heyyy guuuurl heyyyyy

family. 

another change here in the mission has ended! i cant believe 6 weeks have passed by againnnnn. seriously. it blows my little mind. but also, this means that my dear little companion, sister quispe, has a change, and i have to receive a new companion. she has been sooooooo great. im really going to miss her. she has been my only companion that i think i will realllllllly miss, even though we have been compis for almost 5 months(usually i would be super anxious to get a new companion, b/c it is a lonnnng time, but im totes not!!). oh well. changes are always hard, but i always end up learning un monton de cosas. sometimes i just want to speak in spanishhhhhhhh. sorry. 

okay what else what else. 

oh yeah, right now we are teaching a cute little 14 year old who is super super great. he loveeeeeees reading the book of mormon and his testimony of everything is growing super strong and fast. and he will be getting baptized this next weekend(the 8th) --unless he doesnt attned the church this weekend. but he should b/c he is wondie! but it has helped me realize howwwwwww important the book of mormon is in the conversion process of someon knowing the church. if someone is going to knowww that the church is true, and not only that it is something, good and nothing else, they have to read the book of mormon. and pray about it. 

i cant believe that thanksgiving, ya, happened and that christmas is onnn its way. i love christmas so much and i have been trying to get all the people i am teaching excited about christmas so that i will have a fun time even though i am away from all of youuuuu!!!

anyway, not much more to report here. i had pics i wanted to send you, but i forgot the camera. sorry. 

talk to you in a bit!! i love and miss you sooooooooooooooo much!

love,

me

happy thanksgiving??

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

this week has been good. for starters, i began the week with my face terrrrrrrribly sunburnt. seriously. extremely badly burnt. so badly that it was swollen. also i was dehydrated. hahhahaa as im writing this, im hoping that i am not worreying the mother too much. mom? no no, k? because now, im just fiiiiiine, hunny. but i learned my lesson that i should drink more than just one bottle of water in a day when i am out in the sun and then the next day i shouldnt fast. heh. i was fasting when i realized that i was dyyiiiiing. hahha jokes jokes! i wasnt really dying. but i was verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry ugly. really. ugly. i looked like a monster. i couldnt see my eyes very well or anything. how embarrassing.

also, the part of lima i am in right now is called Callao. im in a district of callao, and basically callao is like one of the most worldly, scary places of the mission. where i am isnt too dangereous, not to worry. but for some reason  i havent told you guys about all the cross dressers that are around these parts. really. its messed up. not only cross dressers but also people who have  changed completely. except their voice. hahahhahaha. how embarrassing for them. anyway. just thought id share that little tid bit with you guys.

okay, annnnnd the baptism of susi and carlitos was WONDIE. i couldnt stop smiling the wholeeeeeee time. the. whole. time. my face cheeks hurt at the end of the night. thank you soooooooo much for your prayers for her. i know that it is due to those that little susy pants was able to be confirmed. twas a miracle. susy and carlos and carlitos and valeria are my FAVORITE family of the mission. when they go to the temple to get sealed i am determined to return to go with them. they are soooooooooo great.

okay, so for this week, i believe that is all that i have to share. i am going to try to attach a couple more pics. i attached pics of carlitos and valeria in their house, too, because the ones from the baptism arent that great of them, and you guys haddddddddd to see their cutenessss!!!

okay well, i love you guys soooooooo much. i cant believe that it is thanksgiving, ya. what the??? how did this happen??? my brain is soooo confused because of the weatherrr.

okay, i love you all sooooooooooooooooo much!!!

love,

me

p.s. happy birthday this 23rd to kelly and maddie!!!!!!

yay! i write now, k?

okayyyyyyy woooooow. this week i feel has been crazy. mostly because the main leader of the missionary work for the whoooole world came to our mission and talked with a few of the missionaries, and then later we had a meeting about everything that is new to the missions in the whole world. for starters, when someone has the learn a foreign language for their mission, normally they would be in the mtc for 9 or 12 weeks. wellllll. now it is 6. and the other misssionaries who are speaking their same language would normally be in the mtc for 3 weeks, but now only 2. and there will be some missionaires who wont even go through the mtc, but straight to the mission field. crazzzzy. i pity them. that  would scare mee sooooooooooo much. but also, they told us it is because the mission work has to progress faster and faster. the guy that spoke also said that he is like 99% shure that Jesus Christ knows now whennnnn he is coming. crazy huh? its soon, folks. also, because of the change in the time in the mtc, we had to change the time when transfers-changes are by 3 weeks earlier. and our mission president told us that this probably means that we will all go home(those of us who go home after february) 3 weeks early. also, crazzzy. it is only 3 weeks, right? but that means that i will end my mission like june 4th. it isnt 100% sure, but that is what it is looking like. so, now you know. 

