This week has been AWESOME.

I had the honor of cutting the Turkey.  It was awesome.  I had a lot of taste tests.

Foooooooooooooooooood!  Fooooooooooooooooootball!  These are a few of my favorite things.  We had an awesome thanksgiving. 

This is how it went:

Wake up.

Play football as zone from 6:30-8

Go to apartment to eat food in order to get ready for football.

Play football with the YSA ward from 8:30- 12:30

Eat food with YSA ward.

Go to apartment to rest from football and eat leftover food from member dinners for lunch.

Go to the Browns for Thanksgiving dinner at 3:00 to eat food.

Eat food at Browns while playing games until 7:00.

Go to Familia Roja casa for food at 7:30.

Eat food at Roja's until 9:00.

Go home and sleep knowing we've gained double our weight.

 

Apples to Apples fun with everybody!

So yeah.  That was basically our day.  We weren't allowed to proselyte because of family time for everybody else.  It was amazing.  Funny tidbit about the next day.  Our whole zone was walking around like hurt and sore old men hobbling around because we all played so much football on Thanksgiving.  It was worth it.

 Don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but we both are really big into Harry Potter, so we are always going off in British accents to quote some part of the Harry Potter movies.  Ha anyways, Moses Brown the youngest boy in the Brown family had some wizarding garb so we dressed up for an action shot.

 Elder Budding: Wizarding Extraordinaire

CHRISTMAS IS OFFICIALLY HERE!!!!!  My companion hates Christmas music already.  Thanks for all the music mom!  So the “He is the Gift”  video is amazing and we show it as much as possible.  Go and watch it if you haven't already!  It's super sweet!

Hey go and lift somebody.  Serve.  It will bring you so much more satisfaction and joy than you feel right now.  That's a promise.

Les amo mas que saben.

Elder Frame

The Thug Life of Service

Spanish Elder's Swag

All Dogs Go to Heaven- well except for one!

The primary kids in the branch here in Quillabamba.
They had their program this Sunday and it was
so cute and so weird to hear in Spanish! But I loved it!  

So this week I have abnormally came across dogs of all kinds. I love most of them… Yes even the stray ones that are totally gross and disgusting that look like big furry mops that should look white and they are black from not having one bath their whole life. But I love dogs. I always have. We were able to make friends with Dolly-or Dogo who is a member’s dog that goes with us everywhere! Literally I love it. Then there was a puppy I was able to hold and play with in an investigators house that WAS SO CUTE!!! It was so small and black and white- and oh if we could only have dogs in the mission. I would love it! But, I do have to say that I truly believe that every dog on this earth will go to heaven. I do believe that. UNTIL I WAS BIT BY A DOG! Yes, it is true! I was the one person before my mission to think I was the exception. NOPE! We were going to visit a non-member, and someone who lived in the same house as them was just outside the door. We asked her if we could go inside and she allowed us in but meanwhile her small dog did not understand and as we were walking in it bit me! It was being protective I guess! Goodness me. It didn’t even bark or anything! SERIOUSLY! My companion thought I just stubbed my toe or something. So I acted like nothing was wrong because she was already talking to the non-member but I looked at her and said… Make another appointment because we need to go. As we left, I was trying not to swear at the dog as we walked by and not limp as we walked home. Oh my goodness!!! I thought it was so funny because me of all people. Really. Haha! But pray that I don’t get rabies! No, it is an owned dog and we just have to go back to the same house to check and see if the dog is diseased. Like I want to see that dumb dog again. My leg is healing great though. It wasn’t even that bad because the dog was small so that was a blessing! But no worries at all! I have not been affected at all! Just a bruise and some puncture wounds is all…

 

Dolly/dogo my favorite dog in the whole world. 

And no I did not take a pic of the dog that bit me. 

It makes me mad just thinking of the dang dog. 

I know I just said dang. I will repent. HAHA!

Today is December 1! IT IS CHRISTMAS SEASON! Don’t worry I will celebrate with my palm trees, rainy weather, and humidity. Oh it is so weird for me but oh so good! We were introduced to the video this morning of what will be shared this Christmas season by the church and I AM SO EXCITED! They made pass along cards especially for this and we as a companionship are so excited to share the message of Jesus Christ. Watch the video on Christmas.mormon.org! And share it. The message I am getting to share is so special to me. Our church is centered on Jesus Christ and this is what the season is about. You hear it all the time but it is true. I don’t have a lot of time this week. I hope you all have a great kick off to the Christmas season. Eat lots of Christmas treats because here fruit-cake is a big deal… We will see what I think of it.

