Mission World Cup

We are writing today because we have the World Cup for the Mission this Monday and we won’t have time to write Monday!!  I am so excited to play all day!! Everything here is good! This month we have baptisms! 

I went on divisions and that was way fun! I actually really like divisions. I get to play the role of senior companion for a night! My Spanish is so much better! I just need to learn as much as I can and have patience! 

Elder Nathaniel Spencer and Elder Spencer Bradford

Love you! 

Elder Spencer 

Have a great conference weekend! 

Questions Mom asked Nathan (and his answers)

Do you get hot water in your apartment for showers?

They have hot water installed... but sometimes is goes out...

Do you have a maid that cooks and cleans for you? How much does it cost?

We pay 350 for our apartment 

We don’t have a maid.. 

Where do you eat for dinner?

For dinner we buy food and cook it at a member’s house 

Do you get to play the piano much?

I play the piano sometimes they don’t really have piano here only in the stake centers

 Below are some pictures of stairs that people (and missionaries) have to climb to get to the areas where they work.

Adventures in Peru!

These weeks have been full of many adventures! First off last week we left our keys in our room! Ahh! We asked some workers near by if that had a ladder we could use! And Elder Ortiz climbed up to our room and got the keys! And now every time we leave the room I always ask him if he has the keys! Wow that was crazy! 

AMAMOS PERU (Love Peru)

My Spanish is so much better! Every day I learn something new about the language! I am trying to learn as fast as I can.

Our lessons have been great we have started to teach this family that their nephew is on a mission and that they want to be baptized! They are the coolest family ever! Also we are teaching this other family where the wife is a member but the husband is not! We talked about the importance of the Church is our lives and in our families. Also we talked about the importance of Family Night! That really hit home for me when we started to talk about these things. Because these three things really made me think. 

MI CUARTO (My room)

HOW I IRON MY SHIRTS EVERYDAY! 

Our pentionista is the coolest person ever! She isn't a member but every time we eat with her we try to bring up the church in some way or another! She cooks the best food and I think today was the last day she is going to pention for us! :( 

But yes everything is going well! I can speak English good with the gringos... ;) 

Nuestro proyecto servicio!! Tuvimos la oportunidad a tirar los ladrillos! 

( Our service project!! We had the opportunity to throw bricks! ) 

SERVICIO! 

Love you, 

Elder Spencer 

Time is Short

I don't have a lot of time on the computer and it is really hard for me to read all your emails and answer each and every question. So I am just going to write a big long email that you guys can read and then I will try my best to respond to everyone's email. 

Well this week has been really good! I have been really enjoying it here! I really is my home now!

My daily routine is wake up at 6:30, go play soccer at the stake center or do Insane Abs at the house. Then we eat with our Pensionista. After we shower at get ready for the day, then we study for an hour and a half. Then we have companionship study, which really means nothing here. So we just keep on studying until 11. Then I study Spanish for an hour or so and read out loud from The Book Of Mormon. After this we have lunch around 1. After lunch we share a message with the members that we ate with. 

After lunch we have appointments with investagatores. We dont' really knock doors that much because we always have appointments. We have appointments from 4 until 9 at night. This basically is my life everyday. 

We baptized 6 people this past Saturday!

All the people that were baptized!

I baptized Ayme la chica en el medio ( the girl in the middle) 

I had the opportunity to baptize 2 of the 6. I got to baptize a girl her name is Ayme and also had the opportunity to baptize the father of the family that we were teaching! We have a special connection, it is hard to explain. But I am so grateful that he asked me to baptize him! That really made me feel special! 

Hermano Jaime! My favorite person ever! 

My companion sometimes is really disobedient and it is really hard to be the example. But I do what I am supposed to do when I am supposed to do it. And sometimes he follows and sometimes not. It is really difficult! But I know only good will come from this! I have been thinking about my situation a lot and I have come to the conclusion that this experience with my companion is a model of the missionary that I don't want to be!! We never contact people which I ask him about everyday and he always says we will do it.... but we never do of course! 

These past couple of days have been great! The language is starting to flow out of my mouth without me having to really think about it which is nice! The people here are really nice and loving! I love talking with them! Well hope everything is good back at home! 

Last P day we went to Central Lima! 

We ate at Chilis! 

