Week 28 At least she sent pictures... February 22, 2016

This is the extent of Hermana Ingram's letter this week:

I don't have any time! But the good news is that our old investigator Manuel is back and he will be getting baptized March 5th!
Somebody send me some snow it is as hot as hates here and I'm cooking!
Sorry mom I'll prepare a super awesome email next week I promise...

Our missionary work activity. Everyone wrote what they're grateful for. Manuel (our investigator) is on the bottom row second from the left!

My comp and I.

The district at the new casa capilla in Tambogrande

Hermana Shumway is the greatest! She's going home this transfer. 

Oh Hermana Aida is an angel

Even though my face is hideous, I just had to take a selfie while this man told us we were doing the devil's work. 

Making cookies with Hermana Rasmussen, so fun!

The food at Hermana training...

How funny! Elder Simmons with Hermana Sullon, Hermana Aida Sullon and I (:

The old trio!!!

Week 27 A Baptism!! February 15, 2016

CAJAMARCA! In Peru there is a place called Cajamarca where all of the white Peruvians live. Apparently they wear hats like this one and do their hair in braids. Hna Bobbio, in her motherly ways, told me I needed to wear a hat because of how strong the sun is lately. I was definitely considering but I don't want people thinking I'm a testigo! (Jehovahs witness) They wear hats and carry umbrellas... So Hno David stuck the Trujillo temple on there, good to go!

What a week!

Good news: MARCOS WAS BAPTIZED!
The morning of his baptism I got a call from his mom Marcela. My stomach dropped when she told us that we couldn't baptize her son. I told her okay and that we would call it off. When I hung up I immediately started praying! I called Hna Aida for advice (shes an angel) She told me to wait a little while and then call Marcel back. So that's what I did. When I called Marcela back her brother answered and told me that she was outside of the house talking with William (Marco's dad). So I hung up and long story short we had the baptism!!

Yay Marcos at his baptism!! What a happy day (:

Bad news: It was a rough week! I felt like no one would listen to us, almost all of our lessons fell through. I was honestly amazed at how many things weren't working out. On Wednesday I was really having a rough time. After yet another lesson fell through I was walking down the street feeling sorry for myself. I especially hate feeling sorry for myself when I see what other people have to go through around me. Their trials are unbelievable! So I said a prayer. I'm not even sure what i prayed for exactly. 5 minutes later we passed by a woman and two young girls. The woman didn't look too good, her eyes were all swollen from crying. As I kept walking I could not shake the thought of her out of my head. So finally I knew I needed to go back. So I told my companion we should go see what was wrong. By the time we came back the woman had walked away from the girls still crying. I first approached the girls and asked them if there was anything we could do to help. They stood there and stared at me and then proceeded to whisper into each other's ears. So I left and walked up to the lady. We asked her if we could give her a hug, as odd as it may sound. When I hugged her she bawled like a little kid. So there I was on a street corner hugging a random stranger who was sobbing. When she finally came to herself she told us that she traveled a long way to see her daughters and that they wanted nothing to do with her. When she said that I started to cry too! In my head I was thinking "Oh the things I would do just to see my mom for even 5 minutes!" Seriously! I was almost mad at those girls! We talked to her for a little while and I even shared my testimony with her.
I was grateful that I got the chance to help someone even if it was through a hug. Small and simple things can make a difference too (:

I sure miss my family! Especially my mom (:
Praying this week we will have a lot more lessons and find some people who are ready to receive the restored gospel!!
Hermana Ingram

Hermanas! (: Hna Atencio (Ecuador.. I think) Hna Sepulveda (Mapleton!) Hna Thomas (Ogden) Hna Mauricio (Paita) Hna Spainhower (Payson!) and the always lovely Hna Rasmussen!

The Zone

Week 26 Six Months!!! February 8, 2016

In Los Ficus (the hermana's area) there is a member who raises guinea pigs to sell to hungry customers! Yum!

Last week was a little bit crazy but super fun! On Tuesday I dropped Hermana Sosa off at the airport. She was a little bit sad but more excited so it was good. We had a good short week together (: I was told that my mini missionary wouldn't be ready until Saturday so I was able to stay with Hermana Sandison and Hermana Mitchell for 4 days!! I called it "vacaciones" because it really did feel like a vacation. We were such a happy little trio and I haven't laughed so much since I was with Hermana Arce. Super fun and way too short. Even amongst all of the fun we had the most amazing lessons!

