Hola Fam and Friends,
This week was the worst. Hahahahaha. Our baptism dates fell through. I couldn't understand passive voice. I saw a dead dog. Elder Vasquez was sick. It was hard. However, this week was also the best because I learned so much! There is this manual called ' Adjusting to Missionary Life ' and it is incredible. Because I am prideful, I haven't opened the book before because I figured that I don't need some manual to help me adapt. Now I wish I had had this book for my whole life. Also I don't understand why it is called 'Adapting to Missionary Life' and not 'Adaption to Earth Life' because this book is 100% applicable in all aspects. Here is what I learned:
1. Make your prayers more meaningful. The advice the book gives is to pray as if the Savior is sitting there listening. This advice has honestly changed my prayers and my testimony. Try it everyone. Also the book also recommends asking the Lord what he wants you to do today and then do what comes to your mind. Today's prompting from the spirit was to say nice things to people.
2. If you don't want to talk about it, don't resent it. This has also helped me so much. It is so much easy to just decide things aren't going to bother you.
3. Think of charitable reasons for people's actions. Instead of thinking that someone said something because they are rude or trying to be mean, be charitable and give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they are tired, misinformed, or actually trying to help.
4. Find exercise you like (or dislike the least) and do it. This is literally what the book says and it makes me LOL. Exercise is important, find one you can tolerate. Haha.
5. The Lord knows you are the worst. He is very aware of your lack of ability. In all things. The point is to realize that you aren't supposed to become perfect by yourself. Find you talents and offer them to the Lord. Find your weaknesses and offer them to the Lord. Through his power, is when we see the change. I have seen this so much lately. The Lord asks that I try. Even though I am awful sometimes. I don't need to be perfect. It is not my work. The Lord will make up the difference. I have a testimony of that. All the Lord asks is that I offer what I have and realize what I don't. Once I do this my talents become stronger and I am shown how to strengthen my weakness. It's okay to have a bad day and be the worst. Accept it and realize the Savior still loves you and wants to you to try and become better with his help. Accept the Savior's help.
Anyway, I love you all! Happy Halloween!
Love,
Elder Meier
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
October 19th, 2015 Ignacion Escurdido Week 4
Friends & Family,
This week.
I would just like to start off by saying: Where am I?
Literally LOL at this week. First and foremost, I watched my first cock fight. I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but it happened. Turns out I still love animals and hate animal cruelty. Also gambling is lame.
Second, this week was the celebration of Black Jesus. He has a name in Spanish but I don't remember it, but he is also literally referred to as Black Jesus. There was a shrine and fireworks and everything.
Third, everyone here now only refers to me as the "Elder with cat eyes". Hahaha.
Fourth, my companion is really good at beat-boxing. One day we were waiting for our investigator with these boys and he starts to beat box. The kids demanded that I rap... so i did. First I rapped the song from Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and then the Big Mac rap. Because no one here speaks English they all assumed I was free styling and thing I'm a pro. I now rap for children constantly in which I literally say whatever I want, gibberish or not, and the kids are so impressed. Lol. I also told this kid (named Joey) that his name was pancreas in English. Hahaha. In my defense the children ask me what their name is in English 100x and never remember what I say.
Peru is hilarious. I live in a rice town that is forty minutes away from the nearest city. I am the only one who speak English, and I am a good foot and a half taller than everyone. I love it so much. The people are so nice.
One of my favorite parts of the day is when I have a few minutes to read Jesus the Christ. The book destoys me with every word. So good. This week I read about the Atonement. I cannot even fathom it. I received enlightenment about a few things:
1. I am not the Christ because I am the worst. If it was me being spit upon and persecuted by the Pharrisees I would show no mercy in the judgement to come and would yield the powers of God to harass them constantly.
2. After Jesus suffered for all the sins of mankind, he was unjustly tried and crucified. The people were so awful to him. I couldn't understand why Jesus was so sad, and not angry. Then I realized Jesus had to watch the people commit the sins, of which the painful consequences he just felt. Those who spit upon him and smote him and slandered his name did not realize the torment that was to come because of their sins, but Jesus did. And he was sorrowful for them. I constantly think about how the Savior suffered for me. How it is up to me to choose the love he so willingly extends. There is a talk by Elder Eyring that I love. He talks about the Atonement, and in it the enabling power of the Atonement. The Atonement isn't just for sins, it is for change. You can pray for the strength and energy required to change, and receive it, through the Atonement. I have done that countless times. When I feel tired or impatient I pray to take part in the power of the Atonement. I pray that my heart can be changed through the power of the Atonement. I have a testimony that it works. This Gospel is unfathomable. Use the Atonement. Repent and change. The only thing that will come is more happiness and a greater desire to be better. I love you all. Please pray that my investigators will come to church. Haha.
Love,
Elder Meier
This week.
I would just like to start off by saying: Where am I?
Literally LOL at this week. First and foremost, I watched my first cock fight. I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but it happened. Turns out I still love animals and hate animal cruelty. Also gambling is lame.
Second, this week was the celebration of Black Jesus. He has a name in Spanish but I don't remember it, but he is also literally referred to as Black Jesus. There was a shrine and fireworks and everything.
Third, everyone here now only refers to me as the "Elder with cat eyes". Hahaha.
Fourth, my companion is really good at beat-boxing. One day we were waiting for our investigator with these boys and he starts to beat box. The kids demanded that I rap... so i did. First I rapped the song from Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and then the Big Mac rap. Because no one here speaks English they all assumed I was free styling and thing I'm a pro. I now rap for children constantly in which I literally say whatever I want, gibberish or not, and the kids are so impressed. Lol. I also told this kid (named Joey) that his name was pancreas in English. Hahaha. In my defense the children ask me what their name is in English 100x and never remember what I say.
Peru is hilarious. I live in a rice town that is forty minutes away from the nearest city. I am the only one who speak English, and I am a good foot and a half taller than everyone. I love it so much. The people are so nice.
One of my favorite parts of the day is when I have a few minutes to read Jesus the Christ. The book destoys me with every word. So good. This week I read about the Atonement. I cannot even fathom it. I received enlightenment about a few things:
1. I am not the Christ because I am the worst. If it was me being spit upon and persecuted by the Pharrisees I would show no mercy in the judgement to come and would yield the powers of God to harass them constantly.
