The Return to Puerto Maldonado and CHRISTMAS!!!

Hola todos!

So, the opening joke will be by Elder Fincher.

When I get home, I'll open a restaurant and name it, "Oh! What's that place's name?" So that when people ask where people want to eat and they respond with the name, the person asking will be confused. I'm funny. :P :D

The results of the week and spiritual things will also be given by Elder Fincher

The sector is doing fantastic! We're finding a lot of new people and we're having a lot of lessons, it's going really great! We have an investigator, Hermana Almendra with a baptismal date for the 14th of January and we're working with others for their baptismal dates as well.

The temple is clean. The Spirit resides there. If it were dirty, it couldn't. How is our house? How is our room? Can the spirit reside there?

This is why as missionaries we have a day each week to prep, including cleaning. I strongly invite everyone that you can take the time each week to clean where you live so that the Spirit can live with you and bless your life.

Also, Marion G. Romney in April 1980 gave a promise in regard to the Book of Mormon. That also deals with the Spirit dwelling in our homes.

Ponder this for a moment, this Christmas season (as well as every other season) we have the opportunity to invite the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, a Member of the Godhead into our homes. Ponder on these two methods that God has given us that we can have this great blessing in our homes, to testify to all who enter that Jesus was born and has atoned for each and everyone of us, and we only have to do a few things so that the Holy Spirit can be a resident in our houses this Christmas season.

I invite each and everyone of you to ponder the blessings you will receive as you act on this knowledge, and then to act on what that means.

Have a fantastic week and a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Cusco! Conference and vacations?!?

To start out this week, it's been interesting. We had a couple appointments Monday and Tuesday before coming to Cusco. The conference with Elder Godoy was fantastic! The thing I like most about conferences is the boost to our vision as missionaries; like climbing the mountain, seeing the whole view, and then going back to the trenches and working. Then today was also good, it was really fun at the Christmas lunch! Between those two days we did a little bit of contacting and ran into some members, 2 missionaries that just finished the mission touring with their families. We visited a couple places too since we didn't have any appointments, it was good, but it'll be really good to get back to working in our sector.

Not much happened in the sector, but Sunday we got a call from an investigator saying that her mom is okay with her being baptized now! Once she reaches 18, but that's in a month, so that was awesome! Here in Cusco we contacted a couple different people in the Plaza de Armas and nothing else, not being in your own sector is hard.

It felt like Christmas this week! Because we came to Cusco, and it's cold, it's kind of nice to feel like it's Christmas like that, :D

Let us know how the conference was and the bus trip too.

The conference was really good, Elder Godoy talked about a couple traps that we can fall into as missionaries and how to resolve them. He and the Herreras answered a couple questions that we had. And like I mentioned, it boosted the vision to be able to know and remember why we're here.

The Christmas lunch we had today was great, all the zones (other than Sicuani, Juliaca and Puno who'll have their own) did a video, choral and sketch. We had the best video in Puerto according to President Herrera, and Andahualas (I think) had the best sketch. I think the videos will be put on the mission blog. Which I don't remember what it is right now, but I think I sent it at one point.

Anyway, out of time, but have a great week, I'll be writing from Puerto next week. Be great and remember who you are!

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Short week

Hello everyone,

This week is already at the end of time, so sorry, one question, no more.

Do you have any baptisms lined up?

We've got one person with a baptismal date.

Good work happening here, but we're off to Cusco for a conference and Christmas dinner for a week starting Wednesday.

Be good, live the Gospel. Love and serve Christ!

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Thanksgiving in Puerto

Hola a todos!

Esta semana me encuentren con un poco mas de tiempo, entonces, voy a compartir un poco mas. :)

Yet again, I'll let you translate the Spanish. :) Sorry, but it's cool. :D

I was asked questions, so I'll answer them:

I know it isn't a holiday there, but did you do anything different for Thanksgiving on Thursday?

Yes. Our pension, Sister Nadine, knew about Thanksgiving already since other missionaries have celebrated it in the past with her, so, when I told her Tuesday that Thursday was a special day, she knew already. We did a little thanksgiving before eating and I told the pilgrim story. Photos of the rica comida. (delicious food)

How different are things there than in Sicuani?

Very. Weather, people, and really, not much. The people are the same but yet different, I think the branch here is a little bit more into missionary work than the ward, but we all pass through seasons, we're doing a lot here though.

Do you have a "mom" who helps with food and such like you did there?

We still have a pension, one for breakfast and lunch, another for dinner. Breakfast is delivered and the other two we go to their houses.

Is it only you and your companion or are there other missionaries there too?

In our room it's us two no more, different, but I like it. I think you can bond easier.

Which branch do you go to or is it multiple? 

We go to Puerto. We share the building with Tampopata.

