We Had 11 Investigators Come To Church!

Happy 4th of July family! Today all 4 zones in Huancayo are going to have a BBQ and some members are going to do some fireworks....so that will be sweet!  This last week was amazing! We found 3 new investigators through contacting.  We didn't have P-day on Monday because of the hike with President Henderson last Friday.  Tuesday we had district meeting and then we were able to visit John and Mariella and she accepted a baptismal date! We taught her all the reasons we should choose to get baptized and the blessings from it.....she accepted it all!  One of my favorite scriptures that puts all the Catholics in shock is Mark 10: 38-39 "But Jesus said unto them, Ye know now what to ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they say unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized".

We also taught Wilder and his wife and they are excited to read the BOM and find the right church. Wednesday was good we taught Eduardo Parruga, an investigator that's married to a less active.  He is reading the BOM and is understanding.....which is great! Then we also taught the Java's, a less-active family that has had some problems with some members. Apparently the members have accused their daughter and their son (whose a return missionary) of some things and they were offended.  So we shared a lesson about forgiveness. The mom started to cry and you could feel the spirit.  Thursday we taught this old dude, Dante, who has no teeth. He likes to relate everything to Saints and Idols.  We're thinking about teaching him the first 2 commandments.  The funny thing is all the Catholics believe in the Bible but they completely skip the first 2 commandments.  We saw our buddy, Urbano, who calls us liars and hypocrites because we don't visit him enough.  He's a good guy and walking is challenging for him.  We are helping him to practice walking and to use his faith...HAHA! Friday we met President Silva and all his kids! I think he's going to be great! That night we went and purchased the food for the BBQ. We also visited, Kory, who has a baptismal date.

On Sunday we fasted that people would start applying what we teach them into their lives and it worked.  At the beginning of sacrament we had 5 investigators show up....Mariella, Kory, Izumi and his 2 daughters. Then after they opened the doors the Villanera and Diaz family showed up! That's 11 investigators at church! That has to be a miracle because getting people to church, even the members, is honestly so challenging.  They all came and stayed and enjoyed it....it was awesome! FASTING works! 

Reflection of the week:  This week I realized you can work hard and have great numbers but what counts is how those investigators apply what we teach them and how they progress.  Also the BOM is the KEY to EVERYTHING! People become hooked and it's so cool to see! Implementing the BOM of guarantees progression and most of all explaining about the importance of the BOM with the spirit. I love this book and the miracles I have seen! I truly love it out here. Love you all! #doitforjesus

Love,

Elder Moss

Goodbye to President & Sister Henderson
Welcome President & Sister Silva

A New Place To Live!

Family how are you all? Things are still great here in Mantaro! We had a pretty good week with a good amount of lessons and 5 new people....I'm so excited about that! Also we got a new room and it's so nice! We ditched our old room and told our Landlord goodbye because he didn't do anything that he said he was going to do.  And we were paying him 450 Soles....so we found a new room.  It's on the 4th floor with a cool view of the city from the balcony.  We have a solar shower and a kitchen. We searched long and hard for this place. We moved in last Saturday.

Last Monday for P-day we just played sports at the church and then that night we found 3 new investigators to teach! Wilder and Johana are a younger couple who own like a mini Home Depot. They are looking for a church where they can feel happiness.  We taught them the Restoration and they were very excited and we are going to visit them tomorrow.  We also have been passing by there place this past week to talk to them.  They have been asking questions on how to raise a family so we are going to bring the Proclamation on the Family to them.  They're are really sweet.  Then we found Nicol, a young mom, who wants to get baptized.  We have set a date for her on July 30th.  We're excited about this. Tuesday we visited Dante.  He's an older guy who wants to know more about the church as also why there are so many different churches?  In Peru you can just throw up a sign on your house, put some chairs up and yell into a microphone and "preach" and perform "miracles" and people will come.  I'm thinking we should try that approach....HAHA!  We also taught the Zenteno family and watched the Joseph Smith movie. They are progressing and it's so exciting! Wednesday was a good day.....we had 4 lessons.We taught Percy. He's 18 and is the grandson of Jorge. He's awesome and has opened up to us a lot.    Thursday we taught Diego and he's doing good.  We finally got in his house LOL! Thursday we received a call from the ZL's telling us we can go to Huaytapallana Friday with President Henderson before he leaves in 2 days. So we went and I was able to see Spencer Campbell.  He's one of my buddies from Brighton.  We were able to talk the whole time. He's in Pampas and got here in February.  So the 4 zones of Huancayo went on the hike. Since we went on the hike we don't have P-day today.  I'm also good on hiking to Huaytapallana....it's always the same! Saturday we moved into our new place.  We decided to celebrate and did a BBQ on our roof with the other Elders....that was fun! Sunday we found John and Mariella FINALLY and did some recent convert visits.  Also the Diaz family is doing great and is getting married July 30th. Villanera family was all excited to come to church and then didn't show up.  So we will have to see what happens with them.

