Hello from Peru August 29, 2013

Hey Family!

Sounds like everything back home is going great!! As for your question about dear elder letters....i dont think you could send them now because the mail service down here even with the dear elder program doesnt get here for about 2-3 weeks. i got all the ones from faith, the smiths, you, and kc, and danilynn like 2 weeks late. i got a letter from marlee and that was 3 weeks late so i dont think dear elder would be good because i wont be in the ccm when they would get here! haha anyways...oh there are some things that i left in the closet that i wanted so...idk what you are going to do about that. anyways things are going great down here. i really love being a missionary and a representivte of our savior jesus christ. this last week has been sort of the usual schedule...work, work, work, study, study, and study. but i love it and all of us down here has felt the spirit so strong every day! especially on sunday. i went to bed so spiritually exhausted, i basically fell asleep kneeling down in companionship prayers! we had the opportunity to have elder cook of the quorum of the 12 come here with elder tad callister of the 70 and speak with us. we also had elder wadell of the 70 and elder grow of the 70 so basically a way important meeting and man was the spirit there. it was a question/answer type of a devotional but some of the questions that were asked and the answers that were given hit me so strong and either i learned something new about what i need to do as a missionary or answers to questions that i hadnt know before were answered and the spirit was sure there. we all got to shake his and elder callisters hands along with their wives as well. such an awesome experience. oh funny story about that actually...so on sunday we had icecream cones which is the best down here because we rarely get them and so i had this big icecream cone and i walk outside to go eat it cause the weather is beautiful down here and so im taking a big bite of my icecream cone and i look up and there is elder cook and elder callister along with pres. cardon and they all just gave me a big smile and waved...probably becasuse i had icecream on my face or somehthing....haha so i am probably ´elder icecream´ to elder cook now. oh well! well now here in the ccm we just sent off another batch of missionaires to their fields which makes us the advanced group here in the ccm! so weird! honestly i felt like i just got here. the spanish is coming along great. i am now at the point where i dont think much about what people are saying and just talk with them. all our lessons that we teach have been in spnaish and it is just coming along so great. what a blessing from the lord. on tuesday night we also had a live broadcast from provo in which elder anderson of the 12 spoke and it was so cool because as the camera was going around showing all the missionaires singing...i saw josh free and micheal armstrong! haah i was looking for some of my other buddies but didnt see any! it was way cool to see them and know that they are serving the lord right beside me. elder anderson talked about love and sacrifice which really hit home for me and he taught us how to love the people that we are going to serve. i am so excited and nervous at the same time to be going out into the field in 2 weeks! but i am getting more and more confident each day as we speak to the natives here and you can understand them more and more clearly each time. what is way cool about the spanish is during my prayers at night...the ones i speak in ingles...i find myself switching back into spanish without me even realizing it! its getting hard to pray in english now! but know that i pray for each one of you and hope that everything goes well for you back home! i especially pray for you faith and jacob asking heavenly father to allow you to have the desire right now to gain a strong testimony. so strong that as elder holland said that it is so ingrained in your soul that there is not anything in heaven or earth that can remove what you know to be true. i pray that you will always choose the right and make the right decisions. i pray that you will take seminary serious faith, so that you can gain that testimony early on and be so excited for your mission...if you choose to serve. The hermanas here are really inspiring. such faith and such great attitudes. we actually got a ton of hermanas today actually filling in the spots of those who just left...and 3 are from arizona and one knows my buddy max nelson! small world, ¿verdad? anyways i just hope and pray that you two young ones will do those things and come to know your savior jesus christ by reading the book of mormon. i just finished it all the way through again and i can say without a doubt that that book is the only correct of any book on the face of this earth. i testify along with the words of joesph smith that a man can get closer to god through reading this book than any other book that has ever been written. i testify of the truthfulness of the book of mormon. i cant wait to read it again. i actually started reading jesus the christ and that is a fabulouos book. i look forward to the times when i can just sit down and read the words of james e. talmage about our savior. i know he lives. i know he loves me and all of you. he is holding is arms outsretched to all his children and beckoning them to come unto him and recieve all that the father has to offer us. i love this gospel with everything that my heart possess.

