YAY! [Letter 52]

Hello Everyone!!!

It has been a great week! We have been working hard. But I need to tell you a really funny story. Okay so Christmas day as we were coming home from a small get together with some missionaries we started checking our pockets for the keys. And no we didn´t have them. So we called every place that we had been and nothing. We checked the church and still nothing. Anyway we ended up sleeping in a piso of some elders. No they elders weren´t there. It was vacent but had been occupied by elders. Well the next day we called our land lord to see if he could open the door. He came with the keys and nothing. We figured that the keys were inside the door in the lock. AAAAAAHHHH!!! So we ended up calling the elders for ideas. They told us that before we called a lock smith they were going to send over their bishop. He came and no joke with a peice of plastic opened our door. Who knew that bishops have breaking and entering skills. Anyway this Christmas will be one that I will never forget. My one and only Spanish Christmas. We had a wonderfully white Christmas with the baptism of a loving couple from Cuba. They were so prepared. The Lord´s hand really is in His work. Sorry not a tone of time but I love you All I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Love,
Hermana Petru

Photos:
Baptism
P-day Castle trip

Christmas Letter from the Mission

This Christmas season he Spain Málaga mission would like to thank you for the great work of your sons and daughters. Here we can truly say that the Lord has sent us His best, and we thank you for letting us have your loved ones for these 18 months or 2 years. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas this year and may the Lord be with you!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas! [Letter 51]

FAMILY!!!!!!!!

Okay so I´m pretty sure I tell you this every week but what MIRACLES the Lord blesses us with. Seriously. I love this place. I am exhausted. But I love every minute. I love the people. I love the city. I love this work. So to share a couple of the highlights of the week.


Primero:
The hermanas here have been working with a family for several months. The mother is less active and her husband isn´t a member. The kids (3 of them) got baptizd at the beginning of this month right before I got here. Anyway we have continued to visit of course. The family has some major problems. I mean major as in dangerous. Anyway the ward has really been taking care of them. The ward redid their bathroom and other small services. Anyway as the ward has continued to help the family the husband as gone from a complete athiest to believeing there is a God to listening to the lessons. I was lucky enough to come just in time to see this golden (really prepared) invesitigator and begin to teach him. This last week we set a baptismal date with him. YAY!!! Uniting a family!! and the real goal the TEMPLE!!!!!

Segundo:
We have a recent convert family that just recently recieved their kids from Equador. The family has been seperated for about 10 years. I got here the same day as the kids. The parents this last April were baptized. Well we went to meet their kids like the parents asked us. As we shared a message the girl asked some questions about the church and the boy was very intent as we explained things. They have been coming to church with their parents. They wanted to continue to learn more. Well we have continued to teach them. This last week after reading 3 Nephi 11 and listening to a beautiful testimony of the mom about an eternal family the kids have decided to be baptized. WOOT WOOT!! That means a family sealing in April!!  OH SNAP!

Trecero:
Bueno, This week we have been running around trying to stay on top of the investigators, recent converts, and less actives we have. Seriously there are not enought hours in the day. I´m serious. Anyway we were really struggling because we really did need some news (goal=escalator missionaries not elevator missionaries). So we had been praying to find some news. NO JOKE 20 minutes after this pray the zone leaders called. They asked if we had time tonight to stop by a family in our area. They met up with us and they introduced us to a family from Cuba. Yep two news. And they are excited for their baptism at the end of December.

Yes family the Lord has blessed us. I LOVE MY LIFE!!! Well I´m praying for a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! And I hope yours is as well.

Love,

Hermana Petru

MALAGA [Letter 50 - Malaga]

Well it is official! I am now working in Málaga. Man this place is crazy. It is definately the biggest city I have ever lived in. But it is kind of fun. The work is UNSTOPPABLE!! no seriously. I haven´t stopped to take it all in yet. We have been running like crazy since I got here. We are taking over two areas with investigators, recent converts, and less actives all their own. So now we have double the work. Hermana Nelson is amazing and she has really been planning. I love it. I can´t even discribe it. I´m exhausted but I´ve never been so happy and felt so fulfilled. Miracles happen everyday. The church is growing! They made another stake in the mission. Wards are getting ready to split! I am so grateful to be here! 

Hermana Nelson and I are getting along great. I am trying to learn the area as fast as I can and she is being very patient with me. We are having a lot of fun talking about MTC times or some of our favorite things from our different companions. She was companions with Hermana Gibson (my trainer)! I am not sure how long I will be here or how long she will be here. Because of the mid transfer transfer we have transfers again on the 26th. This means she could be leaving because this is her 4th transfer here. Not only that but we are all anxiously praying and waiting for the visa waiters to come. But we just put our shoulder to the wheel and do the best we can. I don´t have a ton of time but I wanted to give a little shout out and leave everyone with my new address. May the Holiday season be treating you well. DRIVE SAFELY!!! I love you all!!

 

 

Hermana Petru

 

P.S. I LOVE TURRON!!! Merry Christmas!

December [Letter 49]

Okay can anyone believe it is December?!?! I can´t.

Now I have an announcement to make.... *drum roll* I am being transfered to MÁLAGA 3rd ward.

Yes I got transfered. After two transfers and a little bit of being in Almería. Man I´m going to miss this place. The ward is great and so many wonderful people. I´m sad to leave but excited to get to know a new place. My companion will be Hermana Nelson. We are the same age in the mission. I have known her since the first day in the Provo MTC. It will be exciting to work with her. Pretty much we will be companions until the new sisters get their visas and come then we will be training. So I´m not sure how long I will be her companion. But we will definately have some fun and get a lot of work done. I´m excited.

This week we have been working hard in the rescue and in finding new investigators. So we spend a lot of time in the streets. Which is cold but we get to know a lot of people and share our message with many. This week we saw a lot of tender mercies.
As we were walking to pass by a future a woman stopped us. She told us that she was a less active that we had called and that she was sorry she didn´t have time to meet with us. We ended up setting up a cita with her. If she had passed us by and not said anything we would have never know who it was. Interesting enough that morning in weekly planning we had talked about her. The Lord truly knows His children. It was not a coincidence that we where walking on that street cornor at that time on that day. The Lord knows. I am grateful for those little reminders everyday. Like finding a passage of scripture that answers that one question, or seeing that one long lost friend at the grocery store, or recieveing a hug just when you needed it. My dear family these are not coincidences. They are a demonstation of the Lord´s love for us. This month is the month we celebrate the Savior´s birth. Let us remember His life. Try to be a little more like Him everyday. And I know just as it says in 1 nephi 1:20 we will recognize the tender mercies of the Lord even more in our lifes.

with lots of love,

Hermana Petru

Happy Thanksgiving! [Letter 48]

Well it has been yet another week. HOW THE TIME FLYS!! Life is great. We are working hard and seeing progress in the work of the Lord. I am priviledged to be on the front lines and see the Lord work miracles. But of course life is also full of funnies. Here are a few.

