Oct. 10 - Week 2 in Lima, Bolognesi

It sounds like you had an awesome week! Crazy but really good! Guess what I found out that Hna Mostert got bit by a dog this week...crazy! But she is doing well so it is all good(: And this week I don't have any journal entries to send but I will tell you about the adventures of this week...

What a week it has been. This has been a good change and I am excited to keep working hard. But this week has been a little bit difficult, nothing that I can't handle with the help of the Lord but yes a little bit difficult. Hard. This week was hard. We walked a lot and have been working hard together to find the medium of how we are going to work this transfer. So far it has been good. My companion has been sick and fighting the flu and stomach problems and it has been really cold in the night but I continue on and I keep smiling(: I have keep an unusually good attitude this week but I think it is because I have trusted a lot more in the Lord this week. 

I realized that there is no way that I can do this without Him, I have felt my love for Him deepen and I have felt like I have started to develop the Christlike attributes that I need in my life. So all of them. jaja. But I truly have been humbled to work here in the mission. I am sad that I almost have 6 months but I am humbled to be considered a servant of the Lord.

 

I am grateful that the family is doing well. It has been a while since I heard from Maya and Oaklee but tell them that I love them so much and am proud of them(: I am so proud of dad too! That is awesome! I hope that all is going well with Nutcracker...a little nervous because I haven't heard anything about that...but I know that it is going well and that you are as happy as a school girl on pajama day(; I love you so very much momma and hope that youare doing well as well! I love you to the moon and beyond and I loved your story about the students/returned missionaries that you helped that is awesome! Go momma! 

 

Love you to the moon and beyond mami! Love you love you love you!!! 

Love, your little girl, Hermana Lawrence

 

 

  

 

Oct. 4 - Goodbyes are so hard ... Bye Ica! Hello Bolognesi!

Oct. 4, 2016      Goodbye to Ica – Hello to Bolognesi - Week One

It was a sad goodbye this week as I packed my bags and headed for Lima. Through a lot of tears and pictures I finally made it through the transfer and am settled in my new area. That I already know. It is Bolognesi. And I have the cutest companion, Hermana Couper. She is the best! I am grateful to be her companion! A little nervous to be senior companion but we are going to work crazy hard and be obedient! It is going to be a good transfer! 

The goodbye was sad and we got to take a lot of pictures! But I feel happy here in my area with my new companion and know that there is nothing I can do about the transfer so I decide to face it with a good attitude and a smile. That's about all you can do(: So it is good! I am doing well health wise and am happy to be here in Lima even though it is colder than Ica. I look a little tubby in the pictures but what can ya do? Everything is well here in Lima and we are ready to work hard and memorize the area together(: I am glad that the family is doing well!!

Love you to the moon and beyond and miss you momma!!!!

Love, your little girl, 

Hermana Lawrence 

 

Sept. 26 - 17 weeks in Ica, Peru

Sept. 26, 2016             Week 17 in Ica, Peru

Momma! Well what a week it has been here in Ica! We finally found our investigadora Jenny who had a baptismal date...she vanished...but then came to church on Sunday! I pray every day that I can stay here in Ica for one transfer more to watch all of our investigadores with a baptismal date be baptized! If it is the will of Heavenly Father I will gladly stay one more transfer(: But if not I know that they will be baptized and the only thing that matters is that they are firm in the gospel, not that I was there for the baptism.

I really enjoyed your letter this week! I have stayed away from certain foods and I think that I look more like myself haha but I feel better! So that is good and a blessing from my Heavenly Father! I hope that the family is doing well! I haven´t heard much from Caiden or Maya but I hope that they are doing well too. I hope that Bree goes to the doctor and starts feeling better soon!