Reflection of the week:  This week I realized after seeing how sad the church is in Peru. I realized how much responsibility the Lord gives us to carry out the salvations of others.  It's sad to see the church in my mission struggle to get someone to say a prayer or do a talk. The Bishop has spoken like 5 times since I have been here.  We need to take our responsibility in the church serious and help others who are weak come unto Christ.  We are so truly blessed. In Jacob 1:19 it explains all of this...."And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day."  I love you all! #doitforjesus

Love, 

Elder Moss

Final Hike With President & Sister Henderson - (Elder Moss is right of center)

Better than in "Merica"

Kitchen

Jake's Desk (left)

Rooftop View!

Bedroom

BBQ on the New Patio - Elders Daza, Bruno, Bolanos & Bautista

I'm a Lightning Rod!

Hey Dad ....Happy Fathers Day! Thank you for all that you have done for me.  I love you lots and I'm so grateful for the example you have set for me as a father.  I know that I will use it to teach my kids and to raise my family one day.

Things are good here in Mantaro.  Except that we haven't had water in like 4 days.  Our landlord has yet to fix the water problem and still hasn't finished our room.  We're going to talk to him today to see what's up! We are paying him good money for things that aren't working so well.  We have found another room for the same price. It's a lot nicer, it's on the 4th floor and it has a huge patio that we can go out on that over looks the city. So hopefully we can make that move. The only problem is the lady renting the new place doesn't have a bank account and that's required so she can be paid for our room. That's how it is here...some people don't have basic things like a bank account.

This last week consisted of a lot of failed appointments and looking for a new place.  We were able to contact some people.  We are really looking forward to next week because we have some good people to visit.  Pray that they are there when we show up.  Monday for P-day we played capture the flag in a really cool forest. Huancayo has random forests that are really pretty! Every appointment that we had set for Monday failed us.:( The Zenteno family was out of town. But we were able to catch the dad, Samuel, on Saturday and visit with him. He is awesome.  He was telling us how he is looking to strengthen his family and to be able to raise his children in a good home. So that was perfect.....we gave him the proclamation on the Family! Tuesday was district meeting.  Then we did divisions with Elder Carrasco who's from Chile.  He's one of my favorite kids! He is so funny.....we had a good time teaching.  He really knows the lessons well and how to ask good questions.  I enjoyed doing splits with him a lot. Divisions sometimes kill the week so we weren't able to visit a lot of people.  But Wednesday we visited the Diaz Family.  The office Elders are suppose to be visiting them but haven't had the time for 3 weeks.  So we decided to pick this family up. The Zone Leaders told us it was ok. They have a date to get married July 30th.  We had to help them understand that Jehovah is Jesus Christ.  That is a common problem here and it isn't made any easier by the Jehovah's Witnesses.  One of the highlights of the week was visiting an old man named Urbano.  He is a less-active and we try to visit him weekly.  When Urbano offered the prayer he said, "Lord you know I can't go to church because the Taxi's charge me 4 soles and they rip me off."  My favorite excuse so far....I was trying not to laugh!

So President Henderson spoke in Stake Conf. this past Sunday and he had all of the missionaries stand up and he had me raise my hand and and he said that I'm so tall that my companions love me because I am like a lightning rod! It was really funny! Actually, I am the second tallest Elder in the mission, but the tallest Elder goes home in a month. I will miss President Henderson when he's gone. President Silva will be here on the 29th so that will be great. 

I have been reading in Ether and there is a part where it says that Moroni couldn't write more because the Lord didn't want him to.  I now understand why.......the Lord want's to test us and doesn't want us to have a perfect knowledge or we would not be testing our faith. Then connect that back to Alma 32 which talks about faith.  The teachings in the BOM are unreal.  I love it so much! 

