July 25, 2016

Wellll hello again,

Just another Monday in Tarapoto living life and loving it. This week was awesome! Hna. Huaycho has been helping me so much and I am so blessed to have her! Our companionship is taking this town out of the darkness and into the light! Hna. Huaycho is the missionary I want to be - humble, patient, bold, follows the Spirit, odedient, and really loves the people. She makes me better and I am striving to be more like her. We have just been working super hard this week.

I have really been learning how to grow my faith in Christ. I have been learning that faith is really a principle of action! If we just sit and wait for the Lord to make everything better it will never happen! We have to give everything we have and then by the grace of God He will make up the difference. So many people that we meet just expect God to give them everything but it reminds me a lot of Elder Renlund´s talk from this conference - entitlement. I am learning to be less entitled and more dilligent so that I can be worthy and ready to receive the Lord´s blessings. They always come if we put in our part! 

Speaking of blessings this week we had been praying to find a family. Then, last week we had a sister come to church with her four kids. We had never met her but she stayed all three hours and we got her address to visit her. We went by a couple times this week but never found her house. The numbers are never in order so we couldn´t find her house number. We decided to go by one more time last night and a little drunk man finally found her house for us! We found her there in her little cuarto with her husband and children. They have been through so many trials but they were so excited to listen. They are both less active members and their children aren´t members. The dad said he wanted to get married and sealed in the temple and be able to baptize his children! We were shocked. And there is a massive wedding this coming week so we invited them and they accepted! So now we are just working like crazy to get their papers ready. It is so exciting! I already love them and I only met them once! 

This week has been infernally hot but we are getting by. My companion was in my zone in Punchana before and told me that I am now ¨negrita¨ but my tan lines are awful! I have the worst farmer´s tan from my shirt and my neckline. My shoes are the worst of all, but even my legs have a tan line from my skirt! Who knew that could even happen?

Two peruvian phrases I learned this week that made me laugh: 

- I am more tired than a chaski or I´ve been running around like a chaski - chaski were messangers for the Incas that literally ran from mountain to mountain with urgent messages

- I am more out of place than an egg in ceviche - ceviche is a dish that is fish that isn´t cooked. It is just cured in lemon juice and it never has an egg but every other peruvian dish has egg. My comp said that to me and I cracked up. Perú is the best! 

Love you all lots, lots, lots. Had a dream about you guys this week that everyone was at home and I was still a missionary and I came for a visit and got to hug each one of you. It felt so real so I would send hugs but I already gave you all one! 

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Fitzpatrick

July 18, 2016

Camp sounds really fun mom and the shirts are stellar! 

I am in... Tarapoto still! Hanging out here in Aeropuerto for a little while longer. It is now my fourth change and I had four changes in my other area so I am four and four. But, Hna. Velasquez did have changes and went to Iquitos. It was sad to say goodbye and going to the airport I was reminded that I haven´t travelled for a good while but all in due time. I am now here with Hna. Huaycho. She is from Arequipa, southern Perú. She is pretty great and we are getting to know each other and figuring out how to go about things. She has 7 months in the mission and I now have ten whoa. And pretty soon I will have eleven. Time goes really fast but at the same time really slow. 

-working in paradise

- holding a baby duck! Everyone raises things like pigs and chickens and ducks in their house to then kill and eat them

- my little friend Martin from when we went to Urku

This week I have been studying how to have strong companionships because changes always throw us off. I have really grown to love having a companion that is always there and supports me and helps me improve. It will be really weird to think that one day I won´t have that. I have learned so much from the companions I have had and I know they make me better. 

I am doing well and am hopeful for a family that we have progressing. The mom, Carmita, has started coming to church and she and her daughter told us this week that they both had dreams and recognized me in their dreams but not the sister I was with. It was cool to think about the part we get to play in the conversion of these people and I have so many hopes for them.

We are trying to eat healthier and we are both trying to lose a little weight that we have gained. The food is just too dang yummy! 

I love you lots and think of you often. Go serve someone this week! 

Hermana Fitzpatrick

July 11, 2016

Man that sounds pretty fun to be looking at camp right now. I am looking at what may be my last day in Tarapoto with Hna. Velasquez. Changes are today and the most likely thing will be that she leaves and I stay to have another six months and four changes in an area. We will see though. There are not any sisters coming in. We are in a drought or something. In the last nine months only 7 sisters have come in so we are suffering on the sister side. We will see if we get a big shipment in soon.

-last day with hna velasquez

- found Hna Velasquez´s house. Left her there and haven´t seen her since. jkjkjkjk 

- preaching and teaching and looking good all at the same time!

This week has been interesting. It was the last week in the change but it ended being really great because we were able to end with a baptism that we had been working for the past two changes. Carlos was baptized by his grandpa who used to be less active. He was so excited for his baptism he wanted to arrive at the church building two hours ahead of time just in case! We told him no need to worry it won´t even be open then so he said, ok, one hour then. Everything went well even though his clothing was so small! He was squeezed into his little jumper but he didn´t even care he was so happy to be getting baptized. We also had two primary kids give the messages and it was so cute! 

Oh my, yesterday we had the most embarrassing musical number. We thought it would be cool to sing as the four missionaries in the branch, ¨I´ll go where you want me to go¨. Big mistake. No one plays piano so we had to go acapella and it was a register that was a little too high for the elders. We had not even practiced once. ¡Que oso mas grande!! I was dying. You would have loved it mom.

 I am growing the bangs out. It was fun for a flippant moment but back to reality. They are growing really quickly, though, and I have been working some side braids that the people have liked. 

Well, that´s pretty much it for this week. Who knows where I will be come this time next week. 

Love you all! 

Hermana Fitz

July 4, 2016

- ready for the last zone conference with President Gomez! 

- pretty flower in the plaza de armas 

- breakfast of champions. LOVE biscocho bread, it´s sweet bread and it is my addiction also coca cola is my love, after inca kola

- Hna Velasquez and me in a park

- just another "what the heck Peru we aren´t all midgets" moment

-and my outfit for the 4th