My Beloved Familia!

Merry Christmas!!

 

Glad you had a great time, hope it was a great turn out and the parites were awesome! 

Well sorry i couldnt write on saturday...but you guys were so busy you wouldnt have read it anyways. On saturday we were in Tacna again, but this time for some time to do some divisiones and then have our Christmas Devotional with the 5 most southern zones in the mission. It really turned out fun, the food was great and we even got to go to the plaza de armas and sing christmas hymns and proselyte to all the catholics that came out to watch us. :) Had about 90 missionaries in the choir and what a neat experience. We will be doing the same thing here in arequipa this thursday night as well in the plaza de armas. It will be a huge push for the video he is the gift and we will share it with the world!!! 

Last sunday we were in Moquegua again and we got to attend and play in a Christmas Musical Program which turned out to be a huge success as well. we filled up the chapel once more. And monday was our training for the new trainers which went okay and then tuesday we picked up all the newbies from the airport and gave them a huge tour of arequipa and then had lunch with them before training them. On wednesday and thursday we were busy with 2 other christmas devotionals with 10 zones from the mission and playing games with them and organizing all the activities along with president and his wife. Friday was spent traveling to tacna with presi and his wife and then doing some divisiones like i said. and saturday was the last christmas party, and yesterday we returned home after 6-7hours of traveling!!! yay!!! it felt so good to be home once more. 

it was a SUPER BUSY week that flew by!  

sorry i dont got much more time but i got to get runny. more things to do! love you all and cant wait to hear from you.

nos vemos jueves!

chao.

Weston

1-4-3

My dearest Family,

How i miss you guys this christmas season. Things are sure picking up around here and we are busy with all the Christmas devoctionals that we will be having with all the zones around here next week. We have also been trying to contact many more people using the new video Él es la Dadiva (or He is the Gift…in English). And I just love this time of year. You can feel a difference in peoples attitudes and feel the Christmas spirit…the only thing throwing me off…is it is getting hotter, we don’t hear much Christmas music going on, there are zero lights up on the houses and I don’t have a Christmas tree up in my house….yet. J But there is a beautiful one set up in the mission home that sure makes me happy.

Just want to first off say thanks to all those who sent me happy birthday wishes! Cant believe I am 20 years old now. Im so old!!! When did that happen!!??!! But I had a great birthday. Started out in the morning with the whole office coming into my room and singing happy birthday to me before they broke eggs all over me and dumped flour and chocolate all over my head and back as well! Yes it is a Peruvian tradicion here to make a cake out of you on your b-day! So tradicion complete. J I will send pics of my egging. I also had my face get smashed into a cake that the zone bought me. On cleaner matters….lunch was spent at T.G.I. Friday s and I spoiled myself and bought me the hot wings platter! I can not tell you how good those wings were. Maybe they were really bad on American standards but after not having them for almost 17 months….they were FANTASTIC! The waiters there also came out with instruments and sang happy birthday to me and then gave me a free chocolate cookie with icecream stuffed in the middle and glazed over with chocolate and caramel. J Yum yum yum. It should be my birthday everyday. J That night we went to the mission home for a farewell little gathering for all those that left for their homes this change. I was able to direct the proceedings and it turned out to be a nice evening full of the spirit as we got to hear their testimonies and experiences from their missions. Sure going to miss some of my good friends that left…but I know I will see them here shortly at the BYU. Speaking of that…mom when do I need to start selecting my classes? I heard something about February??

But President that night went out and personally bought me a cake too for my birthday. What a great guy president Zobrist. Love him so much. He is the best president ever.

