Feliz Navidad!!

Well, this week was all over the place! I started out with having divisions with Elder Bird. We went and visited a man that we contacted in a taxi one day. He´s actually a member, and his wife has assisted the church once. They are awesome! The man´s name is Ricardo. We taught the restoration, and the wife told us she felt peace during the lesson. I pray we see progress with them. The Uman family are doing great, and love helping us find people to teach. So, don´t worry I´m fine, buttttt my ankle started to swell up this week after doing some gymnastics with Elder Bird. But don´t worry becasue I rested one day, and it´s totally fine! I love talking to Elder BIrd about college what it´s like. He was sick when I rested with my ankle, so we talked for a while about random things. He told me something interesting. He said every time you see the word Hope in the scriptures, replace it with Expect. I finished the Book of Mormon this week, and I´m starting it again. A little different this time though. THe PResident gave us Book of Mormons for Christmas, and this year he challenged us to write how every page relates to you. I´m reading and writing two pages every day to accomplish the goal of reading it. I also am reading the same amount in spanish every day to finish it in spanish also. We are helping an investigator named Richard remodel his house. Which means make a bathroom, floors, and everything. haha They invited us to each lunch with them after, and we had Cuy! This time around I didn´t kill or pluck the Guinea pig, but I did take all of it´s guts out!! I don´t have pictures this week sorry next week for sure! We have been focusing a lot on ''What can I give Jesus this Christmas?'' I want to give him Charity and Obedience. I encourage you to do the same. Do what He would actually want from you. Make him smile. We went to a Christmas Recital and it made me miss the plays and performances and programs of my syblings. I never realized how awesome those were until I didn´t have them!  I can´t wait to see you for Christmas! Honestly, best gift ever!!! Just so you know I´m going strong, and haven´t opened my presents yet. I´ve been trained well. I gotta say thought, I´ve never been more tempted to open! haha Love you all and have an amazing week!!! Merry Christmas!!! I hope you have snow!! I heard you don´t have any yet??! I can see one mountain wayyyyy high up with some snow. I stare at it at times. haha LOVE YOU ALLLLL 

Love, 

Elder Jeffery

"I felt like I was in a movie"

This week we did a some crazy fun service projects! The first one was like I was in a movie. A man came out of a member´s house with pick-axes for us. Next, we walked up the hills we usually climb, and got to a giant hill passed the city. We started to zig-zag across the rocky cliff, and finally ended up on the top of the hill, and could see literally all of cusco. There was a good sized chunk of dirt on a slant at the top. We started to till up up up. The man just took his shoes off and started to go up tilling the earth. He honestly looked like he was from a movie. I decdided to try to be like him and took my shoes off, but after one row I decided to go back to shoes because there was a ton of glass all over the ground haha I don´t know how he did it! The next day, we built a floor! First we laid out a bunch of rocks flat on the dirt, as a base. THen, you have to make the cement witht these metal bowls that you have to turn to mix the cement with the water, and then pour it on the rocks! It was pretty cool and fun to see! This week we haven´t had much success with investigators, and have a goal next week to help them to get to church, and challenge to baptism. We found two families, that are ready if they pray and start attending church. I have a pillow now!!! I sleep ten times better. Last week we had a dinner with president and did a white elephant. I got a satchel. I wrote a paper with everything I wanted to say but forgot it and I can{t think of anything else right now haha so, have a great weeek Love you and can´t wait to see all of you Christmas!! Ten days left!! WEnt by sooooo fast!!!

Learning and Faith

Hey! So this week has been full of learning and faith!! I have a new companion, Elder Bejar!! This is his last change, and I was really worried he´d be trunkie, but I remember one of the first things he said to me was that he doesn´t know the word trunkie!! I´ve been trying my hardest to be as obedient as I can this week becasue I need all the help I can get! haha I was nervous at first becasue I have to lead the sector, saying where and what we do through out the whole day, talk to everyone, and lead the lessons, but honestly, this has been suchhhh a blessing!! Names come to my mind, words to my mouth, and there´s hardly a moment where I feel lost. It´s been hard at times, but every time I feel frustrated, God has honestly given me a miracle or an event we can work with. I think I´ve learned what it´s really like to love your investigators this week. We don´t have a lot of investigators at the moment who are progressing, but we do have a woman and her kids who are very interested in the Gospel, and she even prayed and had a dream that she wants us to help her understand. The problem is her husband doesn´t want his family to have anything to do with us now, and she can´t take lessons anymore. Please pray for this family, they mean so much to me, and I know this woman, Fauni, is ready for the Gospel. These cards ´´He is the gift´´ I think that´s what they are called in English? haha but these cards for Christmas from the church and the video on youtube is such a teaching tool, and have been using it in almost every lesson. This Christmas I´m asking myself, ´´what gift can I give to Him?´´ I know serving a mission in this moment is the best thing for me and if I am more and more obedient, he will bless me. I love you Mom, and everyone who is reading this letter. Share what you know is true, and try to be like Christ, and if we do this, we have given him a gift already. He loves you and can change your life if you let him. 

