Week 40

So this week was alright. We went and did service again for Frida up in the mountains. Hahahaha I can say from experience now that I literally know what it is like to move a mountain...one rock at a time! she is literally having us pick away at solid rock. Its pretty fun I guess you could say, like a real life version of Minecraft!

 

We had our zone conference on Friday. This month's doctrinal focus is on the law of the harvest and enduring well. As well this month is chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel which is pretty cool. We studied a talk by Elder Uchtdorf (One of the Twelve Apostles) I don't actually remember the name of the talk but I remember listening to it when he gave it where he gives an example of a woman who sells seeds and gets complaints about how they aren't growing and whatnot and finishes with how we reap what we sow. We also related it to Christlike characteristics in Chapter 6 and how if we sow good characteristics we may also reap well. 

Yesterday was a good Fast Sunday. The only thing I don't like about fasting for 24 hrs. out here, especially when it is super duper hot is that I get a little dehydrated at times and then after I stuff myself it hurts haha. But I have also really gained a testimony of the fast and of its importance.

If things go well this week we should have 2 baptisms on Saturday but they both are still kind of up in the air and we might push them back. One of them is the daughter of some members and the other is Frida (the one who is building her house upon the rock, literally)!

I got the package you sent! Thanks a ton for all of it. I gotta give Brock props on that one for picking out the good stuff. Also, thanks for the razor, now my face isn't getting destroyed everyday. I guess you could say I am more manly in one aspect at least, I do get scruffy in only a day. Its not dark but if I didn't shave everyday it would get nasty. 

One thing that happened to us this week is that I have been trying out new methods of contacting to see what works the best. And so we met an Evangelical lady and I said to her "Did you know that Jesus Christ came the Americas?" well it turns out that wasn't the best idea for her because she started to argue and told us that we weren't going to trick her with our lies and whatnot. But on the bright side she told us to knock on the house next to hers and her neighbor actually accepted us and listened to our message, so that was an ironic reference. And just so you know, that method has worked before.

Oh ya happy cinco de mayo and May the 4th be with you! Sad I missed that holiday and the chance to wear a sweet Star Wars shirt to school but we celebrated in our own way here.  

But anyway,  I'll talk to you all on Sunday, Peace. 

P.S. I am now a cuber. I can solve a Rubik´s cube. #Legend

--

Much Love,

Elder Mortenson

Week 39

So this week was pretty good. The weather is really cooling down, it has rained a couple of times and has been cloudy most of the week so that is awesome. We've been really busy this week and really tired but such is life I suppose. We got on the internet kinda late because we couldn't find any that weren't full of people. It is their Labor Day today so tons of people are out and about. 

This week we did service for our investigator Frida. Hahahaha she is building a ¨house¨ in the hills. We walked like 20 minutes up into the mountains where she had us dig away pure rock on the top of the mountain so she can build her tiny little bedroom. Fetching crazy. Idk why they build houses clear up there but who am I to say anything? It was alright but super dusty. I have yet to get the pics from Elder Hunt so those will be coming soon enough. 

Nothing really cool has happened this week. Taught some lessons, walked a lot, pretty much it. For preparation day today Elder Hunt and I played some ball. It was pretty fun. I am gonna be so rusty when I get home hahaha. Idk what happened either but it like stretched my back out or something. I think my spine has just been super compressed because I am always walking and I never get to play. I think I stretched it back out so that is good. 

None of our investigators came to church so that was pretty disappointing. We went to pick them up and had people pass by and we called and set alarms and everything but no one came. We also left our golden investigator Edwin because he said he felt just fine in the Catholic Church so that was pretty sad as well. 

We had a ¨noche de patas¨ on Friday which was pretty fun. We did an iron rod activity with string all around the church and had all of the people walk through it while we ¨tempted them¨ and it was fun. A lot of the converts came so we got to teach them about the importance of enduring to the end and not letting go of the rod which will lead us back to God. 

We finally got one of our investigators to commit to baptism! Her name is Flor. We have been working with her for a long time now, she is 17 and had a lot of doubts but we took Andres with us to her house and he talked to her just as a friend telling her all of the experiences he has had in the church and whatnot and it really opened up the door for us to invite her. We explained the requirements to be baptized and asked if she kept the commandments and she said yes. So we asked her what was holding her back from following the Savior and being baptized like He was? And she said "nothing" so I think she should go through with it. She is really awesome, I am very excited! Thanks to Andres and the spirit. 

