Week 76- ''Don't cry because it's over, SMILE because it happened!''

Dear Friends and Family,

I am changing the color of
my skirt from orange to black!

DINNER last night. My mom sent it to us. Sheets and I.

Well my life for the last 18 months is about to end. There are so many things that I have gotten used to and things that I will miss. I am so grateful for the time I have had to be able to share the joy that I feel everyday.

Things I will miss:

Only being able to buy drinkable yogurt

Little stores everywhere to buy what you need on every block

Being shocked by the electric shower

The rest of my apartment. Dinner was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!! 

The self esteem boost from cat calls and whistling that happen a million times everyday

Moto Taxis

Mazamorra (a dessert that I am bringing home)

The delicious food

RICE every.single.day.

Cold showers... often

hang drying my clothes

peeling apples, potatoes... with a knife and not a peeler

Adobe houses, one room houses

Speaking Spanish all day long

Traveling in buses down windy roads with incredible views and thinking I may die on this road...

Skirts everyday

Ugly mission shoes... covered in mud

Rainy Season where the streets are rivers

Chuño (the potatoes that should be thrown away but they keep and eat them after they transform them)

10:30 bedtime

Being with a companion always. You are never alone. 

Christmas morning. Don't look too
close, my hair is fabulous and I have
NO make-up. I had literally just woken up.

Mud everywhere

No water sometimes...

Fish with all of the bones still in them

Having my plan for everyday already set

Internet cafes... with the Spanish keyboard. I'm not sure how the normal ones are anymore.

My darker skinned friends.... I think lots of white people may be weird.

Knocking on random doors

Kisses on the cheek instead of hugs

Dogs in the street

Dogs in the park

Dogs everywhere.... that may bite you.

Panays (the women not from the city with the native traditions)

Panays just poppin a squat in the middle of nowhere

And when you realize that they didn't even pull down anything to get business done.

Quetchua

Inca Cola

Short People VERY short people

Awful singing.... and thinking it is amazing

Choclo con Queso

Not knowing what kind of meat you are eating

Altitude

3 hours of studying

Paneton

Christmas Day talking with family.

Cheap things

Sun that burns and not makes you tan

Hills... EVERYWHERE... that you walk up

Jungle

Fried Platano

Candle Light (because there is no electricity)

Mosquitos

Cuy (guinea pig)

Bed Bugs

Stomach Problems from what you've eaten

Boiling water to drink it

Make-up from catalogs... it's like a surprise

Markets that smell awful

The first time you talk to someone and they want hope

A smile from a stranger on a hard day

It POURED rain the other day and there was
no way around the river... I mean street.

Crying because you just love SOOO much and it hurts

That moment when someone enters into the water, dressed in white

A hug from someone thanking you for all that you've taught

The friends I have made

The people who are stronger than I am and continue on with a brightness of Hope

The ones that have changes my life

There are so many more things that will be grately missed, but the one thing I won't miss will be the person you all once knew. Being a representative of Jesus Christ, with His name over my heart, has changed who I was and my life for forever. I may not wear a plaque anymore, but His name is forever engraven in my heart. I will always represent Him by who I am.

I love you all and am so grateful for all of the love and support you have given me. See you soon!

Love Always,

Hermana Lang

Week 75- FELIZ NAVIDAD

Dear Friends and Family,

Popping my countdown balloon...
it has some water in it

My compi and I

The sketchy bridge we crossed...
it is literally falling apart

I have one week left and can hardly believe it. 

Mostly this week I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!! The best gift I have received this week was to know that my converts from Puno are still active and Raul had an interview to go on a mission!!! And that one of the families that we worked with and their youngest son and his cousin got baptized.... well THEY ARE GOING TO GET SEALED IN THE TEMPLE in February!!!! Best news. Another family from Puerto has already gotten sealed in the temple and there is nothing better than to hear that!!

Quillabamba with Hermana Ponce

Hermana Del Rio decided to take
more pictures of me practicing

My new talent

The cutest little girl ever.

