Dustin's Aug 29th Letter

Dear Mom,

The city is great. It is kinda freezing to me but I think it’s just because I was used to the jungle heat. My new companion is Elder Tenorio, he is from Cochabamba, Bolivia (my third comp. from the same city) and is 22 years old. He has 5 months in the mission and started it here in this ward. By the way, I am once again in the Wiesse Ward!(the same ward and area where I started the mission!! kinda crazy cause I have never heard that happen, ever) A lot has happened in this last week. I got here to Lima on Tuesday and saw some missionaries from my group in the MTC that I hadn`t seen for about a year, so that was pretty cool. Then on Wednesday we went to the CCM (haven`t been there for a year either) and we listened to Pres. Pino (area president of northwest South America, Venezuela) then Elder Hallstrom of the presidency of the seventy and ... The apostle Elder Oaks. It was amazing. I feel like I am starting the mission again. I just left the CCM Wednesday and I am in the same area where I started and I am full of the spirit of missionary work. And I can`t wait to go to the temple cause it has also been a full year since I have entered in the House of the Lord. Wish Jontana luck for me and have fun in seminary. Thanks a ton for the quote from Pres. Eyring and your love and support.

Love,

Elder Divis

Dustin's Aug 22nd Letter

2011 August 22

Dear Mom,

My week went well :) We had a baptism on Saturday, Nuria Fasabi de Pèrez, the mother of Barbara that got baptized in June. We are working with her dad but he`s a little bit tougher than the others but he knows it is what he needs to do, it's just a question of time. We also found some other families this week which are great. We had a family night with the stake president and a family we are teaching on Friday, on Saturday they went to the baptism and on Sunday they went to church. They just have to get married and then they will get baptized. The other families aren`t progressing quite as fast but they will gain a testimony soon :) We went a couple weeks there without a ward mission leader but this week we reactivated him and we have some good activities planned for September. Thanks for the update on the family and good luck with the James` kids, they`re great :)!!! Say hey to everyone back home.  I am sure I`ll have more to write next week cause tomorrow there are transfers and I am going back to the capitol city of Lima, 10 months in the amazon rainforest and then back to the desert coast, Wish me luck. It is ''summer time'' here in the jungle but ''winter'' in Lima, we`ll see how the climate change goes. I don`t know what area I am going to or who my companion will be but I`ll be sure to tell you next week :) I love you and all you do for me, take care mom.

Love,

Elder Dustin Divis

Dustin's Aug 15th Letter

2011 August 15

Dear Mom,

You`re lucky you get that choice to go outside to warm up and go inside to cool down; here it is a little different. It is kinda hard to find a place to cool down. When a breeze comes by it is about the closest thing you can get, but it sure does feel good when it comes. We too are having some good summer weather, which means it no longer rains. Maybe two or three times a month, and before it was about five times a week. But hey, that`s life in the jungle :) It’s great to hear how great things are going at home. It brings joy and peace to know that our entire family is living the Gospel. We will live one day together in the presence of God! I am trying my hardest to bring other families to Christ and help them achieve this same goal. I ask for your prayers this week so that I may be guided to these people.

Sounds like the house is really progressing a ton and that you and Dad are staying fairly busy. Say hi to Mirjam for me and a happy birthday. Our jungle excursion was pretty fun, took a ton of time but it was a great experience. We hiked about a mile and a half on a dirt road/trail then we turned off onto what looked like a deer trail and followed it to a little hut beside a pond and little further along a stream. We ate there, picked jungle fruit and ate it and I am pretty sure the lemonade they made out of the creek water made them sick.  A lot of the zone got sick but nothing too serious, I felt just fine. It was one of those times when your somewhere and you don`t really quite grasp it. I told another missionary, ``hey, we are in the middle of the Amazon Rain Forest”  it`s not really something most people think about being able to say but to say it felt weird, cause the only times I heard about it was on things like National Geographic and then to actually be there was pretty cool. Hope it’s not the last time :) Sorry there`s not a whole lot of information about my week but nothing too exciting happened.

Love you tons!!!