Reflection of the week:  I was thinking back to the lessons when we teach Jose.  I've realized the more and more you ask questions the more likely the spirit will be present.  Having the person share what they are feeling is how you touch their heart with the spirit and get them to recognize that they are feeling the spirit.  Jose is more committed to push himself.  I know that through the spirit we can change.  I love feeling the Spirit!  I love and miss you all.  #doitforjesus

Love,

Elder Moss

Bird egg...we think. That or it just hailed easter eggs.

Elder Carrasco

Huancayo Sunset

Jose's Dog

Teaching Some Great Families!

Hey Family! How are you all? I feel really good about this week..... we had 18 lessons! Mantaro is improving a lot! We are finding investigators and less actives to teach and it's growing. I feel like finally we have gotten to a point where we don't have enough time to fit everything in and that's such an amazing feeling.  

Monday for P-day we took a train and went to Izcuchaca it was so sweet! It really made me miss Huancavelica! Nothing in the mission so far compares to HVCA.  Afterwards we played basketball and volleyball when we returned.  I'm still pretty good at basketball...ha ha! On Monday we also visited the Senteno Family.  Their intentions to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet are real! They're determined to know if the BOM is true and if the church is true. Tonight we are going to show them the Restoration so that will be cool.  For District meeting on Tuesday I gave a lesson on Diligence. We visited the Villanera family that I found 2 months ago.  We were able to teach the mom. They have 3 kids....Christian, Steven and their baby. Christian and Steven love us!  We taught the family lesson 1 and they still seem very interested. Wednesday we had five lessons.  We visited an old investigator named Manuel. I really like him.  He's 23 and has a kid and is excited to start coming back to church.  We also have been visiting Jorge. He's 78 and less-active and is one of my favorite people.  He's always telling us some really crazy stories.....so entertaining. Thursday we met some pretty hardcore in-actives....Miguel and Carmen. They went in-active because a member sold them a bad copy machine that broke. They tried suing them. I was trying not to laugh! They kept telling us how their lives have gotten better since they stopped going to church.  They said money and work are better.  It was sad because I felt that Carmen was very prideful. They kept telling us how they were mad that the ward wasn't helping out kids who needed help and I asked her, "Well then why haven't you done anything to help?" Then she rambled how she doesn't like this member and his family.  So sad that people let worldly things get in front of their own salvation.  Like it says in Matthew 6:33. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." On a good note, Saturday we went to visit Diego and he finally is going to come to church.  We taught him a lesson and the spirit was so strong.  We also visited the Villanera family again and they are still so interested in making sure their family is happy and they love what the church teaches.  The parents and kids are excited to come to church. They are planning on coming next week. Earlier this week we had a large multi-zone conference with President Henderson. This was his big send off. He will be leaving in a couple of weeks and I don't think I will see him again. I will miss him! President Silva will begin on July 1st. He's from Peru and it will be great to get to know him. 

Reflection of the week:  I decided to really concentrate and listen to the spirit more this last week.  I made sure to ask questions that invited the spirit to be there.  I really tried to listen more carefully to what needed to be taught.  I really think by doing this it made the week and finding people a lot easier.  We decided for some reason to knock on a door and found a less-active who wants her husband to join the church.  So we were able to teach them.  I don't know why we knocked on it, but we did.  The spirit is the KEY to this work! I love you all!  #doitforjesus