Well this week we were in the selva of Quillabamba which pretty much just looks like Hawaii but more poor... and no beach. Well it was great fun there. 5 people accepted the invitation to be baptized while we were there. I was able to go out with Hna Gonzalez who is from Buenos Aires and her accent just made me laugh now that I have lost mine from Argentina but... it did start to come out a little more with her. :) Anyways sweet little Hermana Ponce took me out to dinner because I won't see her again before I go. It was just a great time there.... Especially the creepy man I decided to contact (I didn't know he was a creep) But he just stared profoundly at me and hardly spoke the whole time I invited him to church. When I shook his hand, he held on to it for a good long time and at the end he looked into my eyes and said, ''I love blondes!'' The sad thing is a lot of people here consider me to be blonde. I was about to say oh good, because I'm not blonde, but just decided the little white lie of I have a boyfriend was better. Luckily he didn't follow us, but we booked it out of there because we felt really uncomfortable there.

The Hermanas that live with me!

Well exciting this is that we are teaching a girl named Karla who is awesome!!! Her cousin got baptized a few months ago and she wants to come to church this week! She coudn't last Sunday because she was volunteering in an orphanage for Christmas. All of her questions lead right up to the next lesson we have planned to teach her. Her parents have NO interest, but they are very friendly and supportive of her.

Anyways, this time of year, I hope that you remember the birth of our Savior! I wish I had more time to write, but ''The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of Christ.'' Let us all shine with that light!

Love Always,

Hermana Lang

MERRY CHRISTMAS from me!
In front of the tree my mom sent! :)
Love you all!!!!!

Week 74- Patitas are not for eating.

Dear Friends and Family,

This week was a little bit crazy. Last Monday we had P-day as a zone and we just played soccer all afternoon... which it's been a while, so I was a bit sore the next few days.

Hermana Del Rio and I... we played basketball in the
morning for exercises and got soaked.
The only problem is that I didn't have shoes.

Abancay (Patibamba)

Revuelto de Patitas

Tuesday we work up and went to Abancay. We got there for lunchtime and then worked all day. I was with Hermana Morales and let me just tell you, I started to get a little anxious for home. Abancay has PERFECT weather... just like California! :)

Andahuaylas

Wednesday in the afternoon we went to Andahuaylas. Well the road was closed and so we took another road. I prayed a lot.. It's a one way road and it's a dirt road. Usually you look down and you can see like a foot of the road by the side of the car... NOPE. All I saw was the valley floor WAY down there. It's a windy bumpy and some parts are even muddy road and I was just glad to make it to Andahuaylas after 5 hours.

Ma' Maura, Karen, and I

Thursday was Hermana Del Rio's birthday (my companion for this week haha) Well my family in Cusco... they happen to have more family in Andahuaylas and they invited us over for lunch. It was Revuelto de Patitas... um......... definitely not my favorite food. It had COW HOOVES in it. Have you ever eaten cow hooves? I don't recommend it. It is like jello flavored meat with mushroom color. It was a little hard to swallow. Then that night, there was a quinceñero. I don't know if you have ever been to one, but they last all night. It happened to be in the restaurant on the floor below us. On the bright side, at least it was music that I liked and could enjoy while not sleeping.

Us making faces

Friday we were in Talavera. I was a little frustrated because working in my own sector has been a little bit impossible lately and I was praying to know that everything would end well. Well I read 2 scriptures that answered it. Alma 28:9-10 and DyC 97:8. It was such a sweet tender mercy to me. Well that day was really cool. We visited a lot of members that weren't going to church and the fun part was that I knew all of the elders that had baptized them! It was a fun experience to know that I was helping these people. God really does have a perfect plan for everyone. Then we got back to the pension at night in Talavera to go back to Andahuaylas and the cute little pensionista had made a cake for us as a surprise! It was really yummy too! Then we get to Andahuaylas and they took us out to dinner because everyone just loves us and I think I may have gained 3 kilos... until I weighed myself and I am not sure but miraculously I weigh the same as before.

