Hello friends! I hope you all had a great week! All is swell down here in Peru. This week was a good one! I want to start off by telling you that I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich last night for dinner and it was glorious. I hadn't had a pb&j in 11 months! Peanut butter isn't really a thing down here, you can find it in a supermarket but no one really eats it. We went to a members house, and their daughter was born in peru but lives in Bermuda and is visiting with her husband so we celebrated with pb&js! Also her husband is white so I got to speak english for a little bit..and I realized how much i stink at english now. It came out more like Spanglish haha bu

t I guess that's what happens when you go to another country for 18 months.

My companion and I are having a blast in our area! We have a couple investigators who are progressing and a lot of references from members that we still need to contact. There is one investigator, his name is Fernando, he's about 65 years old and lives alone. He is separated from his wife and his kids have gotten married and moved out of the house. He was going to get baptized in March, but didn't end up going through with it and the missionaries at this time stopped visiting him. My companion and I found his teaching record and decided to go back to visit him. He told us he was thinking a lot about going back to church and has the desire to get baptized! We have taught him a couple lessons and he is SO prepared. He understands everything we teach. He has the desire to learn more and read the Book of Mormon. These are the types of people we are meant to find as missionaries, the people who are ready to receive the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I know I talked about this in my previous email but it is literally THE GREATEST thing in the whole world to see someone convert themselves to the gospel. There is no happiness that can compare to it! Fernando is going to get baptized on October 29, so keep him in your prayers (:

This next week we have transfers in the mission, which means my companion is probably leaving the area. She has been here for a while so her time is up! I'll update you all next week on what happens..

I want to leave you all with a scripture from the Book of Mormon. the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. In this part of the book, a prophet named Jacob is explaining the importance and the necessity of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He says..

5 Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him.

 6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.

 7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

(2 Nephi 9:5-7)

We learn from these scriptures that Jesus submitted himself to men in the flesh and died so that all men would be able to submit themselves to him. Physical death and the ability to sin are consequences from the fall of Adam and Eve, therefore the atonement was absolutely necessary to be able to redeem us from death and also from sin. The two things that impede us from returning to live with God are physical death and sin. And we cannot overcome these things without the help of a higher power, something beyond us. It is absolutely necessary to have a Savior. We cannot overcome these impediments without the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ. But here's the thing, we cannot and will not gain eternal exaltation if we do not APPLY the atonement in our lives. It all depends on YOU. You have to apply the atonement to your life to be able to gain what Heavenly Father has in store for you.

Take care this week! And meditate for a good time with what I've just shared with you (:

Love you all!

Hermana Celardo