Love, Elder Jeffery

Uman Marriage

So this week was full of excitment. We didn´t do much teaching, running around trying to figure out the whole wedding. Turns out we didn´t need to help them out with money, because we kind of found a loop hole with the marriage. The members were amazing with helping this whole thing come together. All we had to really do is tell people what to do, and they did the rest. The family was nervous for their big days, but when the day came, they were ready. The wedding was great. The whole family was there and some of the ward also. For the reception there was a DJ and dancing, food, cake, and everyone had a g reat time. It was really hard being a missionary at the party.  haha Elder Matekel and I chilled on the side line wanting to dance with them so bad! haha I don´t think I´ve ever been to dance and not been so sweaty I want to pass out. haha Also, for the dinner they of course had pig. Like, an entire pig they brought in a bucket, chopped up into barberic chunks and served. We aren´t alowed to eat pig, so once again, we were being party poopers. haha and, to top it off, we have a curfew of 9:30. But still, it was a great success! Idk if I have the pics of the baptism yet, Elder Matekel is sending me them. Oh and about that, Elder Matekel was assigned as the zone leader in Valle Sagrado on Thursday, and left Sunday!! Soooo, I´m staying with the other elders in my room. Elder Quispe has a change, and Elder Yallico is getting a white companion. My new companion´s name is Elder Bejar he´s latino. From what I have heard, he´s ´´trunky´´ but don´t worry, I´m whippin this guy into shape real fast! I´m staying in my sector though. So, every new companion it´s a tradition to give your companion a tie to say goodbye. haha I didn´t bring any ties that I don´t want to keep! haha I should have brought some ugly ties! haha Oh well, I think I can buy ties for like 1 sole here. I will send a few pics of Saqsaywaman, the ruins I went to last week that sounds exactly like ´´sexy woman´´ haha and also of the wedding. I´ll send baptism pics next week! Wow, thell Sarah Congradulations!! Sounds like Ez had a sweet party! WIsh I was there!!! Love you and love hearing your stories!   

Hard to say goodbye to mi first companion Elder Matekel.

I promise they are happy people, they just don´t smile in pictures. I tried to get them to smile, but.. haha

Saqsaywaman Pictures

Last Week Of Training

So, to start off, We go to ruins about every p-day because there are honestly so many! We woke up at 5 this morning and went to a place called ´´Saqsaywaman´´ which is in Quechua the native language here. When you say the name though it literally sounds exactly like ´´sexy woman´´ haha I will have the pictures next week for you guys! This week was wayyyy fast!! Only one more week of my training!! It´s not for sure, but it´s most likely that I stay in the sector while Elder Matekel leaves for his short months left in the mission. I will miss my district of four. We are honestly all brothers. This week a few crazy cool and weird things happened. We went to a girl´s house to dedicate her house. She has been having weird dreams and been playing with some evil spirit kind of things. When I walked into the room I felt so weird. After, I just had an irre feeling, but prayed we could have the spirit. THe next house we went to was of some investigators, Fauni and Oswaldo that we contacted this last week. I felt the spirit strongly and we gave them blessings afterwards becasue they have been sick. On a less serious note, we met a drunk dude in the street that told us he was the reincarnated Adolf Hitler. He was born exactly one hundred years after Adolf and knows all the history of WW2. He asked us to join him...? haha crazy dude. We are SOOOO excited to have this wedding and baptism!! What a perfect way to end training!!! THe ward is helping set every thing up (which is a miracle here in peru) and hopefully it will be just perfect for them. Our investigator Maryuri who has a million doubts and always asks strange questions that she found on the internet, has had a change of heart. she told us that she wants to listen, and really try to find out in her heart if the church is true. It´s amazing what the gospel can do for you!! Love you all and will miss you at Thanksgiving!! 

How is the Food?

 Yeah, it´s potatoes, rice, and fruit every meal with out fail. Except for breakfast. That´s still hotdog omlets. yummm. Elder Matekel told me that Mamicha has the worst tasting food he´s had in the mission. That´s good! That means there is better stuff out there! haha Hey,