General Conference

So I failed to send you a good letter for some time now, so I will do everything in my power to make this letter a good one. So I am in the Zone of Cañete, and my area is named Imperial (because the city is named Imperial) it is a very big farming community. we live in the city part of Imperial, but we also teach in some of the outer parts of the city. some things are similar to Sunampe (my last area) but the city part is bigger and the other ¨outer parts¨ are spread out a little farther. I love the people here, there are a lot of crazy drunk people here, but that is just kind of a Peru thing. I have meant some of the humblest people here in this area, we are teaching a lot of really devoted people, like Carlos Ojeda who will be baptized this week. He has been waiting for over three months to be baptized He really enjoyed Conference and he told us when the prophet went up to give his talk he stopped and payed close attention to everything that is said and the way he presented himself, and he said that he had seen a lot of public speakers in his day, he had been to different countries and different parts of Peru, just to hear people speak, and when we told him that there was a living Prophet he was expecting something ¨Big¨ something ground breaking, but he just told us to love God with all are heart and love everyone as ourselves. He then said ¨at that moment I knew that he was a Prophet of God, because what he said really made me think about what I was doing with my life and what God wanted me to do with my life.¨ 

                  I love the faith of Brother Carlos and I don´t have words to describe how happy I am to see him enter into this pathway to eternal life. I also know that the church is true and there is a Prophet on the earth today. the morning of conference we want to pick up a sister that we are teaching, and she told us that she could´t go because she was cooking (which seems to be the favorite excuse here in Perú) and I asked her ¨if Jesus came and knocked on your door and told you that the 12 Apostles we speaking would you leave your house to go hear them?¨ she said that she would but that is different, and I told here that it´s exactly the same because God has called a prophet and 12 apostles today, and she just told us that she was really busy and she couldn´t go.....so she failed the test of faith.

I want you to know I am happy, healthy, and growing strong, I hope you are all doing well. Love Elder Roos.

Algo mejor..

3/17/14
Hello,

       So I am sorry for my super short and incomplete letter last week, I ended up running out of time. 

       So I am in a place called Cañete, and I am in the branch of Imperial. It really isn´t too far from my last area, and it is a citty, but it is not Lima so it is pritty nice. My Comp. is named Elder Izquirdo (which is funny because Izquierda is spanish for left, so everyone makes Elder Left and Right jokes.) Something I like is that he is pretty short, so I am again one of the tallest people that I see during the day. I really love my new area, my Companion is the District Leader so I finally have a chance to know how it´s done, and the people here are very humble and want to change their lives. Saturday night we found a young man named JoseMaria (yes his first name the two names of the father and mother of Jesus, at this point latin names have stopped shocking me.) Anyway, we taught him a small lesson and invited him to church, the next day he showed up early to church and stayed for all three hours, and in Gospel principles class he introduced himself as, My name is Josemaria and I want to change my life and that is why I´m here. That point I felt very happy to be in this place. I have seen some of the best people here who really want to change their lives. 

       My Spanish is coming along very well, I feel like I am finally out of the spanish pitt, and am walking and laughing with all the short little pueru people. I still mess up some words, and there are a lot of things I don´t know, but I feel like I'm there. But yeah life is going well, and the Gospel is true. Mom please tell everyone in the ward Hi for me. I love you all thank you for your thoughts and Oraciones. Love Elder Roos.

3/11/14
Hey this is going to be short, sorry I will have a better letter next week.

                           I got your letters at last, and thank you so much that was really something that I needed this week, I am also very thankful for the letters that had your testimonies, and really just reading those two simple letters really helped my testimony, thanks.

                             The biggest thing that happened this week was transfers. I finally left Sunampe, and to be honest it was kind of sad. I was surprised at the reaction of the members when they all found out that I was going to another area. The Bishop told everyone in church at the pulpit, that one day they are going to see me as a 70 in the liahona, but I will be happy as a young men´s president. I am out of time love you all. Elder Roos

Una Semana mas

Hola everyone,

                    I am sorry of not sending an email last week, but I will just put away the lame excuses and get to the telling you stuff part. So we are getting very close to the end of this transfer and at this point I have just a little over 9 months in the mission. it is crazy how the time flies. These past two weeks we have really seen the hand of the lord in the work, we finally had the tow baptisms of Danela and Lesly, and they are two very strong converts. I think that I write this in just about every letter that write after we have a baptism, but I am truly amazed to see the new light that comes into the faces of the new members that are baptized. The scriptures say that everyone is born with the light of Christ and in this we choose right or wrong, but I am a living witness that the countenance of some one who has received the gift of the Holy Ghost is different and they really shine.

