Off to Trujillo...

Hey Everyone!

 

Well, everything went well this week. Hna. Maricruz was baptized and confirmed and we were able to finish the cambio with a progressing investigator. We're really struggling with refrences from members and our lessons were really low this week, but even then, we saw progress in the most important investigators.

It's always really exciting to see people making covenants with the Lord. Nothing went wrong this time for the baptism, well almost nothing. I guess one of the members decided that the font was full and stopped the water before it finished filling. When I opened up the font to see what was up, I found it really low, but we didn't have enough time to fill it up all the way. It's a good thing I was baptizing someone small or it would have been really difficult. She really had to dubble over to imerse herself all the way.

But other than that, all has been going well. I got the call saying that I'm headed out to Por Venir, Trujillo. I'm really depressed about leaving Ascope, though. When my companion was talking to the district leader and told me that I'd be heading out, it really hit me. I guess I was expecting to stay in the area and keep working and getting to know the people, but I got shortcutted. I guess I couldn't get too comfortable here. So off to Trujillo it is. I'm excited to see my new area a zone and work hard to serve the Lord. It'll be the first time that I'll be  in the city part of Trujillo, so that should be different. Even if it isn't the best area.

 

Hope all is well and that everyone is enjoying vacations!

Elder Seth Prestwich

A Birthday in Perú!

Hello Everyone!

 

Well, the last week went by pretty great. Hna. Korin was confirmed and that same day went out with a sister from the ward to do some visiting teaching. So she's really on the ball and is accepted into the ward. I was really happy to see that she's comfortable in Relief Society and has friends among the members. I have high hopes for her and really feel like she'll be able to endure to the end.

 

Other than that, a few of the members made me things for my birthday. One family treated me to a wonderful Lunch and another made me quite an amazing birthday card. I'll show you the pictures when I can. But the day went by well, we had success in finding new investigators. We had a really good reference from a member as well, so we're hoping he'll be able to progress.

 

I also got a wonderful gift from Hna. Korin. She was in Trujillo, and while she was there, she bought us Maple Syrup (which doesn't really exist down here, only in one store in Trujillo that has North American foods) for pancakes! So we'll be enjoying that sometime this week. I'm pretty excited to taste that again.

 

Elder Castro and I also have activities every Friday night to help with the work. The idea is that the members will bring friends to the activity or that they'll get to know us better and be willing to help us. It works pretty well. We teach something short, then play games or sports, something like that. And it's fun to play some traditional games from the US that the members haven't seen before. For example, the Friday before the last, pretty much all of the Young Single Adults showed up, but only them. We had about 15 people and I wondered what we could do that they'd enjoy. So we played Mafia. It was pretty entertaining, but it worked great with the YSA. The game is a whole lot different than anything they have down here, so it was really funny to see their reactions. But they were laughing and accusing and enjoyed it a lot.

 

By the way, I would love to hear a list of games suggestions and such that I could do for these activites.

I also want to do a Family Feud type game, so little completitions in that sense would be appreciated too.

 

I hope all is going great for everyone! I'm doing quite well and am really happy to be here doing the Lord's work.

Take care!

Elder Seth Prestwich

Careful on Friday the 13th.... Especially you, Dad. =P

We had quite the adventure of a baptism this week. It seemed as if everything we going to go smoothly when we woke up that morning, but life had other plans.

Our baptism was scheduled for Sunday after church on Sunday, so we left in the morning to fill the font, and there wasn't any water. That tends to be a problem when you have to dunk someone completely underwater. So we called the Bishop, the other members, we did everything to get it working, but there wasn't any solution. Members were trying to fix the problem during church even, but in the end, we had to tell Hna. Korin (our investigator) that we weren't going to be able to baptize her here. We suggested Casa Grande (30 minute bus ride) but that was too far and she was pretty sad. But the members came to the rescue and suggested that we go to a nearby river to do it.

 

Baptisms in rivers are adventures, just throwing it out there. We all hopped onto the bus and left to the river. The service was nice, but Elder Castro had lots of trouble making it to a deep part of the river. He was super timid and it turns out, it was the first time he'd ever been in a river before. We could tell... It was super funny seeing him try to get around. But he managed to get out there and baptise Hna. Korin. So all turned out well in the end, despite the havoc (emotionally speaking as well) that happened in the morning. But just as long as the havoc isn't for the investigator, all's well.

 

Well, I'm out of time, but I hope everyone can enjoy this coming week. Thanks for the letters and updates!
Elder Seth Prestwich

Hna. Flor was baptized!

Well, Hna. Flor was baptized! The baptism was super hectic, but it all turned out well in the end. The members really supported her and gave her a great welcome into the ward. I felt a happy security that she'll be able to endure to the end. She'll always want to be a part of the ward and the ward will take care of her as well. It was great to see that.

The only problem is that she wasn't confirmed. We'll get right on that....

Other than that, Hna. Korin is preparing for a baptism this week and she's really excited. She's read a good part of the Book of Mormon and has prayed about it several times. She's told us that she knows it comes from God and feels welcome in the ward as well. I'm super happy with what they're doing to help the new converts and investigators. We really owe a lot to them.

My companion and I are still getting along great and working hard to help people come unto Christ. We're keeping diligent and always becoming better missionaries and people. We're not going to slack off on the Lord's errand. Anything that we're not doing well, we're changing.

And I got some wonderful news! The Elders in Huanchaco (my first area, well, only other area....) were able to baptize another family that I worked really hard with! We spent so much time teaching Paul, Rina and her family. They never quite made it to baptism when I was there, but they finally made it with the support of the ward! So Hna. Blanca, Hna. Judith, and Paul and his family were able to make covenants. It's great to hear that those people that I was teaching continued and made the choice to follow Christ.

