Guinea Pig!! January 14, 2013

Hola !!!

How are things in your part of the world? I hope your week was fantastic! Full of exciting adventures, fun activities and happiness. :)

I can officially say that I have eaten something super different! Roasted Guinea Pig! Aka...CUY :D It was super tasty too! Haha. Luckily my stomach is at the point where I am able to experiment with different kinds of food! Woot!

Ok, so this week seems to have flown by in a whirlwind! Im not even 100% sure what happened. Well, first things first, we have a new companion! Her name is Hermana Perez. She is from Huancayo Peru and is only here temporally until she gets her visa. She was actually called to serve in the Columbia, Bogota Sur mission! Shes great! She has the biggest smile and a super good attitude too! All three of us get along super well and we are super excited to be able to teach together!

This week we basically have just been contacting and teaching as many people as possible. Not only is it wonderful opportunities to find new investigators, but it is also a great opportunity for my spanish to improve! I feel like its definitely coming along well. Something that I learned in the past couple of weeks is how important it is to serve other people. I have been striving to look for opportuities to serve, and praying only for other people. Because of that, Heavenly Father has really blessed me in my own abilities as well, especially with spanish. He works in mysterious ways, but he really does answer prayers. I love it!

Something that really stood out to me this week is the importance also of listening to the spirit. We have been teaching two sisters, Linda and Gypsy. We found Linda knocking doors, and Gypsy when we helped her with her groceries. We hadnt seen them for about a week, but we felt like we should go and visit them...so we did. :) Haha

When we went and stopped by, They told us that they had been praying for something to happen, or some sign that Heavenly Father really was there and listened. Because we listened to the spirit, their prayer was answered. How cool is that?? :)

I love it! I know Heavenly Father listens. Pray to him personally, and daily, he will answer :)

I love you all and pray for you daily! Until next week!

Con mucho amor siempre,

Hermana Elisheva Ali :)

5 months already!!! January 7, 2013

Hola !!!

I cant believe I have already been on my mission for 5 months!!! Time is flying by! Ah! I hope that you all had a wonderful New Years!!! Anything terribly exciting happen in NYC with the big ball drop? I also hope that you set goals that are realistic, attainable, and that will help you achieve important things that will help you grow and change :) As for Peru, New Years is basically the same activities as Christmas. The custom is to stay up until all hours of the night, eat a ton of food and have fiestas until the wee hours of the morning. Also, Peru REALLY loves fireworks. Hahaha. New Years eve, and the night following as well, the sky was filled with light the entire night and the sound was insane! However, I was able to sleep nice and peacefully :)

Haha. Ok So I have some exciting news!! My companion Hermana Sanchez and I are getting a third companion! We dont know anything about her yet, not even her name or where she is from, but we are headed to the mission office tomorrow to pick her up! She is brand new so Hermana Sanchez will be training both her and I all in one! Im almost done though, so thats a bit less stress on her :)

Ok so I received three packages last week and had a mini Christmas!! ( as you can see from the pictures) Thank you SO MUCH Mom, Alison and Alyssa!! :) All of the gifts are being thoroughly enjoyed, both my my companion and I :D Thank you thank you thank you!!

Ok, so I have failed to mention a couple of funny things that are custom in Peru. First of all, there are dogs everywhere!!! Haha its great. When they are friendly :) Also, I love it. In Latin culture, there is no such thing as being fat and people simply refer to overweight people as ¨Gorditos¨. That being said, we have a dog that we live with--Dana who is a big ol white dog who is rather gordita. SHe is the best :) However, her and I, when we are together have developed the term ¨Gringitas gorditas¨ basically signifying chubby white people. hahahahaha. I love it!

This past week has been great!! We have found a lot of people who are interested in learning about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and who really are looking to change their lives for the better. We have been working with members of the church a lot and teaching their friends and family and it is the best! We are meeting new people, and getting to know the members of our ward even better!

Spanish is coming along great!! I can understand just about everything that is said! Talking as well is getting a lot better. I am able to communicate (almost all the time) what I want to, and when I dont have the words, the spirit takes over and speaks to the hearts of those who are listening and they always end up understanding! The Holy Ghost really is so powerful in the way that we are able to receive answers to prayers from our Father in Heaven and the way we are able to recognize truth. The peaceful feelings, and the joy and happiness that we feel when we do something good, when we recognize something is true, and when something is from Heavenly Father is indescribable and so wonderful!

Heavenly Father has blessed us with the ability to recognize the Holy Ghost as a way to answer prayers and I know that it is real. I challenge you all to pay attention to the feelings that come after you pray...they are from the Holy Ghost :)

I love you all and hope your week is wonderful!

Con mucho amor siempre,

Hermana Ali :)

Feliz Ano Nuevo!!! Monday, December 31, 2012

Hoooooooooooooola !!! :)

I hope that all of your Christmas´s were beautifully wonderful and full of happiness!! Mine was great! We had dinner with our zone, turkey, potatoes, chicha morada ( my new favorite drink made from purple corn) and some sort of interesting pasta salad. It was a grand old time. Also...Christmas here is super different than the states! They eat dinner at 11 or 12 at night, and stay up to watch fireworks and have parties until about 6am! Haha. Also, Dec 24 is big for them here, hardly anything happened on Dec 25! Very different but way fun! Im thinking we should implement this practice in the US :) Haha

Anyways, this week was a good one! We worked really hard this week to find new investigators, worked with members, contacted, and had a lot of really good lessons! It was a good one. My companion and I are really good! I am learning a lot from her and her from me and we are a good team :) I love the members of our ward as well. They love missionaries! Haha and because of it, we ate a whole lot this past week of holidays. Also...today, for New Years, we are scheduled for 3 dinners! Ah! Haha but its ok :)

Ok! This week we had the baptism of one of my new favorite people, Javier Calderon. He is 91 years old and has the biggest testimony and desire to follow Christ ever! He is just so wondeful :) He was baptized on Sunday morning with the help of three brethren!! Haha. It was a beautiful experience. When he emerged from the water, he had the BIGGEST smile on his face and the spirit was so strong it completely filled the room. You literally could not deny it. We had been praying this whole week for him to be able to be baptized and I know that our prayers were answered. Heavenly Father really does listen and He loves His children so much! :)

I dont have too much more time, but I wish you all the best New Years ever! Being a missionary and having the opportunity to work with goals has really helped me to understand the importance of setting goals, and doing all you can to be able to accomplish them. Rely on the Lord with your goals, he will help you :)

I love you all and pray for you daily! :)

Con mucho amor siempre!!
Hermana Ali :)

PS...I will attach photos next week!! :)

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