Lima (Santa Anita Ward) Peru - Week 3

Como estan? Feliz Navidad ayer! I hope all of your Christmas's were good! Because mine was great! I had a lot of food and talked with my family and saw my dog!! I also had a cool experience that I wanted to share.
So we contacted a house and we found out that he is an inactive member. And we set up an appointment with him for later. But then we asked for a reference and he pointed across the street to a house. So we went and knocked on this door. And 2 girls on the balcony started talking with us and were being really rude and they wouldn't help us at all. Then someone finally came to the door downstairs. It was a lady probably 60 years old and she was just so happy to see us! We asked her if we knew this person and she was like yeah that’s my son! And then she invited us in. Her son came in and was really nervous why two people in shirts and ties came into his house at night (because this area at night is a little dangerous). He told his mom to not let us in, but she did and we started talking and introduced ourselves. And then we asked for him to introduce himself. He was right up and front with his problem. So it was pretty easy to find his necessity. He said that for the past 13 years he's had an addiction to alcohol. So we started talking about the atonement of Jesus Christ and how through him we can be made better again! The spirit was super strong and he told us that he felt peace while we were talking. And I had a really hard time speaking Spanish during this lesson for some reason and I apologized that they probably couldn't understand anything, but they said that they could feel the peace that what I was trying to say was the truth. So this testifies to me of two things. One that references are really important and 2 like the scriptures in D&C 100:5-8 says that whatever you declare in his name the spirit will testify of it. Even if it is some American trying to speak Spanish and he is saying random words. Well this week was good! I hope all is well there and I hope you all a happy new year! I love you all! (:
Talk to you in 2017!
Elder Farnsworth

President and Sister Boswell

Mission Christmas Party

Finally got a new camera

Elder Pereida

ANNIE ! ! !

Family Skype

Feliz Navidad

Lima (Santa Anita Ward) - Week 2

Hola! Yeah I don't have very much time to email today............... We had to get up early today and email because we're having a mission Christmas party for Pday today. I don't really know much about it and my zone has to be there early to set up stuff. It’s like 2 hours away... so my email is going to be brief. Wow opening an area is a lot harder than I thought it'd be. A lot of walking and a lot more talking with just about everyone. But it’s really good practice with my Spanish! I feel like my Spanish has improved a lot now that I've looked back. I understand a lot more and now that I can understand more, I have been applying that to my own speaking. That’s one of the perks of having a native comp.

I honestly can't believe that this Sunday is Christmas! And even weirder that there isn't going to be snow or cold weather.. Haha it’s just the opposite it’s hot and humid. But wherever we are in the world, the meaning of Christmas is the same and that’s what we need to remember. I hope that you all remember it and have a great Christmas! I'll talk with you all next week after Christmas!

Love you all!
Elder Farnsworth

Lima (Santa Anita Ward) - Week 1

Hola! Wow what a week I don´t even know where to start.... So many crazy and amazing things happened! Haha and when I say crazy I mean crazy! Well I´ll start with transfers from last week! I got transferred to a new area and both my companion and I are new to the area! So we knew nothing about the area or the investigators. That makes being a missionary really hard! We did a ton of walking and a lot of being lost too! But, we also had a lot of amazing experiences! We ran into a lot of members and investigators who helped us find our way around! We had a lot of great contacts! 

Haha I almost forgot to tell you about my new comp! His name is Elder Pereida and he is from Bolivia! So far I think he is my favorite companion. We get along really well and he is just easy going! But he is very prideful with another Elder in our house. Probably because the other is from Peru! Haha it’s kinda funny to watch them argue about the stupidest things! So yeah I live in a house with 2 other Elders. Right now my comp and I are houseless...... because the house that the Hermanas lived in we can´t live there! But that's ok because the other Elder that lives in our house is American. I´m so glad because I can talk to someone in a language I completely understand. Most importantly, there is hot water which is amazing! We also have something else living with us...... Yeah it has 4 legs, is huge, starts with a R and ends in AT.... Yeah we have a rat. Last night we saw it for the first time....... We spent like 2 hours trying to kill it but it out smarted us and got away. It was freaking huge!!!! And disgusting! A rat out smarted 4 of us... I lost a bit of pride last night. Haha I´ll keep you updated if we kill it this week!

