FHE, THROWING EGGS, AND OTHER GOOD STUFF

Family!!!

First off ... HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!! And happy end of school (almost) Lovey! Have a superb summer break! And Justin and Emily - you two are just too cute. Parks and Cass - Hope your honeymoon and adorable marriage went SUPERB! Seriously, I teared up seeing the pics of you guys! LOVE YOU!! And Cass you are gorgeous! CHARITON - I cannot believe you saw one of my favorite people in the world. I LOVE YOU LINDS!!! Tell her I say hi! 

Oh and I am so thrilled you got my little package! I LOVE YOU ALL and love hearing that you are all doing great!! Still haven´t received your package mama, but I think this week it should arrive. 

This week flew by - AGAIN!! I seriously cannot even believe that we are almost in JUNE! This year is cruising by. So here is how my week went:

First, we had a FHE with Jimmy and his fam! A few ward members also showed up, and we had a great time playing games and eating Jell-o for dessert - made by our good pal Jimmy! We taught a lesson about Prayer, and I just about choked up in tears as I was ending the lesson with my testimony. I love the incredible opportunity we have to pray to our Heavenly Father. That truly is such an incredible gift we have. In my mish, there has been a lot of ups and downs, but prayer has been such a source of strength for me. 

Also, we had another FHE and threw a little fiesta for Elder Haws for his birthday! The tradition here is for your birthday they throw eggs at you! HA! It´s way too great! I had no idea what was happening when everyone began to throw eggs at him, it´s terrible but so hilarious! He loved it!

Oh and the Family Alcalde continue to progress! We finished teaching the Restoration, and they took it really well! I always get the nerves when I teach that lesson because it can be hard for people to understand at times, but it honestly went so well! I think I was praying the entire lesson in my head that they would understand and feel the truth of what we were teaching. Also, we talked about marriage too. They understand that they need to get married, but told us they are going to talk about it together. But the mom was just beaming the whole time, and her husband too! And their kids want them to get married too! We were so glad that they took it well! We are going to set goals with them tonight. 

But the bummer of the week no one came to church Sunday. Grabiel, Family Alcalde, and our other investigators all said they would come, but no one showed up! We were really bummed. But we know that everything happens for a reason, and are crossing our fingers for next week! 

Grabiel told us this week that he wants to be baptized, and he feels that it´s true. But it is so hard to change the religion of his family, and he doesn´t want them to judge him. That’s the only thing holding him back now! Please keep him in your prayers. But he has been doing great and continues to progress!

There is a lot of excitement here about the temple in Trujillo. Trujillo is about 5 hours from Piura, and the members are thrilled to have a temple so close! Everyone has been going to the puertas abiertas these last few weeks, and a bunch of members spoke about it in church Sunday! And many have said that the prophet is going to come to dedicate the temple in 21 de Junio. It really is an incredible time for the church in Peru! They now have 2 temples! And the youth from our stake are going to dance in the cultural celebration for the temple. It´s so wonderful!

This last Sunday our Bishop shared something in Sacrament Meeting that really hit me hard. He quoted Boyd K. Packer and said - If we truly understand what we are learning, we should see changes in our life every day. That´s not the exact quote, but it was something like that! He went on to say that if we really understand the gospel, we should constantly be changing, improving. We are working for exaltation, and that is not an easy goal. It requires constant changes, and a desire to improve every day! And I just loved that!! 

Well, I LOVE YOU ALL!! Tell Emily Nelson I love her to death, and she is incredible, and Jentry and Rachel too!! Oh and tell MADS I love her so so much!!

Thank you a million times for all of your support! Until next week!

SILTW (Something I learned this week) - Life is so much easier if we are willing to give up our bad habits, and do good. 

SIGF (Something I am grateful for) - Joseph Smith. His faith and courage to ask God for the truth is an incredible example to me! Thanks to a 14 year old boy we have the true and restored church of Jesus Christ. 

XOXO, Hermana Shumway

I wore my nametag out and had to get a new one

Another picture from our service project for Hmno. Fidel

Here he is holding one of his guinea pigs 

 Painting the outside of his home - it was so great!

He loved our great work and gave it a successful thumbs up

Ready to go preach the gospel - let's do this!

