Monday, August 24, 2015

BAUTISMOS!


 Freddie y David!

Hoooooooola a todos!!! Como estan hoy? :)

I hope everything is going well for everyone and that you are so excited for school to start! (hee hee!) Things are just cookin along over here! Little by little we really are seeing many miracles in our area!
First is that FREDDIE AND DAVID GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!! Woooooot! It was so aaaaamazing! The spirit was so strong, especially when they bore their testimonies after.
Freddie has gone through some rough things these last few weeks, but through everything, he's REALLY gained a testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel. It really helped strengthen my testimony too about how the Lord will put trials in our lives so that we can come closer to him and rely on his power.  David was just one of those who were so prepared to receive the gospel. His whole family is either Jehovas Witnesses or Evangelicos and he was just searching for the truth and was so happy to have found it!

Another miricle was Alondra! We were out looking for a reference this week and knocking on their door, but no one was home. BUT there was a girl next door washing her dog so we stopped to talk to her. Turns out that she had gone to church a few times with a friend about a year ago and really liked it, but because of her studies she couldn't keep coming. But now her studies are finished and she wants to come!! We taught her the restoration and she accepted to be baptized on 19 de september! She's reading and praying and really is so prepared. Her family is passing through some rough times and she just needs the peace the gospel will bring!

I love this gospel! I love helping people to find the truth and have the hapiness that comes through making and keeping convenants with the Lord. I know that even though we have trials and weaknesses, He will help them become strengths that will bless the lives of so many!

Love you all!
Hermana Stephenson


 Our lunch last p-day. A member, who is a professional cook, invited us over. It was preeety much the greatest EVER


Monday, August 17, 2015

Milagros!



HOOOOOOLA A TODOS!!!!!
Another week here in Chimbote! It was actually pretty cold this week! Well cold as in a nice cool breeze in the afternoons and lots of clouds to block the sun. But my poor Peruvian companion was freezing all week! She's pretty convinced that I'm immune to the cold :) It was pretty funny!

In other news, things are just moving along here in our little area. Still working and praying hard to find new people to teach, but I know the Lord has a plan and purpose for everything. So we're just moving forward with conficende that He'll put people in our path or guide us to those who need the gospel! Something that I know'll help is a HUUUUGE ward activity that we're planing for Friday night! It's a big game night that we're inviting the whole ward and telling them to bring all their friends! It's gonna be SWEET. We're pretty excited for it. We have a bunch of young men who want to go on missions (Luiggi, our recent convert is one of them!!) who just got called as ward missionaries, and they're pretty excited too.

As for David and Freddie, they are so excited for their baptisms!! We're finishing up their lessons and interviews and everything this week with them, so it'll be BUSY BUSY! We also have a big FHE with the JAS (or YSA) in our ward to help them really integrate into their group.

A little cool story this week. We were knocking on doors one day and encountered a young woman (she's 20) who's been inactive for about 5 years, named Dayana. We've been teaching her for a bit, but has been to scared to come to church because she feels a lot of shame and is worried what everyone will say. But we had a great lesson about the Sacrament and she promised that she would come to church. And she DID!! She was a bit nervous and timid, but the Youth in the ward just jumped right in to help her feel better. It was AMAZING!! And now she's more willing than ever to listen and come back to church.

This week, I've been studying a WHOLE lot about Faith. There is a fantastic chapter in the Bible, Hebrews 11, that gives examples of the faith of the prophets and how the Lord was able to bless them through their faith. It was VERY interesting and taught me that faith really is ACTING on something that we can't see, but having a 'perfect hope' that blessings WILL come. That if I work only through my own stength and knowledge, I won't acomplish much. But if I push the natural man aside, and put my confidence in the Lord (trusting that he knows me best and knows what I can do) He'll be able to bless me!

I know that this church is true and that when we study the scriptures, we really can find answers to our questions! And that the Lord will be able to teach us and instruct us on what we need to do!
Have an AWESOME week everyone!

Hermana Stephenson

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

TEMPLO!!!



TEMPLE! and my zone :)

HOOOOOOOOOOLA TODOS!!
Well, today is Wednesday and it's a bit weird writing your guys but its cool because yesterday, I GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE IN TRUJILLO!! It was pretty much the most amazing thing EVA. The temple is BEAUTIFUL and it was so amazing to be able to feel the Spirit so strongly. The peace and love from our Heavenly Father that you can feel inside is incredible. It's really made me realize how much of a blessing it is to have SO many temples so close to home in the States. It's something that I've taken for granted, but now that I only get to go a few times in 18 months, it's made me realize how much I miss going to the temple!

Not much else happened this week! Still trying to find new people to teach. In an area so small is pretty difficult because EVERYONE knows who we are and when we pass they run and hide in their houses! But its alright, because we have some sweet new ideas and plans for this week to REALLY REALLY REALLY work with the members in our ward!

David is really doing well, he's progressing and loves to read and study the Book of Mormon, and the ward is really working to friendship him! (because all his friends are in a different ward and he wants to assist there!) So thats really nice. Freddie has hit a few bumps in the road, but his is praying and reading more than ever now and I know that he'll overcome his trials!

I've learned a lot this week about sacrifice. How in this time as a missionary I get to sacrifice all the things of the world to focus on only the Lords work. But in the end, it really isn't much of a sacrifice! Because the blessings we receive when we give of our time and talents to our callings are more than we can even imagine.

I love being a missionary and helping the people here learn and understand the gosple and the blessings they can receive! That even though we will go through trials and hard times, we ALWAYS will learn and grow!
Love you all!
Hermana Stephenson
La zona and our p-day last week when we went to this farm!!

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Milagros!!



HOOOOOOOOOOLA everyone!!!!!!!!!
Hope you all had a fabulous week :) Workin hard down here in Nuevo Chimbote, como siempre!
Buuuuuuut WE HAD A BAPTISM THIS WEEK!!! LUIGGI WAS BAPTIZED!!!! It was quite the miracle. We had a lesson with him earlier in the week to see how he was and how things were going with his family, and he told us that he had talked to them for a long time the day before and that they had decided to give their permission for his baptism!!!!! We were soooooo excited! I almost died. Just almost :)
So we asked him if he wanted to be baptized on the 8th of August, but he wanted THIS WEEK. Because our stake is having a huge youth conference and on Thursday they are going to the temple in Trujillo and he wants to go with everyone! So let's just say that all of Thursday and Friday were filled with calls to leaders and the bishop and interviews and getting everything pulled together! Because he's been coming to church for so long, almost the WHOLE ward ended up showing up to his baptism Saturday night. And his parents came too. We were kind of nervous, but they were very respectful and asked some good questions. Sooo dodged a bullet there :)
But it was a wonderful baptismal service. The spirit was so strong and when he bore his testimony afterwards, it was amazing. Then yesterday in church he was confirmed and received the priesthood AND his interview for the temple! Love it!
I know that this church is true and that Christ has shown us the way through his EXAMPLE and how we should always try our hardest to follow Him! I was reading in Alma 37:6-7 about how through small and simple things are great things brought to pass! And its so very true, through little acts of service and kindness GREAT changes can be made within a person!
Love you all so much!
Hermana Stephenson

Me and my companion Hermana Carbajal
Baptismo de Luiggi!!!
The Church rocks  : )