First of all Hermana Brimhall and I are on name baises with a NUN! One night as we were returning home we ran into her. We walked and talked with her for a while. She was very sweet. She asked us how anyone can tell we are missionaries. After pointing to our name tags she said "thats good. but I knew before that you were women of God. I don´t know why but I could feel it." Well last night we ran into her again. She recognized us. We exchanged pleasantries and went our ways but yes I have a nun friend.

Next will have to be something that would only happen to a sister missionary. Okay so as we were waiting for a bus we started talking to this man. Really he asked us a question and we responded. Well he kept looking at us with curiosity. Well as we were getting on the bus he gave me a look that made me feel uncomfortable so I sat at the back of the bus as he was in the front. We ended up moving to the front because of an answered pray (see later paragraph). As we got off the bus my companion handed this man a card. Well not 10 minutes later we got a call. The conversation went something like this.

"Hi I´m hermana Petru."
Man: "um did you give me your number on the bus?"
Me to Hermana Brimhall "Hermana did you give someone our number on the bus? He is on the phone." pass the phone
"Hi I´m Hermana Brimhall."
Man "you gave me your number on the bus Why?"
HB "We are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We share a message about Him and we would like to share it with you. *try to set up a cita without success*
Hang up
Me: "why did he call?"
HB: "I don´t know. not for the church."
Me:"well Hermana you did creepily give him our number on the bus."
HB " ON A JESUS CARD!"

Okay so we laughed really hard. If you didn´t maybe its a Sister missionary thing.

Well on top of the funnies we have miracles. We have had a girl with a baptismal date that has dropped off the face of the planet. Well one day we felt prompted to go our to the town where we usually meet her. As we prayed before we left Hermana Brimhall changed up the pray and asked that if we couldn´t see her at the house that we could at least run into her on the way there. We missed the  bus we had planned but took the next one. As we were waiting for our stop this investigator got on the bus. We were able to talk to her. It was good we had been worried. This is just a small example of the miracles of answered prayers. The Lord has everything under control and we just need to have the faith to follow blindly sometimes.

My dear loved ones, life full of miracles and wonders. Keep your head up and recognize the hand of the Lord in your life. I know that the Lord lives. He loves us. I know that the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is His chruch. We are here to progress, learn, and become like Him. We have weaknesses and faults but all can be healed through the Atonement. I know this because I have seen it in the lifes of investigators, Members, my companions, and my own. I love this work. I love my God. and I am grateful for all He has given me. Especially all of you. May the Lord be with you.

Love,
Hermana Petru

p.s.
Photos 1-2: Spanish Thanksgiving.
Roasted chicken
Mashed potatos/gravy
and bread

3-guess what we found in piso? Christmas Tree!!!! YAY!!

Hello, Hello we welcome you today! [Letter 47]

Hi there Family!!

Well this week has been another wet week in Almería. It continues to rain. But like is looking up. And the work is moving forward. I can´t tell you enough how much I love to be here. I love this work. I love meeting new people. I love teaching and sharing my testimony. I love the way people´s eyes shine as they feel the spirit, and the love of God for them. It is such a blessing to be here.


Well as mission presidents do, our mission president is constantly talking about obedience. It´s not that he thinks that we are out right rebellious but there is always room for improvement. Not only that but we count on the Lord´s blessing in this work and "there is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (D&C 130:19-20) So obedience is a really big deal. Well this morning I was reading in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 14 going over some notes from Elder Richards (Stake conference this weekend. He spoke. one word. AMAZING!) anyway when you look at verse 14 it says "they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory."Talking about the saints of the church in the latter days. Now in the Spanish it changes a bit but it refers to THEIR righteousness. So it isn´t just a passive with some sort of righteousness from somebody. No it depends on OUR righteousness. OUR obedience. Well being armed with righteousness of course made me think of the Amour of God. I love those scriptures. Every time I read through Ephesians 6:11-19 I learn something new and exciting. Something more to defend against the temptations of the adversary. Well this time what jumped out was verse 18- 19. which says "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (sword), and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel," As a missionary I have prayed many a time to be more bold and charitable in my opportunities to share the gospel. I think as a regular member we should as well. This Amour of Righteousness is available to everyone. And everyone needs it. So share it. I could write pages and pages. But I won´t spoil the fun. Instead I´ll just share the scriptures. D&C 27:15-18; 2 Nephi 1:23 and finally Romans 13:12. I know that as we strive to put on the armour of righteousness we will be blessed. When the winds of tribulation or the waves of afflictions try to drown us remember what happened to Peter walking on water. Don´t focus on the winds. Cry unto the Lord. Put on the amour of God. Keep the commandments. In this there is safety. In this there is peace. May the Lord be with you this week. Know that I pray for you and that I LOVE YOU!!

With lots of love and a hug for the road,

Hermana Petru

p.s. There weren´t really any changes in the mission this transfer. But transfers are again the 6th of december. 4 hermanas (a fifth) with be leaving and about 20 elders. That will leave just over 70 missionaries in the field here. I have heard about 60% of the mission will be effected this next transfer. Also that we may be receiving new missionaries the 20th of december if Visas come in.

When it rains, it pours [Letter 47]

LOVED ONES!!!!

It has been a wonderful week. And I have come to realize that the adage "when it rains it pours" is oh so true whether it is the weather or missionary work. It has been raining off and on here in Almería. It is very strange. It never rains here. Almería is suppose to be the best place to winter in all of Europe because of the weather. But it just continues to rain. On Sunday records were broken as the rain fell in buckets. The streets were rivers literally. if you are wondering what effect that has on missionary work my answer is nothing. We are still in the streets, talking, teaching, testifying. We are just a bit wetter when we get home. It has been fun.

This past week we have been working as hard as ever. and we have seen some great miracles. My companion and I have had the opportunity to set 5 different baptismal dates. These people are amazing and their faith is astounding as they take difficult steps to follow our Savior. we are working hard with them as they work for these goals. I love this work and the Lord that directs it.

Okay now for some mission news. A third of our mission will be leaving in December. BUT my district leader told us that before the announcement of the age change in the average week the Church received about 500 applications for missions. But after the Announcement it has spiked to almost 7000. The work of the Lord is going forward!!! Also I had the great opportunity to talk with my mission president. He said that there has been movement with visas here in Spain and that we will be seeing new missionaries soon and a lot of them. He said that we need to be ready because we will be training soon and with the amount of Hermanas we will be receiving we could be training more then one at a time in a joking yet kind of serious manner. STRESS!!! But nothing official has happened.

What a time to be in the field. I love this place. I just look around and stand in awe as miracles happen every day. May the Lord be with you for where He is miracles really do happen.

I love you all!!!!

Love,
Hermana Petru

MIRACLE OF MIRACLES! [Letter 45]

Hey family!

