Hey fam and friends!
This week has been an interesting one for us down here in Peru. I have recieved that package mom so thanks a ton! As for some of the highlights here, we went to the temple again! It is my second time in only three weeks, so i felt very blessed to go again and so quickly. This time i did do a session and it was awesome. I had a lot of questions answered and a lot of strength given from on high. It is a great blessing to have a temple in your mission, i feel sorry for those that dont have one and miss out on these great opportunites to replenish your spiritual strength.
Another interesting thing is going on in my life. I have baby kidney stones! So turns out that all of that rice can get ya haha. They are only little baby ones but i have fallen to te knees a couple times in pain. Things are going much better now because i drink about 2 liters of water everyday, so they should be gone in about 2 weeks. I was so relieved to find out that it wasnt the vericroseseal one more time, and only kidney stones. So maddy, we can relate on the whole kidney stone level haha. But im lucky and they arent as big as yours were, I WIN!
I also had a very good experience this week with a member here. She is a convert of one year and has had the worst of times in her life. She has been robbed many times of a lot of money and a car that she purchased. But recently we went to her house and found here crying because someone had stolen from her workplace all the money and some things that she had there. She was telling us that sometimes the things that go wrong in our lives are almost unbearable, and we lose the faith sometimes. My companion and i were silent for the longest time because we did not know what to say. But i prayed and recieved the inspiration to tell her about the house fire that we had. I told her the story and told her the part that was most important. How the first thing that you did, mom and dad, was call us and find out if we were safe. The house was only little thing compared to the safety of your family. We cried together for a little bit and then she told me after a little pause how much she needed to hear that. She said that the elders always have the right thing to say. All i could think of at that time was the thanks i had for the spirit and of the experiences i have had in my life. Many times we think, why does this happen to me? I am a good person but why do bad things happen to me? The answer is simple. We have experiences in this life so that we succour the people around us. The Lord fords us these opporutnities so that we can be like him. Let us not forget that he has suffered it all, and so merciful that he allows to experience that misery in our lives so that we can be like him in comforting those that need counsel. We become those saviors for these people. Many times i have seen my bad experiences help someone else in their life. Be thankful for the hard times and pray for the strength to endure them and learn from them. Our sorrows are to help those around us, be sure to be ready to help the feeble knees and raise the fallen hands.
The church is true, and i know that with a surety. I have learned a great deal this week and will never forget these experiences. I am almost at the point where i am lost in the work once again and i am loving it. I love you all very much and pray for your benefit.

Elder Washburn