SICUANI 6.24.13

WOW!  All I want to do is talk about the broadcast that we were able to see last night.  How incredible.  I think the greatest message that I was able to get from the broadcast is that we are all missionaries for our entire lives, and that the work the full time missionaries do is something amazing, but that it is severely hindered if we as members don’t do our part preaching the gospel to our friends and neighbors.

I commented to president in my weekly letter that I have been feeling this change come for a long time.  I think the Lord goes preparing us for those changes before we realize that something is about to change!  I had these thoughts all the way back in Izcuchaca when we contacted everyday with very little success…. I am dreaming of the day when, as I believe Elder Nelson said it “The day comes when in one week the missionaries can teach a great number of people and not have to knock on one single door”

And that isn’t because as missionaries we want to be lazy!  We want to be effective, and the effective way is through loving members who decide to give the opportunity to their neighbors to listen to the restored gospel.  I thought a lot about the great opportunity it is to help the members participate in the work of salvacion as well… Think about this for a moment.  We all have received the commandment to be missionaries, perhaps not full-time but in one way or another to participate in the work of salvacion.  I have decided that I don’t want to spend another minute of my time here in the mission working just for myself when I could be blessing the lives of two people at once, a member, and an investigator.  When the members participate in missionary work they are able to work out their own salvacion while helping another find theirs as well.  

I have never found myself in a situacion so challending, but at the same time so rewarding.  Sometime I find myself in very difficult circumstances (well, mostly I find others in very difficult circumstances and it is hard to help them get out!)  but the Lord has always been there to support me in a difficult decision or situacion.  I know that he will do the same for all of you as you do your very best to invite others to come unto Christ.  

I think that the biggest change in my thinking has been, “ok I can accept that I won’t be a full-time missionary forever…. And that is OK”  (Even though it is hard to realize that this time will come to an end)  BUT I cannot ever stop being a missionary, because the change has been too deep and too profound that now the great duty and blessing we have to share the gospel.

I have a request… when you send the next package…. I gave away my sweaters and I am only using my coat…. What I would like is perhaps another sweater?  Pls?  Many missionaries here use cardigans and it is approved.  I would like one because sometimes you go out in the morning to proselyte when it is cold and you need a sweater… but when the sun is out blazing at mid day, the only thing that you really need to do is take off your coat, or even open it up so that its not too hot… I would love that thanks ;)

Love you all!

Elder Neff

SICUANI 6.17.13

Hey Family!

Feliz Dia Papa!  Happy Father’s Day Dad!  I hope that the waffles were delicious!  Also the waffle maker was totally not a lame gift!  Haha I would give an arm and a leg to have waffles right now…. But Peruvian breakfast can be quite delicious if you love avocado and fresh baked bread.  (I know that Paige’s mouth is watering right now hehe)

The weather is changing here in the mountains of Peru and also our animos!  We are really doing much better as a zone and I am so pleased with the way the elders are working and improving.

With respect to my investigators, we suffered a few let downs this week.  The parents of Percy have sort of lost their desires to be baptized.  For me this was VERY frustrating because I always have a lot of hope that a member referral is going to be baptized.  I think that I was perhaps a little too optimistic from the beginning with them because they have quite a few challenges to overcome… one of the biggest being illiteracy and a business that they run primarily on Sundays.

So now we are off to look even harder get more referrals from members that can lead to new investigators and baptisms. 

Sorry this week I had to do a lot of things in internet for the zone so sorry if my letter seems really short.  I also had to take a few photos of some of the sectors in the zone so here are a few pictures of the missionaries that are here working so hard here in sicuani.  Pray for them!

Love you all!  Take care and see you next week.

Elder Neff

SICUANI 6.10.13

Family, the first thing that I need to say to everyone is THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE LETTERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT! I was so happy to receive so much love this week in letters and pictures. WOW Eden graduated, Paige and John are in Atlanta and everyone else seems to be doing great.

The picture with ben garrison and gannon freaked me out, all three of them have grown up a whole ton. I can only imagine what it will be like in another year! 

This computer is terrible and i can hardly type, so i will have to make this one short. But i will tell you a little bit about the new change that started and my new companion!

Elder Calderon went off to be a zone leader in Juliaca. I really loved my time with him, but it was sufficient as we had almost four months together as companions. This change I received Elder Castellanos from Mexico! He is awesome, its a different dynamic then my old companionship with elder Calderón. He is just a way funny missionary with a really great ability to win the confidence of the other missionaries. He often says " no manchas man!" Haha which I love, I heard uncle michael say that quite a few times. 

We have a lot of improving to do here in the zone, and a few difficulties. More than anything we need to make sure that the missionary efforts are supported by the ward and the the members actively participate in the work. President gave us some council and had us implement new plans so that this happens. More than anything it has to do with the ward mission leader and the ward council. So this week my homework is to win the confidence of the bishop and actively involve the ward in what we do as missionaries. I am really excited about the change and think it is exactly what the church needs for missionary work here in Perú. 

