HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hey fam!

How was everyone´s Christmas!? I hope you all playing in the snow. I miss the snow so much! But to tell you the truth,  I had one of the best Christmases EVER! It´s was SO much fun. First of all, down here in Peru they celebrate Christmas kind of like we celebrate New Years. Everyone stays up until midnight. They love to eat dinner super late! And being missionaries we got invited to TWO dinners… so the first dinner was around 8 then the other dinner was around 9. We kind of lucked out because we spent the entire night with the family that we live with. So we ate our yummy turkey dinner with mashed potatos and veggies. J Then after that we ate our Panéton (which is like fruit cake/sweet bread). Then when the clock struck midnight, all the little kids started lighting off the fireworks. That´s when the real fun started. These little Peru kids don´t have any fear! All the adults just gave them a bunch of fireworks and matches. J It was like celebrating  Christmas (with the sweet bread) Thanksgiving (with the trukey) then the 4th of july (with the fireworks)

I thought my Christmas would be a little sad without my family, and don´t get me wrong I REALLY miss my family, but I am so grateful that I got the chance to spend one Christmas with my family by spirit. I LOVE my area here. There is so much love and we´re having lots of success. This Sunday I was sitting in church just looking around. I started looking at all the families sitting together and tears came to my eyes. I feel such a pure love for these people. They have stolen my heart. 

I hope everyone at home had a good christmas. I just want to testify of the healing powers of service and prayer. Whenever  you´re feeling down and in a fog, or weighed down with the weight of the world, I know that serving others and talking out your problems with our Heavenly Father, is some of the best medicine. 

It was so fun talking with you guys for Christmas. I hold you all so close to my heart. J I love my mission and I'm learning a lot. Thanks for all your love and support and all your letters. J They really help me when I need it the most. LOVE YOU ALL!!!! Have a happy New Year's Eve!

Love, Hermana Price

CHRISTMAS!!

Feliz Navidad!!!!! J

How is everyone doing this Christmas season? I´m doing great! I´m SOOOOOOO excited for Christmas! I´m in the best area I've had in all my mission. The members are so great here. The bishop´s wife bought my companion and I shoes for Christmas! Really nice ones too! I almost started crying when I opened the box because I really needed some new shoes but couldn't find any that were good and sturdy. I know that that was a little tender mercy from the Lord. J I might not be spending Christmas with my real family but I´m spending Christmas with mi familia peruviana. J There is so much love here. It´s going to be a really fun Christmas and I know it will be one that I never forget.J

I will be skyping this Christmas WOOOOOO! Then after that all the missionaries are putting on a little program for the stake. The zone leaders decided to show a little video of Christ and have some of the stake leaders give talks, and of course the missionaries are going to sing. J And guess who is leading the music… ME! J It´s been so much fun to have to practice with all the missionaries. It´s fun how the missionaries here in Pucallpa have become my family. I love every single missionary here. We have cambios coming up again on the 30th, and I hope things don´t change too much.

Time is flying by. Our work has really picked up this week. Which is always exciting. Last night we went to find this reference that we had from one of our members. His name is Jony and he is 21 years old. We showed up to his house and his sister came to the door and we asked if Jony was at home. Right as we asked, he pulled open the door and said “where have you guys been!?I"ve been waiting for you!” J Right as we sat down he asked when he could be baptized and that he was waiting for us to come to his house to teach him. We invited him to be baptized on Jan. 11th. J He is SUPER excited. We also taught his parents and they didn't accept baptizim but they are thinking hard about it. We hoping that Jony can be an example for them.

OH! One more thing, there is a new store that opened here in Pucallpa. It´s called Totus. It´s just like target or walmart, but bigger! And we´re going to go shopping with this lady in my ward for Christmas. It will be so much fun! Everything there is a little more american… so I´m hoping I can find some clothes that I like, I´ll be sure to take lots of pictures. J Love you all! I´m wishing you all a VERY Merry Christmas! :D

Hermana Price. J     

Hey fam!!!!

