THOSE WHO CAN'T TEACH TEACH GYM

THE QUILLABAMBA HERMANAS

well this week has been suuuuper long. Tuesday were changes and Hermana Ignacio got the news that she got a change to Avancii on Monday and was scheduled to leave the next morning so if you can imagine there wasn't a lot of sleep Monday night and there was lots of food. we went with Ricardito a member and had leche de vaca (cows milk) and cake, and earlier that day we had eaten more cake and ice cream and that night we ate fried chicken and french fries..gotta love Quillabama. 

Hermana Ignacio arrived in Quillabamaba with 5 suitcases...yes 5! and she gave away a couple of them to future missionaries in the ward so now there was nowhere to put all her stuff, so when she packed she had to take one of my suitcases and shell send it back to me sometime soon.

Its crazy to think about these past 12 weeks and all the things that have happened and all that I've learned and experienced, wont lie they were super hard, but I've learned through these hard times and experiences we grow the most. 

Its outside of our comfort zones where the magic happens. The trick is to keep the faith when you can't see that light at the end of the tunnel and that's something I've learned a lot these past two changes. And to remember that there are ALWAYS roses to smell amongst the thorns. 

During my interview with President he mentioned the analogy that I love, about a nice modest cottage and the carpenter came to fix it up but started tearing down the walls and taking out the floor and the roof, and someone asked the carpenter what he was doing and he said I'm building a mansion. And its the same with us and heavenly father, sometimes it feels like our walls are being torn down and the roof is caving in and we dont know why but in reality we are being made into the Mansion that he knows we can become but it takes PACIENCE and FAITH to have trust that hes the carpenter and he knows what hes doing. This is something I'm only just beginning to understand but thankfully have had the opportunity to learn.

I worked with Hermana Dominguiez while Hermana whalen was in Cusco. I slept over in their apartment which is beautiful and it was a reeeeal good time even though she made me run in the morning 

ha ha. 

Scott I worked in your home turf for a day! its so Much nicer than my sector. In my sector there's a bar or two on every street oh and we live above a bar

ha ha. but no worries mom drunks aren't a problem thankfully. we are protected and I never feel scared. I'm more scared of the dogs than drunks.

                               DINNER

But I got my new compy wednesday night! 

drum roll please.....Hermana Luque!!

Seriously I was so nervous about a new comp but enserio she is lo maximo!

shes from Ecuador but basically has lived in Spain her whole life in Barcelona. I'm planning on us becoming best friends so I can visit Spain after the miss ha ha

She is a lil loca but in the best way there's lots of smiling laughing so much love its Lo maximo! These next 6 weeks are going to be bomb. It's a little hard cause her Spanish is different to me and sometimes I can't understand her jokes but by the end I'm planning on getting this language down PAT by the end of this change. miracles happen people! 

HERMANA LUQUE!!

We had a baptism on saturday!! for the refreshments we decided instead of buying a cake we would make one! #girlpower and it turned out pretty good I must say, I really didn't do anything but it was fun to watch! The baptism was scheduled at 8:30 because kiras stepdad had work but in latino time it started at 9 haha but it was great. I felt bad the poor girl had to put on wet baptismal clothes from the baptism that was earlier that night and she was soo cold and before walking into the water she was almost crying because she so scared that the water was going to be cold. There was a beautiful spirit there and when she bore her testimony was one of my favorite parts, shes so special and was ready to receive the gospel so she can be a strength in her family that has so many problems.

                         BAKING THE CAKE

 

Mom can you send me my recipe for banana bread because they don't believe that me or gringas can cook ha ha so I have to show my stuff and make all my fellow white girls proud ha ha

 

Hope everybody has an awesome week.

 

HUGGGGGG

 

hermana Rasmussen

TRY A LITTLE HARDER TO BE A LITTLE BETTER

My favorite person in the mission (Branch president's son)

On our way to Manadura

Last Pday we went to Madanura and after a nice car ride with me and my comp squished in the front seat of a car and driving through the jungle to Madanura which is a cute little town with literally no body walking the streets, and after a nice walk we made it to the ruins. Not much to be seen, but cool non the less, we made a friend with a random dog and that's about the most interesting thing that happened there haha.