I had the best time hanging out with Hna Mitchell (St George) and Hna Sandison (Twin Falls)

On Wednesday we stopped by to visit a 14 yr old recent convert named Jose. During the lesson we talked about the priesthood. At one point as we were talking he asked us, "Well why can't girls have the priesthood?" So we started helping him with his question. As we were talking you could tell he was a little bit confused. Hermana Sandison bore her testimony and it was like a light bulb went off in his head. His entire expression completely changed and his eyes were full of tears. Then he told us that as we were teaching him he started to have a lot of doubts. He questioned in his mind whether or not this really is the true church of Jesus Christ. So he said a little prayer in his mind and then felt something enter into his head and travel down into his heart. In that moment he knew without a single doubt that this is the true church! How amazing! I especially love being a missionary and knowing that I will never need to convince anyone, I don't need a perfect doctrinal knowledge or the ability to recite scriptures. We as missionaries bring this information into peoples lives and then leave a very simple invitation. Ask Heavenly Father directly. Its so simple. I have such a strong testimony that God answers prayers through the Holy Ghost. What a relief on my part (:

My comp (mini) Hna Mauricio (Peru)

Saturday morning I picked up my mini missionary Hermana Mauricio. A mini missionary is a member from a ward or branch in the mission who comes and serves as a missionary for a short amount of time. It's pretty scary and overwhelming having to direct the area but I will definitely be growing this next month. Hermana Mauricio is great! She loves to work so I am grateful. The best news is that we will be baptizing Marcos this week! Super exciting!

Hermana Ingram

The District, Elder Norman who is from my group is the district leader! Still as funny as ever.

My comp, Hna Dionicio (Cali) and Elder Lara (Colombia)

Lunch...if I were at home I would have taken one look at those hot dogs and thrown them out...but since we are in Peru they are delicious! ;)

Leaving the beach...

Had to get a selfie with President ;)

After a long day of hard work...and being with gringas for the first time on my mission...we celebrated with pizza!

Week 25 Adios Hija February 1, 2016

Hna Sosa, Hna Bobbio (member), Marylin (Hna Aidas Daughter) and Hna Arce!!

This week started out with picking up my "hija" and saying goodbye to Hermana Arce.

My Hija is Hermana Sosa! She is from moquegua which is the very southern part of Peru. She is 23 years old and has two younger siblings. Her and her sister are the only members of her family. She is a little bit on the quiet side but is very sweet and thinks that I am the funniest person in the world! (how flattering) (:

After picking her up from the mission home on Tuesday I got permission from President to go and say goodbye to hermana Arce. That was rough! At the very last minute an office elder started ushering her out the door to her plane. She hugged the two members and then started running out. I panicked and yelled WAIT HERMANA ARCE and ran to her. That's when I hugged her and totally started to bawl. It probably had to do with the fact that I absolutely love her and I started thinking "When will I ever see her again? She lives in Paraguay!" So off she went and it took me about 10 minutes to get back to normal. I told President that I'll be going to Paraguay one day! Who wants to come with me? (:

I love Hna Arce con todo mi corazón!

This week I learned a lot! First off, super awesome Hermano Manuel moved to Tumbes for work.... 6 hours away. There wasn't even enough time for me to ask him his new address to hand off to the missionaries up there. Hopefully he goes looking for the church! Hermana Maritza our other awesome investigator just moved as well... But for the good news little Hermano Marcos will finally be getting baptized this next Saturday. Yeah!!!

Chilis!! Trying to get a little taste of America and it's always good to see Hna Spainhower. She is the best!

The day after I picked Hermana Sosa up we started studying in the morning. She then started to cry and basically expressed to me that she didn't want to be serving a mission. I was a little bit shocked and tried to comfort her in whatever way I could and told her that with time it gets easier. But everywhere we went she continued to tell me how much she didn't want to be here. I was super patient and tried to talk her through all of her feelings. After this went on for a little while I sat down with her and basically told her that she should make a decision. I told her that living the life as a missionary is not fun, it is very hard. We can't fully serve a mission in the way that we need to if we have one foot in the mission and one foot at home. Like my mom always tells me, "Jump in with BOTH feet!!" So Hermana Sosa has made the decision to go home. It's a little bit sad and disappointing but I know that she has some other things she needs to do at home. For the rest of this transfer I will be getting a mini missionary who is from Paita. I am a little nervous but still excited! This week I learned a lot of patience. I learned to be a little bit more understanding and sensitive to other people's circumstances. I've learned to trust myself more as a missionary and that my Spanish is a lot better than I think it is! I've learned to Replace Fear with Faith!