2. After Jesus suffered for all the sins of mankind, he was unjustly tried and crucified. The people were so awful to him. I couldn't understand why Jesus was so sad, and not angry. Then I realized Jesus had to watch the people commit the sins, of which the painful consequences he just felt. Those who spit upon him and smote him and slandered his name did not realize the torment that was to come because of their sins, but Jesus did. And he was sorrowful for them. I constantly think about how the Savior suffered for me. How it is up to me to choose the love he so willingly extends. There is a talk by Elder Eyring that I love. He talks about the Atonement, and in it the enabling power of the Atonement. The Atonement isn't just for sins, it is for change. You can pray for the strength and energy required to change, and receive it, through the Atonement. I have done that countless times. When I feel tired or impatient I pray to take part in the power of the Atonement. I pray that my heart can be changed through the power of the Atonement. I have a testimony that it works. This Gospel is unfathomable. Use the Atonement. Repent and change. The only thing that will come is more happiness and a greater desire to be better. I love you all. Please pray that my investigators will come to church. Haha.
Love,
Elder Meier
October 12th, 2015 Ignacion Escurdido Week 3
Friends and Fam,
Hola. I thought you´d all like to know that once again I am left with a shaved head in Peru. Call it trying to fortify companionship unity, but for some reason I let my companion cut my hair. Now, Elder Vasquez has many talents. He is super nice, loves everyone, and is extremely good at making it sound like he knows how to cut hair. Let´s just say after he cut my hair I was a little more mohawky then is allowed in the mission field. Thus the head had to be shaved. It actually is quite nice, however, because in the afternoons it gets so hot here. I would like to give a quick shout out to Cheryl Crow for her inspired words in ´Soak Up The Sun´. What a great song to sing as I share the gospel in the heat of Satan´s playground.
Although the heat is sometimes rough, and it´s hard to get rejected, there are many parts of the mission that I have really come to enjoy. So without further adew, in the the words of Julie Andrews here a few of my favorite things:
-Pop culture. Just like it has infiltrated and influenced the minds of your small children, the same can be found here in Peru. For example, we have a 60 year old investigator named Veronica who wore a shirt that said ¨My Gypsy Heart¨ one day, and the next a shirt with a huge picture of Hannah Montana that said 'It's abou to get real'. Lol. As long as Veronica prays about the Book of Mormon with a sincere "gypsy heart", having "it's about to get real" intent she can wear whatever she wants.
-My next favorite thing can be summarized in one compound word and one acronym; breastfeeding. lol.
(Sidenote: I'm not implying here that I enjoy watching people breastfeed. I simply admire that Peruvians DO NOT care about your comfort zone. Oh, you're trying to learn Spanish? Cool. I'm gonna go ahead and bare-breastedly suckle my child as you teach me about the Restoration.)
- This next item ties in with the last one. Peruvians do not care. You have a stomach that hangs down to your knees? Wear a crop top. Do you. Also I always LOL when Peruvians describe someone else or themselves because they are completely honest. If you are a little bit chubby be prepared to be referred to as the fat one.
-The last thing I love is feeding the cats that live in our backyard and petting the dogs. Both of these things I said I wouldn't do. Curse my soft gypsy heart.
All in all I love it here, but it is hard in my area. There is no ward here and we have two active members. I'm realizing more and more that there is a HUGE difference between being receptive to the Gospel and being prepared to receive the Gospel. Everyone here is receptive. The invite us in, say they love the things we teach, and then go back to how they were before as soon as we leave. This happens in our own lives all the time, especially after conference. We love the things that are said, accept them as truth, and then don't do anything. Receptive people accept the word of God and realize they need to change. Prepared people make the change. Prepared people have already been doing their part. They have been asking questions. They have been praying. They have been reading and studying. Because they have done their part, now they can progress. The hardest part for the majority of our investigators, and members, is that they actually have to do things to see a change. Nothing changes until something changes. Your faith won´t grow, your desire to do good won't increase unless you have changed something. So be prepared to make the change. I love you all. I think my parasite is gone (I'm fine mom), and I haven't been sunburned yet. Mission life is good.
Love,
Elder Meier
Hola. I thought you´d all like to know that once again I am left with a shaved head in Peru. Call it trying to fortify companionship unity, but for some reason I let my companion cut my hair. Now, Elder Vasquez has many talents. He is super nice, loves everyone, and is extremely good at making it sound like he knows how to cut hair. Let´s just say after he cut my hair I was a little more mohawky then is allowed in the mission field. Thus the head had to be shaved. It actually is quite nice, however, because in the afternoons it gets so hot here. I would like to give a quick shout out to Cheryl Crow for her inspired words in ´Soak Up The Sun´. What a great song to sing as I share the gospel in the heat of Satan´s playground.
Although the heat is sometimes rough, and it´s hard to get rejected, there are many parts of the mission that I have really come to enjoy. So without further adew, in the the words of Julie Andrews here a few of my favorite things:
-Pop culture. Just like it has infiltrated and influenced the minds of your small children, the same can be found here in Peru. For example, we have a 60 year old investigator named Veronica who wore a shirt that said ¨My Gypsy Heart¨ one day, and the next a shirt with a huge picture of Hannah Montana that said 'It's abou to get real'. Lol. As long as Veronica prays about the Book of Mormon with a sincere "gypsy heart", having "it's about to get real" intent she can wear whatever she wants.
-My next favorite thing can be summarized in one compound word and one acronym; breastfeeding. lol.
(Sidenote: I'm not implying here that I enjoy watching people breastfeed. I simply admire that Peruvians DO NOT care about your comfort zone. Oh, you're trying to learn Spanish? Cool. I'm gonna go ahead and bare-breastedly suckle my child as you teach me about the Restoration.)
- This next item ties in with the last one. Peruvians do not care. You have a stomach that hangs down to your knees? Wear a crop top. Do you. Also I always LOL when Peruvians describe someone else or themselves because they are completely honest. If you are a little bit chubby be prepared to be referred to as the fat one.
-The last thing I love is feeding the cats that live in our backyard and petting the dogs. Both of these things I said I wouldn't do. Curse my soft gypsy heart.
All in all I love it here, but it is hard in my area. There is no ward here and we have two active members. I'm realizing more and more that there is a HUGE difference between being receptive to the Gospel and being prepared to receive the Gospel. Everyone here is receptive. The invite us in, say they love the things we teach, and then go back to how they were before as soon as we leave. This happens in our own lives all the time, especially after conference. We love the things that are said, accept them as truth, and then don't do anything. Receptive people accept the word of God and realize they need to change. Prepared people make the change. Prepared people have already been doing their part. They have been asking questions. They have been praying. They have been reading and studying. Because they have done their part, now they can progress. The hardest part for the majority of our investigators, and members, is that they actually have to do things to see a change. Nothing changes until something changes. Your faith won´t grow, your desire to do good won't increase unless you have changed something. So be prepared to make the change. I love you all. I think my parasite is gone (I'm fine mom), and I haven't been sunburned yet. Mission life is good.
