I love you so much. I have so much to tell you , but first off I want to tell you the Lord answers prayers. I know you know this, but I feel so much gratitude for this. Yesterday, I was so sad because I let myself get discouraged with spanish again. I asked the Lord why He wants me to be here speaking spanish and not in the U.S. where I could be doing so much more. I felt prompted to read a conference talk by Henry B. Eyring. The whole thing was exactly what I needed to hear. I think it was called "Trust in the Lord then Go and Do". I love the Lord so much. He is so patient with me as I struggle. I'm so grateful I am building my relationship with Him here. I have so much to tell you! There is a guy in our ward who is leaving on a mission to Cochabamba and he is supposed to go to the Peru MTC but its full so he has to wait three weeks, poor guy. He is in one of these pictures with his twin little brothers. They are in the family Chipunabi. They are my favorite family here haha. I love them so much. I have the same companion. She is so awesome. We have music to listen to finally. The son of our pensionista gave us speakers and cds. Which was shocking because he always teases us relentlessly. Sometimes its really hard to be patient with him haha. This week I had two dreams that I was pregnant haha. It was so wierd. Both times I felt really happy when I woke up. I think its because there are a lot of people we know who are pregnant or have new babies. I got to be in a trio again for a day with Hermana Ortiz, she was so nice to be around she has so much peace about her. Oh, I ate cow stomach. It's nasty. I thought I was eating fried fish because the texture was rubbery and the flavor was fishy. No one told me what it was until after I ate it. When I first saw it I thought it was chicken so I took this big peice. Now when we're in the street I can smell people cooking it and it makes my stomach turn haha. We have an investigator with a baptismal date! Her name is Aide, she makes chocolates. I have a recipe for these coconut balls. They are so so so good. Ican't wait to make them for mi familia. This week is Claudia's baptism. I hope we get to go we have to get permissions from President Calderon to go. I have a picture of her too with her husband and two kids. I love you so much thank you tons for telling me whats happening with the family. I can't wait to talk again next week, love you with all my heart!

It's so funny to me that my mom said she feels like time is going by slow because this week has felt really slow for me too. Honestly, there are times when I feel like I'm going to be in Bolivia for the rest of my life haha. But I'm so grateful for this experience. I've met a couple people who are truly awesome. One woman came to church all on her own because she is having so many difficulties in her life and she was seeking help from the Lord. She prays a lot and is close to the Lord. Her life is so complicated. I feel so bad for her but I'm so happy for her because she accepted a baptismal date in our first visit with her. Also, we met someone who is very much like her minus the super complicated life. He prays a lot and believes that its important that we have a prophet to guide us today. He also said if he comes to know the things we teach are true he'll be baptised. I am so amazed at how much the Lord prepares people to accept the gospel. Our investigator, Claudia's baptism is coming up. Whenever we visit her she is just beaming. It's so special to feel her excitement and see the change in her countenance. One sad thing is that she is actually living outside our area so we won't be able to finish teaching her. She was visiting the family of her boyfriend who live in our ward when we met her and we have been teaching her at their house. I hope we can get special permission to go to her baptism. There is a huge void in my heart because I can't be with my family, but I am filling it with the people I know and love here. I can't wait for the fun times we'll have when I'm back home. I'm so grateful I can email you. The pictures attached are of my first time eating pizza in Bolivia. I wanted pizza for such a long time and my companions said we would get pizza after my surgery so when we finally did I had to get a picture. We ate the whole thing in one sitting haha. I want to get recipes from my pensionista but guess what she told me. She doesn't have any. She cooks from memory always. My comp told me that mostly everyone learns how to make things by practice and watching their moms cook. The recipies are passed down through lots of generations. Cool huh? But she said I could watch and take notes so I can try to replicate it when I get home. That'll be interesting haha. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Oh I have comp changes this week. I don't know if I'll stay or go. I'm so nervous! But I know whatever needs to happen will happen.