Hermana Huaman,
Hermana Coffey, and I

Hermana Morales,
Hermana Routson, and I

Hermana Llacsa,
Hermana Tamariz, and I

Our cake from Hermana Rufina

Abancay (Intimpas) It's either up or down

Saturday we were back in Abancay. I got to work with Hermana Tamariz (my sister from the mission. Hermana Olivera trained her like 7 months after me) Anyways, we went and visited a couple. The guy was baptized like 2 and a half years ago with one of the ex APs and then the girl was living with him and wanted to be baptized, but can't because they aren't married but live together. So we talked to them for a long while about HOW important it is to God that they aren't fornicating. After a good long while, you could tell that they felt awful for what they were doing. The most powerful part was when we started testifying about how this is exactly why Christ came to earth because we all mess up. You could see that they went from being really sad and heavy to being filled with light and hope. We then asked when we could come back and he said well the next time you come back, she won't be living with me, but we can work out a time to meet all of us together because I know she wants to get baptized and I love her so much that I don't want to be in the way. It was so cute to watch them. They really do love eachother just a little confused on how true love means to wait a little bit longer until you are married. Well after that, a fun fact is that someone thought I was actually from Mexico. It was one of the elders and he looked super confused for a bit and you could tell was contemplating something until he just said Hermana are you from Mexico? Hahahaha I just laughed and was like nope! Hermana Del Rio who is actually from Mexico said that I could be from Tepito (which I'm not sure if I want to be from there... I think it is a rich snobby place hahaha, but not completely sure. I'll just take the compliment that my accent is getting a lot better).

That cute couple that I taught... Edwin and Sarita

I have this face mask stuff and
we decided to use it!

Sunday afternoon we were back in Cusco and I helped my companion out a little with getting better so that this week we can travel to Quillabamba.

I hope you all have a wonderful week preparing for Christmas and that you can remember Christ this time of year. Love you all!

Love Always,
Hermana Lang

Week 73- You learn something new every day

Dear Friends and Family,

Beckstead (my trainer trained her too...
we are sisters in the mission) Me and Olivares

So this last week was a little crazy. Tuesday we had a training meeting with all of the sister leaders and zone leaders of the mission. That was really good as always. And then that night, my companion started to complain about her head hurting.

 

 

 



This was in the doctor's office. Made me laugh





Wednesday we went to the doctor where I almost passed out on the floor myself which they gave me medicine for... super fun! And then we got to the stuff my companion needed which to find out she needed her wisdom teeth out. 

 

Del Rio and I



Well that was a fun surprise because Thursday we were supposed to travel and getting your wisdom teeth out means that she won't be traveling. So Hna. Del Rio saved my butt and came with me to Valle Sagrado.

we dressed up in Ollantaytambo

 

 

 

 

Ollantaytambo first. There we taught a woman who was dumb. I am not talking about stupid, I'm talking about how she couldn't talk. That was an adventure. We would talk and she would type her response on the computer in REALY REALLY really broken Spanish. It was fun, but it was incredible the spirit you could feel when you teach simply and clearly.

 

 

My 17 month pizza

 

 

 

 

Then to Urubamba. We celebrated my 17 months with pizza which was delicious and then the next day we found a lot of people to teach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ex Assistant Castro and I

 

The best part was running into the ex assistant who has been with me in the same zone almost all of my mission. We couldn't believe how fast time had gone by and then he and the other elders started remembering all of the crazy things I had done and then me being in a cast and then after it all they were like wow, you really have been through just about everything. It's so true.



Anyways, so my companion is just barely able to open her mouth to take out 2 more wisdom teeth tomorrow, so I am doing splits again and traveling to 2 zones this week instead of just one. First to Abancay tomorrow and then to Andahuaylas and then we'll be back Sunday night... Kind of crazy. It'll be a fun LONG trip.

The ugliest Christmas tree

My comp's bday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well so this weekend I had some time on my hands staying in with my companion and I have picked up the guitar. They always say you learn something new every day and I learned how to play ''Someone like You'' by Adele yesterday. I'm gonna pick a new song tonight and learn it!!!

Rosado and I. We started in the same sector in Puerto

Well, this letter was really scatter brained but hope you all are doing well and see you soon! I will officially be home January 1st! The new year! Love you all!

Love Always,

Hermana Carly Jo Lang

 


 

Week 72- I bet your Thanksgiving dessert wasn't better than mine!!! :-P

My hands sometimes lose circulation... it's greAAAAT..... not

Dear Friends and Family,

 

This may be short. The keyboard and I are NOT getting along today. 

