SKYPE is awesome!

December 27, 2012

My Awesome Christmas Quote tree - thanks!

SOOOO good to see and talk to you all this week.  I’m still on the high from it, it will have to last me until May, but I think that I can make it.   The weather cleared up and its been great.

This week is changes.  I have one more change with my trainer. But today our zone and district were split.  It is way sad and some of our district is being transferred as well. Because our zone is changing, we had a zone p-day.  We went out to the country and played at a center –kind of like a rec center. We played futbol and volleyball and chilled. It was so great. I loved it, it was a breath of fresh air. I realized that I really love the country more than the city.

I told you on our call about German. Scratch that baptism we had planned for Saturday. We found out yesterday that he is leaving for a vacation tomorrow and he will be gone about a month. But he said last time they visited the family in .... I don{t remember the name.... but last time they visited they were there for 6 months. So we’ll see if he returns, but this means no baptism for german this week. It’s tough-- this stuff. I came into the field with this attitude that if they don’t accept the message or baptisms then it wouldn’t be on me, they would be rejecting the Savior and God.  But its hard when people repeatedly don’t want to hear our message or they don’t keep their commitments. My heart’s getting involved. dah!! Its heart wrenching when baptism dates don’t work out or when work doesn’t go as we have planned. ah.

I knew it would be hard but I didn’t fully understand.

So my companion is the new coordinating sister; who is in charge of all the other hermanas in our zone.  Therefore I’ll be going on splits with other hermanas. Should be fun. 

So challenge this week find scriptures you would use to teach faith and repentance to someone. What are your favorite faith scriptures?

Another investigator is So did Hermana Mirim and her family. Her husband and son are a members but her and her other 4 kids are not. Two of her kids are really interested and we have to continue work with mirim and her other daughter (the one that is 15 and has a kid)

Also remember Josue. He is 9 and is so ready to be baptized. He wanted to wait for his mom to return from lima and she finally returned!!! (after 3 weeks of waiting)  Hopefully we can get him and his mom and sister and dad baptized soon!!

Please pray for them all!!!

Thanks

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Hermana Sandstrom

(mom note: it was so wonderful to Skype with Kaylee on Christmas.  She radiated! Her Spanish sounds great and she was so happy.  I’m having a hard time remembering everything to share.  She is an area that has nice homes and homes with no roofs or indoor bathrooms.  They live somewhere in the middle.  

There is a ysa member in Peru named Anali that has connected with me on facebook.  She just posted a bunch of pictures of Kaylee and Hermana Oliveros – she wrote to me that they working very hard and they love having them in their ward.  Yea! What a fun post to read.  I’ll put a few pictures here but you can see more on my facebook page)

Feliz Navidad

December 19^th 2011

(mom note: Kaylee got to call home last week to set up her Christmas call – it was a complete and wonderful surprise)

So I think my favorite part of the week was calling home and surprising you guys. Sorry I missed you dad I tried to wait but it didn’t work out.  But hearing mom shriek was great!! I loved it.  

Okay so this week has gone by fast, talking to you guys helped a lot with that.  So we went for a couple of days with out clean water in our apartment. I got dehydrated and so did my companion. It wasn’t good. I had one bottle for brushing my teeth but during the day we didn’t just have enough to drink. It was not good, but after calling every day for 6 days and having the other elders in our district call; we finally got some water. So after that we were good to go.

My companion has been sick, well not sick but has had some stomach pains -- its been interesting.  After talking a lot to the zone leaders I think we finally got some drugs to help.

This week we had a meeting with all of the new missionaries and their trainers. It was great! We learned tons from President and Sister Turk and it was so much fun to see my friends from the mtc.

This week is crazy with preparations for Christmas. We are singing tomorrow in the plaza. So we are having our p day tomorrow and practicing with the missionaries from huraz. (mom note: I think they are going to try to show parts of the program through the mission blogTrujillo Mission Blog– so check it out in the next day or so) It will be a great week. On Saturday we are having a Christmas party with our district and then on Christmas day we have church and then we are visiting member families and calling our families. We have to be in our house by 6 both days.  Also President Turk wants us to finish the Book of Mormon before Christmas. So I am in a rush to finish. I’m in Mormon. We’ll see how much I can get done before Friday.

not sure on details - she forgot to tell me, but love to see her at work 

Fourth Nephi is awesome!

Dad I have been thinking about you a lot lately (and I why do I cry every time I go to email you)

(here are some excerpts from an email to Mike)

I’m so sad I missed you the other day, I was trying to wait all day until dinner time, but we forgot about daylight savings and didn’t realize you were two hours behind. It was so great to hear mom’s voice though.  That’s so crazy that Connor is going to mutual. Weird. He’s almost a deacon! –what a great gift to be ordained Christmas day. He’ll be passing the sacrament and all.