Love you all!

Hermana Frame

At night here. Not great quality but this is a pic of a wow! I am in Peru moment! Haha!

Me in the alomeda where we walk down every day! Look how green it is here I LOVE IT! 

Me and my comp at dinner for her birthday this week!
 We are eating a Peruvian dish of salchipapas-
basically hot dogs and french fries that are deep fried
with our inka-kola! YUM!

AMAZING!

Marilu and Brandon's baptism.  They had super good fellowshipping
so Elder Budding and I didn't even have to get our feet wet!

So, this week we finally baptized Marilu and Brandon!!  It was such an awesome experience!  I was the pianist. Ha!  It was super awesome!  I also got to be a witness!  Funny story too.  I filled the font too low so it was pretty hard for Marilu to go all the way under and so she had to be baptized twice.  Good thing Elder Budding and I were the witnesses cause then some other dude would have been like "Hey who's the idiots who didn't fill the font enough for her to go completely under!?"  Ha but yeah that was super spiritual! 

Michael Bartold from Spanish Fork Utah!  Craaaaaazzzzyyyyy!

So super crazy!  Transfers happened and guess who the new trainee is?!  Elder Michael Bartold from Spanish Fork Utah, who I went to high school with!  I couldn't believe it!  He apparently got reassigned from Argentina for his knee problems, then ended up getting assigned in our Branch too!  Crazy right!?  It's been super weird seeing somebody from home, but nice at the same time!  It'll be great to serve with an old friend!

Our Trees!  Thanks for the ornaments!

We put our two Christmas trees up this week!  Shoot, I'm so excited for Christmas!  My companion hasn't been too grateful for my Christmas music playing since November one!  Anyways, it was awesome to get the Christmas package and what not!

So the Renterias are all coming along great!  Elizabeth still is struggling with an actual baptismal date and we have no idea why.  She has a calling, pays tithing, lives every commandment, reads, prays, but won't get baptized!  AAAAAAAAA!!  She'll come along though!  Finding has been a lot better!  In the last week we've found 3 new investigators, so that's going to be awesome for our teaching pool!  

Thank you all so much for the prayers and thoughts and letters and whatnot!

Love yall!

Elder Frame

Good ol' Moroni

Me and Elder Budding after the temple today!  Cool short story too.  A man and his wife were going through for their first times for their marriage. Ha it was funny to watch and to remember my first time being weirded out and kinda out of it my first time I went through.

Fresno Temple.  Ha it's the same size as the stake center right across the parking lot

This Week!!

This is in Quillabamba and it is in front of a park/pool that I walk by every day
 and it is finally rainy season!  

Three Things… Well Four Actually

1.  Meet My Companion!!!! I like to talk about my companions in my emails because they are a big part of my life right now and they each teach me many things… Elder Bednar has said that us as missionaries not only serve a mission for the people but for their companions as well. And it is true. Oh how I have loved both my companions thus far! But anyways! HERMANA HOSKINS! Her name is Heidi Hoskins and wow this girl is AMAZING! She lives in Saratoga Springs and went to a Prep School named Karl G. Maezer Prep Academy. Whew, yep she is smart and amazingly talented! Oh and she goes to BYU so I am just rollin in the dough with companions I can see when I get back to the states. Anyways she LOVES, I mean LOVES musical theatre. She sings opera and is amazing at it. She has performed in many plays, and competed in so many competitions. Her whole family does and she has a brother that is a real prodigy! I am not kidding! It has been convenient that I play the piano and she sings. We have done a few musical numbers and it has been so much fun. This girl can talk though! Seriously. From the moment I met her she does not stop talking! This is the thing I love most about her! I am never bored!!!!! She always has some story on her mind, and it just cracks me up because she just speaks her mind all the time. I thought I talked a lot but this girl has me beat by a thousand miles! She is amazing at contacting which is so great! She thinks I am from Texas though. It is hilarious! My big hair, my big personality, my loud voice, all of it! I am still trying to convince her I live in Utah! She loves loves loves lasagna and she will eat cold pasta for breakfast. What? Haha that was a new one for me. She is singing all the time and oh how I love her voice so it has been so fun singing Christmas songs randomly as we are walking down the Street. Yeah, we are pretty loud together but we definitely know how to get things done!