So it has been another wonderful week in the Lord´s work. My companion and I have been working hard, sharing the gospel. As you all can imagine one of the most stressful parts of the job are actually finding people to teach. So we have been working hard with this. I will not lie street contacting is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. But I am working on it. Anyway we have been praying and praying and looking and looking for new investigators. We worked hard and by the end of the week only have 5 futures. The old saying "pray like it is all up to the Lord and then work like it is all up to you." really was put to the test.  But something miraculous happened. Like it always does in this great work of the Lord. Yesterday night we finally nailed down a cita we have been trying to have for about 3 weeks now with a girlfriend of a member who wanted to receive the lessons. The lesson went really well. The spirit was strong and we built a good relationship. I´m excited to keep teaching her. Anyway they live out in a pueblo so we had to catch a bus back. Like always the bus was late. But we were called by our next appointment while waiting. It was going to be a family home evening with some less active members and some investigators. The investigators called to tell us that they wouldn´t be able to make it. We decided to go to the less active´s anyway. When we arrived there were two strangers there with the family. We sat and taught the restoration like planned and in the end of the lesson we had picked up return citas with the both meaning two MORE new investigators. The Lord truly listens and answers prayers. After all we can do He will make up the difference. I truly love this work.

And now for a little scripture thought. Turn with me to Ether 2:24-25
  24 For behold, ye shall be as a awhale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth cout of my mouth, and also the drains and the floods have I sent forth.

 25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?

in spanish when it talks about being brought up again out of the depths of the sea it uses the verb "sacar" which has a meaning of being pulled out. I love these verses. Truly we learn that the Lord is with us. He prepares us for the great winds and waves of life IF we are obdienent to his commandments. And He then has the power to pull us from the waves as He did with Peter. Also this great lessons is ended with a questions. Not us the verse but the entire chapter is left with this question. The Lord at times asks us this question as well. And how would you respond? What would you have the Lord do so that you can have light in you life when you are swallowed up? Have the faith to get into the boat. Listen to the Lord, and His servants and follow their direction. And I can promise you that He will bring you out of the depths of the sea. I love you all! I hope that your week is full of miracles. Smile big.



Love,

Hermana Petru

11-4-12 [Letter 46]

District leader in a coat we found at a second hand store. Stylish no?

Halloween glasses. With flash

Without flash

third times  the charm?

Pictures from the Mission Blog [Sep-Oct]

HELLO!! [Letter 44]

Well Hello Again!

Here is a shout out from the other side of the pond!

Okay well This week has been good. First off I sent emails last week on Tuesday because we changed out Preparation day to Tuesday so we could go to the Castle. I don´t remember if I told ya´ll that or not. I attached some pictures. :D  It was really cool. There are two parts to it. The part that the Moors built when they invaded Spain and the older part which is Spanish. They had some cool cannons and great views. Also about every picture I took the Elders walked into the them. Enserio que pesados! They rest of the week was pretty normal. We had a specialized training in Granda which was fun. Got to see some other missionaries and learn from our leaders. So when we started out the year our Goal was 404 baptisms by the end. Well we are only 40 away or something like that. So we have a new goal to have 404 baptisms by the 15 of November. We are all praying and working hard to realize this goal. its amazing the faith of the people here. I am learning how much more I need to have confidence in the Lord. It truly is Awesome and I am grateful to be part of such a great work. Well dear family generally when I write I try to not show some much the downs of the mission but the more uplifting parts but I would like to share something with you and explained what I learned and I hope that it helps a few of you.

For the past two weeks we have been working with a family, namely the mother and father. Their two daughters are baptized but the parents just can´t seem to make up their mind. Well two weeks back we were able to set baptismal dates with them. One of my strongest spiritual experiences yet. But even then they were a little bit ify. So every other day for two weeks we have been at their house teaching, testifying and praying. When we weren´t with them we were praying and fasting. We needed a miracle.

Their baptismal date was Sunday the 28th of this month. As Sunday rolled around we made preparations for the baptism but we knew they weren´t ready. Sunday morning while at church we went into yet another lesson fasting and praying. Our amazing ward mission leader sat with us in this lesson as well. He did most of the teaching and we testified and taught as well. As the lesson came to a close they still had given us a yes, a no. We prayed and Pablo left. I finally asked straight out. "So today are you getting baptized?"  They looked at each other and then "no but some day." I finally found the courage to ask and say, "if not today when? If its not today its not going to happen because tomorrow will always turn into another tomorrow and you will never be baptized." My companion then said "We have everything ready. All you have to do is say yes." The father then said "let me talk to my wife and we will give you an answer."

As we left that room the entire world came crumbling down. Every lesson, every fast, every second thinking and praying for them seemed to be a giant lose. We went downstairs and into another room and prayed. We cried, gave thanks and begged for a miracle. As we talked with them after the meetings were over they asked if we could come by on Tuesday. So it was a no not today. My dear family why? Why are they still waiting to have all the blessings of the Lord? Do they not understand? Or do they out right refuse for some other reason? As my companion and I talked We searched for some mistake that we may have made. We know that we aren´t perfect teachers. So yes there was mistakes but we know the Spirit was there. We know it testified. We did everything we could do. So why did they say no? We come to the consensus that they are not ready to repent, to change. They have decided to play in the mud even though they have been offered the chocolate cake. They are pridefully living their own will instead of following the Lord´s.

They more we discussed it I began to wonder in what areas am I holding on to my mud pie? What small habits or transgressions do I  continue to commit that keep me from following the Lord more exactly and from being a better more profitable servant? I am still working on it. But I know that I can become better. I have faith that the Lord can make we white without spot if I continue to try and repent. We can change. The Lord has His hand stretched out still. No matter what you have done you can find the peace, joy and light that is the gospel of Jesus Christ offers. Even if your sins be scarlet they can become as white as snow. My dear loved ones, Christ Lives. He loves us. His burden is light. He is waiting to help you, console you and lift you. But He has to wait for you.

I Love you All!!!

Hermana Petru

Mis Quiedros Amigos! [Letter 43]

SUP!?!?!?!

Well its been a really good week. We have been working really hard, finding, teaching, and BAPTIZING!! We had a fecha set with a couple but the husband was called to work. He is a truck driver and will be gone for at least 15 days. So we lost that fecha. Well Hermana Brimhall and I were really sad. We had a goal of 2 baptisms this month. It was going to be a strech but we thought that truly this family was going to be it. After we lost his fecha we didn´t know what we were going to do. So we fasted. We fasted to find who was prepared to be baptized this month and that our other fecha continued to progress toward her date. As we opened the fast we had no idea what was about to happen. Saturday morning we recieved a call from the elders in Huelcalavera. They aren´t in our zone and we weren´t sure what was up. Anyway as we listened to Elder Barhona everything changed. He began with a great statement. 
E.B "Hermanas I have a present for you."  
US "okay what would that be?"
E.B "A baptism."
US "WHAT!?!?!"

He went on to explain that they had been teaching a man there and that he had a baptismal date for this weekend. They found out that he lived in Almería. But they figured they could baptize him there and then transfer his records. Elder Barhona didn´t feel right about it so he called president. President told him that Benito, the investigator, would have to be baptized here in Almería. So we got the call saturday morning and by Sunday night we had a baptism. The Lord works miracles. After this phone call my companion and I dropped to our knees and gave thanks. We were so astonished. We felt kind of like this.