Love,
Elder Meier
October 5th, 2015 Ignacion Escurdido Week 2
[[Well first of all, I hope he's joking about the parasite Emoji.....you never know with Jace. And FYI, in his email to me he explained a few things I wanted details about from his last email: He does live in a house, and there is a kitchen which does have a fridge and a stove. The other 3 rooms are the chapel, the primary room, and his and his companions room. The nearest real chapel is 40 minutes away. That's where he watched conference. He really does shower with a bucket, and there is no hot water. They don't have air conditioning or a swamp cooler, but they do have a fan. He has a pensionista (someone hired to fix their meals) named Katty and he eats lunch at her house every day]]. -From Dayna
Dearest Fam and Friends,
I hope all is well in the land of the people with teeth and the home of the traffic laws that are actually followed. This week was great! So without further thought, let me explain why;
We set four baptismal dates this week! What what! Mostly (lol) though because they may have said yes out of pity (Im the one who did the asking). Anyway it was super awesome and this week our goal is 6. Hahaha. However, please pray for them because there is tendency to committ to things you don´t plan on doing here.
I am 95% sure I have a parasite named Little Ignacio who eats 3/4 of my meals.
There is a panderilla right next to our house that makes mediocre bread that is delicious to me for some reason. Never fear, the parasite mentioned above helps me keep my figure.
Conference was number one. I got to watch Saturday and the Priesthood session in English. So good. Watching in Spanish wasn´t too bad and I could understand it for the most part.
Mission work is fun, and mission work is hard. Keep the commandments. Do the little things. Remember why you love the Gospel. Keep the Sabbath Day holy and take the sacrament. I promise that it will only bless your lives. Remember to do it all with a smile or the Plan of Happiness might as well be called the Plan of Grumpiness. Peru is cool and I love you all! Stay sweet!
Love, Elder Meier
Dearest Fam and Friends,
I hope all is well in the land of the people with teeth and the home of the traffic laws that are actually followed. This week was great! So without further thought, let me explain why;
We set four baptismal dates this week! What what! Mostly (lol) though because they may have said yes out of pity (Im the one who did the asking). Anyway it was super awesome and this week our goal is 6. Hahaha. However, please pray for them because there is tendency to committ to things you don´t plan on doing here.
I am 95% sure I have a parasite named Little Ignacio who eats 3/4 of my meals.
There is a panderilla right next to our house that makes mediocre bread that is delicious to me for some reason. Never fear, the parasite mentioned above helps me keep my figure.
Conference was number one. I got to watch Saturday and the Priesthood session in English. So good. Watching in Spanish wasn´t too bad and I could understand it for the most part.
Mission work is fun, and mission work is hard. Keep the commandments. Do the little things. Remember why you love the Gospel. Keep the Sabbath Day holy and take the sacrament. I promise that it will only bless your lives. Remember to do it all with a smile or the Plan of Happiness might as well be called the Plan of Grumpiness. Peru is cool and I love you all! Stay sweet!
Love, Elder Meier
September 28th 2015: Ignacion Escurdido Week 1
Hello Family and Friends
I´m here! Hahahaha. Lol. I´m going to go ahead and answer all of your questions in this group email. So... here are frequently asked questions:
What area are you in? My area is close to a city called Sullana. My area is called Ingnacion Escurdido. It is basically just all of the rice farming towns, so there are rice fields everywhere.
How is your companion? My companion is number one. His name is Elder Vasquez and he is from Chile. He is Latino me. He sings Be Still My Soul (in broken English) constantly. He is extremely patient and is easily the nicest person Ive ever met. Also every morning he and I going running through said rice fields.
How is your Spanish? Lol. When it is essential that I understand something in order to teach the Gospel my Spanish is flawless. I can speak and understand perfectly. However, If what I want to say or understand is not imperative to the work of salvation, I usually have to rely on my own knowledge. In other words... I am AWFUL when Im not teaching the gospel.
How are the people? Superb. I love them all. Even if the majority of people with teeth is me.
How is the food? I live in a rice field town so it's pretty ricey. But also rico (delicious).
Do you shower with a bucket? You bet your bottom dollar I do.
Is the chapel also your house? Yes. One room is the chapel, one room is the primary room, and one room is our room.
Did you have to give a talk this Sunday? Of course.
Are you still blessing the animals in Peru with you Snow White capabilities? Obviously, but from a distance because 95% of them probably have rabies. Also barn owls are everywhere here.
Have you ever seen a lunar eclipse? Yeah my first time was yesterday night.
Do you ride in a 5 passenger taxi car with 10 other people? Always, and most of the time on the wrong side of the road because our driver wants to pass all the motorcylces.
Well I hope this email answered all of your questions. My mission is number one. Everyone here is so prepared. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed because there is so much teaching to be done and I can't do it all with my broken Spanish. This Gospel is so great and I am so thankful to be teaching it. Thanks for all of the support and love. Everyone watch conference this weekend and be thankful that you can watch in your very own house!
Love,
Elder Meier
I´m here! Hahahaha. Lol. I´m going to go ahead and answer all of your questions in this group email. So... here are frequently asked questions:
What area are you in? My area is close to a city called Sullana. My area is called Ingnacion Escurdido. It is basically just all of the rice farming towns, so there are rice fields everywhere.
How is your companion? My companion is number one. His name is Elder Vasquez and he is from Chile. He is Latino me. He sings Be Still My Soul (in broken English) constantly. He is extremely patient and is easily the nicest person Ive ever met. Also every morning he and I going running through said rice fields.
How is your Spanish? Lol. When it is essential that I understand something in order to teach the Gospel my Spanish is flawless. I can speak and understand perfectly. However, If what I want to say or understand is not imperative to the work of salvation, I usually have to rely on my own knowledge. In other words... I am AWFUL when Im not teaching the gospel.
How are the people? Superb. I love them all. Even if the majority of people with teeth is me.
How is the food? I live in a rice field town so it's pretty ricey. But also rico (delicious).
Do you shower with a bucket? You bet your bottom dollar I do.
Is the chapel also your house? Yes. One room is the chapel, one room is the primary room, and one room is our room.
Did you have to give a talk this Sunday? Of course.
