Monday September 24, 2012

Hola Familia,

we had another great week and as always i am so excited for this next week. i will tell you the story now just in case i run out of time. . . We always dedicate our Fridays to go to Sayan. we leave early in the morning right after our studies and jump in a car with our lunch all packed and ready for a day of adventure. we usually get there at about 10 or so so we go out and proselite for a few hours before stopping and eating lunch. well we got to lunch time and even though we were hungry we wanted to find a cool place to relax and enjoy our lunch at the same time we enjoyed nature. and we found it about 100 yards off the main road we found a rock sitting in the River that was big enough for the two of us. we ate our lunch and stretched out on the rock to rest for a few minutes. when with horror i see that my tupperware that i had brought from my pension slid off the rock and was being caried away by the fast current. any normal person would say "that sucks" and move on but you know me and it is much easier for me to fish it out than to buy a new one. off we went trying to find a place to fish it out. and we finally found it. a little log bridge that hung over the river. we got it out and started to look around on the otherside of the bridge there was one house and in that house was our part member family. you see why i call it a miracle. my tupperware led us to a family ready to hear the gospel. 

well fam it is off to futbol!!! i love you all and remember i am working as hard as i can

Elder Landon R. Welch

p.s. the fotos are some scenery from sayan and yes it is a real hawk the only bad part is that it is in a cage.

Monday September 10, 2012

Hola Familia!!!! Well this week was good and amazing up until Saturday. Saturday and Sunday were filled with alot of walking and little teaching. we had lessons planned every half hour but almost every one fell through. but the work will go on it has to go on. the 5th of September was a special day for me and my mission. we bought a cake and some balloons and surprised maria for her birthday. it made me think of so many things i thought about all of you and our famous birthday choir. i thought of all the birthdays i have missed but i know there will be many more. as maria gave her speech she broke my heart as she said "this is the first birthday i will spend smiling and not crying." she turned 32 years old and in her 32 years this was the first cake she had ever received for her birthday. i am glad i could be a part of it.
LESSON: Never take for granted the small things.
well the news . . . . . . . . . . . (SUSPENSE) . . . . . . . . . . . it is concerning extensions. nothing is confirmed but i have been invited to extend 3 months and if everything works out i am going to take it. Well fam i love you all and remember i am working as hard as i can Elder Landon R. Welch

p.s. i bought some batteries and vitamin c with my card and to day i am looking to buy some pants and socks.
p.s.s. the other foto is of a service we did for our pension i am nailing in a nail with a rock. :) i thought dad would enjoy that. i remember as a kid i would do that alot and now you see why i was practicing for my mission.
p.s.s.s sorry so short this week :) better letter on the way

Monday September 3, 2012

Hola Familia!!! Wow what a week!! Friday we made the 3 hour ride to Lima and the 3 Hour ride to La Molina to have a personal conferance with Elder Cristofferson. . . . YES THE APOSTOL!!!! he was there with 6 of the 70 too. we had a awesome experience i saw some of my friend from the MTC and that was also very cool to see. even though the sisters were about 8 days from home so it made me a little trunky but i got over it quickley when he started to talk. my companion whispered in my ear . . . "i know that it is going to be powerful" and it was. to be honest i was waiting for something huge something that would blow my mind. but in the end he spoke very calmly directly and simply. he talked about the doctrine of christ. and the importance that we have to baptise for repentance. it made me think alot about the angels from centinela. i hope they are feeling the spirit by my words as much as i did from him. he spoke about the confidence in our calling . . . that if we had faith we didnt need to doubt when giving a promise and he commanded us to promise in the name of Christ. we put it to work. . . saturday we went to centinela. they were in their scripture study and we interupted and chalaged them to be baptised (12 people were present) and they all had doubts and fears but we promised and they accepted. i have a increased testimony of the apostoles i know that they are called of god and i know that god was talking directly to me and my companion in that moment. we now have a baptismal service on the calander for the 15th of september we are just waiting and praying for a baptism in the ocean!!! it is just that the chapel is too far away. today was transfers but i am happy to say that we are both staying. i was praying so hard today that it would be like that and it was. i thanked president in my email today and he responded at a instant and said .... "are you crazy i think i will let you die in that area" so it seems like Huaura will be my last area but i am not going to count my chickens. we started going to a gym this week with my companion. we are teaching a man named Walter that has his own gym so he gave us free passes and it was interesting. if you cant tell from the pictures my companion is a bean. he weighs all of 120 pounds and is as tall as i am. well we did legs one day and he walked like a old man for the rest of the week. :) i am so glad i finally have a companion that i get along with 100 % and the best part is i dont feel like i am training a new missionary he, unlike others, has the same fire i do to go out and get it done even if he is sore. He is also teaching me "Huarani" which is the second offical language of Paraguay. the hermana in the foto last week and this week is one of the sisters that i talk alot about. her name is maria her son Jeanpool was baptised last week. but she has yet to make up her mind. she is very sweet but at the same time very confused she. she knows it is true but the Enemy is working very hard to stop her progress. her family is always telling her lies and that is a huge road block for us. keep maria in your prayers in the confrence i met with Elder Morel Chevillet and he told me that Olga has yet to be baptised too. so keep praying for her. well fam i am going to purge myself today so wish me luck and always remember that i love you all so so much i miss you all so so much but until they put a lid on me and burry me here in Huaura (i prefer centinela if i have any say in the matter) remember i am working as hard as i can. Elder Landon R. Welch

