My first month and a half has come to end here in Peru. But i will continue to
serve here in Viña con Elder Estrada, so i am super happy right now. Also, we
have been blessed this week with a baptims!
We have been teaching Maria Reyes for almost a month now, and she has always
been very interested in the gospel, but her husband really isn´t. He says that
he wants to change but hasnt done anything to change. We had given them the
invitation to be baptized on saturday, but Maria said that she wanted to be
baptized with her husband so we thought that the new date would be on the 20th.
Well, this week we met with her and she had been focused on saturday this whole
time! So we rushed to teach her all the principles so she could be baptized. We
were able to teach everything and get her to the stake center on saturday for
her baptism. I had the glorious opportunity to baptize her. After i baptized
her she gave me a big hug and couldnt stop saying hermano. It was such a
beautiful moment for all of us.
She was then confirmed on sunday, and had the biggest grin on her face the whole
day.
We have had some fun here with all the work. Last week we went to a giant park
that had bumper carts and these cool houses. We spent part of the day taking
eachother out on the carts and then enjoyed lunch. Which was my first hamburger
in a long while. It had an egg, and french fries on it, but i didn´t care, i
was super hungry. And it was GOOD!
Also, i am becoming more friendly and accepted by the members in the ward. They
are actually trying to learn my name and its hilarious. Most people call me
elder Wafer. Eh.....i guess its close enough haha. I told them that is
lavarquemar in spanish, so i think that they are taking that one instead of
wafer! Also, i had the opportunity to be thrown out of my first house on
wednesday. Elder Palomino and I were teaching some ladies in there house. They
allowed us in and we began the lesson. We got all the way up to prophets in the
first lesson, when a man walked through the front door. He looked at us and said ¨Who invited you in here!?!?! GET OUT!¨ So
we grabbed our stuff and headed for the door. He continued to yell certain
things at us. My favorite was when he said that i was trying to steal his niece
and take her to america. That was funny, and i started to laugh a little bit.
But we just laughed all the way down the street from it.
Things have been great, and we only see a bright dawn ahead of us. Thank you all
for your letters and love. Kara i got your package and thank you for the letter
and cookies. They are GOOD!

I love you all,
Elder Washburn

This week i have decided to use my time to tell about the lifestyle of peru and
all the great and weird parts about it. Over the week i have created a list of
all the things that i saw that are very different than america. Here is the
list¨
-you shake everyones hand at church, everytime you see them and everytime that
you walk into a room. so you shake a couple hundred hands on sunday haha
-the buses are nuts, and they literally pack people into every crevas onto those
things. Its kinda uncomfortable!
-There is zero tolerance for belching and flatchulating. Highly scorned here so
my talent for belching is wasted
-all the latinos have a very dry sense of humor that i dont know yet. When all
the latinos laugh at a joke none of the whiteys do. Thats the funny part
-In every house we enter, only the best seat is offered to us, and its an insult
to turn it down
-People in moto pushed carts are always selling stuff and blowing annoying horns
to get peoples attention. Mostly the ice cream people have the horns
-ALL the kids want me to speak english and i simply refuse. ITS ALL SPANISH FOR
2 YEARS!!
-Not a single latin here can pronounce my name. It is literally impossible for
the mouths to make the correct sound of sh and burn. Its hilarious
-Dogs are everywhere and so is there poo. Gross......
-Babies are fed by their moms openly, and without a blanket to cover anything.
We just focus on their faces and look other ways
-Cars are the devil here. Most of them play the game of trying to get really
close to you and not hit you. I have had the hair on my arm brushed a couple
times. SUPER SKETCHY
-Their are tons of testigos here, so we have done battle a couple times. We
usually talk for 2 mins and then just leave, because they never listen. oh well
-No one uses their stove or knives. Their stoves are storage places for pots
and pans, and they think im weird for using a knife when i eat. They are the
barbarians haha.
-The churches have a different court than basketball. Yes its a soccer court.
-They also love volleyball. Its all about soccer and volleyball here.
Ok those are their weird customs that i enjoy thoroughly! Now here is my list
of awesome food!
-We have canned tuna and onions sometimes for breakfast. They put it in bread
and call it good.
-Milo is the best drink down here. Its a chocolate drink thats hot and oh so
good
-Breakfast is usually bread and an oatmeal drink of some sort
-RICE
-BREAD
-The bread is super cheap here. We can get 7 pieces of bread for 1 sole. And we
have a bakery really close to our apartment
-Fried chicken and Fish are SO GOOD. Its the good pan fried and not the deep
fat fryer
-Chichamorada is a delectable drink that doesnt exist in the states
unfortunatley
-Panono is a type of cake bread that looks like a swiss cake roll but is a lot
bigger. Its vanilla cake bread, with manjar filling. MMMMMMMMM
-Chifa is a super cheap knock off asian chain that is everywhere. Its not that
great so thank good ness for a good pensionista!
-We do have one dish that is beef, red peppers, onions, and french fries.
-I have found a new egg dish that is amazing. Its eggs, tortilla, tomatoes, and
spinich. All of its done in the pan in a frying manner. Whatever it is its good
-Manjar is a caramel, milk concaction that just blows my mind, especially when
its in bread. OH MY!
-My pensionista is so nice and gets me cereal everynow and then. And you know
how much i love cereal!
-our pensionista makes fresh fruit juices for us everynow and then. They beat
crystal light, sorry dad.
-Soda is called gaseosa here, and the best is inca kola. Only exists in peru!
-Finally the candy. Here is my list of amazing candy here. Casino mente (they
are girl scout cookies), choko soda (soda crackers covered in chocolate),
sublimes, nik wafers, marcianos (fruit popsicles that are home made, and im
going to learn how to make them!), and morocha ice cream sandwhiches which are
like toll house but a lot better.
Well that is some of the crazy great things about peru. We didnt have our
baptism, but we are going to continue to work with her. We also have a couple
prospective investigators!!!!!
I am loving the work here, and the spanish is slowly but surely coming. Thank
you for all of your prayers, i truly do feel of your love and support everyday.
Your prayers are what keep this great work moving forward!!!

