It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Christmas!!!!!

So I do not have a whole bunch to say this week. This past week we had our "Christmas Party" with like 6 zones in Huanuco with Presidente Henderson. We had a great time. What I enjoyed the most was the WEATHER. Oh man. It is perfect temperature in Huanuco!!! The party was great and it was great to see Elder Bush, Elder Wittaker and Elder Holmes. (See photos)

 

 

 

As we approach Christmas this week. I wanted to share a few thoughts I have had this week....

The first is, I have really been studying a lot about the Grace of Jesus Christ, since his life was a gift to us from our Heavenly Father, it seems only right to share a little bit about his life as we celebrate his birth. The Grace given to us by Jesus Christ when he suffered for all of our sins, temptations, afflictions, sufferings, pains, etc. is a gift. A talk that I truly love, was given by Brad Wilcox, at a BYU devotional a few years back called, "His Grace is Sufficent." Wow. For many people, Grace is really hard to comprehend. For me it was. I had no clue what Grace really was until I studied this talk. I learned from this talk that this life is practice. We are to practice heaven here on Earth. One thing Brad said that really sticks out to me is this, "Heaven will not be Heaven for those who do not choose to be Heavenly". Well isnt that the truth?? When we practice Heaven here on Earth, primarily through the teaching of Christ and his example he was for us, we learn how to be Heavenly. So many people when they get to heaven will be so uncomfortable there that they will choose to leave. But when we apply the life of Jesus Christ in our lives here in our earthly mission, we can LEARN heaven, and LEARN to be Heavenly and LEARN what it takes to live again with our Heavenly Father, through the GRACE of Jesus Christ. If I dont make sense, because my brain gets confused going back and forth between Spanish and English, just go listen to this talk, :) you will learn a ton from it. It has helped me be a better person so maybe give it a shot and listen to it too!

 

 

 

 

The second is this, we all have faults. We all are imperfect beings, and as King Benjamin said, "unworthy creatures". But why are we unworthy? Because we are imperfect, we can not return to live in the presence of God, WITHOUT applying the Grace and Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through him we have the opportunity, to become clean, to live a life filled with charity and love. Christ's was the perfect example to us. One yes, because he lived a sinless life. But two, because he taught us how to be heavenly, and that as we work through our struggles and kinks, we can help others with their kinks and struggles too. When we apply his teachings and his life, into our lives, we can progressively become worthy creatures, that one day we may all live with our families for eternity, in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

 

 

 

I hope that this knowledge brings you peace as it has me. If you cant understand what I have said, study Grace. And study the life of Jesus Christ, since he is our perfect example, learn from Him and apply what you learn to your life, and you will come to see, that your life will be filled with more happiness than you could ever imagine.

 

Thank you all for being imperfect ;) just kidding. Thank you all for being human. And always helping others overcome their challenges, this is a Christ like attribute that not many people have... but I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with people who love me, and love to help me and others improve their lives.

 

I pray that you all may have a Merry Christmas with your families, and that you will have a desire to not only improve your lives, but the lives of others too.

 

Con todo mi amor,

Elder Bell.

LISTENING......It Actually Works!!!!!

Entonces, Holda otra ves de Carhuamayo!!

Yeah I dont write in Spanish a whole lot so thats all I got haha.

Anyway, this week was interesting. I would like to explain the title of this letter. First, I need to get this out of the way. My PARENTS WILL say that I never listened. That is not true, I always listened with one ear. That is what I have learned thus far in the mission. It is only possible to understand what people are saying here if you listen with both ears. Back home I could understand what people were saying while I watched TV, no big deal, but here if I dont focus COMPLETELY on their words, I truly can't understand what they are saying.

 

I have two examples to share this week of LISTENING:

 

1st- Our new investigator, who I must say is a gift from heaven here in Carhuamayo, Sarita. She is Golden, she wants a change in her life and is doing everything possible to get that change. She reads the Book of Mormon, she writes down questions, she ATTENDED CHURCH, and she is feeling the Spirit more now than she ever has in her life. We have taught, I think 4 lessons with her thus far, and every time, I completely focus on her words. You might say, "Elder Bell, you are suppose to do this anyways," Well, true, but it is very difficult to do, you just ask any other 23 year old you know if they focus completely when someone else is talking haha. But, I have realized the more that I focus the more I truly understand. Not only her words, but her tone of voice, and her unspoken expressions she evokes when talking about the gospel. Some may say this is being Desernable, I just think it is me paying close attention to the needs of another. Anyway, the moral of this story is, Listening pays off, and you can understand more than what is spoken when you truly, LISTEN.

