Elder Jake Moss: Making New Friends in Paccha

Hola Familia! Coma estan? I miss you all! This Thursday I will have been out for 6 months. I swear we were just at the airport saying goodbye! Things are good and I've completed 25% of my mission. I know the Lord is blessing me for doing his work because it has been the best 6 months and my testimony has grown so much! I also know my family can see the blessings.

This was a good week...we taught 22 lessons which was great! We are working hard and starting to implement more member work and unity. We had ward council with the leaders because I suggested it and Elder Suarez and I directed the meeting. We have hope that the branch will start working together. We need to be examples to them. It's disorganized and needs some direction. We need to show these people with love so little by little it will improve. I'm noticing things that need to be fixed and trying my best to help. Peru and especially La Oroya have members that have challenges. A branch should feel like a family so people will want to come and that's what I was explaining in ward council to the leaders. I feel a responsibility to help create that. Please pray for this branch and the president.

This week we went to Tarma, such a cool city! It's like in a bowl and its next to the jungle....so green and sweet! But we had interviews with President Henderson Wednesday and then a worldwide training. It's always fun to talk to Pres.! We just laugh the whole time! But he told me that he trusts me a lot. He also told me that he loved that I loved HVCA because not many missionaries do.....he said it's the missionary who can make the difference. I told him I'm here in La Oroya to help make it an area where people want to go! I'm happy to be here!

Now for the work.....there aren't a lot of people interested here so we visit Paccha....it's 15 minutes away. A hermana, who's not in our branch, gives us references. We visit the less actives and we visit a man named Hector. Hector has brain damage from a drunk attacking him a year ago. He is really cool and wants to be just like us. He has a shoulder bag, tie and he's going to get a name tag. He always calls us and asks us when we are going to visit people so he can join us and he just has the spirit with him. It makes me so happy to help him out. I even gave him my old Book of Mormon case so that he can hold his Book of Mormon in there like us haha. We take him with us to do visits and he is so happy all the time! It makes my day to take this 57 year-old guy around Paccha and do the work of the Lord. It brings me joy to know I'm taking care of one of God's children in the right way....I already love the guy to death!

Reflection of the week: We have an investigator named Abraham from Paccha. He has a girlfriend who's a member and wants to get married and sealed in the temple. They just had a baby. Abraham reads everything we give him. He even read all of 1st Nephi without us asking. He really is someone prepared and I feel like I knew him before this life. He is someone with the right intentions and you can feel the spirit when he prays. I feel like I have this huge responsibility to make sure he gets baptized because I already love him. There are people prepared for me to teach and he is one! I love you all! Keep Abraham, Hector and La Oroya in your prayers. Miss you all!

Love,
Elder Moss