I Felt the Earth Move Under my Feet!

No longer just the lyrics to a catchy Carol King song. That´s right, I have experience my first earthquake! Cool huh? It was the middle of the night and I thought one of the hermanas was shaking me to wake me up. I rolled over to see who it was, turns out it was our planet! Neato. Then, I learned that we are just at the beginning of "earthquake season" like they have for hurricanes, only less predictable. Oh my goodness, my life is so cool!

So last Saturday ´s proseletismo was so great! At first it was a little bleh because nobody on our list was home or their address didn´t actually exist, little things like that. However, by the end of our few hours, we had managed to talk to a grand total of...3 people. On our way back my companion wanted to stop at this little tienda to get something for her gnarly blisters. The woman inside finished helping us and my companion turned to me and mouthed "contacto?" I smiled and said "si, contacto." We began to talk to this woman about her life and everything. She said that she reads the bible everyday and she just loves the word of god. Perfect. We told her about the Book of Mormon and Christs visit to the Americas. She was so interested and SO ready! Her and her father both said that they would read. They were just so excited to get started. Truly, the field is white! It was such an amazing experience and such a miracle to me. I was able to talk to her and not have to think about verb conjugations or grammar syntax, I just spoke. I think for just a moment the Lord blessed me with the gift of tongues. Actually, he probably blessed the woman we were talking to as well with the interpretation of tongues :)

So I have been translating meetings a lot lately. I like it! I can understand a lot more than I can say, that´s for sure.

So this time next week I will be in Arequipa! Yippee hoorah! Man, the time is flying! I think it might be a bit bizarre to not see Hermana Barlow everyday, she´s been with me since Provo. I will for sure miss her, we have a lot of fun together. Speaking of Arequipa, I met my mission president today at lunch. Cool huh? He´s such a happy guy. I think we will get along just fine.

Oh, have I ever told you all of the weird foods I´ve had here in the CCM? We´ve had some doosies! Por ejemplo, "pancita" aka cow stomach. Also, I ate octopus the other day. One of the main dishes here is seviche that´s spanish for "whatever crawls out of the ocean", and the list could go on but I´ll stop.

Well, I just don´t know what else to write ya´ll about. Keep the faith. I sure love you all lots and lots!

Feel free to send pictures just any old time! (hint hint)

Con mi amor

Hermana Anna Elmer

Oh yeah, pictures!

Some are from Provo time but I have to catch up now that I know how to send them! The first me is being cool like Samuel Smith, the next is me in the token mission map picture, gorgeous flower, this weird poofy plant thing that looks like the one from Horton Hears a Who, and finally, me and my tiny compañera Hermana Benites

Peru CCM and Temple Pictures

CCM Time, Ticking Away

Ok, let's try this again.

Well, hello! So this week has been interesting. The coordinating sister business is fun. It's like being an EFY counselor for big kids! I love it. My new compañera is so great! She is just this quiet little thing but she has opened up more and more each day. I just love her. She is quite possibly even smaller than Hna Reyes, I wouldn't think that that would be possible. Yesterday we had an "enseñanza"-teaching- with Elder Loli. He's a 70. As if that isn't rough enough, 3 districts were observing. Yikes. It went well though. It made me realize how much I just don't know. Teaching in general and teaching in Spanish especially. I have only 2 more short weeks here then I'm out to el campo! Whoop!

Our zone had an "English fast" yesterday. That was an adventure. No English, puro español. We figured that when it tells us to fast and pray often in the scripture, it doesn't say what kind of fast. It helped me learn a lot of new words for sure! I think that I'm doing ´pretty ok with the Spanish. They have me translate the meetings sometimes. I sit at the back of the chapel and translate for the new North Americans into a microphone and they have headsets. It's really fun I like it. Sometimes I get a little lost so I just have to give my best guess...Don't tell my faithful listeners though...

So today is the no more mail sent to the CCM day. From now on letters should be sent to my mission home address. I gave that to you a few emails past.

Here's a random story, yesterday one of the latina sisters was trying to ask her companion the sound that Americans think a chicken makes. Apparently south american chickens sound different or something. I told her companion what she wanted and she said was so confused so I just made the chicken sound. The latina sister thought that that was just about the greatest thing she'd ever heard and had me do it over and over again. Now sometimes missionaries will just come up and ask me for farm animal noises. I don't get it.

Well I love the work and I am so excited for another proseletismo this Saturday! We've only gone that one time. I will be sure to tell you how it goes! Hopefully something like D&C 112:19 :)

I sure love ya'll!

Hermana Anna Elmer

Oh PS, if any of you have sent me Dearelders, I will not get them until I got out to my mission home, I promise I'm not ignoring you!