Love
Elder Washburn

Dearest Family and Friends!
This last week has been a little different than our previous ones. First and
foremost no baptisms haha, but we do have one planned for this weekend! And she
has only one condition on her baptism, and it is that it will be in a river! So
my companion and i are making the 2 hour trip to the nearest river to baptize
her, pictures will be coming next week for you! We have been working with her
for a while and we are relieved and super excited to see her join the true
church.
As for our lessons, they are improving rapidly, because i dont mess them up as
much anymore haha. My spanish has grown exponentially and every one is
surprised that it has, and i also simply reply with, With God nothing is
Impossible. Which was so benevolently quoted by our Lord and Savior. And it is
true, through much fasting and prayer my spanish has been growing so fast. Im
gaining more and more confidence with it, but still far from being fully
confident with it like english. We have been blessed with some new investigators this week, especially the Reyes family. Its a family of
four that have been searching for the true church, and they found it! The wife
really wants to be baptized and so does the husband. They have only a little
problem, and once that is sorted out, then were set for salvation! We hope to
baptize them on the 7th.
Today we had the opportunity to go to the temple. Our session was in spanish,
of course, and i understood the whole thing!!! For the first time on my mission,
i just listened and didnt have to think about the words. So that just pumped me
up for the day. ANOTHER BLESSING! And to continue on with the blessing of the
gift of tongues, we were riding on the bus and the man sitting next to me asked
me why all our names were Elder. So i explained that to him, and then proceeded
with the first discussion. And i gave the whole thing without a hitch, as well
as answering his questions. He lives in a province but seemed super interested.
Hopefully the elders will find him with the information that i gave them.
The blessings have been pouring down ever since our fast last week. The Lord
truly listens and answers our prayers. We only have to be alert to the blessings
and be patient for them.
I am loving this work more and more everyday, and especially the people. This
two years will be amazing, and already 3 months has passed me by!!! So i am
dedicated to make the most out of these next 21 months.


Faithfully
Elder Washburn

Hey family!
Well i have officially had my first 5 baptisms this week!!! The family that we
baptised was not supposed to have their baptism until this weekend, but when we
were teaching them this weekend they bumped it up to this last saturday!!! So i
had the opportunity to baptize the 3 kids, and my companion the other two. It
was the best feeling to baptize them, i just cant explain the joy that i felt!
I have pictures and i will try to send them through the mail because i dont have
the chord to my camera, so please send that!!!! I did recieve sister labrums
package, and it seemed to be pretty cheap to send. The manilla envelopes are
the easiest. And if you do a bigger package, cover it with virgin mary stickers.
Anyways back to the week. I have been working execptionally hard at the
language and it has been paying off. I was able to teach a fantastic lesson
this week. We found this one lady to teach in the street, who knows a little
about the church but is super interested. When we taught her yesterday, for the first time i wasnt stumbling for words and where we were in the
lesson. I was able to give my part perfectly! I felt like a stud afterward. And
of course all the credit is do to the spirit and the continual help that i
reveice from it daily. NOthing i do would be possible without it and i couldnt
be more thankful for it. THats pretty much what my prayers are everynight and
day. lots of THANK YOUS haha.
The spanish is coming along extremely quickly because my companion and i talk a
lot, and i listen to his conversations with other people. The conversations are
hard to understand because i dont know the vocabulary but i usually get the gist
of it. That will only come with time and a lot of practice haha. But the
lessons are coming strong. MY companion and i go over the lessons one by one
everymorning and teach them to eachother. We find the key points and then teach
them. This helps me a lot cause then i can know where the lesson is without
understanding all of his words. He is truly a great help to me.
The food is pretty normal to me now. We really dont get anything crazy in the
city but in the provinces i will be sure to get a lot of crazy food. And yes
family i have eaten guinea pig, cuyo in spanish, and llama. Both of which are
actually pretty good. What helps is to not envision the animal when eating it,
just focus on the eating part haha.
My time is limited today because of other things but i will try to send pictures
of the baptism. If anyone wants to send me packages just send them to the
mission home address that is on the blog. They have no problem of getting here
and the easiest way is with manilla envelopes. But all packages are acceptable
haha.
I love you all and am very grateful that i have your support, especially on the
temple role. Thanks mom and dad.


