pictured: A woman holding her pet chicken lol I'm pretty sure shell eat it soon

So last week as we were contacting in the street we walked passed a young mom pushing her stroller walking along side her dad and as we passed my comp and I both turned around and we were like, "should we go?" and debating and then ended up running after her hahah (why do I even debate these things still? haven't I learned? lol) and as we talked to them and explained who we are and what our purpose is, the mom, Vivian, accepted a visit in her home for this week.
So we visited her and we taught her all about the Restoration and about Joseph Smith and this woman has a lot of faith! She believed in everything we taught her and the spirit was really sweet and present.

Later this week we visited her again and taught her about the Plan of Salvation and she accepted a baptismal date for the 25 of February. She was really eager to move forward and follow Christ.

I love how the spirit can push us as much as we need to, to find and rescue our brothers and sisters.
We could have totally just passed her and kept moving forward but we both new that we needed to talk to her, thanks to the spirit. She is more than anything ready to take these steps more fully in her life!
Im really excited to see what happens for her and to keep working with her.

Right now were in a moment of finding more people to teach but this area is great and has lots of potential I think!

I love you all have a great week!

Well my birthday went great! The airplane had problems so after we settled down they told us all to get off hahah so pretty much we were in the airport for like 4 hours! But it was enjoyable! And my comp welcomed me with a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY balloon!

So this week has really been so beautiful! I have felt the spirit so strong. The people are so fantastic and ready to hear the gospel and make changes. Our ward is really solid and Im just feeling really pumped to keep doing the will of the Lord. Its the most rewarding thing ever!

We have some great improving investigators that have baptismal dates for the 4th of February. One is a 13 year old girl named Nikole Rocha and she is so sweet, we gave her a chapter in the Book of Mormon to read and when we went back she had read like 3 chapters but was scared that she hasn't received a powerful answer that she should be baptized and we talked about all the feelings that she has been feeling while we teach her and while she reads and it was like THE SPIRIT haha and she then realized that she had felt her answer and she's really preparing for her baptism!
We also have another investigator that is in a part member family, her name is Pamela Villarroel and she is great! She has a little girl and she has fantastic questions, the tricky ones that I love hehe, but we really helped her with her doubts and questions and she is preparing also for the 4th of February. I love seeing what the Lord does for the people with these beautiful teachings.

Im so thankful for the spirit that we can feel if we strive for it. Its the best guide we could ever have.

My companion is way cool, she's from La Paz, Bolivia and we have learned so fast how to work together.

This is a great life, even with all the messy and crazy stuff, theres always something that we can be thankful for!

Have a great week!

Yesterday we received our new transfers, I'll be going back to Cochabamba right next to where I was! My comps name is Hermana Chambi, I'll be leaving Sucre tomorrow morning. Its been hard to say goodbye but at the same time, these transfers are good and I know that the Lord will be by my side the whole time. He never leaves it all up to just us! I'll let you know more about my comp the next week cause I'll actually know her! But I'm really excited and full of many emotions! :)

I probably couldn't have had a better last week here in Sucre! It was such a beautiful week and full of many sweet little special moments.

Willma and María José (mom and daughter of Hadda) both got baptized and confirmed as members this weekend. The baptism was so beautiful and the spirit was so strong. Something I love about this work that takes a bunch of pressure off my shoulders is that Ive really learned that missionary work only works if the people have been prepared, and God really works his miracles and prepares people exactly how they need to be. I just gotta do my part! I'm so happy for them!
We had two investigators there that both told us that they felt something really special and that they wanted to be baptized too, that made me so happy to hear!

