DIA DE PERU, WATERMELON SEASON, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF

Hey Shumway Fam,

McKay – So happy to hear that EFY was the greatest!!! Send me pics if you have time! I just absolutely love you champ!!! Man I just love you all! This week I thought a lot about how lucky I am to have my family and for all that you do! Thanks for the support guys! Hope your week was just GREAT! And the SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL – Mom and Dad that is so cool you are going!

So here are some Gee Whiz Facts for you all:

1. It is Watermelon Season here in sweet ol´ Chulucanas. Meaning … WE EAT IT ALL THE TIME. And it is so fresh and delicious!

2. HAPPY DIA DE PERU!! Peru completed, oh man I forgot ... A LOT of years of Independencia this week! It was fun to see all of the flags, a few firework shows that began as we walked back to our apartment after a day of work, and wearing my PERU PIN (it´s super cool if you have this pin on your shirt for the week), and overall it was just a great week! TE AMO PERU!!!

3. Um. I guess a cool fact is I learned don´t know squat about Soccer/Futbol. But everyone here is incredible at playing. My goal is to learn that sport someday. Hopefully I can come home playing like a pro - anything is possible right?

4. Elder Bednar is going to come speak to us in a few weeks! I can´t wait!! We are all going to travel to Chiclayo - a town close to Piura to hear him!

This week was a little bit different than other weeks. A family member of my comp passed away, and man I just want you all to know that she is so strong. She is from a city in our mission (it´s called Paita) and so we got permission to go and be with her family for the ceremony. It was a treasure getting to know all of her family. They aren´t members, and it broke my heart seeing how they just didn´t know if they would see her family member again. We are so blessed to have the gospel and the Plan of Salvation. And even more blessed that we know that this life on earth is just a little part of an even bigger plan of our Heavenly Father. We have the incredible opportunity to see our loved ones again. It opened my eyes to how blessed we really are. Also, I got to participate in the walking ceremony. It is a tradition here to walk from your house to the cemetery - following the car carrying the casket. I got sunburned from the walk, but loved being able to participate in this ceremony. My comp is doing okay right now and I just love her to pieces. She is a strong little fighter!

This week Leandro, our investigator, came to church again! And he is reading his new Book of Mormon! Already has reached Chapter 3, and he just received it! He is praying to know if it is true, and told us that he has felt more peace and joy in these last few weeks, then he had ever felt before. He is trying to work out his family problems, but told us that if nothing seems to work out, he is doing this for his daughter (who is 4 years old). He wants to be an example for her. Honestly, he is just such a blessing and keeps progressing!

Miguel, another investigator, has a lot of questions for us right now. He is also just starting the lessons and received his Book of Mormon the last lesson, but man, it can be tricky at times with him. He is so willing to learn, but the last lesson we taught about Joseph Smith and he has A LOT of questions. After attempting to explain a little bit more about Joseph Smith and the prophets, I decided that all I could do is bear my testimony. And that´s what I did! I told him that we may not have all the answers, but there is someone who does! His Heavenly Father! I told him that I know without a doubt that prayer is real, and that his Heavenly Father will answer his prayers. We are trying to help him strengthen his testimony in God, but I am praying he receives an answer. He feels it´s true, but it is just hard because his family is really catholic! We have another lesson with him this week.

Also, you remember that Talent night we had! Well - we invited a dancing group to perform, and we are now teaching a family of one of the dancers! We amazingly ran in to him and his Dad the other day as we left a lesson and he told us he would love to learn more about the church! We have a lesson with them this week!

Overall, it was a good week! We are working hard, knocking doors, and finding new investigators! And getting to know new areas too! Our area is soooooooo big! LIKE HUGE! But it just means more people to teach, right?

I love this work! I love each and every one of you!

Keep doing what’s right, and have the most incredible week!

Always in my prayers,

XOXO Hermana Shumway

This week we celebrated Independence Day for Peru! I wore a little pin that everyone wears during the week that says, "Te amo Peru" ... and there were flags everywhere!