With all my love,
Spenser

Oh what a week it has been!It has only been 5 days, but we have been hiking all
day everyday. Good thing that we bought me those timberland shoes! Ill try to
make them last, but we shall see, since we are walking all day. The ward here
is fabolous, all of the members are very humble and friendly. Whenever you walk
into a room with people you have to shake everyones hands or you insult them.
So in insence you shake a couple hundred hands a day. It is great, because they
are all intreguied with a whitey like me. They have had other white elders
here, but i am the tallest so far, and the best looking haha. Everyone always
asks where im from and are amazed at the response of Chicago, but if i tell them
Illinois, they say ¨Como, donde esta es?¨ and i just laugh a little and then
say chicago. But its still a great time.
As for the work, it was hard the first few days, not knowing where things are
and what not, but it all turned around saturday. I finally started to recognize
everything as we walked everyday, and now its all normal to me. The town is called ViÑa and is a branch
of Lima. The city is layed out the same way chicago is with all the suburb
cities and what not. The only difference is paved roads haha. The city is
great though, all of the people are friendly and you say ¨Como esta" a thousand
times a day. Another funny thing is how everyone just stares at me as my
companion and i walk by. They are just befuddled by seeing a big white kid in a
white shirt in the middle of Peru!
Tracting is a blast. After the first day my legs were shot because of all the
hills we walk. We literally spend no time in the city, rather, all of our time
in the foothills. Which are about 1000 feet or higher most of the time. And
mind you those are hills, not mountains. The mountains get up to 15000 feet.
Up in the hills though are the humblest people in the world. Roofs are tin,
walls are sheets or cardboard. The houses are all one big room, most everyone
shares a big bed, and they all couldnt be happier. That is the one thing that i love about here is the constant joy and smile
that everyone has. It sure does beat being an afluent city with no work, and
everyone is mean.
My companion elder Estrada is from peru, and has been 17 months out on his
mission. He loves the work and is a great teacher. We go through a different
principle everyday and practice teaching it. He points out the main topics of
each priniciple, a question, and then a commitment. It helps so much, because
he helps with my spanish as well. Everytime we teach he just complements me on
my spanish even though i know that it sounded pretty bad haha. We teach at
least 4 lessons a day, and always dont get home until 9. Working all day
everyday is great, and the time just seems to disappear. Hopefully not too
fast! But fast enough to the point i know the language and dont have a problem
communicating with people. Other than the language i have no problems here.
The food is great, our pensionista is a return missionary and cooks some great food. We have tons of rice, chicken, and fish. With lots of fruit at
every meal. Breakfast is usually a milk that has some kind of flavor and is
hot, plus bread. Dont worry mom, your cooking is still vastly superior and cant
wait to have lots of it when i get back!
Well family and friends, that has been my week so far. I have loved everymoment
of my time here so far, and am looking forward to my challenges in other places.
Ill try to get pictures up again, but that all depends on the internet. I love
you all and am very grateful for your prayers.

Love
Elder Washburn

Sorry i cant write a long letter this week. I am only allowed to write for a
couple minutes. I have arrived at my new and FIRST area, Canto Grande and more
specifically Viña. My new companion is Elder Estrada, he is a native from
Piura and has been out for 17 months. He is a small guy, but makes up for it
with his spirit and work ethic. He also helps me a lot with my spanish. It must
be a little frustrating for him, but he doesn´t show it and just helps anyway
that he can. He will help me grow a ton, and im thankful that i recieved such a
great companion as my trainer. My new preparation days are mondays, so i will
be sure to write a big letter for everyone once monday comes around. Also i
cant write anyone else with my email account anymore, so if anyone sends me an
email, i can only send a hand written letter back. Or i will just have you,
parents, forward letters for me. Ill try to respond to all the letters but i
dont have a ton of time anymore. My first day was a little hard, i had my ten
minutes of pity and then moved on to the bigger and better things of this great
work. I am already starting to lose myself in the work and i am loving it.
Once again sorry for the short letter, but i will make up for it next week. I
love you all, and am so thankful for all of your letters!

Today marks 7 weeks in the MTC and out in the field. And to think that in only
two weeks in will be out in th field getting lost in spanish haha. This last
week has been one to remember forever. So thank goodness for journals!
Friday was awesome because we got new teachers. I love my old ones and see them
all the time, but i always love to see the new perspective on how to teach the
people. And when you combine all of them, you can become the best missionary
ever! Elder Quispe and I have become pretty close, mostly becasuse i can speak
with him! He is from bolivia, 20 and is pretty wise about the gospel. He was
brought up in the church and loves to teach. We had our first lesson today, he
was a little shaky but was able to teach the most of it. Amazingly i teach
practically the whole lesson! I was suprised at how much spanish i have learned
here in 3 weeks. When the new elders showed up, and couldnt speak a word, it
reminded me of my first week. But now i can freely talk to all the elders,
american or latin! I LOVE TO SPEAK SPANISH NOW!!!
Saturday was a great day of proselyting. We had almost no success but i did have
two great experiences. The first came when we were trying to contact a family
and couldnt seem to find them. Then a woman came running up to us, telling us
that we had to come with here and bless her dad who was in the Hospital. We
accepted and made our way to the hospital. There we waited to enter into the ICU
to bless him. Another woman was there and asked us to bless her mom too, her mom
is a member but the woman was not. After 45 mins of waiting and EXTREME praying,
we went in to give him a blessing. And amazingly enough, Elder Spendlove and I
gave the whole ordinance in spanish! I annointed and he blessed, and i was
stunned at the fluency of our spanish. The Lord really blessed us at that
moment, so we could bless this man. Afterwards we went to the other woman and i
blessed her this time. I said a MEGA prayer, and then proceeded to bless her. My
mind was cleared and all the spanish seemed to flow out of me. I didnt speak it perfectly but the words i did know came
out in perfect tense. I was so grateful that i recieved such a strong guidance,
and was able to help this sister. I know that both of them will return to full
strenght shortly. After that we had lunch and no success tracting haha. We did
teach a small lesson, but nothing compared to the expérience in the hopsital.
Sunday was another great day to recharge and relax. I am no longer District
leader, so i dont have to go to all those meetings. Instead i nap, YAY!!! Elder
Wengren has been showing me some great sowing techniques. His dad does all that
stuff for his job, and taught elder wengren too. He is not as good as you mom so
dont worry :). Other than that it was a normal sunday.
Monday was a very long day of classes. Monday and friday are our longest days in
class. But i do love my classes, because of our great teachers and all the
knowledge that they have to expound unto us. Also we are reveiwing all of the
spanish principles again, so i should have them all mastered soon. And then go into the field and
realize that i know nothing haha. Oh the cruel irony. That night though we did
get to tell the new americans about our saturday proselyting. All the new elders
told us afterwards that they cant wait to get out there. I dont think they
realize that everyone only speaks spanish! So that will be funny when they
realize that. Cause our stories are all in english and when we say ¨and so and
so said this¨ it was actually in spanish. But i know that they will get help
from the Man who knows it all.
Im sorry this weeks letter is a little short, but it was because i didnt write
until last thursday! So this next week will be a long good one.
I love this work, and have gained a greater appreciation for the priesthood and
the power it holds. I have recommitted myself to strict obedience and being
worthy to hold such a marvelous power. I know that this church is the Lords
church, and no other one can say that. Christ called Joseph Smith to restore the gospel, and only he had the keys to it. I love you all, and love to
hear your letters. They are always a great help to me!