Ya that is pretty much it, doesn't seem like a lot. I hope you like hearing about the investigators we are teaching because that's pretty much my whole life rn...worrying about others´problems and trying to help them. Nothing much else happens. I am doing fine! 

--

Much Love,

Elder Mortenson

Week 38

Fairly good week this week. A lot of good things have been happening. Funny story of the week is that we had a multizone service project in Chaclacayo on Saturday, Chaclacayo is in the middle of nowhere. But they wanted us to go around and tell people that the municipality was lowering their debts or something along those lines but we can't do that as missionaries for some reason, so pretty much we wasted like 4 hours that morning.

We had a baptism! Aracely, the granddaughter of Santos who was baptized not too long ago got baptized.  The font water was freezing and she didn't get part of her hand under the water so they had to retry like 4 times and she was in tears because she thought she was going to drown in the cold water. Santos, her grandpa got to baptize her which was really cool! 

We went to my companion's 6 week training on Tuesday. It was so boring but the best thing of probably the whole mission happened...WE GOT BURRITOS!!! They were legit too! They had to go all the way to the Lima South mission to get them and they were bomb. Elder Hidalgo, who is from my group, snuck me an extra one so I enjoyed that with some of the Cholula Sauce that you guys sent me. I wish they cooked Mexican food here, how I miss it!

We had zone conference on Thursday. It was pretty good, they talked about the gift of discernment and how necessary it is in the work that we do. They talked about the story of Solomon and how he asked, instead of riches or anything else, for wisdom so that he could know how to judge his people. It was a pretty cool relation to us. We also filled out information sheets to tell a little bit about ourselves to give to the new mission president, Pres. Amato when he arrives in June. 

I went on divisions with Elder Hunt on Friday and some pretty crazy stuff happened. Don't be worried because we were fine, but we almost got robbed! It was pretty crazy. We were walking across Javier Prado which is a super busy street and there was this shady dude waiting under the light pole "on the phone" and he got down from the curb right as we passed him. We both felt something weird so we spun around to face him with our backs to the traffic and he looked like he was taken by surprise and he was like "Oh, you guys are the Mormons." and then we were like "Yeah" and walked across the street and just as Elder Hunt was mentioning how shady he was we heard this chick yell and the dude and his friend ran away with her cellphone. You know, I think we were being warned by the Spirit on that one. 

But anyway, it was a pretty good week and the work is going super well. We have been trying to be super obedient and the baptisms have just been falling into place. Three members came to church and told us that either their sister or daughter or son hasn't been baptized a member of the church but wants to receive the missionaries and wants to be baptized so we will see how that goes. Things are going well, I'm fine. SkyBison out. 

--

Much Love,

Elder Mortenson

Week 37

Yo so this week was just like the last 20 hahah..sorry I am running out of things to tell you guys every week. I feel like I don't have that many experiences in a week. So I am training Elder Ponce. He is from Ecuador. He looks like Mason Tye just a little bigger. It's been a pretty cool experience so far having the future of his mission in my hands and all. I think I am more accustomed to being here in the ghetto than he is because he tells me that Ecuador is pretty nice. It's cool to be able to teach him everything. He especially wants to learn English so that is cool as well. 

We are going to have a baptism next week. It's the granddaughter of one of our converts here, Santos. I think he is going to baptize her. We also should have another baptism next week with this golden investigator we found named Edwin. He is honestly the coolest dude I have ever met. But ya that's how things are going here in the area. Should have a fairly strong harvest this transfer. 

Today was zone preparation day and we went and made district team flags and did an amazing race kinda thing. it was pretty chill I guess and then we ate chicken and rice and fries just like ever other fetching day of my life but it's pretty good I guess. We got haircuts this morning and they were below average as always. 

The good news is that I get to go to the Stake center in La Molina this week and they will feed us again with really good food because Elder Ponce has his 1 week training so that is pretty hype. They gave us lasagna at the last training when we picked him up. HAHAHA I remember the first week in the field being the longest week of my entire life so I can't imagine how he is doing. On the bright side, technically today I have 9 months in the mission if we are counting from my release date. 

