Monday November 26, 2012

Hola Familia!!!

Another week come and gone and i have to say it was a good week even though we didnt have much time to work but that is all going to change starting tuesday. WHY!?!?! . . . . . . . . drumroll please . . . . . . . .  I am going to Sayan it is going to be my only responsibility from here on out. the only bad part is that to make that possible like i said last week they had to absorb Centintella that now doesnt exist. i just hope the members of Huaura can take care of them better than they do for themselves. but going to sayan isnt the best part . . . . . . . . i am going with ELDER VILLALBA!!!!!! they didnt spit us up. and opening a new area means that he will most likely be my last companion. WOO HOO i just hope he can last 7 hole months with me. one thing is for sure he is the companion that has lasted the longest.

we spent the week getting everything set in sayan and that in itself is another miracle in the progress of Sayan. i am not sure if i told you last week but we are going to be our own Pensionistas. we have to cook and wash all our clothes. so keep that small fact in your prayers but i want to share the experience we had with you. we went looking and didnt have much success in finding a room. the only one we found that was at least decent was a one room 0 windows basically garage that they had refurbished. well what can you do we just got to work getting everything in order to move into our new room. well this last week i was looking at some info in my agenda and i saw the number from a room i Sayan that we called but were asking way to much for the rent. well my good friend "Spirit" said to me. "why dont you call him and see if he wont drop the price" so i called and i started to explain that we are missionaries and that we aren´t even in the room for the most part of the day. he cut me off mid sentence and said "missionaries from what church" and in that moment i had lost hope because i knew that our neighbors (also his renters) were catholic missionaries so i was certain that he was going to refuse our offer. but with all the pride i could muster i said "LA IGLESIA DE JESUCRISTO DE LOS SANTOS DE LOS ULTIMOS DIAS" and his response was almost angelical. "oh well well then you are my brothren. i am a member of the church in Huacho." come to find out not just a member but the stake patriarch. well long story short he was willing to drop the price almost 50% from what he was asking. now we have a small house two rooms a small kitchen. nothing more or less than what we need. 

i spent my birthday buying the stove and fridge and all the other appliances we are going to need in Sayan and i must say it was a good birthday. also thursday morning i received permission to go fishing with one of our converts that was a cool experience too. the tide washed in a ton of tiny fish that got traped in the rocks well we used them for bait and look at what i caught. "lenguado" is the name of that fish. and my convert sold it for 26 soles not a bad catch huh.

as for your questions mom i am sorry to say no package yet but tomorrow i am going to Lima for the transfer meeting and so i will be able to see if it is in the offices. as for my release date i have known for a little while but i have been debating telling you for fear that if i do it will all become real that my mission is coming to a close. kinda like when i got my call and it only hit me after i did my facebook update haha. Elder Landon R. Welch is due to be released the 19th of february. (unfortunately) but tell bro sjoblom that i still have 3 months left and not to rush me :) and then tell him that i love him and his family. 

well fam it is off to pack and hit the road we are going to try to get all our stuff to sayan today so that means alot of car rides. but remember that i miss you a ton, that i love you more, and that i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday November 19, 2012

Hola Familia!!!

wow what a week. we had our first offical meeting in sayan. and what a spiritually powerful day. i dont think i have felt the spirit so strong since the start of my mission. my companion gave a talk and spoke on how every great thing in the church started out small and humble. it brought a beautiful spirit to our "small and Humble" room where we held the meeting and i couldnt help but thinking that it was the same in this case, that sayan eventhough humble now will be something great in the future. friday i spent the day looking for appartments in sayan i think it is going to be unavoidable now. i cant imagine a sayan without elder villalba but i guess that is how life as a missionary is. 

we had a interesting pday last week i saw things i never had imagined. if you look at the pictures i sent there is one that says "CARAL" it is spelt with plants and the interesting part about these plants i that they dont have roots. they just sit on the surface of the sand and some how live. it is a old Jaredite village that dates back to almos 5000 years before christ. it made me laugh as our tour guide said that they werent sure how they got here. . . . . Well my friend would you like to know? because you see i have this book that can tell you all you want to know about these people where they came from how they got here how they died. you just have to read and pray to know if it is true. but unfortunatly i didnt have the chance to talk to him.