Are you still blessing the animals in Peru with you Snow White capabilities? Obviously, but from a distance because 95% of them probably have rabies. Also barn owls are everywhere here.
Have you ever seen a lunar eclipse? Yeah my first time was yesterday night.
Do you ride in a 5 passenger taxi car with 10 other people? Always, and most of the time on the wrong side of the road because our driver wants to pass all the motorcylces.
Well I hope this email answered all of your questions. My mission is number one. Everyone here is so prepared. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed because there is so much teaching to be done and I can't do it all with my broken Spanish. This Gospel is so great and I am so thankful to be teaching it. Thanks for all of the support and love. Everyone watch conference this weekend and be thankful that you can watch in your very own house!
Love,
Elder Meier
September 22nd, 2015: IN THE MISSION FIELD
Hello everyone!
We got a wonderful surprise tonight. We thought Jace was leaving the CCM to go to Piura tomorrow. But I got a FB notification from the mission page that said "Welcome to all of our new missionaries". I clicked on the pics and there he was! So hooray!!! No stressing out tomorrow wondering if he's okay and if he got there safely. He's there and he looks fantastic! See for yourself.....
Fresh out of the airport
We also got an email from his mission president:
We got a wonderful surprise tonight. We thought Jace was leaving the CCM to go to Piura tomorrow. But I got a FB notification from the mission page that said "Welcome to all of our new missionaries". I clicked on the pics and there he was! So hooray!!! No stressing out tomorrow wondering if he's okay and if he got there safely. He's there and he looks fantastic! See for yourself.....
Fresh out of the airport
Doesn't he look great?!!
We also got an email from his mission president:
Dear Brother & Sister Meier,
We are so happy to have
Elder Meier serving in the Peru Piura Mission!
He arrived eager to go to work and we are impressed with his enthusiasm
and desire to serve our Heavenly Father as a missionary. After meeting him at the airport we had a
luncheon at the Mission Home followed by a devotional and an interview. The following day was a morning of training
and the assignment of his trainer/companion.
Trainers are chosen for their obedience, patience, dedication and the
guidance of the Holy Ghost. We know
that as these two missionaries study, pray and work together they will be
blessed and guided in their service and find joy in teaching and sharing the
gospel message. We are attaching a photo of your missionary with his new
companion and us.
We are grateful to you for
sharing your son with us. We know that
thru hard work, obedience and prayer Elder Meier will find joy in serving the
Lord and the beautiful people of Peru.
Please encourage him to share his experiences with you and your
family. Write to him weekly and express
your love, support and confidence in him.
You will witness miraculous changes in him as he learns to serve and
love those with whom he works.
We know that the Gospel of
Jesus Christ brings joy and peace to all who will follow Him. We are grateful to be a part of this great
work and to serve with the wonderful young Elders and Sisters of our mission.
Sincerely, President and Sister Rasmussen
As well as these attached pictures!
September 17th, 2015: Peru MTC Week 5
¡Hola!
Well, this will be my last email from the CCM! What a ride it has been! I have thoroughly enjoyed the experiences and memories I have had thus far. This week, however, was actually kind of uneventful. Our entire zone got into a lot of trouble because people have been sneaking spoons into other missionaries pockets. It started out pretty innocent until the lunch room reported they were missing some spoons. It turns out that around 47 spoons had been taken and were simultaneously being switched from pockets to pockets.
I also got called on to give a talk this past Sunday. LOL. There was a time in the CCM where I thought I knew how to speak Spanish. SIKE. We have been studying grammar a lot lately in class, and now that I know how you are supposed to say things, I realize I know how to say approximately nothing. Ignorance really is bliss. So between having to give a talk, and coming to the knowledge that I have actually been speaking nonsense for the past 5 weeks, my confidence has taken a hit. I did however understand 80% of a devotional on Tuesday which included me actually understanding and laughing at a joke the speaker made. There is hope for me still. On Sunday I was feeling a little down
because I am mediocre at Spanish (and "I don´t want no mediocre!"). Anyway, I was feeling discouraged. As life would have it we watched 17 Miracles on Sunday as well. LOL! They always say our generation is the choice generation, and I´m gonna have to go ahead and say FALSE. I whine because I´m not completely fluent in Spanish after 5 weeks. Pioneers sing hymns and praise God because they get to leave bloody footprints in the snow as they walk to Zion. I was grateful to be humbled because it motivated me to work harder and be a better missionaries. THANKS PIONEERS! The comforting thing is though, that I´m not the only one who has been getting discouraged. Basically everyone had a mental breakdown. I´m not sure if it´s because everyone kept finding spoons in their pockets, they can´t learn Spanish, or a mixture of both. My guess is the spoons.
As excited as I am to go to Piura, I have thoroughly enjoyed Lima. It is a hilarious place. I´m going to miss all of the kindest, toothless, Latino temple workers who are so patient as I ask them to repeat things 67 times. I´m also going to miss all of the dogs, both stray and owned, that are constantly wearing clothes. I´m not kidding, I can count on one hand the number of dogs I have seen not wearing a sweater. Speaking of stray dogs, there are plenty of mangy looking stray mutts running about, but you also see just as many purebred dogs roaming the streets. So naturally, the first time I have ever seen a dalmation was while it was running amuck in the streets of downtown Lima wearing a blue pastel parka. Aww Lima.
Even though I have loved Lima I am stoked for Piura!!! Honestly the CCM has been such a weird experience. I don´t know why, but when I thought about my mission I always just kind of skipped over the MTC part. I would casually tell people I would be in the Peru MTC for 6 weeks, as if 6 weeks is merely a Saturday afternoon. 6 weeks is a long time to be in what has only been described to me as a ´EFY on steroids´. I have loved the CCM, but I am ready to feel like I am actually on a mission, and do actual missionary things. Real missionary life does kind of freak me out however. Mostly because I will be with someone who probably can´t speak English 24/7, which means I will be trapped with my own thoughts 24/7 until I can learn how to communicate in Spanish. Pray for me. Also pray that I won´t get heatstroke or skin cancer. Without fail every time I tell a Latino I´m going to Piura, all they say is ´Oh ¡hace calore!´ Hahaha.
I´m joking. I'm stoked to be trapped with my thoughts. I´m stoked to always be slightly sunburned. I am stoked for Piura! Missions are top notch and I am reminded how grateful I am to be here. Thanks for all your prayers everyone! I miss you all!
Love,
Elder Meier.