Your elder,
Spenser

Hey Everybody!
Things have been going by so fast lately. To think that exactly 7 days from now
i will be out in the country of Peru not understanding anyone haha. I do feel
that i could add my thoughts and comments to the lessons, but very far from
actually giving a lesson or a talk in spanish. Hopefully they dont do that to me
when i get there, it would be very embarrassing for me! By the way, Elder
Christopherson is here! And i have already had the chance to meet him once! He
is giving a talk to us tonight, so i am pumped to get a talk from an apostle!
All the missionaries that are in the city are coming as well, so there will be a
ton of missionaries there. As well as all the mission presidents, hopefully i
can meet mine and get to know him a little before next week. Now to my week.
Wednesday: Classes are great, but we tend to review the same principles over and
over again. But if i was perfect at teaching then i would complain, and since
im not i am grateful to get these main teaching principles down. One really funny thing did happen. We were in the lab doing TALL, working
on commands, when Elder Wengren thought it would be funny to turn off my TALL in
the middle of a lesson. So i in turn logged off his computer. So he uped me
one more time and turned off my computer. I waited patiently to strike and went
for his side with a pinch. He tried to evade from me and ended up falling
straight backwards over his chair! It was the whole arms flailing, wide eyes,
slow motion fall. We couldnt stop laughing for at least 20 mins. Oh gosh was
it funny. Another great thing happned that morning, the sun was out! I know it
sounds dumb but we hardly see the sun, and it was even more of a miracle to see
it all day!
Thursday: very normal beggining, except when we were about to have companionship
study Pres. Groberg wanted to have a big meeting about companionship study and
how to have it. I thought it was a waste of time because my companion and i had
3 situations to teach that day and we werent prepared for any of them. After the meeting we had our first lesson, and it turned out to
be our best lesson yet. Before we stuck to our strict plan, but this time we
just said what the spirit wanted and just murdered the lesson. The other three
turned out the same way too. So that was a blessing in disguise.
Friday: a very long day of classes. Not to mention i started to have some bowel
troubles so that added onto the trouble of the day. I was able to finish my
lesson plans for lesson 3 which left me with only lesson 4 to do, so i was happy
with that. But once again, another long friday.
Saturday: I woke up hoping to be able to go proselyting today, but my bowel
problems prevented my from doing so. I had to stay at the capilla all day with
Elder Powell. We had fun playing the piano and studying all day. We did get to
go out for a little bit proselyte and we had two people say that they were going
to church! In other words, my day wasnt really foiled. I was able to finish all
my lesson plans, and bring two people to church even though i had my bathroom problem.
Sunday: I gave my first talk in total spanish! It actually went a lot better
than i had planned it to be. I stunned myself once again with all the spanish
that i actually knew. I asked my companion how the spanish was, and he said
that i didnt make any grammatical errors! That was a big pump up for me because
i have been working hard on my grammer. Sunday was just a relax day after that.
Monday: Elder Christopherson showed up today and i was able to meet him! That
was my highlight. Class class class, and lots and lots of spanish to learn.
Not to mention how to teach haha
Tuesday: Usually they are our Preparation day, but since we are getting the
fireside with Elder Christopherson wednesday, they pushed it back a day. I
finally have been able to run and play a little soccer. I sprained my ankle
really bad about a week and a half ago, and its finally coming around again. I
cant treat it here because they dont know what ice is, so that was a big problem. But it did keep me from getting too roudy in the games so its a
blessing. The best part about tuesday was the desert that night. We had a game
going a while ago where we tried to guess what day we would get certain
desserts, and the winner got some of everyone elses. Well no one guessed last
nights right, but it was the best dessert that they give us here. CHURROS!!! OH
MY are they delicious. I was able to get two full ones, which is a feat within
itself. Afterwards i was a little sick from all the sugar, but it was a good
sick because it was from a churro.
Well gang, one more week and my letters will become more interesting. No more
will my days be classes, but bringing people into the Church and saving souls.
Hey mom, im not sure about the packages, if you send them direct i think they
cost a little more, but some people say that it isnt that bad. If you send them
to where i have to pick them up at customs then its cheaper, but they go through
it. Im not sure that i will need anything yet, but i will talk to other elders when im out in the field to find out
anything. I think money in my account will be the easiest and safest way to do
things. I love you all and pray for you continually.

