Monday August 27, 2012

Hola Familia!!!

dont worrie it all turned out fine with the kid who took my camera. he did go to church and at first he avoided me, which is understandable but as we finished the last class i cornered him and said dont worrie about it i have already forgiven you i put my arm around his shoulders and he cringed a bit and he showed me the bruse from the rock i threw. it was pretty epic and then joking obviously i said "just dont let it happen again or the next time i will aim for your head." i laughed and he laughed (nerviously) and that was where it ended then on thursday we went to work with him. and dispite his diffects he has a strong testimony.

we had a baptism this week Junior Jeanpool Villarreal Espinoza is now a official member of the true church. and his mom is the next victim. that is her in the picture with me.

this week we went exploring new parts of our area. and we also recieved permission to open a small meeting on sunday for the people who live to far away to attend church. in our ward on sunday we had 83 members in attendance and in our "little group" we had 27 which is more than a 4th. it is amazing to see the faith of the people who are a little farther away from the world. on tuesday this last week we held a meeting in the centinela town hall where we talked to a group of 16 people. we taught about joseph smith and the book of mormon i felt like one of those missionaries from the stories and movies from church history. it was awesome. obviously not all of them were willing to feel the testifying spirit on the spot but they all promised to go home and pray and ask. we also left the book of mormon on CD, (because at least half dont know how to read.) and by themselves they set up a meeting everyday at 6 p.m. to come and listen to 2 chapters from the book of mormon. we also have a class set up with a sister from the ward to help them learn to read. Centinela, 3 de mayo, and santa rosa is a fireball. i recieve atleast 1 call from president every 3 days asking me about the area and he has said that he is going to be sending "reinforcements" to the area soon. he has also in this last week sent us probable 200 dollars in church supplies to put to good use in our little four wall dirt floor chapel. 

i have been waiting my whole mission for this experience. my entire mission i have been in "concrete" but it feels so good to be part of something so pure and true. the people here are a "testimony saver" anytime i feel like giving up i look at Hermano Rodriguez that fasted sunday rather than fishing to gain his living. or Hermana Betrice who has 13 kids and only 32 years old. i think about paul who brought 3 friends from work to church with him this week just by singing while he worked the corus of "how great thou art" because that was all he could remember. everytime i have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning i think about Rosa Maria who woke up at 5:30 to get her family ready to go to church. and everytime i feel lazy and dont want to study i think about the smiles and tears of the people who everyday sacrifice their time to come and listen to the scriptures daily in centinela.

i love you fam and i am working as hard as i can

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday August 20,2012

Hola Familia!!!!!

as a missionary we are called to save soals but unfortunately this week i want to share with you how i almost sent someone to the spirit world. we went to the beach this last monday (thus the pictures) and i was with Elder LLaique and Elder Villalba exploring a little cave we found. Elder Villalba was outside guarding our things. well in one moment Elder Llaique and i felt the need to leave the cave so we do. we get back to the beach and the first thing i see i a young man running up the hill. and Elder Villalba was no where to be seen. then out of the clear blue the word camara comes to mind. i look at the backpack where i had left my camera and it wasn't there. everything came together very fast. Elder Villalba for some reason left our stuff unguarded and some jerk saw his opportunity. i yelled at elder llaique that i had been robbed and took off after this kid. i have never ran faster than in that moment. i got to the top of the hill and i saw him getting on a bike and then the word ROCK came to my mind i grabbed a rock and threw. i NAILED him in the back he obviously fell off the bike and together elder Llaique and i were able to claim what was rightfully mine. but the saddest part is that this jerk is a member of the church. i just grabbed my camera and said "we'll see you in church on sunday" and i left about 10 feet later i fell shaking to my knees and thanked god for helping me. he gave me the strength to save my camera. it sounds like something kinda dumb but i have almost a years worth of pictures and i would never be able to have them again.

well fam sorry so short but not much happened this week. we went to lima 2 times this week so we weren't in our area very much next week will be better. 

i love ya fam and always remember that i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday August 13, 2012

Hola familia!!!!

one week more one week less. but it was a ok week. last monday in the afternoon we got a phone call in the middle of my nap telling us that Elder Carlos had transfers and that he needed to be in lima latter that same day. so we rushed and shoved all his stuff in a big plastic bag because we didnt have time to put it comfortably in his suitcase and at 3 ish he was on a bud headed to lima. my new companion, Elder Villalba, is from Paraguay and his is very cool. we went to work hard thursday (that is when he finally arived) and we had a good rest of the week.

we were a little disappointed yesterday, it was DO OR DIE sunday which means if we had investigators in church they could be baptised in august and if not they would be for september. and eventhough a few showed up there wasnt enough. it is now inevitable we are not going to be able to accomplish our goal for this month. but we are looking forward to september and we are still working hard. the ward is getting better too. eventhough they arent helping us yet at least we have put a stop to the gossiping.