                     The ward of Sunampe in a very small ward, in fact it almost doesn´t have the correct amount of members to be a ward and is almost a branch, but I love working in this ward because the heards  of the members are so big. We are working very hard to help this ward grow, but it is something of a difficult processes when you barely have sufficent members to fill the callings of the ward. I have been thinking a lot about church callings lately and how importante every  calling in the church is because every act we do has human beings will some how effect someone else, and when some one efecively does their church calling they are helping another child of god progress. This has made me think about how important sharing this gospel is, and how blessed I am to have the opportunity to share this gospel. I love you all and hope you are all warm and happy take care and have an amazing week. Elder Roos

2/17/14

Hello everyone,

                    So this week is going very well, we are starting to have a lot more help for the ward for finding people, and God has blessed us a lot this week. Sometimes when all our plans fail God blesses us with just a little bit of success. This week we have two baptisms planed, one for Friday and one for Saturday. Their names are Lesly Banses and Danela Moran. Lesly is 22 and going to school to be a nurse and she is very interested in the plan of salvation. Her mother passed away about 10 months ago and she was very happy to hear that we can all live together as a family after this life, and I am happy to be able to testify that I know that this is true. Danela is an 11 year old girl who is the only member of her family that is not a member, but that is about to change this week, she has been very fun to teach and she is very happy to be part of the church and the ward is helping alot in this aspect.

                Something funny that happened this week was Hermano Fansisco, a new convert of about five months, was asked to give a talk on faith in church this Sunday, and I have to be honest I have never paid so much attention to a talk on Faith in my life. He got up to the pulpit, and at first he was very calm and everything was normal, but then he just started really getting into it. He started going off like a T.V. minister. He started shouting a little bit, he began using a lot of hand gestures, and walking back and forth pointing to people "There are only two types of faith!!" It was most likely the most entertaining talk I have ever seen.

but all is going well on this End. I hope you are all well happy and Warm Take Care. Love Elder Roos.

Still hot and mov'n on

Hello Every one,

                       So to start things off, this week has been interesting, but very long. The mission right now is verry low on people to teach, I thought it was just us but it seems the whole mission is down right now. So that is kind of where I am at right now. We are working with alot of less active members, because right now not alot of people are comeing to church. Some thing that I have had in my heart for Sunape from the first week I came here was to buid the members enough untill the church will okay the building of a new church building. They had a small church house once but it fell to the groung (as did the membership) after an earth-quake in 2007. We only need 10 more Tithe paying Elders in the Elders quarm, to be approved on a new building. I would like so much the see theese sweet humble people nove have to take a taxi to a diferent part of chincha just to go to church, they need this and I hope that I can help make this happen. We are going to keep moveing with all our faith untill... untill the end I supose. I ate cat...yes real cat here is a picture of it's head. Love you all Elder Roos

2014 Feliz ano nuevo y baprismo del Hermano Alezis

1/20/14

Hello todos,
So this week was fantastic because we had two
baptismos that were very important to me. That of Hermano Alexis (20)
and Gustavo (13). With Alexis, we have been teaching him for a long
time, when I got to chincha he already had a full teaching record, and
well really he has been ready for baptism for a long time. The Biggest
problem was that he was have problems leaving the catholic faith and
he had a fear of sinning after baptism, and to make a long interesting
story short for time's sake, he was baptized on saturday and now is in
the path to be one of the strongest members Sunampe has ever seen! At
the end of the baptism, he gave his testimony, and I have to say that
there are words that can describe the feeling that a missionary has
when some one that they have spent so much time and energy to help,
stands in front of a group of people and says ¨I know that this is the
true church of Jesucristo¨. After Alexis, Gustavo a thirteen year old
boy boar his testimony, and he was crying and he didn't know why, but
he stood there and looked at his parents and then at me and in the
mist of his tears and his struggle to find his breath, he said ¨I cant
describe how I feel, but I know that this church is the true
church...and then he sat down, and I can't tell you how much those two
testimonies impacted me, but I can say this; I know that this church
is true, but what is more I know that all this is a part of gods plan
for us that would not be complete with out the perfect love of Jesus
Christ. I my self have so much to learn about all of this, but I know
with every fiber of my being that if happiness, true happiness and
joy can not be found in the message of the restored Gospel of Jesus
Christ, then it can't be found anywhere. However it can be found, and
there are a few people ready to tell you about it.
I love you all, it is really hot here and yes the fruit is really good
here, and Mom I think of you every time I eat a mango, and I know that
I am dooming myself because the states don't have good mangos. Love you
all Elder Roos. Dean send this to mom her email didn't work.

01/13/14
So this week went well,

                                 Nothing too much to report, all of our investigator with a date for bapitsm are progressing and they all should be baptized if we keep praying and working hard. 

     Mom I want you to know that your comment about going Vegan made my day and I want you to know that it`s against my religion too.

     Rachel, tofu.... we tried that once and I remember that it failed drastically, and it gives you gas because your body is trying to tell you that your food choices were not correct and you need to re think about what you have just put in to your body, trust me about this I am in south america, me and my body have this conversation frequently. haha

      Dean and Cynthina, I love you guys sounds like all is going well and your photo made me want to go sleding.