 

2nd- This example is of NOT LISTENING. and NO it is not of me not listening :) haha. We had another lesson this past week with our Investigtor, Melanio. Well, again, his cousin, of the Evangelico Peruana Iglesia, attended this meeting. It was a little better than the past lesson we had with him present, we were able to at least get a word or two in this time. But this man DOES NOT LISTEN, nor does he have the desire to listen. Which, is sad, when we listen we learn. But when he meets with the missionaries, or should I say, when he tries to contend with missionaries, he only uses his mouth. Not his ears, or his eyes, or might I add... His Brain... It is very sad. We have so much to offer him and new understandings in the Bible but yet this man, does not listen. We do not learn by talking, (unless we are learning a language I will make one exception) We learn by listening and trying to understand new principles. So, the moral of this story, God gave us TWO EARS for a reason, and only ONE mouth for this reason. HAHA anyway, he is now going around the town harrassing members of the church, it is pretty frustrating but, everyone has their agency, thank goodness for agency.

 

In my first interview with President Henderson in the field he told me, "I just finished reading a book. It is a great book, it is called 'Enforcing Agency'........." Took me a second to get it.. but I busted up laughing. I love my mission president he is so funny.

 

Anyway, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas with your families, and loved ones. Remember the reason for Christmas, isn't gifts, new toys or even money. It is to celebrate the life of the One who will give us eternal life with the people we celebrate the holidays with.

 

That is all from Carhuamayo this week! We have a baptism this coming weekend and then Sarita on the 3rd of January! So look for some pictures next week.

 

Love you and all!!

Elder Bell

Hola from Carhuamayo!!!!!!

Yep, I am still alive and kickin! Somedays I feel like I will become an iceburg before this transfer is over but thats ok! At least I will be a Happy Iceburg!

T on Top of the World

T & new companion, Elder Moraga

 

So I will be honest the work in Carhuamayo is grulling. Not many people are here in this city as it is and it seems like there is a different church on every corner. But when we do find people, they have definitely been prepared by the Lord, no questions asked!

This week we picked up a new investigator, her name is Tabita Sarita, and she is just awesome. She has told us in every lesson, that she wants to make a BIG change in her life, and thinks that we can help her make this change. We taught her the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ first, and when I recited the First Vision of Joseph Smith, her eyes got really really big. I knew she could feel the Spirit testifying of its truthfulness. We then taught her the Plan of Salvation, and that through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, our families can be together forever. Who in there right mind would not want that right???? She has two little boys that are a little obnoxious, but what 6 and 4 year old isnt right? They are really funny and LOVE that I am a GRINGO. I have a feeling we will be able to baptize Tabita the beginning of this coming year! I am really excited for her.

 

So now I have a little bit more of a difficult story to share. Our investigator, Melanio, he has cancer, and he is in a very fragile state right now. He can barely leave his bed. We meet with him and his family twice a week usually and share with them parts of the Gospel. This past week, my District Leader came to do exchanges with me, Elder Garcia. He is really cool, he is from Mexico, but studied in the states, so he knows all English. We went to teach Melanio and his Family last Tuesday, and our lesson was going great, we were sharing with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, So, Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. We were about half way through the lesson when his cousin came into the house. Of course we invited him to join the lesson and we explained who we were and what we were talking about. He seemed very interested. More than usual, I should have caught on but we continued through out the Lesson. When we got to the part of receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, (Acts 8:14-17) He began to contend with us saying that this is not true and that we are leading his cousin astray with lies and false bible. I didn't understand a word that he said, he was speaking really fast and words I didnt know, but Elder Garcia knew. I could just feel the nastiness of what he was saying in my stomach. Instead of contending with the man, Elder Garcia and I just left, I felt really bad that we just left, but we are not here to contend with others, rather to teach those who have a desire to learn. For the rest of the night my stomach just ached for that family. We have it right, he had some other kind of bible, that basically was a cut up and changed bible from his religion. I have a talk, by Elder Holland and President Eyring, called "The Atonement and Missionary Work" and in this talk, Elder Holland talks about the tears of sorrow that Christ shed for us and that the missionaries, at some point in their mission, should shed a tear or two of this sorrow as well. I firmly believe that I was feeling the sorrow, that Christ felt when he knew that many people would lead his fellow brothers and sisters astray and they would actually listen to this. Anyway, we are still teaching this family but they have a difficult time listening. It is frustrating as a missionary.

