Week 45: Otra Semana Excelente! (Another excellent week)

Buenas Dias todos, 

This past week was great, we've had a lot of success with one of our investigators, Julio that has progressed a ton! Julio is a lot different from the majority of the other investigators that I have taught. The majority of the people in Lima, especially San Juan de Lurigancho, do not live in luxury at all, they are all very humble and don't have a lot. But Julio is different, he has lived a very "temporal life" you could say. For almost the majority of his life, until we knocked on his door, he found happiness in temporal things, but he never found a fulness of joy. It has been an amazing experience to watch him change, to see him leave behind so many worldly things and in the process seeing him find true joy in the gospel. His parents never really taught him about the commandments, so when we taught him he realized that he had many things to fix. And he fixed them! He called us on Saturday and told us that he wanted to be baptized in that moment! We couldn't baptize him in that moment but his baptism is scheduled for this Saturday! One of the greatest miracles of the mission is being able to see someone understand the Plan of Salvation and apply it in their lives. 

We also had a super awesome training by President Erickson this past week about the importance of the Holy Ghost in our teaching. It was super good and I learned a ton about how the Holy Ghost testifies about the truth to those that we teach, it was really good. 

Also, there is only about 3 more weeks of this change and Elder E and I are starting to see many of the "fruits of our labors", we have had a lot of less actives coming to church as well as investigators. 

Elder Potter

Elder Potter at the dirt track he runs every morning

Dirt track in San Juan de Lurigancho

Week 44: Exito! (Success) and Mas Fotos

Familia y Amigos...Buenas Días!

We had a fantastic week last week and a lot of success! Everyone in my district is super young but we are all really excited to work and we are all seeing our areas progress. The "loco lunes" idea was a success! Hmna. Samudio and Beatty won it but Elder Escobar and I as well as Elder Glover and Elder Brimhall are planning on dethroning them this week. 

Elder Escobar and I have been finding some awesome families to teach lately as well. When I was with Elder Niño we were teaching this super awesome Colombian family but we stopped teaching them because they weren't progressing and kept delaying their marriage. But this past week we felt that we should go visit them so we did and it was awesome! Only the mom was their with her 5 kids but they were happy to have us there after such a long time. Their oldest kid is only 13 years old but all of them are excited to have us there. We felt really good in the lesson and are going to see if they are finally ready to accept the gospel in its fulness.

We also had a lot of success with the less actives that we are teaching. A lot came to church yesterday and are excited to come back to the church. One of the best parts of the mission is helping less actives come back to Christ because they have already been baptized and have made sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father. It feels really good to help the less actives. 

Well, that is about all for this week! ¡Que tengan una semana exitosa! 

Elder Potter

This is a picture of victory for Elder Potter - his special headband has been something our kids have hid from each other since they were little.  Guess where it is now?  Yep Peru!

Elder E, Claudio who recently left for his mission to Bolivia, and Elder Potter

Elder E, Elder Potter, Nancy, and the Sisters

Hermano C. and Nancy

San Juan de Lurigancho at night

Elder E, and Elder Potter

Week 43: Super Awesome Week

Familia mía,

This week was really awesome and I'm super excited for this change, as is my district. Changes were this last week and Elder Escobar and I are still here in Los Manzanos. Hna. Samudios (shes from Paraguay) new companion is Hna. Beatty from St. George and they work super hard! Also, the zone leaders are in my district and they had changes this last week as well. Usually the zone leaders are one gringo and one latino, but not this change. Elder Brimhall is still zone leader but our new one is Elder Glover from South Carolina and they are awesome! Everyone in the district is working super hard and it is the best! We all reached the goals of the mission this past week and are having a lot of success and seeing some miracles. I made a competition for my district that is called "loco lunes" where they need to have 4 lessons, 15 contacts, 2 invitations to baptism and one new investigator on Monday. It is going to be sweet because on Mondays we only have 3 to 3 and a half hours to work, but I know that if we all organize our time wisely and reach this goal we will be blessed and we will have a lot of success. We are finding a trophy to pass around for the companionship that wins. 

On Saturday Nancy T. was baptized and was confirmed on Sunday, it was a really great baptism and the spirit was really strong. There is a group of  recent converts and rescued less actives that are going to go to the temple this Wednesday we are trying to get her to the temple this week along with some other converts and less actives that we are working with. In our mission now the companionships that bring the most recent converts and less actives to the family history center and to the temple have the opportunity to go the temple with their converts, so were really trying to work hard for that as well. 

I had some pictures that I was going to send you guys but I left my camara in my room today, so next week I'll have a bunch of sweet pictures for you guys.

Also, that is crazy that Kialey is married! But it is also super awesome that she has been through the temple and sealed, it's going to be the biggest blessing ever for her and her family. The picture of Dad and Cory is super funny! 

Well, that's about all for the week! I'll have some pictures next week!

¡Que tengan una semana fantastica! Have a great Loco Lunes tambien!

Con mucho amor, 

Elder Potter

Week 42: Contactos Inspirados!

Buenas Días Familia y Amigos!

This week was a great week! Elder E and I are being really diligent and working hard here in Los Manzanos. It's been kind rough this past week or so because we just haven't been able to find people that are progressing, but I know that if we keep being diligent we will be incredibly blessed. Sometimes we are called to "sow" the seed of faith in the people and other times we are called to "cosechar" (pick up in English I think). Right now were "sowing" a lot in our area and I know it's going to bless the lives of many people in the future. 

Even though we don't have a whole lot of people that are progressing right now, we have had a lot of success in our ward. Within one year, our ward has 28 recent converts and when I got there weren't too many that were coming regularly, very few actually, but yesterday 15 came! And the majority of them were ones that haven't came to church in months! We would have had a few more but a few of them are on vacations right now. It is my goal to get all 28 there, it will be awesome! 

