Jenny got Baptized!

NEW CHALLENGE #2

Read the Book of Mormon 15 minutes everyday. whether it be personally or together as a family. Do it! Its a beautiful thing to do.....I love it and I hope I can keep doing it when I get home.

hna santeco

Good luck!

So here are a few links of a few pictures that President Hansen has taken of us. Its been great really!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/enb9mdm2b0yevrw/DSC_0131%20%281%29.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zgdfgi6ihomxoo9/DSC_0136%20%281%29.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aj10bejca98fysf/DSC_0132.JPG?dl=0

I have been just so happy this past week. We had worked so hard and yet we have to work even harder as the days go by. We had been working a lot with the members and the miracle was that they were punctual and came on time where we told them to be. I loved it! We were able to see many people progress and see how every lesson that we had was inspired. Last Pday we did a zone activity and played capture the flag with paint, waterballons, mud, and IN THE RAIN. It was sooo much fun. Another Zone was also there. I was able to see Hna Trujillo! Its awesome to see old companions again.

The highlight of my week was when Jenny got baptized. It just filled my soul with so much light. I just remembered when I met her at her door and when we found each other in the street and when we first entered her house and everything...I remembered when the spirit told me to invited to be baptized and she said yes. She go baptized and receieved the Holy Ghost. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints....The Lord has led us to her and brought her to our path. What a blessing it was to meet her and see how the spirit has worked through her. Her son is the one who is deaf. This past sunday and on the day of her baptism, I conversed with him almost the whole time. I am improving so much in speaking Bolivian Sign Language. Its amazing how it just happens.

We wil having a zone conference this week with president. They asked us, my companion and I to prepare ourselves to do a practice role play in front of everyone....scary but I´m excited! Oh did I tell you I spoke in Sacrament Meeting again....its the 4th time in this ward....hahahaha

We were able to go to the temple this past week as well. One night I was thinking about extending my time in the mission for 6 more weeks long, but I knew I had to pray about it. I was blessed to go to the temple and do that. I got my answer and it was a big NO. So don´t worry family, I´ll be home when I´m supposed to.

I love doing companion exchanges. I had seen how it helps me become selfless and seek opportunities to serve my companions. I was blessed to be in the companion exchange with Hermana Wingate! My first companion in the CCM! It was crazy because I remember when we first taught a fake lesson in the CCM and we couldn´t speak Spanish and that day we taught like pros. I loved it. We laughed all day. We were talking in English and I had the hardest time to say "Jesus Christ" because it kept coming out in Spanish. We LAUGHED SO HARD at that. Hermana Wingate is training right now and she is just doing so great. I love her so much. In that companion exchange we were able to see after a year, we had changed so much...that we would had been so different if we had stayed at home. We were so happy and absolutely grateful to be missionaries. We had so much trials in the mission, but they did nothing but strengthen us.

It was Carnavales...carnivals! It was crazy. People would wet us form their cars with water balloons or soapy water or buckets of water. On sunday there was a huge truck full of people with buckets of water in the back and they totally wet us. We couldn´t escape. I was wet...in my skirt. I laughed so hard after that. But these past two days we stayed home to study, clean the house, wash clothes, and all the PDAY stuff that we normally do, except writing to our families via email. Going outside was scary. But yesterday we had to do it to have lunch. My companion and I walk outside like ninjas and tried to escape from every kid with a waterballon or watergun. We were able to arrive tothe pension dry and safe. We made some salteñas with Hna Rosmery! It was delicious! I can totally make them with Sis. Hurst or with you guys! It was fun. After eating.......the Elders took us by surprise and attacked us with waterballons, foamy soap, and BUCKETS of WATER. The funny part was the Hna Rosmery stepped in and the elders also attacked her. She helped my companion and I to attack the elders back. I think I went a little crazy and realized I didn´t have anything to use to attack them so I grabbed the broom and started chasing them. Then I knocked out their bucket full of waterballoons and stepped on all of them so they wouldn´t have a stash anymore. It was hilarious! Then after a truce,we when out in the corner of the street and started to wet the people who were walking by. It was soooooo funny. Its so normal to do that here.

The elders had to accompany us to our house because it was a hour when everyone was outside wettig people in the street. Once we reached the street of our house, all we saw was TONS OF PEOPLE with waterballoons in their hands. The elders tried to do a secret service thing and surround us, but they totally left us that very moment and I got wet. We all ran to our house laughing sooooo hard. And Joshua and Kim, elder Balderrama´s kids were outside wetting people too. I changed my clothes and came out to the yard to see what they were doing...and they wet me AGAIN. I had to change twice.........but it was a good day! :) I still laugh about it.

 

ahhh....I can´t not believe that I will be completing a year already in the misson. It scares me to be honest how time goes by....I just wish it would never end and that I can be a missionary forever.