Well, this will be my last email from the CCM! What a ride it has been! I have thoroughly enjoyed the experiences and memories I have had thus far. This week, however, was actually kind of uneventful. Our entire zone got into a lot of trouble because people have been sneaking spoons into other missionaries pockets. It started out pretty innocent until the lunch room reported they were missing some spoons. It turns out that around 47 spoons had been taken and were simultaneously being switched from pockets to pockets.
I also got called on to give a talk this past Sunday. LOL. There was a time in the CCM where I thought I knew how to speak Spanish. SIKE. We have been studying grammar a lot lately in class, and now that I know how you are supposed to say things, I realize I know how to say approximately nothing. Ignorance really is bliss. So between having to give a talk, and coming to the knowledge that I have actually been speaking nonsense for the past 5 weeks, my confidence has taken a hit. I did however understand 80% of a devotional on Tuesday which included me actually understanding and laughing at a joke the speaker made. There is hope for me still. On Sunday I was feeling a little down
because I am mediocre at Spanish (and "I don´t want no mediocre!"). Anyway, I was feeling discouraged. As life would have it we watched 17 Miracles on Sunday as well. LOL! They always say our generation is the choice generation, and I´m gonna have to go ahead and say FALSE. I whine because I´m not completely fluent in Spanish after 5 weeks. Pioneers sing hymns and praise God because they get to leave bloody footprints in the snow as they walk to Zion. I was grateful to be humbled because it motivated me to work harder and be a better missionaries. THANKS PIONEERS! The comforting thing is though, that I´m not the only one who has been getting discouraged. Basically everyone had a mental breakdown. I´m not sure if it´s because everyone kept finding spoons in their pockets, they can´t learn Spanish, or a mixture of both. My guess is the spoons.
As excited as I am to go to Piura, I have thoroughly enjoyed Lima. It is a hilarious place. I´m going to miss all of the kindest, toothless, Latino temple workers who are so patient as I ask them to repeat things 67 times. I´m also going to miss all of the dogs, both stray and owned, that are constantly wearing clothes. I´m not kidding, I can count on one hand the number of dogs I have seen not wearing a sweater. Speaking of stray dogs, there are plenty of mangy looking stray mutts running about, but you also see just as many purebred dogs roaming the streets. So naturally, the first time I have ever seen a dalmation was while it was running amuck in the streets of downtown Lima wearing a blue pastel parka. Aww Lima.
Even though I have loved Lima I am stoked for Piura!!! Honestly the CCM has been such a weird experience. I don´t know why, but when I thought about my mission I always just kind of skipped over the MTC part. I would casually tell people I would be in the Peru MTC for 6 weeks, as if 6 weeks is merely a Saturday afternoon. 6 weeks is a long time to be in what has only been described to me as a ´EFY on steroids´. I have loved the CCM, but I am ready to feel like I am actually on a mission, and do actual missionary things. Real missionary life does kind of freak me out however. Mostly because I will be with someone who probably can´t speak English 24/7, which means I will be trapped with my own thoughts 24/7 until I can learn how to communicate in Spanish. Pray for me. Also pray that I won´t get heatstroke or skin cancer. Without fail every time I tell a Latino I´m going to Piura, all they say is ´Oh ¡hace calore!´ Hahaha.
I´m joking. I'm stoked to be trapped with my thoughts. I´m stoked to always be slightly sunburned. I am stoked for Piura! Missions are top notch and I am reminded how grateful I am to be here. Thanks for all your prayers everyone! I miss you all!
Love,
Elder Meier.
September 9th, 2015: Peru MTC Week 4
Hi friends and fam,
1- Sacapuntas means pencil sharpener. I'm not sure I understand missionary humor, but it sounds like a word Jace would like.
2- Of course he named the birds......
3- I just love this kid!
Family and Friends,
This week was easily my favorite week. Never has a week been filled with so much hilarity and spiritual experiences. The hilarious events and spiritual experiences go as follows:
-There is a sister in my district named Hermana Fink. Due to her undying loyalty and severe reprimands to the rules and those who break them, she is more affectionately known as ´The Finkinator´. My favorite aspect of the Finkinator, besides her love for HP and fluency in Dwarfish Ruins, is her tendency to hide the elders´ things when she feels they have been disobedient. This week my scriptures were put in a bag and hidden outside in a tree because I refused to organize my pamphlets. LOL. To get back at the Finkinator, the other elders and I wrote Finkinator on about 100 little pieces of paper and hid them in various locations throughouts Fink´s belongings. Let´s just say it resulted in my gel pens being thrown in my direction.
- The second hilarious item is Operation Break the Weight. Due to the fact that we have been trapped inside a minimum security prison for almost 5 weeks, myself and some other missionaries have become a little restless. To combat this, I decided that district 114 is going to start pranking other missionaries. The target happened to fall on Elder Weight. Elder Weight is huge. Not fat huge, more like adolescent giant huge. He is also extremely smart which makes him all the better. We first started the pranking by simply leaving notes that said Sacapuntas in his scriptures, Preach My Gospel, and on his desk. Eventually we got more and more crafty. So far we have managed to put them in his rice, deterrgent, shoes, above is pillow, under his classroom door while they were having class, and my personal favorite, on the toilet seat lid in the stall he ALWAYS uses at exactly 10:17 P.M. Needless to say after the toilet seat incident he lost it, so I would say it has been a successful operation.
-My favorite part of the day is when I force my companion to come with me to check on this bird´s nest we found. I have been watching it for the past couple weeks and it is always the highlight of my day. I have watched the two babies, Juan and Santiago, grow from little eggs into cute little chicks. The mother also loves me because I always sneak a roll out of the cafeteria and feed it to her. The male Snow White lives on.