 

Me and my two companions in the food court eating ice cream!
These two have been my life savers! Hermana Jesperson my comp in the CCM
 and my trainer- Hermana Hoskins.
 I was so excited to have my soft serve ice cream! We were in Cusco.

2. The Spider in Sacrament Meeting… Wow I have quite the story… Yesterday was our Ward conference and we had prepared for this for the last few weeks because here it is sometimes a struggle to get all the leaders, all the members, and all the kids to sacrament. We made flyers and everything to get people there. Anyways, I was playing the piano for sacrament meeting just like I do every week, and right before the sacrament hymn a spider, mind you the spiders are not that little here in Quillabamba, but I saw it fall from the window right by the piano. The church has all open Windows and such because it is so hot and there is no air conditioning… But OH MY GOODNESS I WENT INTO FREAK OUT MODE!!!!! I don’t have a fear of spiders but if they are bigger than a dime I am not a big fan!!! But it started crawling right by the piano and I could not reach it to kill it, and even if it wasn’t close it was so big! I couldn’t find the strength to just move my leg and kill it! Oh the struggle!!  But I was so distracted watching the spider and mouthing to my companion ¨-HELP- -SOS- I am about to die by this gigantic spider”, the chorister had to remind me to start playing the sacrament hymn and the whole time I was playing the hymn I felt my skirt hit my leg and I thought it was the spider! Wow I have never felt my heart raise so fast and so high before! Oh the stress! Luckily right after the song ended I moved as quickly as I could right next to Hermana Hoskins. Whew it was gone… But… No, it wasn’t. Right after I sat down we saw it crawling into the congregation. Oh glory. My comp then took my shoe (my shoe of course) and killed it right as the bread was being passed for the sacrament. Wow it was quite the show for everyone there. Hopefully no one noticed except the lady sitting right where we killed the spider. Wow, it was quite the experience. Please pray I come home alive and not bitten by some jungle spider.

3. My spiritual experience this week was when we were teaching an investigator named Paula and she has an 8 month old named Mia. Mia is so mellow and so calm. Every time we teach her Mom I sit there and hope for quiet babies because Lincoln and Taft were not all that mellow. Haha! But we have only taught her the first lesson but last night we were able to go over and help her with her laundry. This is my favorite part of missionary work. Service. We were able to sit and play with her daughter while she talked with us about how she felt about our message and also help her understand how God can talk to her personally. Personal revelation is one of the hardest things to explain to the investigators. But oh how wonderful and how amazing it is we can receive answers to personal questions. As we were finishing the laundry my comp was sitting by Mia and she started to sing I am a Child of God to her. Wow the spirit just overwhelmed me with the truth in those words. Not only is this precious girl a daughter of God but all of us. We are all of His children. He wants us all to know this. He wants us to understand his plan. I love that I can be a missionary and proclaim this message. But I have a strong testimony of the power of music. This last week I received my package with the hymn book my Mom sent. I have wanted the English hymn book because the Spanish is hard for me to understand right now… But the second I took it out, I turned to Where Can I Turn for Peace. I want to share some of the lyrics.

He answers privately, reaches my reaching. In my Gethsemane, Savior and friend. Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching, constant he is and kind, love without end.

Music is powerful. Whether you sing, play and instrument, or just listen it has such a Deep power to it. Christ understands everything. He suffered for each of us personally. He knows how you feel right now. He wants you to find peace in this life. He is always there. He reaches your reaching. He reaches MY reaching. There are days that can be hard. Not because you chose for them to be but because life is a test and it is what we need to go through. But the best part is we can Access peace. Each moment, of every day. So, I challenge each of you… Memorize a hymn; listen to a song that uplifts you, read the lyrics to a hymn. Incorporate music more in your life. The positive kind. It really will strengthen you, and strengthen your testimony.

Before I go I want to share the true gratitude I have in my life right now. I love the fact that I am here serving. I am so grateful for this gospel. It is why I live each day. It is the reason I get up and going in the morning. It is the reason I struggle each day to learn Spanish. It is the reason I love my family. It is the reason I do what I do day in and day out whether I am on a mission or not. I am truly grateful. Don’t only be grateful because it is Thanksgiving. Strive to be grateful daily. It will make all the difference I promise. Find what you are grateful for. I promise if you really strive to find it you will. I love you all!

