It's a Wrap!

so the dad and the gparents came to pick me up. they took me to pick me up and to travel around peru a bit. its a very bitter sweet thing. I love peru. I love my family. but it makes me sad that I have to leave so much behind. 

grampa bob had just about had it at the end of the day. he is a trooper. 70 years old and still got it!

and Kathy is thinking... what am I going to do with this man....

hehe I love my grandparents!

this is us at maccupiccu climbing the ruins.  so fun!

Picasso. the real thing!! isn't it beautiful!!!

Do they celebrate Halloween in Mexico or Peru?

And what do you do when zombies surround your house? (questions from H.S.)

funny you ask. yes they do celebrate. we were walking home halloween night and we saw these pruvians building a big structure out of sticks and sugar cane sticks and we asked them what in the world they were building!!! they said "A CASTLE!" i said what are you going to do with thtis castle? they said "we are going to BURN IT!" so yes. they build things to burn them back down. happy haplloween. 

unfortuanately i could not see them burn it. i was in my bed sleeping and draming of trick or treating with my siblings.... 

also, here in peru, there are little stores FULL OF CANDY and things on like, every corner with barred gates and you cant get in. you have to ask the person to get what you want. .... and we decided, that IF there were to be a zombie apocolypsis, peru, would be the safest place. cause you could just lock yourself in your neighbors "tienda" is what they are called and be safe from the zomibes and live off the rice and veggies and sweets and soda found in said "tiendas". 

HAPPY HALLOWEENfrom peru. 

love hermana gonzales 

White Night

We had a White Night aka the whole stake had a baptism! I can see the Lord in His work every day.

Dearest loved ones

we had an AMAZING WEEK! and let me tell you why. because last week i got a whole slew of uplifting emails that kept me going this week! i was starting to let satan distract me and worry me about the stuff that is waiting for me at home.... and i guess the spirit told you all cause i got  letters that all said words of encouragement and to say it simply, put peace in my heart. restored me back to my missionary self. THANK YOU mom, dad, mike, jais, jeanne b. thank you thank you thank you. you all said things that i ABSOLTELY needed. and i felt your prayers and miracles happened this week. THANK YOU!!!!!!! 

 

Hno Cesar was baptized on the 25th of Oct! What a tricky treat. I love you all so very much.

 

 

let me explain. as you saw in the pix, we had A BAPTISM! probably the most worthy convert of my whole mission. Cesar was baptised in the noche blanca and rodrigo our recetn convert baptised him. it was beautiful! i have never been so touched by seeing Gods power on earth in action. its real guys! Gods pwer, they call it priesthood IS REAL! and it truly blesses lives! so since it was a wwhite night, the stake went. we had the stake presidency there, and the stake choir and so many members went htat we had to meet in the sacrament room and they had a camera with a live feed whtere the font was and we watched it projected on the wall in the sacrament room. never seen a baptism like it. it was cool. there were four baptisms that night and there was a strong spirit. they asked me to play the piano for the musical number, for the choir and the hymns. happy to help. and after all the ceremony, the converts gave their testimonies. and cesar was the first one up there. he gave such a strong testimony! icouldnt believe my ears! he declaired his testimony! of joseph smith, becoming clean that GOD EXISTS!!!! and that he knew he was in the true church of God. he said it withsuch convicction... itslike he has been a member for years! and then later, the zone leaders came up to cesar to say thank you. theyhad a family of investigators there at the baptism and cesar said JUST what they needed to hear. they said after cesar said amen, they were jumping for joy in the back! hahahah it was SO COOL to see so many people and love for the work it filled me with so much joy and gratituede. i lvoe this work.  

its real and i love it. 

thank you for your love and prayers. the church is true. 

jacob 1:19... i will live to magnify my callings the rest of my life! 

 

love you all 

con amor

hermana Gonzales

 

ps

spencer ad bethany i am praying for your poor beaten bodies. please get better soon! i love you! 

grandma i am too praying for your health and your treatments go well. 

love you family! 

 

 

The Lord's Will, Not Ours

dearest family and friends. it was a good week. another blessed week. 

this sunday we took the sacrament for the first time in what feelsl ike AGES! and my testimony of hte power of the sacrament was strengthened again this week. 