Other news that has happened around these parts of Arequipa…it sad that we are having to send home 2 other elders for reasons of health. One of our best elders here just developed diabetes and lost 10-15 pounds in a week and we had to ship him off very fast so that they could get him better medical treatment there in the states. Another elder is going home because he is going blind and has to have an operation on his eyes and we almost had to send another one to his house due to his knee that has bone on bone rubbing. But it looks like he will be able to stay afterall…he only has 3 months left anyways and he wants to toughen it out to the end. Really sad to see all that happen just this last week. Kinda been a headache for us here in the office but things are quieting down…but are shortly going to be picking back up. Because tonight we have to call everyone for their changes. Tomorrow we are going down to Moquegua with President and Hermana Zobrist for a Christmas Concert that I have been asked to play at. Whew, I tell you what. I am tired of traveling to play. :) haha and I was asked to play in the ward primary program as well. but I guess as president told me…”Elder, you have a talent, you gotta use it.” So that is what I will be doing. J

So yeah that is what is happening around here. This next week we will be busy with all the Christmas devotionals with all the zones here in the mission. We have some get togethers el 17, 18, and 20 (Wednesday, Thursday, Sabado). Then on the 15 and 16 (Monday and Tuesday) we will be training the new trainers and then receiving all the new missionaries in the mission. Fun no? All week long will be crazy. But it will be fun. Then Saturday is kacie´s wedding and then the next week is Christmas and WE GET TO TALK!!!! And then December is practically over. Oh my gosh…were is time going?

Well there is my update from Arequipa. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for everything again. I love you all very much. Know that I have a testimony of the gospel and that I know its true. It really is!

Serve, love, be true to the faith.

Con mucho amor,

Weston

1-4-3

 

 Elder Birtcher

 Asistente 

 Misión Perú-Arequipa

Hola todos :)

 

 Again, another hecktic week with all that we have been doing with the mission and with changes and getting ready for la navidad. This last sunday we were in tacna once again for our last Recital musical in my old stake (where i first started the mission). It was so fun and exciting to see all my old friends and ward once again. That was one of my dreams...to return and see them all once more. crazy that i was there over a year ago. time sure goes by fast. The recital turned out wonderful. Probably one of the best ones we have ever done. We ended on a good note. :) 

However rumor has it that there is a christmas program happening down in Moquegua that i have been asked to go down and play for this next sunday (the 14th). So we will be heading down there with president and hna. Zobrist. 

On last monday we flew back into Arequipa just in time for our leadership training meeting with the ZL and Hermana leaders....that took place monday and tuesday. And i feel it went okay. The mission has sure improved dramatically in numbers, baptisms, rescuing the less actives and the excitement of the mission is up! we are sure happy for the change that we ahve seen and are seeing right now. We will continue on! :) 

And as for this last week...really a lot of office work and getting ready for changes coming up the 14th of December. We got to visit 3 zones as well this last week and train them and make sure all is well with them. So far, so good. 

We now have planned out when we will be doing our 3 christmas parties/conferences with the whole mission and we are trying to plan out days that we can get all the missionaries in Arequipa to go to the Plaza de Armas and sing christmas carols. i think we will do that christmas day in the night time. 

I was just thinking about everything and i sure miss going to the christmas lights at the temple. boy to i miss that. so go to the temple and take a cardboard cut out of me or something so that i can get some of that joy once more. :) 

enjoy this time of season. please do. i miss the lights, the cold, the spirit of the season. Peruvians arent too crazy about their celebration of christmas. not many lights up either due to the possiblility of them getting stolen right off the house. but we are still all happy around here. 

just staying busy and feliz and awake sometimes. 

.

take care, have a wonderful week. do well on all your finals and look for ways to bless someones life during this christmas season!

love you for always,

Weston

1-4-3

 

