Hello Everyone! I survived my first week in Lima. It's been pretty chilly and cloudy and I love it. But what I don't love is what my hair does here in the humidity, ha ha. It's been interesting.
Everyone here freaks out about my hair (still) and they think I've dyed it. It's been over a year since there was a gringa (or North American) in this ward, so it's been a change for them, too, ha ha. The comments in the streets don't stop either, and usually my companions and I just laugh at what they say when attempting to talk in English. For example, the other day a man commented, "good morning, good night" in midday....ha ha, we thought it was funny. I said to my companions, "Bueno esfuerzo, pero, no es buenos dias ni buenas noches". But nice try, buddy.
We've seen a lot of little kids wreck each other in soccer in the streets like it's the world cup, so that's cute.
I've realized that I'm a step-mom here in the mission....because in the trio that I'm in, Hna Palacios is new and in training by Hna Orellana....and I randomly entered and am helping train? I think. In the mission, when you train, the trainer is the mom, and the trainee, the daughter. So if Hna Palacios has 2 trainers, and I'm the 2nd, I'm the step-mom, ha ha. It's interesting.
Well, here's a cool story for you guys about something thta happened yesterday. We were walking to an appointment that we had scheduled, when a man started yelling to grab my attention. He said, "Amiga! Amiga!" and I just ignored him, because people are yelling at me all day and trying to get my attention always. So I ignored him and we walked around a corner. My companions didn't even notice that he was calling us, they thought he was talking to someone else. We walked for a few more seconds and then reached the door where our appointment was at. We were knocking on the door when this man came running up behind us, trying to catch up. I got scared in this moment and thought he was drunk or intoxicated or something and just wanted to annoy us. But oh was I wrong. He asked us, "Excuse me, what religion are you guys from?"
His name is Lorenzo and he has been searching for answers for a long time. He goes to a lot of churches but can't seem to find the one where he feels good in. He has a lot of spiritual hunger and thirst and doesn't know where to find the food and water. Well, after teaching him about The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we were able to help him satisfy a bit of that hunger and thirst by helping him feel the Spirit. He committed to go to church, read the Book of Mormon to see for himself it it's true, and ask God in prayer to see if The Churcch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and restored church.
This moment was truly a miracle. A stranger contacted us in the streets of Lima, looking for answers and the assurance that God hears his prayers. During this lesson, I felt the Spirit so strong. It testified to me that God loves this man, and that He wants him to be enlightened by finding the true church and learning more about the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ. Now you can imagine how bad I feel for ignoring him and thinking he was just another drunk on the streets on a Sunday night. I'm so glad he was persistant enough to chase us down adn find out the truth. It's an experience I won't forget.
Yesterday was my first Sunday in this ward, so I got to meet a lot more people and give a talk in front of everyone to introduce myself and bear my testimony on missionary work. It went well. There are still a lot of members that I need to get to know, so I've got my work cut out for me.
We found out that our companion/daughter officially leaves us on September 10th to go to the Missionary Training Center in the Philippines, and then later to her assigned mission in Australia. We're excited for her!
Thank you for reading this email and for all of your support. Remember not to judge a book by its cover and that "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God". (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10)
I love you all! Have a great week.
❤️, Hermana Lowe
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| Welcomed to my new apartment and area by my companions ❤️ |
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| My new companions: Hermana Palacios, Hermana Orellana, and I |
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| Hnas Lowe, Palacios, and Orellana getting ice cream at the mall |
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| Mall de Sur |
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| Our landlady's HUGE cat, who always wants to come into the house and sit on my bed. |
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| Hermana Albuja (assigned to Lima, Villa Maria) holding said cat. |
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| The beautiful view from our window #3rdfloorperks |
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| The good/dangerous thing is that we live above a polleria, (ha ha) |
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| The funnier thing is that there's a cheaper and yummier polleria just down the street, so we go to that one and then sneak the bag up to our apartment without letting the workers from the polleria below us see, ha ha ha. |
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| My apartment... study table |
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Our bathroom |
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| Pedicures celebrating our one year mark in the mission!! |
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| Hermana Winter, my Hermana Leader, celebrating our one year together! With pedicures! |
