Week 3 in the mission field

Preface by Toni:  I asked Clair some specific questions and the first part of her email were replies to my questions.  

The food:  it's so good!  Breakfast is this AMAZING runny oatmeal, hot chocolate deliciousness called avena... i think.  Lunch is the big meal, at 1:30 ish. It's usually rice and then a meat but in sauces and with peas that are huge and healthy and great.  I am eating chic peas and these beans that are white, like the gross ones. But I like them. Then dinner is just soup or sandwiches, really small, but perfect!

It is actually a little bit cold! I wear a cardigan every day and usually don't have to take it off. We study all morning til 12. We eat lunch at 1, and dinner at 8 so the rest of the time we are at lessons or meeting members or less actives. It gets dark around 6 and... our area is a little peligroso so we are very careful when it's dark. 

The language: honestly it's good! I am only getting better at expressing my feelings and testimony. I can pronounce just fine. The gift of tongues, and the gift of interpretation of tongues, are so very real. I just follow the spirit and always seem to say the right thing. It's difficult when I get asked questions because I can understand most words but not all so then I don't know if I am saying the right thing. You know?

The talk you sent me, "Miracle of a Mission", isn't the one I was talking about. So maybe try "Fishers of Men" or "Drop your Nets" or something. It was the Provo mtc. 

On Tuesday (after a lesson with our investigator who was going to be baptized this upcoming Saturday but it's moved to the 13th of September) Presidente called us and said we were going to go to CAJAMARCA to help his wife with a pensionista training meeting. Look it up, absolutely beautiful!  It was a 6 hour drive, very much like the road to Hauna but through the ANDES mountains. This whole time we are with the MISSION PRESIDENT, his wife and the assistants.  So usually you have interviews here and there with pres and that's all but we had a whole 3 days with him and his wife! It was amazing! I felt so useless because I don't know anything about the pensionista training, but I feel so blessed to have been able to go because they are amazing people. They told us the story of them being called to be presidents and about how they met, and the changes they are making to the mission. We have taken all the missionaries out of the small areas or branches and brought them into the cities so that we can have centers of strength. There are tons of members in Cajamarca and hardly 1/8 are active, so our focus is more on "rescuing".  But we still need to be baptizing, which makes us really really busy. Presidente and the area 70 were inspired and Peru will see the benefits of this change. 

About Cajamarca, it's cold. Cooooold. I hope I am there for the summer because then I wont be so hot. It's like a Banff Peru, perfect pinterest crazy beautiful place, so gorgeous!  It's perfect national geographic photo spots. 

So that was Wednesday til Friday. Saturday we moved because it was too dangerous for sisters in our other place, so we hardly had any time to teach this week.  But we had so much growth from being with the pesident. It was amazing!  He learned so much about me too. We talked about the hardest and most blessed moments of our missions so far and the 4 of us (pres and wife and sis Norton and I) really opened up. It was the coolest thing of my life and I am so grateful for president. He does so much work and he's so stressed and he's such a great example. He's so much like dad! COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what I expected him to be. Also, he is an institute slash EFY teacher and works for the church. He's crazy like dad and I loved it! Wow. So cool. 

I'm keeping my good attitude and trying to do my absolute best. I love you all and I am so grateful for your examples and support and love. 

Missions are awesome!

Also, some things are spelled the same but pronounced spanishly here. ex. Viks Vapor Rub is beek bapoor rube. If you can pronounce that. It's so so funny. 

I LOVE PERU I LOVE MY WARD I LOVE MY COMPANION I LOVE THE MISSION

All my love,

Hermana PIlling

Hello family!

Tamara sent me pictures of Moroni´s Quest and you guys look AWESOME! I hope that the experience was as cool as it looks.

My companion, Hermana Norton, is from Ohio and has one month left. I am so blessed to have her as a companion for so many reasons! I can learn spanish but communicate my feelings in english. She is so easy going. She knows what it's like to be the newby. She is so outgoing and is a great example of how loving and fearless I need to be as a missionary!