 

One last story, The very first day of the mission in the field, I lost my ring that my family gave me for my birthday before I had left. I was devistated for 3 weeks! I looked everywhere for it and was always trying to think of an excuse to tell my family where it went. This ring meant so much to me and I had only had it for 6 weeks and it was gone. The whole time I was in Tingo Maria, I could not find it, but I decided that, it was of matieral importance and I needed to focus on the more important things here in Peru. Well, low and behold, last week, as I was putting stuff away in my closet, I looked up, and in the side pouch of my bathroom bag, there was a big silver shiny ring!!!! Oh my goodness, I can not express how happy I was that I had found this thing that was very percious and dear to my heart!! Now I don't have to come up with an excuse of where it is!!! That is even better!!! HAHA.

Anyway, I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving, I think I ate Lamb soup or something. Definitely wasn't Turkey, Gravy and Stuffing like I was hoping for. But only one more thanksgiving to go haha!!

Love you all and thank you for the support!!

Elder Bell

No soy Chino, No soy Manco, Soy Mono, Nogra Kaica Auquin Bell

Yeah so I will explain that title - No soy Chino line means, I am not Chinese ( I don't eat a lot of rice here because they give you two mountains of it at a time) No soy Manco, I am not without hands (the Pensionista is really funny and called me a MANCO when I didn't like to use my hands to eat the piece of chicken, I would rather use a knife) Soy Mono, I am a Monkey  (because I love bananas hahaha, they have a million of them in Peru and I love to eat them) and Nogra Kaica in Quetchua means, My name is... and then Auquin means Elder in Quetchua.

Yes this week has been much better than last, I am finally feeling better and we are able to get out of the house and actually do work! I am really excited to be here in Carhuamayo, now that I am aclimated to the climate, altitude, and weather. My companion is really cool. He ONLY speaks Spanish, but that is ok, it forces me to learn Spanish more rapidly.

 

Right now we are working with two families towards baptism. It is an exciting thing to see the light bulb go off in someones head. Both families need to get married before they can be baptized, which is a giant problem down here in Peru. Probably all of South America really. But they all are really excited about the gospel and the teachings in the Book of Mormon and how they too will help them grow closer to Christ and recieve eternal life. I am really excited for both families.

 

A few "First Time" things for me have happened here in Peru -

 

#1 - the flash flood we had in Tingo Maria where our street had 3 feet or more of water in it.

#2 - I am living in a refridgerator. Yeah... we have no heat haha.. and Carhuamayo is way cold!!! The only heat we have is in the shower, because of the adaptor for heat, and under my 5 blankets I sleep with at night, it is quite the adventure here haha.

Lastly - I am going to come home and be a professional rancher. On Saturday, for our service for the week we went and MILKED COWS haha.. what a weird experience. Utters are really weird to squeeze, but I am thankful because I love milk, so I won't complain too much. It was a really cool experience, I have some pictures of it.

 

And yet another new Friend

Hang'in with the Cows

Learning how to Milk the Cow

Milking the Cow - Whew Whooooooo

 

Anyway, As the Christmas season speeds up, remember the real reason for Christmas, we are celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. His birth in itself is a gift from God. And best of all, this gift, is not bought in a store, or on the internet, but is worth more than gold. It is a gift that is FREE and in turn gives us ETERNAL LIFE. Can't ask for anything else. There is nothing I want more in my life than to live with my family, and my future family for ETERNITY. So when you are out there spending a whole bunch of money on gifts that in 2 or 3 years, people wont even remember who gave it to them, remember that the best gift we could ever recieve is that of following Jesus Christ, his teachings, and his way of life, to recieve for FREE, eternal life.

 

 

 

 

I am very grateful for all of you, that may be reading this blog, I am grateful you have choosen to follow my crazy journey down here in Peru that really has just begun. I know there will be ups and downs in the mission field, but there is no better feeling in the world than helping someone learn more about our Savior, So I ask you, from however many miles away, to remember in your minds and in your hearts, that this holiday season, that is plagued by new phones every year, new cars, and a bunch of expensive electronics, to share the most important gift we as followers of Jesus Christ have to offer, and that is his life he lived, lead, and then died soley for us. Share this gift with whoever may be in need of a pick-me-up or just within your family, the effects of sharing this gift, are greater than anything we can buy.

