I LOVE Huaraz!

Hey, sorry I don't have much time today. Things are going great! I love being here in Huaraz! Here is part of my email to President Archibald this week...

Hermana Medina and I are doing great. I am trying to speak English to her as much as possible. She was very surprised at how important learning English is in the mission, and I let her know that she WAS going to be fluent by the time she finishes. This week she has learned how to say a prayer and bear a simple testimony. I am really determined to help her with her English! We are doing great together. She is amazing! Very very smart with a strong testimony. We have the same goals. We were a little frustrated this week because our family of 4 didn't come to church...they were traveling in Lima. But we have set goals for this coming week, and are ready to achieve those goals. 

This week I realized the importance of repentance in my own life. If we are not repenting as missionaries, we will not help our investigators to repent. And like one of my favorite scriptures in 3 Nephi, all of those that come to repentance will be baptized in the water. So I am focusing a lot on my own personal repentance so that I can help others to be able to repent. In your meetings this week, you talked about the importance of teaching with power and authority, and I want to be able to declare repentance with power and authority. So, I am making repentance a bigger part of my focus and I know we will be able to help so many families repent. Also, the sacrament has really had a different meaning for me ever since I have been focusing more on my personal repentance...dramatically. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. It has changed me and changed the lives of people I have been able to teach. I know it will also play a role in the future families that Hermana Medina and I teach.

Love you all!! Keep working hard!!

Love, 

Hermana Agle

Nokakuna Cuya Jesucristupa Representitantekuna!

Yup, the title is totally in Quechua because this missionary is in Huaraz! :) I was transferred to HUARAZ and I am training! My companions name is Hermana Medina and she is from Chile! She officially has ONE WEEK in the mission field and she is SO great! She is super cute :)...and really really short! haha. An investigator called us David and Goliath this week. I didn't know if I should laugh or be offended :)  Hermana Medina is from Iquique, Chile and her whole family are members of the Church and ALL of them have served missions...her parents, her two older brothers, and she is the last! She is a powerhouse :) And yeah, we are here in Huaraz!! It is BEAUTIFUL. Oh my goodness, when you think of Peru, Huaraz is what pops into your mind. People dress in traditional bright clothing, there are huge green mountains, and rivers, and snowy mountains in the background...and people are selling guinea pigs everywhere :) It is really beautiful, and our ward is great! It has been kind of crazy because I have opened 3 of the 4 areas I have served in....Los Olivos, Barranca and now here in Huaraz as well  It has been interesting to get to know our way around this past week, but we finally know where we are and the work is pushing along :)

Notice the HEIGHT difference :)

This week we have come across a LOT of Apostasy. It is crazy! Never in my whole mission have I found so much Apostasy, and people who don't like the Church.  I read the talk from Elder Holland this week titled ¨The Cost and Blessings of Discipleship¨, and it really helped me a lot. In it he says, ¨...defend your beliefs with compassion, but defend them.¨ The times  that I have shared my testimony with people that are just so so confused, have been the moments that my testimony has grown the most this week. It is hard to hear so many people bashing the Church, and saying things that are just so sad to hear, and so offensive to Heavenly Father, but when Hermana Medina and I have shared our testimonies, is when I have felt so strongly that YES, this is the true Church. Usually when I hear apostasy, I get really angry and argue, but this week the Spirit really helped me keep calm. Seriously, it has been crazy the things we hear. Like some things I don't even feel comfortable writing in this email. One member of the Church told us that Doctrine and Covenants was written by a man, and as I bore my testimony of Joseph Smith that he is a prophet of God, I felt it SO strongly. I think it was the first time I have ever cried in front of a less active member, but I am so grateful that my testimony is able to grow through experiences like this, and not be damaged. I can see the difference in the TESTIMONY I had before my mission, and the CONVERSION I have now.  I am so grateful for all of the experiences I have had to gain this conversion, and a lot of them came from Barranca. So, even though I was confused about my time in Barranca, and why I was sent there...I can see now that I received a huge part of my conversion there, and I am so grateful for that. The Lord is definitely closest in our difficult times. 