"And so great was the prosperity of the church, and so many the blessings which were poured out upon the people, that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure." Helaman 3:25

My dear friends the Lord is with us. He listens to our prayers. He listens to our desires. He truly loves us. And when our desires are just and true He does all He can to help us. I am so grateful to be part of this great work. I know that this chruch is true. I know God loves us. I love you all and hope that this message finds you happy. If not have patience in your afflictions and turn to the Lord. He will deliver you.

Lots of love and besos

Hermana Petru

P.S. I attached some pictures. 

1- first baptism Alegandro
2- third baptism Benito
3-left to right Abraham, Maria Cintia, My companion Hermana Brimhall
4- second baptism Hector

[Due to an error, the other three pictures will not upload, I will repost if I am able to get them to work]

Hey there! [Letter 42]

PEEPS!!!

How is everyone doing? I´m doing very well now that the temperature has gone down. Still working hard in this lovely land of Almería. Life is good. Hermana Brimhall and I definately are having fun and seeing miracles.
Let´s start with the fun:

Saturday morning we went out for our morning run. The streets were pretty much empty because only we are privledged to get up early on a Saturday morning here in Almería. Anyway as we were running up a street a young girl came into view holding on a gentleman´s arm. As we got closer, she stumbled around on her ridiculous 6 inch heels and it become obvious that she had been drinking a little to much that night/moring. But here comes the best part. As we ran past all of a sudden we heard her heel clicks pick up. I´m not joking she started to run after us giggling like crazy. She ran with us for like a minute then we rounded a cornor. Needless to say that kind of made our morning.

And Sunday we got called 30 minutes before a noche de hogar (FHE) with the ward to tell us that we had the special musical number with the elders. Welcome to the mission!! In the Spanish hymn "called to serve" the chorus reads "Listos siempre listos" meaning "ready always ready." People here take it seriously. Luckily they ended up changing up the program and they didn´t have to witness a very patchy and pitchy "Venid a Cristo" (Come unto Jesus).

and now the important stuff. Miracles:

We were priviledged to set fechas with parents of two girls that are already baptized. This family has recieved missionaries for almost 3 years. I am excited to be here to see this amazing family become even more united and watch as they take the first step to having an eternal family.

15 year old girl continuing to learn and grow in the gospel even through opposition from her family.

Less active testifying of the power of fasting to a stubborn indifferent boyfriend.

Forgetting something in piso and having to return but running into a lost recent convert on the way.

The Lord´s hand is in this work. I am blessed to see it everyday. In the smallest things the Lord has a hand in this work. My dear loved ones, count your many blessings. When you begin you will not be able to stop. With the knowledge of God and Christ in our lives we truly can say that we are the richest people in the world. Come to Him in gratitude. He can bless you even more. I love my mission. I love everyday. I love who I am becoming  I pray I am making a difference. Making the world a better place. Thank you all for you support, your love, and your prayers. Especially thank you for this opportunity. I love you all and pray that this email finds you well and happy.

With Love,

Hermana Petru

A NEW TRANSFER [Letter 41]

Hello my dear loved ones,

This week in the missionary work was good. We saw miracles. The first being in me. This week we had transfers. Which always begins with a new companion. Let me introduce her. Her name is Hermana Brimhall. She is from West Jordan, UT. She is about my height with brown hair. She was studying at Utah State before the mission majoring in Spanish. Needless to say her spanish is amazing. And she has been out for about 6 months. Meaning I´m senior companion (Hit 9 months this week). and I stayed in the area. So I had the humbling experience of keeping an area going. I can not lie and say I wasn´t terribly nervous. The last time I stayed in an area with a new companion the area pretty much died. We had to start all over again. So with this in mind I had an opportunity to turn the Lord and beg for guidance. As this week has transpired I realize how much the Lord knows us. How much He trully loves us. and How much He wants us to reach our potential. God is the one walking beside us cheering "Yes you can!" until we climb the hill like the little engine that could and we can say "I know I can, I know I can."QUE BENDITOS SOMOS! and if you don´t know what that means HOW BLESSED ARE WE! I am not perfect by any means but I learned that with the Lord we truly can do more then we thought possible. Hermana Brimhall is awesome. She is always there to help and lift and serve. As we have worked together we have seen miracles. This week we had the opportunity to teach a family home evening. As everyone settled down and we began to teach Hermana Brimhall counted and later told me that there were 16 people seated in that living room. We had the powerful and wonderful expierence to testify of our Savior and the Restoration of His chruch through the profet Joseph Smith. Later as we were sitting in a little four seater car we were able to witness a father bear testimony of prayer and personal revelation to a young teenage daughter preparing to make life decisions. And finally we were able to see the faith of a little 8 year old boy as he declares his desires to be baptized in a family a little broken. Oh How Great Thou Art. Truly this is the Lord´s work. His hand is in it. Not only His hand but also His heart. que benditos somos. He delegates this work to us here on earth. We can be His hands. My dear Family I love you. I know that this chruch is true. I know that only through living according to the gospel of Jesus Christ we can find the joy we long for. "And we atalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we bprophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our cchildren may know to what source they may look for a dremission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:26)
Boy its been a really good week. And we are still starting from ground zero. :D I love you all.

Now to an intersting analogy that Hermana Brimhall and I found in the war chapters of the Book of Mormon (yes this is what sister missionaries talk about in our spare time). Okay so it all started with a discussion of Amalickiah and how he is a type for Satan and how he works. As I read through Alma 46 and 48 I found an intersting thing. Read through those chapters but put the name Satan for Amalickiah and Christ for Moroni. Then think pre-mortal exisitence and earth life, more or less. BLOW MY MIND!!!

Love you all.

Hermana Petru

ITS THAT TIME AGAIN... [Letter 40]

HELLO!

Well, that subject kind of says it all. Its time to write again. Its also time for TRANSFERS!!!! Pretty sure that word is the dread and the joy of every missionary. Seriously.
Okay well on the transfer news. Hermana Torres is leaving. Sad day. But she is amazing. She has done amazing things here in Almería and I am excited for her to share this things with the people in Murcia. I have learned so much from her, not only Spanish. We are definately going to be friends for a long time. Well with her leaving that means I´m getting a new companion! Her name is Hermana Brimhall. She is from West Jordan. She is awesome. I´ve met her a couple of times and I´m excited to work with her. She came into the mission the transfer after I did. So it will be fun to get to know her and share the amazing place that Almería is.

