Semana 68 in Moyobamba (May 11th, 2015) LAUREN'S LAST LETTER HOME!!!

Well, this is it. The day I thought would never come. My last email home.

This week was full of lasts. We had consejo in Iquitos and it was honestly so good. Just what we needed.  With all the pressures of juggling baptizing, rescuing, and retaining we've kind of lost our focus on the whole bringing others into the fild and finding new people to teach.  Although we must rescue and retain as missionaries our first focus is finding, teaching, and baptizing families. President also gave a training that really impacted me on obedience and repentance.  It started out a many trainings in the mission do talking about complete and exact obedience.  But then I really liked how it ended. It's not just a quiestion of whether or not we're obedient but WHEN we aren't obedient are we truly TRULY repenting and changing and submitting ourselves to the Lord. We as missionaries teach the doctrine of Christ which all begins with faith and repentance.  Sure we can invite people all day to do it, but how powerful is that invtation going to be if we aren't doing it ourselves. That my friends, is what we call latter day hipocrisy.  Practice what you preach. That's what I took away from it and it really gave me a chance to re-evaluate some things and how I am applying the atonement and repentance process even though I may not be committing what's known as ''major sins''.

When I got back from Iquitos, our flight got delayed and we wnded up staying the night in Tarapoto. Which was AWESOME because I got to stay in my very first mission apartment and got to see my old Tarapoto ''moms''--Hna Luzmila and Hna Marisol.

Right when we got back to Moyo I had my LAST EVER work visit and visited Hermana Jackson. It was really great and constructive and it felt good. 

After being away from my area for three days straight I got back to my area and my poor companion who had been trucking away with members. She is the BEST!!!! I love Hna Tituaña.  But I cannot lie to you all, these last three days have been the saddest thing ever.  I have been pretty excited up until this moment but now I just feel like I'm walking in a daze and like someone is suffocating me. Not trying to be dramatic but I didn't think this would be this hard. On saturday we fasted as a zone and when I did my fast I had a little melt down but it was good. I felt sheer gratitude and in my fast I asked the Lord to help me recognize the good and the blessings that have come from my mission. Why does this have to end?

Don't get me wrong I can't wait to see you all but I know this week isn't going to be easy.  2 more days here in Moyo and I'm on my way to Iquitos to have my final interview and farewell. This is so so sad. 

But, I want to say that I am will be eternally grateful for my mission. I have never been shaped and formed and molded so much in such a short amount of time. Anyone who's contemplating, go on a mission. It is the best decision you will ever make.

I can't wait to see you all and I pray for peace and calm as I board that long awaited plane home.

I love you all

Hermana Benyo

Photos

 Pres and Hna Gomez took us to lunch after consejo de lideres!  Sister half of the table

My last sunday in Moyo :(

Me and Hna Marisol in Tarapoto!!! After more than a year reunited!!

Me and hermana Hixson at consejo de lideres

Last time flying from consejo

 Zone Moyobamba!!!

My last sunday in Moyo :(

My pensionist and her husband both have Brett Favre jerseys...

 haha apparently no one wanted them in the United states!!!

Semana 67 in Moyobamba (May 4th, 2015)

This week was nuts! We seriously worked our tails off.  I'm pretty sure I just had more lessons with member than I have ever had in my whole mission. It felt so good, it's good to stay busy and working to keep my mind off the prospect of ending my mission in two weeks. This is unreal.

This week the zone leaders helped us move to a new apartment. In our old house we had seen one two many tarantulas and the moldy smell was getting under our sleeves. But we love our new place! It's a lot smaller, but it's on the second floor (no spiders), get's a lot more ventilation than the old house, and there's a lovely view from up here!

Anyway, I don't really have much to say other than this week was just another fulfilling week in paradise.  The branch is growing, we just got a new branch president and I tell ya, he is pretty much future apostle. He is seriously the most spiritual person I have ever met here in Peru and he is really helping break the old bad habits and getting the church to run here the way it's meant to be run. It's something so refreshing after so long in my mission.

Anyway, I feel boring but I really don't have much else to say.  The Lord is helping me keep on working and giving even more than I have, and that is a testament to me that God lives and that his is mindful of me. This week I'm going to Iquitos for the monthly leadership council. That's all for now folks! Oh yeah, see your pretty faces on skypesunday!! I know it makes it a bit anti-climactic the whole me coming home the following week, but I'll take it!

Love you all!!