So something that made me really happy this week was when we were walking to find a house of a referral, I saw a little boy sitting on the street selling potatoes for his mom. I have this little talent that I learned here in the mission, I can talk to birds and they respond its like the identical sound, so we walked over and I told him that I was talking to them and that he could as well so I showed him how to do the whistle and he tried it and, he´ll get there ;) but he giggled it was so sweet then I put my hands in my bag and "pulled" out a little bird in my fist, and told him to touch the little bird that was in my hands (my wiggling finger haha) so he did and then I grabbed his hand haha and he just laughed it was so adorable, I told him that whenever he feels lonely to just talk to the birds cause they always respond and he smiled, then we gave him a Restoration pamphlet and as he passed through the pictures he stopped on the picture of Joseph Smiths first vision and said that he likes it how God and Jesus Christ are both talking to the little boy.
We were shocked that he knew who the two angels were! He told us he remembers them from when he went to church a long time ago.
I learned more this week why its so important to teach young children special little things while they are young, its because they stick, and because they make us feel calm.

Another thing that happened this week was with a young girl named Claudia who we contacted one night in the street on our way home. We visited her and it all went really well. She asked us if we would visit her more! Then she went with us to church and stayed the whole 3 hours and told us she loved it and she wanted us to visit her again later in the day (Sunday) so we went and read with her 3 Nephi 11 and asked her what she thought and she shared with us how important it is for her that she follows and believes in Christ.
She told us why... When she was a little girl, she broke her heal bone and made a promise to God that when she grew up that she would serve him the rest of her life if he helped her to walk normal again. God kept his promise 100% to her and she is walking perfect now. She told us that she wants to be baptized soon so we set a date for her for the 4th of February, I wont be here, but I told her to call me for it! :) Life with faith is such a beautiful thing.

Many things have happened this week and Im so thankful for the sweet blessings that we literally can feel if we just put our own heart into the will of God. Do it!!!
Love you all.
have a great week!

pictured: Me and one of the daughters from the penshion, Kelsi

Happy New Year to everyone!

This year has flown by so fast but I'm so thankful for every trial and hard thing I went through, I have literally learned so much about the endless grace and mercy of our loving Heavenly Father and brother Jesus Christ.

Christ has not only been a belief that I've had, but a real friend, brother, shoulder, person, for me. I have been able to turn to him in my hardest and weakest moments and like the promise in Ether 12:27, as we come unto Him, He will make our weaknesses strengths. I've seen it work, and I'm pretty sure I'll see it work for the rest of my life.
I'm so thankful for Jesus Christ.

I hope that you all have great new years goals that at least include one of the following:
-Saying morning prayers (everyone forgets the morning prayers)
-Read the Book of Mormon
-Come unto Christ.

I love the Book of Mormon so much. I finished reading it just a week ago and I promise every single one of you that if you have the true desire to read this book with a prayer in your heart, that you will come to understand truly who is Jesus the Christ. You will come to have your very own personal, special and sacred relationship with Him and you will always be able to lean on Him in your heaviest and hardest moments.

This week was a lot harder to teach people as there have been a bunch of parties and only drunks in the street to talk to here are a couple of short conversations that have happened yesterday:

"Hi, can we give you a pamphlet?"
"No mamita, I'm drunk"

Other guy,

"How was your New Years Eve?"
"Horrible"
"Oh no! Why?"
"cause everyone was drunk!"
"were you as well?" (you could easily smell it)
"Yes!" (he laughed though so that was good)

Other guy,

Us just walking down the street and him dramatically shaking his head looking at me and then closing his eyes and then WAY dramatically saying, "You are my queen, you are great" and then he repeated it like 3 times and I just said, "thanks" and I laughed so hard cause I have never been so flattered! hahah no really it was just funny!

So as we were walking in the street yesterday and almost no one was in the street, we noticed a older man sitting on the street and then the song from Carrie Underwood "Change" came into my head (it's beautiful) and so I thought, that we should just go and sit next to him and ask him his name and about who he is and it turns out I had a little conversation with him in Quechua cause he hardly knew Spanish but he was so sweet, his name is Santiago and we just talked to him and showed him the pictures of the pamphlet, "the Restoration" and as we turned to the picture of Joseph Smith and God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, he pointed to them and was really just admiring the picture and it was a well spent 15 minutes.
My comp and I both walked away with tears in our eyes with the strong feeling that Christ would do the same with him.

I hope you all look for someone once a week every week to just ask them their name and their story and get to know your brothers and sisters here in this world.

I love you all so much and hope you have had a great Christmas and New year!