Sent you some pictures! I hope you enjoy. You can see my new companion in the photo with the missionaries. And little taste of Peruvian KFC :)

I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week! 

Elder Neff

p.s. Edna, send Sar a hello from me and that I say, GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!

 

WOW! I forgot to tell you that you dont have to put the pic of my foot fungus on the blog hahahahahahahahahah! I already got rid of it i just though you would want to see :)

Love bye!

 

 

 

SICUANI 6.3.13

Queridos familiares y amigos....

I LOVE you all so much! And am grateful for the opportunity to write you today. 

 

I was doing some thinking about what I could send to you today... we had some wonderful experiences this week... all of which helped me to have a better focus about my time as a missionary and the blessings the Lord has given me as I have dedicated this time to his service. 

The first would be what happened this thursday when we got up in the morning... I went to go and fill my water bottle with water from the outside sink that is between our bedroom and the bathroom. To my surprise, whenI turned on the faucet brown water came out.... I started having terrible visions of months in Izcuchaca practically with out water flash through my mind....

and I was absolutely right there is NO WATER on our side of the river in Sicuani and they predict that it will be like that for almost the entire month of June. 

 

Obviously we aren´t dying, and we can get water when the fire man come around with giant tanks that they sell in all the home improvement stores in Cusco, but WOW it has been a super interesting experience. 

Dad! They need a good civil engineer in Sicuani, we would love it if you would come down and manage the construction project to change the ENTIRE MAIN PIPELINE that runs down the main street in Sicuani. Just remember that perhaps you wont have a lot of heavy equipment and a lot of workers who dont have experience changing pipelines. ;)

This experience helped us reflect on a lot of things. One of them remembering the good old days listening to Elder Harmon sing "I must go to fech the water" from the jungle book.... as we went the few sites in the city where you could find water. 

I started to think how much people stress to have their temporal needs met and how that compares to their needs to have their spiritual needs met. I did a lot of thinking... and realized that the people knew where to find the water that they needed to meet their physical needs, but often have no idea where to find the "living water" that Christ talked about.  The calling to share the gospel is unique and wonderful, I spend every week here in Sicuani trying to find people who will partake of the living water, and also help the missionaries in the zone improve in their ability to do the same. 

I love the Lord and know that He lives. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it will bring us closer to Him than any other book. I am not ashamed of the gospel, and I try every day to be even less ashamed to live it with all of my heart might mind and strength. Thank you for you love and support! I will talk to you all next week.

 

Elder Neff

Sicuani 5.27.13

This has just been the most exciting week ever. I really am so pleased. Percy and Soledad were married this friday, baptised saturday, and confirmed on sunday. Surely the most exciting weekend of their life to date! Really every moment of it was precious and I was so pleased that the Lord had given them and their family such an amazing blessing. 

Perhaps I didn´t give you enough information about this family in my other emails... I will try to give you an overview of the experience that we had with the family Hancco Terraces over the past few months. 

They were refferals that we recieved from a member family during my first change here in Sicuani. I remember talking to my companion after meeting them and making a comment like "Wow they are really nice people, lets do everything that we can so they progress." Little did I know that they would surprise me with the rate of their progress and dedication to repent and become members. 

At the beginning they progressed a little slowly and had quite a few doubts... but all of that changed when they made the special effort to pray and read the scriptures as a family, and especially when they asked Heavenly Father if what we had really taught them was true. From that moment on, EVERYTHING changed. They began to assist regularly to church and left their business that they were running selling backpacks and clothing on sundays (when they had the most success during the week I might add). They read every assignment that we gave them from the scriptures and kept all the comittments we extended.

We had invited them to be baptized, and they had all the desires to do it. The only obstacle was marriage, and it proved to be a difficult decision for them to make. Their dificulties came more from the fact that it would be a big expense, and that they wanted a lot of time to prepare. We challenged them with a specific date and they told us that they would pray and discuss about it. 

That lesson when we challenged them, I spoke to them about the doctrine of Christ and his atonement. I told them that the marriage did not need to be something fancy or grand, that they simply needed to get married so that the Lord could bless them, accept their fruits of repentance, and so they could enter into the waters of baptism... and that because Christ had made such a sacrifice for them, nothing else could be so important to them than this, in this time of their life. 

The next lesson, Soledad told us that she had a dream where she was hurring to get marriede the 24th of May. And Percy simply told us "Elders, you dont need to convince us anymore, I recieved an answer." (keep in mind that they said this about 3 weeks befor the wedding date)

Miracles DO HAPPEN!!!!

 

I love my mission. I love the chance that I have to live by faith and to help others to face difficult challenges. I know that the Lord gives us amazing blessings as we decide that his will is the most important thing in our lives, and as we live according to that will. 