Restoration in all things: impressions that i wrote down after sacrament.

how i felt to take the sacrament again after 2 weeks. i feel a difference. its like a restauration. how i SHOULD feel. i flet relieved and FULL of gratutude. just absolytely FULL of gratitude that my Heavenly Father has forgiven me. i know what i need to work on to be better. i know ive made concious mistakes. i had my many moments where i didnt choose the right and to feel that sense of "its going to be ok cause i forave you. i forgave you even before you repented but thank you for doing your part. here. have the spirit to guide you this week. maybe we can do better." i just fgeel graeful. love and RESTORED in how it should be. i cant imagine going longer than 2 weeks with out the atonement. 

later that day we had a miraculous fireside. the long awaited, very planned, spiritual night of Music, mormon messages and talks by recent converts and reactivated members. it was such a special night. i could not believe how well it turned out. the spirit was SO STRONG! adn we had 9 investigators go. ... well 9 that i could find. also an old investigator from el bosque went too! more than 800 people went. there was standing room only and they even added on an outside tent thing to fill and they watched from a tv outside. we marched in from the back singing called to serve and then we sang a version of o my father to the tune of come thou fount and that was a powerful way to start the night. then we showed mormon messages and had the special numbers. i did my song with my friend hermana mason who also plays the ukulele. we combined i love to see the temple with keep the commandments and the harmonies ROCKED!!!! it was beautiful. the other numbers came together very well too. an elder sang Bring him home from le mis ( as in bring them home to the temple) and others elders played violins. it was just classy ok., JUST CLASSY! and i was SO HAPPY!  some things i learned. 

 

Choir of missionaries from fireside

sometimes, you  just gotta quit doing your own will and take yourself out of the equation and stand back, be still adn KNOW that He is in control NOT YOU. this isnt YOUR WORK. its HIS!!! respect it. and trust. and He will make it 100 times better than you can even imagine. PROMISE! EVERY TIME! i wish i could tell you the hassels that came about and how it all just came together in the end. for example, i felt like a sister needed to participate but coulndt see how or where she would fit. at the last minute, she sang with a group of sisters. Gods will. completed. one elder got transferreed to the furthest area of the mission so he couldnt participate. so we had to find other elders to do a number with 2 days in advance!!! well, The will of God took place again and an elder got transferred to our zone from a whole other MISSIOn AND HE HAPPNS TO PLAY GUITAR! and his comps HAPPEN TO SING REALLY GOOD! but we know it isnt happen stance.... adn they performed amazingly. one of the speakers didnt end up getting BAPTIZED!!!! we were a ittle discouraged... but ah hermano, who reactivated about 6months ago spoke. adn after he spoke i KNEW that HE WAS SUPPOSED to speak. not the other guy. it was allllll guided by God. we see it as fail because it is not our will but when all is said and done, the spirit is ther and the testimony remains that HE IS IN CONTROL. just be still and know that he IS. it was such a beautiful night. i felt the spirit very strong. it called me to repentence and i reflected even more on things i need to be better at. the mission knows how to keep you  humble. it truly does. i felt like Heavenly Father was pleased with the work we had done and he accepted it. and i was at peace. 
 

Jesus went to church for the first time yesterday too. and the teacher asked for a volunteer to give the last prayer, and HE GAVE IT! and i wish i could tell you how beautiful it was. he was so sincere, so brave to pray in front of a class his first day. and his prayer was so sincere. he said in his prayer that he hopes to become a better man and come closer to god for his daughters. i was so full of joy for this hermano, i was moved to tears. and so was my companion. we opened our eyes and looked at each other with tears in our eyes and just knew. he is escogido. 

it was a good week. i am so blessed. and i stand confused in HOW. 

i love you all 

i love this work

i love this mission 

con amor

hermana gonzales 

 

M. Pratt...a long lost friend we found in Peru for conference.

Three generations in the same zone (Hermana Rodriguez "granddaughter", Hermana Rejala "daughter", Hermana Gonzales "grandma")

How we proselyte in the park. Now THIS is someone who won't reject us.

