Carnival

Sorry I don't have any pictures this week, it's been raining and cold and you can't see 5 feet in front of you.) Yesterday was Carnival in Cusco. Just imagine an entire city in a water balloon and squirt gun fight. So many little kids got us wet it was ridiculous. 

This week was very normal, we worked hard in the rain and are teaching a lot of people, the problem is we can't find people to teach here. And if you don't have people to teach you're kinda stuck. We're begging the members for help lately with references and stuff like that but we'll see what happens. It's been crazy rainy with lightning, but when you're 11,000 feet high it's a lot different. We were walking the other day and saw/heard/felt a lightning bolt hit the street right in front of us and I hope that doesn't happen ever again haha. 

All we did was work this week sorry for a boring short email but I hope you all had an awesome week! My mission feels like a dream I feel like I'll wake up one day in my bed at home and be 2 years older, This week is March already!! Love you all!

Cow Hearts

This week was so long my goodness. Elder Cabral and I worked so hard this week. We found a 20 year old named German who had a billion questions for us and said he wanted to be baptized yesterday, his mom died about 10 months ago and has a 6 month year old daughter. His life story made me so grateful for what I have. I started teaching him the first vision but he just recited it with me it wasn't even teaching it was just reviewing what we gave him a few days back. It was a different perspective hearing an investigator tell the story of Joseph Smith, it was so spiritual it was awesome. It's so cool when people come up to you and ask for help and questions rather than us chasing people down to tell them haha. Elder Cabral and I have trouble contacting, it just doesn't work. We had everyone in our ward write down 5 people in their life that they think need the gospel and we're finding sooo many more people that way. German is a friend of a member but never was really interested until he met us, at that point he wanted to know literally everything. We consider him a friend not an investigator and that's just so much better. 

There are so many white people in my sector it's crazy weird. We went to a family home evening and when we walked in there were 2 people from Canada sitting on the couch that didn't speak Spanish, (the family works in tourism, actually our whole ward does) so Elder Cabral looked at me and said "I don't speak English". So I got to teach in English! It was like the hardest thing ever I've forgotten how to speak Gospel terms in English I was talking like a 4 year old but it was cool! 

Saturday there was a reunion of return missionaries that served in Cusco like 20 years ago and they went on splits with us! It was so cool to see how they did things so long ago. We actually got a lot of work done with them so that was nice.

 Wednesday was Elder Cabral's birthday, probably the worst day of the week no offense Elder Cabral but eating 4 cakes was not fun. I ate cow heart which was insanely good, it's just meat but the flavor was so dang good. Peru does not have good food at all but there are some things here and there that are super good and different. I'm so sick of rice and potatoes and chicken. Like there is so much food in the world I don't know why we eat the same thing every single day haha. We had spaghetti one day and I got super excited until I ate it... 

I hope you all had an awesome week I'm lovin it here in Cusco! (I'll probably have like a picture a week of my companion this guy is too funny) 

Ttio---Cusco / CUY

So wow what a change. I'm sitting here at this computer eating American candy so that's pretty awesome. Cusco!!!!!. People speak English here! No more Inkan Language!! I'm in a very touristy part of Cusco so there's a billion white people and stores that sell American stuff:) I miss Yunguyo a lot but Cusco is just as equally cool but in different ways. I'm not stressed on Sundays anymore about running the entire Sacrament meeting, there's as many in this ward as in my ward at home which is super weird. There's just so much more support from members here,(probably because there's like a billion) but we just ask for references and always get them which is super cool.

 Ok so my companion is Elder Cabral, he's from Paraguay and probably the funniest dude I've met. So happy I have an awesome companion this change, going from Yunguyo to Cusco was super weird. We work super hard but I'm having the most fun ever so far on my mission. We work until the latest we possibly can and we wake up early to go play basketball with our investigators. My first day here I asked a lady named Milagros (means miracles in english) to be baptized and she said yes so that was pretty different hahaha. She's super cool and we'll be helping her get ready for the next couple of weeks. My companion speaks 0 english which is awesome because I literally don't speak english anymore, only when members want to practice with me which is like the coolest and funniest thing ever. 

The weather here makes me so happy it's ridiculously nice. Every where you look it's super gorgeous, green mountains everywhere. I still die everytime we play basketball because of the altitude but I'll get used to it. Lovin' Cusco, very different but in a good way. I just hope I STAY here. I think one thing that will always bother me is moving around so much, it's super hard especially when you have investigators and members that you're really close with. Yunguyo I'll be back!! I think my dream is to finish my mission in Yunguyo. That'd be super cool. Buttttt I'll probably end up in the jungle of Puerto and be eaten by a 7 foot spider. I always have to remember that the Lord sends me where HE wants me to go, not where I want to go haha, there's always a reason for everything, I'm excited to serve here, I'm having a blast with Elder Cabral he's my little chubby David Archuleta. I hope you all have a good week!!! Oh that guinea pig is named Alejandro. We caught him in the street, that's like pure gold in Peru, soooo we ate him;) The dish is called Cuy. Super good. Other picture is of Elder Hatfield, Elder Casteneda, and me,we all left our beloved home of Puno:( 

Goodbye Yunguyo

Just found out like 5 minutes ago that I will be leaving Yunguyo and going to serve in CUSCO! I'm super duper sad but I know it will be awesome. This was completely unexpected. Lots of things got mixed up, it was almost certain I was gonna stay in Yunguyo and train a new missionary, I was like 100% sure I was going to, even the zone leaders told be it was going to happen and today we all got our changes and everyone just got slapped in the face with it, so much has changed.  My companion will be Elder Leon. Have to travel back to Cusco tomorrow morning and start working. Have to head to Yunguyo tonight and pack super fast. I'm so upset hahaha. I had so much work to do in Yunguyo. I just gotta trust and love it. It's such a big change, I'm going from one of the hardest and unsuccessful areas to a very successful area that'll be super weird. Terrified of what's to come and super stressed BUT it's awesome. 

Anyways! This weekend was awesome. I got to work with my companion from the MTC Elder Wells, so right now in Puno there's a giant party called Candelaria and we can barely work because everyone's in the street and we can't be out there. Internet here is run through a potato. It was super nice to hang out with them after traveling for so long this past week. UGH I'm gonna miss Yunguyo so much. Crazy stuff happening. Maybe someday I'll get called to work there again, I feel so obligated to be there and now I'm just straight up leaving. Alright I got a ton to do I hope you all have an awesome week next time I email I'll be with my new companion in Cusco!! Super excited and scared!!!! PROVERBS 3:5-6 ----I have to read this a lot right now. 

5 ¶Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.