FHE with Jimmy and others he invited to join us

Two of the little girls that I love so much - aren't they adorable?!!

NOCHE DE CINE, PAINTING, AND KNOCKING DOORS

(EMAIL SENT MAY 18, 2015)

FAM,

First off -- PARKER AND CASS -- you two beautiful people are adorable!!! Loved seeing pics from the wedding! PLEASSEEEE keep them coming!!! I seriously just love you guys and hope your incredible day was perfect ... with rain and all!

This week I wanted to start with a quote THAT I LOVE (thanks mama):

"Do something that is hard each day and smile about it."

Isn't that just superb. If we applied this phrase everyday we would run out of things to be mad or frustrated about. We would learn to look at everything in such a positive way. Definitely am trying to apply this to my mish!! 

We had transfers today. And my compiii and I are sticking together for another transfer. This was such a blessing for us, because we are seeing many changes in our area, and we still have so much to do! 

This P-Day we made good ole' Krusteaz Pancakes with the elders from our ward, and the hermanas that live above us. It was a pretty laid back P-Day, but so much fun! I sent a few pics. 

This week we had a ward mission activity. It was called NOCHE DE CINE. And it was a real hit! We watched the movie Meet the Mormons (If you haven't seen it ... see it ... it´s incredible) and our focus was to introduce the world to who we really are and what we believe! And so many investigators came! Even a group of teenage boys that we randomly contacted in the street as they were playing soccer. And our investigator family - Family Alcalde - came too! THEY LOVED IT. So much that they... CAME TO CHURCH SUNDAY. Can I just say that seeing them in church was such an incredible blessing!!! They told us that they probably wouldn't be able to come, but they surprised us and came, and stayed for ALL 3 HOURS. And the ward members were superb too and helped take them to all of their classes. It was incredible. And tonight we have a Family Home Evening planned with them! The only trial with them is they aren't married. But tonight we are going to put a huge emphasis on marriage and also a little about the Book of Mormon - two things SUPER DUPER important. I'll let you know how it goes!

Our lessons with Grabiel didn't go too great this week. His friends are telling him a lot of bad things about the church, and don't want him to listen to us, so this week he has a been a little distant. It is so hard because he was progressing SO MUCH, and had a baptismal date this last Sunday. But we aren't giving up. We are praying that he will receive an answer to his prayers.

Also this week we thought we would try out knocking doors. It hasn't worked too well for me in the past, but it's always great to mix things up a bit right?? So we tried it out. Many people were real sweet and accepted what we gave them, and then quickly shut the door ... BUT others truly had interest! And we found some real keepers. We are pretty excited, and have set citas with them for the next week!

Something kind of exciting is this week we have a FHE with Jimmy and his cousin. Their goal is they need to bring a friend to the FHE, and we'll bring comida! We'll see how it goes! But they are pretty excited.

Also, we PAINTED THE HOUSE OF HNO. FIDEL. My compii has the pics so I will try to send them when she has a chance. It is too PERFECT and probably the most exciting house in the block. He is pretty tickled by it. 

So I thought that my new little thing for my blog and emails is I can write what I learned this week (SILTW), and something I am grateful for (SIGF)! I thought that would be a groovy idea.

SILTW: Everyone needs to feel loved. No matter who they are, how they act, or their circumstances - EVERYONE needs to feel loved.

SIGF: My family - yeah I know that´s kinda cheesy because you guys are the ones reading this, but I sure do love you guys, and I took for granted my time with you! Cherish your time with your families my friends, they truly are such a blessing.

Well, we are ready to get back on our feet and looking forward to a new week!

LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU ALL!!!

XOXO, Hermana Chumway

Hanging out as missionaries is just the best

And we like to have some fun

Love these people so much!

Slicing up some bananas for our pancakes ... yum yum

Life is good

Pancake success ... we are super duper domestic

Another pic of our pancake and banana feast

MOTHER'S DAY, WORKING HARD, AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANDPA JOHNSON

(EMAIL SENT MAY 11, 2015)

Familia,

Wow, it was the absolutely best and HIGHLIGHT of my week talking to you guys yesterday!!! Mama - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! Hope the fam spoiled you to death because you deserve it! LOVE YOU TO PIECES!!! Parks and Cass - have the most incredible time this week!! SEND ME PICS ... and know that I am so thrilled and excited for you guys!