Hermana Frame

We were all in Cusco for a conference!

IDK

Elder Andersen, Elder Quigley and I spreading Christmas cheer to the people of 

 Shoot.  This week hasn't been that great.  Our numbers were atrocious but hey, I guess bad stuff like that just happens to you once and a while.  We had our whole week almost booked with appointments, but all but 2 canceled or changed their times to next week!  So disappointing!

So Marilu and Brandon are still a go on the 22nd and Erick and Carlos, Elizabeth, and Robert are all also green lights for the 6th of December!  So awesome, but if we baptize all of them we really won't have that many other people to teach.  Maybe like 2 others?  So we are amping up the finding and visiting less actives and members 2 hours  to 1 and 1/2 hours a piece per day in hopes of finding more people to teach!

Shooooooooooooooot!!!!  We had transfer calls Saturday night and they were stressful!  And I knew I wasn't even leaving!!  Elder Pereira and Elder Jensen were doubled out!  So both of them are leaving and we are receiving 2 new Spanish Elders to our area, Elder Herera and his trainee from the MTC.  I won't be the newbie anymore!  Wooooooooo!  Elder Pereira is leaving though!  Nooooooooooo!  Shoot, I'm gonna miss his Guatemalan face so much!  Anyways, transfer calls are going to be super stressful from now on because now there actually is a possibility that I could leave or something!  Oh well.  All what the Lord wants.

SUPER good talk you should all read.  Saving Your Life by D. Todd Christofferson.  And I quote, "To save your life, you'll have to lay down your stories and, minute by minute, day by day, give your life back to him." End of quote.  Our lives are not ours. The very second we sinned our lives became the Saviors because there is no way home without him. He suffered in unimaginable ways for each of us individually so that we might be able to live again and have the chance to become like his and our Father in Heaven.  So when you say it's my life, I'll do what I want with it, you are lying to yourself. You are His.  You are being selfish by thinking otherwise.  So let us live every minute of every day letting the Savior direct us because that is the only way we will be saved from our own filth and sin.

I love you all!!

Con Mucho Amor de California,

Elder Frame

What everybody in modesto looks like walking down the alleys.

Elder Andersen and I being jolly and happy!

Me when I ate the Jabanero last week.

The Sister Leader and The Pit-bull

Us going to cusco today! Hermana Jesperson, my comp in the CCM,

 Hermana Arroyo, her comp right now, my comp Hermana Hoskins, and I!

Well, I will explain the title first of all. No I did not die, and no I was not attacked. But the sister leader Hermana Ostler put on quite the show for me this week. We had the sister leaders come from Cusco this week and it was fun! A different change to things and it was fun to talk to another sister. She has literally two weeks left so it was the newbie with the oldie! She gave me so much advice and probably the best thing she taught me was how to deal with the dogs here in Peru. Well her tactic is to throw water on them and throw rocks at them. My companion Hermana Hoskins just doesn’t bring attention to the dogs so I have never worried about it but man, Hermana Ostler will definitely give those dogs a piece of her mind while showing who is boss. The first dog we came upon just started barking at us and she immediately picked up a rock and threw it at him and he yelped and ran away… I was like… what in the world? Is she afraid of dogs or something..? But later in the day as she did this a couple of times I just figured it was her way of showing she was in charge. I don’t know! But the best moment of the day was when we had a member with us and she had a small dog with her and this made it so all the dogs were freaking out every time we walked by. AND OH MAN!!! She went wild! The other small dogs were fine, but the instant we saw this pit bull come chasing after us she went into destructor mode and took her water bottle out and was trying to spray water all over the dog while trying to find rocks to throw, and yell in English at this pit bull that is half her size! HAHA! I die laughing just thinking about it. And surprisingly I was calm through the whole thing? What? Haha!! Oh and she was Hermana Frame for the day because we lost our tags running that morning… Oh Hermana Ostler. She was so great.

Hermana Ostler and I! The skinny version of Hermana Frame and the fat version!!! HAHA!!
We had matching name tags for the day because she lost hers… Best Hermana leader!

Our socks. You can definitely tell the difference of an Hermana just getting to the mission

 and one leaving in a few weeks!

