August 31, 2015

Hello everyone!

Well, this week wasn’t too special either. We had a bug or something go around our zone but we all got a little sick. I’m not sure what caused it but I couldn’t really leave bed for the first 2 days and then the third day I was just weak from not eating plus my bum hole was like a broken dam. Speaking of which, this allows me to tell you the thing that made me laugh this week. So one of the elders here was also a little sick in the stomach and I think it was Wednesday night as we were walking home from dinner and he just demolished his pants like 2/3 of the way home. He was very distraught to say the least.

Speaking of fires, we also had a little fire here in the outskirts of town. However, it’s a traditional thing people do here each year. Plus it’s so cold and high up here the fires can’t survive for very long. But it still looked cool at night.

But yea with my comp, he had to go renew his visa in Cusco. He told me that I’m going to have to go next change some time to start the work to cancel mine... :/ kinda a weird thought.

Also, speaking of baptisms, the dad of the family we are working with is back in town and so we are planning on putting a baptismal date with him and his wife (because she wants to get baptized with him even though she’s ready now) in October. That’s kinda far away, but unfortunately, because he works in a mine, that’s the closest date we can put with them. But at least we can have a goal with them. Also, with the other daughter, she told us that she wants to get baptized in September so we are also going to put a specific date with her. We also had a new investigator this week. It was funny because he came up to us last Sunday and told us that he had a friend who told him about the church and he wanted to come check it out. Also, he is learning English because he wants to move to Australia for the work of his wife. We were only able to visit him once this week due to the sickness that has been going around but he seems like a pretty sincere guy who is interested in the family teaching of the church. Also, he said that his wife is a member but hasn’t attended for a while now. Oh, and his name is Luis. I still don’t know his last name, though. But that’s about all I have to say on what’s going on here more or less.

As for the rest of your questions, something that made me sad this week is we got word from the bishop that the mom of a really strong family has been apostatizing a little bit. Apparently from what he told us, she has been saying that we shouldn’t go to the temple and has been encouraging her older children to live with their boyfriends/girlfriends without marriage. However, I am a little skeptical on these claims on her. Ever since I have been here, she has only been helpful with us in finding new people and building the ward. Also, she let 2 of her kids go to the temple with all of the youth. Not to mention her oldest daughter, who is our pensionista, has a goal to get married to her fiancé by the end of the year. However, they have been living together for a while now and already have 2 children. But they also are excited to get sealed in the temple as well. To me, it seems like the bishop probably heard rumors and wants it to get verified or something. But if it is true, that would be super sad.

This week I could probably feel the spirit the strongest with that new investigator, Luis, we have. When he was telling us about his desires to learn more, he just seemed really sincere about it and I could really feel the spirit in that lesson. Something I learned new this week was my pensionista’s dog (Benxis) gets really bored when there is no one else to play with him. Normally me and her "husband" are the only ones to play with him but I’ve been sick and he fell down some stairs a few weeks ago and he broke some toes so he can’t really use his foot at the moment.

Also, as far as my testimony, I just want to testify about your little quote [“It’s easier to avoid temptation than to resist it”]. Through all of my personal experiences I have had throughout my whole mission and also through teaching it, only a thousand times. But I can really testify of the strength that comes from that and now it’s gotten a whole lot easier to avoid temptations when they come. I don’t remember who gave this example but I’m pretty sure it was one of the apostles when he said he just got into a habit of humming a hymn when temptations came (however I don’t hum). But it’s true, after a while you just build up a wall of resistance whenever it comes from just avoiding it so much.

But yea, I think that’s all I got for this week but I’m glad to hear from you and I love you all very much and until next week!

Elder Halverson

August 24, 2017

Chase and I briefly chatted via email this morning so he didn't really send much except this little blurb and these couple of pictures.

I'm good. To be honest, though, I don't really have much to write right now. Basically this week we went to Sicuani, did divisions with the zone leaders, and then I was just waiting the rest of the week with the other 2 elders while my comp was in Cusco. Also we had some kinda stomach flu go around us here this week. But yea that's basically it.

These are from the baptism we had a few weeks back.

August 17, 2015

Hello everyone!

This week was pretty normal as far as our lessons go. However, we did have a lesson that was pretty unique. So recently every Sunday for the past few weeks, we have seen a teenage girl come to the church and so Friday night this last week we had an appointment at the chapel that fell through but this girl was there. She is technically an investigator for the other elders but our appointment fell through, though. But while we were there she asked if we could talk to her a bit. Anyway, we went into a room and we started talking to her and she started telling us how she is emo and cuts herself and doesn’t believe in God and basically isn’t happy with her life and wants to change. So it definitely was a little strange and it took a little time to explain that the first thing she needed to do if she wanted our help was to ask God if he really existed. In all, it was about an hour and a half lesson.