But know this...I know that I need to be here...that at times I lay in bed and ask my companion, "Is it bad that I don´t miss home?"...I don´t miss home. I love being a missionary and love it all.

It makes me happy to always receive emails from you guys to see how things are going at home. I love this gospel so much because it just blesses everyone everywhere.

I´ll be writing you on Monday. I love you all so much.

Until then,
Hna Santeco

I Love the Martinez Family

I had such a week. We had our first companion exchange, we have 4 investigators progressing, we are feeling the spirit, our first leadership training conference...its going just great. I had never ceased to be so grateful to be able to meet the wonderful people here where I am assigned to work. I had never felt so much like our Savior..but only close is what I can say. My mind is literally focused on the people and their needs...and how I can only become a better missionary. I came to a conclusion that as missionaries, we are literally just like walking bishops or walking Jesus Christs. You wouldn´t believe the things that we know, we hear, and what the people tell us when we walk into their homes and tell us everything....it sometimes gives me heartaches and makes me want nothing, but to help them. We know so much......we carry so much with us as we leave their homes after a long lesson of hearing the stories of the investigators and members...their lives of how they had faced numerous difficulties. Its a lot..to know. But what a honor is it to be trusted in to know these things..

I was asked to notify you all that next week, PDAY will be on Wednesday in the morning.. I will write you on Wednesday like at 8-9 around those hours because it will be Carnavales and we were given strict instructions to stay in the house all day.....Carnavales is Carnivals I believe. They already started a little....its when they don´t care who you are and throw water balloons at you in the street and whatnot. It will be a little crazy...We were already attacked by little boys on a way to an appointment and I only yelled at them saying, "CONOCZO DONDE VIVEN! I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!" And as they arrived closer to us because we pressed the doorbell of the house where we were to visit, I told them, "OH yeah...I have a waterballoon in my bag too! But its without water....." My companion laughed so hard. But really I had a waterballoon that was unfilled. We entered that house dry. 

We had our first companion exchange with sisters in Cobija. They are just wonderful sisters. I had to stay in my area and it was just amazing.....I was sooooooooo mouth-blabbing and cheery talking to everyone. I was happy in every lesson and I was talking a lot....hahaha we were focusing in finding new people to teach. A miracle happened. As we were walking down the street, we were greeting everyone, Good afternoon, buenas tardes and a old woman says, "Buenas Tardes Jovencitas. Quiero invitarles a mi casa a tomar café!" And I was like when they say café. its not really coffee..its just a hot drink. It was strange because we just said good afternoona and she invited us into her house. Along the way to her house she tells me that she is 89 years old.......I was like WOWWWWW. We went into her house, her daughter was home and they really tried to make us drink coffee...they were really understanding though when we told her that we can´t drink coffee. These two women are so loving. Every time I spoke they 89 year old woman would tell me, "Que Lindo es...esta jovencita esta tan amorosa hablandonos de Díos...mi papito!" I just smiled the whole time. And as we were talking, she kept telling us, "Just a little glass of coffee. Just poquito!" I told her no probably 6 times lol. We were able to teach a little things with them and hear a little more about them where they come from. The daughter is divorced and has two kids who are now teenagers. She expressed to me how grateful she was to have the Lord in her life. I just already grew to love her that very moment...we were able to leave that house with a big welcome to their house and two new daughters of God who could be prepared to hear the gospel.

Yesterday...sundays....I try not to be stressed on sundays...but with tons of people in the chapel, running around to see if investigators have a friend and are in their classes, talking to members to receive references and to ask if they could accompany us in lessons...all of that in 3 hours...is rough. I go crazy.....I get stressed...but what stresses me the most is when people don´t come to church...mostly people that I love the most. I have been working with the Martinez family for a long time now. I love them so much and because I love them so much, when I see a little error here or there, it hurts me a lot. Yesterday my companion and I were able to teach Patrick´s dad, Jimmy. I literally just cried the entire lesson..because my heartached to see progress not  happen. It was a beautiful lesson...he told me in the end that one day he and his family will visit us in Hawaii....he told us his dreams and goals in life. And my companion and I helped him to see those dreams and goals that he has in a different perspective...in the perspective to gain eternal life. Every dream, every goal...there are things to do in order to achieve that goal. He understood perfectly and commited to come to church every sunday. I could see the light of Christ in his eyes as he bore his testimony to us...I could see his soul wanting to be free from the trials of life. I love this family so much....that to imagine myself leaving this area..leaving Bolivia will be really hard for me. I had grown to have the perspective to see myself be before our Savior and Him asking me, Why isn´t the Martinez family not here?...My companion and I are doing our all to save this family...I want to see this family in the celestial kingdom. I want to enjoy exaltation with them...Patrick reminded me so much of Jesse. Patrick received the calling as 1st counselor in the Deacon´s Quorum. And he wore the tie you gave him for christmas. I realized that its the same time you guys have in the christmas photo of us. Thank you for that tie..:) he sends his love to you as well. I am so grateful.....I am soooooo grateful and filled with so much love to be able to meet the Martinez family. They make me so happy, sometimes frustrated, but happy, too. They became my family in Bolivia. They became a huge part in my life and in my heart. I can not imagine not meeting them if I were not to be here on a mission. My life would be missing something huge. My eyes are filled with tears as I type this and reflect on the wonderful experiences that I had with this very family. If they can´t visit us in Hawaii....all I want is that they can be in the celestial kingdom as a family...I want them to get to the temple...I just want them to live the gospel. I hope..I really hope that I carry these experiences, feelings, this testimony that I have with me for the rest of my life....