I have so much love for the people! Our ward, Nueve de Octubre, hasn´t had sisters for years so they are all so excited! I can´t even communicate well with them and I feel like they are my best friends. I am filled with joy when I see them and I feel safe and loved and I know that I am not alone in this work when I am with them! Our house is really far from the pensionista and it's a little dangerous for sisters so we are moving this week which is such a relief! Our pensionista isn´t a member but her daughter is. She's 35 ish, the daughter and she´s such a help for us! She's so outgoing and her mom's been the pensionista for forever so she knows all the elders, which is fun for Hermana Norton. Her cooking is literally lo maximo! It's so amazing. I'm getting fat. hahaha It's delicious food! The daughter, Angela, isn't married. Erasma, the pensionista, and her husband are so sweet. Her husband calls us his daughters, granddaughters, sisters, cousins, and everything.  He's adorable and so old and just sweet!

My first day I asked a lady we contacted in the street to be baptized and she said yes! She went on vacation the next day so we haven't met with her yet but she literally asked how we knew she wanted more in her life and why we talked to her.  It as so cool!

We have been working a lot with the relief society president, mostly just because she was the only person we knew when we got here.  She has a daughter in law and son that aren´t members, We taught them yesterday and Flor, the daughter, said that she´s heard the lessons so many times but our lesson was different. I don´t doubt that Sister Norton has a special way of teaching principles and bringing the spirit to the lesson and making it personal. It's amazing.

We had stake conference on Saturday and they got a new stake president, so Elder C. Scott Grow came.  He´s nice. It is so so important for the ward counsel to work with the missionaries. Oh my goodness. So, family, be helpful! Talk with the missionaries and give them referrals and help them out because the ward can make or break the success in an area!

I don´t have time for pictures!.

I love Sister Williams and President Williams. We haven´t met with them yet, they are giving us time to get to know our area, but they are amazing people and I'm blessed to be able to spend time with them. My call is inspired along with my companion and my area. I love this work!

Love you all and hope you can send me more pictures of the weeks!

Also, I got the other package with the skirt! THANK YOU! Also the oatmeal, love it! I laughed out loud.  You guys are the bomb!

Love

Hermana Pilling

Chiclayo Here She Comes!

I woke up at 2am and we got to the airport at 3:30.  We got on the plane at 5:30, left at 6:20 and then got here to Chiclayo at 7:30.  We went to the mission home and had HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS made by Sister Williams. President Williams is just like DAD! It is awesome. Okay then we came to the church for the exchanges and my companion is Hermana Norton and she is from Ohio. She has 1 transfer more and she's American (obvio). She is tall and thin and naturally GORGEOUS and won't stop hugging me and I started crying. I love her so much, so so much.  We are opening a new area and president said that I am going to suffer because Sis. Norton is the best.  So she is basically the assistant to the president in sister form.  She helps train pensionistas and helps out Sister Williams with everything and I am so excited! We will still work and it will be crazy busy.  I will need to be so determined to learn more and grow on my own time. Anyways. it's pretty crazy that I'm not at the MTC now, but its going to amazing. President Williams just said that he picked me out specially because he needed me, along with Sister Norton, to help his wife especially. THIS IS WHERE I NEED TO BE!  I am so grateful and so so excited. I love you! I will talk to you later! Oh so we get to travel throughout the mission to check out missionaries dorms and living quarters and everything so I have to be patient because my first 6 weeks will be so different.

I got your package too! It got here the 9th! THANK YOU SO MUCH and thank you for the Waterton shirt :) Okay. Time is up. 

Also, I didn't call because we read the handbook and it kind of said don't. I thought about it and I would have just cried.

I love you all!  Share my love!

Hermana Pilling in Chiclayo

Final letter before leaving the MTC

Wednesday last week I went to interpol and one of my documents got lost somehow. No one could explain anything to me in english so I was super frustrated and in such a bad mood and just praying that I would be accepted. I think everything is okay though and that I can stay here. hahaha. 

Thursday we spoke in all spanish as a district goal and it was fun! It's hard for me to express all of my feelings and opinions in spanish but I use the dictionary a lot which is awesome. I seem to be the only one in our district that uses it. They've given me nicknames and everything, but I know the most words!