Love,
Elder Washburn

What another great week! It was very eventful and full of newly learned things.
Last Thursday it was a pretty normal day, but my companion and I did have
companion inventory, which is where you two sit down and just talk about any
problems you have and all the goods things of the other companion. We started
off with all the good things and i gave him quite a few, and he gave me some as
well. But when we talked about the stuff we didnt like, we had nothing to say!
He truly was a great companion. He did bring up one thing though that had been
on his mind, and that was he felt inadequite because i knew so much about the
Gospel and he doesnt know much at all. He actually hasnt read the Book of
Mormon! But once he told me this i just let the spirit guide our conversation. I
reassured him that with time we would become mush wiser than me, and that
through his efforts he would be able to be the missionary that the Lord needs
him to be. I also reminded him that the Lord was the one that called him, and he
would prepare a way for him to achieve his goals on his mission. He felt a lot better that
day and went back to his happy go lucky self. Later that day during our class
period, all of our latin companions came into our room and sang Love One Another
in spanish and then in enlgish. It was really touching to see them all do that.
The even greater thing is that they truly do love us. That is one thing these
latinos do best is love and trust everyone that they meet. It is their greatest
attribute in my opinion.
Friday was very similar to almost all the other days, agenda wise. We had our
lessons and our classes, but at the end of the day Hermana Silva had us do
something a little different. She gathered us up all in a circle and told us to
tell her, and everyone us, about our families. We all had our turn one by one,
and it was fantastic to see the love that everyone has for their families. We
related experiences of driving our parents mad, i had an innumerable amount
haha, and then talked about how our parents still loved us even though we messed up. I especially gained a greater appreciation for
you guys, the constant support helps so much, plus all the insight since so many
of you have served missions. Families are, without a doubt, ordained of God and
the most important unit in the world and heaven.
Saturday and Sunday were, as you know was conference, and we were lucky enough
to get to watch it in English! But our next conference will be in spanish, and i
hope i will understand it haha. Anyways, i went into this conference with
questions i had, mostly about ways to improve myself for missionary work. And i
can honestly say that they were all answered through out this weekend.
Absolutely stunnig! One of my favorite talks was the one about us! An apostle
from the presidency here, talked about us and our saturdays that we go out and
proselyte! That was awesome, and then Presient Eyrings talk that said, If your
learning a new language, In a foreign MTC! We were all dying when he said that!
Sunday was also just as amazing. Conference means so much more now that i am on a mission, i am trying to suck
everything out of all the talks and find the hidden meanings. So i am looking
forward to the next one.
Monday was an uneventful day, as well as Tuesday. Sorry, but that is the MTC for
you haha.
Wednesday is another story though! I unfortunately had to say good byr to Elder
Montoya because he with all the Latins and older whiteys left for their missions
that morning. We all waved good bye as they rode off in the bus. After that
little sad note came the day we had been waiting for all week! We got to Tour
Lima!! We drove around and saw all the monuments, the beaches and downtown. We
only got half the day though, but we made the most out of it. I have a bunch of
pictures and videos, so you have something to look forward to! Oh and i did buy
some sweet llama gear, it was of course necessary haha. Dont worry i will buy
everyone some before i get back to america. We can be the Llama family!
Anyways, i love you and am sorry that my letter is late. Be sure to post this week and last week on the blog as soon as you
get it! I love you all and pray for you all day long!

