Jamie's Letter May 9, 2011

Hola!
Well, the results are in!! And.....I was completely wrong!! I think the Lord decided to throw us for a loop :) So I'm leaving my Monsefu. My new area is called La Cria, and is in Polmalca. It's not too far away from here, still part of Chiclayo. But wait! There's more! Remember how I spent 2/3 of my MTC time in a trio? Well, I think that was definite preparation for the next 6 weeks of my life. Because I'm in a trio! One of my companions is Hermana Cruz. She's in my zone right now, so I know her. She's from Santa Cruz, Bolivia. She has about a year in the mission. My other companion is Hermana Chamorro. This will be her 3rd transfer-she only has one transfer less than me. I don't really know her, but I guess I will soon! This will be a good experience. From what I could tell, teaching in a trio is very different than being in a companionship. It has it's pros and cons. I'm gonna miss being here though. I didn't realize how much I loved it here until they told me I was leaving. Hna Lopez will stay here, and her companion will be Hermana Sutta (she was in our zone for the first 2 transfers-she's awesome). I will miss Hna Lopez a lot though. She really is so amazing. I've learned so much from her.


So now, what we're gonna do-we're gonna finish up here, and then I'll go around and say goodbye to everyone. Afterwards, we'll go to our apartment and I'll pack up my bags. Then tomorrow morning, I'll go to my new area. and start to work again. It feels weird. I'm just gonna keep trusting in the Lord, and remembering that His thoughts are not my thoughts, and that if he put me in a trio again, it's because He knows that I can do it with His help. From what I've heard about my new area, it's really small. They call it "mini-Utah" because everyone there are members more or less. That's great! Because I'm from Utah! People have also said that it's really pretty though. We'll see if that's true, and if so, maybe I'll send some pictures next week! :)


It was so good to talk to you yesterday! I loved hearing your voices! Although I will admit that it was kind of weird, because it was like I was home-ish. Which is not my life right now. Because my life has changed so drastically in the past 6 months, it seems weird to think that things are still happening, normal things, back at home. But it was still good. I'm sad I didn't get the chance to talk to Cameron, but maybe we can figure something out for Christmas. It sounds like you had a great Mothers Day though! Mother's Day here is huge. We didn't have that many people attend church. Everyone was leaving for Mothers Day. Whatever. Hopefully in this next week though more people can come. I guess we'll see though. Well, I won't. But Hna Lopez will :)


Richie is getting ready to go on a mission? Wow! And what is this that Jordan is saying that Kristalyn is going to Washington D.C.?? Someone keep me updated on family life :) It really is the best experience though. I've thought a lot this week about your question. What experiences have I had that would encourage youth to serve missions? I haven't come up with anything concrete. Well, some of the things that I have experienced is an overwhelming love for people. For my companion, for my investigators, for random people on the street. If you really want to experience the love that the Lord has for every single person, serve a mission. My mission has changed me, has improved me so much. I love love love reading the scriptures now. I can't imagine my life anymore without the scriptures. Also, to see the change in people. To watch them change, to see a light in their eyes that wasn't there before. It's something marvelous. It's hard to describe though. Really, we talk about missions so much in the church, but words can never describe appropriately the experiences, the feelings that we feel here. I don't know that this is much of an answer. I'll keep thinking throughout this next week though.


Oh-they changed secretaries in the office, so if you're going to send me a package, I think you'll need a different name. I'm not exactly sure who it is just yet, but I'll let you know when I find out.


Other questions...um, temperature is in celcius, but people here don't really talk about the temperature in numbers. It's either hot or cold. That's about it. Snow? What is that? I'm pretty sure it'll be a while before I see snow again :)


It sounds like things are going good for you. Thank you so much for your support and your love. I love you so much and I know that this Gospel is true! I don't have any doubt about it! I love the Book of Mormon. It has the exact answers I need, the advice and counsel that I need when I need it. I know that Christ lives, and that it is through His Atonement that we can become better, we can be healed. It is incredible.
Well, I love you so much!
Hna Williams