La Floresta

Hna Ipanaquè and I are just a tad bit upset you (the fam &Judy/Preston) didn´t take us with you to the beach BUT we forgive you because that is what we do as missioneras ;) Plus, La Floresta 1, our area, is BEAUTIFUL! theres so many random flowers, i love it. my favorite are the pùrple ones theyre way bright. unfortunately both of my memory cards have gotten viruses. they man is trying to recover some of my fotos right now so well see if i attach pictures this week or not. anywho!

shoutouts...
1. first one goes to CRAIG! congrats on being a STUD in softball, im so proud of you and way happy youre having fun making friends!
2. LUKE! you can swim across the pool! Way to go little man.
3. BROTHER #3! .....im sure youre doing great things too, just not sure what they are. hint, hint, write me sometime. :)
4. BECKY KERNS! im so happy to hear your news! youve been in my prayers.
5. CONNOR SHOWERS! youre going to georgia!!! not the best mission in the world, that would be cochabamba, but still way excited for you!
6. KATHERINE DAHLE! you got home last week, verdad? someone give her a big hug for me and send me her info!

weekly notsoimportant things
i may or may not have gotten a nice little shock turning off my shower the other day. hah. i didnt touch the wires, still got a nice little taste, but dont worry im a professional now.
speaking of showers. did you know if you sing in the shower the water isnt as cold? try it out, i promise its true.
cleaning the apt was worse than my Kerr apt (kristy, remember= hah). didnt attach a pic to save your stomaches.
pictures curl at the edges here bc of the humidity
if you order food at Luigis in central Cochabamba, dont order the tenders. theyre the size of nuggets when you could have gotten half a chicken.
i saw a cow itch its head with its hind leg this week. i think thats better than seeing a shooting star
we now eat with the zone leaders, elder pachas and elder cribbs. theres 6 of us now.
white diet... you have to eat completely all white food to flush your system. probably not too healthy, but doctors orders (not me, elder cribbs)
we had to stop the taxi 2 diff times this week bc there were cows in the way that wouldnt move. we live in farm land.
its nearly impossible to be on time bc we are at the mercy of when a taxi comes.
temptation ice cream.. that was the name... learned my lesson not to give into temptation. chocolate covered vanilla ice cream with blackberry flavor isnt as good as it looks. i tried it for you dad.
i will be a master egg cooker by the end of my mission. two a day .
like peru, bolivia loves putting gum in EVERY lollipop
sunday walks home are beautiful, we pass a field thats my favorite. way green and lots of butterflies, ill take a pic someday
i thought my house was on fire this week but it was just the farmers getting their fields ready.
the neighbors are way close. a handful of our investigators are teens/BFFS (antonio 20 fredy 13 abraham 14? arlete 11 emilee 14?)
if you write me a letter, say PS hi elder cribbs and pachas on the back
i got asked where i was from and the man was genuinely surprised when i didnt say bolivia. YES. WIN.
i got accused of witchcraft this week because i used words from my heart in my prayer. ouch.
a certain investigator after each time i spoke or bore testimony or asked a question asked me about spanish or english or beinga  gringa.
once upon a time i was told i have sandpaper hands. lotion here absorbs super fast.
weirdest culture thing ive noticed is that people dont speak up if something loud passes by (ex an airplane or semi). doesnt make the language barrier easier
i felt the equivalent of top ramen and nerds
green powerade is delicious, only took me 19 years
will i ever sleep on p day?

funny moments
i saw a spider the size of my palm (literally) and pretty much freaked out. hna ipanaquè didnt flinch. aparently, it isnt out of the ordinary.
i may or may not have gotten my butt slapped by a drunk man on a bicicle riding past .