I want to become a consecrated missionary. I want to be a true instrument of the Lord´s hands. I love being Hermana Santeco and His disciple. I hope you all can feel of the Love of the savior with you throughout this week. That you may push yourselves to become a little more obedient and little more like Jesus...and then you will see the fruits of your labor..

I love you all,

Hermana Santeco

Read the Book of Mormon 15 minutes everyday. whether it be personally or together as a family. Do it! Its a beautiful thing to do.....I love it and I hope I can keep doing it when I get home.

Good luck!

Soy yo, Señor? Hacía donde miramos?

I loved this week so much...and plus I finally learned what my calling is in English...

I´m a sister training leader. That is the word! Oh which reminds me, I learned a word last night that made me laugh so much. I learn new words each day. My companion and I were planning an activity for our family home evening with the Martinez Family. The activity includes handcuffs. Do you know how to say handcuffs in spanish??? "Esposas".....did you know esposas also means wives????? I cracked up so hard. We had to call one of our investigators who is a police officer to see if he would have a pair that he could lend us tonight, we called him and asked, "Tal vez tiene esposas????" And in my mind I just thought...He is probably thinking that we are asking him if he has wives.....hahahahaha. We had to explain that we were directing to handcuffs. Oh and his only has one wife by the way. 

But as I was saying, I loved this week so much. I am tremendously blessed to be with Hermana Rumualdo as sister leader trainer. I love her so much already and I continue to learn so much from her. I waited for her at the airport to arrive from Tupiza and when I saw her, I just ran up to her and gave her a big hug. We were excited to work together. First day together, we worked until we were tired. I loved to hear to teach and see how she taught with all her heart even from the first day she got here. She has become a huge example to me to become an effective missionary. I am soooo blessed to be here companion. We planned out the companion exchanges and looks like we were asked to sing in our leader trainingship conference this wednesday. We are stoking! Yesterday on fast sunday, I loved how she involuntarily got up to share her testimony that she was not afraid to share her testimony....because it was something she learned in the mission. She honestly trusts in the authority which she has to be a representative of Jesus Christ. 

Now that is it February...I am constantly reflecting on the things I had improved spiritually and on the things of how I can become better..last night I thought back to that day when I opened the mailbox and saw the big envelope. Not knowing where I would be....and here I am. It filled me with joy to know where I am today. I read my mission letter call over and over and saw the fulfilled blessings that I could experience thus far in the mission. I went to bed a little sad because I hate imagining them remove my mission plaque...this has become my life....and I wouldn´t want it to end just yet. 

President Hansen recommended me to read a conference talk called, "Which way do you face". It impacted my week tremendously and it answered my prayers. I learned to fear God more than my neighbors....I recommend you to read this conference talk. Its wonderful...sometimes we allow the first and greatest 2 commandments to we placed out of order...we are to love God with all our heart....and our neighbor as well...but do we really love our Heavenly Father more than our neighbor to be willing to be obedient??? Or do we love our neighbor more than God to lower our standards??? I also read another conference talk...I´m not sure what it is called in English, but its "Soy yo, Señor?". This talk hit me hard. I want to be humble. But also what I loved from this talk the most is that if we have the desire to develop the attributes of Christ, the Lord will makes us instruments in His hands. Its gospel truth right there. 

We have 4 greenies in our zone. To see them come fresh from the CCM makes me so happy and see how the time goes by so fast and how we really grow spiritually. My pensionista told me that my Spanish had improved tremendously since I came here in September. YAY!

I have been practicing a little Bolivian Sign Language with our investigator´s son. Its a struggle because I´m so used to signing in English, but I´m learning! 

This month and transfer is going to be wonderful. I have a great feeling about it. We will be going to the temple, having a baptism, a few conferences, and carnivals! Its an exciting month. I am so happy to be here with my companion and to see how the Lord guides us to people. 

