Being an Eagle Scout Comes in Handy

What's up family!? Neyra didn't end up getting baptized but we are hoping for this week! We fasted with her on Thursday because she truly wants to feel that she needs to get baptized. She's going to continue to pray about it. She did come to church so that always gives us hope. Christian is doing great and is supposed to get baptized on Saturday. She knows the church is true but she's worried about getting baptized twice...because she was previously baptized in an evangelical church. So we taught her about authority. So we asked her to ask God about the authority. 

Sunday we got to see Gina and Andalina. They are doing great! It was such a blessing to have been able to find them. They have read all of lesson 1 pamphlet. They told us everything is perfect and that they love how simple things are to understand. We taught them about the BOM. They asked us to bear our testimonies and they listened attentively and you could feel the spirit very strong as Emilio, Elder Guerrero and I shared them. I could see that what we said touched their hearts. They said they can't wait to see General Conference and hear from the prophet. We told them about Seventies and that we had a member of the Seventy here a couple of weeks ago. She said next time a Seventy comes she wants to be invited and get to know them! We are planning on getting them to the women's session this Saturday. They're determined and hoping to truly feel something different. They told us that they have been looking for the true church for a long time and they feel as if the Lord has prepared this all and the timing for them. They love what we have taught and they are hoping their prayers are answered soon. I'm so glad the spirit guided me to Gina and Adalina. I told them that I feel like I knew them before. 

Elder Woltjen and I went on divisions on Weds. He's from California and is two weeks into the mission and he's a really cool guy. He's going to be a great leader here in the mission. He's real ambitious and wants to speak Spanish to everyone. We had a cool contact that was great with a guy named John. We were actually looking for an appointment with a guy named Claudio but we went to the door and this guy John answered. We taught John about 3 Nephi and got a return appointment setup for Saturday. Elder Woltjen was really excited to get to teach this guy. We had a great experience together. 

There's a guy named Carlos that we are trying to connect with but he's hard to track down. We went to try to find him on Monday night but he wasn't there. I told my companion that we need to chase him down and so we keep trying to find him and he keeps dodging us. So we went back Sunday and he still wasn't there. 

Thursday was a really cool guy. We went to Melvin's house...he's a member kid who's working on his mission papers. Melvin's my best friend and I taught him some English. He's always helping us with appointments and stuff. We also did interviews for a couple of baptisms in our zone and I interviewed a guy named named Eric and he's really cool. He said on his second time to church he and his wife knew they should get baptized. He asked me on the spot if I would baptize him and we had his baptism on Saturday and I got to baptize him! Eric's wife and his kid got baptized too so a family was completed!

Thursday we also went and did service this week and helped an older member cut down a tree and chop some wood. Elder Woltjen and I helped him out. This Peruvian dude just jumped up and started pulling on the tree limbs which broke and fell and hit me in the face and scratched me pretty good. But I'm okay! And then Saturday we went back again with the whole zone to cut the trees into firewood. So we went up to this house which is up the canyon. We had the whole zone out there cutting wood. They had two hatches and two machetes and everyone started going at it cutting wood. I have four blisters on my hands! Everyone was going at it cutting with a hatchet and thank goodness I got my Eagle Scout because these guys didn't know what they were doing! I had to show them how to do it right. This older couple that owned the house fed us some lunch which was cool, but the food isn't interesting here. The best thing here is Huanes which is yellow rice which is with egg and chicken and hot sauce and they cook it all together in a banana leaf and in the oven and it is way good! 

Reflection of the Week: I can't tell you everything that's changed about me. I can't describe it. President said that sometimes we just realize that as a person we've changed and that's okay because that's what the Lord wants. Any chance I get where I feel the Spirit I write in my journal. I'm always writing things down. I don't know what's changed but something that has happened to me that motivates me. The Lord has changed me and molded me. There's so much left in life and I feel I want to keep converting myself more. Feeling the Spirit is the coolest thing in the world. I feel as if what I owe the Lord is to give him my all these last few months. The mission has done something big in my life. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet...I know it with all my heart. The changes to me in my life aren't possible without there being truth to the message. My life has been directed in a different direction. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. The mission has brought me more happiness than I've ever felt in my life. I can feel it inside that I am happy and content with what I am doing. I love this gospel with all my heart. I feel more compelled to be obedient and I know that the commandments bring blessings. I have the best mission in the world...I have the best mission in the world! I love Peru and the people here. I want to take my conversion here and bring it home because I know that it's going to help me the rest of my life. I'm so grateful for the things we have in the gospel. I know this gospel changes lives. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Moss

Huanuco Zone 2017

Elder Moss - Elder Ramirez  Huancayo