the other fotos of the kids are two of he kids of Javier and Liliana and as you can see they are too small to be baptised they have a daughter who is 10 years old and is already baptised but javier looks forward to baptising his other kids. one thing is sure is that Sayan is a bomb waiting to burst.

as for other news they decided to combine our group in Centinela and Huaura into one i was worried about the members from Centinela. i wasnt sure how they would be able to attend but lo and behold they made the sacrifices to do it and i didnt miss a single one yesterday. that makes my load a little lighter.

well fam it is off to rest i love you and remember that i am working as hard as i can

Elder Landon R. Welch

 

 

Monday November 12, 2012

Hola Familia!!!

wow what a stressful but spiritually fulfilling week. to be short THEY GOT MARRIED AND BAPTIZED and the best part is that they did it on the same day so the 11th of november will be a day for them to remember forever. but now comes the miracles. wednesday we went to sayan and only found Hermana Liliana in home. she invited us in but seemed to be faking her smile. and we soon discovered why. she explained how Javier had lost his job and that was  why he wasnt home . . . he was out looking for a job. she then explained how they wouldnt have enough money to pay for their wedding papers that needed to be presented the next day. we did our best to show them a strong face and left not knowing what we were going to do. it was too late to ask the ward to cover the costs and i was lost i said a little prayer in my heart and accepted the will of the lord. 

that evening we had ward counsel and as i stood to talk about sayan, which was one of the hardest things i had to do, i began to cry like the baby i am. the stress had come crushing down and that little couple in sayan was the straw that broke the camels back. i explained that even though we had worked very hard and did everything humanly possible . . . we were not going to have a group in sayan. then with out saying a word. our little old ward mission leader stood and offered us 10 soles. and that was the ice breaker. one by one the members of the ward counsel stood and gave me a little something. i offered my thanks but told them that i couldnt accept it because Liliana and Javier wouldnt be able to pay them back. they told me that it wasnt important. that was a awesome experience for me. 

next miracle, we sent them the money and everything was a-ok. then thursday night we get a call. from the town hall telling us that the couple that we were going to marry was missing 1 dumb document and that they would not be able to be married. once again a huge lump came to my throat and practically begging i ask the young lady to look again . . . . nothing. i say a quick prayer and ask once again . . . the young lady now losing her patience looked and nothing. then from nowhere the idea came to have her look in the file of Javiers Uncle that lives in Huaura and . . . . . it was there. i was so happy i once again cried. 

but the best part of this week end is the testimony Javier gave after his baptism. he is going to be a great leader in Zion. 

well fam you are probably asking why so early and the reason is that we are going to go to caral today for pday so i am off but know that i love you and that i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

p.s. no packages yet:(

p.s.s. my companion is from paraguay.

Monday, November 5th, 2012

Hola Familia!!

i finally had a good connection and i took advantage of it by sending you a few pictures they are all from sayan except the one where i am cooking that was our experiment with strawberry crapes. and it turned out good.

we had another stress filled week but . . . . i love it. i know that god uses experiences like these to make us stronger for the trials ahead so i guess we will just keep working and watch out for the stumbling blocks. in one of the pictures i am standing with a sign that says "remember that those in house are waiting for you, DONT RUSH" it was a special feeling to read that sign and know that it applied to more than just the cars that were on that busy road. i am trying to take in every moment as it comes but let me tell you my life has never been more filled than it is now. in the last 2 weeks i think that maybe 1 time i have made it to bed before midnight. and let me tell you it is taking its tole. keep my energy in your prayers because my batteries are wearing out. 

that made me remember when trever was little he would always say it needs batteries well trev let me tell you that your Elder Uncle needs new batteries. but that small fact has been a spiritual boost for me i now understand more want nefi said in the last verse of the first chapter of 1 nefi i really do experience tender mercies everyday. i am tired but i am not going to quit dont you worry. i know that the lord is strengthening me everyday more so that i can keep fulfilling my duties. 

 

thats is a awesome experience that you had dad. i too have found my self in the right place at the right time to meet people that chad knew and touched in arequipa be it companions or members they all have something nice to say about my brother. i can only imagine how special that was for you because i know it was special for her. i love my dad and i am grateful for the missionary he was. i think that helps me see the missionary i need to be.

well fam it is off the futbol and some delicious fruit. stay safe and know that i love you and that i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch