Monday, September 27, 2010
Dustin's First Area
September 27, 2010
Thanks Mom! I love you so much,
So much has happened I don`t know what to write. On Tuesday, President Blunck and his wife came and picked up our group of 16 missionaries from the CCM and we were taken to the mission home. I had the opportunity to write that letter by hand and that’s about it. I received my trainer that night. His name is Elder Johnson! Another Gringo! That has never happened before in this mission but it’s great. We don`t speak English at all and he is the district leader and has been on his mission for 13 months. He is from Utah and I think he went to BYU before he came on the mission. I can`t send pictures in e-mails here so I’ll have to make a CD and send it to you or something. My first week in the field has been awesome! I baptized a lady named Amparo Beatriz Utrilla Fajardo on Saturday. My 5th day in the field, it was great. Also on my first night here we contacted a lady and taught her the first lesson then we taught her again on Friday and I committed her to baptism and set a date in October. I love missionary work and know that I will be able to have success as I pray and follow the promptings of the Spirit always. The only thing that isn`t fantastic is my Spanish. I have troubles understanding people at times and I can`t say all I want to. At times I get discouraged with the language but at those times is when I pray harder and I know that Lord is humbling me because I need it. I pray for miracles to happen daily. And it will truly be a miracle when I can understand and speak Spanish completely. I can feel it coming and I need to have patience. I love you more than I can say and I pray for you several times a day. I desire to learn the language so that I can do the work more effectively. I am talking so much about Spanish, I think because it is the only thing that I struggle with right now. And I hate struggling with things. The time truly flies by on the mission. I learn how to be more Christ like every day. So much has happened to me it’s unbelievable. I`ve changed, and for the better. I am now a missionary not just Dustin Divis but Elder Divis. I miss you so much but I love the Lord and know this is the place I belong. Oh yeah! My area is called Wiese. It is in the city of Lima. It’s great to get to know the people of Peru better and see how ready so many people are even though they don`t know it. The mission Pres. said that everyone serves in the Jungle during the mission and I would love to serve there but I love it here in the city too. I am excited for this mission. We are currently opening up new areas and I can see the work moving onward. I am not going to be able to watch conference this week because there are elections here this weekend and it is law that no one can hold meetings of any sort here so we have to wait till the week after. Also, this weekend because of the elections we have to be in our rooms for two days and can`t proselyte,that`ll give me time to study a ton but it`ll be hard not teaching. It is weird being the minority and being taller, than everyone. Say hi to everyone and let them know that I love them.
Love,
Elder Divis
P.S. How are Jordan and Mariah doing? Hope that the whole family is doing well, I love you so much!!!!! Chow( oh yeah! ) they chow here all the time. I thought they only did that in Brazil. Loco.
Thanks Mom! I love you so much,
So much has happened I don`t know what to write. On Tuesday, President Blunck and his wife came and picked up our group of 16 missionaries from the CCM and we were taken to the mission home. I had the opportunity to write that letter by hand and that’s about it. I received my trainer that night. His name is Elder Johnson! Another Gringo! That has never happened before in this mission but it’s great. We don`t speak English at all and he is the district leader and has been on his mission for 13 months. He is from Utah and I think he went to BYU before he came on the mission. I can`t send pictures in e-mails here so I’ll have to make a CD and send it to you or something. My first week in the field has been awesome! I baptized a lady named Amparo Beatriz Utrilla Fajardo on Saturday. My 5th day in the field, it was great. Also on my first night here we contacted a lady and taught her the first lesson then we taught her again on Friday and I committed her to baptism and set a date in October. I love missionary work and know that I will be able to have success as I pray and follow the promptings of the Spirit always. The only thing that isn`t fantastic is my Spanish. I have troubles understanding people at times and I can`t say all I want to. At times I get discouraged with the language but at those times is when I pray harder and I know that Lord is humbling me because I need it. I pray for miracles to happen daily. And it will truly be a miracle when I can understand and speak Spanish completely. I can feel it coming and I need to have patience. I love you more than I can say and I pray for you several times a day. I desire to learn the language so that I can do the work more effectively. I am talking so much about Spanish, I think because it is the only thing that I struggle with right now. And I hate struggling with things. The time truly flies by on the mission. I learn how to be more Christ like every day. So much has happened to me it’s unbelievable. I`ve changed, and for the better. I am now a missionary not just Dustin Divis but Elder Divis. I miss you so much but I love the Lord and know this is the place I belong. Oh yeah! My area is called Wiese. It is in the city of Lima. It’s great to get to know the people of Peru better and see how ready so many people are even though they don`t know it. The mission Pres. said that everyone serves in the Jungle during the mission and I would love to serve there but I love it here in the city too. I am excited for this mission. We are currently opening up new areas and I can see the work moving onward. I am not going to be able to watch conference this week because there are elections here this weekend and it is law that no one can hold meetings of any sort here so we have to wait till the week after. Also, this weekend because of the elections we have to be in our rooms for two days and can`t proselyte,that`ll give me time to study a ton but it`ll be hard not teaching. It is weird being the minority and being taller, than everyone. Say hi to everyone and let them know that I love them.
Love,
Elder Divis
P.S. How are Jordan and Mariah doing? Hope that the whole family is doing well, I love you so much!!!!! Chow( oh yeah! ) they chow here all the time. I thought they only did that in Brazil. Loco.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Dustin's September 15th Letter
September 15, 2010
My week has been great! Sorry to hear that all my pictures didn´t go through but I’ll try again today. You sound like your keeping yourself very busy. That is great that you got a job! When I read the subject of the email I didn´t know what to think. That is cool that you got to spend time with Lyn. She writes me quite often and I enjoy it. I´m excited about all the work that is getting down on the house. You guys need to send me some pictures of that so I can see that progress. That is so great that Klaus enters the MTC today! Logan goes in next week?! That’s crazy! They will be great. The weeks are still flying by. I leave the CCM next Tuesday the 21st. Less than a week!! I feel ready to go in the field and work my hardest everyday to spread the gospel and learn the language. This week has been going very well. Saturday was the first time me and my North American companion elder Kepner went proselyting in the city and it went perfectly. We taught 5 or 6 families in a couple hours and handed out one Book of Mormon. The most successful part though was our Spanish. We both spoke really well and understood. We both felt accomplished and ready for the field but know that we have a ton to learn still. Oh and the place we went on Saturday was in our mission and we met some of the members there and they are awesome! They hardly have any less-active members and the members help out the missionary work a lot. I would love to go straight to the jungle next week but who knows what the Lord has in store for me.
My teachers here are great! I have hermana Flores in the mornings and hermano Rubio in the afternoons. They are both great teachers and also don´t speak any English. Only about 50% of the teachers hear speak English and I never got taught by them, which I feel is perfect. Last night I even learn a little Cetchua, which is the language of the Incans (however you spell it) A lot of people speak it in the Cusco area but not too much in my mission but maybe. It is a lot different than Spanish but they say if you know Spanish and English you can pick up Cetchua pretty quick. I wrote Trissa and Will a letter on Monday and they are both being sent to you in Colville because I don´t have Trissa’s address. Could you get me her email address? This is the last email I will be able to send before I am out of the CCM. So my next email will probably have a little more information than this one.
I love serving the Lord and I know as I follow Him and His example I will be blessed with Joy and success. I love all of you! I know I say it every week but I say it because it’s true. I pray for you every night and I know you are supporting me. I wish you luck with your new job and the work on the house. I am doing great and being on the mission is the best feeling in the world. I´ll let you know what part of my mission I´m serving in next Wednesday. (At least I think I’ll be able to email then) Love you!
Love,
Elder Dustin Divis
My week has been great! Sorry to hear that all my pictures didn´t go through but I’ll try again today. You sound like your keeping yourself very busy. That is great that you got a job! When I read the subject of the email I didn´t know what to think. That is cool that you got to spend time with Lyn. She writes me quite often and I enjoy it. I´m excited about all the work that is getting down on the house. You guys need to send me some pictures of that so I can see that progress. That is so great that Klaus enters the MTC today! Logan goes in next week?! That’s crazy! They will be great. The weeks are still flying by. I leave the CCM next Tuesday the 21st. Less than a week!! I feel ready to go in the field and work my hardest everyday to spread the gospel and learn the language. This week has been going very well. Saturday was the first time me and my North American companion elder Kepner went proselyting in the city and it went perfectly. We taught 5 or 6 families in a couple hours and handed out one Book of Mormon. The most successful part though was our Spanish. We both spoke really well and understood. We both felt accomplished and ready for the field but know that we have a ton to learn still. Oh and the place we went on Saturday was in our mission and we met some of the members there and they are awesome! They hardly have any less-active members and the members help out the missionary work a lot. I would love to go straight to the jungle next week but who knows what the Lord has in store for me.
My teachers here are great! I have hermana Flores in the mornings and hermano Rubio in the afternoons. They are both great teachers and also don´t speak any English. Only about 50% of the teachers hear speak English and I never got taught by them, which I feel is perfect. Last night I even learn a little Cetchua, which is the language of the Incans (however you spell it) A lot of people speak it in the Cusco area but not too much in my mission but maybe. It is a lot different than Spanish but they say if you know Spanish and English you can pick up Cetchua pretty quick. I wrote Trissa and Will a letter on Monday and they are both being sent to you in Colville because I don´t have Trissa’s address. Could you get me her email address? This is the last email I will be able to send before I am out of the CCM. So my next email will probably have a little more information than this one.
I love serving the Lord and I know as I follow Him and His example I will be blessed with Joy and success. I love all of you! I know I say it every week but I say it because it’s true. I pray for you every night and I know you are supporting me. I wish you luck with your new job and the work on the house. I am doing great and being on the mission is the best feeling in the world. I´ll let you know what part of my mission I´m serving in next Wednesday. (At least I think I’ll be able to email then) Love you!
Love,
Elder Dustin Divis
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Dustin's September 8th letter with pictures
September 8, 2010
Buenas dias,
That’s good you got most of the pictures. I think the reason they take forever to send is because they are 12 megapixels and most people’s pictures are not that big. And yes, I can see the pictures in your blog and it takes no time at all to download. Thanks. It is great to hear about the progress that is being made on the house. It´ll probably be done when i get back huh? That is crazy that there was a big fire up by our house! But you (mom) made it sound like nothing. Having the cars all packed ready to leave if you had to. All I have to say is that I´m glad the fire didn´t come our way. I thought I would be able send pictures to you last week after we went to the plaza but there wasn´t time so I´ll probably send them today. The time is going by faster and faster the more time I´m here. Sometimes I want it to slow down! Which sounds weird cause I don´t hear most missionaries saying that, but I´m glad that I have no distraction from the Work. The Spanish is still improving and I can understand the natives without them having to slow down and I’m excited to go proselyting in the city without a Latino companion and see how it goes. At the plaza last week I bought a bag, a hat, and a hamburger that was delicious! For the bag and the hat it was about 7 US dollars. I´ll don´t think I have pictures of those yet but I did get some good ones in the city. I don´t know what I´ve told you in other letters and the days blend together and don´t remember if I just wrote it in more journal or what. Anyway, I am doing great as always and I´ll be in the field before I know it. Let everyone know that The Work is going well down here and that I love all of you and encourage you to share the gospel with everyone! We have something great and we need to share it. I will write more next week and here are some pictures I took.
Love,
Elder Divis
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
September 1st Letter
September 1, 2010
Dear Family,
Did you get my Pictures ok? If so I don´t know if you noticed it but I got burned on my last P-day while I played soccer. The sun finally came out (which never happens here) and I was playing soccer for just over an hour and my face got super red but it didn´t hurt at all and I didn’t peel so that’s good. However, when we had class that night with my teacher Hermana Flor, she informed me that the Latinos here in Peru think that a red face is attractive and so is a heavy American accent. She then went on to tell us that in jungle it is worse and that about half of the North American missionaries that go there die spiritually and that no North Americans have been sent into my mission for the last 3 or 4 transfers and 3 missionaries have been sent home in the last 4 months! Which is crazy, but I know that our group of missionaries going to Lima North are strong and that we were all called here at this time for a reason.
It has been 3 weeks since i got here and the time as gone by so fast and I hear that it goes by even faster when you´re in the field. My Latino companion, elder Espinoza left yesterday at 12 noon. He was a great companion and he taught me a ton about the Latino people and their language. He will be a great missionary in the Peru Piura mission which is the furthest north mission on the west side of the Andes. The mission president there is President Chipman! So I found out where he was serving but that is about it. Before Elder Espinoza left he drew me a picture and wrote some things on a piece of paper for me which was way cool. He is really good at drawing, and likes to draw anime stuff like Will. I have another picture he drew for me and I will send it to you Will on Monday.
I have continued to learn Spanish at a rate that you wouldn’t believe possible and it wouldn´t be possible without the help of the spirit. The other day when I was talking with my teacher she stop me and told me how much faster I was getting at my Spanish and how much better I could speak now than 2 weeks prior and she just kind of reiterated in me how much I really am learning. So that was really cool. And now I can understand almost everything that happens in meeting with exception of a few words that I try and look up later and ask a teacher or a Latino what it means. I love learning Spanish even though it is confusing and hard at time I know it is possible and worth it. Hopefully by the time I leave the CCM in 3 more weeks I will be confident enough to teach lesson and talk with people on the street and understand their needs and address them. That is my goal. I know that the next 3 weeks are going to fly quickly just like the last 3 did and I´ll be writing about my first weeks in the field soon.
Also, since all our Latino companions left and there aren´t enough new Latinos to go around I have a new North American companion. His name is Elder Kepner, and I am so glad we are companions. We were in the same district that last 3 weeks and we practice taught together quite often. He is so funny and is really knowledgeable in the scriptures. He´s from Indiana and plays the bass guitar in a band. I am excited to serve with him for the next 3 weeks!
Later today at 12:30 we get to go on a tour of Lima and buy some sweet stuff on the streets so that will be supper fun and I will send pictures later tonight. I love you all and appreciate all the support you give me. I am doing great and the Lord is watching over me always and I know that. So don´t worry about me. You guys back home are my strength and I have grown so much from being around you, thank you.}
Love
Elder Divis
Dear Family,
Did you get my Pictures ok? If so I don´t know if you noticed it but I got burned on my last P-day while I played soccer. The sun finally came out (which never happens here) and I was playing soccer for just over an hour and my face got super red but it didn´t hurt at all and I didn’t peel so that’s good. However, when we had class that night with my teacher Hermana Flor, she informed me that the Latinos here in Peru think that a red face is attractive and so is a heavy American accent. She then went on to tell us that in jungle it is worse and that about half of the North American missionaries that go there die spiritually and that no North Americans have been sent into my mission for the last 3 or 4 transfers and 3 missionaries have been sent home in the last 4 months! Which is crazy, but I know that our group of missionaries going to Lima North are strong and that we were all called here at this time for a reason.
It has been 3 weeks since i got here and the time as gone by so fast and I hear that it goes by even faster when you´re in the field. My Latino companion, elder Espinoza left yesterday at 12 noon. He was a great companion and he taught me a ton about the Latino people and their language. He will be a great missionary in the Peru Piura mission which is the furthest north mission on the west side of the Andes. The mission president there is President Chipman! So I found out where he was serving but that is about it. Before Elder Espinoza left he drew me a picture and wrote some things on a piece of paper for me which was way cool. He is really good at drawing, and likes to draw anime stuff like Will. I have another picture he drew for me and I will send it to you Will on Monday.
I have continued to learn Spanish at a rate that you wouldn’t believe possible and it wouldn´t be possible without the help of the spirit. The other day when I was talking with my teacher she stop me and told me how much faster I was getting at my Spanish and how much better I could speak now than 2 weeks prior and she just kind of reiterated in me how much I really am learning. So that was really cool. And now I can understand almost everything that happens in meeting with exception of a few words that I try and look up later and ask a teacher or a Latino what it means. I love learning Spanish even though it is confusing and hard at time I know it is possible and worth it. Hopefully by the time I leave the CCM in 3 more weeks I will be confident enough to teach lesson and talk with people on the street and understand their needs and address them. That is my goal. I know that the next 3 weeks are going to fly quickly just like the last 3 did and I´ll be writing about my first weeks in the field soon.
Also, since all our Latino companions left and there aren´t enough new Latinos to go around I have a new North American companion. His name is Elder Kepner, and I am so glad we are companions. We were in the same district that last 3 weeks and we practice taught together quite often. He is so funny and is really knowledgeable in the scriptures. He´s from Indiana and plays the bass guitar in a band. I am excited to serve with him for the next 3 weeks!
Later today at 12:30 we get to go on a tour of Lima and buy some sweet stuff on the streets so that will be supper fun and I will send pictures later tonight. I love you all and appreciate all the support you give me. I am doing great and the Lord is watching over me always and I know that. So don´t worry about me. You guys back home are my strength and I have grown so much from being around you, thank you.}
Love
Elder Divis
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