HOMECOMING

HERMANA CAMILLE RASMUSSEN

  CUSCO/PERU MISSION

CAMILLE WILL BE SPEAKING ON

AUGUST 23RD AT THE ALTA VIEW WARD

(1950 EAST VISCOUNTI DR 8600 SOUTH)

THE MEETING STARTS AT 9:00 A.M.

YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US AFTERWARDS

AT OUT HOME 8810 IDA LANE (1730 EAST)

L8tr Sk8tr‏

             



I don't like this one bit. last email....

ya so it hasn't really hit me yet that this is my last week...I'm pretty sure tonight I'm going to loose it. Were still working full blast but my companion poor thing is getting pretty stressed about changes and who will be her new comp and all that jazz so she has pretty much over dosed in chocolate these last couple of days ha ha she is definitely my daughter.

If miracles happen, which they do Marleni and her son Fernando are going to get baptized on Friday. PRAY!!! they are so ready and so amazing!

The truth is I really am not sure what to say. I feel like I have been in a time bubble in this amazing country with these amazing people that I love so much for the past 18 months and now reality is about to blow it.

This mission experienced has changed my life. This has definitely been the hardest thing I have ever done but it has changed me in a way I don't think anything else could have. The Lord has given me this gift to be able to see the world through different eyes to really see the plan of salvation in action and feel and see the Lords hand in ALL things.

I have come to know my Savior better and been able to feel his love in inexpressible ways. I know I am never alone in my trials and the mercy and grace of a merciful Father in Heaven has given me the power and ability to keep on going. 

I have come to a realization of how weak I really am and how Dependent him I truly am. I have come to the knowledge that happiness doesn't come from outer circumstances but truly comes from within and that the happiest most giving people I know live in one room adobe houses with posters and newspapers to cover the windows instead of glass and dirt floors and yet have so much Light and joy within them its indescribable. 

I have learned the problems and struggles of life never end but depending on our obedience and confidence in the Lord we CAN be happy. 

I know this church is true. 

I know the book of Mormon changes lives.

I know my Savior lives. 

I love this amazing country and I love these amazing people and will definitely be leaving a piece of my heart.

yes it hurts but as Pee wee herman said "well dotty....gottta move on" (is that what he says?..its been a while I don't really remember) ha ha well you get the jist. 

xoxox

Hermana Rasmussen 

p.s. I might just bring home fleas.... 

ONE MORE THING.... 

before going home from the airport....can we go straight to the temple and do a session? if you could bring to the airport my temple bag... 

I want to do one last session as a missionary because there is ALOT to be grateful for. Please...

WOOP HERE IT IS

Mamá, primeramente "FELIZ CUMPLEAñOS" a la mejor madre del mundo. Te quiero muchisimo, y feliz dia de la independencia Peruana. Me siento muy agradecida por saber mas de tu cultura y lo maravillosos que son todos aqui en este lindo Peru.
como lo dirian aqui en Peru :))

Well this week is a blur. I literally wake up and it takes me about 3 minutes to figure out what day it is and whats happening...

We are working like mules. every day hermana Nuila and I while we are planning keep asking ourselves why there aren't more hours in the day.. there is NO TIME. 

Elder Useda came and gave a conference to all the missionaries...it pretty much BLEW my spiritual mind..he is so powerful.

 The first thing he basically said was: "Elders..Hermanas...you need to repent! i had no intentions whatsoever to talk about this but the spirit is telling me otherwise" and then gave a stellar talk about repentance and how its beautiful and wonderful and not a punishment. and how suffering, asking for forgiveness, confessing...is NOT repentance...repentance is an INNER CHANGE. It was amazing. it started at 2:30 and didn't end until 7:30...Spiritual overdose I must say. 

we have had some pretty amazing lessons. Marleni and Fernando are getting baptized at the 7th. which is such a blessing. they are so cute. 

not much time. 

have a great week LOVE YOU ALL!LL 

xoxoxo

Hermana Rasmussen

 SALTINERAS

OH ESTA TODO BIEN

 TIPON RUINS

             

Well...what can I say...I'm dying... I will say with out being trunky that I am getting sadder and sadder everyday. It really hit me this week when I told my comp that how much time I have in the mission...first I started crying and then she started crying and I started crying harder then she stopped crying...I kept on crying . I really do feel at peace with all the work I'm doing and have done...its just sad...I don't want to leave.