We went to a museum! 

Elder Bustamante y Hermana Arriaga 

Love you all! 

Elder Spencer

A Great Family and a Snake

Hola! 

This week has been really great! I had the opportunity to go on splits again which was a really fun experience! We taught this family that is Inactive in the Church. And we talked about eternal families. It is so amazing to feel the Spirit and know that they are feeling it too! We also helped this family a few days earlier move bricks to the back of their house to be rebuilt of something. I didn't really know what. But that was a really fun experience! 

Also this Saturday we are baptizing a family! And my companion says that I get to do it! I cant wait! They really want to accept the Gospel in their lives. You can see it when we teach them because they ask so many questions about what they should be doing and how they should prepare to be baptized. 

Mi con la familia que voy a bautizar este sábado! (With my family going to be baptized this Saturday)
!  

Also we taught this man, way up in the hill. And he happened to have a domesticated snake! He showed us his pet and we got a picture with it! 

Me con una serpiente (Me with a snake)

The thing I love about Peru is that everyday you never now what you are going to get! Or what type of people you are going to meet! 

Time--Message to Dad

Joe had sent a letter to Nate about worrying about the past or the future.  This is Nate's response.  It sounds like he gets it!

Dad! 

Time really is an interesting thing. The concept of time is still weird to me. What depends on how fast or how slow you want time to go depends on what you set your mind to. For me this month, wow where did the time go? My mind is on something very important in my life right now and when your mind is occupied with things, time goes by in a flash! 

But for the people that don't really have a sense of direction or no purpose in life and are always looking for something to do with themselves, that is where the time and life seems at its longest. 

It really all depends what you decide to do with the life that Our Father In Heaven has given us.

Elder Spencer 

Splits with the Zone Leader

Hola! 

So much has happened this last week! Each day is an adventure here in Peru! You never know what you are going to get! Well I had the opportunity of going on splits with the Zone Leader! At first I was not to happy... But it turned into an experience I will never forget! 

So that day I woke up and my companion told me we were going on splits and I did not know with who! So I packed my church clothes and we went to go play soccer like we normaly do. We played for 45 min and then I figured out I was going on splits with the Zone Leader! I was half and half not really sure what to think. He also is a Gringo. 

So we did all our studying that morning in his apartment and ate lunch with a member. Like we normaly do. Then we set out on our jorney!

We had an appointment with this family he told me ( In spanish ). I could hardly understand. But I went with it. 

This family is the most beautiful family ever! I dont remember their names but we talked for a while with them about work, family, life all that good stuff! Then we started into the lesson which developed into families and the importance of being with your family. Elder Whitlock, the Zone Leader, is so caring in the way he talks with the people. He really is a great example to me! But he shared is part and then he turned to me. And my stomach dropped. I had so clue what to say after such marvelous words. 

So like any good missionary I bore my testimony on families. I started to cry. Because I was thinking of my family and the families of all my friends. And how I was so blessed to be with them forever! I really started to think in that moment of these people have to idea that they can be eith their families for ever. It was an experience I will never, ever forget. 

I am grateful for my family and the support they give me in all that I do! 

Elder Spencer

Had the best experience ever baptizing Veronica!

Baptism!

My Mother!

This week has been really good! We have a lot of investigatores right now. About 3 weeks ago I met this girl named Veronica. And yesterday I got to baptize her! I was the best experience ever! I could really feel Gods love for her! And I have only known her for 3 weeks! Also we have this really cool family we are teaching. They have a father, mother, and 2 girls. One is 19 and the other es 22. I dont know their names... I am terrible with names here! But yesterday was a really good day. For the most part. The night before we had to fill the font for the baptism and we stayed up till like 1 en the morning. It was terrible. I will send pictures later...

I gave my camera to member to take a picture and he took my camera with him when he left the service yesterday....wow...

Wow from the pictures dad sent me UVU Soccer is off to a great start! I heard they won?
And yes packages do come they just take a while and they get sent directly to the offices so if you send one I might not get it for a while... but you can try if you want!

Ya JOE WHEELWRIGHT was in the Mexicio MTC! I saw him! And we played soccer together!!
Wow time is flying here! Everyday is a new adventure and a new opportunity to learn something new about the Gospel, about yourself, and about Peru!

Elder Spencer