I miss you all so much!
Love, Hermana Ingram

I asked the maintenance guy to be in the picture with us (: I'm glad that Hermana Sosa had a fun week as a missionary, she definitely thinks my facial expressions are hilarious.

Right through Piura is this big river with a bunch of bridges that go across it. Sometimes I like to imagine I'm in Portland strolling the streets with Grandma (;

The shrine of Señior Cautivo! The catholics LOVE Señior Cautivo. Here, every morning, they gather and pray to him.

Week 24 I'm training! January 25, 2016

My Latina compañeras 9: The greatest! (after our training broadcast)

This week was a speedy one!

During the very first few weeks in my area Miguel Grau, Hermana Arce talked about an awesome investigator named Manuel. They had taught him two times and he came to church twice and even accepted a baptismal date! Once I got there he completely disappeared. His sister told us that he moved to Paita for a while to work. He is an alcoholic and sincerely wanted change in his life. During my entire time here we never saw him, until last week. As we were walking down his street on our way to a lesson we passed by his house and his front door opened and there he was! He asked us immediately when we could come and visit him, his lesson is tonight. We invited him to a stake baptismal service that same night to come and see the baptisms. After the service, we sat waiting for the closing hymn to begin. He turned to us and said "Hermanas, the other day I was inside my house praying and asking God to know which church was His church. Then I opened the door and there you were! I want to get baptized. When can I get baptized?" I was a little bit in shock but I bore testimony to him that God was giving him his answer and we placed a date for the 27th of February. It was the first time that an investigator has told me that they know that the church is true. It was surreal! The real challenge is his addiction but I know that if he has a real desire and faith, NOTHING is impossible.

After the stake baptismal service

It was Hermana Arce's very last week in her mission and it was a little bit sad. She was tough through it but occasionally she laid on the floor to have a little cry. Poor thing. Hermana Arce left on her mission in December of 2013 but after serving 11 months she had a seizure due to epilepsy and was sent home. After 5 months of taking care of her siblings while her mom battled cancer, she made it back out on the mission to finish up what she started. Boy am I grateful for her and for her example and testimony. She is going to be a strong member of the church for the rest of her life.

So sad because she's leaving :(
(if you know Hannah, you'll recognize this face as one that is holding back tears)

I won't know who my new companion is until tomorrow,  but I'm going to train a new missionary!!! 4 new hermanas are coming and they're all Latinas. I'm terrified but excited to be senior comp and to teach someone.

After Hermana Arce's very last interview with President I was called into his office. President then told me that he felt that I was ready to train. I have to admit I was trying to hide a smile. I'm super excited! There will be 4 new Latina hermanas coming this transfer and one of them will be my "hija." I am also completely terrified and overwhelmed. As a trainer you set a precedent for the rest of the new missionary's mission. You also do almost everything by yourself for quite a while. I'm excited and anxious for the challenge.

And just a heads up...I know this is going to be super hard so I'll probably need a lot of spiritual support. (aka.....please include Hannah in your prayers)

I have to go now, I love you!

We were able to travel to Talara (area by the ocean) so that she could say goodbye to some members

For a second there I thought I was out road tripping in Southern Utah!

With Hermana Babbio and her husband Julio. They are so fun!

Hermana Aida is such a kid at heart! Playing pranks on the elders.

The very last puppy, Pamela (:

Stinky missionary feet! With some pretty intense tan lines and the very last bit of my last pedicure in the states!

Going to miss my companion soooooo much!!!

Week 23 Update January 18, 2016

My last P-day with Hermana Arce. I'm sure going to miss her!

More about last week: (I didn't have email/cell service so couldn't get the details so I asked more about what happened)

Mom's question: Are you settling into your new apartment? How much money did they take from you? Do you have any idea who it was? Do the doors not lock very securely? Should I send some pepper spray in your next package?

Hannah's response: In total they took somewhere around 1300 soles. Which is a ton here as missionaries. I can almost gaurantee it was our neighbors that lived directly in front of us. A group of super creepy men lived there and they were always watching us as if we had a movie playing for them or something. We tried to keep the window closed as much as possible but it's just way too hot here. The next day after we were robbed they all moved. The door on the street had a good lock on it but I'm pretty sure we didn't close it all the way by accident. It was always hard to tell. The door to our actual room was broken so that one anyone can get into.