It will be good to talk to you guys here in like a month. I hope Trish (this is how he refers to his mother) has been brushing up on that Spanish otherwise she is gonna get wrecked. I was setting my goals for this transfer and one of them is to finish reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish. I'm in Jacob right now and Gordon B Hinkley's promise is that if you read it in the language you are learning you will be able to speak. The language isn't a problem anymore but i figure better late than never and I am looking to master the language now. 

That is pretty much all I have. I hope I have better stuff to tell you guys next week. Thanks for the support and the emails. 

--

Much Love,

Elder Mortenson

Week 36

So this week has gone fairly well. We had a few activities this week that were fun. On Friday night we had a movie night and watched "Meet the Mormons" and that was fun. We had a couple of investigators come. I got pretty trunky watching the part about the Navy football coach but its chill only a little while longer. We also had a "noche blanca" in the stake center where they baptized 9 people from our zone! It was cool and one of our brand new investigators said she could come so I hope she progresses. 

I'm staying here in Los Portales which I'm hyped about. I'm gonna be training a brand new elder this transfer named Elder Ponce idk where he is from but we will see how it goes. Elder Hunt is staying as well so we get another transfer to hang out. Our comps both go to San Luis. My comp's area is right across the street from San Borja (the richer area) haha he is gonna suffer. 

Today we ordered some pizza and chilled and cleaned our room and went to the "mall". Haha I bought a dope "Nike" duffle bag. They can literally make anything you want here and make it look just like it was made by Nike or whatever name brand and they sell it for dirt cheap. 

We did some service for this guy in our ward this week, it was pretty cool I guess.... he was super-hyped about us coming to help him out and whatnot and acted like we were gonna do something super big but we just ended up sweeping off his sidewalk for like 20 minutes and then leaving and by the next day the wind and cars blew the dust and garbage back up on it, I suppose the small act of service is what counts. 

I was reading a talk by Elder Bednar called "Clean Hands and a Pure Heart" this week and discussing with Elder Hunt the difference between the two and looking at how Elder Bednar analyzes it. In Psalms 24:3-4 we read about clean hands and a pure heart and he talks about how we can repent and be clean and wash our garments in the blood of our Savior, but to enter into the kingdom of God we also must have a pure heart meaning that we must, like the people of King Benjamin, have no desire to sin. We can just avoid sin but more than that we must lose any desire to commit sin through doing good works and service to others. 

 I am excited to be able to train a brand new elder and be an example to him and teach him everything about being a missionary. It will be super hard and tiring but I know I will learn a lot. They say that being a trainer is one of the most important responsibilities in the mission so it will be fun. 

Elder Beach and Elder Chau went back to Chosica on Thursday. I think the water problems are clearing up there and it should be good for them to get back to their area. But anyway that's about it, Thanks for everything! 

--

Much Love,

Elder Mortenson

Week 35

On Mon, Apr 3, 2017 at 4:38 PM, Bryce Cameron Mortenson <bryce.mortenson@myldsmail.net> wrote:

So i just thought the title of this email was clever because it's a real thing. I am slowly forgetting how to speak English and it is weird. Some of the new elders come in and use slang and things that I either haven't heard of or have forgotten and I probably sound pretty unintelligent when I speak now but oh well. My pronunciation with everything has changed as well so it will take a while to get it back after the two years haha. I also thought it was cool because Valeri Cordon talked about it in General conference and it was a really good talk on how we can keep the language of the gospel in our families. 

This week was chill. Its always nice to have a 3 day pday haha because with priesthood session we do nothing on Saturday and we only proselyte at night on Sunday and Monday so it's been good. It truly is a blessing to be able to listen to the prophet that is literally called of God and receives revelation from him for our day right now as well as the apostles. Honestly I don't remember a ton of what each individual said but I downloaded the majority and am going to listen to them again. I noticed a few themes among the messages such as light, families, BoM, discipleship, and the Godhead, along with the scripture John 3:16 that was quoted more than once. Ill get back to you next week on the favorite talks. The good news is we got a few of our investigators to conference...could've been more though. 