I had grown to be grateful for the priesthood this morning as I reflected upon the blessings that we receive when we have the restored keys of the priesthood in the earth...I am so grateful to have a father and two brothers who hold the priesthood and have the responsibility to bless the children of God. 

I have grown to have a firm testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel and the love of Christ. I know that these things are true....I love being a missionary and love being a representative of Christ. Recuerden hacía donde miramos y quienes somos nosotros. 

Les amo mucho,

Hna Santeco

PS: Thank you for sending the package!!!

i want to start doing this thing with you guys and give you a challenge. I want you guys to try to keep the sabbath day holy as much as possible which includes not watching movies on sundays. i invite you guys to allow the sabbath day be a day of rest, but also a day of spiritual growth. i invite you guys to study  1 nephi 8-11 to study the tree of life. and i want you guys to share with me what you guys liked from the vision of lehi. 

i want to see progress at home as im here too!! haha...but i promise that if we keep the sabbath day holy with exactness...it can became a day full of testimony building experiences...

i love you.

hna santeco

La vida como capacitadora! Sister training Life here I come!!!

I ammmmmmm soooo excited and I am you are happy for me because...I´m sister trainer this transfer!!!! I am blessed to stay in my area and have an wonderful sister to be sister trainer with me to help the sisters in various zones in Cochabamba. I have been chosen and called to be able to train sister missionaries to teach, to find people to teach, to be a happy and effective missionary! I am honestly so happy and so blessed because its a blessing to be able to help other sisters out here. I will be doing companion exchanges weekly....and it will be an adventure! I am a little nervous because its a lot of new responsibilities, but I am truly grateful for this wonderful opportunity to be called as one of the sister leaders of this mission. WHOOOO-HOOOO!!! So its most likely that I will stay here for 3 more months...and hey! I hit my 11 month mark! Its going by so fast and I´m learning so much and yet have so much to learn. I only have 5 transfers left here in the mission. Its going to be the best! I honestly thought I would leave this area, but it looks like I´m staying and the Lord wants me to do more. 

And I have a special shout out for Jasmine Emerson...Your christmas letter arrive!!! Thank you sooo much!!! It made me so happy. It made me wanna go back to basics and dance with you. I need to get back into shape (like if I ever was in shape bahahaha). I love you and I´ll write you!!

So this week was a week where I literally gave it my all to teach, to contact people and find new people to teach, to call members to accompany us in lessons, I felt like I was doing all I could. It was also a rough week. Its sad when we are with a member for two hours going to house to house looking for someone to teach because the set appointments which we had, had fallen through. Plus every member´s phone was shut off....it was frustrating. But what I learned which is more important is the efforts we make....I made it a goal to include in my prayers at night to really tell my Heavenly Father of the things I had done throughout the day and ask Him if He was pleased with our work and efforts. I can say that He was pleased. I was sad because no one was home, but happy because we did all that we could. The mission is hard. It is really hard, but last night I realized that its hard for me because I worry about the people here that I don´t even worry about myself. But when we are home...when I go home, I will have to worry about myself and my future. The mission is seen to be a lot easier in that perspective. The mission is the best. You literally learn to forget yourself and just focus on the lives of others. Going home is rough, you have to face the real world...but the gospel blesses us. But I made it a goal to continue to be a member missionary when I get home. I want to be able to enjoy seeing the gospel change the lives of others. Its the best feeling ever. 

I saw something really funny today...here people buy clothes from the states and as we know there are shirts that have funny sayings on it, but its in English and so they don´t know what it says. One day, I was helping my Pensionista sell bread at her house as she was preparing dinner and a girl comes to buy bread. I look at her shirt and it was a nice shirt. Nice, clean, white...but it had an image of a boy that didn´t look so happy. Do you know what the shirt said?? It said, "I´m not smiling, I´m just passing gas." I LAUGHED SO HARD. The poor girl doesn´t even know...and plus she was with her boyfriend and he didn´t even know. I told sis. Rosmery and my companion of what happened and we laughed soooo hard. Our Pensionista hna Rosmery told us that is why she refuses to buy American Clothes with things written on it. She has a good point. I had seen many shirts with interesting things on it. 

Yesterday in sacrament meeting we heard a talk given by one of the senior companion missionaries that work in the temple. They talked about something that I really liked. They said that the number of baptisms in the temple, baptisms for the dead, in a year should be bigger than the number of baptisms of the living. We have lots of work to do in the temple. We have many responsibilities to help souls on both sides of the veil. This work is wonderful and I love it. 

I would never think of myself getting to where I am today....I can make people laugh when I speak spanish and its not because I make mistakes speaking spanish, I make them laugh with my jokes and comments! Haha! I can be myself here.....and I can be happy, obedient, blessed, and an instrument of the Lord´s hands. I had grown to love the people even more week after week. I love being a missionary and this I tell you every week because I really do love being a missionary and if I could stay here forever, I would do it...but at the same time I think about how much I miss sundays with family and eating food at home...then I say, there is always a time and place for everything. I will be coming home in 7 months. 