Okay on the work front.  ITS AMAZING!!! It´s that Lord´s work which means that there are miracles everyday. This past week we had intercambios or exchanges with the hermanas. Hermana Torres went to Cartagena and I stayed here. Hermana Woodward came to work with me. We had a lot of fun. She is from Spanish Fork, UT. It was great to be able to use my utah slang and twang and have her understand me. But also we saw some amazing miracles. For me because I was from that area I had to plan, start lessons, and speak up. I don´t think I have ever talked that much in lessons before. It was amazing to see how much the Lord really is willing to do to help His children. I learned really to trust more in the Lord. Also we found a FAMILY. Oh my goodness. It was awesome. I felt strongly that we really needed to pass by this future that we had even though it was kind of far. So we trucked over there and rang the intercom, praying someone answered. 1st miracle they were home. 2nd miracle they let us in. As we started to talk with them more and more people appeared to listen. By the end of the lesson we had 6 people crammed in this little room. Oh it was wonderful. 

They are from Bulgaria. Their spanish is small but they are eager to learn about the gospel. When I looked in our stash of books I found 2 copies of the Book of Mormon in Bulgarian and several pamphlets. When we went back the second time we taught the restoration. They had some great questions. With the scriptures we read the ones out of the pamphlets in spanish and then in Bulgarian. They are amazing. They have been prepared by the Lord. I feel blessed to be able to teach them. I love this work. I can think of nothing else I would rather be doing. Some days are hard. But the small flashes of light dot everyday. Look for them in you life. As you begin to recognize the hand of the Lord, you will see more and more the evidence of His love.

Okay so a story about my intercambio now one from Hermana Torres. As they were ringing door bells nobody was answering. Hermana Torres had been studying faith during her study and she remembered that faith is power. She then turned to a Hermana Martín and said if we had enough faith we could open this door. Hermana Vasquez turned and said well lets pray then. So they prayed. Just as they finished their pray a man came down the walk unlocked the door and let them in. God loves us. He answers prayers. He lives.

I love you all!

Hermana Petru

They´re GRRREEEEAAAAT!!! [Letter 39]

Hey Loved Ones,

It´s Hermana Petru again from the other side of the pond. Life is going good. We are working hard. People are changing, me being one of the first. The summer is just about over here. It is cooling off which is making the work more enjoyable. This last week we had the great privledge of hearing Elder Kent F. Richards speak. Oh my goodness. I learned so much about myself, my mission, and how I can help my investigators better. It was trully a spiritual feast. We also saw miracles with investigators, their progress, and their commitment to follow Christ. Definatley one of my favorite weeks of my mission. I would like to shard something that Elder Richards shared with us. We were speaking of our purpose as missionaries. And he told a story that came from one of the Twelve Apostles. "A man had a beautiful pearl. It was the most magnificant pearl ever seen. And he wanted to share this pearl with everyone he loved. But he want to present it in just that right way to magnify its beauty. so he carved a box. He took his time putting all this love for this pearl into his work. well the time finally came that the box was finished. He called all his friends, and relatives. But as people passed by the pearl he noticed that people paid more attention to the box. This made him sad." This story can be compared to us as missionaries. The pearl that we offer are convenants. Baptism is the first convenant that we enter into with our Father in Heaven. This is the most important thing we teach. This is our goal. Our focus. But sometimes we spend to much attention on the box. the box could be anything really that distracts us from our purpose. It is the same with members. Baptism is the door but there are many more opportunities after baptism. There are many more convenants that our Father and Heaven has offered us. And if we have partaken of these blessings we have the opportunity to keep our covenants and renew them. So what are you doing to obtain these blessing from the Lord? Are you progressing toward a goal? I know that as you do you will find a new light, purpose, and happiness in your life. Men are that they might have joy. This is the joy that we are here to find. I love you. And I pray that you will find this joy.

Also I would like to share with you Alma 37:33-37 and 40-46. Really read them. 33-37 is amazing advice for this life. It is a way to live in happiness and progress continually.
40-46 is also great. It is true that there is easiness in following Christ. I really like the cross reference in 46d Alma 25:16. It helps us skip the box and find the pearl.

I love you all.

Love,
Hermana Petru

Hello! [Letter 38]

Hello there family and friends,

This week has been GREAT! We are working really hard. It is amazing this work. Everyday my faith grows in the Lord because of the miracles I am blessed to see. One of these amazing miracles goes like this. We found this girl in the street contacting. She had an amazing light about her. As we asked for her number and address she didn´t have either. All we could do was give her a Book of Mormon and our number and pray she calls. Well about a week later guess who we found in the street? Yep this girl. She walked up to us and said that she now had a number and that we could call. About a week later as we were walking from one cita to another with haste. She stopped us and asked when we could call. We didn´t have a day right then to meet but we promised to call her that day or the next. We had a wonderful lesson the next day. She´s not sure about God but she wants to know. She has an amazing spirit and she knows that we have a certain light that she wants. It was a great lesson. After the lesson we were asking about her family. They are from Equador. As she was telling us that she has a sister that she lives with here in Spain she asked "wanna meet her?" So we went up to her piso right then.  She didn´t have time right then to talk but she said we could come back.Her sister is very friendly and actually was taught by the missionaries about 10 years ago. In between her moving and the transfer of the missionaries she lost contact with them. But she wants to know more and wants to meet with us. WOW! Doesn´t God just know where all of us are. He really does love us. He cares about us.

Elder Kent Richards is coming this week and I´m excited to meet him. We as a mission have been working hard on being exactly obedient to prepare for his words. I have the opportunity to give a talk in Sacrament meeting this next week and I am excited for the ability to listen to Elder Richards before. I´m sure he will have some good information for my talk this Sunday. Hermana Torres and I are doing great. She is helping a ton with my Spanish and Confidence in Lessons. I am trying to help her with her  English. She understands quite a bit and its fun speaking with her in English. Her accent is great sometimes. We both die laughing at my accented Spanish and her English. Life is good and but the Work is even better.I love you all. Stay safe and trust in the Lord. He will help. Always.

With love,
Hermana Petru

Boo! [Letter 37]

Sup family?

This week has been great. We are working hard and we have been having great lessons with less active members and investigators here in Almería. The ability to watch as people change and turn to their Savior is truly a blessing and testimony builder of the power of the Atonement. There are days that I feel like Ammon or Aaron from the Book of Mormon as they watched their brethen the Lamanites awake  and shout praises to God because of a remission of sins. What joy we have when we see one of our brothers or sisters come unto Christ. It is a privledge and a blessing to be able to watch. One of our investigators right now is a great example of this. His life has been full of partying. Drugs, alcohol, tabacco. As we have started teaching him he of course has been having struggles. However this weekend we have seen a great change in him. he struggled daily even hourly to for go his former habits. As we talked with him about the strength of the Lord and how we can find strengthen in Him through reading the scriptures and praying we watched him change. We watched his faith grow. And he made it through the weekend! At chruch on Sunday he was so happy and was very attentive in sacrament meeting. I thank my Father in Heaven for this opportunity to help my brothers and sisters. What joy we have as we share the gospel with others.