 Elder Birtcher

 Asistente 

 Misión Perú-Arequipa

Celular: #956-885-626

Oficina: 054-271-48

Buenos dias, I hope everyone had a fantastic thanksgiving this last weekend :) So many things to be grateful for. We certainly have more blessings than we can ever count. Thats why i thank you dad for telling and teaching us kids...give thanks to god for the blessings seen and unseen that the lord gives you. It is so true. We passed Thanksgiving with President in his house :) He invited the office over for some grub. And grub it was!! An amazing turkey and THE BEST STUFFING I HAVE EVER TASTED!!, and mashed potatoes and gravey and PIES!! haha we should be so grateful for just the great food that we have in the states :)  Well the recital in Tacna this last sunday was another success. We filled up the Tacna Tacna stake center up and we are getting more creative and putting up slide shows full of pictures and videos of the church as we sing. And it is turning out really really great. Getting better each time we do it :) We then stayed Monday through Wednesday in Tacna with the 3 zones and got to visit with them and train them up and had some meetings with them. It was also my companions birthday this last tuesday. So the 3 of us (him, president, and i) went out to eat at a steakhouse which was WONDERFUL! Real American steaks. yum yum. Once we got back to Arequipa on Wednesday we egged him up :) haha let me explain.... here in peru if it is your birthday...the tradicion is to crack eggs all over your head (doesnt matter what you are wearing, suit and tie doesnt matter) and then they pour flour all over you as well. He thought he had escaped the "egging and flouring" because we were in Tacna during his birthday...but the 5 of us in the office sure got him good in the house on Wednesday night!!! hahaha i will send pictures.  Thursday was spent with President for thanksgiving dinner. and yesterday we were super busy with planning for our zone leaders/sister leaders conference this monday and tuesday, and we are planning for all the things that we will be doing this year for Christmas visits in the mission and the fiestas that go along with those. So this next week will be training again and then going outside of arequipa for divisions and visiting zones. Tomorrow we fly down to Tacna again for our LAST recital musical in my old Zone´s stake!! i am super excited about that! i will get to see all my old friends and pentionista again. But then wew come right back to arequipa for the training. whew. gonna be another fun week.  they are sure flying by...cant seem to keep events in order, nor figure out when we did what this last change-its been crazy.  On a personal note...on how i am doing. I am tired hahaha...but i love life. I love being a missionary. I get a little frustrated at times not being able to work much in my area. I wish i could visit and teach more people individually so that i can help them get baptized. but our focus right now is on the mission-and that requires that we go to the whole mission. I understand what this calling requires. and the mission is first. but the lord is helping me along. i can feel his prescence and i know his voice. it is familiar and it is always guiding me.  I am getting excited for the christmas season. there is a big push for everyone to see the new video that the church has just released "He is the Gift." There is more christmas music being played in the office and the city here in Arequipa. I love this time of year. My companion and i are best of buds. we love working together and i am learning so much from president zobrist. that is one of my goals...to learn all i can from him. We sure had a fun time talking on the 4 hr. car ride back to arequipa from tacna. We talked about hunting and camping and our families...great man President Richard Zobrist. I love and sustain my President.    Well the Arequipa sun is shining very beautifully today. Makes me happy to know that the same sun shines there in AZ over all of you too. Be happy. Be grateful for all that you have. I am happy.  With all the love i have, Weston 1-4-3 pics: our stay in the Grand Hotel Tacna during my companions birthday :) and companionship unity in teaching and in soccer!!! :)    Elder Birtcher  Asistente   Misión Perú-Arequipa Celular: #956-885-626 Oficina: 054-271-485

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Hello,

just like the title reads....it was a very tiring week...and we are only in for another one this week. 

Last monday and tuesday we had a District Leaders conference here in Arequipa, acutally the 1st one that we have ever done here in the mission, and it went AWESOME! we are really trying to focus on them, and help all the leaders excite and pump up their elders and sisters so that we can all have more success here int eh mission. The mission is improving and we are very happy to see our numbers going up and the excitement of the missionaries as well. President and us are planning many activities and things to do so that the mission will continue to improve and reach new heights. 

