Hello Everyone!
What a great week this has been down in good ole peru. where to
start....well it has been pretty much the same schedule with the studies and
teaching so i guess i will have to hit on the highlights these week. I did get
to play the violin again on sunday with hermana cardon and an elder haacke! we
were the trio violin group and it turned out really well. the spirit was felt
and we got many compliements for our playing. im gonna say it again but i am so
grateful for sticking with the violin. it truely brings the spirit and i really
enjoy playing it. i just never have time for it! haha we have such a busy
schedule here.
one thing that i want to share is my experience that i had on sunday. of
course it was fast sunday and as i was thinking about what i would fast for i
fasted for 1. how could i gain a stronger testimony of my savior jesus christ
and 2. to help me have the gift of tongues and help me understand spanish
quicker and 3. to have a spiritual day. so the day started out like normal and
we had church and all our meetings and nothing that i had fasted for really had
happened. i was content i guess thinking that it was up to me to learn spanish
and gain a testimony and that the lord was holding off helping me until i had
shown a little bit more work however...we got to watch a dvd of a talk given by
elder david a bednar and he talked on exactly how someone should gain a stronger
testimony of their savior and gave ways to do it!! i couldnt believe it. that
talk is probably one of my most favorite talks i have ever heard. i really love
listening to our prophets and apostles speak and i encourage you all to go and
watch his talk! it was given dec. 25, 2011 by elder bednar in the provo mtc.
such a powerful message and i really learned a lot from it. it also taught me
how to be the kind of missionary the lord wants me to be. i felt the spirit so
strong and i absoultely think that that talk was especially for me...even though
the whole ccm probably thought it was for them too. anyways so numbers
1 answered. we went to dinnner following the dvd and afterwards had our fireside
where i played the violin. all our firesides are in spnaish and they give the
norte americanos headphones for translation but i felt that i shouldnt use it
this time. i understood the whole meeting. i couldnt believe it. and they would
ask questions and i would answer in spanish and it would be the right answers.
the spirit was so strong in their too!! so number 2 answered! and then looking
back on the day what a spiritual day...number 3 answered. the lord truely does
answer our prayers and he knows our concerns and desires. i really felt the
lords love for me and gained a testimony that the lord will help his
missionaries and anyone who has a willing heart and wants to come unto their
savior. i love my savior. he lives and wants us to come unto him through faith
and repentence. i have been reading jesus the chirst and am half way through it!
what a powerful book and i have learned more about my savior than i ever thought
i would. i encourage all to read james e. talmages words for they testify of our
savior. so that was my all time spiritual moment for the week!
We also had a fireside on tuesday which was excellent as well from the area
president. Well we leave here on tuesday morning! holy cow this has gone by so
fast! i have really enjoyed being here in the ccm and have made so many great
friends and have learned so much. i will be really sad to leave here! i am
really excited to get down to arequipa but very nervous as well because of the
language. i can understand it most of the time but the peruvians speak very fast
and very quiet which is somehting that i will have to get used to. but i trust
in the lord and know that through him all things are possible. we actually get
to go proselyting again on saturday which will be interesting because it is just
elder ellsworth and i and no teacher this time! the two gringos get to go and
try to preach the gospel. pray for us!
But today has been an excellent day! we got up and got our laundry done and
had breakfeast and we had a little free time before our 10:30 temple session so
yes, mom, i did finally get those nice new strings on! it sounds beautiful! i
actually was just sitting on my top bunk playing for almost a half an hour
today! the whole upstairs was poking their heads in, hahah even the janitors and
complementing and all wish i would have done it more often. but i enjoyed it and
it brought the spirit which put us all in the right mindset for the temple. we
went to the temple and it was a great session. i love the lima temple down here.
such great people work in it and it is so beautiful. so blessed to have been
able to go and be in the house of the lord every pday. yes had some more crazy
bus rides but we got to go shopping and pick up all the last minute things that
we need before the field. and we have been taking lots of pics to remember
everyone before we all go our seperate ways. its a good thing that almost all
are going ot byu after the mission...so it wont be the last time we see each
other! oh so i told you that we had an elder here from az who went to red mnt.
and yeah we talk smack....but we got the new wave of elders and hermanas and one
is from az, queen creek and she knows max nelson! she also knows basically all
my friends so we have fun talking it up! and i also got to
meet my seminary partner´s grandparents who are down here! haha such a small
world!!
Till next week in Arequipa!
1-4-3
Elder Weston Birtcher
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