Week 60 - Exchanges and A Book More Precious than Gold!

Buenos Dias!

This has been a great week here in Los Baños del Inca despite a slight case of the flu Sunday afternoon. This week the Elders from Celendin (a little village about 3 hours outside of Cajamarca) came up for companionship interchanges. For a couple of days this week I had the privilege of proselyting with my good friend Elder Torres from Machala Ecuador. He and I were in the missionary training center together and we are now in the same district. We had a great time proselyting and it is real fun to learn from his energy and excitement to contact. Interchanges really help Elders learn new ideas and break out of the routine that we occasionally find ourselves in. He is a great example for me of talking with everyone. One never knows who really needs the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and so the message deserves to be shared with everyone. Elder Torres really takes that to heart stopping anyone in the street to give a quick message. It is just awesome.

This week Elder Zapatiel and I have been teaching a family that live waaaaaaaay up a hill near by Baños, they are Luciano (35), Jaime (18), and Fiorela (14). This week we were teaching them about the Book of Mormon, which is a volume of scripture that teaches about and is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. We were teaching them about the importance of this book in relation to the idea that it is an evidence of the restoration of the Gospel in these modern days when I remembered a talk given by the President of the church, Russell M. Nelson. In this talk President Nelson told about a story when he was on a visit to western Africa when an African tribal king approached him and initially began to ask him about the Book of Mormon through his translator. After explaining that the Book of Mormon is a second testament about Christ, the king left his translator and in perfect English began to express his gratitude for this book. He explained that anyone could give him jewels, rubies or gold, but nothing was more precious to him than more information about our Savior Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is another opportunity to learn more about our Savior and from a perspective of prophets here in the Americas. It is just awesome and something that we should value more than gold or jewels or any worldly possession. It is truly a privilege to share this message with the world. 

Everything is going great here in Los Baños del Inca. This past week Carnival has begun, so all the town is decorated with colorful streamers and we now have to be careful where we go and to choose our paths carefully. This month everyone, from little toddlers to adults, is on the prowl trying to get everyone else wet. Whether it is water balloons, super soakers, or even people driving by in pickup trucks with buckets of water, everyone is out and about trying to share the "Carnival spirit". Well it is lots of fun and it looks like one of these days we might start throwing water-balloons from our balcony to share not just the gospel but also the "Carnival spirit" with all those that pass by. 

Los Baños del Inca is awesome and this has been an awesome week here. 

Hasta Luego!

Elder Jack Vassau

Week 58 - Jaime and Jovita, & did someone say eat Monkey and Alligator?

Buenos Dias!!

This has been a great week here in los Baños del Inca. This week we had a real fun opportunity to have a family home evening with Jaime and Jovita Diaz in our Stake President, President Barbosa’s, house.  We focused on the theme of how we can support the burdens we have here on Earth that appear in our families, our work, our school, among many other situations. God gives us challenges so that we can learn and progress. If we never had any type of problem that needs solving we would never need to learn and we will not be following our Father´s plan which is to be tested here on Earth. How can we have a test without any challenges? Everything that happens in this life, whether it be when we get stuck out in the rain here in Baños or when someone shuts a door on us, everything that happens is for our spiritual wellbeing. These challenges can help us learn and progress if we know how to take them on well. The key lays in 3 simple tools God has given us. These tools are prayers, scripture study, and church attendance. If we do these three things all the while having faith in Christ, we will be able to take on any challenge that presents itself and be able to us it as an opportunity to learn. It is awesome and so simple. Prayer, Scripture Study, and Church attendance. 

In slightly less spiritual news tonight we have a family home evening with a member of the ward who is from the jungle. He recently traveled to Iquitos, his home town, and has brought us back some alligator and monkey to eat. Awesome right?!?!?! Wish us luck tonight 

Well this has been an awesome week here in los Baños del Inca and with a little bit of divine help this coming week will be even better. 

Love,

Elder Vassau 

Week 57 - Elaina, Milgros & Diana; 3 hours in a bus to the mountains of Celendin

Buenos Dias!!!

