March 14, 2016

Well, this week was a big one because.... I had changes!!

And... I´m in.... TARAPOTO!!

They called me Monday night and then I left Tuesday in the afternoon. My companion was already here so she picked me up at the airport. I packed all my stuff up Tuesday morning and then went to the airport and I was off! An hour later we landed in Tarapoto and it is BEAUTIFUL!! I am in love with Tarapoto. I am in area Aeropuerto 2 in the same ward as the zone leaders. My companion is Hermana Velasquez and she is from Honduras. She has one change fewer than I. We are both new to the area so they say that we are opening the area again.

Tarapoto is a city on a hill. It isn´t an island like Iquitos so they are able to have more things, like a huge theater, nice supermarkets, American things (!), and cheaper everything. It is the promised land!!

It has been pretty stressful this week trying to get to know the area and figure out where all the people we are teaching live. Tarapoto is a district with branches and so the areas here are a lot bigger than the ones in Iquitos. Also, there are mountains!! They are gorgeous! And I love seeing them from the window in our house. Iquitos is super flat and all paved streets basically, but here a lot of the streets are dirt and they are just on the mountain so there is a lot of walking up and down. I got pretty tired this week with all the walking. The climate is awesome because it is fresh and cool, at least in comparison to Iquitos. It is so beautiful I wish I could describe it or send pictures that do it justice, but I can´t.

We spent the whole week trying to find everyone and just, walking, walking, walking. The members here are amazing too! They are stronger than the members in my other stake! The ward council just took action and people actually do what they are assigned to do! It´s incredible. I am astounded and so happy. I never want to leave Tarapoto. And there are waterfalls and a castle here so we are going to go eventually for a P-Day. It is a fairyland here. Things are cheaper, so we eat really yummy food. We just eat a massive plate of fruit with yogurt for dinner and we have salads everyday. It is the best! You really don´t even know how happy I am to be here.

My birthday was nice. It was district conference so we had an awesome meeting and then a good lunch. We bought a cake on Saturday and ate it Sunday from this ritzy bakery. Tres leches! So yummy. Other than that nothing. The members don´t know me here so nobody really did anything for me but they were really sweet when they found out that it was my birthday. And President and Hermana Gomez were there for the district conference so they wished me a happy birthday too.

-the extent of the birthday celebrations with my new companion

It has been a humbling week, but I am super happy. I also have 6 months in the mission now. WOW. Time flies. Just this change and one more and I´m at the halfway. It´s pretty wild.

I also finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish this week. I had the goal to finish it before my birthday and I finished it on the twelfth so that was cool. I have a newfound love for that book and I know it is true. I know that it is the word of God and that Joseph Smith translated it through the power of God. I appreciate so much the clarity of the Book of Mormon and I know that the restored gospel is true.

I feel so blessed to be able to share that testimony every day. I love you all and I will give more info on Tarapoto as we go. So happy!!

Hermana Fitzpatrick