 

 

 

I love you all and look forward to sending you some more crazy experiences here in the humble country of Peru!!

Iwala! (Hasta Luego in Quetchua)

Con Amor,

 

Auquin (Elder) Bell

Hola de Carhuamayo!!!

Well,

 

Transfers came and went, and I am now in Carhuamayo. This word is Quetchuan, it means Yellow Water or River!! HAHAH. Our water is not yellow though it is filtered and in a box, so dont worry. Last week I said goodbye to the nice warm humid green weather, and I have entered the Zone of Cerro de Pasco. Yes, the highest city in the world.... I am absolutely freezing my buns off up here but when the sun is out it can get really, hot, it is really weird.

 

 

 

 

My new companion is Elder Moraga, es de Nicaragua. He is really cool! Only speaks Spanish, it is ok though he is helping me learn spanish a lot more quickly than I was in Tingo. Elder Recalde is a very good missionary, we got along great but I didn't feel he was very good at helping me with the language and I didn;t feel I was getting the trainging that I needed, so I asked President Henderson kindly for a change of companions. I came here to be the best missionary I can be, and to help as many people as I possibly can.......SO now I am in CARHUAMAYO.

 

This week has been awful sorry to say. I have been sick becasue of the altitude. The first day was not bad at all, but then Thursday came around and I had a pounding headache, and body aches everywhere. The headache is slowly disappearing but the body aches are increasing. I can hardly walk my knees hurt, and my back has started to hurt too. My intestines have not taken kindly to the increased altitude either. So I havent been able to eat normally. I have been told it will pass. None of the medicine they give me seems to be helping. So I will be in contact with the Health secretary today. DONT WORRY I am still a live, just need a little help from the medicine man haha.

 

I dont have many photos this week so I probably wont be sending any. I hope everyone back home enjoys their Thanksgiving dinner and black friday shopping. I will just be praying to eat a whole meal haha.

 

I love you all and thank you all for your support.

Happy Holidays to you!

Elder Bell

Hello From Tingo with Love

Hello Y"all .....Sorry for being so slow in updating this week

How is everyone doing? Life in Tingo is great! It has now entered the Rainy Season here in Peru, and oh boy does it rain!!

So I think almost everyday this week it has rained at least a little bit. Some days a lot more than others that is for sure. But it feels really good because it use to be hot and humid now it is just humid. I have sent a few pictures of the mountains that i get to look at every morning. They are really pretty.

So anyway. This week was very interesting..

The beginning of the week I was super excited that I was going to get to baptize Amado. We went out to Aucayacu to visit and conduct the interview. After the interview Amado asked his cousin who had helped him meet with the missionaries, to baptize him. At first, I was a little upset I am not gonna lie. I was really looking forward to having my first baptism. But then after I thought about it, it doesnt matter who does the baptism, just that it is actually being done. Then, Friday night we got a phone call from Julio, Amados cousin, saying he would not be able to make it to the baptism that he had to go far away for a family emergency. So then I was told I would be the one donig it. What a quick turn of feelings, again haha. Anyway, the baptism was awesome, I said the ordiance correctly in spanish the first time so that was good too haha.It was a great experence to have.

Taylor's 1st Baptism November 15, 2014

Taylor, Amado, & Elder Recalde

Taylor & Elder Bush's 1st Baptism November 15, 2014

 

We now have 10 new investigators and 4 working towards baptismal dates int he month of November and the beginning of December. We have a ton of work to do here with our new Ward and helping them build a foundation that will last past the time us missionaries are here. But this is the fun part of missionary work. Leaving your mark, in a good way, on an entire ward by helping them build a foundation for them to work off of.

Anyway, other than that, not a whole lot. Transfers are tomorrow, but I dont think we will have any changes in our companionships here, since elder Bush and I aare still training. But we are getting two new missionaries in Tingo Maria tomorrow so that will be exciting. 6 missionaries will help a ton with how much work we have to do here. So I am excited for that change.

 

*** I thought I would share photo's of T's new friend, yes it is dead - thank goodness, but EWWWWWWWWWWW, icky!!!!

This week's NEW friend

Big and Icky!!!!!

