Monday February 6, 2012

Hola familia!!!!

how have you all been? i have been working like always but still hoping
that transfers today dont bring some sad news. but i guess only time will
tell. my relasionship with my companion is growing and at long last i feel
like we are working like we should be. i would be very happy it we both
stayed here we finally found our rythem.

we were out contacting one day and we got to a house of a lady named flor
paz we didnt even have time to knock on her door as she flung it open and
invited us in. now i have met some amazingly kind people here in peru but i
have never been invited to enter a house without first saying something. so
to start off i was shocked and then she told us a story and i went from
shocked to amaized. she explained how she was listening to jehovas
witnesses too but that she had a dream and didnt know what it ment. she
explained how in her dream she was in the kitchen cooking lunch when her
little boy came to her with a book from the jehovas witnesses, he asked her
to study it with her. she told him to go sit on the couch and when she had
finished she would come out and they would read it together. she said the
next thing that happened was someone knocked on the door and her little boy
came and told her that it was the "Hermanos from the church." she asked if
they were JW and the boy said no two men in white shirts. she came out of
the kitchen and the "two men" had left. she then saw the JW book was being
ripped to shreads by her dog. as she went to scold the dog the little boy
stopped her and told her that god had a different plan for her and that
plan wasnt in the JW church. . . . the next day we showed up at her door. i
finally found someone with a dream experience!!! :)
Haruko diaz is going through many trials right now with her baby. she said
that the fetus i forming wrong that the organs are forming outside of its
body. and obviously if the baby is bad the mother will be sick too. whe
havent been able to visit her lately because she has been in and out of the
hospital and when she is home she is on strict bed rest. i have to say i am
kinda worried about it. we were able to go and give her a blessing so at
least that will help her. but as we were there we were able to meet and
talk to her parents. and all i can say is, i have some awesome parents. her
father didnt even want to be in the same room as her, his exact words were,
"if she wants to remain part of this family, she knows what she has to do
(or in other words, abort the baby." and her mom was caring for her just
because she knew that if she didnt no one would. man people like that make
me sick. and everyday i see more and more that we live in a sick world.

i got to put my chef barbosa skills to use again and for a experament it
turned out pretty good. i am making a list of things to cook when i get
home, so you better start preparing your stomach because who know how well
it will turn out. well fam it is off to see if i am leaving or staying. i
wish they would tell us before we write that way you could know where i am
going to be this next week. but always remember that no matter where i am i
love you all and i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday January 30, 2012

Hola Familia!!!

well it is the last week of the transfer and i am kinda sitting on the fence. i want to stay and help these awesome people progress but at the same time i know that if i stay i will stay with my companion and that is a downside. he has improved a lot but as he has improved my patience has been worn away little by little. i am not really sure what is going to happen.

we had a interesting week but to be honest it was one of the hardest weeks of my mission. it seemed like everyone was a bit more angry than usual. we would knock on a door and the first thing they would say was screamed. they would slam their little window that they use to talk through and honestly i wished sometime that the glass would break. but it never did. we would check our body to be sure their was no knife wounds and we would move on the the next door.

but i cant say that the whole week was bad because we did have some amazing lessons. we recently found a young mother named Jenefer. we had actually gone to the house to teach her mother Ivy, but she was unavailable. so jenefer offered to listen. we started the lesson off and soon discovered that she didn't believe in god very much. she believed in something or someone but that was it. she told us that she was more in to the science of things and spent a great deal of her time watching the LIE channel, oh wait it is called the history channel. :) she said that she saw program after program denying the existence of Christ, or how they had found his body and a million other things. we had nothing to say so we did what preach my gospel says. refer quickly to the restoration of the gospel. . . and it worked. we bore testimony of the book of Mormon. and how the book of Mormon testifies of Christ. how it is the second witness that Christ lived died and was resurrected. and we promised her that if she would read and pray she would know the truth for herself. . . we started the lesson off with her not believing in god but finished it with her praying to god. in the following lesson we had with her she still had a lot of questions but at least she showed the desire to learn. i hope i am here to see what becomes of this gal.

