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