Anda Peru

Another month gone by, hope you all enjoyed Halloween.. here in Peru there aren`t many that celebrate like we do.. it has a bad rep here.. they say it`s a satanic day.. but there were quite a few kids in costumes asking for candy.. they don`t go house to house like we do, but rather shop in shop.. because there are a lot of little stores one the streets. I was thinking about the usual ward carnival we had and wishing there would have been something similar here. 

This week was a little bit slower for us, but ended up being a good one! We are working towards getting David to be baptized this Saturday, but if we don`t finish his lessons we will postpone it until next week. He is doing really well and is enjoying the lessons.. he is a little shy and doesn`t ask many questions unless in a really low voice during gospel principles.. haha. But I am sure he will keep progressing.

Anyi is doing great.. even though her family doesn`t want to listen and her parents aren`t super interested and don`t want to give permission for her to be baptized she is sticking with her decisions. She`s 16 and probably one of the most focused girls I have met.. When she started learning about the gospel she changed a whole lot of things. She`s been to church for two weeks now and stays throughout the whole thing. She told us yesterday that she had a boyfriend, but after learning about the holy ghost she said a prayer and asked God if she should be dating him and received a strong answer.. she didn`t hesitate to act on the answer she received. I am so proud of her.. and am praying her parents will soften their hearts.

We haven`t had much luck finding Franklin this week.. we left a Book of Mormon with his dad to give to him, but we aren`t sure he has gotten it yet. He still hasn`t come to church so we are not sure exactly what we will be deciding to do this week.. if we`ll keep trying a little longer or if we will drop him for a while.. 

Facundo is awesome (8 year old nephew of Miguel who was just baptized). He is probably one of the smartest little boys and his prayers are very sincere.. He is gaining friends in primary and loving being at church, we are starting to teach his older sister Karen who is 19 and a little rebellious, but we think that little by little she will soften up. Miguel´s dad who never has wanted to listen to us finally gave us the opportunity to teach.. so of course we shared the Restoration.. he told us that he really enjoys reading so we are going to bring him a Book of Mormon and I am sure that if he really reads the whole thing and prays about it he too will join with his son and grandson in the church. It´s amazing to see how the Lord works on people little by little to soften their hearts.

Alejandra.. Edith´s little sister is also doing well.. but yet another problem with permission.. her mom says it is really soon for her to be baptized, but she is loving young womens is reading the BoM every day and really putting forth her effort to learn. The young men and women are doing a great job of befriending her and she said that she feels like never before.. she said for the first time she doesn`t feel alone.. I realized that good friends really make a huge difference in our lives.. I am so grateful for the wonderful friends I have had that have pushed me to make righteous decisions.. Be the friend you would like to have.. a frase that we should all put in practice. 

We had an interesting lesson with a younger guy named Renzo.. he didn`t let us teach in order and just wanted to learn about the BoM.. we tried to explain and we invited him to pray.. but he said that it would be better for him to ask his uncle, who is the pastor of his own church.. after about 10 minutes of explaining why it is always better to ask God he didn`t have many desires to keep listening so we headed to another lesson.. Remember that... before looking for help from anyone else.. the first person we should ask is God.. He will always tell the truth, and give us the most perfect answer.. I know that is true, and have really come to have a great testimony of prayer here in the mission.

One day this week all of our lessons fell through and it was about 8 at night... I had an impression to look for a reference that the elders had given us about a month ago.. I had gone to look for her 3 times without success and it wasn`t the time the elders said she was home, but we went anyway.. To my surprise she opened the door and was really happy to see us! She had been wondering when we were going to go and visit her.. she is a very happy 27 year old and loved everything she learned from us.. We are going to keep visiting her and I will keep you updated on her progress. 

Rubi and Jorge are doing really well and are very strong in church. Yesterday Jorge was called to be a ward missionary and we are really excited to get to work with him in these next coming weeks. Rubi cried during testimony meeting yesterday.. the spirit was really strong. I also felt impressed to share my testimony. It was one of the most spiritual experiences.. when I walked up to the pulpit and began to speak I felt as if I was listening to someone else.. my voice was different and not just from the microphone.. I felt every word that I testified.. I know without a doubt in my heart that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church here on the earth.. I know God lives.. He loves us.. no matter who we are or what we have done. If there is anything I have learned in the mission it is that God has a perfect love for His children.. never forget it! I love you all, have a wonderful week!!

Hermana Imbler

P.s. My companion and I in Chilis... mmmmmm (one of the very few american restaurants here in Peru.. first time I have been there and it is just as good!)