Hermana Benyo

Talk about forgetting yourself and getting to work--my district leader forgot it was his birthday and no one knew!! So we felt bad and bought him a cake...and smashed an egg on his head as is tradition here in our mission :)

 This is how they rode to our new house. Haha totally acceptable in peru

From inside the new casa

You know I love that view 

I hope you aren't getting sick of the 'me in front of the mountain pictures' they're becoming about as frequent as the 'me in front of the river' photos in Iquitos.

Semana 66 in Moyobamba (April 27th, 2015)

I would like to start this weekly letter with the news that I HAVE PIOJOS.  I let you figure out the translation of that word based on the following context:  I noticed for the last few days that my head was a bit itchier than normal. And on Saturday about 10 minutes before going out to work in the afternoon I had my companion check my head and told me the news that no girl wants to hear: PIOJOS.  So I screamed a little bit but I mean we had an appointment right then so we went and taught the lesson as I was frantically itching my head and after the lesson Telma, our investigator decided to take a look.  So there I sat, as my investigator and my companion sat there rumagging and combing through my hair pulling out 5, 10, 15, 20 gigantic black piojos and I just sat there crying a little bit. It was kind of one of those ''only in Peru'' moments.  Actually fun fact, in Iquitos the people eat piojos!! Words fail to describe the shock the first time I witnessed someone sitting on the street pulling piojos out of their husbands head and putting them in their mouth (No worries, they don't do that in Moyobamba, I asked Hna Telma if she was gonna eat them and she looked at me funny).  It was traumatizing to say the least.  I bought like 5 little envelopes of piojo shampoo and for the last three days during language study my companion has spent over an hour picking out slews of little eggs...I think were up to about 130 on the piojo egg count.  I'd like to finish this story quoting Yzma from Emperor's new groove when I say ''I HATE THE JUNGLE!!!!''.  Someone needs to send me a GIF of that.

Anyway moving on, on monday we challenged the famous MORRO DE CALZADA that towers over Moyobamba. I was pretty excited and it was a good climb. See photos attached.  Actually the climb itself wasn't so bad, it was the descent that hurt me from the fact that I fell like 7 times and my legs were covered in bruises...not much has changed for me as far as the coordination department goes.

I forgot to mention this to you guys but the coolest thing happened.  The other week my companion saw a couple on the street and went to contact them. It was already 9 and we were headed back to the house.  But she stopped and talked to them and they were super cool and told us that they were new here in Moyo, they were from Iquitos and had visited the church there about a year ago. I was like ''Oh no way!'' and they told us that two hermanitas visited them, one a 'gordita' from Ilo, Peru and a north american more or less like me. And that's when I was like ¨HOLD UP¨ I had a gordita companion from Ilo in Iquitos and I am north american and realized that this was MY investigator family from over a year ago in Colinas, Iquitos!! Rubi and Rafael!!! How did I not recognize or remember!!?? So crazy. Being a missionary is nuts, so much divine intervention.  So yeah, long story short got reunited with my old investigator family this week and they are progressing and determined to change.  Unfortunately only their kids came to church this week due to work complications but we have faith that there parents will join us next week.

Anyway, that's all for this week.

Love,

 Hermana Benyo 

Photos

12.  Zone photo at the top. Please note the blood pouring down Elder Foote's face...he got in a fight with a tree on the way up and decided to leave the blood there for photo's sake. Oh yeah, and he won the fight.

13.  The other day during language study Hermana Tituaña asked me what ''Grande Tiempo Prisa'' means. I told her I have no idea that makes no sense when I realized that she was directly translating the name of her favorite band Big Time Rush. I hope at least one person thinks this is as funny as I do. Who knew Big Time Rush had fans in Ecuador? Or in general, really.

 El Morro de Calzada

 Approaching the Morro

Climbing up

Our jungle mountain paradise

Our jungle mountain paradise

Cliff on the way up

View from the top!!

Us in front of the cross at the top.  All of the missionaries sign it every time we go up.

Zone photo at the top. Please note the blood pouring down Elder Foote's face...he got in a fight with a tree on the way up and decided to leave the blood there for photo's sake. Oh yeah, and he won the fight.

he other day during language study Hermana Tituaña asked me what ''Grande Tiempo Prisa'' means. I told her I have no idea that makes no sense when I realized that she was directly translating the name of her favorite band Big Time Rush. I hope at least one person thinks this is as funny as I do. Who knew Big Time Rush had fans in Ecuador? Or in general, really.