Has anyone every wondered if they could miss their native tongue? Let me tell you it truly is possible. Hermana Torres and I are doing great. She is teaching me a lot of Spanish everyday. And in our apartment she is making great strives to learn English.  When we are in lessons I still sometimes get lost. Working on my vocab of worldly things. Its getting better. Learning Spanish has truly been a humbling experience. I don´t think I have spent so much time on my knees begging for something like I have for Spanish. And I know its only through the grace of the Lord that I know any Spanish. I can definately tell when I get a little cocky about Spanish because in the next lesson I can´t form a simple sentence. It is only when I keep a prayer in my heart and rely on the Lord and the Spirit that I am able to say anything. It is interesting how well the Lord knows us. How perfect each of our lives are to fit us. Each mission, each lif is personalized to help us progress, to the become more like our Savior.

I am thankful for this opportunity to learn and grow. It is like in Mosiah 2:41 ¨ And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven.¨ The Lord has blessed me with this wonderful oppotunity to learn Spanish which is a temporal knowledge but through this process I am being refined, and humbled spiritually. Oh the Love of our Father in Heaven! I know this chruch is true. I know we have a prophet today and Joseph Smith restored the Church of Jesus Christ back to the earth. I know the Book of Mormon is true and it contains eternal truths essential to our eternal salvation and exaltation. I know that it is only through our Savior jesus Christ that we can recieve these gifts from God and if we abide by the precepts found in the Book of Mormon we will be prepared to meet our Savior and continue serving in His kingdom. I love you all and I pray you are well in body as well as in spirit.


With love,
Hermana Petru

Hello! [Letter 36]

[From Dayna's Mom]
Hi Family,

I am sending you 2 e-mails from Dayna today.  The first one is my e-mail  but I thought you might enjoy hearing more about her birthday and her companion.


[Dayna]

MOMMY!!

For my birthday we made the yummy cake you sent. Hermana Torres loves american cake. It was fun to share it with her. We are getting along really well. The other night we seriously laughed until our abs hurt. It was the first time I´ve laughed in months. It felt so good. She is kind of a goof ball but is so much fun. We work hard but I don´t feel judged every minute of the day. Its nice just to relax and breathe a bit. She cooks the best Spanish food. Oh madre mia. and this week I am going to make her a real American hamburger. Well as close as I can. She has never had one before. Also she does a lot for my Spanish. She teaches me. Corrects me and even some days laughs at me. But it is what I need. I get so discouraged but she just keep pluggin along teaching. In the streets we only speak Spanish but in the piso  I speak English with her and she responds in Spanish. Also when we read the mission handbook, She reads in English and I read in Spanish. Both correcting pronunciation of the other. She says that she is impressed with my accent it isn´t as bad as other missionaries. That was nice of her. Anyway, I´m doing good. Working hard. At least trying to. Hope and Pray everyday that all is well at home. I´m sure the Lord is taking care of you.

LOVE YOU!! TE AMO!

Hermana Petru

Below is the e-mail for the family.


Well its been another wonderful week here in Almería. I apologize upfront if me sentences do not make sense or if my wording is funny. I have almost come to the point where I think in Spanish. It is a lot of fun. Well amazing things always happen during the week. Its the work of the Lord and the Bible Dictionary says that a miricle is the result of the presence of the Lord among men so claro there are miracles. Well with Hermana Torres we are pretty sure that she is going to be leaving Almería this next transfer because this is transfer 4 for her here. So by this time next week we have a goal to have me directing our movements through the city and knowing people and places. Now this is a lot harder then you think. We have a ward of about 160. That is a lot of people to know. Faces I´m good at. Names not so much. And then we have investigators and less actives. So this is kind of a lofty goal. Well we´re working on it. But its been alot of fun to learn a new area. Things that worked in Nerja don´t work here. I continue to grow.

This week we had a cita set up with a man that we met through contacting antiguos. We were pretty sure that he was going to fijar us but we went. And behold we found him in his house with his brother and a friend. One thing as I start. These men are from Ghana. Sooo... they don´t speak very good spanish. They understand and speak a little bit but not a lot. So they asked if we could teach in English. Hermana Torres looks at me and is like Yes. Well okay this means I have to teach. Because she understands English but doesn´t speak a lot. As we started to teach it was amazing. I realized that I really know more then I think. And almost everything I taught was translated from Spanish. The only difference was confidence. After the lesson we have 3 new investigators and they were asking for us to come back. The Lord truly is amazing. This little cita made me realize that I really can do this. I can teach. The Lord has called me to do so and He will not leave me hanging out to dry.

Well Later that day we had another cita. We decided that what were going to do is tell two stories from the Book of Mormon just as regular stories and then talk about why we have the Book of Mormon and share our testimonies. When Hermana Torres told me this my eyes about come out of my head. I can barely read the book of mormon in spanish and have been understand me let alone tell a story with out looking at the vocab in the book. She just smiled and was like I know you can. Just try. Well as I began I stubbled and was corrected by her and the family we were teaching but they understood the story and some even recognized it as coming from the Book of Mormon. I know at times that we think we can´t. But I know that if we trust in the Lord and just give it a try. He WILL bless you with His help. If our acts are righteous he will always be at our side helping us pull and carry the cross we have been called to bare. I LOVE YOU ALL. and I gotta go.


Love,
 Hermana Petru

Hola from Almeria! [Letter 35, Almeria]

HELLO!!!
I am writing this from a small locotorio just out side of my building in ALMERÏA. yep I arrived last wednesday after a 4 hour  bus ride which was only suppose to be 2 and a half. Crazy. anyway this place is different from anywhere I have EVER lived. It is a big city.  It is kind of like living in downtown Salt Lake but a lot dirtier. Working here is great. There aren´t a ton of people in the streets but when we talk to them generally they stop and listen even if they don´t want anything. The members here are amazing. They are so nice and really want to help with the missionary work. Our ward mission leader is THE BEST. no seriously. I have never seen a man more involved with his calling. He has called us I think about everyday since I´ve been here checking up on us, asking if we need help with anything, and what citas we have so he can send members with us. It is awesome. This past Sunday we had a meeting with him for like 2 hours introducing me and a new elder to the ward and then talking to us about the ward mission plan. He is very into communicating and helping us FIND new investigators through members. After this past Zone meeting and the meeting with him I feel as in the focus of the mission is changing. We are still here to teach and baptize bacause that is our calling but the way we go about it is changing. Before the missionaries found, taught, baptized, and then fellowshiped into the ward. Our focus now is very much on finding through the members. We are only there to teach and then skip out. The members are to be the link to the church not the missionaries. The way that they have presented it is that we are more focused on retention and recieveing temple ordinances and baptism as a step to get there. We are going to start with the rescue and reactivation of less active members. The way he presented it involves A TON of work. But it is going to be very rewarding. And also this sounds like it is coming from the stake. From what I have heard the stake and mission president have been coorolating. President Deere has arrived with a vision. And I am so excited to be here and part of the change. This is how the church in Spain is going to grow. This is how we are going to invite our brothers and sisters to come unto Christ and enter into the Celestial Kingdom. Oh I could go on and on and just jabber about how we plan and doing it but those are just details. Instead I am sure you all want to hear about the NEW COMPANION:

Her name is Hermana Torres. She is from Barcelona. She has two sisters and is the middle girl. She has been in the chruch all her life. She is quite a bit shorter then me with dark curly hair. She knows a little english, understands more then she speaks but I think that is about with every second language. She has been very very patient with my spanish. And it is definatley improving daily and some days hourly. She is a great cook. I really do like spanish food. VERY different from the states but good. I do miss a nice big steak though. They don´t eat a lot of beef here. Well they don´t eat a lot of meat period but it is good. She loves American music. She has been playing my ipod for days now. Oh she loves to play basketball so we are going to go play today. I´m excited. I haven´t touched a basketball since the MTC so this is going to be interesting to watch.