Anyway, other than that, the people we are working with are still going but nothing new to report with them yet. The mom is pretty set on getting baptized with her husband who the other set of elders here are now teaching. Also, the other daughter was working all this week so we couldn’t talk with her.

Also, as for Espinar, it only has 1 ward and it was members who got married. We have also lately been getting a lot of rescues with the new bishop of our ward which has been pretty nice and I can definitely see the progression in the ward. Also, for the first time I’ve seen it here in Peru, we had some snow! It was only for a morning and it wasn’t very much but the ground was definitely white.

As for your questions, the funniest thing that I saw this week would be a lesson we were at and at the end the family invited us to eat some cake. Then the dad walked in and they asked if we wanted to sing happy birthday to him with them and then they brought out the cake that was missing two pieces that we were eating, stuck a candle in it, and we sang happy birthday. The whole time me and my comp were eating this guy’s cake before they even gave it to him. We felt like such jerks...

Hey I’m outta time so I’ll talk to you all next week and answer the rest of your questions.

Love you all and I’m glad to hear all is well!

Elder Halverson

August 10, 2015

Hello everyone.

Well yea not any less cold yet. But still nothing I’m not used too. 

Ok, though, I have a funny story. Back when I was in Cusco there were some members that we would always visit and they were our pretty good friends. Anyway, they had a daughter who was only a year older than me and so we got along pretty good but we never flirted or anything, in fact she would always just tease me and was super sarcastic with me. However, while I was in Cusco, she left to go serve on a mission in Chile. But, she left me a letter telling me that she actually has feeling for me. Also, her mom is obsessed with me and really wants her kids to marry Americans. After I left Cusco, though, I would still write the family and every now and then the mom would call me. Well, about a week ago, she called me to tell me about a trip she went on with her family to go visit a property that her dad left for her after he died. She also told me that she would like to go there with her children in law in the future and with her grandchildren and she told me that she would like me to be there, too. So yea, she is pretty direct to me that she wants me to marry her daughter. XD But yea, so maybe that’s common in Latino culture. 

As for me, this week nothing new to really report; things are continuing like normal but nothing new to report with the people we are working with. However, this upcoming week we are planning on setting a date with one of the children and the mom so hopefully that will go well. Also, we were able to make contact with the dad since he will be home from the mine this next week, but the other elders will be teaching him. He told us, though, that if he comes to know that this church is true that he would get baptized like the rest of his family. But all in all, as far as the work went this week, it was a pretty good week. We also had the highest attendance I’ve seen since I’ve been here this Sunday so it seems like we are seeing growth.

Today was also changes; however no one here had changes so we have just been chillin today. I only have 3 changes left, however, and so I hope that after this change I will be able to end my mission by training a new elder so well see if that happens. But I’m pretty glad that I will be able to continue working with the elders here.

Well the most beautiful thing I have seen this week would probably be a wedding, maybe. To be honest, it’s kinda hard to think of what’s beautiful here. XD It’s all just plains and dead grass and dust. Right now in the dry season, nothing really looks pretty good. 

A scripture that had a new meaning for me this week... Umm well this week I was studying a lot in 1st Nephi were Nephi has the vision to understand Lehi’s dream and then explains it to his brothers. But I can’t really remember super well the things that I had marked but I would say the part where Nephi explains the significance of these things to his brothers and then they tell him that he was speaking hard words against them and he says that it’s only hard against those who aren’t living the teachings and then exhorts them to repent. I can’t remember exactly the parts I was marking or what it says but heck, that’s why you mark stuff right, so you can go back over later. 

This week a different thing that I experienced was using my gray pants with my black suit coat. We had changed our cleaning lady and I wasn’t able to get my pants in time so I had to use some other ones. Can’t really remember anything else that we did or saw etc. that was different. 

This week my testimony has grown more than anything in the Book of Mormon. Because now I’m trying to read it before going home and this is the first time I’m reading it all the way through in Spanish so it’s been a little different than normal. But I’m being able to take out more now than I usually understand. Also for the “would you rather”, I would say a huge van so I could put whatever I wanted in there. Plus it’s easier to pick up chicks in a van than a smart car.

