Zone Blitz, an Open House, and the Inca Market

This week, no one has been sick, which has been much better. On Tuesday, we had our interviews with the Mission President, and it was rough for my companions. They hadn't been getting along, and that combined with being sick really made our numbers from last week about the worst numbers possibly for the whole mission, ever. For me, we talked about what I can help do to make our numbers better, and how I can help my companions work things out. He talked to me a lot about what will be happening in our mission over the next 6 months, and how he will needs lots of new sisters to be trainers. That's fine with me, I know I can train after a couple more transfers here. Hermana Jones is coming tomorrow! Super excited for that.

A couple of cuties bundled up for winter.

This week, I learned how to work hard. We had a blitz at the beginning of the week where all the missionaries in our zone came to our area and helped us look for referrals and contacts to give to us. We ended up with 26 new referrals! We have spent the rest of the week working hard to see the desires of their hearts in order to know if it is their time to hear the Gospel. It has been great to be so busy this week, especially after the poor week last week.

We have been starting to give the baptismal commitment to investigators during the first lesson now. So this past week, I gave the baptismal commitment in our first lesson with a 20-year-old named Cesia. I was super nervous! But I felt the Holy Ghost telling me what to say. She accepted to be baptized later this month! I am so happy that I was able to have the opportunity to extend the baptismal commitment to her. I feel like because things have been super crazy for me this transfer, I feel like I am behind in my training and don't know how to teach as well as I should. Hopefully, this next transfer I will catch up.

Hermana Mangum, me, and Hermana Solis. Hermana
Mangum is transferring next week.

We have transfers coming up this week, and today we found out Hermana Mangum is leaving, but Hermana Solis and I are staying. Hermana Muñoz extended her mission for another transfer, but she is also leaving. This means that Hermana Agle is getting a new companion now that her training is over. The Pres. also asked us to look for a new house so that my companionship can live in our area and be closer to the chapel. We found one that's perfect! It's brand new, super cheap, and really close to the chapel. So, we might be moving apartments in a couple of weeks. After working really hard this week, we are helping 4 investigators that have baptismal dates. Henry, Cesia, and two children whose mother is less active. I'm super excited I get to stay here and help them progress toward baptism!

Our Missionary's Room at the Open House

Something really funny happened this week with Henry. We had an appointment at his house at 8, and we were running kind of late, so we didn't get there until 8:20. We get there, and he had set up a little brunch-dinner thing for us with the table all laid out. I don't know if this counts as a date in some weird misionera way, but if it does then it's my first -- haha. It was super sweet. We didn't have time to teach him all our lesson we had planned, but we helped him reinforce his testimony in the Word of Wisdom (his Mom tried to serve us tea) and in how the gospel can bless families (he really wants to be married and have a family). It was a super great night.

Showing what we do at the Open House.

Also this past week, we had an awesome ward activity, kind of like a Missionary Open House, where lots of returned missionaries shared their experiences, and we had lots of young members there (and some investigators) that we could excite about missionary work. We set up a "Missionary's Room" where we brought a bunch of our stuff and set it up. It was super fun, and lots of people enjoyed seeing what our life looks like. There was supposed to be a baptism right after the activity for a young man named Kervin. However, the water in the font started draining for some reason, and the water for the church had already been shut off to the font for the night. They had to stop the activity in the middle, make everyone change really quickly, and have the baptism before the water was all gone. They barely had enough water in the font to baptize him, and he had to lay all the way down. Super crazy, right?

This past Sunday we had a member of the Quorum of the Seventy come to our Sacrament Meeting. Everyone in the ward was there, and it was super full for the first time that I've seen. They had flowers and treats and stuff and it was really put together well. I think the talk that he gave was really good, but it was all in Spanish, so I didn't quite understand everything he said. However, everyone seemed to enjoy it!

With my district at the base of another statue near the Christ of the Pacific statue

A cannon at Le Fortaleza del Real Felipe in Lima. Check out my new
Peruvian jacket and my new sporty red Peruvian pants.

Last P-Day was super fun. We got on a bus right after writing our emails and went to the Inca Market. I got some jackets to keep me warm, red peruvian pants, and a little llama named Alice. After that, we went to a touristy area by the beach and ate lunch. Then, we went to the Christ of the Pacific statue again, but instead we went to the hill next to it with different statues...not sure why. Then, we got a flat tire and had to fix it. Then, we went to a castle but it had already closed for the day. Instead, we walked along the path by the beach and enjoyed the view. After that we headed back, and just in time too because the bus got a flat tire as soon as we arrived -- haha.