Yellow for good luck
January 1, 2016
It means HOORAY FOR THE PARTY LOVERS!
If this country knows how
to do one thing, it’s how to party. I realize I’ve been pretty lame at details
these last few days, so I’ll try to fill in today while I have time.
So for Christmas there aren’t
a lot of traditions because no one believes in Santa Claus, so they just
eat panatonne at 12 and talk all night, kind of fun.
Then for new years, they
shoot off fireworks.... like everyone at 12. It sounds a lot like the city is
being bombed and looks super cool as there are flashes of light everywhere and
a huge haze of smoke falls over the city.
They also burn muñecos.....
or giant dolls (scarecrows) to burn all of the bad things and bad luck that
they had and start the new year. So there are a ton of stakes with what looks
like people burning in all of the streets, kind of creepy and fun.
Anyhow, so we were up for
that last night, love the very loud parties of Peru.
Also this week we have had
a surge of flying grasshoppers in our room and it has been fun to try and catch
them and keep them out at night.
But all in all, I can say
this has been the BEST WEEK OF MY MISSION. I don’t think I could ever say there
has been a better one. From Monday till today we have seen nothing but miracles
and have never worked so hard.
We are currently teaching a
couple called Gizelth and Stalin who just moved here and are SO PREPARED. We
taught about the restoration and at the end Gizelth just started to sob, said
she felt weird and was confused to why she had never heard of this before. She
said "I have been living in a bubble of error!" pretty good way to
explain the apostasy. But they are progressing well and have so much desire to
know if it’s true.
Then on Tuesday we helped a
less active in a cookie factory of sorts as we tried to get to know her and bag
cookies. After that we saw bishop’s brother in the park who we had flagged down
to come to church last week, asked how he was and he said" I think this is
the time in my life to ask questions" It was hard for him to see his
brother lose his daughter, we talked for a while, then gave him a plan of
salvation folleto, only to pass by a half hour later and see him still reading.
The elders are starting to teach him, the Lord really works in mysterious
ways.
After that, we went to a
cita with a contact named Zuni. Turns out, she was 3 days away from having a
baptism interview and being baptized when the elders were taken out of her area
for a shooting. She literally is ready to be baptized. MIRACLES HAPPEN.
Haha... we left that cita
and saw a lady bucketing water that had overflowed from the front of her house
into her house and offered to help. A little while into it we realized it wasn’t
water... but was sewage. But, she needed lots of help so we just kept
bucketing. Turns out, we found out yesterday, someone had dropped a dead pig
into the sewer and it had plugged it up and caused the pipe in front of her
house to break. She said the city wasn’t helping and wouldn’t come until a
truck drove by and saw us... two white girls, trying to help out. They got it
all figured out after we left, but definitely the best service project I’ve
ever done.
We went home and rinsed off
with clorox haha, then went and taught the bishop’s sister who has also attended
church almost all of her life and never been baptized. Pretty much, it was hard
to believe all the miracles that happened that day were real! The Lord really
does prepare the way!
We were pretty sore the
rest of the week, but it sure feels like summer. Running around, working hard
and just so much fun. There really isn’t enough time for all the work we have
to do here, I love it so much and love Hermana Wood so much!
I guess overall I have been
amazed at the trust heavenly father has in us to let us help all these people
who really need it. STOKED for this next year and the chance as always to
repent and be better.
Hope you all can feel the
great joy that comes with service and the gospel. Happy 2016, hopefully it’s
the best one yet.
Hermana Clegg
Our pensions muñeco
Fireworks!