The sad thing is I don't have a lot of time to write you this week, BUT I will try to let you know in a quick rundown about what happened. 

So first, Grabiel won't be getting baptized this week. BUT, he feels more comfortable with the following week. He just has a few doubts right now, and doesn't feel like he has received the answers he wants. But we are praying really hard that he will get an answer to his prayers and will feel confident enough for his baptismal day. But he is still progressing like crazy, and loves reading his Book of Mormon. He started only a little bit ago, and is now in chapter 12. He is a champ!

Also, we didn't get to paint the house of Hno. Fidel, but next week we are set on doing it! I will send you pics of the finished project!

The family we found went to a ward activity!!! AHHH! It was a miracle because they haven't been able to come to church the last few weeks. We weren't present in the activity, but many people said that they seemed to enjoy it! It was on Mother's Day. But ... they are SET on coming to church this next Sunday, and we have a lesson scheduled for later this week. Also their kids love coming to the English Class we have in the church. (Me and the Elders are teaching them English - it's too great!)

And the truth is I don't remember what happened the other half of the week. But have no fear family, I will try my hardest to remember and next week I will update you on the details!

Tell Emily Nelson I love her and would love to hear from her if she has a chance!

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANDPA J!!! One of the sweetest and adorable people I know! Love you gramps, and I love you with all my heart and send you three full of lots of love FINGERS UP from Piura!!

HAVE THE GREATEST WEEK!!!

XOXO, Hermanita CHUMway

FRUSTRATIONS, JOY, AND FINDING A FAMILY

(EMAIL SENT MAY 4, 2015)

The Shumway Clan -

Okay, it is a little nuts that it´s May! I can´t even believe it!! 2015 is CRUISING by.

So I just have to say that I am so excited to talk to you guys this Sunday!!! I feel like it was just yesterday when I talked to you for Christmas. CAN´T WAIT!! Oh … and Parker and Cass - CONGRATS on your upcoming marriage!! Wish, wish, wish I could be there, but hey, you two lovebirds deserve the best and I hope your wedding is PERFECT in every way!! SEND ME PICS ... okay??!!! Oh and tell Tuck and Cade that I wish them the best in their missions! Australia and Chile - THE BEST!! They are going to kill it!

So the truth is I can´t even remember what happened this last week. Ha! But I wanted to let you know that Grabiel has progressed so much!! We had a baptism scheduled for this next Sunday, but we are going to extend it one more week. He is incredible, but this week has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Earlier this week we had a lesson with him that didn´t go too great. He had a lot of questions about what he was reading in the Book of Mormon, and didn´t understand a lot of the things we were teaching. Overall, the spirit was not present in the lesson, and we walked out of it SO FRUSTRATED, knowing we had made a lot of mistakes. We passed by the next day to see how he´s doing, and he wasn´t home. At this point we were getting a little worried that we were losing him. BUT then, we passed by the following day with some returned missionaries from the ward, and he was home! We had a lesson planned to teach the Plan of Salvation, but as we began talking about how he´s doing, if he is praying, and how he feels right now with everything, he seemed a little distant. So I felt impressed to ask him how he expects to receive his answer to his prayers. He told us the truth is he doesn´t know. We decided to focus more in the Holy Ghost, and with the help of the newly returned missionaries, the Book of Mormon, and a lot of faith, it went INCREDIBLY WELL. At the end of the lesson he told us that he knows that this is a big change in his life, but he just feels good and that is something that he hasn´t felt in a while. He also is nervous that his friends are going to judge him, and his family too, but he wants to receive an answer, and knows that this right. HE IS AMAZING. We have a baptism scheduled the Sunday after Mother´s Day. And he came to church this last week too! We are so excited for him, and I know that if he sticks to it, and trust in his Heavenly Father he will receive his answer!! 

