Feliz Navidad! Monday, December 24, 2012

 

Merry Christmas!!!!!! First of all, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who sent me Christmas cards in the mail, family and friends, I am SO overwhelmed with love. Thank you also to Del Campo Ward!!! You are all so sweet. I am very touched :)

 

Ah! Ok this week was a good one! We have been working really hard to find new investigators with the desire to have their faith grow, praying everyday to find people who are prepared, and working with members to find people who have that desire. The result has been good! Prayer really does work. Heavenly Father has literally placed people directly in our path multiple times because we have prayed to find them! He really does answer prayers :) We have a lot of promising new investigators for the coming year!

 

My companion and I have been getting along really great! I just love her. Also, fun fact. I am at the point in spanish where I can make jokes! Haha it is a good feeling when people can understand when I am joking and when I am being serious...in espanol :)

We also had the chance on Saturday to have a multi zone conference with 3 other zones of missionarys in our area. President and Sister Douglas were there as well with their 3 kids and each one did a special musical presentation all surrounding the birth of our Savior. It was lovely. Also, because our mission President if American, we played the game of passing the gift everytime you hear a word in a story. I dont know if that made sense, but it was 'The Night Before Christmas!' I was very excited to hear that seeing as I thought I wouldnt be able to for two more Christmas's :) We also had the chance to watch Scrooge! haha. All in all, it was a beautiful day of good times, wonderful Christmas spirit and just plain happiness. I LOVE this time of the year! However I must admit that it is a bit different having Christmas in the summer...haha

 

I have been reading this week especially in my personal study about Jesus Christ and all that He did for us. His birth, His life, His works, His ministry, His example, His Atonement, His ressurrection. I am so overwhelmed every day of how much love he had for us to do what he did. He was perfect in every way possible. He organized His church perfectly, he did the will of the Father, he served unceasingly, he did inmeasurable miracles, and the list could go on. What a blessing it is for us to have Jesus Christ as our Savior. What a blessing it is that we have this time to celebrate His birth and His life and all that He did. I really hope that amidst all of the gift giving and echanging that we can all remember the reason that we have Christmas and focus on the Savior. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that only through Him and His Atonement we are able to be saved. I know that He died especially for each one of us. Turn to Him in times of need. He knows you. He loves you. He understands. This is my Christmas testimony of our beloved Savior. I share it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

I love you all dearly! My thoughts and prayers are with you daily. I hope you feel them! :)

 

Con muchisimo amor siempre,

 

Hermana Ali :)

 

 

 

 

Almost Christmas! From December 17, 2012

Feliz Navidad!!! Almost :) And Happy Hannukah!!! I definitely am missing the holiday food of the states...no Potato Latkes this year...or italian cookies for now...haha but that is ok because I am in Peru!!! Haha and I love it SO MUCH! And I do get to eat turkey too :) Sorry for last week with no email. The internet decided to not be very nice and I ended up not having any time to write. However, I have a lot that has happened in the last two weeks!

First things first (knocking on wood) my sicknesses are gone!! :D Praying for health and getting a blessing of health, mixed with faith and working hard really does bring miracles. I finally had the chance to eat something really abnormal last week! Cow heart! Anticucho! And it was suuuuuuper good! Haha. First odd food of the mission! We also had the chance last monday to go to a museum of torture in the Centro de Lima. I didnt understand everything that the tour guide said...haha but basically it was a museum of the history of the Government in Lima way back in the day and how they got information they wanted, or how they tortured their enemies. It was cool to see but horrible to learn about too! However, very interesting to learn a bit of Lima history. :)

Last week, we had the baptism of Percy Cuadros. He is wonderful. He is 34 years old and just completely changed his life to follow Jesus Christ and grow closer to our Heavenly Father. He has been through a lot in his life and seeing him completely 180* and being able to help him conquer his doubts, answer his questions and help him strengthen his faith is an indescribable feeling. The spirit was so strong at his baptism you couldnt deny it. After he was baptized, he bore one of the most powerful testmonies I have ever heard. What a blessing it is to have been a part of his life and see the change in him. He now has the knowledge that he has purpose in this life and that he is a beloved son of God. Oh goodness this work is just too good :)