Sorry...little testimony run there. anyways back to this last week. umm...on saturday we were supposed to go proselyting again but because of elder cooks visit it got canceled so they brought in a bunch of real investigators here and members for us to teach for 4 hours. elder ellsworth and i taught some great lessons and sure felt the spirit in what we were saying. it was really good spanish practice for us. oh kacie...i accidently left my scripture case with my picture book in it in a classroom and when i went to go get it a guy was looking at it and i really didnt mind but he pointed at you and said that is hermana birtcher! he served his mission in aregentina in buenos aires i think. im sorry i forgot his name but hey someone knows you down here! oh another funny story. so a new elder came in 2 weeks ago and he also plays the violin. well there are 3 violins here in the ccm and i knew that hermana cardon and him were talking about trying to set up a trio but that was all i heard. so im at lunch and sister cardon pulls me aside and says so i will see you tonight then? i was all confused saying well i dont think i going anywhere outside the walls...if thats what you mean. she laughed and told me that we were practicing our music that night for sundays fireside!! so we are playing this sunday! haha it was a good practice and we are making history in the first ever trio violin preformance in the ccm!! sister cardon and pres. cardon are so awesome! i got to sit with them at lunch and we have such a good time talking to each other. president cardon actually comes up at night and talks with me sometimes about whatever as he is checking the bedroom situations at nights some times. he was a quarterback and loves football so we got to talking and then really couldnt stop. such a great man and his wife is so awesome. we laugh and have a good time!

Well today we woke up and went to the temple and had a great session, really felt the spirit. man, peru is such a celestial place cause i feel the spirit all the time and learn so much! after the temple we got to go walk around the little shops that they have here and got to ride on the buses again which is just a roller coaster ride!! dad dont be worried about the transportation in mexico...you want to be concerned...come here because here is insane!!! last pday we got on a bus and it didnt start so we had to push start it in the middle of the street with all these cars backed up behind us honkning!! haah i bet that was a sight...8 gringo elders pushing a bus down the rode in peru. the people here like to call us the gringos! But pdays here are so fun just getting out and talking with people and just really being immersed in the spanish! But i think that sums it all up for the update from down here! the soccer skills are definatley improving and oh most of the ccm is sick from food poisioning but me and elder ellsworth have been perfectly fine and healthy. i did get my first haircut in peru and it looks like a totally military haircut...no big deal! but nothing to complain of down here!

just know that i love you all so much. like i have said before and will continue to say...this is the only true church upon the earth. Heavenly father is our loving father who is very mindful and aware of each of our needs and desires of our hearts. Jesus christ is the savior of the world who laid down his life for us. i know that. joesph smith did in reality see god the father and his son jesus christ in the grove of trees and through joesph smith brought about the restoration and fulness of this gospel. I love this gospel. i am so excited to share this message with the people of peru.

I love you all very much and hope everything continues to go well at home!

till next week!

1-4-3

Elder Birtcher

A Shout out from Peru! August 22, 2013

Hey Guys!