i had a awesome experience yesterday in Elder Quorem. they were talking about their visits and they said the frase "NEXT WEEK" alot. and it started to annoy me. so i asked permision from the president and stood at the chalk board and wrote one of my favorite frases. "if not me who, if not now when" i then said very directly. NEXT WEEK is too late. and sat down. they got to an agreement and later that day we had 6 companionships out visiting all the less active members of our ward. as we finished the class a man approached me someone who i had never seen in my life before yesterday and asked me my name and i responded and he said "now it makes sence, President Torres (stake president from ventanilla) told me about you and now i see why. you have good batteries elder dont loose them this ward needs it." i later discovered that it was President Samanamut, stake president here in Huacho. i was honored to know that the great man President torres said such fond words about me. it was a great experience and gave me even more desires to work.

latter that day i was talking to a RM who had learned english in his mission i asked him how long ago he came home but in reality i said "how long ago you got home?" i was amaized as the words came out of my mouth. i am afraid of my homecoming talk i am not sure if i will be able to speak!!!

to be honest from contact to contact the only thing i try and think about is "where is the next contact" i try not to think of home. sometimes i will ask my companion a question about his country or something from his life to try and get to know him better.

Hermana Dorius is a goof. she speaks very little spanish but she has a huge heart so it isnt important. she is alot like amy in the sence that she walks around with a camera around her neck. i hope one day she will share some pictures with me. speaking of pictures i dont have any to send. i have yet to take any good ones here. it is hard to walk with my camera because i am afraid someone will rob us but i will try to take some today to send next week.

i have been meaning to tell you this last week i bought another sweater with my card and the week before a jump rope.

well fam it is time to go but know that i love my mission and i love you and always remember i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday August 6, 2012

Hola familia!!!

well it was another week full work 24 / 6.5 (for p day :) ) we had a amazing week eventhough challenges with my companion have once agian started we havent let that stop us from having the best week this area has seen in a long time. the lord has really put in alot of work in this area while there was some relaxed missionaries here to care for it. they didnt know how to take advantage of the opportunities that the lord presented to them so we are now enjoying double the blessings. i applied the good old President Dorius advice again and we went to new areas and man did we find some awesome people. it is a little pueble called centanela and in our first week there we have had a ton of success. it is a little ways out from our area right by the beach front, but that fact alone causes us some problems the biggest of which is church attendance. it is too far to walk (unless you are a missionary in that case you always walk) and too expencive for them to pay for a moto. i told president about it when he called to congradulate us for the work we have done in 2 short weeks and he told me that tomorrow he will be here for a confrence and he will stop by to see what we can do about opening a little group out there, with yours truely as the president. hmmm things could get interesting very fast. 

our first day in centanela was a miracle in itself. we entered town with no idea where to start. so i say to my companion lets just start tracting. he asked where and i answered that isnt important because there were people ready to recieve the gospel here, we just had to find them. the first door we knocked we entered the house. we taught about joseph smith and the Book of Mormon and she accepted a baptismal date. this wednesday we decided to dedicate all our time there and she promised to invite her neighbors and family to be present in the lesson at 4. . . . well it is time to get started..

i love you fam and i thank you for your prayers because i know without them i would be nothing. your prayers are the power in my feet and the wind at my back. take good care of yourselves this week. i hope to have many more stories for you next week i love you and always remember, i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday July 30, 2012

Hola familia!!!!

 

well i did what i said i was going to do. i came in my area with a open heart and mind ready to work and do good for the saints here in Huaura but my nightmare soon came to be truth every rummor i had heard is true. but that isnt going to stop me or slow me down. but i know understand why president dorius has put me in my other areas . . . it was to prepare me for this one. in lampa de oro we had no members to work with. in Trapiche we had no leadership to work with. in Santo Domingo we had to organize in order to better use our resources and time because the area was so big and spread out. and in ventanilla i started at point 0 in the sence of investigators . . . . well my new area is all of these combined. my area is about the size of south weber . . . and i mean all of south weber from riverdale to highway 89 (i remember the streets!!!!) and once again we are at point 0. as i was leaving to take my bus president dorius threw me a challange . . . "i hope for a perfect month" or in other words 5 baptisms and 5 confirmaciones. i took it to heart and i promised myself i would do everything i know how to in order to fulfill my promise. but only now am i realizing just how hard it is going to be. but i am not discouraged. i am not tired. and I AM NOT GOING TO QUIT.

 

Elder Carlos is just like i knew him, in missionary terms TRUNKY (incredably relaxed.) he has been here for about 3 months and his last companion was in is last transfer before going home. but as we finished our first day Elder Carlos told me that he was a follower and not a leader. that he was glad he finally had a companion who would push him. i just hope he sticks with that mentality because i plan to push and streatch to the very limit of my strength. we have started to wake up at 5:30 not 6:30 thus advancing our day by one hour in order to have that little extra time that we so desperatly need right now.

 

but the worst part about my area is . . . we are in the boonies. every 4 days or so a huge water truck passes to fill our water tank that we have on top of our house because curently they are repairing the water lines well if we shower everyday like we should by the third day we dont have water. thus we end up doing a shower fast for a day. and obviously if we dont have running water we dont have a water heater so it is freezing water but it is the only other choice.