We have another investigator who is set to be baptized this 29th of December! If we were allowed to have favorites...he would be mine. Haha. Everybody knows how much I love elderly people, so you can just imagine how much I love Javier. He is 91 years old!! :D I just love him SO much! We found him when we were street contacting and I had the impression to talk to him. His wife passed away just a year ago after 55 years of marriage. He also had three sons pass away in his life and has a daughter who wants nothing to do with him. However, despite the trails that he has been put through, his faith in Heavenly Father is unwavering. Having the chance to meet with him several times throughout these weeks and share with him the plan of Salvation-the fact that we can live with our families after this life has been one of the most rewarding experiences ever. He is so humble, so receptive, and so full of faith that he is an example to me and I just love him! Also...he has the best sense of humor ever!

Good stuff :)

Anyways, I love it here. I LOVE being a missionary. I love dedicating my time to the Lord and I know that this work is true. Heavenly Father knows us. He loves us. Through his Son Jesus Christ, we can live with Him again.

Love you all!

Con mucho amor siempre!!

Hermana Elisheva Ali :)

One month in the field!! December 3, 2012

Another week already! Ah! This thing is flying by! I have already been in the field for a month! Craaaaazy.

I want to give a shout out to all those who have sent me letters and emails! I really can feel the love and it really brings so much happiness so thank youuuuuu! :)

 

Usually I write down what I want to say so that my thoughts are a bit more organized and I can remember everything I want to say, but I definitely had no time to do that this week so forgive me if everything is jumbled! haha

 

Ok well first off, this week was a good one! We found 6 new investigators (people who want to learn about the Gospel) taught quite a bit of lessons, contacted a bunch had two baptisms and ended the week with the Christmas Devotional from the First Presidency! It was a good one :)

 

Also, I wasnt too sick this week! Haha with a lot of prayer for health and a bit of time, I think my stomach and the food are maybe starting to become friends. Maybe...haha. Ok so we are moving! We are changing apartments to move into one that is in our area on Wednesday so that will be fun living in a new apt! Last monday, we visited the Mission office to hang out with the Dr. because of our illnesses haha and that was exciting to see!

 

I dont have too much time left ah! But I want to talk about the baptism and our Percy, our investigator who is getting baptized this coming Saturday.

 

This past Saturday was so special. Berta and her son Jesus were baptized and confirmed members of the church on Sunday and received the Holy Ghost. Let me just say that no matter how many illnesses I get, or however much I have to walk or climb up hills, it is so worth it to share this Gospel and see the fruits that come from it. The happiness and spirit and love of our Heavenly Father was so present and so strong during the baptismal service. After the ordinance of the baptism, Berta and Jesus were both  just glowing. They were soooo happy! It was a really sweet experience that I will never forget.

 

We have been teachig Percy as well and we have had the opportunity over the past month see a huge change in his life. When we first started teaching him, he was just curious and receptive to the spirit. Now, he has applied the Doctrine of Christ in his life, showed his faith in Christ, repented and had a change of heart, and is going to be baptized and confirmed this weekend. We have seen such a change in him and it is so obvious that he is just so much more happy now than he was before because of the Gospel now in his life. He is SO great and I am so excited for him!!

 

Last but certainly not least, the Christmas devotional. It was in spanish! Haha very interesting to hear different voices than what I am used to. I really liked what President Uchtdorf had to say (the first counselor to the Prophet) about this Christmas and how we should have an attitude of gratitude and the outlook of a child this christmas (and this entire holiday season) for everything we have and will receive. Such a good talk. Im out of time but I love you all!

 

Con mucho amor siempre!

Hermana Ali

 

 

Hoooooooooola!!

