Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good 4th of July! There weren't any festivities here haha but independence day in Peru is the 28th this month so Ill just celebrate then. For their independence day and also for Christmas they have this fruit cake thing called panatone, but its not like fruit cake from home. Its actually really good! Everyone here eats it with hot chocolate. I hope that I can find it in the states when I get back!

Training is going well too! My companion is amazing, she came pretrained to the mission. We are having a great time together and we get along super well. I think I am learning more from training than she is haha. We work really well together in lessons as well, Im grateful for the Spirit that we feel in every lesson!

The area I am in right now is called Las Torres. Its right up by the volcano Misti! We have a sweet view of all the volcanoes here, Misti Chachani and Pichu Pichu. During the day the suns out but the air is cold, and at night its freezing! Theres no heaters here so we just bundle up in blankets every night and its enough to stay warm! The water we use to wash our clothes or to wash our hands is SO cold. Im pretty sure its just melted ice haha but we have hot water in our shower so Im extremely grateful for that!

My Spanish is improving! I have no problem talking about missionary work or teaching lessons or every day talk like little conversations. I can even bargain with the taxi drivers so Id say Im doing well! Its truly amazing that Ive lived in Peru for 8 months and Im already speaking Spanish.

So we had a baptism this week! His name is Luis and hes 9 years old. He lives with his sister, who is our pensionista (the member who cooks for us). Hes awesome! He has a really good understanding of all the basic principles of the church. Im grateful that I was able to teach him and be apart of his baptism.

I think the greatest part about being a missionary is helping people understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and what exactly is their purpose here on the earth, and then watching them apply it to their lives and then seeing their lives change for the better. Its truly amazing. I am a convert to the church of Jesus Christ of about 2 and a half years. When I compare my life before, and my life now, I can testify to every single one of you that I am so much happier now. Yes there are things of the world that can bring happiness, but there is nothing comparable to the happiness that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings. I am so grateful for this time that I have to teach the gospel to the people here in Peru. I know that I will never have an opportunity like this again, so Im taking in every moment! I love being a missionary (:

Quiero compartir mi testimonio con ustedes en el idioma de mi corazón(: testifico a cada uno de ustedes que La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días es la iglesia verdadera de Jesucristo. Sé que esta iglesia es la misma iglesia que Jesucristo estableció cuando estuvo en la tierra. Al obedecer los mandamientos y al aplicar el evangelio en nuestras vidas podemos llegar a ser mas como Jesucristo, podemos legar a ser lo que el Señor quiere que seamos. Sé que Dios nunca va a darnos pruebas en esta vida que no podemos vencer. Tengo fe que Dios tiene un plan por cada uno de nosotros. Tenemos que someternos a la voluntad del Señor en todo momento para darnos cuenta quien somos, y la importancia y la razón que estamos aquí en la tierra. Estoy muy agradecida por el conocimiento del Evangelio. Quiero compartir todo esto en el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Hasta la próxima semana!

CUÍDENSE

Hermana Celardo