i cant believe how fast this week went by! i honestly feel like i just was here writing you guys just a moment ago! Well this week has been a busy one. we have been studying hard and learning so much! the teachers here are fantastic and will help you with anything! haha so much for taking spanish in school...i already have learned more than i did in those 2 years of spanish classes. hahaha oh well. well to start....thank you to all those who wrote me dear elder letters! i think i was the most envied elder here in the ccm! hahaha they were so awesome! so keep them coming because i can actually have those on hard paper instead of just looking for an hour on the internet! well lets see...everything has been going great here in peru! it is so good to hear that everything back home is going so great! Well the violin opp...(i guess that is what it is being called now)...went awesome! haha hermana cardon and i practiced like only 2 times prior and she didnt give me the music to practice....not like i have any time to practice anyways....so i was a little nervous to begin with. we started out playing prelude music and idk i was kinda nervous...you know the branch presidency and the area presidency and 150 missionaries looking at you. idk i was nervous but prelude went well. after the opening hymn and prayer we did our special muscial number. i said a prayer asking heavenly father to please calm my heart and allow my fingers to play so that i could bear my testimony through my music. we stood up and all my nervousness went away and we played. it was so beautiful and it truely brought the spirit. our accompianist cried while playing and it just was a fantastic moment on the violin. Mom and dad, i want to thank you with everything that my heart posses that i am grateful to the both of you for making me play the violin. i am so sorry for all the hard times i gave you to practice and all the grief that i gave you saying that i hated it and wanted to quit. i know that the lord has blessed me with the ability to play so that i can touch the hearts of the people here through my music. dad you were absoutely right...the violin truely does bring the spirit. i am so grateful and honored that i can play the violin. Faith and jacob....You dont ever quit playing. in highschool i sometimes thought it to be a burden and that it got in the way of my sports. it never did though. i loved playing in the symphony and i love playing it now. i wish i had time to practice here! so thank you mom and dad. you guys are awesome! well anyways i did get to meet Elder and hermana johnson for the first time! they brought me some contraband chocolate chip cookies! haah they are so good! idk i instantley recognized them when i saw them and we hit it off so great! i know it was the first time that i have ever meet them but i love them! they work in the next building over from the ccm and we arent allow out of the walls so idk if i will get to see them again. but they are so awesome! idk it was just nice to talk to someone about my family and they obviously knew grandma and grandpa birtcher and it was really comforting just to be with family here. i loved it so much! umm...what else happened this week? oh our district did an all day spanish marathon! no inglés! haha it was so good! i was able to express everything that i wanted to say to people and i learned so much! the spanish is getting really good actually...however...when i think i am getting good, i talk to the latino elders here and then feel bad again. haaha so much work still to come but i am excited to get out into the field and share this gospel. on tuesday elder grow of the 70 came and spoke to us. it was an amazing talk and i truely felt the spirit in what he was saying was true! he talked a lot about investigator and reactivating converts. i dont have time to give all the details but it was an amazing talk! and guess who is going to be here on Sunday??? Elder cook of the quorum of the 12! haha we are so excited around here because it is just going to be us small group of missionaries and him! so excited to hear what he has to say to us! Well i love being a missionary! I just eat up personal study time and have learned so much in this short time. i am learning about so many new things in the book of mormon that i cant believe i didnt see in reading it before the mission. i love reading about the missionary work among the lamanites becasue that is what my duty and role is now. to go and preach and bring the restoration of the gospel of jesus christ back to the lamanites! i am so honored to be a representative of