Monday, May 23, 2016

Week 37 - "Hey!!!" May 16 - May 22 (Trujillo)



One thing that we learned this week is that sending a package to Peru does not always go as planned.  Jonah requested several things to be sent and we finally put it all together and had it mailed to a private courier who takes the packages to Peru.  It arrived and Lima and then was on a bus to Trujillo.  Well.... the bus was robbed and the package stolen.  We hope someone is really enjoying their new scripture tabs and Cliff Bars and Reese's peanut butter cups!

Hello everybody!!1 This last week has been super duper wack! We've had a ton of stuff to do, and it still doesn't look to be slowing down. But, probably the best thing that happened this last week was interviews! Interviews are just the best. It's really funny actually, ususally interviews, you get all nervous and they're not that enjoyable. They're like something that you have to get through in order to get to something better. But interviews in the mission are so dang sweet. You get one on one time with the assistants, Hermana Marler and President Marler. Honestly so cool. We talked a lot about diligence and making missionary work personal, and that throught these things, we will see greater success on our missions. It's also pretty true for the rest of our lives. As we are diligent and make a special effort to make things personalized for others, we will see greater success in our lives. First, diligence has a lot to do with patience, with hope, with love, with longsuffering, and with desire. When we have all of this, we have diligence. Sometimes, being diligent is super tough, but our recompensa is always worth way more. I also really like this principal of personalizing things. When we personalize what we do, people see that we care. That we love them. Think about the difference between a copy-and-pasted note, generalized to fit everyone's needs, and a hand-written note, specifically for you. Time and effort are shown, which really represents the love behind it. Being personal and being diligent are super important. They're muestras of love. So that's my goal for the rest of my vida. I'm going to try to be more diligent and personal. But yeah, this last week, we've had a ton of things to do and it's been a little stressful, but I'm still loving everything. I'm never bored, which is lo maximo I feel like I'm getting a ton of things done with Elder Price. It's super sad, because Elder Price is going to be going home pretty soon here, and it has been super cool being his companion. He's kinda got a lot of feelings going on right now, which doesn't surprise me at all, just a lot of excitement, nervousness, sadness, happiness, craziness. But yeah, I'll be getting a new companion here in about a week. ¿Quien serĂ ? jaja Alright, I love all of you a whole bunch! I'll talk to you guys next week! Say your prayers, read your scriptures, be diligent and personal! I love you all!!!! 

Elder Babbel and Elder Price

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Week 36 - "Hi everybody!!" May 9 - May 15 (Trujillo)

As a Zone Leader Jonah is involved in planning a lot of meetings.  At one of these meetings they were revealing a goal.  In the pictures you will see that they used color filled balloons to paint the board and reveal their goal.  I think they had some input from Sister Missionaries to help make their meeting creative.  He also has a great story about a man named Ronald who turned his life around and made his family the most important thing in his life.

Hii everybody!! So this last week has been super crazy awesome!!! It's been so intense, there's a lot of stuff going on right now. But the best part of the whole week by far was the baptism we had on Saturday! It was so great. So here's the background story. Ronald Grados and his wife Carmela Ochoa are incredible. They live here in Trujillo, own a restaurant, Ronald's a lawyer, and they are the best. They have 4 kids, 3 girls and 1 boy. 7 years ago, their son got baptized at age 18, but he stopped going to church after about 3 years. Then, about a year and a half, the missionaries came there and baptized the rest of the family and reactivated the son. But they could never baptize the dad. So for the next year and half, the missionaries battled constantly with this guy. But he was one of the muy pocos de PerĂº, and didn't believe in God. But just recently, he's realized the existence of God. He's seen incredible changes in his family and realizes that it could have only come from a supreme being. When I say changes, I mean it. Before, he hated his family. He never was with them. He did some bad stuff in his life, and he had no relationship with his wife or kids. But in that year and a half, he has made a 180 degree turn. Now, he goes to church every Sunday with his family, he helps out in the kitchen, they have family nights at least once a week, he laughs and jokes with his kids, he spends less time at work and more time with everyone else, he offers service all the time, and if he's with his wife, he's holding her hand. He practically a different man, and even his wife says that ''it's like I married a different person'' jaja. But yeah. I just love him and their family so much. SO GREATTT.. But it was just so sweet to be a part of it all. I'm so proud of him, but more than anything, I'm excited for what he'll do as a member of the church. They already have plans to go to the temple, and I should be able to go!! Just 364 days left jaja. Alrighty....so that was basically it, super cool, I'll send you pictures of the whole thing! I love the support that the ward gave him too, it was awesome. Okeydokey!!!! I love you all so much! The gospel changes life for real! I've seen it! Love you bu-bye! 


So we had a meta reveiling the other day and it was sooooooo cool!! We threw darts at balloons filled with paint, and they spilled out of a white paper, but we wrote 22 in vaseline and the paint just runs of it! So sweet! Thanks Hermana Pineda and Hermana Oteo! jaja




My hidden talent of coins sticking to my face. Get on my level.






The baptism! With us, the family, and the ward :)




The baptism! With us, the family, and the ward :) 
The baptism! With us, the family, and the ward :)




Elder Price goes home "expires" on the 31st of May 2016!


 

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Week 35 - "HEllooo!!!1!!" May 2 - May 8 (Trujillo)


It was amazingly awesome to Skype with Jonah on Mother's day.  He is so happy.  Always the happy positive Jonah that we know.  The Zone he is working with is fantastic.  There are more Sister missionaries than Elders in his district and he said it brings a different more mature spirituality to their Zone.  Their zone went to visit some ancient ruins and pyramids in their area and there are a ton of pictures.  The place they visited is called Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna.




Hey! So this week has been just fantastic. Incredible. Stupendous. I got to see my family wujuuu!! It's been a long while since I got to see them face to face, and those moments don't go underappreciated (there's only four in two years jaja con razon) But yeah, I just love my family a lot. And it's so great to see them when I do. But I'm also here in Peru, serving, a long ways from home, because I love them. I think I have grown to love my family more than ever, since I've been out on the mission. I have also grown to appreciate the family I have even more. I have also been able to understand the importance of families more. Families are so important, it's crazy. Without them, the world would devolve and disintergrate until it was complete chaos. The world needs families, and we need to be in families. They are the most important relationships we will have in this life, so we should do and sacrifice everything for them. Let's all show more love to our families, because they're the best thing we've got. Always put your love for your family above any flaw they might have. I'm putting a link to this awesome video at the bottom of the email. It's super awesome! And it's probably one of the most important lessons that we can learn in this life. If you want success in the family, watch it and apply it!

Anyway....This week has been super busy and super crazy. We had this council meeting with all of the zone leaders in the whole mission, with Pres. and Sis. Marler and the Asistentes. It was incredible! Then we did this awesome service for a non-profit elementary school. It was super sketchy and dirty, but we made it a little less so jaja. We've got a zone training tomorrow, and we've been planning a whole bunch for it....because we have to teach most of it. 

I'm loving life a lot. The mission is the best thing that has happened to me so far in my life, and I'm only a third of the way done. So excited for the next 16 months!!! Also...I've got some sweet fotos of some ruins in Peru for this week! Look it up for some of the info, it's called Templo de la Luna y el Sol (Temple of the Moon and the Sun). I love you all so much! Check out the video! Stay classy!


best zone pic ever





The plaza de armas in Trujillo!

Elder Babbel and Elder Price


Random members from Spain that were here, that's cool



McDonalds is in my area jajaja







We like corn flakes I guess


Cooking our dinner.


Cooked to perfection



The first little room thing is for human sacrifices. Yummy!