Also, WE FOUND A FAMILY!! The only problem is it´s in an area that everyone told us to be careful in, because yes … it's a little dangerous. BUT, have no fear, we only go when there is a lot sunlight, and are super duper careful. But this family is incredible. It´s a mom, dad, and their two children. They aren´t married, but they want to get married, and have strong values and are so united as a family ... something that is hard to find! We found them as we were knocking doors in this area, and left a pamphlet and they already have read it all and almost came to church Sunday but had a parent´s meeting with their daughter´s schoolteacher at the time of the meetings. But we are so excited! They are soooo interested. Keep them in your prayers that we can help them feel the spirit and that this message truly will bless their life.

I truly don't remember a lot from this last week, but I promise I will update you more when we chat this Sunday!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOU ALL!! 

Keep on keeping on ... have an incredible week!!

Hna. Shumway

TEACHING FHE, TEACHING LESSONS, AND SWEET HERMANO FIDEL

(EMAIL SENT APRIL 27, 2015)

Shumway Familia!!

I sure do love you guys! And that list of people getting married from the 6th ward!!! WHAT??? In only 7 months everyone is getting hitched! Sooooo crazy!! Oh and good luck sibling with your FINALS. Always a little rough during that time, but I just know you are all going to kill it with your tests. And April is almost over! That month FLEW by!! And cannot wait to talk to you superb people in just a few. We haven´t figured out all of the dets yet, but I´ll let you know next week when we have it planned out.

To start, YES, we had our Family Home Evening with the Single Adults and our Investigators this past week. And about 20 people showed up!! It was a miracle. And our three investigators with baptismal dates came - Grabiel, Marlo and Alberto. And guess who gave the lesson!! Hermanita CHUM-way and her comp. All I can say is my Spanish and lesson was not perfect, but people were laughing and cracking up so it was worth it! And our investigators said that they really enjoyed it, so that was wonderful! 

BUT the sad news is none of them came to church. Grabiel couldn´t for his work, and Marlo and Alberto just didn´t come. It was a major bummer, and from the lessons we had earlier this week we felt like they are losing interest.

So after church, we were a pretty bummed. But in the afternoon we felt like we should pass by the house of Grabiel to see how he´s doing. We stopped by and he told us that he actually was watching The Restoration on his computer at that moment. We had NEVER even mentioned this video, but he was searching on Youtube looking up a Mormon message that we recommended, and then found The Restoration! Talk about INCREDIBLE! He said he loved what he had seen so far, and we set a cita for later that week. He is a miracle investigator. His baptismal date is in about 3 weeks, so I´ll keep you updated on how he is doing! But he is progressing so much!! 

We have a lesson with Marlo and Alberto tonight. They haven´t been reading, or coming to church, so tonight we are going to be really direct with them. It has been really hard with them, and tonight we are looking for inspiration because honestly we can´t figure out what we need to teach to get them motivated. I´ll let you know how it goes!

We haven´t finished painting the house of Hno. Fidel, but I should have a pic next week of the finished product!! He is a CHAMP. And mom, you remember that white shirt you sent me for Navidad, and I never ended up giving it away! The new proud owner of this shirt is Hno. Fidel. I found out he never had one, and so my comp and I prepared a little present for him and gave him the shirt, an extra scripture case I had, a bag I was given from a random person in the church one time, and some snacks! His face absolutely lit up when we gave it to him! He is ALWAYS giving us fruit and all of his food, and never receives anything in return. It was the highlight of our week to see his reaction when he received it. And this Sunday he came to church beaming in his white church shirt, with his bag and his scripture in the case! We love that man! I will take a photo next week with him.

This past week we contacted a lot of our contacts from the street and we haven´t found anyone who has lot of interest! That has been a little hard for us, but we are keeping at it! Hopefully next week we will have new investigators!

I have an interview with President this week and also we have a Zone Meeting! Oh … and the weather is a lot colder in the night now! I am actually using a jacket now! IT’S A MIRACLE!

Love you all soooooo much!

Have the most wonderful week!

XOXO Hna. CHUM-way

Sweet Hermano Fidel (The Mango Man)

Getting ready to clean the pen

The finished product turned out so great -- now it is super clean and organized

Me and my beautiful, fairy-looking companion Hermana Ore

PACKAGES OF LOVE, SERVICE, AND THE SPIDER TERMINATOR

(EMAIL SENT APRIL 20, 2015)

Familia,

Wow, love to hear about everything you guys are up to! LOVE the pic of our sweet little puppy, can´t wait to meet her. Also, brothers, I am pretty sure your little gaming fiesta was SUPERB, and filled with Chariton joyfully screaming and everyone cracking up with all of the jokes you all have! LOVE YOU ALL! 