jesus christ. i testify that the book of mormon is true. it is the most correct of any book on the face of this earth and if you sincerely read it you will come closer to your savior jesus christ faster than any other way! i know it is true with everything that my heart possess. i have truely been learning a lot on how to adhere to the spirits promptings. idk. i get these thoughts or impressions to bear my testimony or share experiences that i have had either with missionaries or investigators and it is exactly what they needed to hear! open your mouths and the lord with fill it! may we all open our mouths and preach the precious truths of this gospel to everyone we see and meet! this place is truely a spiritual place. i have felt it so strongly and just yearn for more and more every day! haha i just love being a missionary....if you couldnt already tell.

and that is pretty much it for this week! classes going good, soccer skills improving, feeling the spirit so strongly....couldnt ask for anything more! We are about to leave here for the temple and then get to go mess around in the city for a couple of hours! hahaah it is so fun!

I love you all so much! i miss you and can wait to hear from you!

Till next week!

1-4-3

Elder Birtcher

August 1, 2013 first letter-A Big hello from Peru!!

A big hello from Peru!!

Well we made it! Yesterday was a really long day. We made it Miami in like 4 hours where I did run into Cody Stewart! What a stud, he looked like he was just on fire with this gospel! I got to travel with 2 elders to Miami and on the flight the Flight attendants took really good care of us! They move us from middle seats to aisle seats and gave us free big water bottles and free cliff bars and were always checking in on us which was really cool! When we got to Miami we grabbed a bite to eat and then meet up with 5 hermanas heading down with us! So we boarded the plane and it got delayed. So we sat in the plane for almost 3 hours. There was no room for my violin in the compartments up above in the plane...so i sat in the middle seat, squished, with my violin in between my legs all while these little kids in the back of the plane were screaming and crying and one was hitting me with a pillow! hahaha lets just say it was the longest flight i have ever been on. But they actually took care of us pretty dang well. Beverages, meals, and snacks all the time. Got to talk to my neighbor sitting next to me who is a scientist doing research down here in Peru and Equator on bats and moths. My other neighbor was a native from Peru who spoke little English but we talked a little. Anyways we arrived in Peru a little after midnight here and had to wait and wait for our baggage and get passports stamped and go through customs but its all good. The MTC staff meet up with us at the airport and picked us up and took us to a bus at like 1 in the morning. Hahaha we couldnt understand anything they were saying to us. And everything is in Spanish so I really cant make out what signs say or anything like that! But on the bus ride to the MTC they had previously told us that Lima is pretty westernized and not "3rd world" but everything looks like a total gettho! But it is so amazing to be here. I am so excited for the work and ready to get things rolling! And It is actually pretty cold here!! Really nice compared to the mesa summers. But we arrived at the CCM early in the morning and took all our gear off the bus and the guy who was trying to tell us where to go didnt speak any English...so there were about 5 lost elders sitting outside in the cold at 1 in the morning :) After we found where we were going we got into our rooms and woke up the sleeping elders that we are bunking with and fell asleep. other elders came in at 3 and 4 in the morning but hey we are all here! Today we got ready and ate breakfeast and got debriefed on all our stuff! we exchanged money and got our tags and books. We are meeting with the presidente and his wife soon! My companion is Elder Ellsworth from Bakersfield, California! He is 19 and is a great guy. We are getting along just fine and am excited to work with him. He is also going to Arequipa and we both are so excited for this work! Cant wait to learn spanish and start teaching. Its crazy to look out the window and see Peru and still be in shock that I am actually here! Well i got to get going but know that I love you all and miss you but this is where i am supposed to be! I know this gospel is true. I know it. Jesus is the Christ and this is his gosepl! May we all proclaim it to every nation, kindred, tounge, and people!