Friday I was alone because Sister Rasmussen, Monson, and Davis had immigrations. So, I had to go with the 1 week sisters and it was awful because they had only been there for 2 days.  Their class was so easy. And I was, again, in a tranquil or calm mood. hahaha.  In español I'd say tranquilo like tran-key-lo and so that's why I said that word.

Saturday, Sister Davis and I had an amazing lesson with our investigator José. We wanted to talk about the plan of salvation because he's having problems with his wife but loves his 2 kids and then he told us at the beginning of the lesson, in reply to a different question, that his parents had passed away a few years ago.  So the lesson worked out perfectly! We sang Families can be Together Forever and the spirit was so strong.  He teared up and said that was exactly what he wanted and it was awesome. This was the day that I saw the most progress in my spanish. I was in such a good mood!

Sunday, Sister Adams told us this story. On Friday, she was going to hang out in her pjs all morning, do laundry and pack up her house.  Then she was prompted to get ready for the day. Within 30 minutes of her getting ready, she got a call from the area 70 saying that an american woman, who is here traveling with her husband, had just returned from Macchu Picchu.  Thrusday night, the night before, her husband had died in his sleep. Since she didn't know spanish, Sister Adams was able to go over there and be the one to comfort her all day.  And go to the airport to pick up her daughter and spend time with her at this AWFUL time. As soon as she said " HER HUSBAND HAD PASSED AWAY" I started crying. You were there for Carmen like that, you instantly drove back and you were amazing and Carmen is amazing. Crazy story hey? They're LDS, so you might be able to find it somewhere eventually. But, Sunday was amazing. I love sundays.

Monday night we saw stars! Our teacher said he sees stars like probably 20 times a year because of the smoggy grossness.

Tuesday:  Officially one more week!  We had an amazing devotional! It was a general authority from the 70, Elder Waldell I think, and he's been to Banff! So when I shook his hand he told me that and we talked and it made me homesick a little bit. It was such a good talk! It was motivating and uplifting and so many things made me think of things in my patriarchal blessing or my setting apart or my last father's blessing and it was absolutely amazing. For example, we are to stay in contact with our investigators by visiting for 3-4 months after baptism, then for a year afterwards until they receive their endowment. This is  because baptisms do not count if they are not enduring to the end. So, I remember president Spackman saying you will teach many but few will accept and respond. I had the thought that I am going to make friends that I have for the rest of my life. I will return here a year after my mission to see people go through the Trujillo temple (we might be a part of that open house even though it's the mission below us). He also said since this missionary work is different, I was born when I was so I could be a missionary with this new program because I am different and I have something that will help keep this work moving forward.  I thought of the talents I am blessed with in my patriarchal blessing.

There is this adorable Latina from Honduras here who is so fun and cute and she's the only sister going to CHOCHABAMBA so I asked her if I could send her with a little package for Ty.  She said yes! So happy!

Friday we are in the auditorium all day with the latinos speaking spanish and learning about the mission life and stuff, Saturday we proselyte, Monday we get our travel plans. I have heard that Monday night at like 2 AM is when we leave here and 4:30 is when we fly out.  It's a 1 hour flight but all works out so that we get to the mission home for breakfast. I don't know.

I have already started to pack up stuff and before I know it, this will all be even MORE official! :)

I am so excited and I appreciate all of your prayers and support. I am sending ALL my love to you from Peru!

Hermana Pilling

We were in a big bus, like a nice tour bus thing and we had to cross a river.  This is us bottoming out.  It was crazy!

The Lord's Work

So, I was surprised to get an email from Clair at 8:15 on Tuesday night.  Her p-day is on Wednesdays. I was so confused!  I guess they had a special p-day with the MTC president.  Here's her email:

Last week was our last temple session which was sad, but I didn't use a translator so I had a great last experience. What an amazing place. Then Thursday all I wrote was walking death in my little notebook. I got so sick mom, and I don't want to be the type at all that just slacks off, so I've been pushing myself and going to all my classes and everything but that doesn't mean much. Then I got a letter from Tyler and it made my day!  He said a bunch of things but one thing he said was don't run faster than is needed.  He also said this should be called missionary FUN which was really helpful.  Oh am I so grateful I have Tyler!

