Week 56

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 56 (6/29/15)

Otra semana milagrosa que pasó aquí en Vista Alegre!

My new area is great! In comparison with my past areas, it might be a little more dangerous in some parts, but the people here are amazing.

So in the Vista Alegre Ward, we have a general attendance of 150-160 and the services are Sundays at 8a because we share the church building with the California Ward. The church is pretty big and I get to play piano again during sacrament meeting. All of the members are really kind and have given me a nice greeting into the ward. Strangely this Sunday, they just changed the bishopric which is going to be really interesting for us.

Also this week, we had a leadership meeting where all of the leaders (Zone Leaders, District Leaders, and the Sister Leaders) and their companions area all trained together. Afterward, we all had a huge lunch from a restaurant called "Gringo Loco" where we ate these amazing stacked burgers.
(my companion taking the selfie)

Also in these past few weeks, we have been teaching a really nice couple, Angel and Marisol. But the interesting part about that is that Angel is a really less-active member and Marisol is and investigator... and they are both deaf. They are really amazing people and have a really good sense of humor. They are helping us learn some sign language and it is a lot of fun to teach them. We just write the points on the board, use pictures, and a whole lot of scriptures with some broken sign launguage. So far we have taught them about the Restoration, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and explained them about baptism. The only problem with them is that Marisol is legally married to some one else, but now Angel and Marisol are living together, so it is going to be a huge process in being able to get them baptized.

Well that's all I got for this week, and don't forget to write me!

Elder Terry

Week 55

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 55 (6/22/15)

There goes my first week in my new area, Vista Alegre!

So I'm now here in my new area with a new companion ready for some new experiences.

So my companion is Elder Simper from Vernal, Utah and we have the same call date so we have the same time in the mission. He is a recently called district leader (which makes me junior companion) and has now been in the area 3 months.

So yesterday was the DEDICATION!!! and it was truly an experience that I will never forget. President Uchtdorf came with Elder Bednar to dedicate the temple and it was amazing. I got to go to the stake center to watch the first 2 out of the 3 sessions but surprisingly our ward council was able to get us some tickets to go inside the temple for the 3rd session! We weren't in the same room as President Uchtdorf, but in another room in the temple. Before the session started, they entered into our room and shook hands as many people as they could, but they didn't make it to me. But afterward, I was able to squeeze through at the right moment and get a hand shake with President Uchtdorf. It was amazing!

It was all truly an amazing experience. Here are the news on the website:
https://www.lds.org/church/news/youth-pay-tribute-to-rich-culture-at-trujillo-peru-temple-celebration?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/church/news/president-uchtdorf-dedicates-second-temple-in-peru?lang=eng

Until next week!
Elder Terry

Week 54

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 54 (6/15/15)

Well this has been a really interesting and slightly difficult week for me here in Primavera.

So everything was going pretty smoothly this week, just a little nervous about the transfers that were coming up, until we get a call from the zone leaders on Friday...
They told us that they are going to end up closing our area after this transfer and that we should get everything in our area prepared for other missionaries to come in. :o
In our ward we had 6 missionaries: 2 Elders and 4 Sisters, and it was divided into 3 areas. So due to a lack of missionaries entering the field this transfer and for a few problems with the ward, President decided to take out the Elders from our ward. This means that they will be left just the 4 Sisters.
That all really took me by surprise. Here is a picture of our last Ward Council:

Well on the brighter side, at least they gave us a few more days to pack up our stuff!

Then on Sunday we received the official call to find out where our next areas are going to be and I will be going to... Zona Central! I'm going to the Vista Alegre Ward and my new companion is going to be Elder Simper, someone that was in the CCM at the same time as me, so we have the same amount of time in the mission! I'm not really sure about any other information, but next week will have all of the details. And it turns out that I'm going to get to stay in the North Mission!

Also, THIS SUNDAY IS THE TEMPLE DEDICATION!!! We found out that Elder Uchtdorf is coming with Elder Cristofferson, so that is going to be amazing. We get to watch the dedication through reproduction in the Stake Centers, but it is still going to be awesome.

Well, another transfer gone by and only a few more to go! I hope to work hard in my new ward and to help even more souls come unto Christ.

Elder Terry

Week 53

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 53 (6/8/15)

Another great week in the Peru Trujillo Mission!

Nothing too eventful this week except that I HIT A YEAR WOOOO! June 3rd was my official year mark and guess what? I burned a shirt on our roof!!

Let's just say that this shirt burned a lot easier than the tie from my 6-month. Don't worry dad, this shirt was starting to fall apart already.

Concerning the Temple, it is now in maintinence and in preparation for the dedication in less than 2 weeks. If you want to know more, check out this web-site that has a few pictures of inside:
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/open-house-begins-for-the-trujillo-peru-temple

Well, the work continues progressing and we keep on serving. I am really glad that I made the decision to be here and it has already changed my life.


Elder Terry

Week 52

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 52 (6/1/15)

And there goes week 52, which means... I've been on the mission for a whole year!!!
Well technically I left on June 3rd, so then I will have been gone a whole year!

Wow It is crazy how fast this time has flown! Here are some temple pictures to celebrate the occasion:

Well, the Temple Open House officially finished last Saturday and they told us that over 90,000 people were able to go through the temple and we received 3,000 referrals of non members that went through the open house. My companion and I were only able to go with an investigator, a less-active, or a recent convert, but we were able to go a total of 11 times! Every time we go, we always recognize things we hadn't seen before like a detail in a painting or a cool design. It was really a unique experience to be able to participate in this event and it is something I will never forget.

Also today, we had a combined Zone P-day with our mission president. Missionaries came from our zone of Primavera, from Casa Grande, and from Virú. We got to play soccer, softball, and a little bit of ultimate Frisbee. It went really well:

Well, I want to thank every one that has supported me to be on this mission; for my family, my friends, the members in the ward, the people I have met here, and every one else that has given me encouragement in this last year. Let's just say that this year will be even better than this first best year of my life.

THANKS!!!

Elder Terry