This week has been pretty awesome. The week started off a little bit slow with  lot of doors being shut on us but when ever there is a challenge all one has to do is keep working hard and the blessings will come. For us the blessings came on Thursday when we went to teach Elaina Diaz and her family. Her, her daughter Milagros (12), and her daughter Diana (20), all have accepted baptismal dates for the 20th of January. That being said we have had  difficult time teaching Diana because she is always working. This Thursday we were teaching the Plan of Salvation to Milagros and Elaina and right as we are about to invite the family to come to church with us, Diana walks in. She quickly took a seat and we ask, "This Sunday will you guys attend the church with us". We barely finished the invitation and Diana just about fell out of her chair screaming "Yes". She then proceeded to turn to her family, who had been  little quieter in this moment and said "well it looks like I will be attending alone". It was pretty hysterical to witness. Diana then went on to explain to us, that without us inviting her to do so, she had talked with her boss and told him she cannot work on Sundays so she can attend church. How awesome right, the Lord really prepares people to hear the Gospel and when these people receive the message they just want to follow it. It is something inside that just guides everyone to do what is right. Well the whole family attended, Elaina and her three children and it was just awesome. This week in church we were blessed to see three different families attend, Elaina and her family, Jovita and Jaime, and the Estela Medina Family. God truly loves the family. 

This week Elder Zapatiel and I traveled to a small town about 3 hours outside of Cajamarca to conduct a baptismal interview and have interchanges in this town called Celendin. The Elders from Celendin are a little bit isolated from the rest of the world but it was so much fun travelling to proselyte with them in what is  bit more of Peruvin countryside. They serve in a small branch which has an attendance of 25, 7 of which are investigators. Well the bus ride through green windy hills, basically in the clouds was super beautiful and the people of Celendin are amazing. In Celendin the ancestry is northern European so you will find lots of people who have light skin, colored eyes, and different colored hair. They call them Shilicos, so we fit right in. The people there are so humble and receptive to the gospel. We were able to teach 11 new people in just one day. They were practically just inviting us into their homes. It just goes to show that yet again the Lord prepares people to recieve this message. 

In other news this week was transfers and not a lot changed. They sister missionaries in our district closed their area so now it is just the 6 Elders, and now we have permission to include the Elders from celendin in the district meetings via skype.... wooooooh.... hahaha.

Well all is awesome here in los Baños del Inca. Until next week. 

LOVE,

Elder Vassau

Week 56 - Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Feliz Navidad & Feliz Ano Nueuvo!

This has been a great week here in Los Baños del Inca. Monday was Christmas where of course... we played soccer, and yesterday was New Year's Eve, where of course... we fell asleep before being able to see any fireworks. The mission is awesome  This week we had an awesome apointment with little Milagros, Percy, their older sister Diana, and their mom Elaina where they all accepted to get baptised. It's awesome. This week we have been working a lot with the family of Jaime Diaz and his wife Jovita Huaripata. They are super awesome and have testimonies of the truthfulness of what we teach, the problem is that they are not married and a couple that is living together cannot be baptised without being first married. Both of them would be willing to get married however... they this year have had a lot of challenges in their relationships. Although neither Zapatiel nor I are marital nor relationship masters, but what we do know is the Gospel of Jeus Christ which can help us with whatever challenges and problems we have. We have been visiting them with various couples from the ward here in los Baños del Inca who can testify of the blessings that come when we apply Gospel Principles as the center piece of our family. It is just so amazing when a family can share the same purpose and cause of following the teachings of Jesus Christ. This week we read with Jaime and Jovita a document published by the church called "The Family: A Proclamation to the World ". It explains the importance of the family and marriage to God. Our Heavenly Father has put us here on Earth in a family for a reason and it is because it is one of the best places to learn. It is also one of the places where we can experience the greatest blessings that our Father in Heaven has prepared for us. That being said it is also something that can present lots of challenges and sorrow when there are problems. It is our job to help keep the family together and in the paith of following Jesus Christ. If we do that, although challenges will always present themselves, we can find the peace of mind that only our savior can offer. Hopefully Jaime and Jovita, applying things such as the family pray and scripture study, can fix the problems they have currently, get married, and take the first couple of steps to enjoy a family that can be eternal if they are willing to follow Christ together. This week has been awesome and I would like to wish everyone a happy New Year and a delayed Merry Christmas. 

Love,

Elder Vassau