 

Hello hello!!! How are you all? Any new and exciting news? I am loving it here :) 

This week I feel like a lot happened but I cant remember much of it! Haha I have a feeling that that is going to be a lot of my mission. Fantastic! But super quick! However, I did write down a few things that were significant to share with you all :)

First off, I got sick again.. haha this food mixed with my stomach are really having a difficult time becoming friends..but thats ok. I got a Priesthood blessing and the next day I was as good as new! 

Also, at the moment, my companion and I have an apartment outside of our area and we have been searching for an apt in our area and we finally found one! We will be moving this Monday. I am rather excited because right now, we live at the top of a rather large, dark hill that no one wants to climb at 9pm. Haha. Our new apt is living with a member-Hermana Atica! She is such a sweetheart :) I am excited for the new adventure! Also, being here, this weather is something else! Some days it is super hot, other days it is cold and windy! Haha a couple times, my companion started freaking out because she thought there was about to be an earthquake. And we, living by the ocean, are not in the greatest place to have a natural disaster occur, Haha. But that didnt happen so thats ok :)

Our investigators are marvelous! I really love them all SO MUCH. We have been teaching Berta and Jesus (mom and son) and they are just wonderful. They are getting baptized this Saturday and I am super excited! Their testimonies are really strong and they have such a desire to follow the Savior and learn as much as they can. I just love them. Next week I will most likely have pictures of their baptism :)

Yesterday I had a super cool experience! So, we were on a bus, on our way to have dinner with some members, and I sat next to a woman. As I sat there, I had a really strong impression to start talking to her and share the Gospel. However, me, being fearful and not really knowing as much spanish as I would like, said ´no´haha. Well, I got the impression again...and again...and again....until I could not argue with it any more. I started talking and words literally filled my mouth. I understood everything that she said and I was able to share the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her (in mini version seeing as we were on a bus) She had the question of ´why are there so many churches?´ She was so sweet! I got her name and number and we are going to be visiting her later this week. It was way cool to have that experience because I relied completely on the Lord to speak and understand, and because I had the faith, He put words in my mouth! Way cool.

This week also, we had the opportunity to be able to have Stake Conference with a member of the Quorum of the 70. It was a really cool experience. He talked about the importance of Repentance and how we need to have a complete change of heart in order to be fully repented. If we rely on the Savior, we can overcome ANY trial and become clean. What a blessing!

Anyways, I dont have any time left, but I love you all! 

Con Mucho amor siempre,

Hermana Ali

PS:   Attached is a picture of our zone at the temple and me and my companion

 

 

 

 

Happy Turkey Day!! November 19, 2012

 

Hola !!!

Finally I got a thing to attach pictures!!! Sorry it took so long. I definitely have a lot more but these I would say sum up my experience so far....more or less haha. The last ones are in the field on my roof! The view that we have and where I live. My companion in the CCM was the only other norte americana hermana and my comp now is hermana sanchez.


Happy Turkey day this week!!! As I listen to the chickens outside my window in the morning, I will think of you all eating your turkey. I am grateful for each and every one of you in my life. :D

Ok! Weekly update here goes:

My spanish is coming along slowly but surely! I can understand probably about 96.7% of what people say so that is definitely helping. The trouble comes when it is my turn to speak. My vocabulary is quite tiny and it is very difficult to describe things when you only know so much hahaha. However, I can definitely tell that it is coming veryyyyyy slowly. Im praying super hard for the gift of tongues so that is definitely helping too! :)
Fun fact I think I have forgotten to mention is the DOGS. Oh my goodness. They are everywhere!!! Soooooooo many. Lying on the street...chasing you...barking nonstop...it is super funny. You have to be super aware and if they start running at you bend down and act like you are picking up a rock to throw at them. It totally works! The other day though...my companion and I were on our way to an appt and we were in an alley with dogs on each end. Hahaha it was funny. We got out of it safely though :)
I got sick from the food so that was fun! Funny thing is though...I ate hot dogs...cooked in my apt haha not even peruvian food! My stomach is super weak. Im all better now though. For now :)

For the first time ever, I get to wash some of my clothes by hand too! It is quite the experience, but definitely a good one! And super cheap too!

