Hermana Hannah Ingram: Week 39 Happy Hump Week!!! May 9, 2016

ITS HUMP WEEK EVERYONE! (I'll send my 9 month celebration pic next week)

The week went by too fast.. :( and the 30 minute....10 minute.... 7 min... 15 minute..... skype call with my fam (dots represent the internet going out) felt like a milisecond! But even a milisecond makes all the difference, I love them!

What a fun week we had full of fun lessons!
Poor Hermana Sandison got the gripe this week (Pronounced Greepay: the common cold) It's pretty funny what people come up with here. "It's because you're drinking cold beverages", "Stop sitting in front of the fan."

Hermana Sandison: "I can't feel the Spirit with the greepay"
*teaches a lesson with the spirit so strong*
Hermana Sandison: "Wait, I can still feel the Spirit with the greepay"

My compañera is FULL of the best stories, I can't get enough of them. The other day she told me her "last story." She then proceeded to tell me an elaborate story about how the Fijian royalty was overthrown and they took undercover refuge in Twin Falls, Idaho. Her childhood best friend was literally the Princess of Fiji. In conclusion she said, "And that's how I met the Princess of Fiji" I laughed for a good five minutes and that's when I stopped believing in anything she says. Now if either of us tell a story, we end with, "And that's how I met the Princess of Fiji" Poor Hermana Sandison, I'm starting to believe she is actually telling the truth...

Chucaque is a ridiculous fake disease. You contract the disease Chucaque when you get super embarrassed. If you want to get rid of your Chucaque you must then make someone else embarrassed to pass the disease or go visit the voodoo doctor who then uses a newspaper and egg combination to rid you of it. Symptoms: Nasuea, vomiting, stomach aches, head aches.....

Hermana Sandison thought she could use the words avergonzada (embarrassed) and Chucaque interchangeably.... I laughed pretty hard when she asked me why the people laugh at her when she says she's embarrassed (:

Our lesson by the river with our investigators, Claudia and Karen, and Hermana Armanda and her daughter.

The other day we had an amazing experience! Our super cute eager-to-learn investigators Karen and Claudia wanted to take us to their favorite place by the river for their next lesson. So we excitedly went. During our lesson about The Gospel of Jesus Christ they asked us a random question about whether we live chaste lives or not. When we responded with "yes" they kind of laughed in our faces a little. The very next day we stopped by their house to teach them about the Law of Chastity. It was a little nerve racking as we were anticipating some form of rejection. But amazingly enough, their eyes lit up when we taught them about eternal families and the law of chastity. It rang true in their hearts. It made Hermana Sandison and I think back to when they had laughed at us and to now. I think sometimes it may seem like we are alone. But standing up for what you believe in may sometimes lead you to realize that You Are Not Alone.

We were so excited to eat Mother's Day lunch with our mother here in Peru (Hna Rasmussen) that we sadly missed a pic with her as she was FaceTiming her real children ;)

Saturday night we went and visited with our investigator Samantha, a mother of 3. Her younger brother Pier has been visiting with the previous elders for some time now, his baptismal date is in 3 weeks. Samantha's family is very catholic. During this lesson (only our second one) we reviewed Lesson 1 on The Restoration. She started telling us that her husband doesn't want to listen to us anymore. I told her to imagine for a second that the church really was true, that Joseph Smith really was a prophet, that this is where true happiness exists. Would the adversary really just sit on the couch and let it happen? She replied that probably not. I told her that of course not! There will always be opposition, especially against the truth. She then told us that she wouldn't be able to be baptized for at least a couple months to give her husband more time... (at this moment Hna Sandison and I had on shock-happy faces, the shock being that we hadn't yet extended the baptismal invitation.) Samantha went on talking about her neighbor Socorro, (a member in the ward) and her amazing example. She said she has watched how well she gets along with her husband and has seen every Sunday for years Hermana Soccorro gathering up her 5 kids going to church for not just one hour, but three, and then sprinting back home to start cooking. In the words of Samantha "She is an example to all of us, I often ask myself, could I do that?" Can you see how important our examples are? This woman is so prepared for the gospel only by seeing the example of her neighbor. I like to think of the quote, "Preach the gospel often, and when necessary use words."

Se que la iglesia es verdadera! I couldn't say it enough!
Late Mother's Day shout out to my momma, who makes all of the Peruvians say (when I show them my family picture) "Oh su mama es bien guapa!"
Si! I love you mom! Can't wait to hug you in a short nine months!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Ingram