Austin 1/20/2014: 6 more weeks

Hola!

 

So I know you`re all dying to know where I am right now.................................I`m still in Independencia, in Amancaes, I didn`t get transfered. I`m still with Elder Martinez, working our tails off here in my mountain.

 

This week, things have started to get better. My ZL asked me how it`s going, and I told him, "when E` Martinez came, it had just snowed. And the first three weeksish, we made a snowball the size of a small rock and threw it down the mountain. And now it`s rolling, and has grown to the size of a fist, or a baseball, and by the time I leave a hope it`s to a basketball." I know I`m not going to have a lot of success here in Amancaes, I don`t think I`ll baptize anyone else. Maybe if the Lord give us a miracle, but I don`t see it. I believe that I`m here for two reasons. When Elder Martinez came, the first week was just him cursing the name of my old companion because he didn`t leave anything to work with. I feel like I can work to the point that elder Martinez`s next companion doesn`t want to destroy Elder Schouten. We`re getting the ball rolling, and if can help in the long run, I`ll be happy, I`ll be content. I`m not here to baptize. I`m here to invite ALL people unto Christ, the members, the non members, the missionaries, and myself. If I don`t baptize anybody else here, but I can help the members learn how to help us, how to work with us, I`ll be happy and I`ll know that I had the success that I needed to in this area. Not success of numbers of baptisms, but success for missionary work in general, and success in bringing people unto our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

 

I also feel like I`m here to help Elder Martinez. He`s great, he really is. He has such a good attitude, it`s impossible to make him mad. (he lives with me and it`s annoyed with me. That`s impressive. I didn`t know it was possible.) That attitude is his greatest strength, and in my opinion, his greatest weekness. He accepts things how they are, and for that, sometimes doesn`t have the drive to fix them. My personality is a little different....so I help him have the drive that he needs, and he helps me stay sane. We compliment each other really well. 

 

This week, we went and contacted some guy, I don`t remember who he was, we had a lesson planned, but he wasn`t there. And so we headed to our plan B. As we were walking, Elder Martinez contacted some guy outside of his house. This guy told us we could come back the next day and talk to him, his wife, and kids. We came the next day, and he was there. His name is Vicente. He`s awesome! We invited them to church, and the wife had a family something, so she couldn`t. But Vicente said he could and would come, we just needed to come get him in the morning. So at 7:50ish, we went to his house, and he came out, told us to wait a minute so he could change, and then came with us. For the entire block! We haven`t even taught him a lesson, we just explained that we believe in God and that we`re here to bless them by bringing them closer to Christ. He says he`s cathlic, but has never gone to church. We asked them if they knew what a prayer was, and they said no. So we have to teach them VERY slowly. But I feel really good about him. He`s a really accepting guy, and happy. One interesting thing about this family....they speak Quechua, that`s the dialect in peru. Almost nobody in Lima speaks it, but they just moved to Lima in December from another part of Peru. Their spanish is like mine. Good, but not perfect and occasionally, they don`t understand. So that could be interesting and fun. I`m excited to teach them again. It`s kind of weird though. They speak Quechua behind our backs so we don`t understand, like I do with Elder Martinez in English. It`s a little unnerving, I don`t like it. I see why sometimes I get weird looks when I do it...hahaha. 

 

Mom - so for my english scriptures...I don`t use them. I have a small book of Mormon in english if I really can`t figure out what I`m reading. But that hasn`t happened for...weeks. My spanish is good. I don`t get nervous about my spanish anymore. It`s hard to pronounce vosotros form (only in the scriptures), but in general, my spanish is good. I`m not super worried about it. I still need to learn, but it`s not really my challenge anymore, my challenge is my area. And your life sounds crazy...I`d like to say that I was NEVER one of those idiot teenagers that waited until the last week. Thanks to the way you raised me.

 

Dad - I`m still in Amancaes. I guess that`s what you wanted to learn? And I would LOVE to go to that YM/YW activity. That would be awesome! I remember when the lady who wrote Pres. Monson`s biography came. That was powerful.

 

John - you haven`t found a job yet? You gotta get off of your seat and do something man! And I love that Elder Holland quote. I don`t know exactly how it goes either, but I remember it. It`s so true. And my comp reminds me of you. How he`s just happy and accepts life.

 

Jordan - my comp does not remind me of you. I remind myself of you. How goes college?

 

Tashita - you quit all choir? Wow. I always wanted to do that, but I never had the guts. I thought mom would kill me.

 

Shaylee - you have to go to your directors house to practice? Sad life sis....

 

I know this church is true. This moringing, I read 2 Nephi 31, about the Doctrine of Christ. If anyone needs a life in this moment, read it. If you don`t, still read it. I promise it will bless you. It tells us so simply what we have to do to be saved, what is the path. I know that I have scriptures like that to read because The Lord loves me and inspired his prophet to write it, just for me. He did it for everyone, but he would do it again just for me. The savior suffered for everything. Trust in him. Let him be your strength.

 

Love, 

Elder Schouten