                                      

                                                    

                                             This is all we found in Manadura

The work here in Quillabama is a little slow, there's a big lack of leadership and there about a gazillion less actives so the big push is to reactivate this place cause sunday morn bright and early 8 o clock there's about 7 members en la capilla...mmmm you could say there some room for improvement. My favorite is this little old Hermana that's always there reading her manuals and pamphlets of the church and she can't read and she marks...gahhh so cute and her wet grandma kisses...priceless

Kira is going to get Baptized! this Saturday! she is so cute, shes 13 and she is the daughter of one of our antiguo investigators and she is definitely a golden nugget. After we told her to pray to see if the church was true and if Joseph smith was a prophet, she had a DREAM that there was a man and he told her that the church was true and that Joseph smith was a prophet....say WHAaaaa. it was amazing to hear that. There is a LOT of problems in her family but I know this is going to help her a ton. Shes the one who lives in the chakra in the middle of the jungle that we went to. But it's going to be so awesome. I'm going to sing, not sure what yet but I'll let ya know.

This week we made gnocchi! its like pasta and spaghetti sauce but the pasta is made with papas and flour and egg, we learned one pday with the other hemanas and learned...well my comp mostly learned, and this week we made them with Polly (shes the grandma of kira) we made them in the little back room of her store and my comp accidentally put waaaaaay too much salt ha ha Polly was really nice about it and then was like we need to drink water like camels. Then on Saturday we made them again in the house of our pensionista and had the recipe down pat...sorta. but they came out good, was the closest thing to Italian I've had in a while, it was good for the soul. 

                                                    

                                                  Gnocchi Time

Today we went to the zoo in Echarati with our pensionista her daughter and a member and her baby, its like half an hour from Quillabama. it was cool and sad, the monkeys were going nuts. They told us to be careful because the monkeys can steal our cameras. sorry mom I forgot to snatch you one of the monkey maids you've always wanted.

Shout out to papa Rasmussen for fathers day!!! I love you so much and am so grateful that you're my dad. you are such an example to me of hard work and diligence and strength not just in work and study but spiritually, i hope one day to get on your level ha ha. Thank you for everything your have done and are doing for me i know i don't know half of it but i feel your love and support and its such a strength to me out here in the mission field. hope yesterday was 

I challenge everyone this week to follow the counsel of prez Gordon B. Hinckely to every day try a little harder to be a little better. 

Big hugs and chocolate kisses

Hermana Rasmussen

Pictures

PAVAYOC

Las Tinajas

Picking up coconuts from church 

Vida en la chacra

Investigators from the chacra

Treats from pension, some eggs?

 Quillabamba

Hermana Ignacio taking her temperature like 500 times

TANGO WEEK

Well this week was good my comp was in Lima for a lot of this week, we gave her money to buy us Duncan donuts which were of course so gewd!! so I worked with Hermana Irvine and Tango this week who live in my room and they are awesome, its always nice to go out with other Hermanas cause you learn so much. 

It was super duper hot this week, they say that these next two months until the rainy season are going to be super hot but then someone said its going to get cold at night ? i dunno but their version of cold is nothing, they are wearing a sweaters and its not even cold and they are drinking hot chocolate and then they tell me im going to get sick cause i was wearing sandals at night...they have weird beliefs about the cold and drinking cold things and getting sick its funny. 

I got the package! it felt like Christmas. the conference ensign...can I just say its GOLD. I'ts one of my most prized possessions right now,(that and my secret stash of chocolate in my suitcase). I read it every night, its like my spiritual dessert before bed. spiritual calories. There's so much truth and awesome guidance and comfort, why didn't I ever read it more before! 

Interviews with Prez were so awesome of course, He is so inspired and I heard exactly what I needed to hear. As a mission there's a big focus of faith, Faith verdadera, the faith leads you to expect the Lord to bless you and you KNOW that its going to happen because you have that much faith. 

Faith and Patience and trusting in the Lords plan has been the motto of my mission life as of recently, seems like every scripture and every talk I read talking about having patience and faith in tribulation and trusting in the Lord that he knows what He's doing. The scripture says doubt not, fear not. The lord is SO aware of us and wants to help us and bless us but its only AFTER the trial of our faith come the blessings and miracles. 

Love you all sooooo much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Rasmussen