March 7

Thank you for your touching and also very funny email. I can totally picture that after dinner conversation. Yes, I remember dinasours alive and well. I remember that eating a banana gives you energy to sleep for several hours, but only enough energy to bike for 12 minutes. 

Yes, I will use some of my money on my travels home, because Hna Bender and I are day dreaming about milk shakes and american hamburgers. 

I agree that I am learning a lot of things that I really needed to know in the mission and learning a lot about myself. The mission is great experience of identifies things that one wants to improve, setting goals to change, and seeing the results. Sometimes with little things like; remembering to turn off the lights, and think before you speak, and sometimes with big things like learning to explain complex ideas simply, and how to apoligize, but not too much for every little thing, because that´s annoying. I am still working on being on time for things and not taking forever to get ready in the morning or before bed. I am very hopeful on how I can apply these things to college classes and all that real world stuff. 

Also, speaking of learning how to understand people, I have lots of chances to practice that. After most lessons I talk to my companion about how the people we visited are doing and what we need to teach or help them with. We try to understand their motivations and exactly what is difficult for them or is motivating them. For example, if Antonio keeps changing the subject while we teach about prophets, is it because he doesn´t want to take about prophets, or because he already gets it and is bored, or because he just really wants to take about his grandchildren, regardless of what we were teaching?

I am enjoying Bolivia a lot. I love speaking Spanish, and about 5 words of Quechua (I know how to say how are you and my name is and count to 3. This does not help me at all in every day life). I love studying the gospel (in the new testament I am currently in Paul´s letters, which are so cool) and teaching people. You would think that one would get bored teaching the same thing over and over, but honestly, I feel that something is missing if we go more than a day or two without teaching about the restoration of the gospel. 

There are always things that I don´t like. It is often very, very hot and sunny, unless there is pouring rain. This week I got a cold and was very sniffily and headachy for a few days. I am feeling better today, but still have a cough. Our new house occasionly doesn´t have running water for a few hours, which is very annoying, when I just want to wash my face, but it came back on again and we are going to fill a plastic bin  with water just in case so that we can still wash hands and all. 

This week we had a cool experience teaching a new investigator, Primativa, about the restoration of the gospel (what is a prophet, how did Jesus establish His church, why are there so many different religions, who was Joseph Smith, how can one know the truth for themselves (prayer)). Brayan who recently got baptized, came with us to share his testimony. It was lovely to hear this share the story of Joseph Smith´s First Vision. (we made him read the part that we have memorized ¨I saw a pillar of light....¨) However, I loved how Hna Bender brought the Spirit into the lesson when she testified of Christ and how much she loves Him. Even though, we teach lots of different doctrines that people need to learn, the most important thing we can teach and of which we can testify is Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior and Redemer of the world. Here in Bolivia sometimes we don´t put enough focus on it because few people doubt that Christ is their Savior, but it is still so important to teach about His Atonement for us. 

Also, Hermana Isabel came to church yesterday, which was great. She was one of the pioneers in Bolivia and was baptised in the 70s when the church was still very new here. However, she hadn´t gone to church for many years now and finally decided to come this week. I was so happy to turn around after the Sacrament Meeting ended and see her there. 

I love you a ton. I miss you all too. I hope you have a great week.

February 22

[There are now photos in the Feb 15 post too.]

What you say about having fun is very true. That is something that I´ve learned with my companions. I´m also not all that good at having fun. However, I am learning to enjoy chatting with people and making new friends. For example, we had a lot of fun last Pday getting together with 4 other sisters to try a new restaurant of American food. It was both fun to chat and also the pancakes and eggs, while not quite American, were very good. At home I mostly had fun by watching tv and movies, which is not an option here and also not a great way of having fun. I recommend getting people together to eat something. For example, yesterday we couldn´t proselytize because of the voting on the refurendum, so we planned a barbaque thing with Roberto, Brayan, Pamela and her husband and the elders that we hope will start teaching Pamela and her husband. It was a lot of fun because we didn´t have any time pressure to leave and were able to help cook and then hang out (and also try to teach Pamela and her husband a bit). 

So, there were elections yesterday. You should be able to google what they were able. The effect on us was that we couldn´t work at all on Sunday and on Saturday and Friday we could only have set appointment, we couldn´t knock on doors, contact people outside or go over just to see if someone was home. We could only do things when we had called first to confirm the appointment. Still we kept pretty busy with two different service projects and some other visits. Now it looks like all the excitement of the voting has passed, but I also don´t see the news so I don´t really know. 

My photos:

Hna Bender curled my hair and we took a lot of selfies.

She also stuck a piece of paper that says ¨my wayward son¨ to my  keep calm and carry on sign.  Do you know that song?

Hna Bender feeling tired. She´s still not feeling very well.

I hope to give you some photos that Hna Bender took later on.

Also, I got a paper letter from Dad . Thank you!  I like your thoughts on British literature. It makes sense. I don´t think I would like rye bread, but I like the dark brown bread from Saturday lunch on Three Mile, so I´ll give it a try. Your letter makes the comment from last week´s photo about the temperature going to church make more sense. The latin mass sounds really cool.