Love,

Elder Moss 

Elder Moss, John Cruff and Elder Gonzales

Learning Diligence

Happy 17th Birthday Nick.....miss and love you!  Time is flying here in Mantaro. The work is getting better little by little.  Monday we tried to play capture the flag in a huge forest. We made weapons out of cardboard and it was fun for about 20 minutes.  Then security came over and told us that we had to leave.  Later we had FHE with the Bishop.  You could really feel the spirit in the lesson.  I enjoyed it so much especially since I didn't have to teach. Tuesday I gave a training on diligence and I shared a scripture 1 Nephi 10:19 "For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round." I have a great testimony of diligence after some tough weeks of working hard and little hope.  My mission has taught me that through diligence things can happen.  I can see that Mantaro is slowly showing hope. Elder Gonzales headed to Lima to take care of his visa.  I hung with Elder Daza and Elder Bautista for 3 days.  We went to a hospital...that was so sad.  I felt so bad for the people.  Peru is a tough place. I bought a trompo....coolest thing! It's like a yo-yo but it leaves your hand and spins on the ground and you can throw it and make it fly.  Sergio, my pensions son, it teaching me the tricks.  Thursday Gonzales returned and we got to work. We contacted a guy named, Jesus. He's a mechanic and he was outside taking a smoke break.  I felt like I should approach him.  We did and he was surprised. I told him that Jesus Christ loves him and that he's important to him and his face lit up.  We're going to go back on Monday. I hope he wants to learn the lessons.  Sunday they had elections again so that meant no church and no one was home.  We did splits. Elder Daza and I taught the Anyaipoma Family.  They're a less-active family who have experienced many trials and are ready to come back.  They are awesome and we talk to them in English because they've lived in the states.

I have noticed that small things do count.  I want to leave an area knowing I did my best. And hopefully the Elders that are still there can progress on what I want I have done.  I heard that La Oroya has a lot of success now....it's unreal....they're booming over there apparently. I'm glad to have been apart of that.  President sent me an email telling me how proud he was of me and how good of a missionary I am.  I'm going to miss him lots when he leaves at the end of the month. 

Reflection of the week:  I was thinking a lot about the Plan of Salvation. We taught the Anyaipoma family about this wonderful plan that our Heavenly Father has for us.  The spirit was really strong and it helped them understand what we were teaching.  After explaining to Carol, who's 29,  she asked, "If we are already baptized and we repent then what?" The question is easy but so logical and so powerful. Then what? As we know, through the sacrament, the Lord has given us ways to change and feel better. I testified and the spirit was there and they are excited to come to church this Sunday.  The mission is amazing! It's almost been a year and I want more time! I love you all! #doitforjesus

Love,

Elder Moss

Trombo - Spinning Top

Things Are Gradually Improving in Mantaro

Happy Memorial Day! How are you all?  This last week was really hard again. But I think the hard work and suffering is starting to pay off. Monday we played soccer even though it was raining.  The rain kind of took the fun out of it.  We went and visited Jose & Elva and taught them a lesson on the importance of why they should listen to us.  That was really interesting.  Elva told us she really likes to hear about how the church is so focused on the family.  Jose just wants to ask us questions like, "Can we manipulate the Holy Ghost when we have it"?  Elder Gonzales and I are trying to decide if we should drop them.  That's a hard decision because you don't want give up on anyone but at the same time if your not progressing then it's probably better to move on.  Tuesday we had district meeting. I now have a new district because they closed Chupaca and Elder Crosland and Moreno went to the jungle.  So we've had to switch things up....the mission is changing lots.  There have been some missionaries that have had to go home and are going home because of health problems.  So pray for me that I'll stay healthy.  Thank you for the package.  I love the garmin and tracking the miles I walk.  I also received a package from the YW.....that was so sweet! Thank you!  We have been finding some people to teach but they are failing us.  But we were able to teach Mariella who is doing great! Friday we knocked on a door of this nice, huge house and a guy named Samuel answered.  He told us to come back on Sunday. Usually the rich people here don't want to listen.  Elder Gonzales and I prayed so hard for Samuel, that he'd be there on Sunday when we came back. Guess what?  We went there on Sunday at 5 and he answered the door and had us come in and his WHOLE family, 3 kids and his wife, were there to listen.  It had to be one of the happiest feelings ever.  After weeks of rejection, we were led to this awesome family! They listened and we testified of the divinity of this gospel. They accepted and understood. They want us to come back and they are excited to read the BOM.  When we gave them the BOM, all of there faces just lit up. The kids even listened. They have a 5, 8 & 14 year old boys. They have this beautiful house but even better family!  After leaving Elder Gonzales was jumping out of his shoes....haha! He's had it rough with so many failing appts.  I'm so grateful that we found this family.  We also found 2 others and the ward is starting to give references. Slowly it's getting better....still not where I want it......because I know there is potential here. 

So the ward is finally going to start working.. so I decided to give a training on how to do visits and how to share the gospel. So I set up a training and we taught them how to do visits and then we made them practice on each other.... It was so funny!  The bishop is pushing for baptisms and the ward looks a tiny bit better.  I have been so frustrated and then finally we found some less actives and some new people. I was really questioning God in my prayers and telling him how much we work and there is just nothing and finally out of nowhere we found that golden family....the Zenoto family. So we've taught the Zenoto family the 1st lesson and they've invited us back this Friday again. 

