Week 45- Crazy Week

Dear Friends and Family,
 
So this last week was pretty crazy. I am officially exhausted and ready to just sleep all of today. Anyways, this week, ABIGAIL was baptized… FINALLY!!!!!!!!! It was kind of hectic. We had planned everything for Saturday morning at 10 am. Then unfortunately, a lady here passed away and so ALL of Friday and Saturday, there was a viewing in the church and we couldn’t have the baptism. So we had to move the baptism to Sunday morning at 7:30 which meant we had to be there at 6:30 to get everything ready…. The other problem was we got a call that someone needed a blessing at like 9:30. So we called for permission to go with the elders to give a blessing… so to say the least, we didn’t even get to bed on time and I HATE waking up early, but I’m grateful for my MTC preparation. I never thought that when the emergency alarm went off at 1am and we had to evacuate and then be up the next morning on time that it would be preparation for now. Learning to just do it anyways even when you’re SUPER tired and somehow the Lord will bless you and make up the difference. However, as a result, I now have a cold, but definitely worth it.
 
Well, the Cotrado Family are all ready for this Friday to be baptized AND married. Marriage paperwork is a hassle, I’m kind of thinking that I don’t want to get married either! Haha jk. But anyways, they are passing through a couple of difficulties. Satan works SOOOO hard when something great is about to happen. Luckily, the Lord has guided us and we have been able to help them a lot and live right by us so we can pass by often to visit! They are our main focus this week!!! Super excited to see an entire family join the church and prepare to be sealed in the temple.
 
The last story is Raul, we found him a week ago. He lives in a room that a family here rents out. He is 18 years old and has never been baptized, but used to attend a different church every Sunday. We talked to him about Joseph Smith and he says that he is going to pray and come to church so that he can really know for himself as well. We asked him if he wanted to be baptized June 15^th and he accepted!!!! He said, I want to be sure that this is the church where I need to be baptized, but I already know that baptism is what I need to do with my life! He is SUPER!
 


President Calderon and my companion and I.

Anyways, this week, we had training with Pres. Calderon. It’s the last time I will possibly see him, although, I think I have transfers in a week. He said that Hermana Saavedra and I aren’t going to stay together because 10 new sister missionaries are coming and he said that he needs me to train. EEK!!! I’m super sad I won’t be with Hermana Saavedra for our birthdays, but oh well. I will be happy where ever and with whoever the Lord wants. So a little bit of my thoughts from training were, what causes us to sin? I remembered a talk that I honestly can’t remember who gave it, but it talked about pride a lot. When we sin, it is because we have some degree of pride. From training, my companion and I got to talking a lot about our past lives and such. She relayed that when she wasn’t active in the church that she was invited to a dinner with some of the bosses of her career. She went hoping to make contacts and then get practices which would be valuable to her career. She didn’t drink, but the boss had served everyone beer. To appeal to him, she sipped on her beer (which she doesn’t even like). We talked about how a lot of times, we justify our sins. She said that she justified doing something that she knew was wrong because she believed that she would be happier in the future with her practices. However, that wasn’t the case as she tells. We talked about how pride works in ALL of us to believe that we can justify our sins and that we will end up happier in the end in one way or another… If I smoke with these people, I will end up with more friends and will be happier… or whatever the situation may be. However, wickedness NEVER was happiness. It made me think about the pride that I have in my own life and the things that I can work on to be better. Really, if we humble ourselves and come unto Christ, He will make weak things become strong! I hope that I can apply this more to my life and that you all can think about how you can apply it to yours as well.
 
I love you all and am grateful for the support you give me!!


The family. Me and my companion
(hijastra... step daughter) My mom and her daughter.

 
Love Always,
Hermana Lang

Week 44- If you don't live to serve, you don't serve to live.

Dear Friends and Family,

So this week has been great. My companion and I were both a little bit sick, but we managed to get a lot done.

We have been working a lot with the Cotrado Family who are almost done with their paperwork to get married and then the whole family is going to be baptized!!!!!!! Also, Abigail ( who was supposed to be baptized a little over a week ago) is going to be baptized this Saturday!!! Her mom talked to us on Sunday and every thing is set this time! We are super excited, but this last week, we had some difficulties finding new people which needs to be part of our focus this week so that next month we have people to teach when our investigators right now are all baptized!