I love you all. I miss you a lot. As of today, I´ve been away from home for 16 months. 

February 15

Hi Mom and Dad and everyone else,

Wow, what excitement with the cold. We continue mostly too hot and occasionally cold and rainy. There was some exciting lightning Sunday morning, but it stopped raining before we had to leave for church.

We were supposed to ¨hide¨ from carnival on Tuesday, but we had to go look at an apartment for rent and then we (we here means Hna Bender) played witht he kids in the street in front of our house. Carnival outside of the center of the city isn´t dangerous at all, but is is impossible to walk outside without getting wet, so it was pointless to try to go out and work as missionaries. 

Yes, I have heard in general about the migrant/refugee crisis in Europe. 

I hope to get all of my photos and videos up today as we found a decently fast internet. The pictures should explain why it was such a great pday.

You should find pictures of:

getting ready for the caravan of taxis with Brayan and friends. All the cars are decorated with balloons and streamers.

Hna Bender with her squirt gun

Thiago, Brayan´s 2 year old.

Playing on a street corner with Brayan, Roberto, their cousin Ester, who is going to serve a mission in columbia, and two other little cousins. As you can see everyone got wet.

(photo with fountian) back near their house we threw a few more water balloons before everyone went looking for dry clothes. 

Hermano Carlos, Brayan and Roberto´s Dad watched from the doorway.

We then went to buy lunch (chicken and french fries) and went to a little bit outside of the city (20 minutes away) to eat it.

They actually succeded in lighting a fire. (no one present was/is a very outdoorsy type).

Hna Bender looking cute on a rock.

A nearby river. And trees.

All the way home people tried to get us wet. Sometimes we rolled up the windows and other times we threw water balloons back at them.

On the 21st there are elections. These are some of the flags for ¨NO¨ The question is whether a president can be reelected a 3rd time and the sides are SÍ and NO. Both have put up lots of flags, banners, stickers, and murals/paint all around the city.

These are the kids that Hna Bender played with on Tuesday in front of the house. 

Brayan´s baptism. He bought a white hat for the occasion, but also a shirt and tie. Also pictured: Samuel, his cousin and Ester´s brother, Tiago, Roberto, Pamela, their sister, and her daughter Luciana.

The last pictures are from a Family Home Evening that we held with the family. People who messed up in the games got whiteboard marker on their faces. 

My current agenda, the previous two, and an example of a blank one. 

You are now getting a copy of some things I wrote to President Hansen about, so save time and because I wanted to write to you about the same general topics. 

Last Wednesday we went to contact a reference who we had called a few days before to arrange a visit. However, I had forgotten his dirrection and phone number is my old agenda from the previous cambio. So we got to the general area and had to go visit him without knowing exactly where. I only remembered that it was in plena esquina (exactly in the corner). There were several houses like that so we decided to knock on one of them. To my great surprise, there was Hernesto waiting for us. As we left, Hna Bender told me that she had been praying to find him as we knocked on the door. I hadn´t even thought to pray, but I know that God answered my companion´s prayer because she prayed with faith. I want to have that same faith that God will answer my prayers, so I´m going to trying to start looking for the answers more and writing down all the small miracles that we see. 

Last Saturday, Brayan was baptised. We were so happy and so was Brayan. He is truely converted. He is really nervous to speak is public, but shared a beautiful testimony of the Atonement. I can tell that he has truely repented and has changed his life so much. (our mission theme/thing is Teach Repentance and Baptise Converts.)

I found a cool video about love (since it´s valenitines day) on the church website. I think it´s cute.

 https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-08-014-expressions-of-love?cid=HP_FR_2-12-2016_dPFD_fMLIB_xLIDyI-1_&lang=spa

February 8

Cambios were this sunday (yesterday), but we are staying put as we expected. However, all the sisters under our care had cambios except for one companionship when I thought than only one companionship would. This coming cambio is 7 weeks long and then I expect to have one last cambio and one last area for only 6 weeks. 

I have had an awesome pday and we didn{t leave time for internet. this may be the only email that you get this week, but check out my pictures and know that I am okay.

Very cute kitten in Carrie{s house.

Hna Bender{s nail paint makes me think of a oar blade. 

Cool avengers cake on display in a window.

Hna Bender is a trooper. She{s still not great, but is still working hard. Here she is in bed with sunglasses because the sun is too bright.

Last Monday night Ester opened her mission call. Most of the YAS were there as well as her parents. She{s going to columbia cali. :)

The rest of the photos are from today. Carneval!!!!

Jose, cousin or nephew or something of brayan with confetii in his hair.

getting ready for a mini parade thing with the taxis at the taxi agency where brayan works. I think this picture came out especially well. 

Roberto in the car. 

Hna Bender with spray foam all in her hair and on the phone. 

filling water balloons. 

Brayan who{s the one who got her this the foam (note the can in his hand). We went with Brayan, Roberto, and Ester (who is their cousin) all day today for carneval stuff and fun.

I think that is all the photos that are going to load today. You will get the rest next week.