Worth the Ride!!

hello, everyone. how's it going? i'm still here in iquitos, and hermana osorio is still my companion! LIFE IS GOOD!!! let me tell you about some of the amazing people we're going to baptize this transfer. :)

found a bridge with houses! over water!

hermana vasquez :)

amazing person #1: diomedes. diomedes came. to church. on sunday. and stayed. all three hours!!! this is it, people - he's getting baptized on may 14th! pleeease pray for him. i am so so excited for him!! and, he fits very well with the ward! coming out of priesthood meeting, he said, "i haven't laughed that hard in a long time!!" :) his eyes were red, so i think he'd been crying, too. he had lots of questions and participated in sunday school (the gospel principles class that i was informed i'd be teaching 30 seconds prior) like the golden investigator he is!! he also brought his BOM and was silently reading during the sacrament.

this is diomedes! who refused to smile

amazing person #2: rocio. rocio also came to church on sunday!! she's a little more reserved but had a really great experience, as well!! she's about diomedes's age (already married; i know, it's a shame right?) and also stayed all three hours!! she has told us she's changing everything - her attitude, how she acts at work, etc. - because she wants to do the will of god. she said after relief society, "if it's the will of God that i stay here, that's what i'll do." in my head i was like "I'M 100% SURE IT'S HIS WILL, SO JUST STAY." but, i nodded and said "sounds like a good plan, rocio." :)

rocio holding the BOM madi hudson sent (with her testimony inside)

amazing person #3: emma. we found her two weeks ago, and she accepted a baptismal date, but she is going on a month-long vacation in may. :( so, we'll see if we can't baptize her during the next transfer. she has lots of questions and curiosities!! remember last sunday, when it rained (and everyone stayed home)? yeah, she came to church! only for the first hour, because she had somewhere to be, but she came!! she reads and prays every day to know if joseph smith was a prophet. i love seeing the faith of these people!

hermana osorio and i found a huge old boat on the amazon river

i am so so grateful heavenly father is trusting me with these precious souls. i feel so privileged to be teaching them, because i'm pretty sure i'm baptizing our ward's next bishop and our next area seventy president (diomedes). :) the mission has its ups and downs, don't get me wrong. in fact, i'd be here for hours trying to write about all of them. just this week, i've hit some of the lowest lows and highest highs i've had on my mission. but, even though it's an emotional rollercoaster, it's worth the ride!! love you all! MORE FAITH LESS FEAR.

hermana maderita

More from this week's message to Hermana Wood's youngest brother:
her goober-cito! how are you?! so yeah, i'm still in iquitos with my comp, and i'm SO GLAD!! only two people in our zone got transferred!! #eternalfamilies #eternalzones

we got cake at ward council this week!! it ended way late, at like 9pm, and that's right when we have to be in our house, so they were like "CUT A PIECE FOR THE SISTERS!!" and, we ate it, and it was DELICIOUS. then i went home and binged on the nutella mimi sent me...

here's how i've justified my nutella binges this week:
#45: if i stand up while i eat it, i'm basically burning the calories as i take them in
#56: we had a hard day today
#57: we had a good day today
#24: I CARE ABOUT NOTHING
#62: I already ate cake today, what harm can a little nutella do?
#50: i heard once that you should take 20 minutes to eat every meal and chew well. so, i'm going to eat nutella for 20 minutes.

love you goober!! enjoy nutella!

More from this week's message to Hermana Wood's sister:
hey, sweet baby love. i miss you bunches and oats!! i was able to listen to the song you sent [by the LDS artist in two languages]; i put the english and spanish ones on my usb, and my comp and i have been listening to them all week!! it's currently stuck in my head, but the funny thing is, it's half spanish, half english, haha. it's super cute!! aaaanytime you want to send me music, i will be very grateful (it gets a little tiring listening to the same songs, haha).

this week i made a cat video, and it's hilarious. our pensionista has this cat named "jota" ("j" in spanish) that cares about absolutely nothing (we're similar that way), so i messed with it.

a fruit that looks like a boiled egg - has a shell, too!

diomedes came to our family history class this week!! we taught a small lesson about the plan of salvation with the family history sisters, and he literally quoted scripture to them. he was like, "oh yeah, i know this verse. wait, look at this one in alma, it talks about the same thing!!" he is so cool! the sisters were like "UM, WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! don't stress about high school, baby girl!! remember what i said last week about being patient on the inside? "be not stressed" on the inside, either! may the fourth be with you.

More from this week's message to Hermana Wood's dad:

hey, dad!! don't worry, i stay super focused during the week!! so, share all the details about home that you want. when i'm working, i'm working!! :) also, the members are supporting us big time, and we're starting to see the fruits of our labors in this area!! 

last monday, we went to belen. the "shops" in belen, more specifically. it's INSANE. i'm going to take pics for next week, if we go again today (p-day)! i bought these two skirts that are so flowy and cute! vasquez and i are twinners, because she bought the same ones. basically, the belen shops are like a... a... well they're crazy. part of it is all covered, so it's kinda dark. some parts remind me of a halloween store (i think i even heard creepy music playing, not kidding). there are shops on shops on shops, and they're all right next to each other. and, on the other side, as you're walking through this tiny cramped hall, there are piles of random stuff! we passed piles of shoes (not organized in pairs) and piles of wires/electronics...it's so crazy!! but, we found these skirts (finally) in the back of one of the shops, so... #worthit!