well fam i am happy to say that the wait is over. i finally received my glasses and camera. the cookies were a little stale from sitting in a box for almost 3 months but still very good. it is nice to have a camera again, now i just have to find something to take a picture of.

give dil a hug and welcome him home for me

i hope you all know how much i love you and that i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday January 23, 2012

Hola Familia!!

que tal su semana!

mine has been . . . . interesting like the rest of this transfer. i finally had a sit down with my companion and we almost used a entire afternoon resolving the problems that we had. we talked about his desire and he talked about how i always pressured him. but in the end i feel that we solved alot of our differences. but just for the record. his exact words were "why are you always pressuring me to be a better missionary." hmmmm maybe because i know you can be a better missionary. in no way am i saying i am the perfect missionary. i know i have a lot of faults and problems but at least i try to fix them. but in the end we decided we were going to both try and find a balance. i told him that i will never stop working and he told me that was fine. so we will see how these last weeks of the transfer go. and who knows maybe we have more transfers together.

this week we have found families. families that want to progress. we chalanged them all during the first lesson and the majority of them accepted. we currently have 17 people with baptism dates were as last week we had 1. this whole sit down and talk really helped us with the success side of this week. 12 of these people have the baptismal date set for the 11th of february. the only problem is that transfers are the 7th. i am begging president to keep me here for atleast one more transfer but as we all know the lord has different plans for us so if i am changed i will leave kinda sad but at least i know there is a reason i am going. but all i can say is i would be one happy duck if i stay.

now to answer both your questions mom and dad. am i hot?!? well all i can say is i wish i could LIVE in a snow cage. sitting in a lesson you cant sit with your back touching the chair because when you stand to leave your back would be soaking wet. . . . just sitting and sweating you can imagine how it is walking. the good part is that we are going into "carneval." all the month of february is a holiday called carneval. the purpose of this holiday is attack people walking in the street with water balloons. i will put my scriptures in a plastic bag and say bring it on. but you have to be careful because some people are jerks and instead of water they use other things. like paint, eggs or mud. so maybe i will say. if it is water, and only water bring it on.

the pictures i am sending you are from a activity we had. every organization built a cake and every cake was judged by flavor presentation and story. well the cake with the face is from the ward missionarys and of course the missionaries. now this cake was the most simple of all but we won in flavor. it was dang good. we went to the house of a invetigator to cook it. and i watched as she threw stuff in a bowl and tell me to stur. at one moment she opened what looked like a soda can and pour the contents into the bowl i asked her what it was and she said Tequilalife. well my mind just kinda got stuck on tequila. i freaked out. i had no idea what to do. i asked her (actually i kinda screamed) and she explained how it was a health drink and showed me on the can where it said it didnt contain alcohol. well i felt a lot better after that. but in the end that cake was the best i have had here in peru.

well fam my time is up. i hope you all know i love you and that i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday January 16, 2012

Hola Familia!!!

well this week has been the same as every week from this transfer. my companion still is having problems with his desire and i am almost to the point of telling him just how i feel about my mission. that i am unwilling to waste a day. that if he doesn't want to work. . . go home. but i know that wouldn't do me or him any good. so my new motto "suffer in silence but work harder." once i finally get him out of the house we have some good experiences, but that is the trick getting him out of the house. starting this transfer we would finish lunch and go home to brush our teeth and get ready for the afternoon heat. well i began to realize that when we would go home we would delay 45 minutes before leaving again. so for my companions birthday i bought him a tooth brush and tooth paste that he now keeps in the pension so we don't have to go home. Tricky huh :) any other good ideas on how i can help him out please share. he really is a great missionary and has some great ideas on how to help the work forward but he just is missing his desire.

i have sent a few letters home but currently i am in a area where there isn't a post office. so my letters leave my hands and enter the hands of the ZLs they usually have it anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks. they take it to the office and i don't know how long it takes them to mail it off. so we are talking about maybe 2 to 2 and a half months to get letters. man we are blessed to have Internet. i also have a question about the MIA package did you ever talk to this brother Moroni again? did he ever confirm that he dropped it off in the offices. we were in the offices on Friday for zone interviews and i asked Elder Solar (Secretary of the mail) if he knew anything new. he told me that he had organized his office and it didn't show up. so i am thinking that maybe it is still in the hands of Brother Moroni.