okay, so those are a few of the new things they shared with us. 

now---- we had the baptism of santiago this weekend!! woooooooooo. it was realllllly sweet and wonderful. he and his wife julia are sooooo great. they both help the other be stronger and more faithful in the church. their next goal now is to go to the temple. wooooooooooo!!! 

also, susi and carlos. PLEASE OH PLEASE pray for them this week, specifically, by name. that susi can be baptized this week and that a miracle can happen with her work so that she can come to church this sunday and be confirmed as well. pleez oh pleeez. that would probs be my only request for this week. 

okay, this is all i am going to write today. sorry it is shorter than usual, but esta bien. next week i promise. im going to send another email with a couple o pics. 

i love and miss you all the mossst!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love, 

jill

here are 2 pics from the baptism, and one from pday today. we went to aplace with caves and it was super cool. there are more pics. but the internet is super slow here. enjoy!

its the mosssst wonderful tiiiiiime of the yearrrrr

my subject is referring to the fact that yesssss. i have begun to listen to christmas music. eeeeek!!! hahahha but i must say that is a tad strange to have the climate getting warmer as christmas gets closer, and not colder. what the??

sooooo, this week me and the compi prepared lunch with a less active lady and she made us eat sooooooooooooooo much. so when we left her house, we were super super full, right? soooo then we were passing by this investigators house and they called out to us, "hermanas! hermanas!" so we stopped by to see how they were all doing and talking with them, and then they told us, "ohhhh, we are just about to sit down for lunch, we'll dish you up a plate, too!" 

and we had JUST eaten. (this happens often more or less, so it wasnt thaaaat big of a shocker.) buuuuuuut what was the hardessssst for me was that they served us a plate full of chicken hearts, lungs, and liver. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! the whole plate didnt have one ounce of real meat. only the organs. i wanted to throw up the whole time. and with a full stomach, ya. definitely, no. but, we had to eat the WHOLE thing. me and the compi were dyyyiiiiing. 

also, this week we were in a bus and like always, i was looking out my window, and BOOM. you will NEVER guess what i sawwwwwww. 

a lady of about 60 years walking down the sidewalk...NAKED. yes. completely naked. it was one of the most scarring things i have ever seen. and the poor little kids...the couldnt stop staring hahaa oh man. what a sight...

also, jorge got baptized this week!!! on saturday!! it was a really great baptism service. he was really happy, and a lot of people from the ward came and supported him. im attaching some pictures from it. and on sunday for the first time he came to church in church clothes!! and not in jeans. i wish you guys could know this guy. he is going to be a great leader in the church. 

also, hector should have been baptized this past saturday, too, but he had to travel to a province for work. so we will see what happens 

this week, we have another baptism of Santiago. he is reallllllllllllllly great!!!!!!! he is the husband of the Julia who was baptized just about 2 or 3 weeks ago. me and the companion and Julia had a fast that he would accept his baptism date, and he did!!! at the beginning he was super hesitant and saying, "mas adelante, mas adelante" which means like, later later....or something. hahah i dont know how to translate it exactly. but then after fasting....YAY!!! and it helped julia gain a testimony of fasting too :)

we have been hearing things here and there about the hurricane sandy that hit this week. that sounds soooooo crazy. it is good to know that there werent too many deaths. 

the positive side is that in times like these the  church has a great opportunity for missionary work. 

also, the election. you guys will have to tell me how it all goes. its all in gods hands now. 

okay, well i love you guys all sooooooooooooo much. im attaching some pictures of one of the catholic parades that passed by my room. wooo!!!! they arent very good pictures, and you cant smell the strong aroma of incense...hahaha but mabes you can get a little idea of how it is. i toook a video to show later when i return. hahaha oh man. and the others are of the baptism of jorge. 

i love you all sooooooo much!! take care!!!

love, 

jill frances