Sometimes I get kinda frustrated with myself and with people. Yes, obviously living the gospel comes with sacrifices but when people turn us down they really don't understand the happiness and peace that they are turning down. I mean literally the prophet spoke to us and his apostles and i tried my best to help them understand that but people just don't get it.... sometimes I just think to myself how I was so blessed to have been born into an eternal family and have been raised knowing who I was and what God´s plan is for me...but anyway that's just like my main frustration. I like the quote Brett shared with me it, it says: "Whether the harvest is meager or plentiful, its God´s harvest either way."

So nothing much really happened this week. we are probably gonna leave a bunch of investigators that aren't progressing. This next week is the last week of the transfer and we are planning to do a movie night and watch "Meet the Mormons" and try to get people to come. I have to go to the 12 week training of my comp in La Molina. President Boswell is winding down... President Amato will be arriving soon enough. 

Pretty cool that I hit the 1/3 mark in the mish. I'm almost to the Fall here, when I hit that turning point. Anyway I am doing fine, just focusing on the work. The language isn't a problem anymore and i feel like I've got a pretty fair handle on the teaching and... I can almost see the downhill side. But anyway, hope you guys have fun in Cancun and eat some serious burritos and spicy food for me because that stuff is the bomb! 

-

Much Love,

Elder Mortenson

Week 34

Here are some pics, a tool bathroom mirror pic before the baptism and everyone at the baptism. I will send more they just take forever to download here. And also just a reminder about conference this weekend. It really is our opportunity to receive personal revelation because the people that speak literally are speaking as if the Savior himself were there. I know I used to overlook general conference but I think I understand a little better now. I think the best way to prepare is to come with a few questions about what is going on right now in your lives and listen carefully for the spirit to tell you the answers. We get to watch it in English so that will be great!

 

So this week was a good week. We baptized Noemi and Sonia! Elder Hunt got to baptize Sonia and I got to baptize Noemi. It was a super good experience to see them both finally go through with their decision. They had some real doubts beforehand and we really had to work them through it and help them to see the goal up ahead, they have been through some really ugly things but now their lives have completely changed and they have found what they were looking for, how great is the gospel!?!

For pday today we went and got our haircuts, Elder Beach went for it today and just told the lady to give him a #2 razor on the whole thing because he was so sick of the heat and his thick curly hair so now he looks like he is about to enter the army or something. We went to the stake center and played capture the flag with socks filled with flour to throw at each other and then ate pizza and watched "Megamind" so that was chill. 

We had a multizone conference this week and that was pretty good. We had to give 3 minute talks on a favorite line of a hymn, I chose "Families can be Together Forever". They talked to us a lot about tactics on how to get into houses and whatnot and they brought up some really good ideas that I think I will use. I got to this area and we only proselyted in the mountains for some reason and I asked my comp why that was and he said that it was because his last comp didn't like to proselyte in the richer area (our area is actually pretty rich in parts) So I made him go with me and we contacted and contacted because it's like honestly right next to the church and we have had a lot of success there so far. 

We had to go to the Center of Lima again because my comp has tons of problems renewing his DNI so we took an hour trip and 25 sols in and spent 5 minutes and he was done and then took an hour trip and 25 sols out hahaha. But anyway, nothing much else exciting happened this week, we do about the same thing everyday so sorry if I don't have any cool stories. I think I have officially forgotten what the first world is like because sometimes I just forget that I am even in Peru.

I cant believe I'm about to hit a third of the way through the mission, holy cow it doesn't seem like it. Haha I think about the things that I thought I knew at home and what I know now and there is a huge difference. I was reflecting a lot on how I was at home and my expectations for the mission and I kinda laughed. One good thing that I did realize is that I am really good at making people laugh and the fact that I am speaking a different language hasn't changed that... But anyway I truly have learned the truth and importance of many things in my life. But really, I remember talking to President Walker and having him explain to me who created the world because I didn't know....sometimes I wish I would've taken more advantage of the opportunities I had to learn at home like in seminary, but what is done is done. Anyway if I had time to tell you all of the things I have learned so far I still don't think I could write them all. Lets just say I have changed a ton. Its been pretty cool so far... 

--

Much Love,

Elder Mortenson