After our DL training meeting, Cornejo and i headed straight down to my old zone in MOQ for some divisiones with the elderes and see how the zone is doing. We have been doing really great on visiting zones and doing the divisiones so far....so we continued with those this last week. 

and moquegua is doing great. We spent tuesday afternoon and night working with the ZLs and stayed at my old house. However, turned out to be a HORRIBLE night because they had not prepared and didint have any matresses for either of us. so we spent the night on the hard floor....which hurt both our backs and didnt get ANY sleep at all. On Wednesday we did some more divisiones with other elders in the zone and it was fun to help the newbies and get them more stoked to work in their areas and to complete their numbers each and every week. 

Haha wednesday night we couldnt sleep on the ground anymore so we found a little peruvian motel type thing and rented out a room for the night. so much better than killing my back again and being exhausted all day the next day. 

Early thursday morning we headed down even farther to the zone on the ocean front, ilo. where we had a meeting with the zone and trained them a bit and did divisiones all day and into the night with them. then we slept at the zls house for that night.

friday morning was spent in the bus returning to arequipa 4-5hrs. in bus-not very fun. and once we got into the terminal, we went straight to work...and headed over to the mission home for a lunch and conference with all the new missionaries that had arrived this last change and who are just serving here in the city of Arequipa. had great hamburgers and other food...and the conference went well...but we were so tired. then yesterday afternoon was spent with president in the office planning and getting other mission details resolved and taken care of. 

so, in total....i had 1 hr. to work in my own area ALL week long. and that was spent visiting a new convert who is so great! her testimony is growing and she is so faithful and strong. she just recieved her very 1st calling as the primary secretary...and she is excited to serve in that position. 

So crazy week right.....

now we got our little break today for pday...and we will be starting it all up again. 

Tomorrow after church, we head to the Arequipa Airport for our flight down to Tacna. Tomorrow night, i will be performing in the recital musical that they will be having. and monday through wednesday will be divisiones with the 3 zones that are located down there. tuesday will be my companion´s birthday!!! and wednesday night we will be returning back here to Arequipa with presdient and his wife who will also head down there with us. then thursday is THANKSGIVING!!!! president is trying to hook up a turkey bowl with the offcie in the morning and then we have divisions on friday. then i will be talking to you again on saturday.

From what mom´s letter says: you guys are doing great and are having fun. be safe and continue to let me know on what is happening there in the good ole state of AZ. 

love you guys so much. i really do.

Weston

1-4-3 always

 

 Elder Birtcher

 Asistente 

 Misión Perú-Arequipa

Mis Queridos,

Finally have a moment to breath i should say. i dont even know where this week went to, it went by so fast. and i can believe we are already half way through november. 

well for your update on this last week. On monday Presidente Zobrist left for Colombia for a mission presidents seminar with all the other presidents in the area and Elder Cornejo and i were put in charge of the mission. So we were Presidente Cornejo and Presidente Birtcher till yesterday afternoon when president rolled in. :) but during the week we were sure busy with divisions. Like i said in my last letter it should take us about 2 months to do divisions with the whole mission...but we have it all planned out to do it in a month. its going to be busy busy busy until Feburary due to all the visits we will be doing, getting the new elders and sending the ending ones off and training the zone leaders, hermana leaders, district leaders this monday and tuesday, christmas visits with president, and then interviews all january is the plan. 

We were in a city outside of Arequipa (about 2 hrs.), called Mollendo, last tuesday. I were able to train the zone a little bit and help them out. a couple of problems are happening out there and we went to solve them and get them to be an effective zone once again. On Thursday we also got to visit a zone (my old old one in Manuel Prado) and teach them and interview the missionaries and see how they are doing. I then got to do divisions in my old area of 15 de Agosto once again. IT WAS FANTASTIC! i got to see so many of my converts and i got to visit some of the new investigators that are there as well as visit my pention and other families. You should have seen their faces when they saw me. I really love those people i got to teach. i really do. so wonderful to see them again and to see how they are doing. and great news from back there: so my one convert, Nelly, told me she has completely read the book of mormon and is reading it again for 2nd time. my other convert, edwin, baptized his younger brother this last month and is preparing to put in his papers for his mission. My family that we helped baptize is active and doing great in the church. my other converts, yandy and wendy are faithful ward missionaries and always are giving references and doing their visits...and they both have been to the temple in lima and did baptisms for the dead. and my other one freddy, is now the 2nd counselor in the elders quorum presidency (he also went to the temple!!). I couldnt be more happy. My joy is full :)