To answer your questions:

- How are your eyes doing? SUPERB. I have to wear my glasses all the time, but hey it´s all good! But my eyes feel great now! At times I don´t even want to wear my glasses so I have to ask my comp who is waving at us, or if people are talking to me. Ha! I just wave at everyone who passes us now! 

- How goes the spider infestation? Those sweet things are officially all dead. We sprayed our whole apartment down, left to teach the gospel for the day, and returned to find them all dead. But officially I am not afraid to kill insects! Woohoo!

- Is your new camera working well? I love it!!! It is almost the same as my old camera! I am sending you a bunch of pics now!

This week was the BEST!! We had our good and hard days, but in the end we all learned so much and our very excited for a new week!! 

One special thing this week is we gave our sweet pal Jimmy a little Package full of Love. It was a Primary Book that simplifies the Book of Mormon with pìcs, food, and two photos of Christ. He loved it. That kid is such a stallion, we just love him! 

We had two investigators that came to church!! Grabiel, who has progressed so much, and Alberto. They both have baptismal dates for May! We have coordinated a FHE this week with the single adults and our investigators (because they are all about the same age) and we are going to teach about Joseph Smith and the Restoration. It is going to be so great!! But overall we have three people with baptismal dates, two brothers, and Grabiel. They have all progressed so much, but we are losing a little bit of interest from Marlo and Alberto. They are so wonderful, but it can be a little hard to find them at times. But overall, all is well!

We threw a little service project for our sweet grandpa, Hno. Fidel. We truly call him abuelo because he is so wonderful to us and has such a love for this work! We cleaned the pen of his guinea pigs that he sells and also of his chickens. And also we moved a lot of bricks around. He is just so wonderful, and we are going to paint his house this week! He has always wanted to do it and this week we are set on helping him out!

Overall, we are just falling in love with this area. My comp is incredible, and has taught me so much how to truly show people love. She teaches with such power and has helped me a lot. I love that sweet thing!! We laugh WAY too much. She is such a blessing for me!

LOVE YOU ALL!! Have another wonderful week!! Keep being incredible and always, always, always trust in your Heavenly Father. We truly can do anything with him at our side.

One thing I realized this week is that we can´t expect every day to be full of daisies and complete happiness. We need those hard times and little rocks in the road to help us remember that we need the help of our Heavenly Father … knowing that has helped me a lot this week.

Keep on keeping on!

Until next week,

Hermanita CHUMway!

Jimmy, Hermana Ore and me

He is such a little stud with an amazing future ahead of him

One of the little notes we included in his love package

Jimmy with his pictures and his present full of goodies

Just a little yummy breakfast I made for me and my comp

RECENT CONVERT, INVESTIGATORS, AND THE SPIDER INVASION

(EMAIL SENT APRIL 13, 2015)

Hola familia!

Oh man I sure do love you guys. Parker and Cass, you guys are one good looking couple! Holy smokes. Those pics are STUNNING! Keep em´ coming if you have more. I LOVE SEEING them!! I seriously cannot wait for you guys and your Marriage! And Em - I always knew you were smart, but now you are officially a genius for me. Keep it up sis!! Hope that you enjoyed your trip with Cade and all your pals Lovey!! Tell them I say hi! Overall, I just love hearing and seeing pics of what´s happening in your lives right now. Such a highlight for me. 

Fun Fact of the Week: To start, I wanted to let you all know that I am officially a pro at killing insects. I don´t know how this happened, but our bathroom is now filled with about 10 spiders on our ceiling. And ... they have invited all of their relatives, who now live all throughout our room. It is NASTY! Have no fear, we are buying bug killing supplies today.

This week was one of the most incredible weeks I have had in all of my mission! I have cried, laughed, and felt so much love for the people in our area. To start I want to share with you all an experience that had a major impact on me.