I have never worked so hard in my mission these last two changes and it's been and awesome and super tiring but the fruits have been very sweet. about a month ago we were walking and there were some kids playing soccer and one was like "hello!" and I usually would have said hello  or something in English and kept walking, but something in me was like...talk to these kids. so we did, and I asked them were they lived and if they could take me to talk to their parents... and they did and we get to the house and one of the little girls was like oh and there's another lady that lives here hold on! and the lady came out with her son and we contacted her... and she has turned out to be an amazing investigator and we are teaching her and her son and her cousin who lives with her and they are going to get baptized in a couple of weeks... #miracles

I can't say enough how good the Lord is to us. I have heard and seen all types and sizes and colors of problems until my head has burst from listening to so many problems and I have realized especially from this point of view as a missionary how the Gospel is the answer. Its so simple and so many times we like to complicate things. 

President uchtdorf when he came and talked to us (which was amazing and by some miracle we sat in the last bench in the sacrament room) he said that so many people  come to him and say you're an apostle, what should I do?? and the two things that he would say to anybody is 

1.keep the commandments and

2. trust in the Lord. 

ITS that simple. If we truly want to be happy we just gotta do those 2 simple things.

DO IT. 

xoxoxo

Hermana Rasmussen

NEVER GIVE UP NEVER SURRENDER

Bueno....

It's been a great week, the Lord has been sooo good to us. we have seriously worked so hard and in return have seen results. it's been great. 

Cool story.  the brother of a family of members in our ward after years of being rebellious and not wanting to get baptized miraculously has had a change of heart and is getting baptized the 25th and were going to baptize him! #tendermercy. and we've found some great new investigators and references from the members who are actually progressing! 

        

so after a week of running from one hill to the other and running to catch taxis and buses and booking it from one side of our sector to the other...I'm a taaaad tired...I think I'm going to take a nap today haha.

Did I ever tell you how my comp doesn't know I'm ending?...I think I'll tell her next week... lately shes been stressing out and I think this will only make it worse. shes still learning how to deal with the stress of mish lyfe as we all have to do. 

             THE STONE WITH 12 ANGLES 

I DONT KNOW WHY DOGS ALWAYS FOLLOW ME

I have realized how much I have adapted that things like planning every night and getting up and studying and how Sundays are quite the opposite then a day of rest and the absence of microwave nachos, and gangs of dogs fighting like savages and in stead of selling hot dogs in the street they sell corn with slices of cheese...and potatoes..and little cups of jello..All this has really all become a part of me. and I LOVE IT!!

I have fleas 

xoxox

Hermana Rasmussen

MISSION PICTURES

WONDERFUL DAY IN CUSCO

Well I don't want to say it but this is the first day of the last change.. I truly can't believe it. I don't think it is fully clicking just yet, but I had a little realization this week which turned into tears...so it is safe to say this change is going to be a full on bawl fest.

My goal now is to enjoy every minute I have in this amazing country with these amazing people that I truly truly love SO MUCH. even though they have weird beliefs about how you can get sick and force feed me and they are sometimes super dramatic and love gossip BUT I love them with all my heart and its going to hurt so much to leave them. But there's still time. 

well the weather, its really cold in the morning and at night but during the day the sun is SUPER fuerte so I'm pretty sure I'm getting tanner (woot woot) the more latina I look the better like for example today a guy playing guitar on the bus asking for money told me in English that Jesus would never do what I did (when I didn't give him money). 

well yesterday was the best. well in the morning we ran (literally) (i thought my comp was going to loose a lung, shes not used the the altitude quite yet haha) we went to pick up for church an investigator we found this week Marileni and her son Fernando, who live up in basically a mountain of cusco and we get there and she wasn't there so we has to book it to la santa cena (sacrament) and we get there just in time for the prayer and I close my eyes and mid prayer I realize that Mario, our less active that we found, was blessing the sacrament!! me and my comp realized at the same time and were grabbing each others hands in joy it was the best and to open my eyes to see him there suit and tie...#priceless. and then to look back and see Marleni there with Fernando..... the Lord loves us. 

Have a great week. eat some good BBQ for me pweeeze. I will NEVER take a good hamburger for granteed....evurrrrrrrr

xoxox

Hermana Rasmussen

Dinosaurs in Cusco

Well last week for pday we went to the dinosaur park...