Well today we had a training in the morning which was super good. Just a few thoughts from that are about the importance of working in unity. We talked a lot about how it just is SOOOO much more effective. Which is definitely true. The last transfer. I was in a cast and I needed a lot of help because I simply couldn’t do what I wanted to do all of the time. I had to humble myself and ask for help from a lot of people, but you know what? Humility is worth it because together with the other people helping, we were able to accomplish a lot more.

Puno!!!

The next thing I was thinking a lot about this morning with the training is the importance of your attitude. Puno is said to be the hardest zone here in the mission. Is that true? Or is it just because with cold weather that people aren’t as excited. Well, I definitely don’t believe that Puno is a super hard area (different from my other areas for sure, but also wonderful). Puno was part of another mission before (Mission Arequipa) and a return missionary came to visit yesterday. He came to church and we had a little bit of time to talk with him. He told us how this was his favorite area and that he baptized the most here than in another other area of his mission. So how much does our attitude affect what outcomes occur? I’ve always heard, Preach the gospel at all moments and when necessary, use words. Our attitude and the way we live shows the world exactly what we preach. I hope that when people look at me, that they can see that I bring a message of happiness because I live a happy life that reflects in me.

If you don’t live to serve, you don’t serve to live. When I read this on the slide show presentation this morning, it kind of sunk in a lot. I came here to serve people. And how do you serve them? Well, my dad always says ‘’love the people.’’ Sometimes that is easy, but with other people, it requires a little more effort to listen to them to really understand them so that you can love them.

I, along with every other missionary in the world, have been called to represent Jesus Christ. What did Christ do when He was here? He LOVED the world so much that He gave His own life. So I as His representative must do the same. I must give my life. I must leave my life at home there and all of its distractions. I must love others as He has loved me. Charity is the pure love of Christ. When I look at others who at first may be difficult to love, I think, what would I do if this person were Christ sitting there Himself? I wouldn’t walk by and so right now, I can’t do so either. Learning to REALLY love is not as easy as it always sounds, but God loves ALL of His children and if we pray, we can see people as He sees them. It is only then that we can love the people. When the people feel our love, when they feel Christ’s love for them, it motivates them to change and that is  when success happens.

My llama and I

I am a missionary, and life couldn’t be better!

Love,

Hermana Lang

 

Week 43- Finishers Wanted

Me at Cutimbo (ruins)

Dear Friends and Family,

So yesterday was Mother’s Day and I had the opportunity to talk with my family! It definitely brightened my day to remember just HOW blessed I am.

Anyways, this morning, I was thinking about something I had heard about 2 years ago. I was a counselor for a youth program called EFY. It was the last week of the camp for the summer and the session director was talking with all of us counselors before the camp began for the week. He told a story about how President Hinckley or Monson (I don’t remember which) went to an antique shop with his wife. She marveled at all of the things that were there while he was fascinated by a sign that sat in the window. After his wife finished looking around, she asked what it was that had caught his attention in the window. He showed her the sign that said ‘’finishers wanted.’’ The session director then told us about how we were the best of the best. Sent to complete the work. I think about all of the missionaries who are in the mission field and those who are preparing to leave. You are a finisher! God has called forth a great army to go forth to preach His gospel and it is His last rallying cry.



Baptism of Fernando!!!

In baseball, there is a finisher. I think about Eric Gagne (yes… I’m a Dodgers fan). One of the best finishers ever. I remember the excitement of the games when he would come out on to the field with the music filling the stadium with excitement and on the big screen, the words would appear ‘’GAME OVER!’’ Here I am, sometimes I think I forget that I am a finisher. I wasn’t called to be here 50 years ago. I was called to be here now. The end is near. I was called to put the last touch and to end the game. I am so  blessed to be here with so many others who have been called to do the same. I always think about greatness. We have been called to be great!