But I love you all and I’m glad to hear that all’s wells in Naughtingham, I mean Kennewick.

Elder Halverson 

August 3, 2015

Hello family!

Well this week was a little slow. First off on Tuesday, we went to this really cool lake with the zone and the president for a zone conference. I can’t remember the name of the lake but apparently it’s between Espinar and Sicuani and I hear that it is even higher than Lake Titicaca but not nearly as big. I think what makes Lake Titicaca so special is the fact that it is the highest navigable lake in the world or something like that. Anyway, after that, the day after there was a strike going on in Espinar and the members were telling us that it could get pretty dangerous so just to be safe. Then the next day, me and another elder were sick so we weren’t able to go out that day either. But some cools things still happened. 2 of the 3 people we baptized this last week were able to go to the temple in Lima with all the youth only a few days after their baptism. They got super lucky because the ward here can only go to the temple once a year. Then yesterday for church, it was fast and testimony meeting and we heard from almost everyone who went to the temple. Also, along with this family that we are teaching, we were just able to teach the oldest brother and his wife who we had never really talked to before and they committed to baptism in the first lesson. Sadly, they are not married yet so we have to work with that before we can put a date with them. But we baptized the 3 kids now and not the parents because the mom of the family is ready to be baptized but she wants to be baptized with her husband who we have never talked to before because he works in the mine and is only at his house for less than a week every 15 days so it has been hard to be able to coordinate a lesson with him so far. Also, the only other person of the family we are working with is one of the daughters (Sandra) who is about 22 and has a little daughter. The problem with her is that she is having a hard time leaving behind her party life and we kinda lost contact with her for a few weeks but now we are back to teaching her often again and we want to be able to put a baptismal date for her for this month. This whole family is a reference of a member, though. They are the cousins of a returned missionary here. They have been teaching them for about 2 months before I got here but they were able to progress pretty fast.

I’m not entirely sure why the water is so green here but there isn’t really a water filtration plant here. Everyone boils the water before they can drink it and as missionaries, we all have special filtration bottles that can get out most things. Also, as for the baptism itself, it went really well. We didn’t really have any problems this week besides the water not heating up all the way and only being luke warm, but that’s not really a big deal. But we had pretty good support from the ward; mainly from one family who are super strong members here named the Pezo family and our bishop. 

Also I don’t think I was chosen to doing a training on stress because I’m laid back. I think the subjects were actually randomly given. But it went smoothly. I basically just talked for about 5 minutes on what stress is and why we had it and also on tools we can use to be able to get rid of it. Then for the rest of my time, we just did an exercise to relieve stress. But the zone conference we had was really good and fun. I only just destroyed a toilet because I was still having stomach problems from when we went to Cusco. (For Kendall - "Who did this?!") But hey, whatever happened to the Kia? Will I not be using that car when I get back? Hey, I’m also going to read the Book of Mormon all the way through before I go home, too (I just restarted reading it this last week) but I’m doing mine in Spanish so ha >:D 

Now for your questions: First off, I think my testimony has grown this week a lot in family history and the importance of temples. That was actually something we talked a lot about yesterday in church and a part in my patriarchal blessing talks about that too and how temple work will be included in my responsibilities in my life. I’m also super grateful that I was able to go to the temple so often when I was at home and that we have one so close to our house. I really miss the temple here... -_-   As for something new that I tried was a type of cracker that some of the youth brought from Lima. I don’t remember what it’s called but when you eat it, your mouth feels like the Sahara Desert. Just one cracker is more dry than the 7 saltine challenge.

For the most interesting person I met was this drunk guy that was talking to me. He would only talk to me in whispers and had his face right up in mine. He first asked me for 20 soles and I told him I had no money. Then he asked me for 1 sol and I told him again that I had nothing. He then just whispered to me "I’m so hungry" and then just walked away. It was really weird. Another drunk was talking to my comp and was explaining to him in such a weird/animated way of how he got beat up and broke his nose. It was pretty dang funny. I think that question 4 kinda goes with question 1 in this case.

But as for my biggest trial this week, it would probably be trying to stay obedient here. Recently, I haven’t been getting much support from 2 of the missionaries here in my district and it’s been hard to try my hardest this week. Especially with the strike and getting sick but hopefully tonight in our district meeting I will be able to re-motivate the elders here. Being alone takes its toll after a while. But I’m still going and I can only get better.

But I’m glad to hear all is well back home and I love you all!

Elder Halverson

Zone conference with the president