July 27, 2015

Oh mother, how i love you :)  you always know what to say to make me feel better and motivate me.  It sounds like you guys had a calmer week this week!  I bet that was fun for a change :)

This week...  I honestly think it was one of the hardest in my whole mission...  I dont know why but things just arent happening here.  This whole week we have been so encouraged and trying to find new people and visit less active members.  We have even had members with us trying to help us and honestly NOTHING.  We had maybe 3 actual lessons this week and thats it.  I had never been so discouraged in my life.  I know there is so much more I can do!  I just feel so helpless!  I have been trying to be happy but its been kinda hard.  I am really hoping that this next week will be better...  If not i dont know what im going to do... 

And mom all of your questions are just fine haha.  They dont distract me at all :)  sometimes i just forget to answer them :)  But everything with me and Ty are so good haha :)  Please ask about him all you want!  Actually a funny thing happened this week!  I had interviews with President and Sister Rasmussen and they both asked if I had a boyfriend and obviously i cant lie to them so i said yes haha!  Then they both went on to tell me their love story how they were dating before and Sister Rasmussen waited for President and then they got married 3 months later and yeah hahaha :)  Then I told President that he is on his mission in Winnipeg and Presidents newphew just got his call there!  So he was super excited and was asking me all these questions about the mission and everything and it was super funny.  We talked about Ty for like 15 minutes :)

I am super excited for your girls camp!  I hope you have such a good time!

Things with my companion arent really changing...  I am still with the same one I mean she is the way she is and doesnt want to change which is SUPER hard for me.  I just want to work!  But we have transfers in 2 weeks and i am supposed to be transfered but we never know what can happen.  I really hope i am transfered.  I really need to get out of this area and be with someone who wants to WORK.  Pray for me :(  

But everything else is going good.  I am pushing through.  I know that things arent permanant and at some point thigns will change and that everything will be good.  There is hope in the future right :)

I love you so much mom.  You are the greatest and i miss you SO MUCH!  I always ask myself what youre doing too...  Shopping is usually my answer ;) hahaha.  I hope you have such a good week.  I will talk to you next week! LOVE YOU TONS!

Love, 

Hermana Lauren Jane Mitchell :)

July 20, 2015

Momma!!  I have been looking forward to hearing from you all week long!!  It sounds like everyone is doing good and having a good summer and that makes me super happy!  

Well this week was a good one and a bad one haha.  I will start with the bad i guess haha.  I got sick this week!  I think it was the first time i have actually been sick in my whole mission!  But i guess i had the flu thursday and i had the worst headache and felt sick and weak i just felt awful. My companion had the same thing so we were both just dying.  We went out and did as much as we could that day but we went back and called our health secretary and he told us it was better to stay in for the rest of the night and not spread what we had with everyone so we got to bed early that night and the next day i felt 100 times better.

And now with the good.  We did more work this week!  Which made me happy!  Little by little things are getting better.  We found another new investigator.  She is a reference from a member and she is super awesome.  Her name is Rosaura and she is looking for a change in her life.  She isnt attending any type of church right now and as of recently she doesnt work on sundays!  Its perfect!  We, well I haha, was super excited to find her!  I hope that things go well with her!  

I have been working with Sister Rasmussen more and it has been so fun!  She really is so great!  She reminds me a lot of you mom haha.  She is so social and nice and just makes everyone feel so comfortable.  She is also really fashionable just like you too haha.  Today for pday we went around shopping with her and i was telling her about how you were coming to pick us up and she is really excited to meet you!  Also tomorrow we have interviews so i will get to spend the day with her again!  Have you got a chance to look at their blog.  piuravida.org  i think there are or will be some pictures of me on there haha. 

I am doing really good mom.  I am happy and healthy.  Well, now i am healthy haha.  But i really am doing good.  My spanish gets better everyday and now i feel really confident with it.  Everyone always compliments my spanish so i feel good about that.  I have been slacking off with my exercises but i will get back on that haha.  But we walk all day everyday in the heat of the sun so thats gotta count for something!  But most of all i miss you like CRAZY!  But honestly i can not believe that i am half way done!  Time has been going by so fast and im sure itll only go by faster!  I cant wait for you guys to get to see where i have been living for the last 18 months!  Gosh i love Peru!  

Well, that is it for my week.  I laughed super hard about Kaden hahaha!  I love my neieces and nephews!  Cant wait to see them all again!  I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!  Talk to you all next week!

Love, Hermana Lauren Jane Mitchell 

July 13, 2015

Familia mia!!!  How are you all!  It sounds like you had a crazy week mom and dad hahaha!  Gosh i remember trek...  Mine wasnt as crazy as that though!  But almost haha.  It sounds like you had a great time though and that makes me happy 

Well this week was another slowwww week.  I dont know whats up with us!  Its super frusturating but i have lots of goals and i this week will be better. 

 This week me and Elder Parra(other elder in my ward, also assistant to the president) started teaching english in our ward and honestly it was the most hilarious thing ever hahaha!  There are actually a lot of people here that know a lot of english!  But i think that this will be a good way for us to find new investigators.  We challeneged everyone in our ward to bring a friend to the next class this saturday.  We will see how it goes this week haha. 

We have been working a lot with less active members because for some reason we are not having luck with our investigators or in finding new investigators!  I am really hoping that some good things happen this week... 