Elder Washburn

Sorry about lasts weeks lame letter, we had an emial natzie try to cut down our
time to fifteen minutes. So i will make up with it this week.
Wednesday was a great day because of the great turn around that i had. We have
to teach lessons to fake families everyday, and it really helps to give those
whole lessons in spanish. But i was amazed with how much i actually contributed
to the lesson this week. Usually i share a scripture and bear my testimony, but
this week my companion has had me do ALL the talking in the lessons. My spanish
has picked up from it, and i am so thankful for the hard times at first beacuse
they have forced me to work harder and try to accomplish this language even
faster. We usually give two lessons in one day, and the night one was not
looking too good for me. I was super tired and didnt feel like teaching, but
then a miracle occurred. I prayed for help and recieved it instantly! I gave
pretty much the whole lesson in spanish and understood what my companion and the
other elders were saying. It was one of those moments where you feel just amazing. Actually
those moments have been happening a lot while i have been here. Everytime i
have taught someone i can feel the divine help make sure that i say the correct
things and get my point across. I cannot begin to express the love i have felt
for the saviour these last few weeks. Everynight i pray i feel the spirit guide
and help me. I only wish that i could put into words the gratitude that i feel
for my saviour and his atonement. Knowing that he knows my frustration and
knows exactly how i feel makes it so easy to pray to Him and just pour out my
heart. It is just incomprehensible to say the least.
Thursday marked the one week point in Peru. And also the 1 month in the MTC.
It is crazy to believe that the time is already gone, not to mention everyday
feels like that. I try more earnestly to make more out of the days, so i dont
feel like anything is wasted. I am also setting goals and things that i want to
accomplish on my mission, and none of them include baptisms or conversions.
Friday was a very normal go to class, eat, and sleep type day. But with each
and everyone of these passing days i learn that much more spanish. But along
with the spanish we have been learning a TON about how to teach the people here.
The insight from my teachers has been a great success, because they both have
served here on their missions.
Saturday has been the greatest day of my mission. We went trackting! And
teaching! So we got on a bus and drove for about an hour to a tiny branch. And
while we were there we went with a member to new converts, less actives, non
members alike and taught them the gospel. I was also humbled to the max. We
went to the poorest part of Lima, where floors were a luxury, not to mention
chairs and beds. Also, none of the houses we visited had solid roofs, most were
non existent or tim sheets of metal. I have never seen such poorness, yet so
much happiness. Not one of the kids had a scowl on their face, they were playing games and loving life. Growing up in affluent areas has been nice, but
i needed to see the world for what it really is. One thing that i want to learn
from these people is how they are so happy with so little. They could care less
about wordly goods, and focus on their families and things of that sort. If i
was only to learn how they are so happy with so little on my mission, then i
dont think that i would have wasted 2 years. These people are remarkable.
Unfortunately i dont have any stories to tell about my teaching because i said
so little and we didnt see any crazy people. But we did see a lot of dogs and
it made me miss piper lol.
Sunday was another great sunday. It really helped me to recharge and get ready
for this week. Monday was also another kick back day with not much.
Today we had to go to Interpol and finish our IDs and what not. But we did go to
a gas station afterwards and get a TON of american candy. There is no such
thing as sugar in the food here, it is all pretty bland not to mention we dont know what it is. So mom thats why some money is already
gone, but not too much. I did sell a lot to my district and they officially love
me because of it haha.
Well that is my letter. I love you all so very much, and i did recieve the hand
written letters, and i love them. I will keep them with me my whole mission.
You guys are incredible. Thank you to Monique and brandon, Mckay tingey, the
Chapmans, and everyone else that wrote. I am sorry that i cant send you
individual letters, but yours are amazing and have helped me so much. I love
you all so immensly.


Your Missionary,
Elder Washburn

This week has been the hardest week for me to date. I did not enjoy the plane
ride that much and settling here was pretty hard. But some miraculous things
happened to change my perspective back to the people.
Classes have been hard since they only speak spanish, and some of the guys just
answer all the question instead of letting us try. We do have two guys that are
really good at spanish and translate what are teachers say for us. It helps but
i need to try harder to just try and figure it out. But i do love my teachers,
Hermana Narcisco and Hermana Silva, both little Peruvians that served there
missions here. Not to mention they speak 0 enlgish and what not. But the
classes are still fun cause its just a bunch of us whiteys lol. In the classes
we arent learning a lot about the gospel but mostly reviewing our first 3 weeks
but in spanish. I do enjoy the language use but would like to learn more about
the gospel. I am looking for the good in all the classes and trying to learn
something new in each of them. The time we spend in personal study though is only an hour! In provo
we had at least 4 hours a day, and now its cut down to nothing, so i am pretty
bumed about that.
The food here is very...............unusual. The food doesnt really have much
of a taste to it, but we eat it anyways. Not to mention we never ask about what
we are eating. I do believe that its horse though........
The MTC is the great though, its brand new and everything is super clean. The
showers are thousand times better and the soccer field is the nicest thing here.
The only set back is no bookstore so i have to get everything i need through the
presidents wife. It has only been a binder though, so i havent spent any money.
I am trying to save it for the American food that i am going to devour when i
get out of here, cause i NEED IT!!!! And the man purse im going to
buy..........and the llama, expect it in the mail.
Back to the hard times to the good times though. Today we went to the temple
and had a great session, the guy that was introducing me at the you know was super loud so i kept
bumping to make him quieter. He didnt appreciate it but it was alright. But the
miracle was in the the cel room. I prayed for about 20 mins and recieved all
the help i needed. I was extremely home sick the first week and was really
frustrated with the language, but the temple reversed that. I was filled with
the Spirit and knew that i could do this and become the missionary that the lord
needs me to be. And the support from you guys has been awesome, so THANK YOU!
I know i can do this; learn spanish, preach the gospel, and convert hundreds to
this great gospel. I know that i am where i need to be and i will immensly
blessed because of it. Not to mention i pray for those blessings for you
everynight. I love you all and cant wait to get out into the field.

With Great Love,
Spenser

Hey Familia!
I made it alive to Peru even though the flight was EXTREMELY LONG. The first one
was really easy so i just slept the first part and then read my BOM the rest of
the time. It was a really boring flight. Then we were in Atlanta for 2 hours and
just waited until we got on our plane for Miami. I got to know some of the
Elders better that were heading to Peru. But there are only 3 others that are
headed to my mission, and we all are terrible at Spanish. Go figure.
My flight to Miami was actually pretty enjoyable. I sat next to a Mr. Diaz and
we just talked about stuff the whole ride. That was the quickest 2 hour flight i
have ever had. We talked about food, countries, intersests, and just everything
else really. He is a airline pilot that flies freight all around the world and
he had some great stories to tell. He flies all around the world and gets to
experience all the different types of cultures. I am kinda jealous of him.
After that flight we had the longest 5 hour wait ever! Our flight was delayed for about 20 mins, so we left miami at 2 a.m. To help pass the time we
all just talked and got to know one another better, and talking to you guys was
the highlight of the night!
The flight wasn`t too bad, but i wished that i was in First Class cause they got
the bed seats. And i got stuck with a seat in the middle of the plane, no me
gusta. But i did talk to this Peruvian man for most of the flight. He asked me
a couple questions about doctrine but then wouldn`t listen to my responses. It
was super frustrating, so eventually i just went to sleep. It was really
frustrating that he thought he knew everything but then would say that we need
to learn stuff from everyone. He was super hypocritical about most of the
stuff. But its bound to happen, and im sure that i will find more people just
like him out in the field. It was super tempting to watch movies or play games
when i was on the flight. The chair was so uncomfortable that sleeping was out
of the option. But eventually i got my pilferated sleep. We landed in Peru and went through all the immigrations stuff and got
our bags and what not. We then hopped on the bus and came here, to the MTC.
Its a brand new building and really neat and clean. And the whole place is
super small, so it will be hard to get lost.
Well im running off 5 hours of sleep and no food, so im pretty much going crazy.
Ill be sure to write a much better letter next week, when im not loosing my mind
haha.