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

Monday July 9, 2012

Hola familia!!!! well one week more one week less. i am glad we are doing better with the bishop but i feel he might be abusing our help a little bit in ward counsel this week he announced that if we didnt do something fast the first week of september we would be dropped from ward to branch, my first thought was "good, maybe it will teach you a lesson on procrastination" but i quickly ate my words as the bishop handed us the ward directory and asked us to verify the directions of over 500 members of the ward. well it would be rather easy if it was in the great city of South Weber where everything is in a line but here they give you a block a house number and send you out to find it. i live in a city called mi peru where we have done most of our work in the last 6 months but a part from mi peru there is probably 15 pueblos that we need to find and visit in order to fulfill the bishops assignment. but i just think of nefi . . . i will go and do and not rebel. and thus we are doing and will do. sunday we did spilts and visited all the members in mi peru but now comes the fun part walking and walking. it makes me laugh that as i am walking from pueblo to pueblo you too are walking and walking. i am just glad i dont have to do it with a hand cart. i had another interview with president amongst other things he thanked me for the work with the ward and gave me that good old i told you so smile that he does. but he also gave me some bad news. . . that my job was done and that these last two weeks will be my last here in ventanilla. i am very sad because i wont be able to see olga baptized or the taboada family married but i know that i have done what the lord has required of me in this area and needs me in another part. president called me a sower in our interview when i left santo domingo i left it with 12 baptismal dates. and as i entered ventanilla the ward hadnt had a baptism between october and february, and now leaving i have 7 converts that we found and taught and am leaving the area with 5 baptism dates and 2 families ready to wed. . . i am glad president recognizes that i sew but i kind o wish he would let me reap once in a while. but i guess every missionary has his function. all i have to say to the next missionary that gets here is . . . your welcome and dont screw this up. president also said last 6 months and every time he did it was like taking the knife out of my gut and stabbing me again. he talked about my plans and if i would need to come to the offices to apply for classes or jobs and i think he liked my answer "render therefore unto caesar the things which are casear´s; and unto god the things that are god´s," (matthew 22:21) i told him that i just wanted to spend my last 6 months in the field working and that there would be time for all that when i am done. but until then know that i love you all and i am working as hard as i can Elder Landon R. Welch p.s. i am sending a letter to bishop workman today but i dont have his address so if you would be so kind to forward it on to him when it arrives home i would appreciate it. LOVE YA

