Tut Tut, Looks Like Rain

The rainy season in Cusco is definitely starting! It rained pretty much every day this week. And when it rains, it RAINS. We had some fun running through street rivers. Kinda fun I guess :)

On that note, I have a fun little story about that family that I told you about last week. We had a ward Christmas party on Friday, so we invited them to come. They were SO excited! We got there about ten minutes late to pick them up because we had to run home to switch into rain boots and grab some jackets. Regardless of the pouring rain, the two little kids were outside waiting for us (and we got a nice mouthful from the five year old about why we were late... she´s the one in the umbrella picture with Hna Hill). It´s SO HARD to get people to come to things when it´s raining or cold.  But they were excited and ready to go. It was a super fun night with them! I stand by what I said last week. I love them so much already!!! 

They are definitely our highlight right now.Them and Carol (the lady in the picture by the tree with the blue door behind us). We found her a couple of weeks ago, and she is literally one of the most incredible people I know. She has a super hard life. She´s been inactive in the church for a couple of years, but she´s so prepared to come back. Every time we go by and visit her we´re probably learning more from her than she is from us. She ALWAYS has new references for us and is always trying to do things for us. I love her so much. Just a very good, strong person.

Maybe this took me too long, but I'm starting to love Cusco. I always liked Cusco, but I´m getting to the point where thinking about leaving makes me sad. The same as it was in Puerto. I´m so happy that I have at least one more "for sure" change here while we finish Hna Hill´s training. After that, I don´t want to think about.

I´ll save the rest for Thursday!!! Doesn´t feel like Christmas at all!! It´s hot. There are very little signs of Christmas around here (like trees and presents, etc.). But I´m stoked for Thursday!

Can´t wait to see you! Love you all. 

Have a great Christmas week! FELIZ NAVIDAD!

xoxo,

Amie

Tut tut, looks like rain

My favorite little girl, Misleny

This is Carol.  She's a less active member that we recently started working with.  She is an INCREDIBLE woman!

Erick and Carol

Christmas panatone . . . ps I hate panatone . . .

Sometimes we're stuck inside all day so we have dance parties.

Good Week

Here we go again. The weeks are starting to get better and better. Hna Hill is doing SO GOOD! I´m so proud of her. She´s started taking the lead on contacting people and really talking during our lessons. She´s super hard on herself and her Spanish, but I think she's doing awesome! I´m so happy I got her as my hija. I´m convinced she´s the best one of this group that just came in. I´m so excited for the next 10 weeks (at least) with her! It´s gonna be good . . . even though she makes fun of me because I like to dance and sing around the room when she´s trying to wake up and I can´t speak English anymore... esta bien :)

The biggest news for this week, we found two new families that we´re teaching!!!! One of them is a reference from a less active member- her daughter and her family. Super cute. The husband is a little reluctant but once we become friends I have good hopes for them.

The other family is already INCREDIBLE. We contacted them in the street on Saturday and taught our first lesson with them yesterday. He kept telling us stories about investigating other churches but just feeling like SOMETHING was missing. Since we talked to them in the street he´s just felt so good and ready to listen. Their names are Jorge and Gloria. They have four kids TOGETHER, they are already married, they´re super cute and just completely ready to hear the gospel in every way. We left the lesson last night and Hna Hill and I both just wanted to cry we were so happy! Needless to say, we´re pretty stoked about them.

There are lots of hard and disappointing things about being on a mission. It´s incredible how just one person or one experience can make it the most incredible thing in the world though. After however many weeks of people and goals falling through, just one family has made Cusco the best 14 weeks that I´ve had yet. I love it so much. The gospel is true, and the Lord really is preparing people for us to teach.

Also, Emery´s birthday pictures are SO cute! I miss that little bug. Sounds like everything´s going well there at home. Give everyone a hug for me. Tell Sam hello and welcome home. Can´t believe it´s already been two years . . . More motivation to work harder now!