I had made friends and family here and I enjoy everyday that I have here. I love the mission with all my heart and I made the promise with the Lord that I would forget myself and get to work. Its truly a blessing to be called as one of His leaders in the Cochabamba Mission and to be able to serve my neighbors. Its going to be wonderful 7 months...

I just want to bare my humble testimony that I know that our Savior and Redeemer lives and loves us. I know that our Heavenly Father has sent His beloved son to die for us so that we can live with Him again...I know that we can have eternal life as we live the gospel. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the father and the Son, Jesus Christ. Yo lo se con todo mi corazón. Yo lo se porque he sentido el espíritu decirme. Estamos en la verdad. Hay que hacer más...mucho más para que esta obra crezca. Soy Mormona, yo lo se, yo lo vivo. y yo lo amo. Les amo a cada de ustedes.......

I hope that my emails are uplifting to you and can help a few of you in your struggles which you may be passing through..remember that our Heavenly loves us and He knows us perfectly. Estas cosas, les testifico en el sagrado nombre de Jesucrist, Amén.

Sigan adelante. Hasta una semana!!!

Hna Santeco

i took photos with the 70ty son, Joshua in his traje. he is a darling.

Mariano the dog who lives at our house and always follows me in the street. 

sonia and her son owen from our ward. shes a true friend!

the girl with the shirt I pee in pools is going home tonight. she was my sister trainer this passed transfer. and we ate lots of pizza that day. my zone leader and district leader took a selfie with my camera

The Mission Changes You

This week I had the wonderful priviledge to have an interview with President Hansen once again. I was tremendously happy. I love having interviews with him! But the funny thing was when I entered into the office and ofter saying the opening prayer, he got right straight into it and asked me, "Hermana Santeco. When are you to go home? What date are you going home?" He took out his list of the transfers and I said to myself, "He is already asking me when I am going home??? I still got time left!" After talking about the situations of school starting in November, I told him that I would like to go home as I am called to go home. The 26th of August. It looks like that there is a possibility that I will be arriving in Hawaii on the 25th. We will see. Because lately missionaries are now being sent monday nights instead of tuesday nights. But they will send me my itinerary when I am a month and a half away from going home. That would we when I would have 16 and a half months.......that is crazy to think...and to even think that I have been out for almost 11 months. I keep telling you guys this, but really...I look at myself and ask myself constantly who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? I am Hermana Santeco. A missionary and representative of our Savior Jesus Christ and I am serving the Lord in Bolivia. I literally loved my interview with President Hansen, but I can´t lie but say that I always cry in those interviews because I am just so happy to be a missionary. He told me that he has seen a huge growth in me since the first time he became President and he asked me to share of the things that I had learned thus far in the mission. I told him...that I am learning that we are truly doing the will of the Lord....that God works miracles to this very day...and that the spirit really works through people. He looked straight at me and smiled....and said, "The mission is really changing your life". I nodded my head yes....the mission is changing my life tremendously. My heart is absolutely full.....and my love continues to grow more and more for the gospel and the people of Bolivia each day. 
 

Now...I got a question. I talked to Sister Hansen, the mission president wife and she told me that gas price has gotten down really low...like $2????? Please tell me that is true in Hawaii too????? And explain to me how that is even possible??? Because hearing that makes me want to drive all day and go out to buy some pandas express...hahaha. But really tell me!!

So I have been studying a little different in my language studies. I am studying Bolivian Sign Language!!!! Its pretty awesome! Apart from spanish, I´m studying the signs so I can talk with one of our investigator´s son who is deaf. She lended me her book and its an awesome book! We had intercambios this week and my companion was the one who stayed in our area. She told me that that day they found him in the street hiding behind a tree...he is a funny guy. And my companion tried signing the word mom, but instead it turned out to be a wave just under her chin just using her fingers...hahahahahaha but the following day I was able to put into practice a few words that I learned in Bolivian Sign Language. I asked him if he was hiding behind a tree the other day and all he did was laugh and say yes. This is a blast really. Sign Language!!! But I have been thinking...I have a feeling that I will not go back to studying ASL....I think I´ll minor in Spanish at BYUH so I can cultivate the gift of tongues and continue speaking the language. I think that would be awesome and also a blessing.

So as I mentioned, we had intercambios. It has been rainy these few days but when it doesn´t rain, it can be really hot or really cold. Its a bipolar climate here. You never know. But during intercambios or companion exchanges, I was in the other area with my sister trainer. Her area is a hill...and full of dirt. And after it raining so much it was pure mud. I was in muddy shoes.....but that day was great. I learned a lot :). Plus I missed my companion, but I was able to learn!