 

I hope you are all doing good! I pray for you all all the time, Talk to you next week!!

Elder Bell

Just another week!!!

Hey all!!

 

Hope everyone is doing well back home, this week has been pretty good. Not a whole lot going on. We spent half of last week in Huanuco for the Multi Zone conference with President so we didnt have a whole lot of work when we got back.

 

Here are some Photos from one our P-Day's...

T at the Waterfall and "PhotoBomb" by Elder Bush!!!
 

T and his Missionary "Crew of Elders" :)

T on "Top of the World"

 

We are ready to baptize Amado this weekend!! I am way pumped and he is too! Such a cool kid! But we wont be doing it in a river. It was gonna be too complicated for his family so we will just be doing it in the font at the church. Still way cool!

 

We have 3 new investigators this week that are probably gonna join the church. They have a strong desire to learn about God and the book of mormon so I feel really good about them. Roxanna, Flor, and Jessica. They all three know the bible pretty well. Which is why accepting the book of mormon is fairly easy for them. They know that God speaks to all his children and stated that in the bible many times. So they are progressing very well.

 

I am doing really good. The spanish is difficult, I have an experience to share haha... So Roxanna lives in Aucayacu, which is about an hour away from Tingo, we go there once a week to teach members and investigators. Last week when we went out there, we taught her about the Restoration. As I was talking, she made a face as if someone had dragged their nails down a chalkboard, and said "your spanish makes me have pain in my heart." I understood the words, but apparently I didnt understand how she meant it. I was completely offended. I was like in my head, "yeah I know, I have been here two months, the gift of tongues doesnt work over night!!" But later that night, when my companion decided to finally tell me, she didnt mean it as an offense, she meant it as, I feel your pain in learning a language, keep trying, I feel your frustration, but dont worry it will get better soon. I wish he would have told me like 3 hours earlier because for the next three hours all I could think about was how bad my spanish was. But in reality in two months, I have learned a lot of spanish. So I am not frustrated anymore and understand what she meant.

Does anyone miss this funny face???

 

 

One last thing, Thunderstorms in Tingo rock! It is so loud and rains so hard. I love it. I think about home all the time when I hear them because I love thunderstorms a lot! Last night I swear lightning hit like next door because our room was shaking. It was way crazy! (don't worry mom, I am protected by like 2 feet think cynderblock walls in my room).

 

Other than that not a whole lot is happen here. Next week I will have pictures of the baptism to send home I am way happy about that.

"Say hello to my little friend"...

From Dogs to Monkey's

 

Love you all and hope everyone is well!!
 

Elder Bell

And the floods came roaring down the hills................

Hola awesome people!!

 

So this was a crazy cool week! We had two baptisms in our district and those were pretty awesome!! Richard and Daidamia. Richard was an investigator of E. Recalde and mines, He is like 13 I Think, and he is way cool. His older sister joined a few months ago and they are both really cool.

 

The other baptism, Daidamia, is really cool. She is like 45 or so, she has 3 kids, one is already a member. Anyway, she went through some difficult times in her preparation for baptism. Many doubts and concerns, especially in her family. But it was a wonderful baptism. All of her family was there to support her and afterwards she bore a very heartfelt testimony about how happy she is to follow the example of our Savior and to become a better person through the princples and teachings of Jesus Christ. Really really cool experience to help people come unto Christ.

 

 

Other than the two baptisms not a whole lot happened.... oh yeah wait there was something.

 

 

OUR CITY FLOODED!!

Yeah so Friday morning during breakfast it began to rain. Just a normal rain no biggie right? Well that rain increased to a serious downpour and it lasted for 2 hours!! Which in turn, resulted in the entire side of Tingo Maria we live on flooding! Our street had roughly 3 feet of rain in the middle of it (see pictures) it was crazy!!! After noticing that the water was beginning to go inside peoples houses because the river had risen so high we decided it was our duty as servants of the lord to go and to help people save their possessions. So, for the following 3 hours I was shoveling water out of peoples houses. It was a very humbling experience. The people didnt seem to care very much that their things were getting ruined and they couldnt do anything about it but I began to feel real sorrow for these people. They already have so little, and yet here they are losing their possessions right before their eyes. Really Really heart breaking. Anyway, they were very happy to see 4 helping hands reaching out to help them save some of their things. After that we were basically exhausted and retired back to our room for a little bit. Then went out and did more missionary stuff. It was a very interesting experience. But I am thankful we were able to help people that were in desperate need of a helping hand.

