Week 12 November 2, 2015

There have been a lot of zapos (toads) in the street at night. I've been told that it's because El Nino is on it's way.

Weeks are flying by!

This week was a little bit interesting, I have once again learned more and more about our struggling branch here in Morropon. Yesterday at church the 4 of us missionaries talked to the Branch President and turned the third hour of church into a little bit of a branch inventory. Elder Cruz did a really good job of chastening them with love. We asked them to name all of the problems in the branch and then right there we figured out solutions to the problems. At one point the meeting went a little bit off topic when some members brought up gossip and drama from four years ago. We then just had to tell them they needed to get over the past and focus on what's important now. Something I learned this week is that Latins here LOVE gossip. In Spanish its called Chisme. People here are constantly making up gossip about other people and spreading it around. They do this because when they know that someone else's name is being talked about they also know that for that moment their name is safe. It's really horrible actually, more often than not they target missionaries too. I hope I'm never the victim of gossip here. Hermana Shumway told me to never get comfortable, don't ever do anything that could easily be twisted into something that it's not. After the meeting with the branch I didn't feel that it even worked. We can talk to them all we want but it's their decision whether they want to act on it or not. I truly believe that this area hasn't seen a baptism in almost a year because we aren't meant to bring a new convert to this branch. It's not what it needs to be. The investigator we brought to church doesn't want to come back because she didn't have a very pleasant experience the first time. We had to sit her down and tell her that that wasn't normal. I am scared to even bring investigators to church now. I feel pretty overwhelmed with the branch! I have yet to find a real solution to their many problems!

Yesterday was Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead), so I thought I would also go and celebrate.

I can't say that we have any truly progressing investigators... it's sad because the only reason they don't progress is that they don't keep commitments!! We drill it into them to just read this chapter in the Book of Mormon and ask Heavenly Father a simple question. I don't know why but it's impossible for them to do that much. They are very very lazy. We constantly are reminding people to read and to pray but nothing... The other day we taught a girl named Rosa, we showed her the restoration video and taught her lesson 1. It was pretty cool because afterwards she had this amazed look on her face and told us that she has been having all of the same questions as Joseph Smith about why there are so many different churches. We committed her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. Yesterday I saw her on the streets and asked her if she had started reading and of course she had a frequently used excuse that "I didn't have time" so we drilled it into her that it was extremely important to keep the commitment. Now we just have to wait and see...

Elder Cruz is getting transferred. I'm sad because he was the only other person in Morropon who could speak English and he carried the mission work here.

The other day my comp and I went out contacting, and for the first time in my mission someone refused to talk to me. I walked up to this lady and started introducing us to her and she wouldn't even look at me, she looked at my companion and said "I don't want to talk to her because she's from a different country" I was pretty shocked and just stood there while my comp talked to her. Later my companion noticed I was a little upset and she told me to never forget that because I'm set apart in this calling that I have power and Authority, regardless of the language. Immediately after we were invited into a home and we put it into play. We taught two very catholic people with power and authority, telling them that we knew without question that this was the only true church of Jesus Christ. I love being straightforward with people... And I love that my companion knows her stuff (: She knows everything about the catholic church because she was a strong catholic growing up.

I caught a lizard just as we were going into a house for a visit so I put it in my scripture case.  Sadly he was squished...there he died on top of his salvation.

Every Friday night we have a branch activity, this week we had La Vos (the voice). In Peru they have their own production of La Vos Peru and the people are absolutely obsessed with it. It's on every single television, one of the member's daughters was actually on it a few weeks ago. So we made it an activity. Sadly the few members who were there made me sing because they wanted to hear a song in English. I had to sing Ed Sheeran thinking out loud and I'm proud to say all of the judges turned around for me. At the end of every activity the same little 4 yr old girl (our pensionista's daughter) volunteers for the prayer. I didn't notice it until my comp pointed it out but this entire time she has been saying one of the catholic memorized prayers. Oops.

Until next week! Chow!
-Hermana Ingram

Little kids are always wanting to talk to me (it's good Spanish practice) so this little girl named Melina started talking to us about her school etc. She also was reluctant to let me ride her bike. My companion thought it was hilarious.