Monday, September 25, 2017

Bye Bye Sucre





Hello everyone:

 This week was pretty crazy. Sister Montoya, Our Mission President's wife called us this week and asked us to organize a little class and activity for women's conference for all the hermanas in the zone and we did it. It was crazy but so much fun. I learned so much from the other hermanas testimonies. One told us that in the mission she has learned to value her toughest moments because they are now the most beautiful. And its so true. The mission is soo hard but it is soo 

worth it.


We made pizza with the sister in my zone.
                                         


 Hello everyone:

 This week was pretty crazy. Sister Montoya, Our Mission President's wife called us this week and asked us to organize a little class and activity for women's conference for all the Hermanas in the zone and we did it. It was crazy but so much fun. I learned so much from the other Hermana’s testimonies. One told us that in the mission she has learned to value her toughest moments because they are now the most beautiful. And it’s so true. The mission is so hard but it is so worth it.
 

 Also!! This week Alejandro was baptized!!! AHHH! It was a total plot twist and shocked but I can’t believe it happened. Alejandro bore his testimony during his baptism and he said that his heart had been changed because he began to read the book of Mormon. We started eating with their family when I first got to Sucre. Almost everyone in the family is baptized except him and the youngest son but Ale said that what helped him come to church was when we first became his friends. We would eat with them lunch and then wash the plates and get to know him and he said that it helped him. When we gave him a pre-baptismal interview and it was so beautiful when he said that he had been forgiven of all his sins. It is such a miracle that Ale was baptized. And his dad got to baptize him it was so beautiful. His mom cried a lot during the baptism and they are just one step closer to being an eternal family. I laughed a lot when in his baptism he just told stories about how he rejected and hid from the sisters. When I first met him, and said we missed him at church he glared and said I don’t go to church, Hermana. But now he loves it.

Alejandro was baptized by his Dad.
                               
Alejandro and his family.





I also received news I am leaving Sucre. I feel like my heart is staying here but I know it’s time to leave. I grew so much here and met so many amazing people who strengthen my testimony. It really feels like I am leaving my family behind, but I know it only means I worked hard.
Hermana Lopez 


                                                

                                                                             





Monday, September 18, 2017

When you are in the service of your fellow beings you are only in the service of your God.


Hi everyone!!

This week was hard again. It's really hard to watch people you truly love suffer. Some of the converts here they are going through some serious problems. Their parents just left them abandoned and now the oldest Luis who is 16 has to work and provide for his family. It's a really rough situation, but something incredible is watching converted disciples step in. The relief society president went to go visit them and she brought them food but not only that, she went to their school and talked to their teachers and is now teaching them how to do Math. She lets them sit with her family at church and she takes them out to eat and gives them love they need. It was so amazing to see that. No one even asked her to do it, she just started doing it. She goes to their school and buys all their supplies they need.
Luis, Nayeli and Ricardo my favorite !!


















In ward council, the bishop asked the other leaders to pitch in. Everyone was assigned days to visit them and bring them food. And then a lot of people even offered to pay for clothes and stuff. It was also really sad because one leader said bishop, I really  dont have time to go over and help them. I have to work, I'm really busy. And then the first counselor said, Hermana everyone is busy. but these are God's children; I invite you to find time to serve God. Everyone was dead silent. 

Ines and her famiy invited Luis and his sibilings to Family Home evening
I learned a lot that being baptized we made a promise to follow and serve God. One of the leaders said there is not much I can do as a leader in this church but there is a lot I can do as a friend to Luis.
A recent convert family invited all 4 kids to a family home evening at their house and went all out on baking them sweets and helping them just feel love. Because thats all they really need is to feel like they are not alone.

-- Hna Lopez.
Our ward a talent show where different traditional Bolivian dances were presented


During study time
It is very cold in Sucre.

Monday, September 11, 2017

More adventures in Sucre




This week went by super fast, we had to fly out to Cochabamba and come back to Sucre in about 24 hours due to leadership conference so I was a little tired haha. But we still worked really hard!!!! 


Leadership Conference






During leadership conference




Mauri and Juan Pablo our pensionista's son







We are working with Alejandro and Mauricio they are our pensionista's sons and wow it has been so so awesome to be able to teach them. Ale is 25 and Mauri is 18. All of the family was baptized 6 months ago except them and its been a slow process but a miraculous one too . This past Friday we asked them if they felt ready to be baptized and Ale said he was sure, but Mauri said not yet and that Ale should just be baptized without him. But we felt strongly that they could baptized together and then their family could start preparing to be sealed in the temple so we told Mauri we would give him until the 16th to decide so that we could start planning his baptism after. We told his parents about our plan and we all decided to fast for them. It was probably one of the sweetest moments in my mission being able to fast with their parents. The dad said a really strong prayer about how much he wanted their family to be eternal. We are all praying for Mauri to feel ready.  

It's so  hard for most people here to be members of this church, they have to sacrifice so much and give up a big part of their culture. But I know that repentance changes us and it helps us become converted to God and not to anything else. This Sunday the elders convert came running up to us crying because her dad hit her once he found out she was coming to church to be confirmed. She asked us why it had to be hard for her and easy for everyone else.

It was a really humbling experience. We are so blessed to have the truth.

--
Hermana Lopez 






Bolivian breakfast: Api and bunuelos!!
Sometimes we have to take these huge buses to get from one part of our area to the other and the buses get really full so we have to hang out of them.