 

 

 

 

Other than that there really is nothing. We are still working with Amado and he is penciled in for the 15th of Nov. for his baptism in a river :) pretty stoaked about that!!!

 

 

Thank you all for the support and love! I can really feel it when I read your letters. Know that I can feel all your prayers and they are all needed while trying to learn a language!! But it isnt that bad really!!

Love you all and have a safe exciting week!

Elder Bell

Hola from Tingo!.............

Hey there everyone!!

Hope everyone is doing as good as I am!! Not too much to fill everyone in on this week just a few cool little things though!

1st- I gotta admit. Tingo Maria is freaking beautiful. They have so many beautiful places to go visit and such!! I am so glad I got to start my mission here!! Last week on p-day we went to a waterfall again and I think we are doing that again today too! Way exciting. It is nice to get out of the city and go look at the beauty God has created for us!

2nd- So about two weeks ago, I comitted my first person to baptism. His name is Amado (beloved in Spanish) anyway, this Sunday we were talking and he asked me to do the baptism! I was so freaking pumped!!! He loves the gospel so much already and it is so cool to see him understand it and want to keep learning more. Reminds me of myself only a few years ago. We are going to be doing his baptism in the river!! I think that is way cool. Pictures to come after that baptism for sure!

3rd- I want to tell you the kind of food I eat everyday! Usually rice and chicken or beef yes. But every once and a while I get something different. Two times this past week for breakfast, our Pensionista gave us TUNAFISH SANDWICHES!!! Wow... that was a first for sure. And apparently not the last time! That is freaking so weird to me still but I am glad I can just laugh about it. Back home I would have said Heck to the NO! Also we eat deep fried bananas and a bunch of juice, fruit, cheese, and bread. yay!! haha

Lastly- This past weekend we had a baptism in our area. Elder Bush and Elder Angel baptized a little 9 year old girl named Nicol. Was a cool expierence, I got to be one of the witnesses. Afterwards, the ward mission leader asked her to share her feelings and thoughts about the baptism and whatever else she wanted to say. She didnt say much, but she did say this, "thank you everyone, for all your love. Mom I love you so much!!" She then started to cry really really badly, it was such a sweet sweet spirit in the room that everyone could feel. Testimonies do not have to be complex and long, they just have to be straight from the heart. That is exactly what this was. I did shed a tear or two, or three, or four, or I lost count. It really was just awesome. Nicols older sister joined the church pretty recently and her mother has yet to join but you could tell that the mom was moved by the words of her little 9 year old girl. I love how the gospel can change peoples lifes. How focusing on Jesus Christ can make all our worries a little less burdonsome, and let us know that someone knows exactly what we are going t hrough and how we can over come our challenges. I am very grateful for the knowledge I have, and the ability I have to be here and help these people change their lifes through the eternities.

I love you all, thats all I have for now from Tingo Maria. I hope you all have a blessed week and enjoy the time you have together with your families. Continue to remember, Christ is our brother, Heavenly Father is our literal Father, and they both love us more than any of us can imagine.

Adios!!

Elder Bell

My First Full Week in Tingo Maria.........

Well hello all!!

This week flew by.. not really but I like to tell myself that haha.. Anyway, Here are a few things that happened this week

1st- We have been able to talk to quite a few people down here, yes, all in SPANISH, it is pretty cool. Last week we went to a town called Aucayacu. Yeah good luck pronouncing that it took me a few hours to figure out too. This is a town about an hour away from Tingo Maria but it is in our branch boundries. Anyway, there we met with a 14 year old kid who had a million questions about the church. His name is Amado. Way way cool kid, he wanted to know more about the Prophet Joseph Smith. His questions basically stemmed from crazy websites and his first question was this, "how did Joseph Smith carry the gold plates back to his house, shouldn't they have been really heavy?" yeah pretty funny but we were able to explain things to him well and he was my first baptismal commitment. Way good. This sunday we taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He already has a strong testimony and is growing in the gospel really fast. He will be a very strong member for this ward as he continues to grow up and follow Christ.

2nd- The waterfalls were beautiful!!! Wow I am sure lucky to be in a place that is so pretty,but it is way freakin hot not gonna lie. Hot and Humid. ALWAYS... I will send the pictures of the water fall home today. See Below.....