bendiciones
getting popcorn and grapefruit soda for refreshments at noche de hogar. we didnt get dinner that night, so not only was it my favorite little snack (popcorn. hailey. :) but it somehow filled my belly so i wasnt hungry. tender mercy.
seeing hno rider (8) after a heartbreaking experience with hno luis, the dad i mentioned last week. long story short were not allowed to come back or be friends with his daughter, his heart is hardened this week. im prayin hard for him. anywho hno rider is adorable, the brother of hna arlete, and reminds me of luke. he brightens my day.
also brightens my day, is Cody!!!! a perro that lives in our housing area. he walks with us during the day. although we are not sure if hes really a boy anymore... wont go into details. he responds when we call him and so des devin, another perro. ill take a pic another day.
playing futbol with my investigators! the language didnt matter for those 45 min of my life and we laughed and played together. arlete, anotonio, fredy, saul, janet, and abraham all came! so fun. :)
in futbol (basketball court) i got taken out decently badly and went flying. but when i got up i didnt have a single scratch nor sangre nor was my head cracked open. i didnt total a car like you bryce but i definitely had a gaurdian angel.
hna arlete was happy to the point of tears when we gave her a for strength of youth pam`hlet . i love her so much!
OREO PIE. i could have gone to heaven it was so good.
i found bulb lights in the street, theyre my favorite. we took a pic
hna ipanaquè is an amazing maestra. theres so much i can learn from her and im so grateful i have her as my trainer. shes wonderful. i hope  somehow you can meet her
we had a leccion with liliana and her ENTIRE FAMILY. (2 hijas one hjo and spouse). the spirit was so strong. i feel in my heart this family is one of the families im meant to find and help. all we did was answer their questions about the LDM but it was powerful and i can see their hearts changing.
hna ipanaquè told me shecan see in my eyes the love i have for my investigators. she said its su`per strong and shed be surprised if they cant feel it. that made me feel good. if im not talking im praying in my head that they accept our message and feel the spirit bearing the witness of the truth of our words.
hna ana rojas, a member, came with us for some lessons. man she is an ANGEL. it was definitely a blessing from heavenly father she came, she was able to answer exactly what arlets mom needed to hear. she also hosts noche de hogar at her house every lunes and last week 40 kids/teens (most nonmembers) showed. she has a lesson, a game, and a refreshment (ex, pan or juice or something simple but still for that many people, out of her own pocket)... she is inspiring.
we had some quality lessons this week that were more of conversations and completely led by the spirit to help resolve doubts and questions. its amazing teaching by the spirit.

highlights
david a bednar is coming! 22 agosto.  i had a heart attack when the D was written, i thought it was deiter f uchtdorf, my FAVORITE, but no. another day. either way im way excited!
fhe (noche de hogar) con hna maria nely y su hijos y the neighbor kids. there were so many of them. i brought my english bom and they were fascinated with it. those pictures are some of my favorites. i love children.
arlete (11) accepted a baptism fetcha!! my first one of the mission! shes a sweetheart and definitely has a true desire to follow christ. we kept having interruptions (phone, neighbor, baby, dog, you name it) but satan lost as always and the spirit won! so excited for her. 29 agosto!
also, damaris accepted a fetcha! 29 ago tambien. she is 8 years old and the cutest thing ever. when i invited her to follow the example of jesucristo al ser bautizado... she cried! i joked it was bc my spanish was bad but hna Ipanaquè assured me (and i know itstrue) it was bc she could feel the spirit so strongly. tears literally flowed out of this little 8 year old girl. it was a powerful moment.
antonio (20) came back! literally a miracle, probably my favorite one from this week. he went to the cuartel (army, not the best place to go im told) but 24 hours later he was back! when i found out he was gone my heart broke. he had recieved an answer to be baptized and specifically not to join the cuartel but was scared and left instead. anywho, heavenly father brought him back and im so excited to help him have the faith to follow his answer! he has a super humble heart and is going to bless a ton of people.
president hansen was going to close la floresta 1 (mi àrea) but he felt inspired to leave it open, for one more semester (so hna ipanaquè told me). we are the last chance for this area! im so grateful he followed his answer and kept it open! there are SO MANY people here to help and so many wonderful, wonderful people! im determined to work hard and save this area. im not going to give up on these people. i love them. walking down these rocky roads is where im supposed to be, i can feel it in my soul. and every day, literally EVERY DAY, the spirit testifies to me that this investigator or this person or this child has been waiting for ME, and i can help them. its amazing.

random thoughts..
converts have always amazed me. this message is so new and so different yet they have such great faith to accept the invitation (NOT OBLIGATION) from missionaries and find out if this message is true. its amazing to see this change in their lives. ive always kind of been jealous of converts, beause they really have to find out for themselves this church is true to join, but then again were all converts. we all reach that point when we know this church is true and we know it will be a part of our lives and souls forever. im so grateful i reached that point and am here on a mission bc its the greatest thing helping others find the truth and fulfillment to their lives. i know so little and i have so much to learn but the things i know, i KNOW. i cant help but share this message bc this msg has truly changed me life. the msg of jesus christ and his atonement. some missionaries going home bore their testimonies about having fear at the beginnning of their mission... not me. i have no fear. i crave to be able to say the things of my heart and to break the language barrier and have a stronger relationship with my converts. its hard wit the language barrier but im learning more every day. not just the language, but patience and love and humility and many oothers. it doesnt matter what people do or say to me, they cant take away my testimony. its mine. they cant change the truth.

scriptures
its not a sin to want a buff husband. it is the first trait of captain moroni and he was one of the greatest men to walk this earth, go check alma 48:11-13 and 17 if you dont believe me.
applying scriptures to your life.. care packages in month two! alma 56:27
stripling warriors have always been some of my favorites. alma 56:25-26. great faith, no doubts. reminds me of a byui devo. were all fighting battles and we all hae battle wounds so put your arm over your brothers shoulder and help him through his battle.
seeing the lords hand every day and personal promises being fulfilled. alma 50:19


i love you all and have a great week!
i will, bcc tomorrow were going to the TEMPLEEEEEEEEE!!!
--
Hermana Wilson