Right now we are teaching a recent convert named Jimmy. I don´t know if I have talked about him before but he is 13 years old and has a cousin who is a less active but overall he is the only member of his family. We have been teaching him for quite some time and I never understood his life story. He lives with ALL of his cousins and family members in a small home and has always been really sweet to us. But our LAST LESSON, we learned that he truly has suffered a lot in his life. It all started after my comp asked him about his parents. And then all of the information came out. We learned that he was abandoned when he was little, he lives with his Grandma (we thought she was his Mom) and that all of his cousins tell him he is worthless and is the outcast of the family. At this point in the lesson he started to choke on his words and broke into tears. My comp and I as well. All this time we have been teaching him and never truly knew his story. I didn´t even know what to say to him, but I felt like this sweet boy needed so much love, and had never received it. My comp and I testified that he has so much worth. That he will NEVER be alone in his life because he has a loving Heavenly Father who knows him PERFECTLY. We left with a prayer, and I decided that my goal before I leave this area is to make sure this sweet boy understands his worth, and that he is so loved. He came to church this Sunday, and actually surprised us that he had to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting. He is so amazing! I will try to send a pic when I have the chance. But this experience was such a blessing for me because I learned that truly EVERY PERSON has their story. Everyone goes through hard things, and challenges every day. But what an incredible blessing it is to have the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father who absolutely knows and loves each and every one of us. Jimmy and his desire to do what’s right, even in the midst of so many hard things is such an example to me.

Also, I wanted to let you know about our Family Home Evening with Marlo and Alberto. It went so incredibly! Marlo was the only one home with his parents, so we shared a lesson with him, and then returned to visit him and his brother the following Sunday. AND THIS LESSON was incredible. We decided to teach The Restoration again to them. By the end of the lesson we finished with our testimonies, and then we felt prompted to ask them again about Baptism. We have tried to challenge them to baptism so many times, and they always said maybe in the future, but we felt so strongly to give it another chance. And they ACCEPTED!! For the 15 of May. It was AMAZING! And they told us that they really don´t feel sure right now, but if they feel positive by then then Yea, they would be baptized. So we are so excited to keep teaching them, and to help them feel with absolute certainty that this is true! And I know they will! We have another lesson with them tonight. 

So our investigator Percy hid himself from us the last time we passed by his house. It was a heart breaker for me because he was so incredible, BUT his brother in law now wants to listen to us. His name is Grabiel. He has a listened from a distance when we have taught his brother and told us he would like to learn a little more. Honestly, it was a miracle.

Overall, we are THRILLED to start a new week. We have so many things going on right now and almost feel a little overwhelmed, but we really have felt so blessed with all of the miracles from this past week. We have been praying so hard to find those that are prepared for this message, and this week I truly feel like Heavenly Father has put so many opportunities in our path to find those that need this message. We even contacted our taxi driver today and he LIVES in our area and would love to learn more!

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!!! I truly feel so blessed to have this incredible gospel in my life. I truly know that when we rely on the Lord above everything else, we can witness miracles. And that it is so important to listen to the spirit! 

Until the next week, I love you all and keep on keeping on!

Con MUCHISIMO AMOR,

XOXO Hermana Shumway


My beautiful comp Hermana Ore and I ... doesn't she look like a beautiful Peruvian fairy?

I told you I am like a giant here ...

ADVENTURES, CONFERENCE, AND A NEW COMPANION

(EMAIL SENT APRIL 6, 2015)

Familia!

Hola ... and WOW another week has flown by! I really can't even believe it! Oh and Happy Easter!! I have a few superb facts of the week for all of you:

1. I will officially be wearing my classy glasses for the next month, and maybe a little bit longer. I got ANOTHER eye infection in my area. It might be because we shake a lot of hands every day and then touch our face OR, it might be the dust that is everywhere and my contacts just couldn't handle it. BUT overall, I will be beaming in all my pics with my glasses for the next little bit.

2. A normal day for me consists of many man saying hello, how are you, good night as we are walking down the street. It is pretty hilarious! But the other day, as we were walking down the street, a man said KETCHUP, KETCHUP! I just about died! That's a new one!