Also, Elder E's first week here we felt that we should knock on this door as we passed by it, so we did, and this guy named Julio answered and before we could even say anything he asked us if we were missionaries, so we said yes and presented ourselves. Then before we could talk more, he invited us to come in and share our message with him. He was very interested as well as his daughter, Nancy, so we began to teach them. Julio works a lot and so Nancy is there by herself most of the time so Elder E and I passed the reference the Hermanas so she could be visited more often. We lost contact with her for a little while, but three weeks ago she started to come to church, and she has come every week and is already in Jacob in the Book of Mormon and is now going to get baptized this Saturday! It was a super inspired contact! I have a testimony that when we are diligent and ask God to guide us to those that need help that He will do it. Its been a blessing to see the "fruits" or results of that contact. There really are so many people that are prepared to receive the restored gospel, we just need to follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost and follow it. 

Anyways, this past week was really great and Elder E and I are excited to work this week and keep seeing the blessings of the obra misional. 

¡Que tengan un buen semana todos!

Elder Potter

The picture with the ladder is of Elder B. and Elder E. We were building a roof on that super weak ladder jaja. 

I hope you all like the pictures. The streets in Lima aren't usually that clear as they are in the picture. They are usually super busy. 

Elder E and Elder B building a roof using a rickety old ladder

Lima

Week 41: 4th of July

Familia y Amigos, 

Happy 4th of July! The 4th of July is a lot different here in Peru, obviously. But it was also a good 4th of July. For the last few 4th and 24th of July's it has always reminded me of Captain Moroni. He's easily one of my favorite, if not my favorite, person in the Book of Mormon. He reminds me of many of my aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas, my Mom and Dad and many other great leaders that I have had. Maybe they aren't all muscley and ripped like Captain Moroni was, but the most important quality of Moroni was that he was always a standard of truth, liberty, and life. In his times, there was also a lot of corruption in the government, but he wasn't scared to stand up for God's standards, even if it meant death. I love Alma 48 that says -if all men were and would be like unto Moroni, the very gates of hell would be shaken forever. As defenders truth and righteousness, we cannot think twice of changing sides. I know that we are on the Lords side. It makes me sad to see America how it is, but there is also much hope, we are the hope, so we need to act like it and believe it. The prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled, that in the last days men will confuse good for evil and evil for good. If we establish a standard of righteousness in our homes as did Captain Moroni, the very gates of hell will shake and crumble to the ground. 

Well, have a fantastic week! 

Elder Potter

Week 40: No tengo mucho tiempo..

Familia,

I don't have too much time right now to write a whole lot, so I'll just write a little bit about what I learned this week. 

On my mission I've been studying "Jesus the Christ" and it has really strengthened my testimony about the Atonement and divinity of Christ. This week I read about the betrayal, His unjust trial, His death, His resurrection, and His purpose as our Savior. I can testify that He really is the Savior of the World, that all things were created through and by Him, and that He, willingly, took up the cross and was resurrected to destroy the affects of sin and death so that we can have faith in His name and repent of our sins so we can live with God again. I know that He lives. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Well, that's all I got time for today, but have a great week!

Love, 

Elder Potter

Week 39: El Templo de Trujillo

Hola Familia!

First of all, Happy Fathers Day! Sounds like you all had a good Sunday. Yesterday was one of the more spiritual Sundays that I have had in my mission. Yesterday was the dedication of the Trujillo, Peru Temple, and it was just amazing. I felt so blessed to be with so many of the faithful saints in Peru, the Spirit that was there was incredible. It is the second temple in Peru and there have been so many people that have waited to be sealed in the temple to their families here, it's such a great blessing. It was a testimony to me that our Heavenly Father is mindful of all of His children and that we are all counted and loved be Him. I know He loves us. President Uchtdorf came with Elder Bednar and talked and dedicated the Temple. They talked in English but had translators. It was great. The Spirit was especially strong when we all sang "El Espíritu de Dios" ("The Spirit of God") at the end. The prophesy of Malaquias has come true, that "the the hearts of the children will turn to their fathers". I feel like in Utah, sadly, we take the temples for granted because there are so many with in 30 to 60 minutes of the house, but it shouldn't be that way. We are blessed to live in a time when the gospel has been restored and when we can be sealed with our families forever. 

Lately we've also been looking for new people to teach because we don't have very many progressing. President Erickson also came this week to our zone for our interviews, we have one every 3 months, and I asked him what I could be doing better and how I could find new people more effectively. To answer my question, he shared with me some scriptures. The first was Alma 31:5 that says something along the lines of "the power of the word of God had a greater affect upon the hearts of the people than the sword or anything else-and Alma thought that it be expedient that he tried the virtue of God.". As we preach the gospel, it will have a greater affect in the hearts of the people than any of their problems or worries. In Doctrine and Covenants 88:78 the Lord counseled his servants to teach with power so that His "grace", or, influence, could be with them. When we teach with the power of God, we influence people for the better and we learn as well, as it explains in Doctrine and Covenants 50:22. And to have that effect, we need to involve the members in the work. To find new people to teach that can progress, we need to involve the members. Every time I have an interview with President Erickson I find many things that I can do to improve the quality of my work. 

I know that as Elder E.  and I start working more with the members we will be able find more people to teach and the area will progress. 

Well, that's what I got for this week. Have a great week! 

Con mucho amor, 

Elder Potter

PS. Good luck with Girls Camp Mom, you are going to do great. 

Also, I bought some handkerchiefs for you guys with the Trujillo Temple on it for all of you guys that I'm going to send.

Trujillo Temple Handkerchief