Picture are working! Yippee Hoorah! There´s one of a groups of us sisters at the temple, one of my district, one of me in my official P-day shirt, the nutcracker one, and my new comp. (Thank you Wendy, Megan and Karen)

The Lord Is My Light, Then Why Should I Fear?

I´ve had that song stuck in my head all week and it seems appropriate. Wow, the people of Perú are ready for this gospel. Last Saturday we had this thing called proseletismo. We got to go out and teach, for reals! We were trying to reactivate less active and in-active members. Every single one we got to said that they would attend last Sunday! Yippee hoorah! Also, while we were out and about my companion and I were able to get contacts for the missionaries in the field of that mission. They were just so willing to accept the message of the restored gospel. They tell us all the time that the hearts are prepared but it was amazing to me to actually see it.

Also, it was a very sobering experience. Some people here have so very little, we got to one "house" and I was fighting back tears. I know that the gospel can improve lives and make life more joyful. It can't get these people out of their circumstances but it can help them to know that it's not all about this life. It can give them the stregnth and resolution to "endure to the end". Isn't that what we all need? Ah! I just love this all so much!

Oh yeah, I'm going to try to send pictures this week but I don't know how successful it will be...

Oh, fun story. Apparently I have bronchitis. Who knew. I have this gnarly cough hat makes me sound like a barking dog. It's really quite lovely. They gave me some no name mystery pills and said if your not better in a week, come see us again. :) Haha

So I want to share with you 2 things. One, a scripture that I came across and loved Psalms 61:2. Two, my Spanish blunder of the week. We were in an enseñanza "teaching" and my comp and I were being the investigators for some other missionaries. I was asking them about tithing and what it was for. I was trying to say "Do you pay your bishop? I know a lot of churches pay their leaders." I confused the verb pagar-to pay with the verb pegar-to hit. I was asking these poor elders if they hit their bishop. I didn't even notice my error until my companion broke into fits of laughter. Oops.

Mom, thank you so much for you e-mails! I love them so much. Thank you for your example of service! You are amazing to me.

In the package I could for sure use more knee highs just regular skin color. I go through them pretty fast... And an emphasized reminder to not send it here to the CCM! Mission home would be just fine though. :) Tell the ward members thank you for their thoughtfulness!

I lose my little hermanita this next week! Then I will have a new one for my last 3 weeks. I love Hermana Reyes just oh so much!

Oh yeah, letters, as in in an envelope, take about 9 days to get here and dearelders kind of just come whenever...just a thought :)

Sorry this email is so scattered! Just know that I love you all and am grateful for you everyday! "May the lord bless you and keep you"

With all my love!

Hermana Anna Elmer

PS, technology hates me and for this reason, the pictures were a failure...

More Than A Feelin'

Hola!

Bueno. Thank you so much to everyone for your emails! Uncle Mitch, your Spanish is outstanding! And thank you to Lyndee for the letter! Don't worry, you will get a legit response, I just wanted you to know I got it... So this has been quite a week. On Friday Hermana Whetten, the CCM president's wife, made me go to the doctor again. He decided that after two separate rounds of antibiotic that there was not longer an infection just a nasty cough. He told me I had a "bronco spasm" and gave me an inhaler. I found it funny that he should call me a spaz then have me carry around an inhaler to prove it. But, It did something right because my cough is practically gone! Yippee Hooray!

We didn't get to do proseletismos this Saturday because it was conference. A fair trade off. I love conference!!!!!!! Holy smokes, what a great 2 days. Each talk made me more and more grateful for 2 things. 1, that I am not raising a family right now, yikes, sounds like a tough business. And 2, that I have such wonderful parents! Ok, this cool thing happened during the conference. During one of the prayers, a brother was asking that the lord bless those in the armed forces and also...the missionaries. Not so uncommon right? But then, as he said it, I could feel it. I've heard missionaries say before "thanks for your prayers, I can feel them" But I had never experienced that before. It was amazing. So, echoing all missionaries I would like to say: Thank you for your prayers, I can feel them :)

So this is new. I'm the "coordinating sister" That's like the zone leader for the Hermanas. Yikes. Also, for the next 3 weeks my district and the other North American district are the antiguos-the ancients. The district that was here 3 weeks before us left this morning and we are now the old district for the new district that will arrive tonight. Did that make any sense? Oh well.

I think that just about covers it. Thank you for your continued love and support! Share this gospel with everyone! Help your local missionaries. There can be no greater work in this life then helping to bring souls to our Savior. I beg you all to never become complacent about this gospel. You have it, they need it. Don't ever be afraid to share it. "shall we not go on in so great a cause? Courage brethren; and on, on to victory!" D&C 128...somewhere.

Con amor

Hermana Anna Elmer

Once again, no pictures this week, because I am technologically challenged.