 

General Conference Highlights

dearest familia y amistades. 

was a good week and we were FINALLY able to watch general conference. and it was JUST what i needed. i went with 6 questions and 5 out of the 6 were answered.

they are personal so i wount share them, but i now have a testimony that God truly DOES hear and answer prayers through his chosen servents. 

 

some highlights. 

LOVED the 4 talks in different languages. and me alegre bastante que pude entender DOS de ellos. woo hoo. yes i listened to the ones in spanish and understood. and i even took the challenge of leaving the gringo room and listened to the last session in spanish. either way, the words are inspired and either way i was edified. what a blessing. 

i loved Robbins- what way do you face? i imagine this will help me adjusting back to non mission life.

 

hermana espline- the ENABLING power of the atonement. not just the repentence part. 

 

callister. he is awesome! he came to the mtc when i was there too so i like listening to him. i loved what he had to say about the calling of mother. favorite quote "the title of bishop, reliefe society pres. (or missionary) will not exist in the next life. but "father" or "mother" will. ". AMEN! 

 

keeburt (speling?)- the 6 ways to be more spiritually confident WAS JUST FOR ME! HE even gave ADVICE to a sister missioary is his talk. THANK YOU HEAVENS for giving me what i needed. 

 

holland- favorite quote "her work is about LOVE. not statistics". and that for me means number of baptisms.... im not here for that. 

 

eyring- confirming revelation, and recieving personal revelation. that too will serve me well in the coming weeks. 

 

THEN what really sent it home, was the two talks about MAKEING BIG DECISIONS. 

bother Elder Godoy (who also came to the mission) and Kacher talked on how we can make big life decisions well. THANK YOU cause i have been a little stressed about coming home... and i will be doing A LOT of soul searching, and analyzing, and making important decisions. 

 

and the last talk by bednar was JUST for Cezar. update on cezar. he went to ALL 5 SESSIONS OF GENERAL CONFERENCE! (INCLUDING priesthood) and after the last sunday session we had a lesson with him and asked him abut how he felt about his baptism date.... he said he recieved his answer in general conference. and it warmed my heart to hear him bear his testimony on how he truly KNOWS that Thomas S Monson is our living prophet. he was touched by the spirit and shared his notes with us and everything. AND what really got to me, he asked if RODRIGO(latest convert) could baptise him! WAHT THE???? converts helping concverts! i wanted to cry. "justo" (as we say in spanish) he already has the arronic priesthood. and he will be getting melc. 2 de nov. 

 

its those moments i feel like. im doing my job. this is what i was called to do. this is why god called a weak sister missionary. the mission is such a sacred thing. 

 

we had a good week. OH and funny story.....

half way through sunday morning session, two gringos walk in and one looked familiar. she got a look at me and mouthed "moe gonzales...??" and i just stared at here like.... i know you. what is your name... how do i know you.... i know you but i cant remember.... ahMISSIONARY MODE MADE ME FORGET EVERYTHING! WELL AFTER the session, we talked and it all came floodig back. it was MORGAN PRATT!!! chaz's highschool crush!!! and she is MARRIED!!!! and she goes to USU!! what the???? and she was in PERU!!!! so we talked and caught up and it was fun to see her so happy. The lord loves us. adn we talked about how we were pre school friends and here we are in peru. wierd. but cool 

 

this week we also got asked to babysit. yes. BABYSIT! can you do that as a missioanry? you can if its for your mission president! we got to babysit the visiting grandkids this week and tuck them in and play games with them and everything. itwas SO FUN. and i cannot WAIT TO SEE MY CUTE FAMILY AGAIN!!!!! a bunch of gringos playing chess and arm wrestling. what a blessing. i love my life. Heavenly Father loevs me. but i dont know what i did. i dont deserve it. it hink the credit goes to all my loved ones and their prayers for me. THANK YOU! i know htat God has heard your prayers and He is taking good care of me. 

i am happy and well. we had a good week. and another one to come 

 

love you all

con amor

hermana gonzales 

 

Super ugly Peruvian dog. It's funny to think that these dogs are practically worshipped here...come on. If you're gonna give lots of love to something, at least be pretty to look at.