Love,

Elder Divis

Dustin's Aug 8th Letter

2011 August 8

Dear Mom,

My week was great! I don`t think I`ve quite adapted to the being dad thing but we are definitely getting better. The whole family sounds like they are doing well, which makes me very happy. Something pretty miraculous happened yesterday. Elder Zuniga and I were on our way to church after searching unsuccessfully for investigators that committed to go church, and we saw Cesar (an investigator who about a week and a half ago said he couldn’t keep listening to us cause his family will kick him out of the house and stop helping him pay for college) We followed him into the chapel and greeted him there. He sat down behind us and started talking to us. He explained that he has been talking to his family and explained that ``this`` is his new life and that he wants to get baptized. His family understood kind of and said he could still live there and they wouldn`t throw him out. He will get baptized the 20th of this month :) It filled me with joy to hear his testimony and the works he has done and continues to do to show the Lord he is willing to follow Him. Earlier that same morning I was reviewing my planner and saw his name and with agony I put a red arrow pointing down, indicating that he ``cayò`` FELL. But the Lord works little miracles every day and fulfills His promises for ``medios pequeños y sincios`` small and simple means to bring to pass the salvation of many souls. A shining moment that made my week GREAT! even though 3 other baptismal dates fell through :( We will work with them and help them to receive the restored Gospel. So Jared Fisher is going to Cambodia, eh? That is fantastic! When I read that bit of information it made me glad that he will be counted among the `representatives of Jesus Christ`. He`ll do great :) tell him I am happy for him and that I wish him luck. The other day I was thinking about ``who I am today``, How I got here, How the Lord has prepared the path and the very many blessings that he has put in my way. My family, my friends, my teachers, my trails, my triumphs, and most of all my Savior. The poem that Dad taught us came to my mind, about a normal man and a clown and a sack of tools, and how we can make a building block or a stumbling stone. I thank all of the building blocks that I have mentioned above for helping me become “who I am today``.  I am servant of God, a defender of truth, a missionary of the only true church of Christ, I am a son of God, and I represent my Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks for helping me receive these great building blocks. But when I think of all these wonderful gifts that God has given I still realize that I am ``less that the dust of the earth`` and that if it wasn`t for a loving Heavenly Father and His great plan of happiness. Why am I here? Why Perù? Why at this time? Why do I try so hard? How do I learn from things so simple? These and countless other questions are answered: Because God loves me, and I love Him, My family loves me, and I love them. God and I both love these people. Who am I today? I am an imperfect child of a Perfect God, a blind servant with an eternal goal, a child grateful for the mercy and love of both earthly and Heavenly Parents.

Love

Elder Dustin Jack Divis (Who I`ve become, thanks to you all)

Dustin's Aug 1st Letter

2011 August 1

Dear Mom,

My week was great! We had a baptism on Saturday, his name is Silfo Pizango and is 21 years old and wants to serve and mission and teach with us whenever it`s possible. I was very happy to see him get baptized and confirmed. My companion baptized him and I confirmed him. We met him in our first week or two here in Iquitos and he had a ton of questions and doubts but through the weeks and months all were answered, and unsurprisingly, all thanks to the Book of Mormon! He gave a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon after his baptism and is happier than ever. Remember Barbara? well her and both of her parents came to church yesterday and we visited them last night and shared part of The Family: A Proclamation for the World and they really enjoyed it. My vision is that they can receive the saving ordinances of Baptism and the Confirmation. We also taught a couple of other powerful lessons that night and two men accepted baptismal dates. Manuel Luna and Teddy Aguanuri, both older men who want to get baptized. We put their dates for the 20th of this month, even though they are willing to do it sooner but they both need a little bit of preparation. We also had interviews with President Blunck and training by the assistants. In my interview President Blunck told me that I have to act and treat Elder Zuniga like he is my son, which will help us a lot now that I think about it. Before I treated him like a brother and he really reminds me a lot of Will and I always remembered when you would tell me that I am not his dad. But to imagine that Elder Zuniga is my son and that I am responsible that he learns and grows and does the things like they should be done with help us a lot. And pretty much everything that he talked to me about in my interview was in relation to how it will be when I am married and have kids (which made me think during the interview if he knew that I only have a year in the mission :) haha ha) But the interview helped me a ton and made me feel like a new missionary. The trainings also helped me to be a more effective missionary and teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked about Teach People not Lessons and How to Begin Teaching. I have studied them both a menudo and I use them but the trainings really helped me refine these teaching skills. Thanks to what I learned we could put baptismal dates for Manuel and Teddy in 10 min of teaching time and really have the spirit there testifying that it is the right thing to do. Also, President told me to look for more families to teach and baptize so we are re doubling our efforts to find and teach families like it says in PMG page 3. And it is paying off :) So that’s my week all wrapped up into one paragraph. Sounds like the whole family is having a ton of fun! THANKS A TON FOR THE PICTURES!!!! They are the greatest. Cameron looks and sounds like he is doing more than great and I love hearing about the family and how wonderful you all are doing. Thanks for the recipes, I`ll translate them and see if we can cook something delicious from home next Monday. We won`t have time today cause we are going to the ``Chacra`` pretty much deep jungle where they grow and cultivate all there fruit, wish me luck :) I love you mom and am truly grateful for all you have done, are doing and will do for me.

Love,

Elder Divis