Monday July 2, 2012

Hola Familia!!! man how i miss my country. not a day goes by that i dont realize something else about the land of the free and the home of the brave that i love and miss so much. but dont get me wrong i love the land of the lama too. we had a good week. and the bishop was true to his word and is still becoming more my friend day by day. we went with him to visit some of the remote areas of the ward like i was explaining last week and the weirdest thing happened i got blisters on the bottom of my foot that has never happened to me before and i am guessing it is because i have relatively new shoes but who knows. but now i am suffering every time i step with my left foot my cut stretches and man is it painful especially walking in pure sand. i have started to have some troubles with my companion that is the only bad part of this week. i think his batteries have kinda died. i find myself doing most of our responsibilities alone. but i figure give him a little time to find his excitement and get back to work. but i did tell him that we wont waste a day and he was alright with that. the families we found last week . . . ALL of them came to church on sunday, with exception of one hermana with her 4 sons. and now i can say with assurity that we had more investigators in church than members as we started the sacrament meeting and like your testimony meeting ours was equally powerful. but not in the same sense. it was hard for me to feel the spirit as we heard one sister explaining how she cant say she loves the ward because that would be a lie. man i miss the church i knew as a child. i never remember such animosity of hatred in our ward i just dont understand what is the great difference. but it was a kind reminder from the lord telling me to keep working. we are currently working with a Family and i have alot of hope for them. they are the parents of jamil taboada (who we baptised a few weeks ago) he opened the gates and the water is now flooding in. yesterday Paul (the dad) came to church and said that during sacrament he prayed and really felt something. that was such good news because he has really been the tripping stone for the family but now that he has his answer he know what he needs to do. Tempora (the Mom) had a daughter still born and that has affected he alot but yesterday we watched the movie "on the way home" and talked about forever families and that was the home run that sealed the game. they arnt married but now have a date set to be married, it is a thursday and they described their reasoning something like this "thursday so that friday we can be interviewed and saturday baptised." it is amazing to see the power of the spirit in the conversion of these people. well fam it is off to fruit, but no futbol today because of my poor blistered feet but always remember that i love you and i am working as hard as i can Elder Landon R. Welch p.s. i am going to send a letter today addressed to bro and sis bench and the next week one to bishop workman so advise them that it is coming and to be on the look out. but in order to send it i need paper money so i am going to buy my monthly shampoo and soap with my card so i can use the money for the letters. love ya!!

Monday June 25, 2012

Hola Familia!!!!!! wow what a stressful week. we hit it hard this week because both my companion and i were getting kinda fed up with the wishy washy success that we were having. (not only with investigators but with the ward in general). tuesday we had a multi zone conference in the offices which means 2 hours in a bus to get there and 2 hours to get home, it pretty much killed our entire day but man was it worth it. i have been commenting to president dorius these last few weeks of the trials we are having in our ward. well after the conference he invited me into his office to "chat." well he basically started right in to it and asked me to explain to him everything that was going on. i talked and talked i was probably talking for about 10 minutes with tears of frustration running down my cheeks. as i finished he said. Elder Welch i only have 2 questions for you. 1. do you have faith? and 2. you have been in this area for 6 months do you know why? i was kinda confused with his questions because they didnt really have anything to do with one another but i answered. yes i do have faith and no i dont know why. . . . . . "because i to have faith. i have faith in you and in the lord and i know that if you work with him you can make your area better. thats why i havent transferred you because you still have work to do." . . . . his answer made me cry even harder. it made me feel better and gave me new strengths and desires to work with the ward. as i was leaving his office i asked him one last question. "we are having problems finding people to teach do you have any advice?" he smiled and said trust in the lord and look where you have never looked before. that is what we did we went to work and to be honest i havent explored my area as much as i should. we found little villages hidden in the hills of my area that i never knew existed. and as we found these places we found people to teach. as we found people to teach we started small but started to use the ward leaders to help in their progress. . . .but like always every time we tried to get close to the bishop he would cut us off. well friday we were in the chapel and we saw a list of people on the bulletin board of people in the ward who needed visits. well we took the entire list and saturday we spent the entire day looking for and visiting these people and families. we filled out the forms for every single one of them and as we did we fasted that the bishop would soften his heart and see that we just want to help and be helped in the work that has no end. as i crawled into my house after about 10 hours straight in the street i couldnt help but feel proud of my companion and i. we really were able to be tools for the lord that day. the smiles and laughs that we experienced with these people the stories and testimonies that they shared with me will never ever EVER leave me. and as we handed our newley written forms to the bishop the surprise on his face was priceless. and as we left we said "if there is anything else you need from us bishop, just let us know." . . . . he greeted us at the door sunday morning, he thanked us for the work we had done. HE ASKED US FOR A MEETING SO THAT WE COULD TALK ABOUT THE WARD. and as we left that meeting he gave us a hug and asked for forgiveness for the last few months. i couldnt stop the tears from entering my eyes. . . . . tomorrow he is going to go to work with us in order to meet some of our investigators and this sunday for the first time we are going to have ward counsel which he asked us to be present. this week my ward went from completely dead to one of the best wards i have ever been in. we have come a long way from wanting to leave dog poo in front of his chair to actually working as a team. i really care for my bishop now and i feel he feels the same. well fam it is off to . . . . bed maybe. we dont have anything planned today but who knows what the zone leaders have in store for us. but be it sleep or be it soccer at 6 pm i will be dressed and ready to start a new week and always remember that i love you all and i am working as hard as i can Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday June 18, 2012