I love you all so much. Summer is about to start! I hope you enjoy it. Here everything is freezing solid in the morning and melting in the blazing heat during the day. But we are loving every minute of it. 

Les Quiero, 

Elder Neff

 

 

p.s. I now have permision to email to who i please and can send more than one email a week. If you read this or the blog and want to write me a little by email i would love to hear from you and can respond a little. Call my mom for the email address.

Sicuani 5.20.13

WOW! It is hotter than an oven in this peruvian internet cafe, but I could not be happier for the chance I have to write to all of you and to hear how the family is doing.

HAZELNUT!= cutest nickname for the cutest niece in the whole wide world!!!! I loved the video of her laughing. What was John saying? something like "Yeah!" and she would start to laugh. She is adorable and resembles a little the michelin tire man... but 1000000x cuter, and that is exactly how a new baby should be, cute, chubby and healthy.

HARD WORK is how Iwould describe this week. We put in a ton of hard work and it felt super good. As you all know my companion and I have been split up because two new missionaries came to the mission and opened up a sector in our zone. My companion is training one and the other is a missionary with more experience that has come from another mission, I have been working with him. We basically divided the sector so this week we were in desperate need of finding new investigators and working in areas of the sector (which is GIGANTIC) that we couldn´t get to for the size of the area. What does that mean? In addition to searching for references and supporting the less actives and new converts, we knocked on a LOT of doors. I really enjoyed myself, it is interesting to see how the people react to hearing the message of the gospel for the first time. I have a spiritual experience that I need to share about our increased efforts to contact. One night it was late, we were about to leave an area where we were contacting and head towards a meeting that we had with a less active. As we turned to leave the street we were on, I had a strong impression to contact a man who was walking slowly down the street It looked like he was depressed for something and the feeling was so strong that I couldn´t contain myself. It was interesting because at first he seemed a little startled that two young men began talking to him in the middle of an abandoned street haha, but he soon opened up and became very interested in the message that we had to give. We taught him this saturday and he and his wife have desires to get married and be baptized. Preach my Gospel says that when we teach people, at the start they may not realize that we are servants of the Lord, but if we have patience and teach them with power and by the spirit even the people with very hard hearts can be receptive to the gospel. So much more to say but my time is up....

I love you all, am praying for you. Next week Percy and Soledad get married. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!


Elder Neff

Sicuani (pronounced sik-quan-ee in case you wanted to know) 5.13.13

WOW! I loved talking with all of you. That was a highlight of the week. It is wonderful to see how you are all doing so well and that you are all very happy. I´m happy too! I love that I have a family that is so supportive and loves me so much, know that I appreciate everything that you do... including that Mom and Dad still wrote me last night even when we had just talked a few hours earlier, thank you mom and Dad!

This week, two new missionaries were sent to our ward to open a new sector. It was something completely unexpected, one of the assistants called me during the lunch hour and told us that we needed to get everything ready for two new missionaries that would be arriving in Sicuani at about 8 oclock at night, they also said that we would be splitting up our companionship, and each of us would be taking one of the new missionaries. My companion took a brand new missionary to change and I took an Elder Vasquez that was transfered from the mission columbia Barrancia for health. It has been was fun showing them the sector, it is always exciting when you get to learn from another missionary. Everyone teaches in their own specific way, and it is fun to see the way that these people bring the spirit into a lesson. Elder Vasquez is very good at inviting the spirit.

 Elder Vasquez and I had an interesting experience teaching a man and his family that I think i told you about yesterday. Rarely have I had a moment to argue with someone during my mission, but as I was telling you yesterday, the Lord sometimes asks us to speak forcefully to people who reject gospel truths. This man needed to be burned (with love) a little and have his eyebrows singed... the spirit moved me to speak to him, but the words that I spoke were not my own. Nobody rejects a true testimony, because it is a conviction that one receives from the holy spirit, and the holy spirit testifies of all truth. I love that many times when all the information seems to be confusing and the doctrine difficult to understand, the spirit helps me to feel that what I am saying is true, and that makes all of the difference.

Mom and Dad maybe just for you... your discretion.  Many times here I feel like it is difficult for the missionaries to find themselves with the spirit, or that there are so many concerns for living in a third world country,  and dealing with people and missionaries from another nationality that there are problems with obedience or with concentracion on the mission. This has been very frustrating. The other day a missionary was talking with his family in an international call box and I was looking out onto the street... I asked my Heavenly Father what he thought of the situation, and how he viewed the circumstances that I was in. A few distinct impressions came to my mind. The first was " This is your mission, if I had wanted to send you to another place where the circumstances were different I would have done it, don´t think that I dont appreciate your efforts or that they are ´not good enough´, I put you here because you are the best I have for this place"  The other feeling that I had had to do with my patriarchal blessing, which tells me that with time i will be able to associate with people who are committed to the standards and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I feel that the Lord is very pleased with my work, and that he only asks that I keep trying to be better. 

I love you all! 

Elder Neff