I have been helping my companion learn english this week and she has improved tremendously. She has gotten to a point to share her testimony with me in English every morning. I´m so proud of her!

When I study, Joshua, the Balderrrama´s family which we live with, their son who is 6 years old, always visits me at my window. This morning he came to say hi to me and just started to talk to me. One day we promised him that we would play with him at night when we get home, but that night we were sooooo busy and all I heard was a knock at the window and after at the door. He was waiting for me with his soccer ball. I quickly did everything and got to play with him for a few moments. Hahaha but here are a few pictures of him, from my view from my desk, from his view from the window. Plus that morning I found out that my camera can take pictures by itself by detecting smiles. I was stunned that it was taking pictures when I wasn´t even touching the button...hahahahaha

I was able to buy a skirt for one peso.....that is one seventh of a dollar....that is amazing. 

Yesterday was the fireside in our stake. I had to sing and I was nervoussssssss. But it was a beautiful fireside. We had truly felt the spirit the entire time. I loved every testimony and message we heard. I can honestly say that the mission is changing me...its changing everything about me that I can´t even remember who I was before at home. I had never felt so much love for others and for the gospel. I had never felt so compelled to serve our Lord until that very day at the temple when I prayed and asked God if He wanted me to serve a mission....and I am so grateful for that day...and the moments that had brought me to that day to bring me to where I am today. 

It our last week in this transfer...and I have no idea what exactly what I want...to leave or to stay...I love this area so much, our pension, our investigators....And Jenny will be getting baptized in two weeks! I love her so much...I seen so much changes in her and how the spirit is working through her.....But iré y haré lo que el Señor me mande que yo haga. 

As for packages.....can you send me some hersey kisses with almonds? or just normal chocolate bars of hersey with almonds? I miss that good stuff. 

Oh and little of culture background of Bolivia..I was always meaning to tell you all. NO ONE wants it to be their birthday in Bolivia. Why? Because they throw raw eggs in your hair...also flour. And you have to bite the cake after blowing the candles and its most likely there will be someone behind you to shove your face into the cake.......I´m not letting anyone know that my birthday is coming up...or I´ll just stay home all day...lol 

I love you all so much. I hope the family in Thailand can come back to Hawaii or at least I can go there to visit them. I would love that so much. I love you and I know that this gospel is true. I know that the Savior lives....I know that the Lord is preparing people to receive the gospel in their lives. I know it with all my heart.

Have a wonderful week. 

Until next week!

Hna Santeco

There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. Are we doing all we should?

"There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. Are we doing all we should?" -Thomas S. Monson

I can not believe how fast January is going by. Its already almost February...and I´ll already be out for a year....and many people are already going home....Nye told me that her farewell will be on the same day when Tyrone and Tatiana are giving their homecoming talk. How special is that!

I have to share something. This morning as my companion and I were walking to the internet place, we saw two dead dogs...one dead and wet from the rain laying in front of a house along the street, and the other...it got ran over by a car......two dead dogs within the time span of 10 minutes...it was creepy hahaha. Poor dogs. 

This week.........I had grown the great desire to be a better person and better missionary. My Heavenly Father has answered my prayers daily. I was having such a hard time getting up in the morning. Mostly because the mornings are cold and it makes me sleepy and because the life of a missionary is exhausting. That night before I prayed with so much faith and remembered one of the lessons we were taught in our district meeting, that we can give all of our weaknesses to the Lord and have Him help us make them into strengths. I prayed so fervantly that night asking that He would help me get up without any problems getting up. That He would give me the energy that I need to get up and be better. That morning I got up, got on my knees and recognized that I wasn´t tired. I wasn´t sleepy and in fact, my body just didn´t want to be in bed. I prayed unto God with a grateful heart. I was extremely happy because after a prayer of faith, He has answered me. 

With a new year, we have been able to see the statistics of the Bolivia Cochabamba mission. In the year of 2014, the mission had 959 baptisms. And in December we had 60 baptisms. Welll 61 baptisms and 60 confirmations...I think there was complications with one of the souls that got baptized. Its a pity really. But last night we were going to have dinner with our pensionista like normal, but this weekend she went for a trip with her family out of town and was going to arrive just in time for dinner. But....she didn´t arrive. And all that we had to eat in the house was tortillas and my egg flour soup without an egg.....we were going to ask the Balderrama family to lend us an egg so I could make soup, but inside they invited us for dinner. I was dead nervous to eat dinner with a 70ty......But it was a wonderful dinner. We got to know them better. Elder Balderrama is the area 70ty of Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, and one more country....I can´t remember. But he shared with us that the church is growing tremendously fast in south America that statistics show that every 15 minutes, someone is getting baptized. To hear that filled my heart with so much joy...Its amazing how the work is hastening. He was telling me how he is to take an english exam to prepare himself for the possibilities of giving a talk in general conference. He asked me to lend me a few of my books and to help him with a few words. What a priviledge...I helped a 70ty with English...that´s going in my journal! Hahaha.