well as for experiences this week i am afraid to say have been a little disappointing. we found a new single mother this last week and we challenged her to be baptised during our first lesson with her. . . and she accepted. she attended church yesterday and she appeared to be progressing. and then she broke the news to us. she had returned with her boyfriend and lets just say her boyfriend isn't exactly a saint. by all means we are going to keep teaching her but this has become a huge tripping block in her progress. her name is Yesenia Carnales, keep her in your prayers.

we also have been teaching a young lady named Haruko Diaz and she also dropped a bombshell on us yesterday. she too has been progressing rapidly. she had accepted the missionaries before but was unable to be baptised because she was too young and her parents didn't want to give permission. well tracting one day we found her house, and started to teach again. well come to find out she got pregnant. . . . dang it. but the good part is she got pregnant before we started to teach her. she spoke about having it aborted but after a serious conversation she is going to have it and i really hope this doesn't stop her progression.

now for the highlight of the week. and it made the rest of the week worth it. we were working with the ward directory one day trying to locate less active members. we went to one house of a hermana named Medalit Aragon. we entered and began to get to know her. well come to find out she has 2 daughters and her husband and all three have yet to be baptised. we called them all together and began to teach them. come to find out the have recent been affected by the death of a very loved grandmother. well the lord couldn't have put us in a better situation. we talked about how families are intended to be forever. but that there is some steps you need to take. starting with baptism. they all have a baptismal date for the 11th of february.

speaking of beloved grandmothers. you all remember Ada Serafin. she is one of my converts. well she has been living in the house of Gean Vallejos, a member of our ward, caring for his sick mother. during our lessons with Ada we were always with this sweet lady. her name is Maria. well maria passed away this week and gean asked us to speak at her funural. we spoke for a space of 5 minutes and sat down. her daughter then stood and spoke. and what she said really touched my heart. she isn't a member but had a very strong love for her mother. she explained how every time she would call to talk to her mother, maria would tell her everything the "Elders" had been sharing with her. and when the daughter would ask who the "Elders" are maria would simply say, "angles that god has sent to help me." the spirit was very strong. the daughter thanked us for all we had done for her mother and then continued with the summary of the life of Maria Villanueva. during the entire devotional i could feel my dear sweet grandma by my side, it was so real. to the point i didn't want to look so see if someone was there with the fear she would go away. but she didn't. she sat with me for almost a hour. and as we stood to leave i felt her stay, she stayed to help this kind lady move on to the next stage in her life. what a amazing grandmother i have.

well it is off to . . . . . i am not really sure what is on the schedule for today. but i am sure it will be a day full of heat humidity and of course the spirit.

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

Elder Landon R. Welch

p.s. the pictures are of my poor worn shoes and my new companion the expression on his face i am sure helps you understand just exactly what i am dealing with. and of course turkey dinner for christmas. mm mm good.

Monday January 9, 2012

Hola Familia!!!!

wow what a week!!! it was a tough one. for all those who have served missions you know that the first few weeks with a new companion can be a little interesting. you need to get used to how he eats, sleeps, studies but most importantly how he works. Elder Quintero and i were a great team. we had a lot of success together. we also had a lot of trials together. but through it all we worked as hard as we could. when he left he told me that he had no regrets for the area. he knew that he had worked hard everyday and that he had helped 100s of people. he also said that he was glad he was leaving the area in capable hands. i just hope i can live up to his expectations that way when i am called to leave this area i too can say "I have NO regrets."

The holidays really didn't help our area at all. this last week was spent trying to recover some investigators that were progressing but lost our contact. we were able to start teaching a family and they have a baptism date for this next week. a family of 5 with parents and 3 kids. but unfortunately only the mother and one of the daughters accepted. but we will keep working with the other daughter and father.