 



Dandelion that we found ALL over...
so we made wishes

So this week was pretty long and hard. We worked and worked and worked and guess what??? We found NO ONE at home. Sunday we were fasting and we had tried like 5 backup plans and we decided that we were going to go to the complete other half of our sector... not too far away, but like a 15 minute stroll down Cusco. So we are walking and I HATE knocking doors so I'm not even sure why I did, but I just knocked on a random door. REALLY there were millions others but that was the one my hand knocked and this lady opens the window/peep hole thingy and my companion asked if Henry lived there (the man we were previously looking for) and she told us no. She was asked what her name was and she very abruptly and coldly told us she couldn't give us her name because she didn't know us. I just smiled and said ''Hi, I'm Hermana Lang and this is my companion....'' She then looked us and it is still very awkward and she goes well I'm Gladys. So we told her we had a message of happiness for families and then she smiled and I was expecting to hear ''oh thanks, but..... we're catholic'' the typical response. But she opened the door and told us to come in. WHAT???? We walked in and talked to her and her husband (YES THEY ARE MARRIED) and their 2 sons and then we sang a Christmas song and they told us to come back! It was my miracle Sunday. Let's just say that Heavenly Father listens to my prayers. I asked that we could find someone that would accept us and that the spirit would lead us to them! 

Inca Pachecutec...
he is in the
middle of our sector

This sign should NEVER
have been put up on
someone's house

We found alfajores...
So this is me with my mate and alfajor

 

THANKGIVING DESSERT!

Anyways, this next week we go to the Sacred Valley to visit the sisters there and I am excited. I love the weather there. This week should be a really busy week. We found some people that we can actually teach this week and half of the week we will be in meetings or visiting the other sisters so a jam packed week!

 

Hermana Thompson and I eating dessert

My new favorite breakfast... nutella and a banana.
I'm not sure that's really healthy

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We don't celebrate it here in Peru, but since I live with 3 other gringas and a Mexicana that lived in the US for a little bit, we decided to make our own dessert. Thanks Mom for more Nutella. It was used to say thanks for all of the food we miss in America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful week!

 

Love Always,

Hermana Lang







 

Week 71- Do cheerfully all things in your power

Dear Friends and Family,

So this week has been a little different than expected. Last week was transfers which means that we weren't able to really work the first part of the week picking up and dropping off sisters everywhere. We had to get around 25 sisters... Real fun right? And where did they sleep? Well luckily we could put 5 in the other area (my last area) and so we were only left with 20 of them. So we had these foam mattresses everywhere. LITERALLY everywhere. You couldn't walk anywhere without people on the floor sleeping. It was like a HUGE sleep over. I never really expected that as a missionary. 

With lots of sisters in the apartment we decided to celebrate and make desserts. NOTHING turned out as planned. The brownies turned to oil... so we made this pudding thing that we froze and then ate it like ice cream... it actually was really yummy. Then I started making banana bread and guess what? When this sisters came back, there are NO BANANAS in NONE of the stores. So what do you do? We added more sugar and more flour and more vanilla and then poured in half a bottle of orange juice. I think it may have been the most delicious cake I have ever made (or maybe I have just been in Peru a really long time.... not sure which) But it really was yummy.

 

I will just have to say that I live with the most amazing girls. We work lots but after we plan at night, we definitely have lots of fun sitting around the guitar and singing our hearts out... with whatever song starts playing and then chatting about our day. It will definitely be the best way to end. By the way, I had originally extended till February but after praying and pondering a lot about it, I have decided to come home on my actual date to come home which is Dec 31st... so I will see you all after the new year!