So, Hermana Medina and  have been tearing it up! Working so hard! I want to be a great example to her, and I want her to start her mission off successful. So, we have been working harder than ever here in Huaraz!! Seriously, my feet HURT!  There are lots of fleas here so I am literally eaten alive, but we are pushing through! We were able to meet a family this week and set a baptismal date for the 5th of July. La familia Tafur Leon...is a mother with her 3 daughters, Kari, Andrea and Fatima. They are awesome!! Kari was so excited to answer the door to a gringa because she studies English and needed help. The girls are VERY smart. They understand the gospel. They had great questions and it was a GREAT first lesson. Hermana Medina, being the best trainee ever, invited them to be baptized finishing the lesson and they accepted!! So we will be fighting Satan hard this next month so that they can receive an answer and be baptized. Be praying for them...La familia Tafur Leon. They are awesome :) 

Hmm what else...OH...Hermana Jones and Hermana Leyva are companions!! Haha! Two of my best friends, and now they can be friends. Basically, BYU is just going to be THE BEST when I get home :) Also, Hermana Lopez is already home! She left Monday!!! She called to say goodbye. Really, the people you meet on your mission leave a HUGE impact on you. I am really really grateful for Hermana Lopez and everything she taught me!! All my companions have played such a huge part in my progression as a daughter of God, and each one has helped me come closer and closer to Christ. I am excited to see what great things Hermana Medina has to teach me :) 

Hermanas Agle, Jones & Leyva

Well, I am sure in these next weeks I will have SO much to write about because I am in HUARAZ, and Pdays are going to be AWESOME. Oh also, my zone leader now is Elder Martinez who is the missionary I was in a trio with for a day in the hospital. He is super great! Basically, I am just really excited to be here and to be working in the zone in the mission that is closest to heaven :) 3 miles above sea level, and about 8 hours from Lima. It is really hard to breath sometimes, and it is super dry, but so great! I am excited to see miracles here!! I am finishing my mission strong! I know this gospel is true and I am so blessed to have this chance to share it here in Peru!

Euaya,

Hermana Agle

 

Best of Times/Worst of Times

Man. This transfer has been one of the best and one of the worst in my whole mission. Different experiences, different people, different climate, different everything than I have been used to in the past year. BUT...it is only going to last 6 weeks because SURPRISE I have transfers. I am leaving Barranca tomorrow!! I am going to miss it. At first when I heard the news I was so confused! I was like ¨Ok, Heavenly Father, what was my purpose here??¨ (...long story, Ofelia didn't get baptized). But after thinking about it a while, I know what my purpose was here. I have grown more than I have in my whole mission. I know that this work is real. I have been converted here. It has been the hardest time in my mission and that most precious time for the conversion that I have received. That conversion came from everything that happened in my area and from Hermana Leyva. So yes, God has a plan for all things. I am sad to leave now that I finally know the area but I am excited to see what is up ahead!! I am so grateful for the time I had here!

 Through all of this, have been able to strengthen my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know the Book of Mormon is true. It has a power that cannot be described. Every time I read it, my worries just kind of fade away and I feel such a peace and love and I know that this book was written by prophets inspired by God. These times have been hard for me. To go from so much success to nothing. But from the Book of Mormon, in a way I have never thought of before, I have learned that I will never learn anything if I am always in a happy state. If I am always successful it will be as if I am in the Garden of Eden my whole life. I wont be able to experience joy and saddness and I wont progress ever. So yes, hard times are necessary and I am learning from them just as God wants and needs me to. I always wondered why the Book of Mormon talked so much about wars and tribulations and why it never talked so much about the people in their peaceful state. Well, I can understand now that if it always talked about happy people in their peaceful state with God, we wouldn't learn anything from it. It would just be like a novel. But we can learn from the stories of war and afflictions. We can figure out how NOT to repeat history and change and learn and progress as children of God. So no, the world is not always going to be perfect and happy. We have to have hard times. It is a part of life, always. And all of it because God loves us enough to let us experience and grow. I am grateful for hard times. I never thought I would say that haha but I really am. I have learned probably more in this past transfer than I have in my whole mission and I have changed. I have really converted myself. And I consider that a huge success. It is interesting how in the lowest times you kind of find the deepest conversion. I am grateful for my mission and what I have learned and how I have grown.

Well, I dont have too much time to write because I have to go pack my bags. But I love you all! This gospel is true and it really has changed me. I am grateful for all of the amazing things that the Lord has given me. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and His Atonement. I'll let you all know where I go next week!