Sprained my ankle and it started to swell. A cold mango made for a decent ice pack!

Mom's question: Did you get more time to spend with your investigators this week? How is Diego doing?

Hannah's response: Oh and we tried really hard to talk Diego out of it but he moved to Lima for a job opportunity. His dad lost his job so he felt pressure to get a good job to help his family.

Peruvian food

Hannah's short summary of the week:

Dont have too much time but ill try to write a little summary.
Our little 9 yr old investigator with a baptismal date, Hno Marcos, has parents who are separated. Some things have happened between them this week and we had to postpone his baptism. The elders also had to push back their baptism as well. It just goes to show how important baptism is, Satan really is working overtime to try to keep it from happening. But I know it will happen soon. We also had one of our investigators come to sacrament yesterday! Her name is Maritza. She is married to Denis and has a 9 yr old son Mateo. She is awesome and we have had amazing lessons with her. I see so much potential in her and she loves us and everything we teach her! Please keep both of these families in your prayers. 

This is Hermana Arces last week and I know its going to be hard for her. She has so much genuine love for EVERYONE. I have learned so much from her and her amazing example.

Hermana Ingram

Peruvian recipe: Go to your local pet store, buy and guinea pig and then fry it. Delicious!!

Hermana Arce really wanted to try a chicken foot. I'll stick with my favorite food..Antecuchos! Cow heart!

P-day at the beach. Hermana Aida came too! (pic at top)

Hermana Aida insisted on a photo eating our marcianos- sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, sugar and coconut frozen in a bag. Anything cold in this heat is delicious!

Week 22 We Were Robbed!!! January 11, 2016

Sad because we were stressed. Searching for a new place to live is not easy!

Well this week was slightly stressful....

On Tuesday morning Hna Arce and I left our room at around 10:30 to go and teach a lesson. As we were walking Hna Arce told me she had a really bad feeling and that something bad was going to happen. I could tell she was super freaked out so of course that made me freaked out. We continued walking basically hugging each other and stayed on our toes the whole time. When the lesson ended we needed to go back to our room and get money to pay the pension. When we got to our room everything was completely normal. Except every last bit of our money was gone. I even had some American money and that had completely disappeared too. So we went down and talked to our neighbor. She looked shocked and said that at around 11 she heard a moto pull up to the building and 3 men go up our stairs and through our door. For some odd reason it didn't make her too curious she said she just thought "Well that's weird those girls never take guys in their room." Then after a little while they left. We called our Zone Leaders who told us we needed to start looking for a new place to live immediately. I was pretty heart broken because I sure loved that room with the balcony. That same day a member from the ward took the elders to the police station to report the crime. We got a call saying that we needed to be there. We probably spent 3 hours with the Peruvian police and got nothing done. They only interrogated us on why we were in the country and where were our legal documents. I was even told that I needed to deport back the US. Test of patience for sure! Never going to the police again.. So we spent about two days looking for a new room. Holy was that an adventure! I love some of these Latins because they use their entire body to talk and everything is super over exaggerated, they have a talent for making a pile of dirt sound like a palace. It was honestly a pain in the butt and super time-consuming but we finally made a decision and packed up and moved. The whole thing was a long process but I'm glad we moved somewhere safer and now we can get back to work!

Jumping picture fail

Today we went sand boarding and played sand soccer on the beach! Super fun but my sunburn begs to differ. Sadly not a lot happened this week with our investigators because so much time was spent looking for a new apartment etc. but this week will be better!

Hermana Ingram

Sand-boarding....felt like we were in the Sahara desert!!

Hermana Arce and I have some pretty bad sunburns. Here, she is referred to as a Gringa bamba which means a fake white girl. I get a kick out of it every time people tell her that her Spanhish is awesome and ask what part of the US she is from. (She is from Paraguay)

Driving to the sand dunes in Sechura! Pictured: Rosita and Marily....Hermana Aida's daughters. The poor elders rode in the back of the car and got caked in dust!

The elders helping us move! What good guys.

Had to stop and get a burger! My comp can't get enough of them. She even has burger delivery in our phone.:) Nothing like America....at least not where I live. 

Hermana Arce snuck a pic of me getting some shut-eye while waiting for lunch to be served. My well known talent: I can fall asleep anywhere! It's not always for my benefit.

The new tiny room....without my beloved balcony ;(

A tender mercy after a stressful week