Then Friday I went to immigration. What a crazy day! Because I am Canadian I had a different appointment hour slot than all the others, so I was completely alone for 3 hours. It was WEIRD! But everything went smoothly and tomorrow I am going to interpol, the last step! The drive was pretty long and I saw 3 LANDCRUISERS! 

Saturday we went proselyting! My companion was much better and I definitely knew more spanish but our day was totally different. We had many many contacts this time instead and it was again, an amazing experience. I love it! It gets me so pumped for the mission! 

Sunday was fantastic! So the last 2 weeks of the mtc the branch presidency picks 4 random speakers from the group that has 2 weeks left to speak and we are asked to prepare a talk every week. So we have prepared a talk as a distract every week and this week I decided I was going to write a good one in english and then translate it. So i did.  I read over it many times and then I completely forgot about it. Sunday came around and we sang prelude music. I sat down and thought to myself: check to see if you have your talk! Then I said, but you don't need it, but check anyways. So I did and a I had it. Then the branch president got up and said Sister Jiminez, who left, 2 elders and then Hermana... and I instantly knew. Hermana Pilling. So I gave a 4 minute talk perfectly prepared in espanol and it was awesome and not a single other intermediate missionary was ready so its a good thing it was me : it was on preparing to the end. Sundays are just always great because it's in english and I always feel the spirit so much. We had 2 more great devotionals from 2013 this time but i still liked them. 

Monday, we were told that we were going to have a special pday on Tuesday (today) with the MTC president and his wife because it was day 2 of Peruvian independence day. We visited the sacred city of Caral Hich.  It's 5000 years old! The president's wife said you have to be absolutely healthy in order to go and I felt so sick.  I thought I'd have to stay home and miss out. So I prayed hard and I decided that I wanted a blessing.  I had Elder Dykstra anoint me and Elder Kasteler bless me.  It was a hard decision but I am so glad because it was an amazing experience. That night I prayed hard and said I have the faith and I know of thy power, please take away the pain and it was instantly lifted. All day today I still coughed a few times but I didn't feel anything in my lungs. The priesthood power is real! :) 

So today, we got on a bus for 4 hours to go to this ancient city and we were there for 2 hours then came back. It was a long day! It was so nice out there and super super cool! I have so many pictures but no time. ugh. Uhm the sun was out and EVERY SINGLE PERSON got a bad sun burn except for me and Elder Kasteler and we are the whitest ones here! It's so weird! 

I love you guys so much and I love this gospel! I think of you all everyday and on the bus I was telling Elder Hawkins and Elder Dykstra about you all and they said you guys are cool :) I love you so much mama!  I could use a hug real bad right now but I'll talk to you guys in 5 months :) 

Mama- thank you for the talks! Amazing hey? I absolutely loved and needed your thoughts on those and I really appreciate it. You are amazing and I owe a lot of my good attributes to you :) 

"After Caral today, we watched the Best 2 years so, no spanish and no gospel and I needed it to not run and be weary and all that stuff.  I hope you understand. I love you so much!"

She signed it, "Peace out, Hermana Pilling" so I know she's doing okay.

Hermana Pilling's district

Clair at Caral Sacred City

In orange is Elder Hawkins, then Elder Dykstra, and Sister Davis.  

Caral Sacred City

We don't have any time because the internet is down.  Long story.  So, I can't do a review of the week.... so busy!

I am actually still loving the MTC.  I want you to find this talk, Miracle of a Mission by Elder Holland. It was a MTC talk but you might be able to find it. We've watched it 3 times for devo or other things and I think there must be a reason.  It has hit me pretty hard. It was soo good! A lot of my thoughts are about spanish and thinking of things to say to investigators in spanish.  When I'm not reciting scriptures or things, I am thinking about what kind of missionary I can be and what I can do to make sure that happens. I am a little nervous right now when I think about going into the field.  I heard that your last week Satan just gets on you and says you aren't ready and you aren't worth it or you aren't worthy.  So, I am dreading that but I am excited also. I can see how 9 weeks is a long time but I want to learn spanish for 9 weeks. I'd prefer that. I am getting along with everyone.  I've been working on patience as my christlike attribute to develop.  Yes, the spanish is still coming. I love the language which makes it easy. Quite a few Elders don't like it. So we got all those new elders and now there are 120 missionaries here.  Apparently next week when we get the new ones we will be full at 144 missionaries. Interesting! 