Love,
Spenser

HEY FAMILY!!!
This last week has been a blast. Last wednesday was Hermana Luke's BDAY so we
decorated the room with streamers and balloons and her favorite candy. She
really liked it and was happy that we did something for her. And her companions
Hermana Earl, and Hermana Aagard wrote us thank you notes for what we did. I
did some crazy stuff with the balloons afterwards that night. I grabbed 3 of
them and stuck them inbetween my legs and had my companion pop them. It felt
really weird but everyone was laughing because i was talking spanish gibberish
the entire time. And spanish by the way is coming along amazingly, and only due
to the fact the Lord has blessed me with it. We all know what happened when i
tried to learn it without the Lord's help. FAIL! But im really happy to be
picking up the language so fast. I will def need it for when i head out to
Peru, cause it will be all spanish all the time. I will most likely forget
english, so dont feel sad dad when i can only talk to mom for a while when you guys come pick me up haha. It's not because i dont love you, just the fact
that im retarded and cant remember more than one language at a time.
Thursday equals the longest day of classes for us. We literally are in class
when we don't eat and that's it. SOOOOO LOOOONNNNNNGGGGG!!!!!! But definitely
necessary to learn all this stuff in such a short period of time. Our district
also really bonds during that time. We crack jokes and play assorted spiritual
games with one another. But what i love the most are the super deep gospel
conversations that we get into. We have talked about the second coming, how the
earth was created, how we will create worlds and different things like that. It
is absolutely amazing to go so deep into doctrine and try to sort out the
mysteries of God. Afterwards my head hurts though lol, most likely from the
Lord trying to keep us from learning too much haha.
Fridays are pretty fun, but still very similar to thursdays. Long hours of
class and what not. But something did happen that was pretty funny. Elder Manders is this really tall, and really
smart elder from CA. Anyways, he was sitting on the toilet when i threw a wet
paper towel over the stall and almost hit him. Afterwards he threatened my life
in a really funny way. Its funny cause he doesn't mean it and we all make
threats to eachother all the time anyways. Well, during class he wrote "There
will be Consequences" on a piece of paper and showed it to me. I couldn't stop
laughing for the next 10 mins. The look on his face was priceless. But that
pretty much sums up friday.
Saturday.............nothing happned, sorry
Sunday!!! A fast sunday was just what i needed. Elder Green and I had been
having trouble teaching with the spirit, so we fasted to learn how to teach by
the spirit, and to help us with the language and the gospel. We were
immediately blessed the next day, but i will get to that shortly. We also got
to watch the Joseph Smith movie that night after a little devotional. That
movie is always such a strong testimony builder, and after we watched the movie was when i got the
answer to my question of how to teach by the spirit. We had not been BEARING
our testimonies, rather we had been reciting them. We were using the strength
of our testimonies to their fullest and letting people know how much we love the
gospel.
Monday was when we put the answer to our question into action. We taught the
Elders that had shown up the wednesday before the First Discussion. The first
principle in spanish, and then the rest in english. Our spanish was a little
shaky, but we had only learned to teach it in spanish a few minutes earlier. But
after the spanish part, and during our testimonies throughout, the spirit was SO
strong. The new elders told us afterwards that it was one of the most powerful
lessons they had experienced. That was a great thing to hear for us. We really
needed to know that all our hard work had really payed off. AND IT HAD!!!
Tuesday was the best day of the MTC so far. Classes and everything were normal but it wasn't until the devotional, did it become amazing. Pres.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf and his wife came to speak to us. It was the best talk that
i have ever heard. I will give you some of the highlights of his talk that
stood out to me. The First being asking the question are we on the Lord's side
and NOT is the Lord on my side. It is us that ask him for guidance everyday,
and not us telling thim. We are asking him where and what to teach, and not the
other way around. The next big thing was, don't go through your mission with
one pair of shoes. I plan on wearing at least 3 or 4 pairs of shoes to death
out on my mission. No person should go untaught while i am out there. So be
prepared to send me some shoes in the near future. And lastly, 4th Floor Last
Door. The conversion story of his wife should be the motto of all missionaries.
Go to the very last door and leave no one untaught. I left that talk with new
vigor to not waste anytime on my mission. Heck, it's not my time anyways.
Well that is it for me. I love you all immensely and pray for you everynight. I
also feel your love and encouragment throughout the day. It is what keeps me
going.

Love,
Elder Washburn

My Farewell Talk

This is my last talk that i gave before heading out into the mission field on August 27, 2008. 