Oh, and thanks so much for the package!! I'm SO excited to eat all the candy and I'll wait to open the present on my birthday. But I'm super greatful. I got super excited to see that huge package when they handed it to me.

I hope everyone is doing great! Sorry that nothing too interesting happend this week. More work than anything. We saw some great miracles with the help of the members.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, EVERYONE!!

Elder Seth Prestwich

The Gift of Glasses...

Well, this week turned out to have quite a few ups and downs, but, when all is said and done, it was a good week. We now have two baptismal dates (Hna. Flor and Hna. Cori), so we're working hard with them. They're both progressing and excited to be baptized. If all goes through well, one will be baptized the 30th of June and the other the 8th of July. But we're looking for someone who will be ready for July 14th as well (that'd be a pretty sweet birthday present, if you ask me). There are a few possible people, so we're focusing on them as well.

Other than that, I've had good heath. My companion had to go to the dentist to yank his tooth out. He's feeling pain, but I imagine he'll recover quickly. He's not one to be held down for long. But we're still getting along well and working hard. We're getting excited to start seeing baptisims in the area.

 

Out whole zone also had the chance to help out the community this week. A group of eye doctors came down from the United States (from Utah, mostly members) to give out glasses to the people in Perú. I guess Trujillo has really bad eyes. He told me that it's one of the worst cases of eye disease in the world. So they came down to try and help them see again. There was just one problem-- only one or two of them spoke Spanish. So that's where we came in. We translated all the things that the Peruvians were saying so we could help them find the glasses they were looking for and communicate their problems so they doctors could help them. That and those who didn't speak english worked as helping hands. But there were thousands (literally) of people who came in to get glasses. It was super crouded and just a fairly organized chaos, but it we were able to help a ton of people. They brought millions of glasses to give to these people. Crazy. But we could see how grateful they were to get that help. Especially those who had other medical problems, because there was no way they they could spend the money to buy new glasses. But, man, did we see some really bad eyes...

 

I also got to see my first firework castle! They have a tradition of building these massive, flimsy wooden frames of a castle (like a spire of a castle). They then fill the frames with levels and levels of fireworks. They light one massive fuse in the middle and it slowly works its way up to light each level of the castle. It had about 12-15 levels or so and each level lasted 2-3 minutes. It got bigger and better (and more dangerous) with every level. It was pretty exciting to see the fireworks so close, though I definitely felt better taking the back row.

 

Well, I'm out of time, but I hope everyone's doing great! Take care! I'll be praying for everyone.

Elder Seth Prestwich

One More Week...!

Well, we're still working on placing baptismal dates, but we have high hopes for this next week. We have a few investigators that are prepared and ready, they just need to overcome their doubt and fear. We'll have to rely on the Spirit to do that one, so we're studying hard to help them feel the spirit in the lessons and from their commitments. We have faith that if we work hard, we'll see changes in the area this week.

Other than that, I'm pumped to work and help the people here. I know we'll be able to see change and progress soon, so I'm not giving in even a tiny bit. My health is good and my spirits are up, so we'll pray faithfully to recieve the guidance of the Spirit.

 

So I just have an interresting culture fact this week. I always passed the shoes that were hanging from the power lines in the streets But when I asked my Chilean companion why they were there, he told me that when he finished school, he would throw his shoes on the power lines with his friends. So I thought it was something normal. But my companion taught me this week that it's to show respect for the people who've died. So if someone dies near that area, they throw of pair of their shoes on the lines and leave it there. It's funny how the culture can change so much just between two bordering countires.

 

Sorry I don't have much time this week. Hope all is well!

Elder Seth Prestwich

Marco's Baptism!

Well, little Marcito was finally baptized! He decided that this last week was fine and he got pretty excited about it by the end. During the baptism, I could see the spirit that he felt. He was very calm and smiling after the baptism and even had watery eyes after his confirmation. It was cool to be able to baptize him and it was really awesome to see that and help him find that happiness. Now he'll be able to endure to the end with the help of all his siblings. It was really awesome to see all of them reach the waters of baptism and make those convenants.

 

Other than that, we're working really hard with a few other people. We have one or two people who will possibly be baptized this Saturday, but no specific baptismal dates. We'll be praying and working hard for a miracle in one of our investigators!

 

Other than that, I had a work visit with my district leader. That went really well and I learned a lot from him. He's a good missionary and has changed a whole lot in his mission. I love to listen to his experiences and see how one can grow in the mission.

 

And as for another note of good news, the drunk that always chases us down screaming "Joseph Smith! Joseph Smith!" moved to Italy! He told us he was leaving, but we didn't take him seriously. He was the strangest man I've ever met.... He told us that he's prayed to know that the Book of Mormon is true and he recieved his answer, but we could never teach him or talk with him about it because he was drunk every day. He asked me one day to take him the the US becase he'd be able to find a better life there, but I'm afraid that he'd just find alochol and live the same. Poor guy. Too bad we couldn't help him with something, but he's gotta make his own descision to change. There are some interresting characters here in Perú.....

 

The whole valley (well, all the little farming cities) lost power one night as well! At 7:00 the entire town went super dark! And nobody had back up lights and there were very few flashlights. So when it went dark, it went really dark. We had to head back to the room and rest a few hours early. It'd be really nice, but we missed a really important appointment. But other than that... I got a few hours more of sleep!

 

My companion woke up shiverring this morning. I just woke up feeling normal. I asked him why he wouldn't get out of bed, and he told me that it was just way too cold. I didn't get it. It was completely backwards to how it was before. I was the one always cold! Just one of those odd moments when the world felt a little backwards...

 

Hope all is going well, thanks for the emails!

Elder Seth Prestwich