My new companion is . . . interesting. his last companionship wasn't one of the best i guess you could say. they had a hard time starting out and it didn't really get much better. they got out of the habit of working and actually spent most of the week in their apartment. so these first few weeks has been a struggle for me. i almost have to beg him to leave the apartment. but little by little i am sure he will begin to love the work like he used to.

we have been working with a less active family that we found about a week ago and yesterday we finally got to meet the aunt, who is also a member. we sat and talked and before to long she began to tell her life story. she was baptised at the age of 16 and the next 20 years of her life consisted in. her going back to church, something happened she left the church. she went to a different church and again something happened. so she changed her faith but the same, something happened and she left. she probably told us 8 different stories and finished with saying "that is why i just left churches all together." Adan (our missionary leader, we were on divisions) and i had been listening for about 30 minutes and at that moment we had nothing to say. she left to check on her kids and Adan told me. "give her all you have because i have nothing." she came back and we began to talk about her baptism. she explained that it was a beautiful day she was very happy and felt at that moment like she had completed something very important. we then asked why she got baptised. she said she wanted to serve the lord and felt that the church was the best way to do it. and that she had "fallen in love with the book of Mormon." we then explained the difference in a feeling and a fact. we explained how a fact, even though it is true, can be denied. but that a feeling is something that no one can take away or change. we explained that the feelings she had, despite all the bad experiences, were still there she just needed to find them again. . . . she committed to come to church this week with her 6 kids and niece (who 3 are members and the others are to young).

also yesterday was fast and testimony meeting and i felt impressed to bear mine. and as i got to the pulpit i felt a impression to start in English. i did. i stumbled through words that i couldn't remember and i am sure i sounded like a child but like always i began to cry. i finished with a little bit in Spanish and sat down. the next person to get up was the bishop Roberto Atuncar. he talked about my testimony and that even though it was in a different language they all understood the love i have for the gospel, missionary work, and the savior. he then related it to missionary work. that the gospel isn't something complicated. that it really didn't matter what we said to people just as long as it came from our heart. he promised all of the members that if they would have the courage to share the gospel with their neighbors and friends the spirit would testify to their hearts that it was true. we closed the meeting and within minutes we had a group of members surrounding us asking what day we could go and visit families with them. another great experience following the spirit. we are barely starting the week and our agenda is already full with lessons.

well it is off to futbol :)

hope you all know i love you and that i am working as hard as i can

Elder Landon R. Welch

Happy New Year

well family and friends as we start a new year my mind is taken by many things. things i want to accomplish this year. and also the things i hope for you this year. my only goal that i have is to read the book of mormon 4 time this year. i want to finish it every 2 transfers. this book has been one of the things that i took for granted early in my life. i enjoyed your story mom about how you began to build your testimony of the book of mormon, and i know you all have already heard mine. but i hope you know that a testimony isnt something you gain. it isnt a prize for finishing. it is a feeling, a burning, a craving to keep moving forward. it isnt something that will find you one day it is something you have to look for. and when you find it. DO NOT LET GO.

my testimony is the thing most precious to me i hope you know how much i know that this church is true. god lives. and because he loves us he gave us his son. and because he loves us he gave us a prophet. and the only thing he asks of us after all he has givin us is . . . to be happy. because we all know that happiness only comes by obeying his commandments.

i love you all

Elder Welch

Monday January 2, 2012

Hola Familia!!!!

Man was i ever wrong when i said that christmas is when peruvians get the craziest. New Years definatly tops it off. saturday night was like a giant party where the entire city of Lima was invited. every house had lights and music and the houses that didnt is only because they were invited to someone elses house to share their lights and music. we recieved a call friday night from the Zone Leaders who had recieved the instructions that after dinner at 6 every missionary was to be in their house with no exceptions. so we watched all the chaos from our window. they were breaking bottles and plates and burning scare crows in the middle of the street. they washed their whiskey down with beer and then started all over again. but at 12 o´clock they all shot of fireworks (and not little sparklers either) for the next 25 minutes the sky was lit by millions of dollers of fireworks. but the best part was watching the dogs in the streets freaking out. they werent sure what was going on but they wanted to get away from it. then to top it all off we were waken sunday morning by the sound of a man vomiting in our stairwell. oh joy greatway to start off the new year . . . cleaning someone elses vomit.

