Update from Talara!

Photos first this time...

 

Angel, Lucas, and their bunnies

The ice cream man biked miles on a gravel road out to the beach to sell his ice cream... such a champ!

Oops.

Hna Liliana with her sweet daughter Natalie

Average tracting day

Pte Aguilar and his family

 

It´s funny how some of the hardest weeks can be the most miraculous at the same time!

Tuesday morning I was telling Hna Shumway that my throat had started hurting the night before and she was like ME TOO -- and thus it began. We were way sick with head colds all week but it was also one of the most productive weeks of my mission -- not sure how that happens...actually yes I am! Blessings from our Heavenly Father. 

We knocked whole manzanas (that´s what they call a block of houses here) and got just about everything -- Catholics who opened the door and informed us they were Catholic before we got a word in, people who seemed hopeful in the first 30 seconds of conversation until they mentioned they were a pastor in their Evangelist group, & Jehovah´s Witnesses. Mix that with blowing our noses every 5 seconds -- not fun. But every single time something told us ¨just keep going¨ and HOLY COW we saw so many miracles! It was always the last door or the unexpected contact but we found tons of new investigators.

My favorite of which was from yesterday... It never ocurred to me that you could relate the gospel to hip hop until we met Alejandro! He´s 20 years old, has a tattoo, and a giant bruise on his head from getting robbed at gunpoint last week -- but he doesn´t have a religion and is honestly super receptive! We´re excited to visit him again. 

Also there was a day this week when the members were practically fighting each other to accompany us -- haha no seriously, 2 members Sonia and Marjorie both wanted to accompany us at the same time -- so we did divisions! 

Other highlights:

- We taught an investigator Kattiy who lives in a super small one-room house on this tall hill overlooking the whole city -- we were feeling an ocean breeze, seeing the coast in the distance, and teaching The Restoration of the gospel and I was thinking my life is so cool! 

- Also had intercambios in Sullana with my hilarious chileana, Hermana Arenas! Seriously she is definitely one of the funniest people I´ve met and made up for how BOILING HOT Sullana is! Love intercambios. 

And I realized I haven´t even said much about my A-MAZING comp!!

Hermana Shumway is seriously the greatest. Have I mentioned it´s her last transfer in the field?? (in mission language this means that I´m going to ¨kill¨ her, haha) But she is honestly the hardest worker and is such a great people person. I´m learning tons from her!!

Last thought for today: I´ve taught The Restoration of the gospel probably hundreds of times by now, but I never ever get tired of teaching it.

I know that Christ has restored His church on the earth today. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know it, I know it, I know it. And it is the greatest experience helping others to know as well -- through the power of the Holy Ghost -- our teacher, comforter, and he who testifies of truth. 

xoxo,

Hermana Parks