Yesterday I got to go to the 3 sessions of the Trujillo temple dedication! it was spiritually awesome possum. it made me miss the temple oh so much!! It got a little trunky when Elder Tate was talking about eternal marriage...and how when he got sealed to his wife he couldn't concentrate because the most beautiful girl in the whole world was kneeling across from him....AWWWwww..wuv...twoo wuvvvv.

Anyways it was wonderful prez Uchtdorf dedicated the temple and Elder Bednar was there and guess what....PREZ UCHTDORF is coming to Cusco....TODAY! and guess what else....WE GET to SEE HIM! it starts at 6 but we are going to get in line at like 4... I'm excited. 

This week President and Hermana Harbertson visited everyone's house and President interviewed everyone. it was great of course we were cleaning like locas the night before...shhhh.

It was wonderful, interviews are always very informational and uplifting...president and I were laughing cause I was so awkward talking in English...lets just say I struggled. 

we'll when you live in a house of ALL latinas, you don't really practice your English. I sometimes I get in that middle stage were I can't speak either language and in the end I just want to eat chocolate.

So the weather is nice you say... :( at least I have my heater. I think its going to blow up one of these days cause I use it so much. 

Haha my comp told my pensionista she wanted tacos...so my pensionista has never had tacos before... but we were pretty excited when she told us she was going to make them...we get to the house and there's chicken, avocado, and onions and beans and the most important part: tortillas...which she tried to make herself instead of buying them..they turned out to be really really good...pancakes.... pancakes and taco stuffing....not such a good combo...our stomached were like whats happening. what are you doing to us.

well have a great week. I pray for you all on the daily. miss and love you all SOO much.

xoxox 

Hermana Rasmussen

LIFE IN CUSCOTOPIA

 

Our investigator Maria

WATCHING OVER THE SHEEP

US DECORATING? IT LOOKS SO NICE

             Ants are invading our kitchen

TIME FLIES WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN

       HAVING FUN WITH MY HIJA



Well its kinda suuuuper cold now here in cuscotopia. you really can't trust the weather. one second its colder then the Costco refrigerated section and the next the sun is burning your face. as long as i have my heater I think I will survive. 

Seriously these weeks are flying by. we are working super super hard and I cant believe we are going on our 4th week! well training is great and a little tiring but we are definitely seeing miracles. 

Now I am only beginning to understand what it means to be a mom.... SO much patience!!! but I really am lucky cause Hermana Nuila is great and is learning and has a great attitude about it all. 

Shes having a little trouble getting up in the morning but I have learned from you dad how to fix that;) too bad I don't have a piano to pound out some charlie brown at 6 in the morning... 

This morning a member fed us breakfast of tamales..which were super yummy and ponche de habas...not quite sure what habas is in English....

haha funny experience so we went to go visit a family and it was dark and we had just walked up a huge hill and through the mud cause it had rained earlier when all of a sudden a big heard of cows, big cows little cows, BULLS, come out of no where, and they are all over the street and a car starts to come so they all get scared and so it turns into running of the bulls ha ha and we are almost to the door of the house and here comes a bull towards my comp and so she starts pounding on the door yelling bahaha...it was priceless. 

As I said the Lord is merciful...we have seen miracles every single day. 

for example on of maaaany, yesterday the family of a less active teenager we found came church! #miricle 

love this gospel, love being a missionary, love conference talks!!

love you all soooo much!

xoxox

Hermana R

asmussen

PICKING UP MY DAUGHTER

I GOT A GREAT KID

HERMANA NUILA

I ALREADY LOVE HER

HER FIRST SUNDAY

I'M PREGNANT (MISSIONARY VOCABULARY)

well just found out that I'm pregnant....

in other words...I'm going to train! yep I'm super nervous can't stop eating chocolate and yes I've already had my cry fest. I'm

not going to be an Hermana leader anymore which is kinda sad cause I really liked working with the other hermanas and all that good stuff wich includes being feed spiritually and physically in concilio but this is going to be a new adventure...like bilbo baggins. 

I'm going to get my daughter  Wednesday so I guess well just have to see... 

sorry not much time to write but wuvs yalll hey I have a joke!

how do you say cochino (dirty) in chinese?

chin chan poo

( sin champoo)(without shampoo) hahaha classic peruvian joke!!

xoxox

Hermana Rasmussen 

CRAZY, BEAUTIFUL, FUNNY HERMANA ERNESTINA

Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes

         CONCILIO TICKLING HERMANA VITOLA, HA HA LOVE THAT GIRL!!

LONG SHOPPING DAY

CUSCO