Guess what? I HAVE THE TEACHER THAT TYLER HAD! 

Tell the Hill's if they haven't left yet that they will totally be loved and it will be a huge blessing.  I have a bad chest cough because the elder that sits next to me got me sick. Ugh. 

Today was our last day in the temple because it's closed for 2 weeks. :(

Sending love to you from Peru!

Hermana Pilling

Wednesday July 16th:  Smiles All Around

Last pday was good. We went to Tottus, like Target. Our pday's end at 3:45 so that isn't too fun. It actually is the most stressful day of the week, but that's okay.

I got a cold and I am just now over it. It was a stuffy nose and lots of pressure in my sinuses, but it was manageable, so whatever.

On Saturday, WE WENT PROSELYTING! So crazy hey? We all got onto 3 buses and went proselyting with members of a stake. The girls went to the nicest area I guess and it was in the Habish Ward in Central Lima. It was not nice. I was with a Latina companion, Sister Collanque and her shoulder was at my belly button, NO LIE. She was tiny, itty bitty, and from Boliiva. Our member was probably half a foot shorter than me too. She was nice. So neither of them spoke English. At all. Not even one word. So I struggled. We planned before we went to the homes, and I told them in Spanish, "I can testify on anything but that's all".  So we started knocking doors of less active teenagers and they'd talk and then look at me and I'd bear testimony on keeping the Sabbath day holy or the restoration or just the gospel in general or the Book of Mormon. I could hardly hear them because every house had the TV on for the futbol game. I was able to pray a lot.

I was humbled for many reasons. 1st: Canada is amazing. We are so blessed in a million and one ways!!!! 2nd: our teachers speak slow... so I really don't know any spanish. hahahah.  I can do so much and it makes sense but it's 1/2 the speed of the natives and I can't understand them either. Ugh. 3rd: I have been blessed with the gift of tongues and I need to acknowledge that every day, every prayer. But, it was a good experience! We couldn't take pictures but I want so badly for you to know what it's like! Human and dog and animal poo and pee everywhere, wild dogs everywhere, little kids playing on the streets, crazy drivers! and so much more!

We watched a devotional at the provo MTC by Pres. Ucthdorf the week after Easter of this year, go watch it was amazing. He talked about the resurrection and it confirmed my testimony but then at the end, he said, trust your father in heaven, he will take care of everything and all your worries at night and your dreams don't need to bother you because Heavenly Father is watching over you and totally protecting you. I LOST IT! It was such a relief! (She had had some bad dreams).  I know that Heavenly Father is blessing you guys and everything is great.

My morning teacher looks like Mr. Bean. He's a member of the MTC presidency, speaks excellent english, looks like an Oompa Loompa.

We have an elder in our district, Elder Banks, who is best described as annoying. I think all his stories are a lie because they are crazy and they never have an ending or a punch line. He teases me all of the time about being Canadian or being deported and it actually started to get to me so I said, in my little notebook "Elder Banks' hate for Canada and nonstop sarcasm towards me is now making me want to cry instead of laugh and wellll, what do I do?"hahaha.  He's an immature high school boy...

Today, we went to the temple! Our session is at 7:30 so we wake up for breakfast at 6:15, eat, get on the bus at 6:43 ish and then get to the temple at about ten minutes to 7. It is amazing to me how a small temple, in a different language, can still speak to me with the same spirit. I love the temple. I am so glade we get to go every week!  I realized that Heavenly Father is a God. Not that I didn't know that, but he is helping out a lot of missionaries and a lot of people on prayer rolls, and a lot of missionaries' families, and he's amazing, and oh so generous and loving.

That was my week! I teach every day, we have 2 investigators (not real) and it's been okay. Yesterday we got some feedback finally and I have some time to think about that and I need to do better at imagining these fokes as real life people who need the gospel and I need to rely on the spirit and not worry about the Spanish. It's been a good week :)

I love you all and I think about you everyday!

Hermana Pilling

The church is true

the book is blue

I'm in peru

teaching two by two

:)