Also we have two elders here in Almería. Elder Bird, who is our district leader, came out with me. I know him from the Provo MTC. and Elder Lyman, crazy name huh, is from California. He has been out 20 months. Elder Bird is from Arizona. We see them like everyday pretty much. Not like we plan too. but they are sometimes on the same bus we are on or turn down one of the same streets we are on. It is very different from Nerja where we go a week usually without seeing any other missionary. But it is nice. They are good elders and work really hard.

Anyway I love you all. I know this chruch is true. I know that we can have eternal families. I know that lie will always have its ups and downs but I also know that these challenges are for our eternal progression and learning. I hope this letter finds you well and happy.

With all my love,

Hermana Petru

P.S. I gave a five minute talk in sacrament this sunday and I did NOT cry. Miracles really do happen. :P Yep everyday.

Love ya.

NERJA? [Letter 34]

HELLO from the sunny side of Spain!

This week has been kind of crazy because its TRANSFER WEEK! That is right another transfer has come and gone. The time on a mission is like a time capsule. pretty sure. Days seem like weeks and weeks seem like days. Every moment counts. Anyway I am sure all of you are dying to know about transfers. Really anything could happen... I could stay, I could go, Hermana Crowder could go or both of us could stay. All of these were possibilities until about medio dia on Friday when we finally got the call from President.

Hermana Crowder is staying in Nerja..... and I'm... GOING TO ALMERÍA!!! That is right i am leaving Nerja. really crazy. anyway... We are ding a switcherooo with the sisters from Alermería. Sister León is coming here. But the next exciting news is who my new companion is going to be. Hermana Torres is her name. She is from Barcelona. Sooooo... that is going to mean Spanish all day everyday. Pray for me. My spanish skills are okay but not great. They will definately be improving this transfer. I will try to send pictures next week of some of the new stuff but I'm not terribly reliable for pictures so keep your fingers crossed.


Okay so on to the amazing miracles here in Nerja. This past week has been full of working hard in the heat. But the Lord always helps. We have been working with a couple of less actives in Vélez for the past couple of transfers. We have yet to see them at chruch but both have been making progress. Well we finally were able to get a member into their lessons. After 15 minutes with the member a wonderful man was commited to coming to church. Also a lovely lady and her family. When sunday rolled around they all walked through the door. Antonio hasn't been to chruch in 20 years but he showed up in an ironed white shirt and trousers. Chelly hasn't been to church in about 8 years. Her and her non member husband and their 3 year old daughter all came as well. It was my last sunday in Nerja and it was completely the best ever! I love this work. I love it. The opportunity to help others should never be lost. I have the wonderful opportunity to invite people to come closer to our Savior. At times I think my testimony is small or inadequate or even that i will never be understood because a lack of language skills but with the Lord all things are possible. Be brave my loved ones. Have faith to take that step to obey a commandment or talk to your coworker about your favorite sunday talk. The Lord will be there by yourside uplifting and encouraging you. I know our Savior lives. He loves us. He loves you. I know the church is true. And I know obedience to the commandments is liberation from sin and heartache. Stay safe.

With lots of Love,

Hermana Petru

Hello [Letter 33, August 13]

Hello my dear Loved ones because you are the ones I love,

Okay so this week has pretty much been like the last several weeks. We walk and talk to people in the street. Have a lesson here and there. And sleep and get up and do it all over again. What a blessing to share my testimony everyday with people that haven't had the great priviledge to know where they come from, why they are here, and the great poteintal they have.

We have had a few lessons with some less active members this week and something that has really stuck out to me is how easily we forget who we are. We are sons and daughters of God. I don't think any of us fully understand this relationship. But something that I have done for a few days that has made me understand this more is a challenge I would like to give all of you. Stand in front ofthe mirror. After you brush your teeth. Look at yourself in the mirror and repeat three time. "I am a son or daughter of God." Sit and just look at yourself. Does the image of yourself change? Mine did. Also a scripture story of course. If you read in The prodigal son it is only after he came to himself that you felt he should or could return home. I think that as we come closer to our Father in Heaven and truly understand what it means to be a Child of God we will have greater desires to follow Him. Keep His commandments and service one another. I love you all and I hope that life is full of ups and downs. Rely on the Lord. I am learning to more and more and some of my worse downs have become my best ups. Keep smiling. and Give a hug to someone special for me.

I LOVE YOU.

Hermana Petru

More Pictures [Letter 32, Aug 6]

 Hermana Crowder diving into the not entirely set up font. This is as close to swimming as we ever get.

Me, Hermana Daisy, Presidente Amado and their son David. They came over to help us finish setting up the font. It only took us like 2 hours. 

we built the ladder and it was really rickety. So Hermana Crowder was testing it out for the baptism.

 I tested it too but I almost ended up in the font. All turned out okay. Everyone one got in and out without any problems.

 Little Armando and us

And this is about half of our little branch

Hola from Nerja [Letter 31, August 6]

Dear Loved Ones,

Okay so I only have like 10 minutes so this one is going to be short. Not like my other ones are long or anything. But with week was great!! We have been working like crazy. On thursday it took us 2 hours yes 2 hours to BUILD the font on Thursday. Pretty much it is like a giant swimming pool. But it was fun. The baptism went really really well. Everyone was excited to be there but nobody as excited as Armando. He was so cute in his little white jump suit. It reminded me of my brothers on their baptism days. The program went nicely. A few hicups but nothing major. and Oh my Gosh the Spirit was so strong during the actual ordinance. I have never really felt the Spirit like that at other baptisms. I don't know if it is because I wasn't a missionary then or if it was because I didn't have the knowledge I have now about the great importance of baptism and what that actually means. I have been studying alot, no surprise, and everyday I learn something new. But Baptism is so important. Read through the book of Mormon. Almost every prophet speaks of repentance and baptism. Baptism is essential to enter in to the Celestial Kingdom to live forever with our Father in Heaven in Eternal joy with our family. What an amazing step that little Armando made this week! I am so excited for him. and I pray that it will be the first of many more baptisms in Nerja.


Our investigators are doing very well. We keep finding amazing people that love the Lord and want to come closer to Him. It is such a privledge to bear testimony daily of the Love of God and the Restoration of His church. I know this church is true. I know that the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith the prophet of the restoration. I know that we can become happier, have more peace, and experience greater love by obeying His commandments. I love you all very much and pray that the Lord guides and protects you.