We had a day superrrrrr funny. My companion is improving in learning English. I´m doing my best to help her. One night I was praying in English to help her to listen and understand...but I had the hardest time to remember the word "example". I repeated the word "ejemplo.....ejemplo....???" then she told me "example"...she helped me remember the word.....we help each other pretty much. But one morning I was asking her questions of how to say a few words and I asked her how to say the word cocina in english and she said, "Chicken".....I laughed so hard.......she laughed so hard.......I´m in the chicken! hahahaha its supposed to be kitchen. Then much later that day two members invited us to eat at their house. And I was like...yeah sure we will come. The six missionaries in our ward went....did I mention they live like on the edge of a cliff??? They gave us HUGE PIECES of BREAD. We struggled to finish eating it....then after they gave us HUGE EMPANADAS big as my FACE. Then after they gave us cereal without milk to eat in a huge bowl........and the sister kept going outside, I don´t know what for, but she would come back with another bowl of cereal........it was soooo funny because all of us didn´t know how to eat it all.......it was just a day where you just had to be there kind of day hahaha. 

I have been praying so hard to be able to see Giovana my convert with Hna Callata in the chapel. She has been busy with business trips and such that she couldn´t come for three sundays. My heart ached so much during those weeks...but yesterday she came...and I nearly just cried. It filled me up with so much joy. Then I saw our progressing investigators come into the chapel. I was even just more happy. And imagine how happy our Heavenly Father is...Jenny, one of our progressing investigators has a son who is deaf and knows sign language...for spanish. He also came to church yesterday and he stayed the three hours. I was constantly making sure that he was okay and feeling comfortable with that only his mom knows the signs. I tried so hard to talk with him with the signs that I can barely remember in English and he just kept smiling at me as I tried to make him teach me signs. Signing in spanish when I´m thinking English to sign is hard...but his mom told me that they will teach me signs as we continue to visit them. It made me so happy!! I´ll be teaching him hopefully the gospel in signs! I´m working hard on that. 

So there were a lot of changes in mission rules and such and it really was inspired. I loved the changes. But one of them that I don´t love so much is that packages can´t be more than 2 kilos heavy or I will have to pay...lots of money to get it out of a place where they keep it until I pay for overweight. Yeah that is just to let you all know :). 

We did a family home evening with the Martinez Familia a week ago and we a powerful activity that made a huge impact on one of the less actives in the family. We had brought chocolates for each and every one of them. And we had one of them do us a huge favor. We had one of them do 10 push ups for every person who wanted chocolate. But the thing was also if they didn´t want chocolate, the person still has to do 10 push ups. We had our less active member do the pushups...and he suffered. His body trembled and struggled to push through the pain. We taught about the atonement of Jesus Christ and how He has suffered for each of us, whether if we want to repent, have eternal life, go to church, keep His commandments....He did it for us because He loves us and sometimes we take advantage of His suffering because we will never come to full comprehension of how painful it was...but we were able to see that He has suffered...not completely like we do when we do 100 or more pushups....but He honestly did it because He loves us. The spirit was so strong......we were able to make an appointment especifically with him and the following lesson with the less-active....we could see that we did something good...and God was working through him. I could feel the power of his testimony that he once had and was coming back. I am eternally grateful for being guided to him and to see how he truly needed to go back to the gospel.

So....our stake is doing a missionary fireside! A musical fireside...which I have been waiting for forever. They don´t have a lot of those here. But its planned out by President Hansen, our mission president and he has chosen a few of us missionaries to do musical numbers...unfortunately I was chosen.....hahaha but really he wants me to sing. When did I ever get known to sing well??? or in my words...on pitch??? Hahaha....Its gonna be great. But nerve wrecking because he wants it to be PERFECT. It will be happening this sunday!

I only have two more weeks in this transfer....it always goes by fast...I have no idea if I will stay here or leave. But I think it is really possible for me to stay. 

One of the things I studied this morning was about the 2000 jovenes...how do you call that in English??? hahaha......but its a wonderful story. Read it. Its in Alma 56-57. They had wonderful mothers. I have a wonderful mother. It made me think of you mother!! 

I´m absolutely grateful to be here...I look at pictures of everything that has happened and I sometimes can´t even recognize myself.....I would ask myself, who am I? I feel so different and I can´t even imagine not even serving a mission....who would have thought I would be a missionary...I never wanted to be one...hahaha but now I am. 

I know that la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias es verdadera. Yo lo se con todo mi corazon. I know that my family is eternal. I know we all have a purpose in this life and I am so grateful to be able to be part of this grand work of the Lord...