Con amor,

Hermana Agle

First visit to Huaraz!

Ofelia and her son Sneider...I love them!

Well, this week has been crazy busy!! 

I made it up to Huaraz!! But only for 12 hours! haha...The bus ride was TERRIFYING!!! It is just zig zagged roads up the mountains the whole time. And we were in a double decker bus that swayed from side to side.  It was TERRIFYING!! We arrived at 7pm Tuesday night. I stayed with Hermana Winters and Hermana Solis so that was awesome!! We were going to be there two days, but that night our district leader called and said we had a training from President THE NEXT MORNING. It was a surprise visit!! So Hermaa Leyva and I headed back down to Barranca at 6 o'clock the next morning. The way down was even more terrifying. We took a taxi that drove 75 mph the whole way down. Huaraz is three miles above sea level...and the road is 100% zig zag. I felt like Tyler was in the front seat driving...it was terrifying. But it was a GORGEOUS morning so I was able to take a few pictures out the car window :) We will go up again to have a real work visit with the Sisters in a few weeks :) But yes, I have officially been in Huaraz :) 

We have a baptism this Saturday!! Ofelia Gonzales :) She is so excited for her baptism! And I am too! She has almost nothing and she suffers a lot in her life. But the gospel is changing her life...specifically, the Book of Mormon. She loves it. It has changed her heart. She has been humbled and realizes how she needs to repent and be baptized to be clean and she is so willing to do it. I am excited to see the blessings that she will receive by following the example of Jesus Christ :) She SO deserves this gospel in her life. Her little son, Sneider, is the CUTEST little boy. The most unsanitary... but the cutest :) We've become good friends :) I always sneak him cookies in our gospel principles class :) But yeah! We have been getting the branch super excited about the baptism as well. There hasn't been a convert here in a long time so we are making this baptism a big event. We made invitations and fliers and we were running around church all day yesterday announcing it to everyone :) So I think it will be a great day. Satan works hard the week of the baptisms...but we are going to work harder this week! We are going to fight for Ofelia because she so deserves it :)

This week Hermana Leyva made me my favorite meal...Lomo Saltado. It was SO good!!! All of you should find a Peruvian restaurant and ask for lomo saltado and you will die. It is so yummy. I already contracted Hermana Leyva as my wedding chef to make lomo saltado so be looking forward to that in the future :) Also, we visit Ofelia almost everyday and right outside her house there is a ají field. Ají is like the MAIN food here in Peru. Second to rice. And there are these workers there that we contacted and they are super FUNNY. They gave us a couple ají's (ají is a chili pepper) and said that we needed to come with soda the next time to pay them back. Well, the next time we actually came with INCA kola and gave it to the, so they gave us a huge bag of ajís!! And thats why Hermana Leyva made me lomo saltado.  We have about 3 kilos of ají that we have to use! haha. But yeah, I learned that through contacting, you can get a bunch of free ají :)

Something that I am learning in these weeks is the importance of listening to our leaders. President Archibald has been an amazing guide for me in the mission and the words of the prophets, apostles and members of the 70. As I have studied and put into practice their words, I have come to see the promises that they make us. If we just listen to our leaders we will be blessed! They really know what they are talking about!! I testify that they have communication with God through their Priesthood Authority. Sometimes we think that we can do things on our own, but it is so much easier if we just listen to our church leaders, those that receive revelation, and act according to their counsels. I have seen miracles from listening to our prophet Thomas S. Monson, Elder Waddell, and President Archibald. I know they are called of God.

Something we are doing in our branch is ¨Adopt a family¨ The ward members are thinking of a family in particular, or a person in particular, that is less active and they are going to ¨adopt¨, or be responsible to help them come back to church. If we have one family or person in mind, we can work one by one and start bringing God's children back to the fold. It has been very effective :) I would love it if you would all think of one family, with lots of prayer, that you could help come back to church. Heavenly Father will help you know who is ready to come back, and what should be done to help them in the process. It works! I have seen it! :) 

Well, today my Branch President is going to teach us how to fish :) He is a fisherman :) So I am off to the beach!! Have a great week! The Church is true!!