   

Well, 

       Right now in Preù it is really hot and everyone tells me that it is about to get hotter down here in February. something else is we are eating a lot of fruit, the water melon is in abundance and there are always mangos, which makes me happy because mangos are the best. I found that the only two things I have ever talked about with members here is about the gospel and Food. People talk about food so much here, which I enjoy because I like food, but it never stops to amaze me how long some one can talk about fruit.

       In reference to the work all is going really well, our bishop steped up his game, and we finally have ward missionaries. Our ward is really small, and it just got smaller because of some boundary changes, but the members are so strong. The faith of these humble people are ever helping me build my testimony that this church is true. Yesterday in ward Counsel I look at the group of members that we had and realized that almost all the leaders that we have are either a return missionary that has been home for less than a year or a recent convert, for example the young mens president has less then two months as a member, and the young womans president just got home from her mission, and I could go on but I am almost out of time, But the point I am trying to make is that the church is true and I have seen here in peru that truth is stronger than anything in the world. I love you all.

01/06/14
Happy new year!

                      So they do just about the same thing for new years as they do for Christ mas, with just a few more fire works.

                       I am Sad to hear that Great Uncle Ernie past away, in fact I do remember Uncle Ernie he was a fantastic person, and I remember every time I saw him I would ask him were Burt was, and I think that was probably a very old joke but he always laughed. Something that my Zone Leader Elder Red Said ¨Don´t take life too seriously, no one makes it out alive anyway¨, but Olivia thank you for keeping me updated.

                      I got a lot of deep letters this wee, most of which told me about how proud they were of me for being out here, and so I thank each one of you for those words, it was something I need this week. However life is going very well we have four baptisms coming up this week is Hermano Gustavo so I am pumped for that one and three others that are over due. I am enjoying being companions with Elder Peralta, he is a comic relief of a string of very stiff Compañeros. I am almost out of time sorry for the short letter well here is something.

Tarde

12/18/13

para empezar,

                   

¿Como esta todos?

                          Bien bien, So we are just working away here in chincha, Elder Yucra se fue (went)to Ika and I have a new companion Named Elder Pearalta if his name was in English it would be "tall pear" which is funny because he is my first companion that is taller than me, which kind of broke my delusions of grandeur, because I really liked being one of the tallest people in perú but some times god likes to remind us that if you are 5´.11 you are only tall in perú and Japan.

                          Elder Pearalta is very very good, he is funny and kind of relaxed which is a big change from Elder Yucra, but he is really really focused, he teaches with a power and love that I haven´t seen in a missionary yet, but I am learning so much from him and hope that I have something I can teach him.

                         Well I am doing just fine down here in good o´l peú and Wish you all Feliz Festivos! Love Elder Roos

12/09/13 

  Nothing ground breaking here in Peru, we are working very hard with less actives, people here are easy to accept the gospel but it is so hard to convince them to go to church. The people here are very religious, and people plaster Jesucristo on just about everything, their cars, their skin, their walls, their cell phones, but it seems that they are just giving their wall space or their art choices to Christ and not their time, because it is easy to write the name of Christ on you arm, but it is something different to write it in your heart.

                                         We found and are teaching a really cool family, after watching the video of the Restoration they were pretty convinced that Joseph Smith is prophet and the father was kind of bummed out that his baptism in the cathloic church about a month ago didnt count.

en verdad no quiero escribir una titilo, entonces voy a escribir en un otro Idioma

Hello Family and Everyone.

                                       So yeah my Birthday is tomorrow, and thanks for all of your Birthday wishes and things. I have not gotten anything yet but that just because the mail is really slow here but when they come I will let you all know.

                                      They sing the happy birthday song in English here, and really the only different thing that they do here is crack eggs on your head for your birthday, but I dont think that is going to happen to me.

                                     Life is going good here in South america, we are teaching this 78 year old man named Victor. This man sits on a pile of rocks all day and reads the Bible, that all he does all day, just sits on a pile of rocks and reads the bible. Well I know that this gospel changes lives, because now this man sits on a pile of rocks and reads the Book of Mormon. About a day after we game him the Libro de Mormon, during a lesson he started to cry and he began to tell us that his brother and alot of other people had come by and told him that this book was evil, because the other churches didnt read this book, and he looked up from his dirty humble throne of stones and broken cement, and with tears in his eyes and a tremble in his voice he said " how can it not be the word of god? It talks about the savior...it talks about the savior" and then he continued to weep. In the first lesson with Vicor we taught him how to pray, and we asked him to say the closing prayer and he looked at us and said, "I dont know how to pray, I never practiced" and we then explained that god just wanted to hear what he had on his heart and on his mind, and after he prayed I asked him how he felt, and he just smiled and started to cry.

                                  I know that this gospel is true and God loves his children so he has sent this gospel to bless our lives, thank you for all those people who helped me get here on my mission and follow the path of happiness. I love you all and I will talk to you next week love Elder Roos.