I just love you so much! This week has been quite the week, I'm not quite sure where to start. Today is my two month mark! It's been the longest two months of my life.
On Tuesday we had a mission conference with Elder Packer. Not to be confused with President Boyd K. Packer. It's his son. It was really good. Of course. He talked a lot about learning the language of the Spirit and teaching by the Spirit. We also talked a lot about personal conversion and how we need to be converted so we can help our investigators be converted. There's a difference between a testimony and conversion and we want our people to be truly converted so when the trials come, they will be strong. I'm also trying to become a more converted missionary. Before I came on a mission I thought I was a pretty good at being pretty good. Wrong! The scripture in Ether about the Lord making known our weaknesses is so true. It's very humbling to be a missionary, and I'm trying to do what I can so that the Lord can turn my weaknesses into strengths. I wish it would happen overnight though, because it's not exactly the most pleasant process of realizing you're not quite as good as you thought you were. I have faith though that the Lord will keep working on me and hopefully by the end of these 18 months I will have learned what I needed to come here to learn and be refined enough to continue not missionary life. I think both Hermana Stewart and I are going through this right now. We're working so hard and we're not seeing a lot of success--our progressing investigators are going down, not up. But we keep trying. We're really trying to depend on the Lord.
We had kind of a neat experience this week. In our mission conference President Riggs talked a lot about Moroni 10:3-5 and what we really need to be doing to get an answer to know if the Book of Mormon is true. We then did some practice teaching using these principles. To be completely honest, I really don't like practice teaching. This time though, we did it with another set of sisters and they played the role of one of their investigators. Later that night we had an appointment with Maruja and Victor. This was the first time I had met them, but apparently they're eternigators. Or in other words, eternal investigators. Victor was talking to me, and told me that he's been the frustration of many a missionary because he just can't bring himself to be baptized. Then he went into the kitchen to help Maruja finish making dinner (This was also the night we ended up eating two whole Peruvian dinners. It's a miracle our tummies didn't explode!). Hermana Stewart and I just looked at each other and we both said Moroni 10 and the same time. So we started talking about the Book of Mormon. We read Moroni 10 and went through the steps with him. And everything we had talked about during practice teaching earlier today was said! The same questions with the same answers! It was a miracle! We talked so in depth about real intent and how to receive an answer and to really know and when he really knew, that he would know that he needed to get baptized and he would feel at peace with that. So we asked him to read the Book of Mormon, to make the time to read it for only five minutes every night, and if he would do that, he would know. His eyes got a little watery, and when we invited him to be baptized, he said he would! This made me so excited. And our efforts in practice teaching really payed off. It's seeing tender mercies like these that make me think I can survive another day.
On Friday we had the mission Christmas party. It was great fun! It's been very weird being a missionary at Christmas time, because we're so busy working that sometimes it's hard to feel like it's Christmas. Especially because all the things that usually come with Christmas like being home and wearing sweat pants all day every day of break and eating yummy Christmas treats are not part of Christmas this year. I've been trying very hard to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and on the gift Jesus gave to us and what I can give to him, but it's really hard not to miss you guys.
I have some sad news. Next week since Pday is on Christmas Eve, the library will be closed. We're going to try and email, but I'm not sure if we're going to be able to find somewhere. So it might just have to wait until Tuesday. By the way, I'm so excited about that!
I loved the story from Perry's letter. It made me cry. But it seems like everything makes me cry these days. I don't really know what's going on with me. I'm either super spiritual or just super hormonal. Probably the latter.
I do have a super funny story for you though! On Friday, we went out to eat with Fredy and Marta and Kamila (who is 9). They're recent converts and they have a 19 year old son name Jean Paul that reminds me a lot of Cameron that we're teaching. He didn't go with us though. All of a sudden as we were in the car driving home, Kamila tooted. We just looked at here, pretending to be shocked, and she says, " Well Jean Paul farts all the time!" We died laughing. She said, "What? He does!" And her mom is sitting up front saying "What did she say?!" Kamila then proceeded to ask us if we ever toot. We both told her no. And she thought we were lying. We told her that missionaries don't lie. Hermana Stewart isn't used to farty talk, but I felt right at home.
I love you so much and I can't wait to see you on Christmas! You're the best!
xoxo
Hermana Simpson
p.s. Kelley, isn't it about time for me to get another letter?