Hola Familia!!!!!
 
well it was a great week for us. we had two baptisms so that will always
make for a good week. Jamil Alexander Taboada Taboada and Stefany Gimena
Santiago Giron were baptized on saturday. and yesterday to top off our
week. we taught the parents of jamil and chalanged them to baptism. they
both felt the spirit very strong in the baptism and confirmation of jamil
and for that fact alone i thought for sure they would say yes. . . . but
they didnt at least not directly. they said that they would like to but
that they have yet to arive at that point to change their lives completely.
they will soon follow in the foot steps of their son and also those of
christ and be baptised as well i know it i feel it every time i teach them.
and poor little Gimena i was the one to baptize her and as we entered the
freezing water she began to cry. i am so glad i was baptized in warm water
because i can only imagine poor little 8 year old Landon doing the same
thing. she cried but i convinced her to be strong and she was. she came out
of the water and hugged me and said i dont feel cold anymore i feel all
warm. . . . wow what a testimony builder.
 
Hermana Olga is still as stubborn as usual she is a amazing lady but she
just doesnt want to let her catholic traditions go. but i know that with
time she will come around to it. she KNOWS that it is true but she just
doesnt want to accept it. she has a very hard time understanding what she
reads in the book of mormon. as we all know the book of mormon speaks a
different type of language and it is very hard for her to understand do you
have any ideas for my companion and i? we have tried videos but she doesnt
understand them either. we have read with her and have sent sisters to read
with her too but she just cant do it. we have gotten to the point that we
have even thought about buying one of those picture books that you use in
primary. the ones i used to listen to as a kid. where for every story there
are 10 pictures but we dont want to make her feel dumb either. help us out
any idea is a good idea at this point.
 
this last week was transfers and speak of the devil Elder Petersen came to
my zone. he surprised me today as i walked into internet. he is still
awesome as ever and even more powerful than before you can see it. but i
havent had the opportunity to talk to him yet but i will fill you in next
week on how his is doing. as for Elder Calle he emails me every week and
tells me the same thing . . . that he is freezing. he is a little higher
than we are and he said that one morning they woke up with ice cristals on
their windows. he was amazed but i just thought that sounds like spring in
utah. but yes it is possible in peru, where a few months ago i was
complaining about the heat to now be talking about ice. havent seen any ice
here in ventanilla and i dont think i will but still kinda crazy.
 
in our new house we have a room that we arent using so the family that owns
the house is storing their things there as they finish the second floor.
well this week we needed a shovel to go and do service and the shovel was
in the room. well as always in peru we had a little earthquake a few days
ago and it wedged the door shut. well not knowing that we tried to open the
door but broke the doorknob. so me the grand genius that i am decide to
climb up and crawl through the small window at the top of the door in order
to have better angle on opening the door. so i brought my chair and i
climbed and as i entered the other side of that door i realized that i had
no chair to climb back. . . . and the door didnt open. we took the doorknob
completely off and thus the photo and i was stuck for about 30 minutes as
we pried and broke our way through the problem at hand. . . . lesson
learned when their is a earthquake open the doors and when a door is shut
better to just leave it like that until someone who knows what they are
doing arrives to help.
 
well fam it is misting outside but we are going to play futbol and i am
sure i will end up buying some fruit. but remember that i love you and i am
working as hard as i can
 
Elder Landon R. Welch
 
p.s. yes i got my other shoe :) thanks