I also received a gift from heaven this week! Like nothing I´ve ever experienced before. We were in the old house of the Hermanas gathering stuff to take to our house. I opened the fridge to see if they had food and the greatest thing that could ever be in there was in there! There was a beef stick and a block of cheese from Hickory Farms. I don´t know if you all know what that is, but it’s a tradition in my family to have this around Christmas time! It is amazing! I've been savoring it!

Everything is all good here! I´m excited for what this week brings! I hope you all are well! And I´ll talk to you next week!

Elder Farnsworth

Peru - Week 12

Hola! Como Estan? Wow I can't believe that it is already December! Time is just flying by! This transfer felt like it just started, and now it’s ending...... Woah! Well I've got some experiences to share this week. Haha what a week!
Let’s just start with the one bit of bad news. I lost some of my pride this week....... But first let’s start way back! Remember when I told you all that I had gained some weight? Yes, my stomach got a little tubby and a few of my pants became tight. Well my body decided that it didn't want to have the weight anymore, and I was like yeah that’s fine; I'll work out a little harder in the mornings. But my body said that’s not cutting it. Faster! You know how there are all of those promotions that say "Lose 20lbs in 20 days" yeah well I had something even faster and its all natural. All you gotta do is come to Peru and eat whatever I ate and it'll take about a day and you'll lose a lot of weight. Yeah I don't think that you need much more information of what happened. I think that you can probably gather from what I said, what experiences I had this past week. But to say the least, all of my pants that were tight, haha they fit perfectly now. And about my pride, I was the only elder from my group that didn't have his insides wrecked. But I made it 4 months out of the US without, so I'd say that I did pretty good!
Oh and some good news about my area!!!! This person that has been an investigator for about a year now finally accepted a date for baptism!!! SO that’s really exciting! He couldn't be baptized because he has an addiction to cigars. But as of today he has 15 days without smoking! His date is for the 7th of January! So I'm pretty happy about that!
But...... I won't be here for that... Because tomorrow I have transfers! Yes I know, I have hope that I'll have a hot shower! But this next transfer will be very difficult and very rewarding. My new comp and I will be opening an area. So we both are new there, know nobody, and don't know the area! But it’ll be a new adventure! But with the help from a lot of prayers and the ward, we'll be able to have success. But as many things that were difficult for me in this area, I'm going to miss it... Because I've made some good friends and memories here. But I trust in the Lord that where I'm going is where I'm supposed to be.
Well that’s all I have for you this week!! Have and amazing week and remember the true meaning of Christmas! I'm attaching a link of a video you should all watch and really think about what you see!
https://www.mormon.org/?cid=HP_FR_25-11-2016_dMIS_fmorg_xLIDyL1-A_

Love, Elder Farnsworth

Yes - another cockroach picture

Maria and Gabino Saira - Tyler's pensionista

Peru - Week 11

HOLA!!! BUENOS TARDES! COMO ESTAN USTEDES? YO TENGO ESPERANZA QUE USTEDES ESTAN BIEN! And that’s about all I know in Spanish! Haha JK! Well one more week has come and gone! It was kind of sad because they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here and they also don't have Black Friday...... Well not a super interesting week! The highlight was on Tuesday when we went to the Temple. Oh and when I got an amazing care package from my mom! It has a little Christmas tree and everything! I’m really grateful for it! I'll share a few experiences from the week.
Haha I had a really weird and creepy experience...... My comp and I were walking and it was about 8pm. And this lady walked passed us and tried to brush her hand across my face and said "Hola mi amor," (“Hello, my love”) yeah...... It was scary. And then we saw her again another night and she said “Como esta mi baby." (How are you my baby”) Haha so it was funny and creepy.... She's like 50 to make it that much worse.
My little fan club of the girls still loves me. And always want to talk to me in English. And always when I walk past them they say "hello hello hello goodbye goodbye" They say it like 10 times! Haha it’s pretty funny!
And this week I also learned a ton from my studies in Preach My Gospel and the Scriptures! I really a section in PMG that I want you to read! It’s in the first chapter and it’s called "How the Gospel Blesses Families." I think it has some very important things in there that are applicable to all of us! And also a great scripture in Matthew 21:21-22. It talks about faith. I want you to all go look it up! It’s great!

The Gospel Blesses Families

The message of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. Because of the Restoration we understand God’s purpose for families: “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). “The most important of the Lord’s work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes.”–President Harold B. Lee

On earth, family associations can be the source of some of our greatest joy. Satan is attacking the family on many fronts, and too many families are being destroyed by his efforts. The message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ makes it possible for families to be united now and in eternity. By living the principles of the gospel, families can experience peace, joy, and a sense of belonging and identity in this life. Through the light of the gospel, families can resolve misunderstandings, contentions, and challenges. Families torn by discord can be healed through repentance, forgiveness, and faith in the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities” (Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102).

Strive to find and teach families—a father, mother, and children—who can support one another in living the gospel and eventually be sealed as a family unit by restored priesthood authority.

Matthew 21:

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Well I'm doing great! And I hope that you are all doing well! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! And as we start the Christmas season, remember the true meaning of it. I'll explain more about that next week! HASTA LUEGO!!!!!

Love Elder Farnsworth

Peru - Week 10

Wow this week was a blurrrr! It went by super fast! So many memories happened this week! It was a good week for the most part! I had splits with another missionary, I got sick for the first time and I went to the Temple for the first time here today! Splits with another missionary are always super fun especially when it’s not in your area. Because the stress of your area isn´t with you anymore and its fun to talk with a different person. You really learn a lot from being with another elder and it comes with perks! I went to their house and they have hot water! It was absolutely amazing! It was my first hot shower in 2 months! But haha the next day was a slap in the face when I was back in my house without hot water! Haha but it´s all good! I´m loving everything right now!

Yeah, the getting sick part wasn´t so fun.... I had a bad fever for about three days. The thing that made it so hard is there are no sick days in the mission. We had appointments lined up all of those days! Haha everyone said that I looked like a Zombie but I´m all good now!

Today we went to the temple for the first time here! It was great! The exterior is similar to the Boise temple, but it’s a lot smaller! It was great! It was the first time that I did a session in Spanish! I understood a lot more than I thought I would. The temple is just amazing! I loved it! Haha and about an hour and a half ago we fit 5 missionaries in the back of a taxi! Definitely not legal in the US. I laid across the 4 sitting in the backseat for about 25 minutes!

Oh yeah and we had a bit of a problem with cockroaches this week... Yeah in the picture there are I am thinking 25 of them. Yeah..... Disgusting I know. Yes that is a quarter. Yeah I know they´re huge. We had a senior couple in the mission come and help us deep clean the house and they said that we have the worst house in the mission. Haha so yeah that’s great!!!

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Farnsworth


Mom's note. . . . Elder Farnsworth finally received his Halloween package I ordered on Sept 13.  At least he has treats for Thanksgiving. Maybe he'll get Christmas for Easter.  I also clarified about his apartment being the worst in the mission.  "No mom, we keep it clean.  It's just the worst apartment in the mission."  I guess it can only get better from where he's currently living.

WOW!  Halloween treats for Thanksgiving.

  

Lima Peru Temple

Elder Baltazar and Elder Farnsworth

Six missionaries in a taxi - five in the back seat

DISGUSTING Cockroaches!!!  Yes that's a quarter. GROSS!!!

Peru - Week 9

Wow what a week! And I still can't believe what happened with the election. I definitely thought that Hillary was going to win. But Trump somehow won. I guess after the mission I'll be able to come back to the states. Well I guess if I can get over that wall he's gunna build! (; Haha! The weather has started to get really hot. And it’s just going to get hotter..... I'm starting to look like a Latino. The bad thing is that the missionary tan lines are starting to get really bad.... I'm going to look for a hat today, because the sun is crazy here. I can feel it so much here than in Boise. Well this week was a really discouraging week..... Almost all of our appointments fell through. All of our street contacts went nowhere. And only one of our many investigators came to church. So that’s really disappointing.... But I have faith that it'll get better.

Pictures of the week!

• There is one of us from last Pday. We had a multizone lunch and soccer game. 
• Another was when I found out that Trump won from the newspaper stand. 
• Haha another is every night after daily planning because I'm so tired. 
• The last is just a picture from the top of a hill. 

Wow sorry the email this week is really boring! Hopefully this week will be a lot better! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Farnsworth

Peru - Week 8

Well this week I had a lot of firsts. Some good and some bad! We did a real live practice to get rid of fear, I felt my first earthquake, I got super super stressed and I ate Guinea Pig for the first time.
Yeah so what do you think we went to do to get rid of fear? Something that causes the most fear of course. We got on a bus with like 50 plus people on it and we had to contact the whole bus..... Yeah let’s just say that my heart was beating out of my chest! But once I got started it wasn't bad. But the thing that they were trying to prove is that fear is the only thing that holds us back from sharing out message. And we have fear because we have a lack of faith. So I learned somethings that I need to work on. I learn new things everyday on how to be better.
The earthquake was scary! Even though it wasn't very strong, it freaked me out! Apparently we've had 4 in the past week and a half. All with a magnitude of 4. But I've only felt one of them. I guess its normal here to occasionally have a small one, but not 4 in the span of a week and a half. And I guess in the news they're saying that because there has been so much activity below the surface, a big one could happen at any time. So that’s pretty comforting to know that......
Oh yeah the stressful days..... That wasn't very fun. Just so many things happened and I was sick with a cold on top of it. Almost all of our appointments fell through; I couldn't find house and just small stupid things that built up. But I'm all good now!
So I had Guinea Pig for the first time. It was good but not as good as everyone said it was... It was like fish and chicken. But I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to have it! It’s the thing on the bottom of the plate.
Well not a lot this week sorry.... Next week! And I'll have more pictures! I hope that all is well back in the States! I love you all!!!
Elder Farnsworth
PS: Depending on who wins the election tomorrow decides on whether I come back to the States after the mission!

Guinea Pig - not bad, not great

Friends and some laundry in the background

 

Peru - Week 7

Hola! Wow I can't believe that today is Halloween! Time has been flying by. I remember 1 year ago today like it was yesterday. Haha it was a cold, rainy, muddy and a kinda disappointing day. It was State Cross Country up in northern Idaho. I think the worst part about it was that I didn't get to go trick-or-treating because I was sitting in a car for about 9 hours.... Wow I still can't believe that was one year ago. But that’s ok because my President said that we get to go door to door tonight and knock on them. It’s a little different than the normal trick or treating. Instead of saying trick-or-treat we get to say ¨Hola nosotros somos misioneros por la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimas Dias pero mas conzen Mormones." The sad thing is they probably won't give us candy, but what we have to share with them is better than candy. Well this week like every week is full of adventures and experiences!
First, I got a new companion! His name is Nicolas Baltazar. He's pretty cool! He is from Arequipa, Peru. He is the new district leader. He has been on his mission for 8. I´m really looking forward to being able to work with him. What comes with a new companion is having to teach him the area and that’s a little difficult. We had a lot of trial and error with things. Which for most of the time turned out to be good because we'd run into old investigators or members who want to help us. Lots of little "tender mercies" to help me out. I definitely wouldn't be able to do this without your prayers. So thank you!
Oh and we caught up with Jerson this week after his baptism. What he said I'll probably never forget. He said thank you for changing my life. If you wouldn't have taken the time to help me I wouldn't have changed and a bunch of other things! It was amazing! All of the bad experiences and hard times are all paid off because of experiences like this.
I’m not quite used to the cold showers yet, so I tried to heat the water with a match. It didn’t help much.
Well that’s all for this week! I hope you have a great Halloween and week! I love you all!!

Elder Farnsworth

New Companion - Elder Baltazar

Mission Buddies

Water Heater

Peru - Week 6

Hola! Como Estas? Wow what an amazing week! This past week has flown by! But that’s good, because that means that I'm working hard (haha or at least I think)! The week started out with a great P-day last Monday with my zone. We had a BBQ! I had my first multizone conference, which was amazing! My companion had 2 baptisms along with the 12 other baptisms my zone had at the same time. And we have transfers tomorrow morning!
Ok let's start with last Monday! The BBQ was a lot of fun, but nothing like one of Grandpa and Darin’s BBQ. I've been craving a steak or a real hamburger for a long time now! Let’s just say I've been a little deprived of beef here. I can count the number of times I've had it on 3 fingers. Yeah...... I'm a little sad about that. So for the BBQ we had hotdogs, hamburgers and chicken! It was the closest thing to an American meal that I've had since I've been in Peru. Then after we watched Ice Age 4 and played soccer! Today we're going to a big shopping place! Haha I'll probably end up buying something that I don't need, but it’s fun to barter with the people for a price! I'll let you know next week what I buy!
Next we had a multizone conference with 5 other zones! It was good to see some of my friends from the CCM! But the main topic of it is being 100% obedient and giving 100% to the Lord. We all had the decision to sign a banner making the commitment! I signed it! It'll be hard to do, but it'll be worth it!
Now to Saturday! Wow what an amazing day! We had 14 baptisms or what we call a "Noche Blanca" or in English a White Night. It was amazing! We baptized Jerson (23) and Ronaldo (9). It was great to see them change their lives. Especially Jerson. He went from not caring about religion to crying when we taught him about repentance. He literally changed his life! I love that I get to be a part of the process and help out. I look forward to helping others like him. The look on his face after I baptized him is why I'm here. I know that it’s only been 2 days since then, but you can just tell that there is something different about him. I'll keep you updated on other stories like his! Tomorrow we have transfers! Which is exciting and a little terrifying because I get the opportunity to teach my area to a new companion. I don't know much about him right now, but next week I'll tell more about him. It'll just add to the adventure!
Well I hope that you are all doing well! I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

Elder Farnsworth

BBQ and Soccer

100% Commitment

Noche Blanca

Jerson

Ronaldo

Jerson and Ronaldo

Peru - Week 5

Hola! One more week down! So many things have happened! Haha good and bad..... But for the most part good! We have one more week left in this transfer and there is a good chance that my companion will get transferred. It is bad because I still don't really know my area that well..... and if he gets transferred I'll have to teach the area to someone new. I have 4 different experiences that I want to tell you about; a lesson that we had with a Jehovah’s Witness investigator, companion exchanges, giving a talk in church and a very humbling experience.
The lesson with the Jehovah's Witness….Let’s just say that they believe in some very strange things. We've talked with a lot of them, some are very nice and polite and others are super mean. The mean ones just yell and tell us that we're missionaries of Satan, that we're liars, and on and on.... Haha, but it’s kind of fun to listen to them ramble on. The student that we taught was nice. I say student because in order to baptized in their church you have to pass like a 150 problem test about different bible topics. Oh, and they have a different Bible. It has a lot of the same things, but a bunch of things are changed. Ok back to the story, my companion and him were going back and forth about the Bible and sharing different scriptures. I had absolutely no idea what they were saying and it was like an hour. I tried so hard to understand what was being said, but I only picked up things here and there. When things were wrapping up, I felt like I should ask "What is your testimony of Jesus Christ?" He started to tell what the religion believed, and my companion said "no, personally and not what you're church believes.” He didn't have a testimony, and then I shared mine about the Restoration, the Atonement of Jesus Christ and about Joseph Smith being a prophet. Woah, what a cool experience! The spirit was so strong and he was nearly in tears. Then we gave him a Book of Mormon and told him to read the introduction and pray about it and call us when he does. Even though he felt that our message was true, he's probably not going to call us. That was Tuesday, and he hasn't called. That’s how it is sometimes. Not everyone we talk to will accept our message. They're not ready, and that’s ok. We're just preparing them for a later time.
Haha companion exchanges.... That was an adventure, or in other words, the most stressful day of my mission. The District leader came to our area and my companion went to their area. I had to find all of the houses and we had lessons all over in different areas...I survived and learned a lesson. From every bad experience there is something to learn. I need to learn the area better and have more confidence when I talk with people.
Yeah I had to give a talk in church yesterday. I found out about it 20 minutes before church started so I couldn’t prepare anything, but it worked out pretty well. I gave it and I was definitely helped by the spirit. I didn't have to think twice about things and it was pretty fluid and people understood it so that’s good to hear.
And now my humbling experience….We talked with a member. I think he's about 60 years old. Ten years ago he was hit by a car, in a coma for 40 days, both arms and legs were broken and he was in the hospital for 4 years. Eventually he could walk again. He now lives in a "house" made out of junk, but he is probably the happiest and nicest person I've ever met! He's just so thankful to be alive and be able to walk. So I/we have no right to complain about really anything…My cold shower, that chicken foot and all of the walking up hills all day every day. My mission has been such a humbling experience and I've only been here for a month. But I love it!
I have some pictures of me with food, on top of a hill at night and sweeping the house this morning. Yes, all of those spots are dust. Well that’s all for this week! I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!
Elder Farnsworth

Restaurant Food

Night Lights

New Tie

New glasses

Dinner

Sweeping...yes, that is dust in the air.

Peru - Week 4

Hola! Everything is going well here! I hope all is well wherever you are! This week flew by! It seems like yesterday was pday! But I'm not complaining because pdays are great! Last pday we had the "World Cup." Needless to say, my team won... Haha even though I am really bad! We always go to lunch on pdays! That's always really good!
Attached below is a pic of a part of a typical meal. Now imagine soup and some sort of a dessert.... every lunch and dinner. There hasn't been a day that I haven't had rice! But I'm ok with that. I have been craving a lot of American food like Cinnamon Rolls, a real American hamburger, milkshake, Sourpatch Kids and a Dr. Pepper.
I found some creatures in our house last night.... A big spider and a cockroach...... But don't worry! They both ended up on the bottom of my shoe! Haha it was funny! My comp freaked out and stood on his chair because he doesn't like that kind of stuff.
We have an amazing investigator right now. His name is Jerson and he is 23 years old. We've taught him more than any other investigator. For example, we have taught him the past 4 days in a row and one day before that too. So 5 times last week. You typically teach once a week. But he loves what we're teaching and his baptism is on the 22 of October. The very first time that we taught him he started bawling. We taught him about repentance and that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ he can be forgiven. That's just an example of what I get to do for the next two years!
Well I hope all is well! And I'm looking forward to another week of a lot of walking, trying to speak Spanish and hoping the next plate of food I get doesn't end up back on my plate.(Because it almost happened once! It was fish soup.....)
Have a great week! (:

Elder Farnsworth
 

World Cup Champion

Typical main course - plus add soup and dessert

Friendly Spider

Our phone - like the taped on keypad?