That’s sad about no snow there for Chirstmas. It’s pretty warm here. I don’t need a jacket. Almost summer  :)

So this week we have met some families with not very good examples of dads. Thank you so much for being a great father. For always honoring your priesthood, and helping us to choose the right. To have family scripture study and to have family prayer. Those things are so important. They keep us on the right path. Thank you for teaching us the right morals and values. I’m learning so much from these families here and how wonderful of a family I have. I have always known I have a great family and awesome parents that are so stalwart in the gospel. I am so grateful for that foundation. Thank you so much for that. I’m so grateful for that strong example that I have and how I am seeing how it has prepared me for my mission.

I was thinking yesterday about those days that I was in the hospital after the accident. I don’t remember much but I do remember you always being my bedside. and I remember those priesthood blessings in the hospital. I am so happy that you were worthy of the priesthood and ready to give me a blessing anytime. And that you were and are so concerned for me and my safety and for my happiness. I love you a lot, and miss you guys so much.

I know that this gospel blesses families because it has blessed my family. I’m so grateful for the plan of salvation and for the atonement.

Love you lots!!  So excited to talk to you & see your faces soon--Sunday!!

H. SAndstrom

Life in Trujillo

December 12, 2011

Okay so this week I have been thinking a lot about service. My family has always done a lot of service and it is usually our focus during this time of year, but this year it is going to be different type of service for me. I only get to serve like this once in a lifetime.

So I heard from a young single adult in our ward that my family made it on the Turk’s blog- Dec 6 post.  I would love a copy.

Details about everyday life in Trujillo for the curious-

I am served 3 pieces of bread for breakfast and dinner and I have a huge plate of rice for lunch.  (I might come home 200 pounds- Just kidding, good thing we walk everywhere)

But the food is delicious and I love it.  I usually have fried eggs with the bread. which is great.  Last night our eggs had cut up hot dogs in them inside a bun- it was kind of interesting. So this chicken was my dinner. :)  

We do indeed have pollo or chick everyday. and when we are lucky we have carne or meat. Their version of a hamburger is sad--not real Barker Beef.

And this is what the markets look like.

And I love pulp; or as Parker calls it -plurp.  But it isn’t normal orange juice it is peach nector.  It is so good, full of sugars but I love it.

We did get to eat out on our last p day -- KFC, it’s pretty similar.

Yes Parker there are dogs everywhere but you know what? Heavenly Father is blessing me; I haven’t had one problem with them. They all just walk right past me-so funny.  All they do is eat garbage from the streets. I am teaching orlando, edita, jacquline, josue,  and rosa. pray for them k? And what I want for Christmas is to talk to you!!

So I have learned some things this week. I have learned that the Peruvians version of salad is any vegetable or fruit, cut up and put it a bowl--no lettuce necessary and that the tastes don’t even have to go together.  Also I learned that no roof houses are really awesome until it rains. It rained this past week, which was a big deal, because it was the talk of the town the next day. Our bedroom has a roof, but the hallway doesn’t.  So we walked out our bedroom door to puddles. haha slippery fun!

Another lesson was that driving is crazy here, the taxis just go for it- risky business. When my companion learned that I knew how to drive she was shocked and thought that I was way smart.  And when I said one of my favorite things was driving around with my windows down listening to music, she was like. you do both at the same time. hahaha!

And another thing that I have learned over the past couple of weeks is that commitments don’t mean anything.  They can say they will be there, or that time means something- but it doesn’t.  Reading or coming to church is no big deal.  One more: We don’t know whining in the states.  People here can’t say anything without whining its annoying.

So our investigators are pretty great. Orlando and Edita are one couple that we have been working with a lot lately and by some miracle, we got them to church yesterday. Pray for Edita please, she needs her heart softened so she will stop attending her other church and be baptized.  Orlando has accepted baptism and everything from day one.  He is so great. He wears this sweater with an American flag on it.  Its so great!! His whole face lights up when he sees us through the door.

So here are some scriptures to read this week: Hel. 10 and proverbs 31 for the women.  They’re so great!  This is the kind of woman I want to be. Also I can’t stress enough how much I LOVE this general conference issue of the Ensign.  I suggest reading it by topic- there is a list in the beginning. Every day study a different topic. I love it. SO POWERFUL!!

MUCH LOVE!!!

Thanks for all your prayers and support.

H. Sandstrom!!

PS: There is american music here. ah so bad! And thanks for sending ‘Dear elder’ letters.