Other things, The sector is progressing. We have a person with a baptismal date already and we're working with others. Lots of less actives, for the first time in the mission I'll see how we help rescue them. We're contacting pretty well and finding more and more people each day. It's going really well.

I'm doing good over here in Puerto Maldonado, with my goals that I'd set in Sicuani to become more like Christ by developing Christ-like attributes I'm progressing well. While I left Sicuani with more or less 10 whole points out of 220, now I have 26, I'm finding more goals to put to be able to see how I can improve and keep becoming more like Christ. It's really satisfying to be seeing the progress that I'm making. But it's not just me, I'm seeing a lot of help from many people, especially Christ.

Our companionship with Elder Quevedo and I is fantastic! He's helping me a ton with developing into a better missionary and a better person. He really cares for me and is showing so much charity. By his help directly and indirectly I'm seeing how I can improve, I'm trying to help him with English and the things that I know better than he does in other areas. We're doing an inventory each night to see how to improve each day and it helps a ton! The thing that is really special for me is that he accepts me for who I am, but sees my potential, so he helps me. I need to learn how to do the same. But we're all capable of improving and being better, each day. 

Let Christ be your friend, let Him help you when you're down and when you need a friend. He's always there and understands us completely.

Remember to be grateful.

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

PUERTO!

Hola!

This week went faster at internet, I don't know what happened. My hands might be affected by the heat, I'm not sure.

But a little bit is this.

Elder Quevedo is my companion now. He was in Vallecito when I got to Sicuani. I've sent at least one picture back when he was there. He's super great, we're both doing our best to support one another and to do the work. We're opening the sector after a sister finished and went back home. Her companion was a mini missionary I think, so we're opening it again. From not much to work with, so it's interesting. But we're making progress. And we had a lesson yesterday! With members even! There's lots of trees, it's hot, it's like Lima, I'm adjusting well, but air conditioning makes you sweat more when you leave it. Last night we slept in 27 degrees C or more. Or 80 more or less F.

It's great here. Hot, but great! The members are fantastic! We're working hard and will have visible fruits soon.

Ask me questions to answer for all.

Love you all! Overcome your challenges with Christ! Be willing to change and become better people! Be the child of God that you are!

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Transfers!!! La selva!

Hola a todos!

Espero que su semana fue lo máximo y que la siguiente será lo mismo o mucho mejor!

I hope that your week was the best and that the next one will be the same or so much better!

Things are changing here. I'm heading off to the jungle and my companion is going to have the old medic as his companion and we had a baptism this week and there's so much going on! It's awesome!!!

So yeah, first, good week. Good lessons. Baptism on Thursday so that the family of Hermana Anel could be there. (I constantly learn how to spell names correctly, especially when I put them in the baptismal record) The internet died for a minute just now, but thankfully gmail saves automatically. :D

So yeah, I'm heading out to Puerto Maldonado, in the beginning of summer, but the Lord likes to try His servants, sometimes by fire. :D It'll be fantastic! But I knew there was a reason that I decided to keep wearing long sleves here even though I could have worn short sleves for the heat. It's about to get a lot more.

I kind of wish I could stick around here in Sicuani, but I know that I'm leaving a ton of great people for my companion Elder Yangali and his new companion to help out. And I'm off to help more people in the jungle! It's actually the place that my first trainer, Elder Wilde started his mission.

I'll be packing today, but I'll also be prepping photos with testimony. A little for you guys is that Jesus is the Christ. He is the son of God and performed a perfect Atonement for all of us to be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father and Him, being as they are after this life and being perfected. The Plan of Salvation is so amazing! It's the Plan of Happiness and how we can be happy no matter what happens, because Jesus did the Atonement, we can repent, we can be saved. We just have to act.

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Interviews and Stake Conference

Hola a todos!

Espero que su semana pasada fue muy bien, que muchas buenas cosas han pasado y que están aprendiendo mucho que está ayudando a ustedes y ellos quien les rodean.

I'll leave it to you guys to translate the first paragraph this week if you want to know it. :D

For us here in Sicuani, this has been a good week. We've had a lot of lessons to help people understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ more, because it brings us blessings.

Stake conference was yesterday, it was really good, focused on the Sabbath a lot. President Herrera was here for interviews and the Stake Conference, it was great, interviews helped us to lift our spirits even more, have more unity and just go for it.

Also, Anel is getting baptized this week! WHAT?!?! Yup, she passed her interview yesterday and now she'll be baptized the day that they decide on. Her mom will luckily follow as well and their family will have the blessings of the Gospel more abundantly in their lives.

Sharon and Ener as well are doing well and super interested. Life is good here, working on becoming more like Christ, but it's a great adventure.

Live the Gospel, it's how Christ blesses us. Be the amazing child of God that you are!

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher