THE NELSONS...A BIG IMPACT

This week went well.  We are in Moyobamba right now.  We were in Tarapoto friday and saturday.  Sunday today and tomoro we are here in moyobamba  and wednesday well be headed back to iquitos.  But our two days in tarapoto were super awesome.  In the mission we have a pair of adult missionaries.  They are the Nelsons from salt lake city utah.  This is their 3rd mission in the last 6 years.  They served one mission in the north of lima in 2010.  then in 2013 they opened up the branch in Nauta.  and this last year and a half they have served in Tarapoto.  They help a ton with family history and getting to the temple.  The people here seriously love them.  its funny because elder nelson hasnt learned spanish very well at all but sister nelson is just the bomb.  she speaks super well and everyone goes to her for help.  it was cool about a year a ago while i was serving in nueva cajamarca i asked elder nelson why he chose three times to serve in peru if he doesnt know spanish.  he told me "sister nelson is happy when she speaks spanish.  and if sister nelson is happy, im happy"  that one stuck with me.  i thought that was super cool.  Anyways in their farewell elder nelson in his broken spanish and with tears in his eyes spoke about how he was a temple worker in the salt lake temple.  He said that everyone always comes up to him and says that its the "best" calling in the church.  but when they do he corrects them and says "no es el segundo mejor. el numero uno es misionero" I was really impacted by that as well.  This next weekend, for there last sunday here in peru there going to go back to nauta.  As i said before they opened up that branch 4 or five years ago.  elder nelson was the first branch president and he had misionaries as his councilors.  But its grown so fast in the last few years that theyre opening up a building out there in Nauta.  A big awesome legit chapel.  Theyre going for its dedication and man are the people of Nauta going to be stoked to see them.  Well i guess i wrote a lot about the nelsons but this week they had a big impact on me.  They are a great example of dedicated service in the Lords vinyard.  Hope all is well back home

un abrazo

Elder Smith

HELPING HANDS JERSEYS ARE EXCITING

This week we were in Pucallpa.  We trained, met with the stake president, and did some visits with the missionaries.  The visits went really well.  I got to visit one of my old areas and see some people progressing more and more in the gospel.  The meeting with the stake presidency went very well.  The stake president is super young and animated.  He was really excited to start doing more activities with the missionaries.  We gave him the idea to get the mormon helping hands jersey things and start looking for service projects to do as a stake with the support of the missionaries.  He was really excited about the idea.  The training also went really well.  I talked about how to put off the natural man or overcome the natural man.  I really like a quote from Richard G Scott that says "we become what we want to be, by consistently being what we want to be become, every day"  I talked about how we shouldnt feel hopeless or defeated if we have sinful desires.  Because its natural.  It is our tendency as "fallen men" to sin. Therefore it requires daily conscious decisions to overcome the "natural man" tendencies that we may have.  Theres a little bit more to it but ya thats kind of the jist of it.  Hopefully it makes a little bit of sense.  Anyways, things keep moving on.  Its really fun getting to know President Li more and more.  He is a spiritual giant.  Im excited to keep learning from him.

Elder Smith   

Sister Li takes fotos wherever we go.  I will get them off her tablet soon.  I still havnt gotten the opportunity to sit down with president Li alone.  But its looking like it might be too late to even solicite an extension of my mission.  Well see tho.  This week ill have the exact date.  This week i got a package from Hermana Jackie (From Pucallpa) the one who was like my nurse for the first 3 months of my mission.  She wrote me such a sweet letter and sent some chocolates and stuff.  I was so stoked.  She was like my mom while i was in Pucallpa. A little tender mercy that i needed from the Lord.  I love you mom

CUT UP TREES

So this week was consejo de lideres.  It was awesome.  we trained about getting the job done.  I found this talk called the principle of work by Elder Stanley and i loved it.  it talks about a guy who went and did service after a hurricane in florida.  he says "all i did was cut up trees that were blown down by a hurricane"  Then the guy giving the talk says "brethren cutting trees is more important than thinking about cutting trees or planning to cut trees"  I love that thought so much.  The kind of guy that Elder Stanley describes in the talk is the guy who just knows how to get it done.  People who know how to work hard.  It made me think of Kolton Osborn.  Such a good example of work.  Also this week weve been going with president Li to meet with the stake presidents and talk about the work.  Its been very special to be around such spiritual monsters.  Seriously, there are some studly men down here in the jungle of Peru.  We talked about how to aline the keys of the stake president with the keys of the mission president.  One thing that President Li has changed in our mission already is that we can now go to ward missionary activities.  Before we couldnt.  We were very focused on proselyting with all the time we had, which i loved.  But president Li, coming from Lima, has great new ideas about how to work better with the members.  I think theres going to be a big boom again in the mission work down here soon.  Were all really excited.  this next week were headed to Pucallpa for the first time with President Li.  Should be awesome.  Hope all is well

Elder Smith

ADIOS A PRESIDENTE GOMEZ Y HOLA A PRESIDENTE LI

So this last tuesday president Gomez headed for Mexico and President Li came to preside the mission.  All is going very well.  President Li and his wife are converts.  They were already married before they were baptized so niether of them has much mission experience.  Zones, districts, daily or weekly planning, agendas, pday. there all things theyve never really heard of.  One of them was actually quite funny yesterday i told them they were going to have their first pday today.  But they understood "pide" which comes from the word pedir which means to ask.  So she thought i was saying their first ask or something like that. i dont know it didnt make much sense but it was funny.  But the cool thing is that they are both super humble and at the same time just ready to go.  President Li is so cool.  These next few weeks and months are going to be really special alongside him.  well thats the big news everything else is going well as well.  The work rolls on.  I love it

Elder Smith

RAISING OUR VISION

Right now im writing from Pucallpa.  Our plane leaves at 1.  This week has been awesome though.  Ive gotten to work with a bunch of missionaries here in pucallpa.  We trained a few times this week.  I loved one of the trainings that President Gomez gave about raising our vision.  He talked about living the letter of the law but more importantly the spirit of the law.  It reminded me of some words that matt sent me that i will never forget; we worship a LIVING CHRIST.  We preach the gospel by the spirit as it says in D and C 50.  Back in Iquitos the family we are working with signed all the papers for their wedding so that marriage will be happening next week on the 22.  Bummer is that we are going to be in Tarapoto.  But its cool because well be there for their baptism.   The work is being hastened.  we need to keep up.  Hope all is well

Elder Smith

STUFFED ANIMALS TO ORPHANAGES

hey mom i wanted to foward you this just for the pictures.  This was a family that came down to iquitos to do their sons eagle project.  It was rad. the kid was only 13.  We passed out a TON of stuffed animals to all the orphanages in iquitos.

BIG CHANGE OF HEART

So these last two weeks have been pretty full.  We had leadership council and transfers last week.  It was really stinkin busy.  This week has been awesome as we are starting the last gira(spin) of all the mission doing the last zone conferences of President and Hermana Gomez.  Weve already trained all of Iquitos.  Next week well be in Pucallpa and the following well be in Tarapoto and Moyobamba.  And then President and Hermana Li get here the week after.  Its gonna be nuts.  The cool thing is that weve been in Iquitos these last two weeks and weve been able to go out proselyting every night.  Romer and Olivia are going to get married on the 22.  Romer is a changed man.  We had to be really bold teaching repentance.  But he did it.  and the Lord changed him.  It is amazing.  Also Mauricio is doing super well.  he has also had a big change of heart.  He has learned to love the book of mormon.  Hes finishing up Mosiah right now.  Hes going to be baptized on the 25th of June.  Things are going well.  Hope all is well back home too.

Elder Smith