September 28th, 2015

This week has flown by so fast. I have been trying to think of everything that we did this week and to tell you the truth, my mind is blank. I'm not sure what I did this week, so this email might be short.

Elder Nielsen and I had a lot of success teaching people this week. We somehow ended up with more time than normal to teach, so that was super good. We have been working with a few goals in our area, them being, work with members, obtain more new investigators, work with the ward council, and find the people that are able to progress. We focused a lot on each of these areas this last week and had a lot of success doing so. We are super excited to continue working with members and working with a ward council. We have had a few challenges with them because of lack of training, but now that we have done trainings and now that we have vision, I think we are going to be able to see more success. 

This is the last week of changes, and Elder Nielsen and I are pretty positive that we will be staing together, so hopefully that doesn't change! We are having such a good time together and we don't want to be changed! Especially because we printed out a huge photo of us at the temple! (I'll send the picture) 

I love the gospel so much! I feel so incredibly blessed to preach the gospel and to be here in Peru! I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Thorpe

September 21st, 2015

After 9 months of preparation and multiple spiritual experiences, Daniel was baptized. Daniel is someone that was called from the beginning and the Lord has been preparing him all the way up to his baptismal date. He had a hard time deciding to get baptized because he has OCD, but with much prayer and with the faith that he has, he decided to get baptized and continue forward. He is a very special person to me and I know without a doubt that he will continue to choose to do what is right. His baptismal service was probably the most special one that I have participated in. As we got into the water we were shivering and could barely breath, but as he entered completely into the water and came out, the water became warm. Daniel looked at me and said, "Elder Thorpe, I feel it. I feel good." That is the power of the gospel and of the Holy Ghost. I know that it is real and I know that He was present at the baptism. It reminded me of Jesus's baptism and how the dove came flying in after he was baptized. I can testify that he was there and testified to all that were present that the decision that Daniel had made was the right one.

This last week was really good. Felt a little short because we had our P-day on Tuesday, but all in all a really good week. Elder Nielsen and I are all settled in and have now added 2 other elders to our room. We have a great time together and I look forward to spending more time together. The work of the Lord is true. The Book of Mormon is true and helps us understand why we are here and what direction God wants us to take. I truly feel blessed to be a part of this work and to be a part of all the miracles and blessings. 

I love you all and pray for you always. I hope you have an incredible week!

Love,

Elder Thorpe

September 15, 2015

Another Month has gone and passed by. I can't believe that I have been on my mission for 14 months today! This time has continually passed by so fast and I'm not sure if It will ever slow down. Every week I have such a full schedule and before you know it my week is gone. My companion and I are just amazed how fast the time has gone by while being together. It is our 4th week together and it feels like we have only been together for 2! Elder Nielsen and I get along so well and we are having the greatest time here in Moche. The work is truly hastening and the Lord is at the head of it.

This last week is a week I would like to call plan tacos! We have come to find out that Less actives love tacos, and so what we have been doing with all the less actives that we meet is that we have been setting up times to make tacos with them. This last week we made tacos twice and they were so good! Before the mission I didn't care too much for tacos, but let me tell you, the way we are making them with all of these less actives has been incredible and I can now say that I love tacos and guacamole! 

This week we wanted to help our Ward council out and so we created a training for all of them to talk about how they have such a huge role in the work of salvation and how we are able to be a part of the work hastening. Everyone in our ward council got super excited to start working a lot more effectively. We established a ward mission plan and we are excited to see how we will be able to work with all the members and the plan that we established.

We also decided to participate in the annual ward talent show here in Moche and we decided to sing Hallelujah in English and Spanish, so that was way fun. Elder Nielsen and I have been working with an investigator named Daniel and he decided to help us out a little bit with the talent show by practicing with us, but he didn't want to get out in front of everyone because he is a little bit timid. He decided that he wanted to get baptized though and so he will be baptized this Saturday! We are super excited for him and plan on visiting him today since it's his birthday. We bought him a couple things from the temple since we went to the temple today!

The temple was incredible. I love the house of the Lord and I know that I am able to receive inspiration and revelation as I search and ask diligently. I love the gospel and I love the Lord. I know that this is his perfect gospel and that he is calling on us all to take a part in hastening his work. He is asking more of us every day and it is our duty to answer his call in hastening his work.

Love, Elder Thorpe

September 7th, 2015

If there has been one thing that I have learned this week it is that there is always a reason why our Father in Heaven calls certain people to certain positions to serve and that is because they are ready to receive revelation and act upon it. I'm not sure what this church would do, let alone myself, if we didn't believe in divine modern revelation. The Lord loves us and wants the best for us and for that he blesses us with revelation when we are worthy and ready for it. 

To start off my week Elder Nielsen and I went downtown to go and grab a bite to eat and then to go and buy rope to jump rope since I left mine in my old area... I was really sad when I found out I left it and I was a little discourage about starting up again, but now that I have a piece of rope I am ready to get back into the routine. That night we had a Family Home Evening with one of our investigators and we watched Meet the Mormons. We are super excited for him because he is planning on getting baptized on the 19th of this month.

On Tuesday we had our monthly leadership training with President and the assistants which went really well. We talked about hastening the work of salvation and about the Book of Mormon. We focused a lot on our conversion to the gospel and how we can help others understand that the Book of Mormon is how we can be converted. After the training we went to play some sports, which this time they brought a basketball, so my comp and I went off to shoot with a few other people while everyone else played soccer. We both ended up playing soccer by the end of it. You would think that after being in for Peru for about 14 months now I would be really good at soccer, but that isn't true.

Wednesday was a pretty relaxing day because we were with Hermana Rios the entire day. We met up with her to do room checks which went pretty good. Being a zone leader I am in charge of all the money that we have as a zone and so doing these room checks kind of killed all of my zone budget, but that is alright. We took Hermana Rios to a restraunt in our area which is probably the best food I have had here in Peru. We told her that it was super expensive but all she said was if it was clean and good food, then we would go. So we went and had a great time with her. We were able to get to know her a lot better and so that was a really good experience for us.

The rest of the week we did a lot of shopping for supplies as well as planning for our zone training that we had on Saturday. Planning took a little bit of time, but it was all worth it by the end of it. We visited a couple of other people throughout the week including our pensionista who is really interested in the gospel, so we are super excited for her. On Saturday we gave our zone training, which went super well and was super spiritual. We talked a lot about the importance of members and how we can better work as missionaries as the Lord hastens his work. We are super excited for this next month and for the success that we are going to have.

Saturday night we had a lesson that we invited the bishop to which turned out really good. We have been working with the Casana Family for a little while now and they are now ready to take the next step by being baptized. The wife has decided, but the husband was a little hesitant, so this lesson that we had with the bishop was crucial. We talked about choosing now and not putting things off and as we each testified of the importance of acting on spiritual promptings José, the dad, was able to say what he knew to be true and decided to pray and continue working on being prepared for the 26th of September. The Bishop prophesied saying that he would get baptized with his wife and we know that we will as well. It was really cool after the lesson because the bishop was telling us that he had to say what he said because the spirit told him that him being over this area and this family, should help them understand what God thought and what his plans are for them.

I love how perfect the gospel is and how perfect the spirit works in us. I know it to be true. I have felt it and am guided by it every day to a point where I can't deny how incredible it is and what it means to me. I love the gospel I love my mission and I want everyone to know it. 

I love you all so much and hope you have an incredible week.

Love,

Elder Thorpe