But this week we had a lot of changes here in our area, we have left some investigadores, changed some baptismal dates, and found more people to baptize! This week has been a good week personally and I have learned a lot about myself and the missionary that Heavenly Father wants me to be. Well, we dropped our investigadora Fernanda, who told us that she felt more comfortable in the Catholic church with her family and that was really sad but we can´t change her agency. So on to more people that are going to progress! Jenny finally came back into the picture and she told us that she is ready to be baptized finally! And our investigador Martin also came to church and told us that he is looking forward to being a member of the ward! Our less active family Orrego are doing very well and will be rescued before the end of this transfer and told us that they have their interviews set with Bishop for their temple recommends! I hear sealing bells(: <3 So much love for that little family! Also our less active Family Fernandez came to church and are doing well! We will be adjusting their rescue date this week! Today we will be going to Lima again for a reunion for my companion but when we come back to Ica we will hit the ground running! Because this week is GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!! WOOHOO!! The women’s conference was so good! I loved the talks on pride!! SOOO GOOD and really what I needed! I also loved the talks on faith. Very humbling to hear. The Lord always provides answers to our specific questions. 

Other than that there have been no changes here other than our family of investigadores...are still amazing. The family Chavez are all progressing beautifully in the gospel and love coming to church and also are so excited for general conference this weekend. They are a miracle in our area. To be honest there are so many miracles in our weeks, in our days, and in almost every moment it is crazy to think about how much love our Savior has for us. I know that my Savior lives and that He loves me. I know that this gospel is true. I know that my mission has changed my life already, I can´t wait to serve every single day to the fullest. Always be obedient, humble, and diligent in the gospel.

I love you momma!!

Love you to the moon and beyond and to the eternities!!!

Love, your little girl,

Hermana Lawrence

This week the pictures are a little scarce...sorry! But you get some very beautiful pictures of my companion who stole my camera(; Then you get a picture of us yesterday! The girl is Sonia and she is the best!! She is leaving in 1 week for her mission and she always accompanies us! I am going to miss her so much! She is the best!! But she is going to be the best missionary! She has the best personality and is always happy. We all wanted a picture because she is like our other half. I love her so much!!! 

(Esa hermana se llama Sonia! Ella es lo maximo!!! Ella se va en la mision en una semana y ella siempre nos acompaña. Voy a extrañarla bastante!!! Es tan linda!! Pero ella será la mejor misionera allí en Argentina! Ella tiene la mejor personalidad y siempre está feliz. Todos queríamos una foto porque vamos a extrañarnos. Mucho va a cambiar en una semana y queríamos un recuerdo. La quiero tanto!)

Sept. 19 - Week 16 in Ica, Peru FIVE Months!!

This week we got to be a part of a baptism! Cute little 8 year old Aaron was baptized. His dad and mom, Luis y Sara, are our less active family that we have been working with! They are doing well and his dad was actually able to baptize him on his birthday on Sunday. Touching experience!

This week we had the privilege of witnessing miracles in our area. We have been working hard to find and find and find new people to teach and we found 7 new people and 1 new family to teach this week! We have been working hard and being obedient and we are starting to see the fruits of our labors this week! What a week it has been! 

We had a lot of interesting experiences this week! One of which is that we had the opportunity to teach 20 people at the same time. We had a lesson with a lady we contacted in the street and she told us that her dad just passed away and that they had actually just returned from the cemetery. But she said she had 20 minutes and wanted to hear our message with all of her family. We thought she meant like mom and sisters. But everyone was there! We walked into a room full of 20 people just waiting for us and it was so surprising! But a very humbling experience. We shared a short message about Jesus Christ and how He knows exactly how we feel and what we are going through. Then we took all of their directions and we went on our way! It was a very spiritual experience and we felt the spirit so strongly in that lesson, sort of thing.

But it was a good week and we have been working very hard here in the land of the sun! It has been so hot as we are going into spring and summer. A nice 85 degrees would be a good average for the heat here around 11 am. But Ica is the best and the people are amazing! I love my Savior and I love the church! I love the people here in Ica! 

Hermana Shylo Lawrence