Hermana Bills and I at Parque de las Aguas

 

Last Transfer. Coming in Hot!!

dearest loved ones,

another good transfer has gone by and i cannot believe the end is so near..... i remember thinking, shoot, im gonna be a missionary for ever!better get used to it. well. i dont know if i ever got used to it. im amazed more and more every day, i learn more and more everyday, and im still learing to master this missionary stuff, but here it is. 6 more weeks. AND ISTILL LACK SO MUCH!!!!! i guess that is why God gave us 100  years to learn and not just18 months. thank goodness. 

well we had a good week. 

 

some highlights. 

 

Cezar has A DATE!!!!!! una fecha bautismal. he accepted a date for the 25 opf oct. let me tell you, he was athiest (spling?) (ateo? someone who doestnt believein god. no se en ingles...) anyways. and then we taught him about our loving heavenly father and how he gives us purpose to life and now he ispraying every night and wants to repent of past errors he commited and is willing to do what ever it takes. o sea... BAUTISMO! yesss so he is PROGRESSSING a TOOOON. we are pretty excited about that. its investigators like him that make me feel like ya. im doing my job. called to serve. 

 

Jesus and his daughterts are also coming a lot great. we watched the book of mormon cartoons about abinidi with them yesterday. we showed up to their house and they were cleaning, we asked what are you cleaning for ? they said the FHE we are having tomorrow! they are so excited for the FHE we are having to night with our pensionistas family. its gonna be good. we are teaching lesson two. and WE ARE STOKED! i LOOOOVe being a missionary. its seriouslyu the BEST. 

 

so this transfer, found out that Hermana Rejala (my daughter) is TRAINING!!!!! that makes me  ABUELITA!!! (grandama)!!!!!! super excited for her. and she is STILL in the same zone so we can still do work visits with them to see how they are doing. ill send a 3 generation pic when the granddaughter comes. hehehehhpretty stoked about that. hermana rejala came up to me with a camera last night and started filming me. i was so confused. then she told me that she was training and i flipped! i was so stoked for her! and she got it all lllllll on film. that little buger... so fun thought. so excited! I LOVE MY MISSIONARIES! 

 

we didnt go to church yesterday. it was elections week. 

 

it was wierd. preach  my Gospal says "when a nation forgets God, it grows weak and will fall". i saw yesterday why this is a 3 world country, because even though they are alllll catholic, they dont know God. they dont truly love him. he comes second to them. and it. is. sad. 

but im am super excited for general conference next sunday. my heart and ears and mind will be open. 

 

last monday the APs called hermana bills and i up and asked us if we would participate in a workout video for the mission. what the???? so 6 missionaries, 3 sisters and 3 elders alll got together and made a cardio and stretches video that they are going to burn for the WHOLE MISSION! my legacy will remain and ill be known as the super flexible yoga fenatic sister missionary. i was the lead in the yoga stretches portion of the video and my companion the cardio guru. she loves crossfit. she teaches me cross fit workouts in the morning. so when i get home we can watch my strange work out video and laugh at me together. itll be fun. 

 

well. the mission is still sucha sacred experience. i have truly grown to Know my savior and my Father in heaven more thisweek. as i repent daily and feel of his grace and mercy DAILY. 

 

food for thought. 

what is the difference in believe and know. and how do you overcome the beliefe barrier and KNOW? 

 

that is wehat my studies and prayers have consisted of this week. i want a better KNOWLEDGE. i feel like i firmly believe, but i need to KNOW. and what am iwilling to do to truly KNOW.and have a knowledge of each gospal principle. 

the gospal is truly restored and it is true. and the savior lives. 

we are so blessed. 

and that, i feellike i KNOW. 

the work is great. i am happy. i love my calling. and i love peru. 

and i LOOOVE you all

 

con amor

hermana gonzales

Trujillo Temple Video

This is the video of when they put the angel moroni on the temple. It's beautiful. Enjoy.

Templo Trujillo - Colocaciòn Angel Moroni - 14 de agosto de 2014
http://www.iglesiajesucristosud.org/se-coloca-el-angel-moroni-en-el-templo-de-trujillo-peru