This week was so so so great! Once again we contacted so many families! And I had my first time contacting a family by myself! SUCH AN ACCOMPLISHMENT! WAHOO!! But oh if you could have seen it. The people were so kind because I was trying so hard to understand their replies but other than that… I think it went great, minus the fact all their names sound exactly the same and their addresses are nowhere to be found. Haha, no my confidence is growing and I love contacting as you can tell.

We are able to teach a converso reciente- recent concert named Hermana Engracia, but we call her Abuelita. OH HOW I LOVE THIS WOMAN!! She is 89 years old and tells us she wants to die every day, and prays for it in every prayer before we leave. We visit her daily because she can’t read and she loves the Book of Mormon. Oh and I have never met someone who loves Señor Thomas. Oh she is the cutest. But she did call me gordita the other day. I didn’t appreciate that. I told her the food was just too good here! Haha! I love reading to her.  She has taught me that perseverar hasta el fin… I can’t remember how to say that. Enduring to the end? Yeah… but that this is so important. Even though she wants to die, she keeps going. She jokes and laughs with us, and she tells us how thankful she is for her kids every day. Oh! And she sings in Quechua (ke-chew-wa). I love her so much if you can’t tell.

I am reading to Abuelita… Oh how I love her so so so much!
She has taught me so many lessons. It will be hard to leave her.

I am having so many experiences. So many here in the mission I wish I could write them all down and tell you all. But the most important part is I am here, teaching the gospel. And in the process it is changing me. I love what the gospel can do. It brings hope, faith, love, and it helps us understand our purpose here. If you are struggling with your testimony or you want to strengthen it at all, I promise get down on your knees. It brings you so much closer to your Heavenly Father. He hears you, He understands everything despite what has happened in your past, what is happening now, and the worries you have for the future. Pray, he will answer if you listen.

I love you all and thank you for your support and love!!

Hermana Frame

ICE CREAM!!! It is helado in espanol and I love it! I miss the soft serve in the US so much though!!!

Our capilla or church! It is so beautiful and no snow here in Peru! Sunny day in and day out! I love the church and it is definitely different than in the states, especially Utah- or Utah county haha.

Heaaay!

So yeah what's up everybody!

This week has been pretty awesome!!  California.  Land of the never cold.  I miss it.  The only time it is kind of chilly is in the mornings when we run and then it's only like 45 degrees.  Anyways.  Enough complaining about not being freezing.

So the work is still moving!  As usual!  Marilu, Brandon, and now Erick all have baptismal dates!!  Marilu and Brandon on the 22nd of November and Erick on the 6th of December!  We found a family of 4 around 2 weeks ago and it's looking the mom and 2 kids will probably be pretty solid!  The mom's name is Esperanza and she has 2 little girls, both under baptism age, dang it, and her husband who she's said his name but I can't remember it right now.  Esperanza is pretty solid but her husband is always at work... so that doesn't help a lot.  Other than all of them we just have a bunch of potentials we are trying.  Also we are continuing to work with the less actives.  Shoot, a lot of them kinda hate the church and we've had 2 people tell us to remove their names from the church and to never contact them again.  Pretty sad but we honored their request and they have been blotted out!

Other random stuff:  I had a jalepeno pepper the other day.  I ate it and shooooooooooooooooooooooot.  It was HOT!  Haha it was at President Jimenez's casa. They all laughed when I ate it and stuff but then I started getting SUPER red! Haha I'm already sorta red but give me a Jalepeno pepper.....  Haha I guess that freaked them out cause they gave me a lemon with salt, ice, a caramel candy and told me to go to their bathroom in case I threw up.  Haha I was sweating a bunch!  Shoot it was really HOT!  They said next time we came for dinner they'd have Ghost Peppers for us!  That'll be great!

I went on an exchange with Elder Pereida this week.  He is my District leader's companion.  He's from Guatamala and he is the funniest Elder!  I had such a good time! He does really well connecting with the members and he knows the Bible like the back of his hand!  He said he's thrown down hard on Jehovah's Witnesses before!  Shoot.  I told him that I kinda wanted to bash at least one time with the J-dubs.  He said he'd train me if I wanted to throw down like one of the greats like him.  Shoot, I love him!  He's great!

Anyways.  The Church is true!

Oran Siempre!

Elder Frame

Elder Pereida! He's such a goofball

Elder Pereida's desk toys

Study room

My desk!

Our bedroom

The Kitchen