Izcuchaca 10-22-12

(This first bit is for our ward primary president and a sharing time next week)

For Andrea Johnson

 

Have you ever been so sick that your dad gave you a priesthood blessing to help you feel better? As missionaries we have the opportunity to help others receive the blessings of the priesthood who don’t have priesthood holders in their homes. I have been in the mission field for almost four months, and every month I have had the opportunity to exercise my priesthood! The other day we were with one of our investigators and all of her little girls (she has three) were sick with a type of chicken pox. My companion and I had the chance to give all of her children blessings of healing. I anointed the children, and my companion (who is from Peru and can speak Spanish better than I can) sealed the anointing and blessed the children. When we returned the following week they were all feeling much better and over the chicken pox! I know that it is a blessing to exercise the priesthood, and I am so happy that God has shared his power with me to bless his children here on the earth!

 

Ok I hope that is what she wanted.

 

Well we have started another change here in Peru. Izcuchaca is better than ever! And WE are starting to make some great progress in the work here. At the end of this last change I had a lot of thoughts about what we could do to make this sector a better place. Honestly, I had a little bit of fear in my heart about how our efforts to make Izcuchaca una rama were going to turn out and whether or not we were going to be able to do it. But we continue to work hard and I know that as we put in our best effort and trust in the lord, we can be tools in his hands to bring great blessing to the members and people of Izcuchaca. My spirits have been lifted in a couple of ways, Ill share with you a couple of the most exciting stories of the week.

 

There is a sister here named Hma. Mantilla. She lives about 20 minutes out of Izcuchaca in a little pueblo called compone. I’m sure when you think of the name Cusco Peru you would imagine in your mind something like the little town of compone, where all the houses are made out of mud bricks.....(well scratch that practically ALL the houses that have seen in the mission are made out of adobe including ours) and the people go out to work n their fields all day with their cows and sheep and potatoes. Anyway the son of Hma mantilla was hurt in a mototaxi accident in puerto maldonado, and then her entire family became ill. She called us on thurs day in tears asking us to come and visit them. Unfortunately her husband only has the aaronic priesthood and as of yet hasn’t received the melkezidec. (hope i spelled that kind of right.) We went, the four of us, to give them priesthood blessings and some words of comfort. The priesthood is an incredible blessing. As we were giving them blessings and visiting with them, I couldn’t help but be grateful for the infrastructure of the church and the blessings that we have in strong wards and stakes. I know that if something like that had happened in a strong ward there would have been home teachers and visiting teachers and priesthood holders, and mothers bringing meals to the afflicted, yada yada the list would go on. Hma Mantilla called us in tears because no one had been there to help her in her time of need. I am grateful that I get to be a holder of the priesthood of God, to bless his children when they are afflicted.

 

We also had the opportunity to challenge a lot of people this week for baptism. Baptism is the end goal for all of our teaching, we teach not just to help people live better lives but to help people be saved in the kingdom of god, receiving all of the ordinances and keeping all of the commandments to receive all of the blessings. Everyone should stop for just a second to think about all of the things we need to do to be saved... before my mission I never really thought about how different our lives our from the rest of the worlds but HOLY COW WE ARE DIFFERENT! And it is tough to help people believe in the gospel, let alone change their lives completely to live it. However, this week i had the blessing of seeing that these things are 100% possible and that this is the way God intended it to be. We have an investigator named Jesus. :) Who is quite set in his evangelical ways. Yesterday we had divisions and elder Tavoian and i went to his house. During the lesson we challenged him, and he pulled out the famous answer that has become the absolute bane of my existence here in izcuchaca. He said " Bueno Hmos, entiendo todas de estas cosas, pero realmente no me importa, porque nosotros SOMOS la iglesia" Meaning that, " we are the church and that its not important to assist to any church in particular. I knew this was coming, and i felt sad when he said it. I was so discouraged, and prayed so hard just to know what to say to help him understand. I though of the words ·"just open your mouth" and the promise in DyC that tells us in effect that god will put the words in our mouths and help us say what needs to be said. I bore firm testimony to Jesus that this was the church of jesus christ here on the earth, and that salvation would come by no other way. I have never spoken in spanish more clearly and with more confidence, I am grateful for the promises of the lord! they are real. He is praying about his baptismal date for the 10th of nov. i hope he accepts!

 

Well i have run out of time, love you and miss you! here area few pics :)

 

Elder neff

 (Sorry!  No pictures came through)