-On Saturday this week we had our first real proselyting experience. We got to be paired up with a real missionary and go out contacting, teaching, and visiting less actives. The days leading up to the activity I was extremely nervous. My ability to speak Spanish is actually really good. I undertstand all the grammar and I memorize words like a mad man. My ability to understand what other people are saying, however, is practically non existent. The days before the activity I would pray every night for not only the gift of tongues, but the gift to understand. I would plead everynight with Heavenly Father telling him I had done all I know how to do, but I still can´t understand. The day of the activity I was extremely nervous. The Latinos on the bus with us from the CCM would try to talk to me and I would struggle to understand. The directions given to us in the chapel before we left was all in normal rapid fire Spanish, and again I struggled to understand. My confidence was waning. I got paired with an American guy who was leaving next week, his latino companion, and a Latino companionship from the CCM. This meant that everyone in my group could speak and understand Spanish, except me. When we got to the first house, the veteran elder knocked on the door, and then said that two missionaries needed to hurry and perform the contact. We had watched a broadcast from Elder Holland earlier that week that talked about how we as missionaries only need to open our mouths and God will do the rest. We had also heard the words from Elder Bednar that if you want to gain faith, you need to act first. With the words of the Apostles in my mind I stepped forward and volunteered. In that moment I prayed as hard as I could. I begged Heavenly Father to help me understand. I told him I was here, nervously awaiting someone to answer the door, because I wanted to help others come unto Christ, and I was willing to open my mouth if he would help me. The Lord never disappoints. As soon as the young woman opened her door, the Latino I was with began to speak back and forth with her in quick, quiet Spanish. Somehow I was able to understand. I sat there sharing scriptures and testifying to the young woman that I knew God loved her. I could tell her that with all the surety of my heart, because in that moment I could feel God´s love for me in every word she said that I could understand. The girl said she would love to hear more and we made an appointment. That first experience gave me the courage I needed to carry on through the rest of the day. I didn´t understand all of of Spanish spoken that day, but the Lord always made sure I never felt inadequate. The people here and so kind, humble and willing to listen. It was such a great experience and I can´t wait to get out into the field!
All in all, this week was fantastic. The group I came over with is now the oldest group in the CCM, and it feels like we just got here yesterday. I am grateful for all of you and all of your prayers. I love this Gospel and I love all of you!
Love,
Elder Meier.
1- Sacapuntas means pencil sharpener. I'm not sure I understand missionary humor, but it sounds like a word Jace would like.
2- Of course he named the birds......
3- I just love this kid!
Family and Friends,
This week was easily my favorite week. Never has a week been filled with so much hilarity and spiritual experiences. The hilarious events and spiritual experiences go as follows:
-There is a sister in my district named Hermana Fink. Due to her undying loyalty and severe reprimands to the rules and those who break them, she is more affectionately known as ´The Finkinator´. My favorite aspect of the Finkinator, besides her love for HP and fluency in Dwarfish Ruins, is her tendency to hide the elders´ things when she feels they have been disobedient. This week my scriptures were put in a bag and hidden outside in a tree because I refused to organize my pamphlets. LOL. To get back at the Finkinator, the other elders and I wrote Finkinator on about 100 little pieces of paper and hid them in various locations throughouts Fink´s belongings. Let´s just say it resulted in my gel pens being thrown in my direction.
- The second hilarious item is Operation Break the Weight. Due to the fact that we have been trapped inside a minimum security prison for almost 5 weeks, myself and some other missionaries have become a little restless. To combat this, I decided that district 114 is going to start pranking other missionaries. The target happened to fall on Elder Weight. Elder Weight is huge. Not fat huge, more like adolescent giant huge. He is also extremely smart which makes him all the better. We first started the pranking by simply leaving notes that said Sacapuntas in his scriptures, Preach My Gospel, and on his desk. Eventually we got more and more crafty. So far we have managed to put them in his rice, deterrgent, shoes, above is pillow, under his classroom door while they were having class, and my personal favorite, on the toilet seat lid in the stall he ALWAYS uses at exactly 10:17 P.M. Needless to say after the toilet seat incident he lost it, so I would say it has been a successful operation.
-My favorite part of the day is when I force my companion to come with me to check on this bird´s nest we found. I have been watching it for the past couple weeks and it is always the highlight of my day. I have watched the two babies, Juan and Santiago, grow from little eggs into cute little chicks. The mother also loves me because I always sneak a roll out of the cafeteria and feed it to her. The male Snow White lives on.
-On Saturday this week we had our first real proselyting experience. We got to be paired up with a real missionary and go out contacting, teaching, and visiting less actives. The days leading up to the activity I was extremely nervous. My ability to speak Spanish is actually really good. I undertstand all the grammar and I memorize words like a mad man. My ability to understand what other people are saying, however, is practically non existent. The days before the activity I would pray every night for not only the gift of tongues, but the gift to understand. I would plead everynight with Heavenly Father telling him I had done all I know how to do, but I still can´t understand. The day of the activity I was extremely nervous. The Latinos on the bus with us from the CCM would try to talk to me and I would struggle to understand. The directions given to us in the chapel before we left was all in normal rapid fire Spanish, and again I struggled to understand. My confidence was waning. I got paired with an American guy who was leaving next week, his latino companion, and a Latino companionship from the CCM. This meant that everyone in my group could speak and understand Spanish, except me. When we got to the first house, the veteran elder knocked on the door, and then said that two missionaries needed to hurry and perform the contact. We had watched a broadcast from Elder Holland earlier that week that talked about how we as missionaries only need to open our mouths and God will do the rest. We had also heard the words from Elder Bednar that if you want to gain faith, you need to act first. With the words of the Apostles in my mind I stepped forward and volunteered. In that moment I prayed as hard as I could. I begged Heavenly Father to help me understand. I told him I was here, nervously awaiting someone to answer the door, because I wanted to help others come unto Christ, and I was willing to open my mouth if he would help me. The Lord never disappoints. As soon as the young woman opened her door, the Latino I was with began to speak back and forth with her in quick, quiet Spanish. Somehow I was able to understand. I sat there sharing scriptures and testifying to the young woman that I knew God loved her. I could tell her that with all the surety of my heart, because in that moment I could feel God´s love for me in every word she said that I could understand. The girl said she would love to hear more and we made an appointment. That first experience gave me the courage I needed to carry on through the rest of the day. I didn´t understand all of of Spanish spoken that day, but the Lord always made sure I never felt inadequate. The people here and so kind, humble and willing to listen. It was such a great experience and I can´t wait to get out into the field!
All in all, this week was fantastic. The group I came over with is now the oldest group in the CCM, and it feels like we just got here yesterday. I am grateful for all of you and all of your prayers. I love this Gospel and I love all of you!
Love,
Elder Meier.
September 2nd, 2015: Peru MTC Week 3
¡Hola!
First and foremost HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
YOU´RE THE BEST MOM IN THE WORLD AND I LOVE YOU!!!
Also happy birthday Sara. I think you
are the bees knees.
Time to get down to the nitty gritty.
This week I have actually been thinking
about my mom a lot. Probably because I am the mother of the elders on the third
floor. Literally they call me Mama Meier because if there is ever a problem
they always come to me. Hahaha. Everyone on the floor is incompetent. I love
them, but they are incompetent. Hahahaha. They never know where we are supposed
to be, I have to force them to eat their vegetables so that they can actually
go to the bathroom, and I have to help at least four elders with their laundry
every P-day. So I just want to give a big shout out to my mom for putting up
with my incompetence throughout the years. You´re the best and I hope you have
a fantatstic birthday!