Training is coming along. My trainer, companion Hermana Sanchez is good. We are suuuper different and its making me look at things in new perspectives which is really good for me! But she really has such a good heart and cares for these people a lot. We have 5 investigators right now who are interested in learning about the church. We have one in particular who I wanted to talk about who is suuuuuuuper special. I just love him so much! His name is Percy. He is the son of a member who converted 7 years ago who is a cripple. They live in part of ´los cerros´ which is the hills in suuuuper humble circumstances. They are such a loving, devoted family and so humble. Percy is wonderful. He is about 25 or so. In our first lesson with him, we were talking about baptism and how it is important to follow the Savior and the spirit was super strong...so much so that he started crying! It was a super cool experience! The spirit really does touch and soften peoples hearts and it is the way that the Lord is able to communicate with us.

We also this week had a multi zone conference! President Douglas and his wife were there and we got training on how to better teach the Doctrine of Christ. If people truly understand the Doctrine - Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the girft of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End, they will have the desire to change because the spirit will touch their hearts. I know that this is true because I have already seen it in my mission!

Last but not least I have a super cool promise from Pres Hinckley! If someone reads the Book of Mormon out loud, all the way through in a language that they want to learn, having FAITH, they will be able to speak and understand the language. How cool is that!! I challenge you all to do that...(especially in spanish so we can talk when I get home) haha :)

I love you all! I pray for you daily!

Con mucho amor siempre,
Hermana Ali :)

 

 

 

I HAVE ARRIVED!!!!

Hola!!!!!!! Sorry its been a super long time since I emailed...our last preparation day in the CCM was on a wednesday, we came to thye mission the following tuesday and the mission p day isnt until mondays!!! So thats why :) Anyways! AH! Im in the field officially! Its so wierd but SO AWESOME!!!

Ok...so my first day was literally unforgettable. We arrived in the field (about 40 minutes from the CCM haha) and had orientation for about 5 hours...health, safety, rules, etc. The mission president really is amazing and has such strong faith. This is definitely the best mission. :) The focus of the mission is to invite others to really know their Savior Jesus Christ and have the desire to change their lives and repent and come unto Him. Faith and repentance. SO GREAT. Then! We got our first companions!! Oh! Fun fact about our mission, I will never have a norte americana campanion! Way cool. Anyway...Her name is Hermana Sanchez. She is from Mexico and super hard working, super obedient and really wants the best for everyone we come in contact with. She is great :) Anyways...we were assigned to open a brand new area! Chorillos! My first week! Yep..intense. We didnt even really know where we lived so we spent two hours in a taxi looking for our apt. We couldnt find it and ended up waiting at a church building for the zone leaders to show us our apt. We got there and decided to explore. We went up the stairs to look at the view (it overlooks the ocean) and we got locked out! Hahaha soooooooo funny! Anyways yep. That was my first day. Very eventful.

Shoot...i dont have much time left...BUT we basically spent the whole week tracting and contacting people. It was very overwhelming seeing as I dont know spanish too well hahaha but thats ok! With time! Luckily my companion speaks spanish. :)
However, we found quite a bit of people, met SO many amazing people, learned about our area, met our new ward, for me personally I am slowly becoming accustomed to the culture and I love it! For example...we live next to a chicken farmer on the fourth story of a building! haha its great! I dont really even need an alarm clock! I will send pictures next week of the view and of where we live! :)

As for the food...it is delightful! I am pretty sure there is absolutely no way to avoid getting sick because when we eat at members houses we cant say no...haha so I will just accept the sickness and pray that it passes quickly :)

We have 4 new investigators, and they are all super interested and super special! I love these people SO much! The christlike attribute that I have been working on this week is patience. Patience and humility are so important in missionary work because of finding people, teaching, learning a different language and relying on the Lord for every tiny little thing.