Love you all!

Your now Peruvian Missionary,

Hello from Peru! August 15, 2013

Hello family!

This week as been awesome here in the good old ccm! This week as been really busy so i hope i can get everyhting that i want to say in this email. yeah things have been going great around here. classes till 9 and a lot of spanish study and personal study! i absoultely love personal study! my soul truely hungers for the words of christ! it is amazing. i am already half way through the book of mormon!! i dont think i have ever read this fast before! but i love the stories and have learned sooooo much new things in those holy pages! it anyone does not have a testimony of the book of mormon....get it now! it will truely bless your lives and will bring happiness and much joy! We have been playing lots of fútbol here and ultimate frisbee. yes my skills in both are improving each day! haaha the lations sure put up a good fight in the soccer games and in frisbee i dont think i have ever played a more competitive game with the missionaires! hahah it is way fun! the spanish here is coming along just fine! i am able to talk a ton and understanding more and more each day! WE have had progressing investigators here in the ccm and elder ellsworth and i teach it all in spanish! it is so cool....i am going to try and hit the highlights from this last week really fast! alright one of the best if not the best experience this last week happened on saturday! we got to go proselyting for reals! we headed out to Lima East into the ghettos hahaah. the driving here is absoultely the craziest thing i have ever seen! lanes and lines dont mean anything and honestly driving around here is who has the most guts. hahaha i couldnt drive here at all! we got dropped off at the church building there and then got assigned our areas. elder ellsworth and i were accompanied by our teacher hermano porras and we went knocking door to door. haha i dont think i have ever seen more dogs in my life! haha they were everywhere! As we were knocking doors we got to teach a lady about the BOM and the prophet jose smith adn the restoration! she didnt seem that intesested but she told us she would call us later..idk. but one experience that really hit me and really has strenghtend my testimony even more was when we got to teach a young man named Diego. We knocked on this door like 4 times and as we were leaving this 16 year old kid comes out and asks what we are doing. my first impressions of him were i thought he was just going to tell us to go away but as we introduced ourselfs and we started talking with him we asked him if he had any questions regarding religion. I testify that this son of god was spiritually prepared to meet us missionaries. his question was so sincere and innocent that it made me cry later just thinking about it but he asked...so i always hear about god the father and jesus christ but do i have a heavenly mother?....we bore testimony to him that he did and we got to teach him aobut the BOM and the restoration of the gospel. we also touched on prophets too. my perception of this innocent 16 year kid changed instantaniously and i wanted nothing for him than for him to come unto Chirst and receive salvation! I absoultely love this people down here! and i have only been out 2 weeks. all i wanted to do was share testimony with everyone! and that is exactly what elder ellsworth and i did. we would start out the conversations and go as far as we could with them and then hermano porras would take over for a little bit and then we would finsih them and bear testimony. i have never been so happy! except for when we beat red mnt. in football. hahah jk actually i found an elder here who went to red mnt. he just got here so we are getting along just fine! exchanging stories and such! small world! anyways i have learned so much about this people and this gospel. for this is truely gods work and he has called me here to peru to preach unto this people so that they may be brought into his fold. this people here is remarkable. for whether they agree with your message or not they will hear you out and that allows the spirit to work on them. yeah we did have a lot of doors slammed in our faces but we got to share this message with some amazing individuals. haaha everyone here is catholic! haha but thats alright. President alison...one counsel in the branch presidency here said that because everyone is catholic here... we wont be changing their religion...we will be building upon it and improving it. i really hope something comes from our labors that one day! i also testify the gift of tounges is real. for on saturday as i bore my testimony with those humble people i was using words that i have never even heared or thought of before! as you open your mouth the lord WILL fill it. god is truely mindful of our needs and the desires of our hearts. what a neat and wonderful experience! i just want to get into the field so bad!! On sunday we got to listen to devotionals from elder richard g scott and elder holland. I felt the spirit so strong!! i love listening to our prophets speak! we had a very neat experience here. some of the elders here are really struggeling with the spnaish and getting really discouraged and they asked for blessing from their comps. it was such a spiritual experience and such beautiful blessings were given! i love feeling the spirit like this! yesterday i got to play with sister cardon in our duet. we are playing prelude and a special musical number which will be great! we are playing how great though art! such a pretty arrangement! mom this is specifically from sis cardon....thank you so much for making weston play the violin. i loved playing with him!....anyways. Today for pday we got to go to the temple!!! it was so awesome! the temple here is very small but goregous! it was need to do everything in spanish!! loved it! we got a little time to go and shop around for some stuff which is always fun! especially here in peru! haha i feel bad for those who are in provo! haha jk. well i am so glad everything is going so well at home! keep the letters coming! mail here is so wonderfuli just want to share my testimony with you guys. that i know my savior lives. this is is gospel and i am called here for a reason. all i desire is to teach this poeple the restored gospel of jesus chirst more than anything in the world. i want to learn spanish so that i may speak to them and allow the spirit to touch their hearts. i pray that god will allow me to share my testimony of jesus christ with everyone that i meet or see! i also desire that all my brothers and sisters come unto christ and recieve a remission of their sins through the atonemnet of jesus christ! i love this people and i will go forth and do his work with all my might mind and strength!