I love you allllll!!!! Abrazos!!!!

Hna Santeco

PS: I didn´t take a lot of photos this week...so sorry....there wasn´t enough time....but here is a pic of me with my hymn book and of my chinese eyes...it was a cold morning that day!

And I forgot to include that pdte hansen told us that this saturday, the church announced 11 new missions in the world. One of them will be in Bolivia! La Mision Bolivia El Alto! Que chevere!!!

Feliz año nuevo!!!! 2015!! cheee-heee!

Its finally here. 2015. When many things will happen.....yay!!! I am so happy to know that time moves forward and things happen everything...just to help me to count my many blessings. 

This week was like every other week, but not quite. It was a little rough to be honest. Why do people drink on New Years??? What are they going to remember anyways when they wake up and find themselves sleeping in front of a random door in the street.....On new year´s eve and new year´s day, everyone was either sleeping...or partying..or drinking...or drunk at the door...lol and this was in daylight. But after this week, everything should go back to little normal. 

Last pday was awesome! My companion and I did a house cleaning and sushi day for new years. We cleaned up and changed the furniture around. It made me super excited to study in the mornings to be able to look out the window (and what did I see....popcorn popping on the aprocot tree!..i just had to do it) and ponder on the things I learn and read. We made sushi!!! It was deliciousssss!!! With the nori you sent me, the spam...we bought a liter of cocacola, rice, eggs, and mayonesa and soy sauce to make us a little of home in my mouth. IT WAS GOOOOOD. My companion loved the sushi. I have not eaten sushi for over 10 months....and it was a lovely day. After cleaning the house, we jumped on the trampoline at our house. The family Balderrama got a trampoline from the states. It was rad. But I kept getting shocked when I touched someone or the metal on the tramp...hahaha

With new years here and because my companion is going home in 5 months, we are determined to do some exercise. We exercise in the morning and night. I´m loving it....oh which reminds me one morning my companion and I were thinking about McDonalds...I was craving a burger and fries....I could taste it in my mouth...and I just wanted to cry. lol who knew that I would miss the fast food restaurant that makes me fat.....but really I miss the flavors in Hawaii. 

It was my companion´s birthday on Tuesday. Did I ever tell you guys the traditions of Bolivia when it comes to birthdays?? If its your birthday in Bolivia, you don´t want anyone to know that its your birthday. They throw eggs and flour at your head....my poor companion. I told her I would protect her, but the elders....the four of them attacked her. I didn´t know what to do, but try to clean it off...But she had an awesome day!!! She ran after the elders afterwards and wiped off the egg and flour on their shirts...hahaha. 

Last night I was laughing in my sleep again....I don´t know why I do it...but I laugh in my sleep. Hna Callata was scared when I did that and now Hna Muralles is scared of me when I laugh in my sleep.....but in my dream, there wasn´t anything funny. Hahaha. 

But as for the miracles of this week...I literally had grown to love the people here. I had never worked so hard to help them here. We are so blessed to have 2 people progressing so beautifully in our area. We are hoping to have 1 or 2 baptisms this month. But they are really progressing well in their church assistance and their efforts to learn more about the gospel. For this past 2 sundays, my recient convert Giovana hasn´t came to church and I was sooooo worried. To see your convert not come to church after being baptized hurts a lot. I was able to talk to her and she told me that she will never miss a sunday again. She was on a business trip. Please pray for her. She is really a wonderful woman. I just love her so much and she knows that. We are hoping we can really take her to do baptisms for the dead soon. There is a huge importance of members in the ward and their efforts in this work. We were able to have a few sisters accompany us in an appointment with our progressing investigator Jenny. And because of those appointments and that the sisters already knew who she was, yesterday at church when I couldn´t attend to Jenny the sisters were already talking to her. Sundays in the mission are crazy. I miss sundays at home, but literally you are running from one corner to the other to make sure your investigators, your less actives, recient converts are in their classes and with a friend. Its rough....but its a blessing. On top of that I´ll be talking to members to ask them to accompany us in appointments throughout the week, making appointments with less-actives.....its a crazy day that all I want is to sleep...but that is not possible in the mission. lol Jenny is progressing. The other is Melany who is a 12 year old girl who had never missed a sunday since december. She is our miracle including Jenny. I love having lessons with them because I can truly see how the Lord prepares people to receive the gospel. 

I enjoy each day  here although there are its struggles. I enjoy learning and serving the Lord. We are so blessed to be called as His servants to be here. 

This Pday we are going to eat lunch at the mission home with President and his wife...you know what that means.....FOOD FROM THE STATES! hahaha...:) I love being a missionary and seeing how fasting really brings miracles......I love fast sundays. I love the gospel and I love the Lord. I love you guys!!! I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Hna Santeco