Monday November 5, 2012: Hermana Bowles

 

Hola Familia:

 

I officially feel viejita y abuelita. It is so weird to me that 22 has flown by and I was in Peru the entire time.  Here`s to 23!!  Saturday, Hermana Yolanda (below us) coordinated with some of the sisters in the ward and made my new favorite cake YUCCA!! (no.that does not read  yuck, it is yucca  which is some type of potato or something.)  I know it sounds surprising but yucca cake is absolutely delicious.  We started lunch Saturday with everyone singing a Spanglish happy birthday and feliz cumpleanos and then had yucca cake and inca cola.  It was so cute.  Of course, Hermana Vasquez teased me the whole day, reminding me that now that the hermanas can enter in at 19, I am really a grandma in the mission.

Edith and Nicole are two of our best friends now.  Nicole is practicing for her next singing competition.  She recently discovered that she likes to sing and of course we make her sing a little of something everytime we come over.  W

 

In the sisters conference last month in Lima, President asked all of the sisters to PLEASE be more direct with the people we are teaching.  He said it`s great that we are friendly and amable and smiley and patient, but we should get to the point of baptism. Ever since then, Hermana Vasquez and I have gotten better and better at being more and more direct and to the point.  It`s a great feeling and works so much better in the jungle because sometimes we are with people who just don`t understand.  They believe in God and have lots of faith, but people in the jungle just understand slower.  For example...the other night we were with a family who wants to be baptized but are unsure about getting married. ENTONCES we read in 4 Nefi where God commands everyone to get married.  The conversation went something like this:

So, hermano, who is asking you to get married in this verse..us or God?
And what are you going to say to God. God I will marry my wife? Or God I do not want to marry my wife?
If we find your papers in 2 months, will you marry your wife?
If we can find your birth certificate in 5 days, will you marry your husband?

I hope this doesn`t sound really harsh in English, but the lesson really was fantastic and now we are searching for their papers .  In church yesterday we fed chocolate to the little girls to keep them from crying in Sacrament Meeting.

 

Love always,
Hermana Bowles