One hilarious aspect of CCM life is the
black market and underground deals that go on here. Mainly the butter trade and
the jersey trade. Each morning the cafeteria has butter for your toast, but
only in the morning even though we eat rolls and potatoes for every meal. I
don´t know how it got started but someone had the idea to hide butters in
various locations around the cafeteria. Things are getting out of control.
There is butter EVERYWHERE. If you slide your chair forward atleast three packets
of butter will fall out. The second underground trading system is customized
jerseys. They are literally just jersey´s with your name on them. However, you
can only order them through a single teacher here at the CCM. No one knows who
he is except like three people. If you want a jersey you have to talk to one of
the three, who in return will talk to the heah honcho. Once you get your jersey
you can only wear it in the dorms or the teacher could get in trouble. If I
didn´t feel like the CCM was partially a minimum security prison I most
definitely do know.
Every two weeks the previous group of
Latinos leave, and we get a whole new group of Latinos. This transfer´s Latinos
CRACK ME UP. They are hilarious and also absolutely convinced I am Adam Levine.
They only refer to me as Elder Levine and ask me to sing ´Sugar´ approx. eighty
times a day. Hahaha. I love them because they love when we talk Spanish with
them and I really feel like it´s helping me. That´s the other thing; the Lord
will ALWAYS bless you when you try your hardest and do your part. Even though I
have been studying so hard, there is no way the progress I´m making is from me.
The Lord blesses those who try!
Time for the good stuff. Elder Bednar.
Literally ¿que en el mundo?. You could tell he was an apostle of God as soon as
he walked through the door. And he didn´t even give a talk. He asked questions,
had us ask questions, and had us share what we learned from the talks he gave
us to read. It was one of the best lessons I´ve ever had. Also Sister Bednar is
#1. She always says such great things. One thing she said at the devotional
that I really needed to hear was ´everyone deserves a good companion; be that
good companion´. If you want other people to do something, or act a certain
way, then you better make sure you are that person first.
Anyway, I love you all. Peru is crazy
and hilarious and I love it. Keep being number one. Also Makenna you better
write me a freakin email.
k Love you all!
Elder Meier
P.S. If you are wondering if the endownment
movie is just as quotable in Spanish as it is in English... it is. It most
definitely is.MTC Companion
MTC District
The most ganster elders you will ever meet
My BFF Elder Almond & Elder P, who asked if he could have my autograph & only refers to me as Elder Levine
August 26th, 2015: Peru MTC Week 2
Friends and Family,
Hello. I am still in a forgein country. I still am not good at Spanish. And I still LOL all day long.
This message is to all you mothers out there preparing young men for missions. Besides getting your son spiritually ready, you might be thinking "What esle should I teach him? To cook? To fold laundry? To sew? Although all of these things are great, there is one thing you must teach your son if you want him to be the most beloved and sought after missionary in the field: how to cut hair. Hahahaha. I forgot to mention last time that on my very first day here everyone had to get their hair cut. So I indeed got my hair chopped off by a Peruvian barber. Since then, no missionary wants to get their hair cut by Peruvian barber because he cuts it soooo short. So, one night an elder needed a haircut before he left for the field the next day. I happened to walk in the bathroom while his companion was butchering his hair. They asked if I knew how to cut hair, and I said kind of (thanks mom!). While I was cutting his hair tons of other elders came in, and now I have appointments everyday for the next 2 weeks. Hahaha. So, if you want to ensure you kid will have friends on his mission teach him how to cut hair.
Other than cutting hair, my time at the CCM has been strange. The CCM is best described as a mixture between a minimum security prison and Hogwarts. Prison becuase we are literally walled in, have our day completely scheduled out, and are forbidden to leave the perimeter. Hogwarts because the spirit is magical here and I give my district a HP reference that relates to the Gospel at least 3x a day.
Okay. I actually lied in the paragraph above, we do get to leave the CCM occasionally. However, it is the absolute WORST! We had to go to immigration yesterday, and I am still recovering. The driving in Peru is CRAZY! There are absolutely zero rules here and I would give anything to see someone yield. It is so intense. Due to the nature of the driving in Peru, our bus driver was boppin and weavin all over the road and everyone in the bus got so carsick. It was rough. Although, the driver did put on Josh Groban. Turns out he can soothe the soul and an upset stomach.
The real intense news this week is that Elder Bednar is coming. Tonight. At 1:30. Needless to say, my whole district found out about my ´tourettes´becuase I have been out of control since we found out. I´m really excited, but also really nervous because he is an Apostle of God. What?
All in all, I am having a great time in the CCM. we still play soccer everyday and we still have chicken and rice for every meal, but I love it. The spiritual thought for this week comes from Elder Bednar´s wife. In a Sunday devotional she said "Qualify for the blessings you ask for." The Lord wants to bless you, but you need to do your part. I have learned that while trying to learn Spanish. Anyway, I love you guys!
Love,
Elder Meier
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
August 19- Peru MTC Week 1
Well, here it is. First email of.......104? 
He also sent me a private email that said that he was appointed the District Leader on the first day and that it was a little stressful, but he's getting the hang of it. He also said it's always overcast there. Interesting. Sounds like he's hanging in there. Better than me anyway. 
Enjoy!
Hello everyone!
Well. I´m here and I'm alive! My whole life people have told me how hard missions are, how spiritual they are, how fun they are, but no one ever told me how hilarious it is to be a missionary. We got to the CCM at about 3:30 in the morning and then it took us an hour to get all sorted out from there because the workers who were awake didn´t speak English, and we don´t speak Spanish. Ultimately we got to bed at around 4:30 (after we tried to sing Spanish hymns to pass the time). We woke up at 6:30 and started our day. All of it was in Spanish. Being a missionary is just hilarious because 98% of the time you literally have no idea what is going on or what is being said to you. Honestly I knew the Lord takes care of the missionaries, but seriously he must be putting in overtime because we are truly the most clueless kids and yet somehow all of us are alive and people still somehow get converted to the gospel.