and i called it Elder Quintero had a transfer, he is now in Huacho. but i am still here in Santo Domingo with my new companion Elder Figueroa from Guayaquil Ecuador. once again a different country than all the rest of my companions. i was thinking about it this week and i am only missing Venezuela, Chile, and Argentina in order to have a companion from every country in south America. Elder Figueroa has 13 months in the mission and seems to be a great missionary but only the next 5 (maybe more) weeks will tell.

i now have a renewed testimony of the Holy Ghost. we were on splits yesterday, me with oscar and my comp with our new Mission leader, Adan Pacheco. it was about time for dinner and we were walking to the pension to eat when i felt the impression to buy a soda, seems kinda weird and i thought the same thing sure i like soda but i was on my way to dinner and didnt need to buy one. it came again but this time it sounded like a demand, "buy a Incakola at the corner store." i told oscar what was happening and he said i was crazy, the the spirit doesnt "inspire" people to by things addictions did that. i told him that even if it was a addiction i was going to show my obey it. we stoped walked back to the store and as i was asking for my pop a drunk driver came around the corner smashed into a cement barrier which broke in to 1000s of pieces and landed exactly where we were going to be walking.

we cant be sure that we would have been hit by those pieces but i am glad i didnt find out. the car was tipped on it side and smoking and all i can say is thank you firefighters and Boy Scouts of america because my adrenaline kicked in. i left my incakola and with the help of 6 other men we tiped the car right side up. it stopped smoking and we were able to pull the man out through the window. he had smashed his head pretty hard and was bleeding pretty bad. and that is where The first aid merit badge came to play. we were able to at least slow the bleeding until police showed up. but the booze and the bump made it very hard to keep him awake. but we succeded. i dont know what came of that man i just hope he thinks twice before drinking again.

i hope you all know how much i love and that i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

A Christmas Card

Monday December 26, 2011

Hola Familia,

man does that hour fly by, and seemed to go faster with skype. i cant believe how much each of you have changed not just the kids but the adults too. but my family is still as amazing as i left it. (and goofy but that just helps the amazingness)

I am currently in a internet with a very slow connection. every word i write takes about 5 seconds to apear on the screen. but hey atleast the internet is working.

we had a interesting week this week. alot of drama with the sister missionaries and sometime i wish my sister crystal could come and teach them a thing or two about working in the mission. we actually had president tell us at zone conference that he was fed up with complaints and excuses. he told us that his christmas wish was that we would stop crying about every little thing that happens to us and just work harder. man how i respect this man. i have been thinking the same thing alot lattely and it seems to be working. whenever i have a problem i find that the solution is work and it is nice to see that president feels the same.

homesick = work

physicaly sick = work

unexcited = work

no success = get off your bum and work

he stuck some deep cords with everyone of us. he finished by reading a scripture an i just wish i knew where it was, but it said, the things i have said shouldnt hurt if you are doing what you should be doing. i am happy to say that neither me or my companion were hurt by what president said, but we had a new and refreshed desire to work.

well as you know today is transfers, i dont think i am going anywhere but unfortunatly elder quintero has 9 months in this area so it is almost certain that he is leaving. so if i have a new companion pray that he has the same desire to work as Elder Quintero did and i will be a happy fish.

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

Elder Landon R. Welch

p.s. i recieved a message from Gaby!!!!!!!! (the baptism that escaped my hands) and she told me that she was in touch with the italian missionaries and that she is about ready to choke them because they have yet to challange her to be baptised :) (ROOKIES) :) but at least my mind is now at ease it will be interesting to see what becomes of that powerful girl

p.s.s. i recieved your package meg!!!! and that i have yet to open it but i am sure i will love it. every second.

chao!!