Well, onto other news. This Saturday, Fernando was baptized! He wanted it to be small! It was beautiful. We talked about how this is the first step of a lifetime that really does bring happiness. When we watched him come out of the water, he was beaming. It was such a wonderful moment! Then, he showed up Sunday for his confirmation and he came in a white shirt and tie! It was so lovely!!!

Anyways, I hope you are all having a fabulous week and I wish you the best and love you all! You’re always in my prayers and I can’t thank you enough for the support you show me.

My zone leaders (Doxey, Cava, Me, and my companion Saavedra)

Love Always,
Hermana Carly Lang


Week 42- Life is Wonderful

Dear Friends and Family,

So lots has happened lately. I am still in Puno, but I have to do 2 more months of physical therapy… clinics here are different than home. It is kind of annoying because she starts the therapy and then you end up waiting forever when one part ends for the lady to come back and start the next part. But… patience is a virtue, right? One that I think I need to learn a lot more about. Haha
 
So the exciting news is that the entire Cotrado Family came to church yesterday. We visited them every day this week and when we went by Saturday to help the mom with laundry, she was almost done and wouldn’t let us help. She was preparing for Sunday like we had taught! J
 


My comp and I

The next thing is that yesterday was a rough day. We had planned a lot of things and called to confirm. Who knows what happened, but nobody was home. We went to visit a 12 year old boy who we met his parents last week and set up an appointment with the family for yesterday and then something happened and the dad was not very happy that we showed up and told us not to come back. That little story pretty much sums up how all of our appointments went yesterday. We however were able to find some new people thanks to a member who showed us some people she had been talking to about the church. Then at night, we went to see Abigail. When we showed up, she ALSO wasn’t home. Thankfully, her little sister was there and called her and about 10 minutes later, Abigail came. Abigail is a 17 year old girl who has decided to be baptized like 5 times when we ask her if she would like to be baptized, but… has never actually gone through with the baptism. We have been visiting her and strengthening her testimony and finding out how we can help with her doubts that really don’t have to do with the church but more so members in the church. Well, she arrives home and my companion had to use the restroom. Abigail and I begin to talk about how things are with her boyfriend and small talk like that. Then out of the blue, Abi asks me if she could be baptized THIS SATURDAY!!! I was in shock and had to ask her to repeat what she had just said. Of course we could plan her baptism for Saturday. This is the first time that Abi has decided completely on her own and brought up the topic and not us that she wanted to be baptized. She had decided that her birthday would be a good date to be baptized (June 9^th) but then yesterday told us that she didn’t want to wait any longer and wanted to give a special gift to her mom (her baptism). So we started planning her baptism and we asked who she wanted to speak at her baptism and she looks at me and goes, usually the members from here speak, but I really would like it if you could speak at my baptism. I felt super honored that she wanted me to speak at her baptism! So, super excited. She and Fernando are going to be baptized this Saturday and then hopefully others later in the month.
 
The Cotrado Family. Pedro (the dad) was kind of closed to the idea of being baptized again (since he was Catholic). We have really been focusing on prayer and the Book of Mormon with him. We have tried not to pressure him but the other night, I felt like I should ask him again about how he felt about baptism with his family in preparation to be sealed as a family in the temple. He looks at us and says I really have been praying and I don’t have doubts anymore about being baptized twice. WHAT????? The Lord works miracles in mysterious ways. He still hasn’t said Yes, but he definitely has opened up a LOT in such a short time. I have faith that he will be baptized with his entire family and that they can be sealed in the temple in a year!!!!!!!!!! J
 
Well, my thoughts for this week. I have been reading Jesus the Christ. And what I really was thinking about is, how sin is weakness. People always say why don’t you do such and such or why don’t you do this? I think as humans, we all want to be strong. We all have weaknesses and that is where we fall into sin. However, through Christ, ALL things can be made strong. The commandments of God are a protection. Like water that has harmful things in it, we filter the water. With our life, we filter the harmful things through living and abiding the commandments of God. When we have health (physically and spiritually) we are happy! Who doesn’t want to be happy? Anyways, I hope that we all can work on our weaknesses. It may not be easy, but all things are possible!
 
I love you all and pray for you always. Thanks for your love and support.
 
Love Always,
Hermana Carly Lang