Mi corazón está en Cusco: Where's Waldo?

We`re going to start this week`s email with a flashback to a favorite childhood game. Sometimes missionary work kind of feels like 'Where`s Waldo'. Looking and looking, knocking on doors and trying to find a referral. We`ve had an address of a guy named Jimmy for almost 3 weeks now. We went out the first time a couple weeks ago and looked for almost an hour. The second time we took a member with us (a very dedicated member) and looked for another hour and a half or so. Both times with no luck. Then the third time (about a week ago) we went out again with a different member trying to find this guy. Aaaaaand, we didn`t find him. Almost just gave up on finding him. THEN . . . we decided to look one more time. Thirty minutes later we finally found the street. We talked to a lady that sells bread if she knew a Jimmy and if she could help us out. She pointed us to a house down the street. Wasn`t him. We kept walking and found a house that met the description that he gave us. We knocked with a good amount of confidence on this door. A 20-something year old guy opens the door. Between the excitement of thinking we finally found this guy and the shock that someone that met his description opened the door I just kinda yelled "JIMMY?!" He looked at me kind of funny and said, "umm, un ratito... " Haha, maybe I`m a little crazy, but it`s ok because it was his house!!!!! He was sleeping, and we haven`t actually met him yet... But we made a cita (appointment) with his wife, Lida, for the next morning.

Let me just say, miracle find! We came back the next day and she told us her whole life story. She`s SO ready for the gospel. She was at church the next day for all three hours and double checked with ME that we had another cita during this week. Incredible. Two days. Some people we`ve been working with for months aren`t even like that. I`m super excited about her and her family!!

I love missionary work.

I love Puerto.

I love Hna. Nelson.

I love it all!!

I`m really hoping I don`t have a change next week!!! So many good things are happening. I CAN`T LEAVE NOW!! Is it bad to ask for prayers that I stay in Puerto?? :)

This isn`t really news, more of just a thought, but still worth sharing. I`ve been studying a lot about our Savior. Who He is and how we can get closer to Him. There`s some really incredible stuff in the scriptures. So, I have homework for everyone. Read Mosiah 14, and really focus on verses 3-5. It`s incredible. For the bloggers reading this, if you don`t have a Book of Mormon, you can get one. There`s lots of missionaries dying to give you one :) You can also look it up online.

www.lds.net

Scriptures, Book of Mormon, Mosiah

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Definitely worth reading!

Speaking of reading, I hope you are all caught up on your 9 or 22 pages of the Book of Mormon for the week. It`s amazing how much it really makes a difference in our lives. There`s so much we can learn from the scriptures. And for me at least, I feel so much closer to the Savior when I read. I`m calmer. Happier. Everything is just better when we`re focused on the gospel rather than whatever else is going on in our lives. And the blessings of reading every day are REAL. I see them every day in the families and people that read opposed to those who don`t. And I love you all and I want you to have more blessings in your lives. So read!! :)

Oh, and thanks for all the pictures :) I love getting pictures!! And thanks cousin Tom! I love hearing things like that.

Finishing this transfer strong! Hope you`re all doing well at home as well. Give everyone a hug for me!

Chao!