Monday December 19, 2011

Hola Familia!!!
well i have just finished creating my skype account also and i am a little worried, i have no idea how to use skype and for that i am a little worried. and to make things harder it was all in spanish, i tried changing it to english but it simply told me that "the feature was unavailable in peru." but we got it figured out and i have my computer wiz companion to help me out so it is serious when i say SEE you next week!!!!
but how has your week been? ours has been hectic. i always thought that the US was hectic with christmas but now i know that peruvians are 10 times crazier than the craziest gringo. the have parties to celebrate their parties!! and that isnt a joke. our neighbor has just bought a sterio for 3000 dollars and for the last 3 nights has be testing the sound barier. and all i can think is that his sterio cost more than his house. they do chocolatadas for all the kids in the neighbor hood, but i think they just do it so the parents have another excuse to get together and drink. but the awesome part about this season is that everyone seems to be a little bit nicer, and more willing to listen. we have found some great new people to teach this week and that alone has made all the bad parts worth it.
another interesting thing happend this last week. we were able to divide our ward. before we were part of the Tungasuca Ward but now we are our own ward, working for our own success. but with that has come new waves of stress. the bishop is a new bishop and very young. he doesnt have very much experience running a ward but he is 100 percent focused on helping us out and for that fact alone i am sure we are going to have some great success.
this saturday we had another baptism, Carlos Alberto Chanta Vargas got baptised. and to be honest i wasnt sure he was prepared to be baptised. but he passed his interview and after he was baptised he had a moment to talk and express how he felt, and all my doubts went away. he expressed how happy he was to "be part of the family" and for the oportunity he had to start a new life. he really is a good guy and i am sure with a little time he will become a great leader in the church. but that depends on him and how well he remembers the change he has made.
I have some good news and some bad news. . . . the good news is i got some of my packages!! but the bad news is that they are both from christmas and not from my birthday. i am not sure what that means. . . i will talk to president tomorrow in our multi zone conference to see if he has any idea what is going on. and speaking of packages i also sent a package home about 2 months ago, (maybe more i cant really remember) have you seen it yet?
i am running low on contacts and contact solution, and yes i dont have a choice if i want to use contacts or glasses, because my glasses give me pounding head aches.
how is the weather up there? any snow yet? how much? and has anyone gone snowboarding for me yet? :) the weather here is getting hotter and hotter and now the humidity has started raising too. i remember going to the gym at 5 in the morning with carrie about this time of year, having to scrape the ice off her windshield. and then how we would freeze the whole ride up there because the heater wouldnt get warm fast enough. now ahhhh what i would give to lay down in the freezing snow. or go to work with mom and spend a few minutes in her walk in frige. (i am not sure if that is exactly sanitary so dont tell pam) :)
well i love you all and i hope you remember i am working as hard as i can
Elder Landon R. Welch

Feliz navidad‏

Hello to everyone
i send my love and holiday greetings to all my family and friends. and also to their family and friends. i truly am grateful for the role you have all played in my life and the life of my family. to all the work friends of my mom there at davis county school food, and to the thousands of people my dad has known, helped, and loved. to my buds, kyle and daniel where ever you are i hope your chistmas is as good as mine. and of course to kevin and chris hope that the gym has not collapsed on your heads and that you both have a happy christmas.
to chad, monica, amy, crystal, kirsten, carrie and all of your amazing families. to april, jaydee, greg, brett, and jerm-y thank you for making my brother and sisters so happy. i could not ask for a better family. and Grant you are extra special to me this christmas season because like me you are far away from home, and family. thank you for protecting our country this time of year. i know now more than ever that we really are the land of the free and the home of the brave but only thanks to amazing men and women like you. know that i love each and everyone of you.
to my litte buddies, heaven only know how much i miss you all. but i sure hope you know how much i love you all.
and to my amazing parents, all i can say is thank you. there is not a day that goes by that i remember a counsel you have given me that i took for granted before but am now (i hope) a little wiser and mature. i love you both i am who i am because of you two. and everything i am trying to become is because of the example you have given me
i love you all and hope your christmas and new year pass as good as mine will.
your son, brother, uncle, friend, but most important in this moment, Missionary
Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday December 12, 2011