love them so much. and i love being able to go and visit them once more in my mission. other news happening. we have a district leadership training meeting this monday and tuesday which should be interesting...and immeditaley after that training conference, my comp and i will be heading down to my old zone of MOQUEGUA to do divisions and interviews and then on thursday and friday we will be in ilo doing the same thing. and then on next sunday we will be heading down to Tacna for another recital muscial and then to do divisions with the 3 zones down there Monday through Wednesday and maybe Thursday...depending if we get on a plane or not. haha craziness i know. but i couldnt be more happy. the office elders are great and i love living with them and being able to work all together. The wards are great and we are trying to work all the time with the members when we are actually able to work in the area. but...all is well. 

 

keep up what you are doing, be safe and know that i love you all.

1-4-3 para siempre

Weston

 

 Elder Birtcher

 Asistente 

 Misión Perú-Arequipa

Hey Guys, Well I am now serving in Arequipa.... haha apparently the mission needed a new assistent. so im the one chosen to fill in that gap. :)  its kinda crazy. i guess i really dont know what to think of it yet. but we are hitting the ground at a full sprint. so i got here today about 2 hrs. ago and we have a training meeting for all the new trainers this change in about 2 hours. tomorrow we have the newbies coming in from the ccm and will be going to pick them up and then train them all up on how the mission is and what they need to do and what to expect. then on wednesday and thursday we have all the zone leaders and sister leaders coming into arequipa for a training meeting. we are booked! some welcome hu? So just to give you some of the updates on how my schedule will be changing.... pdays will now be on saturdays. so dont expect my letters anymore on mondays.  My new companion is one of my best friends in the mission: Elder Cornejo from chile. we have always been really great buds and we are so excited to work together. He was actually comps with my former comp elder priebe who just went home and was also comps with elder chipman who i just sent home. haha its funny: inbetween the 4 of us (Chipman, Priebe, Cornjeo, and Me) we have ALL been companions at one time or the other in the mission. so i am really excited to get going. nervous as well...i sure will be on my knees praying hard for the lords help in everything.  but some of the past weeks updates just to fill you in quickly and i will try and touch up more on it saturday: but chipman left :( so i was in divisions all week long with other companionships of elders. it turned out really great but also very very tiring. not to mention the weekend. so chip had left but then came back to help out with the rectial musical that we did in tacna this last weekend (well actually yesterday). we were so busy running down to tacna and practicing and returning sunday and really really tiring. when we were trying to come back to moquegua sunday night we got the terminal at 9:15pm and the last bus that left from MOQ was at 8:45pm and we were stuck! we couldnt find any rides and we ended up walking down many dark alley ways and markets trying to find anything to return because we still had to pack everything up and get our room ready for the 2 new zone leaders and also get us all ready to go to arequipa. Elder chipman just met up with his parents about an hour ago and now im getting to work. but crazy crazy trying week we had and will be having from today on. we also had a little halloween party which i will send pics later and for the day of the dead on saturday we went to the cemetery and passed out tons of plan of salvacion flyers and also shined shoes for free for a couple of hours. really had fun with that as well.  All in all....i am sad that i left moquegua. i had the best zone in the mission, some of my best buds. the ward was sure sad to see both chipman and i leave but we had a good farewell. sad to see chipman and all ton of my friends who just left..but we are in for some great times ahead. i look forward to learning all i can from president and help the mission out with what i can and what the lord wants me to do here in his vineyard of Peru Arequipa.  I love you all and will talk to you all some more on Saturday.  Con todo el amor que tengo.  Weston        Elder Birtcher Perú - Arequipa Mission

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