Well this week was really good! We baptized Jessica!!! :D Well, okay we didn´t baptize her, Elder Anderson baptized her. Just wanted to make that clear. Lots of people here think that the sister missionaries have the priesthood too… Even some of the members are shocked when they find out that we can´t baptize our investigators. Oh the jungle…. J Sunday was a beautiful day. Just a little back story - Jessica´s husband and all her kids are members. When her family was first investigating the church she wanted nothingto do with it. Tons of missionaries passed by her house for MANY years but she just wasn't quite prepared yet. But then we showed up. She was one of my first lessons in my new area. She accepted baptism in the first lesson and she has attended church and done everything we have asked her to do since then. J She is super prepared for the gospel. It was so nice to watch her and her husband (who is inactive) snuggle up together during sacrament.

The next person we have coming up for baptism is Deibi. He is AWESOME! He is 21 years old and is super funny. He is the most scattered brain person I've ever met. It´s actually pretty hard to teach him. For example, we were teaching him about prophets and the role that they play in God´s plan for us. Right in the middle of what I was saying he said, “What should I do if my best friend invites me to a party?” Then my companion said, “What do you think Deibi?” then he leaned in real close and whispered “la verdad, no mi gusta las fiestas” haha! Or in English, to tell you the truth I don´t like parties. J He also talks SO SO SO SO SO much. He sat by me in sacrament yesterday and he kept leaning over and talking to me about his brother and his house and all about his life. I kept telling him to listen to the talks (Just as if he was a little kid) But then he told me something special. He studied English for a little bit so he knows a few things and he leaned over and whispered in the best English he could use, “ I don´t know why, but here, in this moment I feel happy.” He is also prepared for the Gospel in his life.

Things are going great with my companion and everything. We´re really trying to not only set goals but accomplish them. I love my area and my Ward. These people are so loving and a part from spending Christmas with you guys, there isn't another place I would want to be. Cambios are coming up right after Christmas and I´m hoping that my companion and I stay in our area. I feel like there is so much more work for us to do here. Thank you for all your love and support. Thank you for all the pictures and emails. J You guys give me strength. J

Con mucho amor, Hermana Price. J    

HUGE Man Boots and Lots of MUD

Hey Family!!!
How was Thanksgiving? Did you eat a ton of that good-ole American Thanksgiving food? It was pretty funny the day of Thanksgiving. All the missionaries in Pucallpa were in a conference with the President and while we were in our little 15 minute break Elder Brown (from Utah) said: Whoa! You guys it´s Thanksgiving today!!! Haha! We all forgot that it was Thanksgiving! Then all the Americans went around and said their favorite Thanksgiving dish. It was funny, but anyways I´m still LOVING my new area. We keep finding a ton of new people to teach. We´re really going to try to accomplish 8/4/2 this month. There is just so much potential in my area and I know we can do it if we work hard enough. Nothing too exciting happen this week. It rained SUPER hard the other day so we've been wearing our big bulky rain boots because when it rains here there is always a ton of mud because in my area because there aren't any paved roads -  they are all just dirt trails. I´m sure we look real cute with our huge man boots. But I actually like to use the boots. Its fun to walk around in the mud. This rain storm was one of the biggest that we've had so far. Mom, you would have loved it. The thunder was so powerful that you could feel the pounding in your chest. It only takes seconds for the trails to turn into rivers and all the little kids splash around and scream and play in the rain. It´s really fun to watch.
My companion is still getting use to the mission life. She has had a ton of bug bites on her legs this week. She's been bathing herself in bug stray and anti-itch cream this week. I feel bad,  but there isn't much we can do. With time, it gets better and the bugs don´t bother you as  much. I haven´t eaten rice for TWO WEEKS! It´s the best feeling in the world and I've already lost 4 pounds. Woot! Anyway I love you all so much and I just want you all to know how much I love this work. I can´t believe how fast time is going by! It´s almost Christmas! Everyone keeps telling me that it´s hard to be away from your family for the holidays but I have a family here. I have a family with all the missionaries, my companion and all the members in my ward and all my investigators. I´m so glad to pass Christmas here in my new area with Hermana Centeno I love my area so much. I love you all and miss you a ton but I´m healthy and happy and loving my time here in Primavera Pucallpa Peru. Thank you for all your love and support and all your letters of love. Happy Thanksgivnig!!!!! (I know I´m late but it´s better late then never right?)
Hermana Price