Surgery in Bolivia

Can you believe I ended up needing surgery here.

I was sick for a couple of days with a stomach ache and a high fever. My companion was so sweet and carefully watched over me the whole time. She even wiped down my arms, legs and forehead with washcloths that had a mixture of water and alcohol. It was so nice of her. She did all she could to help me feel comfortable. Then I had to go to our doctors office and there I took a couple of blood tests and he checked my stomache. After that we came to find I needed surgery that same day. I broke down. I wish I could say I didn't but I did. I was so afraid and wishing so much that I didn't have to go through surgery in a differet country. My companion tried to cheer me up by telling me that I could talk to my family but I ended up not being able to, which is probably a good thing because I would've just cried the whole time. I wasn't at peace until I was on the gurney. My companion held my hand the whole way to the hospital. After surgery I couldn't feel my body from the waist down and that made me panic. I started sweating and crying then a nurse came to tell me it was part of the anesthesia and that it would wear off soon. I had to pray and sing "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" a few times before I could calm down. I was so overjoyed when I could feel my toes again haha. I had to spend a day and a morning after that in the hospital. It felt like prison. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I could only eat broth and jello and crackers. Afterwards, I still needed injections so they kept the thingy in my arm so that my companion could give me the shots in the morning and at night. She was a nurse before the mission and Hermana Torrez was also working in a hospital. I felt so comforted knowing they had experience and would make sure everthing was done right. Hermana Castro was an enormous blessing. I cried when she had to go to a different area because she reminded me so much of my mom. I don't have to take anymore medicine or injections. I am so grateful for the help I have been given from the Lord. I know He is working through so many people to lift me up and help me through this time of my life. I'm getting my stitches out tomorrow! I wish I could talk to you on the phone so bad but I'll have to wait just a little while longer. I love you so much. Thank you for your help through prayers and your emails. I wish I could express how much I appreciate you. I hope you like the pictues haha. My companions kept me laughing during this long week. Time passed by so slow for me during all this. I am so excited to ge back t o work. We have one investigator who is for sure getting baptized this month. I can't wait to see that happen. Her name is Claudia, she is a girlfriend of one of the son's of a very special family in our ward. I love them so much, they ask me to translate things into spanish for them haaha. One of the daughters gave me an empty box of brownies to take home and translate the directions from english to spanish. I 'm sure it sounded so bad to her but she said she could understand it. I'm starting to feel more at home here. I love you so much. I hope you know how much I value our family. In my eyes everyone is so beautiful and perfect. I miss you, have a great week.

So lots of crazy stuff has happened this week. I got sick for the first time, I got diahrea, haha. I think it was because I drank water that wasn't pure. We were at a member's house and usually the water they give us is pure because they know our stomachs can't take it. Anyway, it was not fun. My companion got burnt by the shower because it decided to go crazy and steam. It was a scarey sight. So our shower is broken and we have to wash ourselves in the sink. But other than that, everything is fine, haha. Belen is pretty well off for the most part. There are a few poor areas. I like my companeras, I have two, they are both really nice but I feel left out a lot because they can speak to each other and I talk like a three year old when I try to. Pero, I read in John 14 and I feel a lot better now. I'm teaching people but I mostly read scriptures to people, haha.I wish I could do more but spanish isn't coming very fast for me. I got a blessing of health from our ward bishop and he could hardly pronounce my name. It was so funny. It was nice and I felt the spirit but I didn't understand a lot of it. That was a bit heartbreaking. I sure miss you a lot. But I am trying really hard not to be selfish and focus on why I am here. I got to bear my testimony in church, I wasn't afraid, I was able to say a lot and words came quickly. I felt so good afterwards. I love you so much and I can't wait to write more when I finally understand how to do everything I'm suppose to. We have to report the work we've done during the week to our mission president. Your'e in my thoughts and prayers. I love my family so much. You are all so wonderful. I don't want anything more than to be with you all again. Have a fantastic week!!!