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