Life at the CCM is hilarious. I have two teachers, Hermana Luna and Hermano Vasquez. Both of them are top notch. We set a goal as a class to have them teach 60% in Spanish and 40% in English. This is false. It is more like 90% spanish and 10% English. Our very first day we had to teach a lesson to our investigator Italo. If you are wondering how it went I suggest you grab a Spanish dictionary, study it for approx. 12 minutes, and then try to teach someone about the restoration in Spanish. Again, hilarious. Hahaha. The gift of tongues has to be real because somehow our investigator still understood what we were trying to teach.
We also get an hour of physical activity. This is easliy my favorite part of the day because practically everyone just plays soccer. They don´t play soccer well, but everyone plays soccer. It really is so fun and so funny because no one gives a hoot about the rules or skill or really even kicking it to someone on their team, but everyone is giving 110%. Again hilarious. The food here is also hilarious. I love it, but a lot of people hate it. We have rice and chicken literally everyday. I honestly am so impressed with how many ways there are to prepare chicken. They also always have tons of vegetables and fruits so I love it. I now understand, however, why so many missionaries get fat in the MTC. There are about four kids who actually eat the vegetables (myself included), everyone else literally eats about six rolls per meal! It is insane! Needless to say everyone here is constipated (besides me and the three other kids who know what fiber is).
My companion´s name is Elder Farnsworth from Mesa, Arizona. He is 6´4. Basically I spend half my time here trying to keep up with him because he literally walks up the stairs three steps at a time. The kids in my district are also way cool.
The weird thing about learning a new language is that you never understand what is being said, but you can still feel the spirit. We got to go do a session today at the Lima temple. Hilarious because they ran out of headsets so we had to do it in Spanish, and spiritual becasue you can still feel the truthfulness by the spirit. My favorite quote here is "When you are almost obedient, you almost receive the blessing". We talk a lot here about the importance of being exactly obedient. The Lord wants to bless you, but he can´t unless you do your part. Make sure you do your part.
Well, I love you all. I´m having a blast. I LOL at all times of the day. Missions are great!
Love,
Elder Meier
He also sent me a private email that said that he was appointed the District Leader on the first day and that it was a little stressful, but he's getting the hang of it. He also said it's always overcast there. Interesting. Sounds like he's hanging in there. Better than me anyway. Enjoy!Hello everyone!
Well. I´m here and I'm alive! My whole life people have told me how hard missions are, how spiritual they are, how fun they are, but no one ever told me how hilarious it is to be a missionary. We got to the CCM at about 3:30 in the morning and then it took us an hour to get all sorted out from there because the workers who were awake didn´t speak English, and we don´t speak Spanish. Ultimately we got to bed at around 4:30 (after we tried to sing Spanish hymns to pass the time). We woke up at 6:30 and started our day. All of it was in Spanish. Being a missionary is just hilarious because 98% of the time you literally have no idea what is going on or what is being said to you. Honestly I knew the Lord takes care of the missionaries, but seriously he must be putting in overtime because we are truly the most clueless kids and yet somehow all of us are alive and people still somehow get converted to the gospel.
Life at the CCM is hilarious. I have two teachers, Hermana Luna and Hermano Vasquez. Both of them are top notch. We set a goal as a class to have them teach 60% in Spanish and 40% in English. This is false. It is more like 90% spanish and 10% English. Our very first day we had to teach a lesson to our investigator Italo. If you are wondering how it went I suggest you grab a Spanish dictionary, study it for approx. 12 minutes, and then try to teach someone about the restoration in Spanish. Again, hilarious. Hahaha. The gift of tongues has to be real because somehow our investigator still understood what we were trying to teach.
We also get an hour of physical activity. This is easliy my favorite part of the day because practically everyone just plays soccer. They don´t play soccer well, but everyone plays soccer. It really is so fun and so funny because no one gives a hoot about the rules or skill or really even kicking it to someone on their team, but everyone is giving 110%. Again hilarious. The food here is also hilarious. I love it, but a lot of people hate it. We have rice and chicken literally everyday. I honestly am so impressed with how many ways there are to prepare chicken. They also always have tons of vegetables and fruits so I love it. I now understand, however, why so many missionaries get fat in the MTC. There are about four kids who actually eat the vegetables (myself included), everyone else literally eats about six rolls per meal! It is insane! Needless to say everyone here is constipated (besides me and the three other kids who know what fiber is).
My companion´s name is Elder Farnsworth from Mesa, Arizona. He is 6´4. Basically I spend half my time here trying to keep up with him because he literally walks up the stairs three steps at a time. The kids in my district are also way cool.
The weird thing about learning a new language is that you never understand what is being said, but you can still feel the spirit. We got to go do a session today at the Lima temple. Hilarious because they ran out of headsets so we had to do it in Spanish, and spiritual becasue you can still feel the truthfulness by the spirit. My favorite quote here is "When you are almost obedient, you almost receive the blessing". We talk a lot here about the importance of being exactly obedient. The Lord wants to bless you, but he can´t unless you do your part. Make sure you do your part.
Well, I love you all. I´m having a blast. I LOL at all times of the day. Missions are great!
Love,
Elder Meier
And So It Begins
Last summer our sweet Jacey-boy went to Peru on a humanitarian trip for two weeks. He fell in LOVE with that country and those people. Especially the kids. There was not a single day that went by where he did not talk about that trip.
As he finished his mission papers, a common question was "where do you want to go?"
Jace would frequently answer that wherever he got called to he would be happy, which was probably true. But it was no secret to his family that where he really wanted to go was Peru. Despite some encouragement to mention on his papers that he had been to Peru, he left that information out. He said if that was where the Lord wanted him, he would be sent there, whether or not he put that on his papers.
Jace would frequently answer that wherever he got called to he would be happy, which was probably true. But it was no secret to his family that where he really wanted to go was Peru. Despite some encouragement to mention on his papers that he had been to Peru, he left that information out. He said if that was where the Lord wanted him, he would be sent there, whether or not he put that on his papers.
Then came the fateful day of his mission call!
The whole fam came over (as well as TONS of his friends!) to make their guesses on a master map and listen to where the Lord was sending Jace to preach the gospel.
Here's the vid:
PERU!!!!!!!!!!! Obviously we were all shocked! And so happy! None happier than Jace though.
Preparations for Jace's mission went well and very fast. He was so ready! He gave an amazing Farewell talk that brought everybody to tears.
He boarded a plane in Salt Lake on August 12th and headed down to the Peru MTC to learn Spanish for 6 weeks.
(airport pics)
And he was off! We miss him TERRIBLY but are extremely excited for him! Also, we are stoked for his emails. Anyone who knows Jace knows he is not only hilarious, but a very good writer. If you're looking for humorous, inspirational messages, you're at the right place!
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