Peru - Week 3

Wow what a week! From almost being hit (by a car, bus and a motorcycle), almost being eaten by several dogs, having the first investigator compliment my Spanish and having the opportunity to watch all 5 sessions of General Conference.
Not gunna lie, the first part of the week kinda sucked.... I had my first door slammed in my face. Not a lot of that happens here because everyone wants to talk about Jesus. Or is what most will say is "Estoy ocupado" (I'm busy) and then we convince them that they have a minute to let us talk and give them a pass along card. But not a lot of success this week.... But that’s ok! Other weeks will be a lot better!!
Yeah I wasn't joking about almost getting hit by all of those things. I have a near death experience everyday with them. Because you never know what they're thinking. It’s not like in the States where they always yield to you. The buses here weave through traffic like the motorcycles do back at home. And yes dogs do try to eat me every day. But then I use my Book of Mormon to motion that I'm going to hit them and they typically back off after that. There are literally dogs everywhere here. And they're not pretty dogs. Most of them are really ugly.
I was so surprised when that person said I had good Spanish! I think they were just trying to be nice. But I really have noticed a difference. It’s getting better but it still has a long ways to go!
Conference was amazing! For those of you who don't know what it is, every April and October all of the leaders of our church (Prophet, 12 Apostle and other leaders of our church) hold General Conference. There are 5 sessions over Saturday and Sunday. They talk about what we need to work on, teach us more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and every single talk was inspired. They were all amazing! I found something in every talk that I can apply to my life. And when you're a missionary you see conference differently. You look for things that can help your investigators. For example, we had a person who knows the Book of Mormon is true and knows the church is true, but doesn't believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet. And there was a perfect talk about Joseph Smith that we're going to share with him. And many other examples! It was just simply amazing.
I cleaned our bathroom for the first time in probably 3 months.... it was disgusting.... But it’s a lot better now!
I'm going to attach a photo of part of our area to show what our area is like. It's about 6km long and half of it is on a hill. Haha and the picture of the guinea pigs.... Those will be dinner in a couple weeks! I'm excited! Everyone says they're really good! Yesterday I had chicken foot soup...... I think it’s pretty self-explanatory of what it is.... I think a lot of people have been praying for me. Because I know that there is no way I would have eaten that without a lot of prayers. Well that’s all for this week!
I love you all and hope you have a great week!!
Elder Farnsworth

Clean bathroom - It looks much better.

Area where I serve

Guinea Pigs - Dinner soon

Peru - Week Two

What a crazy week! So many things happened and I don't have time to write all of them! First I'll start off by saying I think it actually might be possible that I'll get fat here.......(; They feed me so much food. For example, yesterday during lunch we had a bowl of soup, a huge plate of rice, chicken and potatoes. And then she brought out more chicken..... And there was a 1.5L bottle of Inca Kola just for the two of us. I was super full! And that’s what most of our lunches and dinners are like. In the 6 weeks I was in the CCM I gained 15lbs, since I've been here I've gained like 10 more pounds..... Haha But, I exercise everyday and walk up hills all day. I needed a little weight, but now I don’t need anymore. It’s funny because whenever people see me they always say "gringo" and then laugh. Haha it’s funny because it happens all the time and I have a fan club of like 8 girls ages 3-10. They like hearing me speak English and Spanish. And they like the color of my eyes. Everyone here is so nice! I have loved every minute of it, well almost...... That one minute that I'm in the shower kinda sucks and the few minutes after I wake up. Because you go to bed exhausted and wake up tired. Every single day. Spanish is literally killing me somedays. It’s really hard to learn when the people use so much slang. And they use a ton of it here.... Or they won't say the whole word. And they talk super fast... I always have to ask them to speak slower. But I can understand my companion all the time. If I know the words he's using.... But I definitely have noticed that my Spanish is getting better. I'm getting better at teaching and my confidence is growing every day. I still struggle with conjugations but it'll just take time. It'll come. President said that every missionary leaves being fluent in Spanish. So that is comforting. But it'll be hard! I made a little shrine for Annie on my bookshelf! Tell her hi and give her loves from me! Oh and also congrats for making it to the age of 25 Andrew. And congrats Michael & Ashley on your baby boy! And congrats Colton on a great race at Bob Firman! Well I'm excited for this coming week and I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

Elder Farnsworth