Leaving Tupiza :(

Hello everyone! 

I have bad news...I am leaving Tupiza!!!!! I will truly miss this place. But I have good news too...I am going to an area in Cochabamba that's called Siglo XX (Twentieth Century). I have heard super great things about it! And guess what? We are going to live in the house (well, in an apartment behind his house) of an Area Seventy, Elder Balderrama. I'm so excited!

 Soooo...that means that I will go in a flota (like a giant tour bus) for 8 hours to Sucre. Then tomorrow I will fly in to Cochabamba.

     I really will miss Tupiza, though. I am truly leaving a part of my heart here. The memebrs here are sooo amazing. They have more problems than any other group of members that I have met but they are STRONG in their testimonies. The whole branch (with a few exceptions) are converts to the church. Many of them are recent converts (were baptized in this last year). I have learned so much in the four months that I have been here. I feel like I have become more of the missionary that God wants me to be. I feel such love for the people here and never want to lose contact with them. It is a little bit sad because some of my favorite investigators live in a little pueblo called Charaja. They don't have any way to communicate except for a cell phone that sometimes breaks. I truly hope that they get baptized one day!!!!! I want them to be an eternal family! 

My favorite investigators from Charaja!!!! Family Martinez!  

In our ward activity-a Futsol Championship!

     Anyway, I want to tell you about a MIRACLE that we have seen this cambio. We found a less active member about 9 weeks ago. When we first talked to her she told us that she had gone back to her other church, didn't believe anything about Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon and was super closed off. She always pretended not to be home. We finally found her and had a Family Home Evening. She felt the Spirit and we were able to go back and help her wash her clothes (everyone washes by hand). Through little lessons and service we were able to come to church and she CAME TO CHURCH last week with her kids! We didn't even go to pick her up! And this Saturday she came to our ward activity and had so much fun!!!! Then she came to church AGAIN yesterday! Isn't that soooooo cool! It is a miracle! I have seen a great change in her and I can't wait to hear more of her progress from my companion (I won't be able to s

ee it happen). 

Carmen and her kids, Ana, Juan and Genesis

     Man, I am so happy! I just love being a missionary. It is sad to leave people that I have come to love soooo much but I am soooo excited to come to love other people and help them in their lives. If anyone is wondering whether they should serve a mission, just do it. It is the best thing that I have ever done! I never want it to end! Love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Eaves

A great week in good 'ol Bolivia!

It has been a SUPER AWESOME WEEK! 

All the members here in Tupiza are the BEST! They are so great and willing to come with us when we go and teach people. We have about 35 active women and young women in our ward and this week 7 of them came with us to visit people! They are so amazing and their testimonies really touch our investigators and the less-actives that we visit. 

     We had a MIRACLE this week! We have been teaching a woman named Carmen. We found her when we were knocking doors and found out that she is a member of the church but had been completely inactive for several years. She really didn't want to listen to us at all and told us that she had gone back to her old religion. But we began doing service-helping her wash her clothes and having Family Home Evenings with her and her family. And this Sunday she CAME TO CHURCH! With her kids! They called us as church was starting and were like "We are coming!" It was such a miracle! I was SOOO happy to see them there! 

     We also had a zone conference and it was SOOOO SWEET! We went to Quiriza, which is a tiny pueblo where the church began in Bolivia.

 In the middle of the conference we took a little walk to a shady spot under a tree. 

President Hansen told us that this was the place that an apostle, Spencer W. Kimball had prayed and felt that Bolivia should be opened for missionary work. It was such a great experience and we felt a special spirit there. It really was a great week! I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK! I love you all! Have a great week! 

Love, 

Hermana Eaves

Another Amazing Week!

