Thursday, July 4, 2013

Week 3- July 4, 2013


Hello my wonderful family and friends!

Wow! I feel so loved! Thank you for all the wonderful emails that you´ve sent. I will try and respond to them all, but if I don´t have time just know that I love each and every one of you :)

Hmmm, where to even start?! This week has been so awesome! First things first, Happy fourth of July everybody!!!!!!! I was a little sad to just barely be missing the fourth of July, but we actually had a wonderful surprise waiting for us when we got to lunch today! All of the Peruvian cafeteria workers threw a huge fourth of July party for all of us Norteamericanos and made a whole bunch of American barbeque food and served it as a buffet for us! They even all dressed up in red white and blue and decorated the entire cafeteria with flags and balloons and posters wishing us a Happy Independence Day! Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard? I almost cried when I walked in and saw it all, and saw how excited they were to throw a surprise party for us :) Obviously Peruvian people are the sweetest people in the whole world :)

Something else SUPER exciting this week! Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the 12 was here!! I don't know if you've heard anything about this yet or not, but he was down here to create the 100th stake in Peru.  100 stakes?! But wait! It gets better! Missionary work has been going on here in Peru since around the 1950s. From that time until 2006, there were 50 stakes in Peru. So that means from 2006 to 2013 (7 years) there have been enough new members to create FIFTY STAKES! How insane is that? The work is moving forward so fast here in Peru, and I can't wait to see what will happen in the next few years with the increase in missionaries. I am so excited to be a part of it :)
So anyway, Elder Christofferson was here and he came and ate lunch with us here at the CCM and then spoke to us! We all also got to shake his hand and talk to him which was probably the highlight of my week. I've officially shaken hands with a member of the Quorum of the 12! :) After lunch we were all outside for physical activity and we were warming up by walking around the CCM and he walked out right in front of us! We were all pretty star struck :) Haha. Also, all of the new mission presidents came down on the same flight as him and ate lunch at the CCM as well, so we got to meet a bunch of them! Unfortunately our new mission president had already passed by our classroom when we went outside to talk to them so we didn't get to meet them, but that’s ok. Four more weeks and we will!

Abby! As soon as I logged off last week I realized I had forgotten to wish you a happy birthday on Sunday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I hope it was wonderful! Wanna know something awesome? My companion’s birthday was the same day as yours! But she turned 22 :) I thought about you all day. Are you excited for your baptism this week? I wish I could be there, but obviously I can't, just know that I will be thinking about you all day! I showed my district your baptism picture that I have with me and told them about how you were going to be getting baptized this Saturday and they are all super excited for you!

That is crazy how hot it is there in Utah! I have been freezing down here! I think I mentioned it before, but it’s in the 60s so it doesn’t sound that cold, but without the sun (you rarely see the sun in Lima during the winter) and with the humidity it is super chilly! We actually saw the sun for the first time this past Sunday and it was an absolutely glorious day! We all were lounging (I mean studying ,)) outside in the sun all day! When it is sunny here it looks and feels like paradise,  especially with all the tropical flowers and trees. There are a bunch of trees here that we call ´´Horton Hears a Who´´ trees because the flowers on them look just like the puff ball thing that Horton carries around. I've taken pictures so once I figure out how to send them I will!

Hey Mom, just go ahead and put everything I write on the blog unless I say otherwise. (You don't have to put this sentence on there :)) I don{t know why the pictures are doing that...sorry! Thank you for putting them all on there!
That’s awesome about the Lazyman ironman! Good luck! Also, I don´t mind if you use my phone, feel free! Also, let Ryan and Catie know I will be fasting and praying for their baby girl. Tell everybody I say HI and that I love them all!

Ok, I wish I had time to tell you more, but I want to send pictures. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I love you! Don't worry about me, I'm in one of the happiest places on earth! (besides Disneyland :)) and I love it here. Missionary work is hard, but it’s so rewarding. My Spanish is coming along well, we've taught all our lessons in Spanish which is really hard, but we have improved a lot. Sometimes I get frustrated with myself because I'm not a ´´perfect missionary´´ or I fumble through a lesson in Spanish, or a million other things, but then I remember that I've only been here for 2 weeks and that it will all come with time. Another thing I've come to realize even more this week is how amazing the Book of Mormon is, and that if we read it we can find answers to absolutely any questions or concerns we might have. Remember that!

Te amo mucho!

Hermana Shelton



Rachel's district at the Lima, Peru Temple (except the last 2 sisters on the right)










                                                                    
                                                                                                 Hermana Shelton and companion, Hermana
                                                                                        Hulse in the Peru MTC cafeteria on the 4th of
                                                                                        July.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my goodness, I just received a tender mercy by finding this blog. My son is in Hermana Shelton's district, Elder Johnston. I have heard from him each week but there is something about a girls description and a boys. And the picture of them at the temple above is absolutely beautiful. This is the first picture I have seen of him and to see his smile melted my heart. I am so excited to have found this wonderful blog. Thank you for allowing others to be blessed by it.......April Johnston, momtwice@hotmail.com

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