Love,

Hermana Agle 

This is Not Goodbye...It's a See You Later :)

Hermana Agle lost her Grandpa Agle this week.  This photo was taken just 3 years ago on his 80th Birthday :)

This week has been a roller-coaster for sure...With the news of Grandpa passing away and lots of new things happening in my area. When President Archibald called me on Saturday, he first asked me if I had a little bit of help from the other side of the veil that day. Once he said that, I knew what he was going to say. President said that it is hard to hear news(death of a family member) like that, but really I am going to be able to see a difference in the work. He said Grandpa was going to be there on the other side of the veil working along with me. I have been able to feel that this week. I am grateful for the peace that comes from the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. Things that happen like this are sad here on the earth. But through Jesus Christ, we will be able to see Grandpa again. I know this is true. This is not goodbye, it's a see you later :) I know that more than ever right now. And during these days I have felt so much peace knowing that. I know Grandpa is happy right now and we will see him again :) I am grateful for this knowledge that I have :) I wish I could be there for the funeral to be with all of you, Grandma, Dad, Brad and Jeff. I hope you can all remember this knowledge that you have and the great Plan that Heavenly Father has created for us. We will see Grandpa again. I testify that that is true. 

This week we have been working with so many less actives and we have seen fruits! A family of 7, that has been less active for years came to church this week!! The mom is the reason they haven't gone to church. We met them last Tuesday and the mom told us that the members had offended her and that's why her family of 7 doesn't go to church. Well, Hermana Leyva and I were very direct with her. I felt so strongly that I needed to tell her the things the way they are and not pillow any of it. So we loaded it on her. And look at that, the Spirit knows what he's talking about! She opened up completely! She said that she is used to people just pillow talkin her but that we have ¨SPUNK¨ and that it is what she needed. So they came to church on Sunday and we are working with them to get them to the temple. They are the familia Soto Ore :) So I'll get back to them in the future.

On the 31st of May we have a baptism. Her name is Ofelia and she has a little boy named Snayder who is two. They are very very poor. They live on the coast of the ocean in a little tiny room with just a bed and a stove. They live in the same place as pigs and chickens and a whole bunch of guinea pigs. And Ofelia has a HARD life story. Really hard. She has suffered a lot. But it has been amazing to see the way the gospel has changed her life little by little. She has a little bit more light in her eyes when we visit her. Her love the of The Book Of Mormon is growing. She recognizes the Spirit she feels while at church. We are working on really converting our baptisms so that we are not just creating more less actives. And we are excited to finishing preparing Ofelia to be baptized the 31st of May :)

Well, Kaela is getting married this week and time is going super fast! I am learning to enjoy every minute I have here in Peru as a missionary. I am sad I won't be at her wedding but I know it will be a very very special day :) I am proud of her :)

Keep pushing on, reading your scriptures, praying, going to church and striving to be like Christ every day. Doing that will bring so many blessings into your life and you will feel so much happiness. I am grateful for this gospel :) This week I am going up north to Huaraz so be waiting for beautiful pictures next week :) And I will be waiting for beautiful pictures from Kaela's wedding :) I love you all! Have a great week and I will be praying and thinking about the Agle family all week. I wish I could be there but I will be thinking about you guys. I love you all!

Hermana Agle

Quick Note

(Very short letter this week...but we had an amazing call with Cami on Mother's Day.  She had the opportunity this week to have a personal interview with Elder Christopher Waddell of the First Quorum of the Seventy who is currently residing in Lima, Peru.  She was very excited to meet him, and was so enthusiastic about the work she is doing, and the people she has had the chance to teach.  It was a short call (30 min.), but we felt the Spirit as she shared many inspiring stories with us.  We can't wait to see her in October!)

Hey, sorry I have been in Lima all day so I didn't have time to write. And RIGHT as I sat down at the computer, President Archibald walked into the office and we started talking, and we ended up talking for like 3 hours...about the work. So, I don't have time to write you anymore...because I have to catch the bus back up to Barranca right now. But seriously, my misión President is AWESOME. I am leaving the offices just BEAMING, because of what he has just shared with us. I am so excited to get back to Limoncillo and really help establish the church and baptize lots of people! Big things are coming these next 5 months so get ready to hear about all of them. I am finishing off this mission strong!!! Love you all! I loved being able to talk to you. I know it was short but I loved it....and we'll be seeing each other soon anyway :) I love you all. Thanks for all of the support you give me!! Talk to you next week!

