'Merica

Hello fam! So this week we had an awesome activity as a stake. We have missionaries from Peru, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and the United States in our zone, and each country made some typical food and had a presentation about how the Church is in our country. We gringos went to town on some pancakes and the Peruvians loved it. It was really cool to see all the other countries and their cultures and what not. Very apart from having the opportunity to preach the gospel, I have loved being able to get to know people from all over the world. Really a cool experience. 

We should have 3 baptisms this weekend! We just need to finish up a few things and it should be a done deal. 

Cant believe there was a flood in the house! Although knowing our family, it doesnt surprise me a whole lot. Is the damage reparable? Also, I am sure Christian is livid that he literally lost thousands of dollars with that YouTube vidoe haha.

So.. we kind of had flooding problems too. It rained so hard last week that the sewers overflowed, and there was literally raw sewage running through the streets of Arequipa this week. I WALKED THROUGH PERUVIAN POOP FOR A WEEK. But happens sometimes haha. Also, my pension figured that because I survived mata-gringo, that not only am I immune to it, but that I like it. So she served it to us again. And I emerged victorious again. It really is nasty though. 

That is my week, love you all!

Elder Matheson

6 months!!! I might need a life jacket!!!

First of all, happy 6 months to me! Cant believe that it has already been that long in the mission. I know I have a lot of time left, but it feels nice to know that I am not super super new anymore. But, as good as it feels to have 6 months under my belt, I looked at this brand new hermana missionary in my zone who has been away from her house for like 3 weeks, and realized that she would still go home before I do. And that was a depressing thought. Elder Larsen and I celebrated the 6 month mark just like all good missionaries should, by burning some ties that Elder Perez left. It was a good day!

Elder Ramirez and I continue to work hard. This transfer is half over, and I'm scrambling to try and get these people that we're working with baptized just in case I leave in 3 weeks. I'm just trying to work hard and not think about transfers! Because I know that the more I want to leave, the longer I will stay, that's just the way things work haha.

So we had stake conference this week, and an Area Seventy came to visit, and he gave some great talks in the Priesthood meeting and also the general session. The church is so weak here. We have 3000 members in the stake, and 700 are active. In our ward, there are 800 members on the records, but only about 150-200 come to church. Out of the people who are baptized, only 15-20% will stay active. It's depressing, but everyone has there own agency and we have to let them choose. 

It has been raining raining raining. Yesterday there was so much rain that a river was formed in the street. Some idiot in a taxi thought he could drive through and he and his car were swept off a cliff. My shoes are also wet and have been for like a week, and that is not so fun. 

Sorry, no crazy food stories this week. Just a lot of rice and a lot of chicken. Normal stuff. Not really a week of highs or lows either. Just a week of working haha. I got my package this week! Awesome, loved it. We had some extra time after lunch a few days ago, so I built my lego cat (finally had time), munched on some animal crackers, and played with my coloring books. Love you all, hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Matheson

Semana de Milagros

Well well well well what a week this was! We had our zone conference and our zone leaders promised us that if we devoted every ounce of energy to our work this week that we would see miracles. And oh, did we see miracles this week. Let me just start by saying that last week, our next possible baptism was for the 21st of February. We had 2 baptisms this weekend. We baptized our pensionistas niece, who has had quite a rough life up to this point. She is 20, a single mother, and is struggling financially. She had heard from the misisonaries before but it never really interested her. Most of her family are members of the Church, and this week, we got a call saying that she watned to hear from the missionaries again. We talked to her Tuesday, and she told us that she wants to get baptized as soon as possible, and that her motivation was for her 8 month old son and the fact that her cousin had returned from a mission not too long ago. She was baptized Saturday. Then the bigger miracle happened. We got a call from Rircardo, who we had lost contact with for more than a month, and he showed up at Diana's baptism. After, he told us that he received an answer to his prayers that the church is true and that he needs to go on a mission, and didnt want to wait any longer. So at 7 saturday night, we wisked him away to the zone leaders to get a baptismal interview and he was baptized early Sunday morning. Pretty awesome weekend for a missionary haha. 

Some other big events of the week, Rodolfo cut his hair! After rocking a pony tail for most of his life, he showed up at church with a solid missionary hair cut. He and Guido will be receiving the Mel priesthood this week and I guess he decided it was time to get a new haircut haha. Things continue to go well, and I will continue to work hard here in Chachani until I get shipped out of here. Although there was a missionary who was in this area for ONE YEAR in his mission, so I could be here a while haha. 

Love you all, take care!

Elder Matheson

I ate what this week?!

Well, February is here already! It seems like just yesterday I was calling home, but that was over a month ago. Time is rolling along, but I still have a lot of time left, which at first made me sad, but now i'm just grateful for the time I have to serve the Lord here in Peru. I had some doubts about staying here because the area was starting to get really slow, but this week we found a bunch of new people to teach, old investigators that werent progressing have started to progress again, and the Lord has humbled me and is showing me who is really in charge here. 

So, I ate something kind of interesting this week. My pension told me it was "mata-gringo" which means gringo killer. She says she serves it from time to time, and everytime she serves it to the gringo missionaries they get super sick for like 3 days or so. But she said, "you need to try it now so that you know if it makes you sick or not." Bring it on. Basically what it is is boiled cow stomach and potatoes served over rice. I finished the whole bowl of the nasty crap. It was like cow stomach gum, with a lovely grassy after taste. It has been 3 days and I feel great! (thank you Risenmay genes). But then the next day she served us papa rellena, which is a potato stuffed with meat and cheese, so all was well. 

So, I've been reading the New Testament this week. I dont know it that well, and with so many Catholic investigatos, it would be nice to be able to teach more with the Bible. It is so good! Literally every verse is just filled with doctrine. Tad R Callister and the Sunday school presidency recently said that if we study the New Testament this year, we will become more like Our Saviour. As someone who is trying to represent Him, that's not a bad idea right?

Love you all, have a great week!

Elder Matheson

Cold and Rainy this week in Arequipa