 

Friendly Dog that Followed T to the Falls

Taylor and Elder Bush

He ALWAYS takes such BIG bites!!!!!

3rd- The branch here is really struggling. They have 400 total members here in Tingo Maria, but only 150 are active right now. The branch president has asked me to help the ward mission leader organize their ward mission for them since I served as a ward mission leader back home. Really glad I get to help this branch build a foundation in the missionary work. It is so hard for the missionaries to do all the work in a ward. So building this foundation and getting some strong ward missionaries to help start the process will be key.

Anyway, that is about all I have this week it has been fantastic and hot and humid!! I love you all very much. Keep writing please, I love hearing from all of you very much!!

 

Til next week,

 

Elder Bell

1st Photos from T...........

Taylor Selfie :)

Good Morning...Monday 10-13-14 Breakfast

"Mi Casa"

And Tingo was it's namo.......

Hello All!!

I am here in Tingo Maria, which is about 3 hours away from Huanuco. I have no idea in which direction since there are so many mountains we get to go up and down. I think this is about as far away from the mission home as I can get. In total it is about 10 hours away from the mission home by taxi and bus.

 

I am doing great! It is so beautiful here and I am really excited to get to work.

We spent about 2 days in Huanuco after leaving Huancayo. The reason? We had a zone conference and President Henderson was coming to conduct interviews. So basically for two days I didn't do a whole lot except listen to people mumble spanish and eat many mountains of rice. 

After leaving Huanuco, which is the second largest city in the mission, we headed out, in a tiny car with 4 people out to Tingo Maria. This place is beautiful!! I dont have pictures yet but I will get plenty to send to you next week. I am in the jungle area, it is around 90 degrees and about 80 percent humidity. I love it! Except for the large bugs AND lizards AND SNAKES! Those can go to......... away....  :) Anyway, My trainer is Elder Recalde, he is from Ecuador, luckily he speaks a lot of English thank goodness. He is helping me a ton and with him knowing english it saves me from going insane. It is a very large city and we only have 4 elders that cover it. Another newby came along with me up here to Tingo and is helping me stay sane as well. What a councidince it was ELDER BUSH. Crazy that we got to stay together for another 3 months. I guess the Lord knows what he is doing! (Thanks Brad for introducing us before the mission). 

Ok so the past few days in Tingo have been good. Our apartment is.. interesting. Definitley need to do some real American Cleaning in it. But me and Elder Bush will do that definitely. This weekend was General Conference since they had elections last weekend in all of Peru. I guess it is a law that no one can do anything on the first Saturday and Sunday of October except vote. So I got to see conference twice which was great.  

After watching the first session of conference on Sunday, Elder Recalde decided to be a gentelman and to donate some blood at the hospital for a less active members dad who has lukemia. What a wild experience! I am now beginning to understand why everyone comes to the United States. What a humbling experience it was to just observe in the hosptial. That is all I will say about that :) I hope I will never go to the hospital here. EVER...

On the way to the hospital it decided to rain... and rain it did!! It was an absolute down pour!!! Literally 6-7 inches in the streets within 10 minutes. I was soaking. I was glad I had 3 hours in the hospital to dry off. 

Right now the work is kind of slow in Tingo. We have only 4 investigators and 1 baptism scheduled for the 1st of November. I am really excited to really dive into the language and to understand what the heck is going on. It is crazy down here though. They speak so fast, and not very clear. I am glad to have Elder Bush and Elder Recalde to speak a little English to every now and then.

That is all I have for this week. I will send home some pictures of this beatufl place next week.

Love to all,

Elder Bell

....1st Quest ~ Tingo Maria Peru...

Dear Bell Family

 

     We want to let you know that Elder Bell arrived safe and sound here in the Perú Huancayo Mission.  We are grateful to have him here!   He and the other 15 new missionaries arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and we oriented them that evening and for much of the day on Wednesday with their new companions.  Elder Bell and his training companion then headed to their proselyting area in Tingo Maria.

 

     Thanks for letting Elder Bell come to our Mission.  We look forward to two good years together with your good son.

 

President David Y. Henderson

Peru Huancayo Mission

 

Nickname: The Sleeping Beauty

Moto: The Door to the Amazonia 

 

Today's Weather: 82°F (28°C), 62% Humidity

Elevation: 2,240 ft.

Population: 60,000