This week was really fun! For p day last week we went to the beach, and there was a lot of tourists, even though it is winter here. Tuesday we had our district meeting and we had a little birthday party because 2 sister missionaries also had their birthdays before mine. They bought 2 cakes and as a tradition we had to take a bite out of the whole cake without using our hands and they shoved my face into the cake! Then for my birthday we had a family night planned with some members and they invited some of our investigators and some of our recent converts. We watched a video of The Testaments and then after we ate sandwiches and cake. I got a few gifts from them and I loved it! It wasn't the same as the last few years but it was really fun. I am pretty sure that I have transfers tomorrow so I will be in a new area next week with a new companion. It will be my first transfer so I am a little nervous, but it shouldn't be to bad. We have one investigator that is going to be baptized soon so she wants me to go to her baptism so I have to ask permission. I hope I will get to go to her baptism because she is one of my favorite investigators that I have had. Other than that this week was pretty normal.

Love Elder Monson

Elder Monson got a customized jersey!

Elder Monson got a few gifts for his b-day!

Nothing says happy birthday, like a cake in your face!

Week #23- extremely happy with how strong their testimony is!

We went to the Temple this week and it was really awesome. I felt the spirit so strong and we had a great time. This week was a little bit harder than what I have had here, we didn't have the baptism we were supposed to have because the husband of the person who was going to be baptized had an accident and tore a tendon in his knee, so he had to get surgery and she has been preoccupied with him. She wants to wait until he can be at the baptism so we might have to wait a few weeks or maybe a couple months. We also have an investigator/ convert that hasn't been confirmed that has a grandma that is really sick and he says that if she dies that he will never go to the church again. Our last two baptisms are really strong in the church though and we are extremely happy with how strong their testimony is. They are making a lot of friends in the church and are going to be leaders in the church some day! My birthday is this week so hopefully we have a good week. This week will probably be my last week here in this area so that kind of sucks but I am also excited to go to another area with a new companion. We don't have any plans for my birthday yet but our pensionista wants to have a big party! The weather is a little bit colder it is in the 60's but the humidity makes it a lot colder.

Elder Monson's current district!