So tomorrow is our last multizone conference with President and Hermana Rowley!  And guess who got voulenteered to play the violin in a special musical number.........  Yeah im super nervous but itll be good.  Im playing the violin, Elder Parra is playing the piano and i think people are going to sing but im not really sure whats going on because they just told me about this yesterday and we have to do it tomrrow so we will see how it goes haha.  But i am really excited for tomorrow.  Itll be pretty sad but im excited to see how things go with the new president too.  He will get here the first of July and President Rowley leaves that same day so im sure his homecomming will be around then mother haha. 

Things with my companion have still been a little difficult.  She is really great and we are friends but she has lots of things that i just dont know how to deal with... I am trying to be a good example and im trying to encourage her as much as i can.  I just want to be obedient!  But we are getting there.. Slowly but surely... I am sure things will get better.  

Well that is it for my week.  I havent taken any pictures recently but i will tomorrow and i will be sure to send some this week!  

I love you all tons and I will talk to you next week!!! 

Love, 

Hermana Lauren Jane Mitchell 

I am also including this letter Lauren sent to Nate... Is this our Lauren??

Natey!!!

How are you brother!  Nathan, i have a companion like yours....  She leaves me hahah!!  But really!  I need some advice...  I dont know what to do!  She always want to be in the room and we always leave late and she never gets up on time and we get to appointments late and ugh.....  life. sucks.  I mean shes great and we are friends sometimes but yeah... SOS!

Oh brother of mine.  How are you!  Have I told you that i missed you because I do... Lots.  Gosh i write everyone else and im fine then i write you and i start crying.  Thanks haha!  I never got the chance to thank you for everything youve done for me.  I know i was a difficult little sister, i couldve been so much better to you.  I dont know why i was the way i was but i honetly regret SOO many things.  But really you were the best friend i ever had.  You still are my best friend. I think ive confinded more in you than i have in mom haha!  And you definitly chose the perfect wife.  I am so greatful for Katlyn.  I think ive even told her more than ive told you haha!  But really thank you for everything.  Thanks for listening to me and helping me and just coming to visit me.  It meant more to me than youll ever know.  Keep working hard brother.  I know everything is going to work out perfectly for you.  I know you are going to be the best father in the world just like you were the best brother in the world.  

I love you tons Natey.  You are the greatest.  Send me pictures of your little girl when she gets here!  I cant wait to meet her in just over 10 months! 

Talk to you soon brother.

Love, 

Laurs 

July 6, 2015

Hello Family!!!

Wow what a crazy week!  For all of you and me both i guess hahaha.  It sounds like everyone had a great 4th of July!  Here they dont really celebrate that so mine was pretty lame but thats okay :)  

Well this week was CRAZY!  I honestly have never been so exhausted in my LIFE.  We had so many different sisters staying in our room and a  lot of them had to be places at 3 or 4 in the morning so we had to wake up and go with them and it was just crazy....  But also President and Hermana Rasmussen arrived!  And honestly they are SOO amazing!  They are honestly so hilarious haha!  Me and Hermana Rasmussen are best friends right now and she shows me pictures of her grandkids and its all going great.  I have seen them a lot since ive got here and i think ill just be seeing them more because Hna. Rasmussen is going to come with us to our lessons this week!  She doesnt speak any spanish but she really wants to learn and get to know the people around here.  She also told me that she needs to find someone to cut and color her hair so thats my other homework hahaha :)

But as far as teaching goes.... S.L.O.W.  We didnt find a new investigator alllll week.  And it is so discouraging!  Saturday we spent 5 hours contacting future investigators and knocking on doors and NOTHING.  I had never felt so discouraged and tired in my life.  I just dont understand... I know theres always more i can do but right now i just feel stuck.  I dont feel like im fulfilling my purpose here and its KILLING me.  I am trying my hardest to keep a good attitude but its getting harder and harder as our numbers get lower and lower.....  I am praying for a miracle this week to keep me going.  

My next transfers are in 5 weeks and i will probably be leaving this area.  Which makes me sad but i am SO ready to get to know another place.  Ill be sad to leave my district and the members and everything but I just feel so ready to have a new start in another area.  

And the best experience i had this week... Well actually i did have a cool experience :)  We were talking to one of the sisters that we reactivated into the church and she was telling us her story about how her husband use to drink and how torn apart her family was and then she told us how different he is now thanks to us.  She told us that the other day she was watching a movie that wasnt too clean and her husband walked in and said ''yubitza!  we cant enter and get sealed in the temple watching movies like this!''  and she was telling us how he is now the one who gets the family together to pray and who always reminds them of their goal to get sealed as a family.  That is one part of the week that helped me to know that i am doing something here and that i am helping someone :)

Also i was looking in the scriptures for 'divine inspiration' one day and i came across Jacob 6:12 and it made me laugh but it was perfect!  O be wise; what can i say more? :)  I was just remembering how you and dad use to always say that to me or refer to that scripture and it helped me to remember that i just need to do what i know i need to do.  Its common sense right? :)  I just need to keep my head up. Things can only get better from here right? :)

Well that is it for my crazy week.  I cant believe that i am almost HALF WAY DONE!  Crazy!  They say time only goes faster from here so i need to make a difference while i still can hahaha :)  I love you all so much.  Have such a good week and i will talk to you all next week! :)

Love,
Hermana Lauren Jane Mitchell :)