Farewell Talk – The Role of Prayer in True Conversion

 

            Good morning brothers and sisters. I am Spenser Washburn, and I will be serving a full time mission in the Lima East Peru Mission.  There I will spread the Gospel for two years, and hopefully find success.

            But let me start off with a scripture. Doctrine and Covenants 10:5; Pray always that ye may come off conqueror, yea, that you do conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.  See Sister Shrek, I did learn something in seminary. And you thought that I just slept the whole time…

            Jokes aside, there is a very important principle here. As long as we pray, Satan can have no hold of our hearts. To think, that Satan could be bound by our prayers.  Now this does not mean to spend all day and night on our knees in supplication to the Lord, rather we must have a prayer in our hearts. Alma 34:27 states “Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare”.  As we read, our prayers do not have to be audible during the day; we can constantly have a prayer in our hearts.  If our hearts are full of prayer, then there shall be no room for Satan, and the temptations that he wishes to bind us with.

            Prayer is a very important piece our religion. It was prayer that allowed a young man to be visited by our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  It is the means of our conversation with the Lord, and the gateway between heaven and this Earth.  But a great role of prayer is in the conversion process.

            Conversion to the Gospel is an act that all members of the church must take upon themselves.  When you become converted it includes a change in behavior, but it goes beyond behavior, it is a change of our very nature.  We all have heard of one persons or another’s conversion story.  Some have given up gambling, smoking, drinking, vulgar language, and many other things.  Normally it is extremely hard to quit any of these activities. A smoker, on average, will try to quite at least 11 times before they are successful.  Yet many converts of the church can stop smoking after they receive their conversion.  How is this possible?  It is that very change in nature when we submit our wills to the Father. 

            According to “True To The Faith”, “although conversion is miraculous and life changing, it is a quiet miracle. Angelic visitations and other spectacular occurrences do not bring conversion. Even Alma, who saw an angel, became converted only after he "fasted and prayed many days" for a witness of the truth.”

            Rarely are there instances of angels appearing to men, telling them to repent and become converted unto the Gospel.  Instead it is a process that includes much effort on our side.  Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated; “Gaining a testimony and becoming converted begins with study and prayer, then living the gospel with patience and persistence and inviting and waiting upon the Spirit.” A person cannot expect to come to know the truth of the Gospel without taking the action upon themselves as it says in Moroni 10:4; “I would exhort you to that ye would as God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ.”  Prayer is the only way that the Spirit will communicate the truth unto us.  Not climbing a mountain, or running a marathon, rather an act that requires you to fall to your knees and humble yourself.

            Let me explain the importance of prayer in conversion in another fashion.  To become converted to the gospel is similar to a safe.  The grand knowledge of the Gospel is inside a grand vault.  Filled with the precious truth and mysteries of our Heavenly Father.  All we need to do, is use our key to open the vault and let those blessings be poured out upon us.  This is similar to conversion because the key that is needed to open the safe is prayer.  Everyone has the ability to open the safe, but they don’t realize it.  We must be the ones to open the safe.  Our Heavenly Father won’t be the one to do it for us. We must use our agency for good, and be willing to search for the truth.  The Bible Dictionary explains, “The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them.”  All blessings are waiting for us, and it is only by our act of prayer do we receive them.

            As you pray, the Spirit makes manifest the truth of the Gospel.  This can be a feeling like “the burning of your bosom”, or a thought that comes to mind.  But one way or another it is the Spirit and ONLY the Spirit that will convey this message. Doctrine and Covenants 50:19-20 states; “And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he not receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? If it be some other way it is not of God.” It is also stated in section 5 verse 16.  “And behold, whosoever believeth on my words, them will I visit with the manifestation of my Spirit.”  This Spirit of truth, or manifestation of the Lords spirits, is also known as the Holy Ghost.  And he reveals unto us the truth, as we so ask for it.  The Holy Ghost does not give witness of the Gospel to random people at undetermined intervals. Rather, he waits for the broken heart and contrite spirit that is ready to listen to his very small voice.

            The setting of prayer is just as important as the action of prayer.  The middle of a mall or restaurant is no place to pour out your heart.  First of all, it’s kind of embarrassing and secondly, the Spirit does not shop or dine out very much.  But he does like quiet closets, or spaces.  He is very shy and delights in one on one time with each and every one of us.  Rarely he tolerates interruptions or someone with little time to pray.  We should specifically designate at least an hour to spend time with him.  Personally it was an hour and a half.  For others it could be a matter of minutes, but whatever the time is, make sure you have enough of it.  There is no excuse for not having time to find out if this is the Lord’s work or not.  It should be your highest priority, and of utmost need.  Why stop your progression because a new episode of ER is on?  Are you truly placing a television show in front of the Lord?  It is my challenge to everyone here that has not received a witness, to not procrastinate it any longer.

            I promise that as you take Moroni’s challenge here to stated, that the Lord WILL answer your prayers.  Elder Robert K. Dellenbach of the Seventy said; “Surely the Lord would not ask us to pray if He did not intend to answer our prayers. “He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6).”

            Let me leave you with my conversion story and my testimony of this Gospel. I know that this Gospel is true. I know this without an inkling of doubt. I know that my Father in Heaven lives, and has called me to a place that i am most needed.  I know that Christ lives, and that he died for me that i might be able to return and live with him once again.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet this day, and was called by God to be our prophet.  I know that Joseph Smith prayed to our Heavenly Father and received an answer to his prayer, that eventually became the restoration of the new and everlasting gospel. I know all of these things are true, and challenge you to know for yourself.