February 6, 2017 — Week 19!

February 08, 2017

Hey everyone!

This week has been great! Sadly, the 2 baptisms we had for the 4th of February fell through, but they were rescheduled for later! We should definitely have one this Saturday! (That is, if we're still in this sector... We hear about transfers tonight. They'll be tomorrow. Elder de Arce and I are hoping to stay, but we'll see what happens!)

Fast sunday was last sunday, and let me tell you, blessings really do come when you fast. We had 4 investigators come to church (whether or not they stayed the full 3 hours I'm not sure), but 4 is more than usual for us! We later had some amazing lessons. We knocked a door, and talked to someone who didn't seem to interested at first, but then I asked if we could share something with her, and she accepted! We had a lesson at the door since we didn't have another male with us to enter, but by the end, she prayed with such a sincere spirit, and we didn't even have to explain how to pray! She then left us with a fruit, and then we left. I really hope we can return! We had a couple more lessons that day, and all of them went really well. We contacted a reference from the old Bishop, and he's awesome! He's about 22 years old. Accepted baptism and everything. He pretty much said "I will go and do the things the Lord commands" which is always awesome to hear from someone you're teaching.

Although we had some pretty rough lessons this week with some investigators that had been progressing before, we still had some great lessons too! We really have seen changes in people, and I know that the spirit has been working with them, even if they can't always recognize it.

I'm so grateful for the spirit in my life. Every week I just receive strength from the spirit, and I know that I would not be having even a bit of success without the spirit. The spirit really is the teacher, and we're just guides. Teaching others to feel the spirit really allows them to feel the blessings that can come when they follow the example of Jesus Christ in their lives.

As always, we had some great food this week. Home made burrito-type things (Thank heavens with Spinach instead of lettuce, so we could eat it), chocolate cake, cookies that our pensionista made because she received a recipe from my mom, lomo saltado, and more! Even though today our stomaches have been hurting a bit (and we're not sure exactly why), we still eat all the food because it is so good. The trips to the bathroom are worth it afterwards.

Today for p-day we went to the Center of Lima and visited the catacombs! Although we weren't allowed to take photos (so I have nothing to show you all), it was still a great visit! They do tours in English too, so maybe I'll return to do that if I have an english speaking companion one day. I did get some pictures outside though, and it seriously looks like London or New York in some of the places there, since there are old giant buildings, cathedrals, churches, and more! Lots of native peru stores too!

Funny ish stories this week. My bag broke again... That's not funny. But thank heavens the other elders from San Miguel 2 had an old Adidas bag in their room that they didn't want, so I'm using that now!

Some guy yelled out "Gringo!" as we passed by a store, and I just said "hi" back! That happens a lot here, especially in other sectors I've heard

It's so crazy that last Saturday marks 4 months in the mission for me. Time really goes by fast if you just work hard and don't think about it. I'm pretty sure that when the time comes to leave, I'll just want to stay another month.

I hope you've all had a great week!

Con mucho amor,

--Elder Bruner