Love you all! Have a great week before Christmas!
xoxo,
Amie

Rosa and her family, her son, Gustavo - aka - my BFF

Being a Mom is Hard

Oh man, what a week. First and formost, I met my HIJA! Her name is Hna Hill. She´s super cute! The first week is always rough on new missionaries, but I can see a lot of potential in her. Training is a lot harder than I ever expected it to be, especially with someone who doesn´t already speak Spanish . . . but I´m hoping I can help her through her training and avoid the expiriences that I had to go through with my "mom"  so that she can feel happy and helpful. I remember feeling completely useless my first couple months, so I really want to help her avoid that. She really is great so I´m not too worried about anything at this point. I´ve probably learned more from teaching her this week than she´s learned from me. Funny how that works.

Believe it or not, this was a really slow week. We only got to work for two days because of trainings that we had to go to, the mission Christmas party, and . . . me being sick in bed. Don´t worry. I´m fine now. Our pensionista is the best and waited on me hand and foot. Soup and everything. That also means that we missed the Christmas devotional tho :( I´m hoping I can get permision to watch it later this week.

Also, I got my Christmas package!!! I may or may not have accidently opened the stocking . . . not my fault, there were pastacios (I think that´s how you spell it*) falling out all over the place. But the other things are still wrapped and I PROMISE I´m not going to open them until Christmas. Or at least I´ll try my hardest . . .

Love you all! Enjoy the cold in Idaho. I´m really missing it right now. 

xoxo,

Amie

P.S. 17 days until Christmas!!!

* the Christmas stocking had pistachios in it . . . helps to have spell check in English :)

My hija!!

First day contacting in the plaza.

Christmas party - We wrap presents really well . . .

IT'S A GIRL!

Merry Christmas to me!!!!! I´m getting an hija (daughter) this transfer! Aka, I´m training! Hna Camacho and Hna Sanchez are leaving (a little sad, but oh well) and I meet my newbie on Wednesday. Gringa?  Latina? I have no idea. But I´m STOKED!! I´ve wanted to train for a while now. I´m sure I´ll have lots more to tell you next week when I know who she is :)

Oh man. I´m happy.

Not just for training. This was an AWESOME week. We had our splits with the sister leaders on Tuesday. Always fun. I love working with Hna Chipunavi! I got to leave and work with her in her sector because they´re super close. I thought my ward was run down and impoverished, but I had my eyes opened again this week. We were literally walking on dirt roads, thru factories and brick mines and things like that all day. It still amazes me how happy the people with the gospel are even though they have close to nothing. It´s a lot easier to recognize here than in the states. Nobody has all the fancy things that we have back home. The ones that don´t have the gospel seem stressed and sad a lot of the time. But the people with the gospel, I don´t know, they´re just happier. Their lives are still very hard, but they have that peace that the others are lacking. Cool to see first hand.

In other news, we have a new family that we´re working with! Erick and Carol and their little boy Pablo. I should probably be used to it by now, but it still amazes me how the Lord prepares people for us to teach. No conversion is easy (for them or the missionaries), but with them, and others like them, you can just tell that they´re ready to change their lives. More about them coming soon.

Ahh, I have so many great stories from this week! Less active members finally coming back, or at least starting to after two months of visiting them. Funny stories with companions and the other hermanas in the apartment. Everything this week was just good!

Also, I got two of the packages!!!! The music and the brownie mix (ps, yall are the best). I may or may not have danced a little bit in the mission office when the elders gave them to me. Thanks :)

Say hello to everybody for me! Sounds like Thanksgiving was great and everyone´s happy. So that makes me happy :)

Love you all!

Hna Chipunavi

Service with Zoraida

I love these girls! But they're crazy!!

It was her birthday!! I didn't know, so I wasn't prepared.  The bread and noodles were my make-shift cake with candles :)

This is a family that I found and was working with for about a month.  They don't live in my sector so the other hermanas started teaching them.  They just got baptized!!