I cant attach pictures this week! Ah! But I will try really hard next week to find a little connecter thing for my camera because I have quite a few.

I love you all! Im so excited to be here and I will save more time to write next week and give you more specific details. :D

Con mucho amor siempre!!! :)

Hermana Elisheva Ali

PS. Seeing as I am only surrounded by spanish speakers...I am relatively sure that by the time I get home...I will have forgotten english. Haha

Happy Halloween from Peru! October 31, 2012

Familia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Feliz Dia de Brujas!!! ( as they say here in Peru...happy day of witches!) It´s so good to here from you all! :) I had heard nothing of the crazy storm but I am glad that everyone is safe! That´s crazy that it is worse than Katrina? You all are in my prayers for sure. 

 

 It has been quite a week full of a lot of different activities here in Lima! First off...I have less than a week left here in the CCM!!! I can´t believe it has been nine weeks! Next time you here from me I will be in the field!!! Ah! I dont know what day my new P day will be but I will let you know when I get there :) I am leaving Tuesday afternoon and because I am already in Lima it should only be a drive of an hour or so via bus haha.

 

Ok...So let´s see here...I still LOVE IT here!! So much. I am going to miss this place but I am super excited to get in the field and teach people!!! I have found though that this place really is so inspired! The things we learn here help us when we are out teaching so much and it´s great!! Ok...so one of the Hermanas here, her name is Hna Santacruz, she is from Argentina, she is one of my absolute favorites! She is going to come study at BYUI after the mission! Anyways...the reason I mentioned her is that we have gotten into the fun nightly activity of having her tell us a story every night before bed. Its super funny and helpful because its in spanish! haha yea.. :) Also...another fun fact, for the past 5 weeks here, my companion and I have been the only Norte Americana Hermanas here which has been super fun! But this past week we got two more from Provo. They are both super nice too so thats good :)

 

Ok! So last Saturday, we got to go proselyting again in Campoy!!! Apparently, this city is super dangerous, but being sisters, they put us in a super nice area out of harms way and it was SUCH a wonderful experience! We met so many people and taught about 5 lessons in 4 hours! We gave out probably about 14 pamphlets and 5 Books of Mormon too! We traded companions for the day again and we also had one of the sisters from that area there with us. So that was good because I had two latinas with me! Haha oh spanish... :) Anyway, we started walking up the street and these two little girls probably about 4-5 said... hey! Follow us and come see my family! So obviously...we did! Haha. But anyway, it was a way cool experience! We taught the Family the plan of Salvation and sung ¨Families can be together Forever¨ with them. The spirit was really strong and they invited us back again to hear more. What a beautiful, special family they were! We also taught a girl who was 19 years old who was just SO ready to hear the Gospel, we taught her the Restoration of the Gospel and about Joseph Smith. She just was so cute and so ready to hear about Heavenly Father and how much she was loved as a daughter of God! It was amazing. We talked about baptism and she really has the desire to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. It was incredible.

 

These people are just SO amazing! I love Peru. Im probably going to live here again at some point :)

 

Oh! Also...another fun fact that I have forgotten to mention is my new favorite fruit! They are called Granadillas. Soooooooooooooooo delicious!!! :)

 

Last but certainly not least, my spiritual tidbit of the week...last Wednesday, we had the opportunity to hear from an Area Seventy-Elder Wadell. He talked about the importance of our call and how we need to honor it because of who we are serving. He talked about how when we signed our acceptance to our mission call, we made a covenant with Heavenly Father that we would serve Him for this year and a half for all of the time, not part and that we need to honor our calling of representing Jesus Christ by standing by this covenant. It was SUCH a strong talk.

 

I have to go now! But I love you all!!! :)

 

Con Mucho Amor, SIEMPRE!

 

Hermana Ali :)