Ciao,
Hermana Agle

The SPIRIT always testifies

Hey family!

Well, it's been a crazy week like always! A lot of stuff has happened. Let's start with baptisms.

So, Edith and Jean Franco will be baptized this Friday. Because we are up here in Barranca, and we are so far from the city, the person who does baptismal interviews wasn't able to make it for this weekend. So THIS Friday they will be baptized! :)

Gloria...ASUMachhu. She is the FUNNIEST little girl on the planet. And so adorable. She was so excited to be baptized this Saturday. Everything was ready and set, we were just waiting for Saturday. Well, when we get there Saturday, her Dad was there. He said to us ¨I changed my mind. I don't want my daughter to be baptized and I am not going to allow it.¨ He and his wife had just gotten into a huge fight. He is not a member of the church and he refuses to listen to the missionaries. Gloria's mom is a fighter. She is a faithful member of the church and she is just such a strong woman with lots of problems in her life. Well, we told them that Gloria couldn't get baptized without her Dad's permission. But...we weren't just going to give up, so we stood there and talked with her dad as he angrily cleaned his lawn chairs. It was a very strange conversation. He ended up talking about science and how science and God can't exist together and science has proven that God doesn't exist. I told him that I was studying to be a doctor and he laughed at me and said that he was talking about MEDICINE, not miracle curing people. I was like uhhhh no, I'm studying to be a surgeon. I bore my testimony of God to him and we tried our best but he was just so bitter. It was awful. Well, it turns out Gloria and her mom snuck out of the house to go her baptism and they showed up to get baptized. It was awful because we had to tell her she literally couldn't get baptized. We didn't want to separate their family. So now we are going to go and teach her father with a LOT of power and authority and get that baptismal permission!! And while we do it, we are going to baptize him as well :) We will fight hard for Gloria!

Gloria made us balloon necklaces :)

So, bad news. Remember that bug bite that swelled up huge a few weeks ago that I had an allergic reaction to? Yeah, well guess what was happening to me as we were standing outside teaching Glorias dad?? These SAME bugs were attacking me!! I now have 63 huge red, infected bites on my legs and my legs are completely swollen! It is the worst. I have spent the past 48 hours scratching my legs!!! We went and bought a bunch of pills and creams and I have a treatment that I am doing but it's the worst!!! So I guess that was my bienvenida to Barranca :)

We had a really great experience this week that I would like to share :) In our carpeta de area(binder that was passed to us), there is a family of 4 with parents casados(who are married) and they have come to church before. But, there was not an address or telephone number and NO ONE in the ward remembers them! So Hermana Leyva and I have been praying a lot to be able to find them somehow. We didn't know how we were going to do it, but we had faith that we could find them. Well, one day we were walking with a member and we passed a house and she said, ¨I remember Hermana Munoz coming to this house to teach once. Lets go knock¨. So we went and knocked and it was them!! We were able to find this family!! It is a mom, dad, and two girls 14 and 11. So we are SO excited to start teaching them and invite them to be baptized again. Before, they had accepted a baptismal date but were not baptized. So we are going to teach and baptize this family of four. Heavenly Father is listening to our prayers here in Limoncillo!! I have felt the guide of the Spirit so strong here. I know there are a lot of families here that Heavenly Father needs us to find and we will keep looking and praying for them!!

Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I know it, because I have seen it a bunch in my mission! Sometimes he answers them after a while, sometimes immediately, sometimes we are happy with the answer and sometimes not. But He will ALWAYS answer our prayers. I have had a bunch of experiences with investigators where they have doubts about Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon and we just kneel down...right then and there...and ask God. And it works EVERY time. They always receive an answer. The Spirit always testifies. Every time. It is such a testimony builder to me. Yesterday I had the chance to teach the Gospel Principles class (Limoncillo is a branch so the missionaries basically do everything. Church attendance is about 80 people). I taught about the Holy Ghost and as I taught I just felt so grateful for the influence of the Spirit in my life. It has helped me make important decisions, and I have my testimony of this gospel thanks to the Holy Ghost. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost and prayer. We can feel so close to our Father in Heaven through prayer. 

I love you all! Have a great week!!
Hermana Agle

ahhh...the beach!

My District at Christo Redentor