Sept 28~ The Lion

Que tal todos? 

Hope you all have a great week! Here's some pics of me with the famous Huanuco Lion, I am sick today so I cant write that much! Sometimes the altitude and the food mixed together cause Double Dragons!  Love you all! Shout out to my mom for running a marathon this Saturday! Good luck! Love you!  

Elder Baca 

Sept 21~ Cerro Beat Boxing

What up what up what up everybody! 
Calling in from 14,000 ft! This week was awesome! We worked super hard! We put a goal of 20 lessons with an investigator with a member present, and at 7:30 last night we were able to get!! 

A crazy experience we had this week. WOW. We are teaching this guy named I. who is a drug addict, and does like gang like stuff with his friends (Saturday he robbed a guys cell phone point blank with a gun, the cops came and beat him up with their batons) , anyways we are helping him try to overcome his addiction. He really wants to, he even came a church a couple times. Well, we had a lesson with him last week, turns out at the end of the lesson he wants to do a freestyle rap with his brother to thank us for coming. Let me just tell you, it was one of the sickest raps, he calls us the Misioneros, los sabios, which translates to the wise Missionaries. He freestyled for about 3 mins, and then his brother started freestyling about us for another 3-4 mins. It was so sick hahaha! Cool experience! 

Something I learned this week, 

Prayer is powerful. It literally is communication with our Heavenly Father. We can Pray for comfort, for answers, for others, for anything. I know that prayer is powerful and our Heavenly Father always listens to us, but answers us in many ways, in his own due time! (Alma 37:37) 

1. I am warm at night, (sleeping bag), have hot water, have everything! My pension is sweet! She owns a soup rest. So lots of soup, and we buy our own breakfast, making lots of scrambled egggs, cereal, protein shakes! 

2. It took me a couple days but now I am perfectly fine! We go lift weights 3 times a week and the other days i do p90x, and I bought some protein powder, and am eating like crazy so I am in good shape! 

3. all the kids have rosy burnt cheeks! We call it the Cerro Cheeks! The people are really cold, the members are good, but I love the people here! So many fun experiences! everyone and there dog works in the mine, 14 days straight and 7 days rest!  

4. Its dog city, super dangerous in parts because they attack in packs, but I have my dog TASER so Im always good!

Im loving the mish, everyday I try working hard, REALLY tired but the mission is satisfying. ONE PURPOSE.

I am loving Cerro! The ward is good! The Bishop is awesome! Older, but pilas (batteries, lots of energy), Im loving it! crazy.... I got 8 months left, time is flying. I love you guys!! We have room checks from Pres today, so we will have Pday tomorrow! Yah! Love you! 

Love you all!  Elder Baca

 

Sept 14~ The Chosen Frozen!!!

Hey Everyone!! SO, I GOT TRANSFERRED to .......CERRO DE PASCO!! One of the highest cities in the ENTIRE WORLD, a little bit more than 14,000 ft above sea level!  I am super happy and excited to be here, its insane!! In my zone we are 18 missionaries, and it is sweet because my zone covers the entire city of Cerro de Pasco and the outskirts as well. I am grateful to lead these missionaries here in Cerro de Pasco, because we are the CHOSEN FROZEN. Cerro is a mining city, so there is a giant mine right in the middle of the city (as deep as the Empire State Building). Sweet! My area is called "La Esperanza" or in English the "Hope", and my Companion is Elder Fernandez from Chile, hes sweet! Last transfer there were 3 separated areas in the Esperanza because it is huge, now they shut down one of the areas and just mixed the 3 areas together into one GIANT area, which we cover. SO needless to say, I will have horse lungs by the time I finish here in Cerro. 

The cold season just started, and it is way funny because i went from sleeping with a sheet in Huanuco last week, to sleeping with about 5-6 blankets now!  I love my missionaries here seriously, I honestly feel like I am in the military or something with these guys! hahaha We get up at 5:45am,  3 times a week and go to a near by gym owned by a member (he closes in down for us), so instead of being the little scrawny guys in Cerro, we are going to be in such good shape! The work is really good here.  Years ago Cerro was an area for the "bad missionaries", but now the zone turned into a baptizing zone! Its sweet seeing the progress here. I am grateful for the Lord, and for putting me here in Cerro! Im supér pumped for the transfers Ill have here!

Something I learned while studying the Book of Mormon this week, is that our Savior Jesus Christ, died and suffered for us so that we can be saved, but also suffered every weakness, temptation, problem, or challenge in this mortal life, so that he can "run to us" when we need Him. I know Jesus Christ is a loving, perfect Savior, that always has his arms open to receive us when we need it. I know that when we decide to follow Him, we decide to change. As missionaries we invite and help people come unto Christ by developing faith in him, repenting, being baptized, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. We invite people to change so that they can receive eternal life.  I know without a doubt this is the truth, I mean the answers are all in the Bible and Book of Mormon, but it is more than just knowing the truth. I sincerely feel it because I have asked God if these things are true, and He has answered me that they are. I am so happy to be a missionary, this is what motivates me to be out here, walking around in the freezing cold all day talking with little Peruvians that live in some mountain city, super far away from home. I do this because I know these things are true, and I know the blessings that come from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all so much! I always keep you all in my prayers! Have a great week! 

Pics of Cerro, everyone has a guard dog but that doesnt stop us! 

HEy mom! Ya, Pres sent out a email to everyone, really stinks, but I'll be obedient! I love you guys so much! Cerro is awesome! Its rainy season right now! Its nice to use my cold weather clothes finally! The ward is nice. Like 130 people, area is huge! Today for Pday Im going to the gym for a couple hours! YAAH!!!!!!! and playing soccer, wow doing cardio here turns you into a horse seriously! We have a nice appt, its insulation is good, but heaters dont exist here, so the sleeping bag and lots of blankets come in handy!  I love you guys so much! Keep it up doing your FHE, scripture study, and 2 family prayers a day! Love you mom!! Until next week! 

Love Elder Baca

Sept 7~ Peru and "Kansas City!"

!Hola! 

This week was a pretty entertaining week! Pday we made cheeseburgers and played some american football which was super fun! We have a member who is awesome! Hes our 2nd counselor and loves gringos so he always invites us to "Brothers".  He always comes up to my comp and I and asks us "Cuando vamos a tomar el Brother?" which means "When are we going to drink the Brother?", and then flips his fingers up like we are going to drink alcohol or something hahahaha. The famous Brother is just a classic Coca~cola. Other phrases this member says everytime he sees me is "Freaking Cowboy! English Course! Kansas City! ALRIGHT!" hahahaha  It cracks me up every time!

With my zone and with some members from the ward we did something called the "mesa misional". We basically just took a bunch of tables and put them around the park with a ton of cards and pamphlets and just talked with everyone! It was a great success! Everyone was super interested about who we are and what we do as missionaries. It was pretty sweet!

My comp and I gave a zone training on Pride last week. I learned a lot about it this week and its something everyone has! Pride is the origin of sin, It means putting our will before God's will. Its root is enmity, or in other terms "hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition" in the words of President Kimball. Its something everyone has, and the only way to cure it is by being humble, which is accepting the will of God. Thats something I feel I have really tried to work on in the mission is not being prideful, its hard at times, but I know being humble and loving others despite the issues we may have with them, only makes us better people and more like Jesus Christ! Have a great week! 

Les quiero! 

Elder Baca

A pic drinking the Brother, and the aftermath of the "mesa misional" with some Elders from my zone!