One down, One million to go

Family and Friends! The place where we are at is really beautiful! Beautiful for 3rd world country. It grows on me everyday! At night it is the most beautiful because we are overlooking the city and you can see the city lights all around us. The city is super pretty! I was able to go down to the city on Pday! We went and got Papa Johns pizza! YUM haha then played soccer on one of the fields in our area. It was super fun. Hermana Bazan and I are the only Hermanas in our zone so we are outnumbered by a lot. The Elders didn't think we would be able to play soccer but when we were playing soccer I scored 10 goals! haha it was way fun. The missionaries here are awesome. My first pday was great. In Arequipa there is this trash truck that drives around picking up trash and it plays a Mozart Sonata...I should know which one it is haha but it plays this song every day superrrr loud and people come running from all over to catch the truck and throw their trash away. 4/16/14 Tonight we ran into one of the young men we have been teaching. He is less active and we are working on (regaining him). His name is Lalo, he is 19 years old. He practices his english with me! So when we saw him my companion ran towards him and told him to stop because he was supposed to be in the chapel talking to the bishop, so we talked to him and took him to the chapel haha then we taught him a lesson! It was super good! I really hope he comes to church this Sunday! He says he will! Ohh I found out I am speaking this sunday! I'm just a little nervous! My first official talk in Spanish. When the people here found out I could play piano, they all got so excited! So I am going to be teaching piano once a week at the chapel! I don't know how well it will go but I am excited because everyone else is so excited! We are also teaching English! 2 Elders from Utah and I are teaching English every Thursday night! 4/17/14 Tonight I taught the English class with 2 other Elders from Utah. It was super fun! It's the only time in the week where I can speak English! I love teaching! We are doing these classes and piano classes for the members and investigators to help build the ward up and make it stronger. The ward needs to be strong before we add more people to it. 4/18/14 AHH!! Tonight we went to visit Abuelita who had a baptismal date for tomorrow but we weren't sure if it would happen because she is 86 and has memory problems. She said to us, No. I'm Catholic, and I will die Catholic! haha so we ended up visiting with her grandson, Jorge, who is 14 years old. He has been taught all the lessons and has been to church 6 times. The only thing he needed to do was get baptized. At the beginning I didn't have faith that he would change his mind. Then I said a little prayer in my head asking Heavenly Father to help me know what to say because we were stumped. Then I got the courage to speak and express my feelings of what I felt I should say. We read a scripture, 2 Nephi 32:5, For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do. After I said, Do you want to know all things to do? He said yes and I said so do I! haha then I said, wellllll how can you receive the Holy Ghost, He said baptism. I said yes!!! exactamente!! Then I said....so what do you need to do? Well...he said he wants to get baptized!! YAYY!! I was so excited! I can't wait for tomorrow! His family was so excited too! His family is all members and he is the last one in his family to get baptized. His sister had the biggest smile on her face, it was so precious! I am super excited for tomorrow. The baptism went really well! At first it was a little hectic because we were running around trying to fill the font then re fill it because it was dirty then we had to run to our pinchenistas house to get the baptismal clothes....yeah it was a little loco! haha but it ended up being super super good! My talk also went much better than I expected. As a missionary the Lord helps us in order to accomplish His will. The only way I was able to do so well was because of Him. I had faith that He would help me and He definitely did! I wrote my whole talk out in Spanish even my testimony but when I started bearing my testimony I decided not to read it because I feel like testimonies should come from the heart so....I just bore my testimony from my heart! I know I messed up at times but when I was stumbling some of our member friends in the ward were smiling so big and giving me the courage to continue on! I love the ward here. They are awesome! They work really hard and in the ward counsel meeting they said that the members need to work with the missionaries! YES!! That is soooo helpful! This week my companion gave me so much confidence to speak because she mainly does most of the lesson and I bear testimony or bearly speak, because I was letting fear and nerves get in the way. I finally realized that I didn't beg to get here just to observe people, I came here to TEACH! I would rather try and fail than not try at all. One baptism down...one million to go! I love the work, I love the people, I love the food....for the most part... haha and I especially love the gospel and Jesus Christ. Have a wonderful week in the States! Hermana Flora loves you! Forever and always, Hermana Flora