Hola familia!!!
how has your week been? mine has been a week full of work and stress but in the end as you said mom, "it was worth it." Ada Cruz Serafin Venancio was baptised this saturday and baptisms are always where i remember why all the work and stress is necessary. i always have such a good feeling when they come out of the water a new person, and then with the baptism of fire i know that they have everything they need to have a happy life. i just hope we taught it well enough that she never forgets the feeling that she felt. but along with baptisms being the most beautiful they are also the time where Satan works his hardest.
i love to see my area progressing and it is. . . a lot. we have more people progressing than i have had in my entire mission. we have 4 baptismal dates for the next 3 weeks and are preparing 6 others. we are teaching every type of person. young old family single with problems and others really seem to be gold. it is a amazing.
i was just informed that next week (not sure what day) i will be calling to organize our Christmas call!!! woo hoo. i cant wait to hear your voices again. and the best part is we can use skype. but that is up to you guys. it seems like forever since i got to call home on mothers day. but then at the same time it seems just like yesterday. i cant decide if time is flying or not. when i was in the MTC and Arizona it seems like i was calling every other weekend. so i guess 6 months should seem like a long time. but i need a favor, what number should i call
the fruit is juicy and sweet as ever and the best part is . . . it is cheap. you can buy a full pineapple for 1 sol. (cents) or 6 Mandarin oranges for the same price. and the strawberries have just come into season and the are as big as my fist. my pensionista knows how much i love the fruit here so she always has something for me to take with me in the afternoon. walking in the street eating a mango with juice running down my chin, reminds me of all the peaches that used to do the same. that is one fruit here that i am not to fond of is the peaches, they are tiny. i have eaten some fruit here that i have never seen before. there is one called pepeñio and it almost has the taste of bubblegum.
it is kinda weird Christmas is just right around the corner but it doesn't feel like Christmas. i try and imagine how home looks with its fresh snow but i cant anymore, Especially with the wind damage that has just happened, I am just grateful that no one is hurt. it is hard to imagine Christmas when i am always so hot, i am even sweating during lessons. i remember when chad told be that he bought ice cream on Christmas i was so amazed. i didn't even think that was allowed. and now all i have to say i just might have to carry on the tradition.
it seems exactly the opposite of what Christmas should be, but at the same time i am happy. i am happy that i have this opportunity to cry the good news of Jesus Christ his birth, his death, his Resurrection, and of course his love for every one of us. there is nothing better i could be doing during Christmas then what i am doing right now.
i love you all and please remember i am working as hard as i possible can.
Elder Landon R. Welch
p.s. still no news on packages, or letters. i will see president on the 20th and i will try to ask him personaly, because i am not sure my questions get to him through the Zone Leaders.

Monday December 5, 2011

Hola Familia!!!!

You were right the internet in my area is suffering. there is hardly any signal and then on top of that put 14 missionaries in the same room and you have a mess. but we got everything straightened out and we shouldnt have any more trouble.

how has your week(S) been mine seem to be improving i dug myself out of my sour patch and have begun all over again. fresh start and it seem to be working, we have found some pretty amazing people over the past few weeks and there is nothing i love more than to see them progresing.

i have still yet to recieve any package or letters but i keep my hopes up that one day it will make it to my hands, and just know that i am very greatful for your packages and letters. little pieces of home that i seem to be missing alot this time of year.

we were able to watch the devotional yesterday and like always my eyes teared up while the choir sang. llike my mom i think i feel the spirit alot through the music. but the best part is hearing the peruvians trying to sing along in english, they butcher it but the message is stronger than ever. the lord loves all his brothers and sisters.

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

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday November 21, 2011

hola familia!!!

i am doing better thank you for the words that i needed.

i had a wonderful surprise for my birthday yesterday, my first pensionista, (from lampa de oro) surprised me by coming to my church with all my friends from that area. after church we went in to a little room and they sang to me and gave me a cake it was exactly what i needed to pick my spirits up.

we also had another interesting experience this week. we went to church with one of our investigators. he promised that if we went with him he would come with us. well we went and the lesson was on "look out for false prophets" about half way through the sermon the pastor put some pictures on the slide projector, of supposedly false prophets there was pictures of jehovas witnesses, christian missionaries, and of course 2 LDS missionaries. the picture came up on the screen and the congragation groaned and said more jehovas witnesses. the pastor corrected them and told the "no these are the mormons," the room went silent for a minute and i was on the edge of my seat ready to run for my life. when a little old lady said in a frail voice. "i like those young men they always are willing to listen to me and help me. they cant be that bad if they are so christlike." haha the pastor wasnt sure how to respond but i settled back in my chair with a huge lump in my throat. man i am so greatful to be known as a member of the church that is christlike.

i love you all sorry this email is so short but just know i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Welch