So watching General Conference was a crazy adventure for us in my area. We watched it in our Stake Center and I started by watching it in Spanish. The truth is I really couldn't understand it too great, BUT, I loved trying my best and taking what I could out of the talks. We later tried to watch the other sessions in English but it didn't work out too well. So we went back to watching it in Spanish with everyone. And then in the second session of General Conference, the computer broke down and the sessions kept breaking up. Overall, we didn't get to see that much of conference. But I am just going to print out some talks and then wait for the Ensign that they will give us in the next month about the talks! Ha, but I hope you all enjoyed it and felt the incredible spirit that was present! I really only saw the first session, but it was such a testimony to me that this church is true! 

We had transfers, and I will be staying in my same area. I have a new COMP!!! Her name is Hna. Ore and she is from Lima. She looks like a fairy and is just sweet as can be. She only has about 4 and a half months in the mish, so we are both kind of newbies. But we are excited to get to work in Algarrobos! 

Right now we are working with a family with parents who are members and their sons who aren't members. Their sons are Marlo and Alberto, and I don't know if I have talked about them before, but they are so great! Marlo is about 20 years old and his brother 26. Alberto has a few things that he is struggling with, but really wants to change! He keeps on telling us that maybe in the future he will change, but we are trying to help him understand that he has the chance right now to be free from everything with the Atonement. We have a Family Home Evening with his family tonight and so I'll let you know how it went next week!

Also Miguel came back from his travels! We have lessons planned with him the next week. Oh and we found a new investigator, her name is Doris. She lives with her family and kids and we contacted her the other day in the street. She told us she always likes to listen about religions, but is very believing in her religion. But she has shown a lot of interest in our message! 

We had a great lesson with Percy this week. And guess what, his whole family brought in their chairs and sat down to listen to us too! It was a miracle. He is progressing a lot and said that he has a goal with his wife to plan their marriage. We hope he can come to church this next Sunday with his family!!

Also, you are all probably wondering, How's the Spanish Hermanita? Well, the people of Piura can officially understand me now. I still don't know too much, and struggle at times, but I can at least have a conversation when I need to and I can even crack jokes at times! I am getting along with the basics, and am just trying to expand my vocab right now. But it's a miracle how fast the language has come. I never thought I would be able to talk in this language, but I can do it now! It's a major blessing!

Overall, it's really hot, and I am excited to start a new transfer with Hna. Ore and see what our Heavenly Father has in store for us for the next 6 weeks!

I LOVE YOU ALL!! After the incredible conference we just had, I loved that they extended the invitation of after all we have heard and felt during the conference, what are we going to change? I truly felt that the talks and guidance given was inspired, and I am set on making a few changes in my life after listening to all the talks.

I know that our Prophet is a man called of God, and that he truly receives revelation for us. I know that this gospel is true, and that testimony was only reconfirmed with seeing our leaders of the church share their burning and powerful testimonies of this gospel! I love this work, and I cannot thank you all enough for your support!

Until the next week,

Keep on keeping on!

XOXO - Hna. Shumway

OOOPS ... I DRANK WATER FROM THE FAUCET ... AND GOT SICK

(EMAIL SENT MARCH 30, 2015)

HOLA FAMILIA,

I cannot believe another week has flown by. It´s absolutely CRAZY. The funny thing is most of this week we were sick. Ha. I have felt pretty sick the whole week, but no worries I feel great now, and my sweet comp the same. I think it was the water that we drank during one of appointments. It was water from the faucet, that they said tasted really sweet after all the rain that we have received lately. I was super excited to taste it, and then found out afterwards it was from the faucet. WOOPS. Didn´t feel too good for a few days, but no worries I feel great now! Lesson learned for Hna. Shumway!

We could only find two of our investigators this week. We stopped by to teach Percy, and he couldn´t meet right then. But he said he read the folleto and is really interested to learn more. We set a cita for this upcoming week! We found Family Pintado also, and the Dad had a LOT of questions. The mom loves what we are teaching, and wants to learn more about the Book of Mormon. We invited them to church and the Dad said that they need more time. I know that if they just come once, they would feel how incredible it really is to be in the church. But I just need to be patient! But both families are doing great! 

Manuel, our investigator who accepted a baptismal date, still hasn´t returned from his travels. He has been visiting his parents the last few weeks and should return this week. 

