Hey there! Sorry I was unable to write a letter last week! Time on the computer always goes by fast here haha. This last week was a good one.

So a typical day as a missionary goes like this:

Wake up at 6:30. My companion and I usually do some workouts right when we wake up, and then we get ready for the day. Breakfast is at 7:30. Then from 8 until 9 we have personal study. During personal study we read scriptures or study Preach My Gospel. Afterwards we have companionship study. During this time we practice teaching and also read our missionary handbook. The missionary handbook just is a general rule book for all missionaries! After that we have our language study. This is the time I get to study Spanish! And my companion studies English. After that we go to our pensionistas house again for lunch. Lunch is usually the biggest meal of the day here. Some of my favorite meals here are arroz chaufa (fried rice) and lomo saltado (I don't know the translation for that haha). And there's also this purple drink here called Chicha Morada. It's made from purple corn and it's delicious. I have no idea if there's purple corn in the States, so if you happen to see some let me know! After lunch we go out for the day. We visit investigators, members, and contact people on the street. We walk everywhere we go, but if we're late for an appointment we can always take a taxi. There's taxis everywhere and they're only about 1 or 2 soles. 3 soles here is equivalent to about $1! The conversion rate is great haha. Also there's these vans that are kind of like buses, they're called cambis, that are only 60 cents. It's pretty easy to travel around here. Also something strange about Ilo, there's a main street called John F Kennedy. Why? I have no idea haha. At 8 we have dinner with our pensionista. Dinner is usually something small like yogurt and fruit or bread with jam. After that, we go back to our room. We have to be in our room by 9 every day, Unless we are teaching a lesson we can be back by 9:30. Then we plan for the next day and get ready for bed. We are busy every day, so it's easy to get lost in the work!

Last week I had the opportunity to go on divisions. Divisions are where you switch companions for a day. I went to another area, Moquegua and I was with Hermana Marshall for the day. And she's from the States! So we got to speak English haha. It was a really great experience and she boosted my confidence a lot in my Spanish!

My first baptism! Ramon was baptized last Saturday! It was truly incredible! After the baptism, he shared his testimony with everyone that was there. You can bet I cried haha. It's amazing to see how a person can change and come closer to our Savior. His testimony was in Spanish, and I understood most of it but the Spirit was most definitely there and everyone in the room could feel that.

I'm grateful for the Spirit. To those of you who have never heard of the Spirit, it's almost impossible to describe and put into words. But when you've felt it, you know exactly what it is. And I know every single one of you reading this email have felt the Spirit before in your life. The Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, testifies of the truth. 2 Nephi 2:4 says The Spirit is the same yesterday, today, and forever. En Español, 2 Nefi 2:4 dice El Espiritu is el mismo ayer, hoy, y para siempre. Yo se que La Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Ultimos Dias es la iglesia verdadera en la tierra hoy. Esta iglesia es la iglesia de Jesucristo. Se que El Libro de Mormon es la palabra de Dios y contiene la plentitud del evangelio eterno. ¡Estoy muy agradecido ser una missionera!

Cuidense mucho,

Hermana Celardo