Loving the Work!

Saying that I am enjoying my time back in the Jungle World be an understatement!!! I´m in the coveted area of the mission, TARAPOTO!!! It is definitely what you would think of when you think of ¨Jungle¨. The jungle covered mountains and the white waterfalls, this place is amazing. Elder Vasquez and I have the Junglish area in the zone of which I am just happy with. We are constantly fording through muddy roads, hiding under palm trees to escape the rain, and eating our fair share of coconut and bananas. I love staring the day out with a clean white shirt and returning home at night covered in mud and being soaked to the bone. I´m just loving it!

Planting Good Seeds in Peru

Like the saying goes ¨You can count the seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the apples in a seed¨ I love this work!!!

¨Encontré mi AMIGO!¨ (I found my Friend!)

This past week I was reminded of just how special my time in Iquitos was and how it has a big spot in my heart. During my time there we befriended a less active member and began working with him to get him active and excited about serving a mission. His name is Elmer Garcia. We would always invite him to go on visits with us and sometimes late at night he would show up at our room looking for someone to talk to. We shared a lot of great moments together including the receiving his mission call. While his was waiting for his call to arrive he came to our room late one night to share with us a dream that he had.
He was in the Pre existence with all of his family and a friend. The friend that he was with was he best friend in the pre existence but didn’t know his name or remember very well his face. He remembers the way that they both felt together and waiting for their call to come to earth. He said that he felt the same excitement and feelings waiting for his call to come to earth as he feels for his mission call. Then one day a messenger came and delivered two letters, one to Elmer and one to his friend. The letter to Elmer said that he had bee called to earth and would be raised in the true church and would have many challenges but would be able to share the truth with many. The letter to his friend said that he wouldn’t be raised in the truth but would pass threw many hard times, confused with the meaning of life, and would have to work hard to find the truth and return to God’s presence. Before the dream ended Elmer made a promise to his friend that he would do everything possible to find him and bring him the truth. As he told us the dream he mentioned that he wasn’t quite sure what it meant but that he knew that what he was doing, with going on a mission, felt like the right thing to do. When I left Iquitos he left for the CCM and I hadn’t heard from him since until last week when I got a letter from him. It was a full piece of paper with three words on it ¨Encontré mi AMIGO¨. (I found my Friend). It was such a strong sense of accomplish and strength to me, knowing that he is being a worthy servant of God and that he is an instrument in his hands. This is Lords work and we are finding his children, our friend, and our brothers and sisters.
Well family sorry this letter isn’t too newsy but I really wanted to share that experience with you all. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. We can’t underestimate even the smallest of efforts to share this great message.

Where Is Landon?

Well its that time again, six weeks down which means TRANSFERS! Well my wish came true and I am heading back to the Jungle. I’m not going back to Iquitos but instead I’m going to Tarapoto. Its what they call ¨selva alta¨ (high jungle) so its going to be mountainous and junglish, a mix of two of my favorite terrains. My new comp is going to be Elder Vasquez and the two of us are entering the area new as Zone Leaders. I’m definitely excited for the change and for all of the new adventures that await me there in Tarapoto. I’m going to miss working so close with each missionary from my district and giving them trainings every week but I’m excited for the new challenges and opportunities which await. This is a video from Tarapoto. It is in Spanish, so I don't know what is says, but the pictures are awesome and the people seem so inviting. Located in the High Amazon Jungle of Northeastern Peru, Tarapoto is the center of the regions economic activity. With it´s easy access to the jungle, tropical climate, spectacular scenery, and fascinating indigenous cultures,Tarapoto has much to offer. This certainly offers two of Landon's favorite places to be-mountains and jungles!

A Break From Chicken and Rice!

Well today my old pensionista from Palermo, ANGELA, invited us over for lunch and she is going to make us TACOS. Yes I know, it is something that doesn’t include rice or chicken, so by hearing that I was totally willing to take her up on her offer. I worked with one of the Zone Leaders last week in Palermo so it was great to see how the area has progressed and how the work just keeps on chugging

Can We Help?