 

So on to a more spiritual thing this week. I was kind of down about the fun assignment I have of traveling all the time (which I love seeing new places... but the actual traveling part is NOT fun) and I kind of was thinking that I am not sure if I actually really make a difference. I was frustrated and couldn't decide on when I wanted to go home and I was talking/having a meltdown with one of the sisters and she said. You know what, I think you are one of the strongest people I have ever met and I honestly could not have asked for a better person in my life right now. (She happens to be in a cast right now). She said when I met you a few weeks ago in Andahuaylas, I needed you that day and you didn't know it, but you helped me a lot to really enjoy everything again. And then being here with you where you are the only person that understands what it is like to be in a cast and try and work as a missionary (which I am not the only person ever to have that happen, but the only one here right now in Cusco). She just explained that it helped to have someone there to talk to and understand at the end of the day. Anyways, it was definitely one of those warm fuzzy moments when you can sit back and say, you know what? I am where I need to be and doing what I need to be.

 

When I think of Christ, I think about all of the people he healed and taught and all of the miracles and sometimes I completely forget about the apostles that he served and helped as well so that they could become the servants he needed when he was gone. I always thought that a mission would be about teaching people that didn't know anything about the gospel but didn't think a whole lot about teaching or rather serving my fellow missionaries. I am grateful to be able to be blessed to experience so many opportunities. The Lord truly loves me more than I could imagine.

 

I just want to share a miracle this week. So I am working on not stressing myself out with all of the things that I can't do and just focus on the things that I can do. So my mission president gave me a new scripture that I love. ''Therefore, dearly beloved (Carly... yes I inserted my name), let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.'' There are so many things I can't do, but it really doesn't matter. So I was doing REALLY good until last night, my USB was gone. I just wanted to cry and my head started to hurt. I was like really? I already lost HALF of my mission pictures, I really can't lose ALL of them. I just sat down and thought, I have done all I can do to look and I am just going to cheerfully stand still. I made popcorn and shared it with the other 2 sisters and then 2 of them came home and I asked if they had seen my USB. One of them said yes... but I honestly thought she was kind of being sarcastic. Here is the miracle. I had a zebra nail file in my backpack with my USB and it fell out when I got out of the taxi on the other side of Cusco. She got out like 2 people after me and the zebra caught her eye and then saw the USB. She asked some people if it were theirs (I obviously didn't hear) and no one said yes. She had hoped that it would have the name of someone she could baptize or that at least the person would be happy that she found it. She prayed Saturday night to find the person to whom it belonged... Well let's just say Heavenly Father heard both of our prayers and I was so happy to have just stood still and enjoyed my night as much as I could and not fret about all of the things I couldn't do and just be happy.

 

May you all find miracles this week in your life. Do all things CHEERFULLY in your power and stand still and you will see the hand of God in your life.

 

Love Always,

Hermana Lang

Week 70- The best missionaries don't wear a badge

Sister Thompson's cast... it's beautiful right?

Dear Friends and Family,

 

I really wish this week were as eventful as last but it hasn't been that exciting. It was one of those weeks that we worked hard but not as rewarding as we hoped. Everyone we found pretty much didn't live in our sector.

 

Anyways, this week started out with Machu Picchu on Monday and Tuesday we had to go pick up a sister who guess what.... is in a cast. I felt so bad for her. I was like I know EXACTLY how that is. I told the office that she needed a wheelchair and we worked together and had a lot of fun. I think me being in a cast was good because she knew that she wasn't the only one who felt discouraged or down for not being able to work. It made me laugh though because one Sister tried to make it all better by saying I know exactly how you feel. I once had a cast on my wrist. The sister with her ankle cast and I just looked at each other and laughed because not walking is much different than a cast on your arm. haha

 

The most exciting part was that Elder Nelson came to visit Cusco yesterday for a devotional. It was really good. He talked a lot about how to talk to other people about what you believe. He talked about the importance of prophets and apostles and 70s but that they can't do it all which is why there are missionaries and had the missionaries in attendance stand up. Then we sat down and said, ''The best missionaries don't wear a badge though.'' I thought about that a lot and the ways I would like to continue sharing the faith and testimony I have hear with those at home. It is so true. The best missionaries are the normal people like you.



 I ran into Julian... he's from Puerto and one of
my favorite people. Best surprise ever from last night!!!!

Well, transfers are this week. I am staying in Cusco and there are 2 new sisters that will be living with me. The only problem is that they may be my 2 favorite sisters. I am going to have to make sure we get to bed and don't stay up talking for forever. It will be a good transfer for Christmas!!!

 

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

 

Love Always,

Hermana Lang