 

so all in all fam this is the test at the end of the year that we all loved so much while in school. i hated filling in those little dots. this is where i have come to die (once again missionary language). i liked what you said in your email mom about how this could be my BEST. but you wrote BEAST haha but i am excited.l

 

remember that i love you all and i am always working as hard as i can!!!!

 

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday July 23, 2012

Hola Familia!!!!

 

well we knew it was coming and it came and with it brought a head ache. . . i am basically starting all over again. i am going to the Zona HUACHO, Area HUAURA 2 and as they announced it the first comment that was made was that it is easier to use sticks and stones than the ward leaders in missionary work, the second comment was that we would have to take turns bringing the keys to church sudays because the bishop hardly goes to church. . . i am trying not to hear all of the comments with both my ears open one so that it can enter and the other so that it can exit but i have to say i am kinda worried. they did tell me that the pension there is one of the best in our mission so atleast there is a sunny side.

 

i will be working with Elder Carlos, i was in the same zone as him in Santa Isabel so i know who he is atleast. he is about 5 foot nothing and like Elder Calle he is from Trujillo. Elder Carlos is . . . or at least was very very relaxed the last time i saw him i just hope and pray that we dont smash heads too hard. i guess only time will tell how my future will go. Huacho is about 3 hours in bus from the offices and then to my area is another 45 minutes as i found that out i commented to president dorius that he is sending me to a area so he can forget about me for the next 7 months and i wont be suprised if it is true. it is crazy to think that this might be my last area. but be it my last i am going to turn up the power.

 

yesterday we had a lesson with Familia Taboada and it was one of the hardest lessons i have ever been in. the spirit was so so so strong. we talked about how they have progressed in the last 2 months or so and how they have gone to "hiding from us" to having a wedding date closly followed by a baptism date. they promised to send me pictures but i am still kinda sad that i wont be able to experience it with them.

 

saturday we had a activity with the young men and women of the ward. we organized them like a mission and sent them out to their areas. they tracted for about 2 hours straight. we went back to the church and talked about our experiences. we had a small testimony meeting and it was one of the most beautiful moments i have had on my mission. it is going to be hard to leave this area especially after all that has changed but like you said dad, i cant look back just forward. i know that even though my new area might be dead i know now with out a doubt that god has power to change even the hardest hearts.

 

i love you all and always remember i am working as hard as i can.

 

Elder Landon R. Welch.

 

p.s. the pictures this week are from last P day, we celebrated all the birthdays in our zone with good old fasioned hot dogs and potato chips, a small slice of something i miss.

 

and of my companion. i have riden him hard these last few months i hope he doesnt hate me for it but i know that one day he will be greatful that we didnt waste one second.

 

and last week it is true i didnt tell you about the pictures. . . it was my farewell dinner with the stake president and his family and the Taboada Family

Monday July 16, 2012

Hola familia!!!!

 

well one week more one week less. it kinda sucks when you know that your transfer is coming because you honestly loose a little bit of your desires. i used to dread transfers because they gave you so little time to say goodbye to people, who in such a short time, have come to know and love . . .  but now it makes sense.

 

i am glad that the trek went well, that you were able to feel the spirit this week because despite of my trials i too felt the spirit this week. i prayed every night and morning that you were enjoying the trek and that you weren't too tired to get up the next day and start over again. and i know now that my prayers were answered.

 

i am still having a few troubles with my companion. but we are trying to just go with the flow our last week together and i hope to put the good old boy scout saying to use. "leave it better than when you found it." and i realized that is how it should be with our lives in general. i look at the people i have known in my mission and i ask. . . was i a influence for good in their lives? did i help them grow closer to Christ? and unfortunately the answer hasn't always been yes. i think back to the first of my mission, inexperienced, immature, uncaring and i wish i could go back to Lampa de Oro and try again. there were so many people there who were ready to hear the gospel but we didn't really take the time to help them out. they closed the area and i have no idea what those people are doing with their lives now. i just hope that in some way they remember the simple testimony of a 19 year old kid who almost couldn't bare it with the language difference.

 

but i now see the progress i have made as a missionary and as a person and i hope and pray that my new area will be just as full of spiritually prepared people as there are here. i have said it before but i will say it a thousand times i am so glad to be a missionary. i can honestly say that the stories of these people never repeat. their lives are always different and their needs will always differ. but one thing never EVER changes and that is the solution. . . the gospel. i invite all my family and friends, be you week in the gospel or week in the knees, to put this challenge to the test. I KNOW THAT THIS GOSPEL IS THE THING THAT WE ARE SOMETIMES MISSING IN OUR LIVES!!! i think about the general conference talk this last April. about being active in the church, and less active in the gospel. . . are we willing to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before. . . those who gave their lives before denying the only pure and true thing that exists in this world . . . those who suffered to follow a prophet thousands of miles to reach Zion. . . or him that suffered, bled, and died in order to save us of the one thing that holds us back in life, ourselves. if you don't believe or are unwilling to follow i promise you that your life is incomplete. i can promise you that the pleasures of this life have no meaning in the eternities and that the happiness that only god can offer is within your reach you just have to be willing to extend your hand and take his.

 

i love you all i miss you all but remember i am always working as hard as i can.

 

Elder Landon R. Welch