I have a bit of a funny to share with you that happened to us with one of our appointments. We are teaching a guy whose wife delivers babies inside her house and one morning we went to teach him and he answers the door and tells us that he ¨esta con parto¨ (He’s delivering a baby). Well being the gringo that I am, I didn’t understand him correctly and I instantly ask him if we can HELP! He gave me the funniest look and then it hit me just what exactly he told us. We arranged another appointment to return and we went on our way. Yeah it’s good to laugh at yourself at times as well.

Learning More Leadership Skills

I can’t believe this change is almost over, I feel as if it just got started. We finished the week a several baptisms both here in Puente Piedra as well as a few back in Los Rosales. I feel as if I have finally come around and have realized just what the Lord was trying to teach me by leaving Los Rosales and still putting me in charge of the work and its progress.
Having to lead an area without being in that area requires a lot of trust and confidence in others, knowing that they are going to do their part to get things done. Before the mission I wasn’t one who put a lot of trust in others with respect to important things that needed to get done. I have always been one of those ¨I’ll do it my self kind of guys¨. Not really willing to pass the load or rely on to many people to get things done. This last change has been quite a big growing experience for me, one that I know I will always look back on and be thankful for it. I have had to rely on so many people to verify the progress of my investigators, accompany them to church, help to answer questions, and aiding them with overcoming challenges. At first I found my self really frustrated sharing the load but as time went on I realized that I was actually learning a very valuable and life long trait. I’m so thankful for the little challenges and bumps in the road that the Lord gives me because I always learn something new and he helps me to grow so much. If we always look at the bumps of life with a positive attitude, we will always come away that much stronger and that much closer to the Lord.

Time Is Flying!!

I did receive your package last week and loved everything in it, especially the CALENDAR! It’s hard to believe that you are able to already make a calendar we more than a years worth of pictures, TIME IS FLYING!!! It brought back so many great memories as well as feeling the love and support you all show me. It is hung proudly on my wall, Thanks so much. And yes the Twinkies and cupcakes were very well received!

It sounds as if Brian and Dad had a good time in the SNOW! I hope you all have another great week. I know I say it a lot, but thank you so much for the great letters and news from the home front. Its so exciting and great to see how each and every one of you are growing so much and how the Lord continues to bless and take care of you all. I love you all and think the world of each and everyone of you. Love you tons and then some!

An Interesting Encounter

I´m not quite sure what happened this week but we sure had our fair share of running into some of the strangest people with the most ridiculous way of looking at things. It is usually a common everyday thing to make a contact with someone who thinks that we came strait from hell to pollute and destroy men. But this week we ran into people from the church called ¨The Ark of Jesus¨, Israelites, Atheists, and the list continues. But one of our surprise encounters came from a contact that we made who invited us back the next day to teach him more. When we arrived at his house we discovered that he had invited some ¨friends¨ to come and listen as well. Before we entered his house I just had a strange feeling, I turned to Elder Andrade and whispered to him ¨They are only here to contend, we will just answer their questions, bear testimony, and we are out¨. That is just what we did it was amazing.

I instantly opened the floor up for questions and once they started asking us things Elder Andrade and I both felt as if someone else took over and began speaking to them through us. We answered every one of their questions with scriptures and testimony and by the end of the lesson they honestly could not ask us anything else. They were honestly trembling trying to come up with something to contradict us. We both ended with out testimony of the Restoration and how today we are guided by a living prophet. When we got up to leave one of the friends that was invited to listen to us pulled us aside and asked us to come to his house to teach him more. It was one of those long shot miracles that you wish for, and it happened.

The Lord Directs This Work

Last Wednesday we had our interviews with President Perez and I was really looking forward to being able to talk with him a little about the situation in Los Rosales. He told me that he was in constant contact with President Alarcon but President Perez doesn’t feel like missionaries will be back there within six months. When I heard that my heart just sank. Even though I was disappointed and a little discouraged I had to just pull myself together and remember that I am not the one guiding this work. The Lord knows what is best and when the time is right he will give the nod to President Perez and missionaries will be back in Los Rosales. President wants me to keep in contact with the Leaders and all of the investigators so that things keep rolling and they still have success. I’m so thankful for modern day revelation and how that is the way the Lord directs this work. I know that President Perez was and is called of God to be our President here in the North Mission.