Another great week in Tacna! We're working super hard out here and the blessings and miracles keep coming and it's incredible. Can I just tell you all how awesome it it being a missionary? It really is the best, there is no other feeling than the feeling you get when you help someone come to the knowledge of the truthfullness of the gospel! Anyways, Hermana Miranda and I are doing really great together and finding A TON of people to teach. The members here are giving us lots of references and helping us with finding people to teach, which is always a big help! Last week we had an activity in our ward and about 50 people, it was a great turn out. The activity was called a ¨trip to Hawaii¨ but obviously there was a spiritual message behind it, but it turned out really great!

This week is going to fly because we have loads of conferences and activities and whatnot. Thursday we will be having a multi zone conference with all the missionaries in the cities of Tacna, Ilo, and Moquegua with Elder Fallabela of the 70. Then on Friday we are having another leadership conference in Arequipa with Elder Fallabela, so as sister leaders we will be traveling with the zone leaders to Arequipa super early friday morning. We are pretty excited and anxious to hear what he has to say!

Last night we were teaching a lesson to a recent convert who has been feeling pretty down lately. He says he feels like a weight of guilt is on his shoulders and he can't shake it off. We strongly felt like we had to teach about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and I wanted to share a little bit of what we talked about last night with you all.

We are not perfect. We make mistakes every day. We sin. But we CAN be forgiven. We can always be forgiven. Forgivness is exactly the reason why God sent his Son. God knows we are not perfect, and actually he doesn't expect us to be. He expects us to look to his son in the hard times. He pleads us to apply the infinite Atonement to our lives to overcome our trials and move forward with hope. Our sins have been paid for, all we have to do is look to our Savior and we can rid ourselves of the guilt. The Atonement is eveything. It frees us from the guilt of our mistakes and allows us to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven.

¨However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or distance from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.¨  -Elder Jeffery R Holland

I hope you have the best week! Take care!

Hermana Celardo