Things in the mission are about to change a lot. President Henderson has a month left. We have a total of seven Zone Leaders going home this coming change. Changes are on June 22nd this month. Also, pray for all of us because we've had three Elders go home early in the past month because of illness and injury. It's been tough. So a lot is going to happen in the coming weeks with the transition to President Silva. 

Reflection of the week:  I was reading Ether 12:6 with some awesome less actives we visited for the first time and I realized how much this scripture relates to missionary work.   I'm not going to lie, these weeks have been full of no hope, just let downs.  After a trial of our faith and working our butts off, finally some hope.  We've received testimonies of hard work and pushing forward......knowing there is something.  I've never had such a hard time finding and getting people to progress like this in all my mission. But I'm learning and gaining a testimony of hard work.  Ether 12:27 sums it all up....if we go to the Lord he will make us stronger.  I love you all! Please pray for the Zenoto Family!!! #doitforjesus

Love,

Elder Moss

I Was Sick Last Week!

Hey family! How are you all?  Things are good in Mantaro! Elder Gonzales is adjusting to mission life and is doing good.  We had a tough week but we worked really hard. Every night we'd return home and crash.  Monday for P-day we went to this place called Cochas. Supposedly it's this touristic place..we didn't think it was that great.  But we did buy a few things.  I was not feeling so hot on Monday. After we got done sending emails my body just started hurting....I felt terrible. I hung out with Elder Bautista and Crosland while everyone else went to go hike a mountain.  Afterwards we came back and we went and taught Mariella and John a lesson. Headed home that night and I was so sick.  Headache, stomach ache, body aches and really bad chills.  I put my hat and sweatshirt on, took some medicine and tried to sleep.  Didn't sleep at all.  Tuesday we had District meeting. Thank goodness I wasn't teaching.  I pretty much laid in bed all day trying to stay warm. Wednesday I felt so much better.  We actually taught 4 lessons that day. Then the week got tough! We've been trying to contact in the street or knocking on doors and still no luck. Please pray for us that this week will be better.  Thursday we taught Mariella about the Plan of Salvation.  I love teaching this because it's something that Peruvian people don't know. The Catholic church doesn't teach this.  Mariella read everything.  The lesson went well and her husband helped a lot.  She really understood it. She does have some doubts.  One of those doubts is she doesn't understand why only men have the Priesthood. She's offended by that.  We explained that we all have different roles and that this is God's plan...man didn't choose this.  Elder Gonzales tried to explain but she got frustrated.  So I bore my testimony of my parents and how they accept their roles and magnify them.  The spirit was there as I told her how I saw my mom and dad effective in their responsibilities.   I love my parents and their great example. I want her to understand her role, that it's so important.  Yes, there is a difference but we are all the same.  God's plan is perfect and we all knew that before we came to this earth and that's why we chose to follow him.  Never doubt what God has created.  Always ask our Heavenly Father with a sincere prayer for help. Marielle did end up coming to church on Sunday! Her husband is awesome.  We ended the week with teaching a less active family, Ticliacuvi family.  We are hoping to rescue them! The leadership of the ward here is really challenged. The bishop works so hard and he has very little support from his counselors or other people. Elder Gonzales and I are using the Bishop's Handbook to help teach the leaders here and give them some advice. Maybe I'm not here to teach a lot of people but I'm here to organize the ward and help the bishop. I hope we don't offend the bishop but it is pretty challenging here. We taught a total of 14 lessons this week which isn't that much. I feel like our ward is really more like a branch. We have a real challenge here in the ward where there's not very many worthy priesthood holders. Right now the goal is to baptize men. We have tons of sisters here in the ward. 

Reflection of the week:  This gospel isn't based on our numbers or success. It's based on how hard we try. I know that it has been really tough with finding people to teach.  But when I get back to our room, I'm tired and that's when I know I've worked hard.  I have the BIGGEST desire to read the scriptures you guys...every day! I love them so much and I cherish them. I mark them up and I find the coolest things in the scriptures. I love you all so much! #doitforjesus

Love,

Elder Moss

Huancayo - Mantaro, May 2016

Surviving The Flu