Love,
Hermana Dayna Petru

HELLO! [Letter 30, July 30]

HI there!

This week has been very eventful. We went to a specialized training on Tuesday and had our first interviews with President Deere. It was really nice to get to know him a little bit more. The mission is doing great things and he is quite the leader. I am learning a lot of great things from him about the gospel and about missionary work. It is definately making me into a better missionary. One of the things we learned in Specialized Training that has compeletly changed our lessons is the commitment process in PMG. 

Ask

Promise blessings

Testify

Follow up

As we have started to follow these step The Spirit has been so powerful. It has completely changed our lessons. Not only to our investigators feel the spirit testify to them but our lessons with members have changed. I can't even explain it fully. But also Hermana Crowder and I have been discussing how this life on the mission is kind of like a mini two year life. We are born and die and inbetween we learn and grow.  Something kind of cool, after I learned this process I watched as one of the mothers here in Nerja use the same process with her children. It was amazing. also I have started finding this same process in the scriptures. The Lord uses the same pattern when he gives commandments. It is just amazing how much we can learn from the gospel. There are so many practical everyday uses for it! Christ compared the gospel to bread for everyday use not cake for special occasions. 

Anyway, Also I wanted to share a really cool expierence we had this week with a less active family. On Thursday we were up in Algarrobo. It is a small pueblo but many of our members live there. We went up because it was important to see a couple of them but we also had a appointment with a less active boy. Great Great Great people. Anyway, that night we also had a very important meeting planned with a less active mother and her 8 year old son. The young boy really wants to be baptized but the mom hasn't been to church for 9 or so years. There are some really had feelings there with family and other dificulties. But she is working through them and it is amazing to see the power of the Atonement in her life. Anyway, we had to catch two buses down from Algarrobo to get back to Nerja for the cita. We had to catch those buses because the less active mom had to return to work so we only had a small window to meet with her. The only problem was that the second bus doesn't stop at the bus stop we normally wait at. And we didn't know where it did stop. Well I had an idea to wait a a bus stop a little bit down the road. It was more of a main stop. We got there and silently prayed that the bus would stop. When it came by IT STOPPED. but the bus driver wouldn't open the door because he doesn't pick passengers up from that stop. We looked up at him throught the glass door and mouth please. He took pity on us and opened the door. He asked where we were going. As we responded NERJA he motioned for us to get on the bus. WHAT A MIRACLE!!! As we sat down we about died with gratitude and we thanked the Lord fervently. But that wasn't the best part. As we began to talk to Elvira and little Armando we asked Elvira to talk about her baptism. With tears in her eyes she bore one of the more beautiful, sincere, loving testimony of the ordinace of baptism, its importance, and the truthfulness of the chruch. Her little boy gave her the biggest hug afterward. It was such a moment. The Spirit was awesome in the true sense of the word. As I think about that experience I know why I am a missionary. That one 45 minute lesson made up for the 100 degree weather, the 100 or so slammed doors and no show investigators. Anyway and kind of needless to say Armando is going to be baptized this FRIDAY!! The spark of that little boy and his love for the gospel and his Savior is bringing his family back into activity. He has a younger brother that comes to primary with him and they read in the scriptures with their older brother. There mom comes to chruch with them every once in a while. But these small acts are uniting his family and slowly they are healing from the pain from the past. The gospel is true. The chruch is true. I love you all. Stay safe and stay close to the Lord.

Love,

Hermana Petru

Pictures [Letter 29]

Hermana Crowder

Me

Mate a paraguyan drink. Pretty good with aquarius

San Juan Cathedral in Vélez Málaga 

Convent in Vélez Málaga. It closed only 2 years ago after the reverend mother died. I think it was established in the 1800´s or earlier.

Zone leaders Elder Hatch and Elder Shaver with Hermana Ross and Hermana Roderick. Hermana Roderick came with me from the Provo MTC and Hermana Ross trained Hermana Gibson and is now companions with Hermana Roderick in Granda. 

Hermana Ross and me here in the mission they call her my abuela or grandma because she is the madre of my madre Hermana Gibson

Week After Week [Letter 28 - Narja]

Dear Loved Ones,
As I look back on my emails I realize that I do not share much about the actual people that I work with so I would like to introduce some people and share a bit of thier stories.

Okay so right now we are working our tails off trying to find all the futures that we found in Dia de Diamante. Following up and teaching kind of things. Some of them were fake addresses but we keep on keeping on. but we found a wonderful lady. Her name is Lucia and she has 2 kids and is 24. She had her first one at the age of 16. Her little girl is adorable and is only 16 months old. She believes in God but not in the Catholic church like her family because she feels the church is corrupt and is only in business for money not bringing others to Christ. She doesn't feel that it is right th charge for baptisms and marriages and communions and everything else. She is willing to read and pray and says that she would like to attend chruch. We have only taught her once but she seems really interested. 

We are also teaching a little 8 year old boy. He is really cute. He won't do the communion even when he was asked about it. He says that the mormons are his church and that he wants to be baptized. His mother is very less active. She has had a lot of hard times. Some of them have to do with the church. Whenever we come around she just starts to weep. But she wants her sons to be apart of the church if they want because she knows that happiness can be found there for them but not for her right now. BUT GUESS WHAT?!?! She is in Nerja this week, usually she lives in a small pueblo, for work and one of our members is her friend. They were visiting together and the member was going to bring the little boys to chruch yesterday. Just as we were about to start sacrament meeting they arrived with the mom is tow. Her name is Elvira. Our meetings are always tear feeled and I have never felt the Love of the Lord for someone to strongly before. She is a very special lady and I am privledged to learn from her.

Zulhlia is a paraguayan like pretty much all of our members. She lives in Vélez and has a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true. Right now her coworker in the Locotorio is away on vacation so she doesn't have sundays off. we are waiting for next month when he returns. we are praying that she will come to church. She hasn't accepted baptism but she hasn't said now to it either. She is really really nice. It's always fun to talk to her and she is very very patient with my spanish and helps me out. She is trying to learn english so we share and teach a little each time we stop by.

and probably the most important person is HERMANA CROWDER. Seeing as I spend all day, everyday with her. She is a very good missionary. She is very diligent and hard working. I still have a hard time with street contacts but she is patient and gives me some good pointers. She is awesome at street contacts. I keep hoping that someday it will be a strength of mine so I keep practicing and praying to the Lord for help. She was going to BYU provo and majoring in Computer Science. She has 3 sisters all younger. She is from Maryland. Her spanish is really good. She has been out for over a year now and has had some great experiences. She ahs seen great miracles and is very positive about this area even on the hard days. 

We are working hard and trusting in the Lord. Because really that is all we have. I don't know who said it but it went something like this "work like it is up to you and pray like it is up to the Lord." Everyday I see more and more how much the Lord loves us. He wants to bless you. but the first law of heaven is obedience. He waits until He is able to bless you and then He blesses you as much as He possibly can. Stay close to our Father in Heaven. I love you.

Love, 

Hermana Dayna Petru