i love you all so much. tell all those who wrote me things Thank you so much!!! i loved it.

till next week...

Elder Birtcher

The Lords servant amongst the Lamanites

Hola Familia!!!

How is everyone doing? the ccm here is amazing!!  i am having so much Fun!!! But i miss you guys too! So much has happened this last week so i hope i get everything i want to say in this email! well today is my p-day and so will every thursday be here in the ccm and the rules are pretty open here in the ccm! i can actually write my friends directly in an email if they email me! so get the word out to write elder birtcher because mail is gold here!!!! well where to start....

Well as you know we arrived saftely here in lima last thursday and got settled in and had an orientation of the ccm. We got tags and rooms and our scheuldes. it is amazing that our lives for the next 6 weeks are planned out to every hour and min.! But we are having a great time! Everyday we have language and gospel classes and the spanish is actually coming along really well! we can pray and testify in spanish and conversations with the latinos is coming along really well! it is actually pretty amazing to know that as lost as i feel here sometimes...i have never felt more at home and comfortable with everything. i go to bed so happy every day! My teachers here are amazing. Hermano porras and hermano huiatta- absoultely by far the best teachers i have ever had! they speak very little english, along with every other teacher in this place so it kinda forces us to learn a lot faster! We get a lot of personal study time which is the best time in the world! i cant believe how fast an hour goes by in personal study! i love it so much! Elder ellsworth and i study outside a lot and it is so beautiful to look out on the mountains and all the ghetto buildings around here with the peruvian flags on top and not think you are in heaven!! Elder ellsworth and i are getting along so well too. we both want to be the hardest working elders in the ccm and are studying like crazy! we have awesome roommates and have meet some great hermanas and elders here. it truely is an honor to be serving the lord with these righteous 18 and 19 year olds!! well on friday we had classes and played a little futbol with the peruvians- yeah they were really good! haha but hey i scored a goal! not bad for a gringo! hahaha we studied how to teach investigators and how to do most of it in spanish! on saturday we had a lot of personal study time and got to play some ultimate frisbee- yeah the most american sport in the world, right here in peru baby!- and the latinos were trying to learn how to throw the frisbee! hahah it was a great time! I got to be interviewed by President cardon and talk with him a little bit! such an inspired man for the job! i also got to meet sister cardon and get to know her a little bit better! she plays the violin and we are scheduled to play a duet together in 2 weeks! i havent been able to play my violin at all since ive been here because we have been so busy but im excited to play with her! we had a devotional that night in which we got to meet the branch president and his counselor of this area and he spoke with us for a while. Really amazing! the spirit was so strong! on sunday- the most spiritual day ever- we got up and got ready and had personal study right off the bat. and then had sacrament meeting/fast and testimony meeting and i was able to get up and share my testimony with everyone. it was a really cool meeting because partially everything is in spanish and i love the spirit that resides here! We had priesthood and a temple prep class afterwards. the lima temple is actually closed for this week but we will be able to go through next week!! i am so excited!! it is such a beautiful temple! anyways we had lunch and following lunch we were able to watch joesph smith the prophet of the restoration. i have never felt the spirit so strong- everything in that video that was of importance the spirit bore witness to me that it did happen and all of it was true! i love the prophet joesph smith and know that he brought about the restored gospel of jesus christ! i know it with all my heart! after watching that video we were able to watch a mtc devotional held in provo a couple months back where elder m. russel ballard spoke to the missionaries! he is an amazing servant of the lord! i wish i could of been with him in provo when he was giving that talk because the spirit was sure felt thousands of miles away in peru! We went and ate dinner afterwards and then went to another devotional that night. great talks were giving by presidente cardon and the branch presidency and then some elders got up and sang "consider the lillies of the field"- i cried so hard because the spirit was so strong! i kept thinking about how well and how beautiful that was at my farewell faith and jake! i wish you could be here right now and play that for me because i loved it so much! on monday we got to read the book of mormon together as a district in spanish and talk about it and elder ellsworth and i were given our first investigator! the first lesson went over alright....rough edges and in very strong spanglish. but our second lesson yesterday we did it all in espanol!!! and he is progessing just fine! hahaha we actually are getting paired up with a latino elder and get to go tracking in the poor parts of town on saturday!! a little nervous but excited! all i want to do is share what i know with this people. I just dont know the language yet! i sort of wish i was going to an english speaking mission so that i could get out of this ccm and just share the precious truths of this gospel with everyone!! all in good time elder birtcher. oh the food here is actually pretty good. rice with every meal and everything is peruvianized. it is actually pretty good but everything they say is american is not. hahahaha but i have enjoyed it! a lot of elders have actually gotten sick here but i have been healthy and in good spirits! i love being the lords missionary! and the weather here has been crazy! i think this week a total number of times we have seen the sun has been maybe 4- for about 10 mins a piece! expect for yesterday which was awesome to finally see the sun! it is really overcast and it is like someone always has a mister on! and it is winter here which make it even colder! hahah i have had to bust out the sweaters and jackets! hahah better than that arizona weather i guess! But today has been the best day ever so far! we were allowed to go shopping and get out of the ccm for a couple of hours! we had about 20 missionaries in our group and we flagged down a little tiny bus which was already full of people and we crammed 20 missionaries into it! haahh we were dropped off right in front of hte temple and were able to hit some of the stores up! yes i did buy a sweet peruvian soccer jersey and a sweet llama tie- a total of maybe 10 bucks! haha yeah everything here is so cheap and the driving here is so crazy! there are like no rules! we bought a empanada with chicken in it and it was probably the best thing i have ever tasted here so far! so good! i had a little peruvian kid shine my shoes too! haah i love this place! getting to go out of the ccm is like going right into the field! i am so glad i am here instead of provo! no offense to those who have attended or are attending provo as we speak! We are only allowed to take pictures on p day here so we have been taking a lot of them today which has been way fun! I wish you guys could be here! it is so beautiful and amazing! we are surrounded here in the ccm by the andes mountains and it is gorgeous! Yesterday we got to meet an area 70 member and he spoke to all of us about remembering the things that we always need to remember. 1. remember whose work this is. 2. remember our covenants to god and fulfill them. 3. remember our purpose. 4. remember that we need the spirit always!! and 5. remember the saviors atonement! his talk was so powerful!! the spirit was so strong. i know that i am supposed to be here in peru! as i read the scriputres everyday it seems to me that every scripture stands out and says "elder birtcher i have called you to this choice land with a choice people! go forth and serve! it is amazing!

know that i love you all very much! know that i know this gospel is true without a shadow of a doubt! i know that joesph smith restored the fulness of the gospel of jesus christ here upon the earth! i know that our heavenly father loves each and everyone of his children. i know that the gift of tounges is real...for i have already seen its impact in my life here in just the first week of the mission. i know that my savior lives and that jesus is the Christ. the very son of god who loves us and wants us to return to him. i have never been more tired but never have been more happy! and i know that the blessings will continue to come! i love you all so much- i miss you! but i am the lords servant and have been called to do his work! shall i not go on in so great a cause!

Love and miss you all!

Love your hard working, gringo,peruvian missionary

Elder Birtcher

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