Overall, we are working hard, and we are set on getting back on our feet this week (after all of our sicknesses) and finishing off my comp´s last week with a bang! I CANNOT wait for General Conference this week! Also, I am so excited for the chance to celebrate Easter in these upcoming weeks! What an incredible time in the church. We as missionaries are sharing cards about the new video that was released about the Savior and Easter. It is called (sorry I only know it in Spanish) - Gracias que El Vive. If you haven´t seen it, look it up! It is incredible! I challenge you all to Share IT with you friends, family, neighbors, and whoever else might need this great message. It touches so perfectly on the great sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior. 

I wanted to share a quote that my mom shared with me this week that I loved:

“In the strength of the Lord we can do and endure and overcome all things.”

- David A. Bednar

This couldn´t be more true! I love this gospel!! 

Have the greatest week and thank you for all of your support!!

Hna. Shumway

I LOVE MASSIVE RAINSTORMS!!!

(EMAIL SENT MARCH 23, 2015)

Shumway Clan,

Soooo sad about BYU! But the great thing is they can learn from their mistakes and come back next year with a bang! And your FAMILY HISTORY... Mom and Dad. You guys are the greatest! That work has power, keep at it! And Lovey, I loved your pics of PROM. Holy toledo you guys are one good-looking couple. LOVE YOU ALL!!!

So this week I wanted to start by telling you about a little adventure I had this week. It rained again this week … okay A LOT more. It all started when we walked out of a cita, and my comp said she felt a raindrop. I didn´t feel anything and we kept walking. And then all of a sudden, BOOM, it starts pouring! We ran to our next cita, and by that time we were soaked. We thought it might die down, but then the water started flowing in from the walls in the house we were in so we decided it may be a good idea to head home. They gave us bags for our heads, and we headed out in the storm. The sidewalk was like a river, and as we were running home the streets turned into floods. We got home safely, and I couldn´t stop smiling and laughing because it was just so exciting. Ha! I sent a pic of our apartment complex. But it really never rains here ... EVER. It seriously is a miracle. One of the most exciting nights of my life. SO MUCH WATER!!!!!

Also, our Multi-zone Conference was so wonderful! I recorded our play and will show you it when I get home. IT WAS SO FUNNY!!! The latinos talked in English and the Gringos in Spanish. It turned out really great! Also, it is always so incredible to hear from President Rowley and his wife. I cannot even express to you how much I love them. They are amazing, and very inspirational. I only have one more Multi-Zone Conference with them in June and then we are going to change Presidents. Our new President is from CA - your homeland mama - and his last name is Rasmussen. It is going to be really hard saying goodbye to President Rowley and his wife, but I know that all mission presidents are incredible, and it will be wonderful getting to know President Rasmussen and his sweet wife. 

So a lot of our investigators weren´t home this week. We are still working with that family, but they couldn´t meet this week. And also the investigator Percy still has a lot of interest, but wasn´t home a lot of this week. We are going to give him a Book of Mormon this next week and I hope he reads it and feels that it is true! That is the key to this religion. That incredible book. But so far he has shown a lot of interest. Also, he and his wife aren´t married. But he said they are going to work on that.

We found a new investigator! I don´t know if I mentioned him last week but his name is Manuel. He is the grandson of a less-active, and he randomly came to church this last week with his cousin. We had a few lessons with him this week and asked him if he is willing to be baptized if he feels it is true. And he said YES. We are so excited for him and he is also so excited to see if this really is the path her should take. He had always been in the house when we had lessons with his grandma, but never had interest. And then one day he wanted to try it out and came to church. It was just incredible.

So this week, we have women´s conference -- woot woot!!! And I cannot wait for General Conference. I have realized how special and important that meeting is because we have the chance to listen to our wonderful Prophet. I am trying to think of questions for this general conference. I truly believe that if we go in with specific questions, we are going to receive specific answers. I can´t wait for that great meeting!

I LOVE YOU ALL!! I thank my Heavenly Father every day for all of you and your love and support! It means so much!

Make the most of this next week!

XOXO – Hna. Shumway

The flooded entrance into our apartment -- when it rains ... it definitely pours!

 Photo to document all of us soaking wet hermanas

Multi-zone conference where I got to be King Lamoni's wife

Hermana Hualinga and I with our nifty headbands