Hello everyone!
It's been another AMAZING (although hot) week here in good 'ol Tupiza Bolivia. Tupiza truly is a wonderful, beautiful place! The members here are so good and pure, even though they pass through some of the hardest trials. The people here are so humble and we are seeing lots of progress! We have many investigators that are beginning to learn and to desire to make sacred covenants with Heavenly Father. I love seeing people change and progress and become who God wants them to be.
     Anyway, yesterday we had a Family Home Evening with the Branch President and his family and another family of recent converts. It was a super great noche de hogar. The family of recent converts are having a really hard time in their marriage and with work. They are struggling a little. So the Branch President and his wife gave a great lesson on how to overcome anger and what to do to combat the anger we sometimes feel in our families. All went well until the Branch President's little son bit President SUPER hard on the finger. President shrieked like a little girl and gestured for his wife (who was giving her part of the lesson) to help him. She just looked at him like "What is your finger doing in our son's mouth?" Haha! It was super funny!
    Anyway, many people sent me letters this week that were full of wonderfull messages. One of those said, "the thought came that if the Church wasn’t true, Satan wouldn’t work so hard to oppose it.  The fact that there is opposition to the Church is evidence of the fact that the Church is true.  Satan would not waste his time and effort fighting against something that is false.  His efforts are laser focused on opposing and leading people away from truth.  So, when we encounter opposition from the adversary in our efforts to live and share the gospel, we can have increased confidence that we are actually doing what God wants us to do and that we are on His errand."  I LOVED that! Sometimes I feel like it is super hard to share the gospel or super hard to work and help the branch here in Tupiza. The problems sometimes seem so big and I am just so small! But I know that if it is hard to do the work of God, then it must be true. Satan would not fight against something that is already wrong. Saints have always had opposition and that's not going to change. We just need to CONTINUE FIRM IN THE FAITH! I love you guys! Be faithful! Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Eaves

Hello!

It has been a great week! We were traveling the whole week to get to Cochabamba, have a meeting and come back to Tupiza so not a lothappened.
     Something funny happened today. One of our neighbors started to talk to us and they literally can see into our house (because it is so close). He was talking about how we just moved in and we tried to end the conversation (because we were super late and he was asking prying questions :) like all people here) and he did not want to stop. So then we told him that we were missionaries. He was like "Oh...have a great day, bye!" #howtogetridofsomeoneinlessthan5words  We thought it was pretty funny.
     Anyway, the conference was sooooo awesome! For those of you who don't know what General Conference is, it is a big meeting that we have every 6 months where the living Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and his apostles speak to us. It is suuuper great because we receive counsel and help with the problems and trials in our lives. Anyone can watch the conference on lds.org. I encourage all of you to watch at least part of it!!! I loved many of the talks but some of my favorites were by J. Devin Cornish on how Christ is helping each one of us. I also loved the talk by Kazuhiko Yamashita. He talked about a missionary that had some health problems and I felt the Spirit sooo strongly. Also, I loved the talk by Russel M Nelson. He talked about always being JOYFUL! It was the best conference ever. I have come to
appreciate conference so much more here in the mission! I hope you all loved it too! I love you guys! Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Eaves

We found an apartment

Hello!!!
Wow, it's been a great week. So starting with a funny story. Tuesday night at 7 PM the Elders called us and were like "We found you an apartment" (they have been helping us look). We went and saw it and approved and the Elders were like "Okay, we are going to move you in tomorrow morning at 9AM". What??? So we raced home and started throwing everything in suitcases and bags and buckets. It was rather hectic. So we moved and our new house is so great!! The shower is actually warm (no more bucket showers!!), the paint is not falling off the walls, there is light in the house, and there isn't mold growing on the windowsill!!! It is awesome! So until the end of the month we are the proud renters of two apartments. Hah!
     Anyway, I talked to a lady in a Rapidito on the way to Charaja. She was highly opposed to the Book of Mormon because she felt that we were "Trying to add more to God's word". I asked her, "If God wanted to add more to His word, do you think He could?" She replied "Yes, obviously". I asked her, "If God gave you more of His word, would you accept it?" She was like "Yes". I explained that God had given us more of His word through the Book of Mormon. She told me "Well, I don't believe that". I was so sad for her because I know that the Book of Mormon is more of God's word! The Book of Mormon and the Bible work together to convince us that God lives and loves us enough to send Jesus Christ to the world.
     We had a super cool lesson with an investigator named Mario. He loves to listen to us and in the lesson we taught him about the Plan of Salvation. We invited him to pray at the end and as he prayed he felt the Spirit so strongly that he began to cry! We explained to him that he had been feeling the Spirit and in our last lesson with him he told us that he wants to be baptized. It was so amazing! I know that there are such prepared people here in Tupiza! Anyway, I love you all!
Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Eaves

Me da flojera escribirles...

Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a great week! This week we had cambios! Monday night I took a 7 hour ride in a flota (looks like one of those big tour buses) to pick up my companion from Potosi. Her name is Hermana Bisama and she is from Santiago, Chile. Then Tuesday morning I took a rapidito (looks like a minivan) back to Tupiza. It was a lot of traveling but it was cool!
     This week we contacted someone in the street and we were like "Where do you live?" to go and visit her. She was like "Ummm...this street" (it was a huge street). We replied, "Oh yeah, in what part?" And she replied "Straight". Ummm...we aren't going to be finding her house any time soon.
     We are trying to find a new apartment (we have some problems where we live right now). We have been looking since August and we haven't found ANYTHING that works. We were looking for a long time one day and decided to pray. We prayed and then went to a street corner and were like "Where does the Spirit want us to go?" My companion felt like we should go back down the street and as we were walking I felt like we should ask at a certain tienda. We went and asked and GUESS WHAT? We didn't find an apartment but...we found a family! The dad is a less active and his wife isn't a member. They are so great and I really think they will be able to progress. Sadly, they live in the area of the Elders but it was so cool that the Spirit led us to them. I remembered a quote "You can have what you want or you can have something better." We wanted to find an apartment but we ended up finding something better...A FAMILY! Anyway, I love being a missionary
and I hope you all have a great week!
I love you!
Love,
Hermana Eaves

Hola!

Hello everyone!

I hope your week has been great! Mine has! Sooo....we received calls for cambios last night and....Hermana Jara is going back to Cochabamba and I AM GOING TO STAY HERE IN TUPIZA! AHH! I am so happy because I didn't want to leave!!! Also, I am now a Capacitadora (Sister Training Leader). This means that I am in charge of other sisters in my mission and that once every transfer I will have exchanges with them. I was not expecting this at all! So now my new companion and I are in charge of the other two sisters in Tupiza. My new companion is Hermana
Bisama. She was my sister training leader these last 3 months and will come and we will be the capacitadoras here. Today at 6 PM I am going to go to Potosi and pick her up-we can't be alone. :) I was not expecting this though! I am so excited to have intercambios with the other hermanas!
     Anyway, a dog peed on my foot this week...DURING a lesson. Right? That dog will see me again on judgement day. Also, I lost my voice today and can only whisper. Everyone looks at me like they think I am telling secrets. Haha! Also, I went to church with a sock bun on my head and one of the members was like "You have a tamale on your head!" I laughed pretty hard. Bolivians don't see very many sock buns...
     It was a great week and it passed by flying! We worked hard in the blazing sun and found new people who want to hear the amazingly wonderful message of the gospel! I know that Jesus Christ came to this earth to live and die and resurrect for us. I know that we are sons and daughters of Heavenly Father and I LOVE to tell people that because lots of the time they don't even understand what that means! I love helping people to feel the Spirit! It is one of the best feelings in the world! I love you all and hope you have a great week! Give the missionaries some references!!!

Love,
Hermana Eaves

The Elders shined shoes in the plaza because they didn't want to knock doors...

Hello!

Another great week in Tupiza!!!!!
So we found out yesterday that the Elders (E. Willden, Mondaque, Anderson and Cimarron) shined shoes in the plaza because they didn't want to knock doors. Haha! They shined shoes for free then contacted the people that came! People all over Tupiza were talking about it.  Haha!
    
Anyway, some of our highlights for the week:
 1. We found a cell phone (of the other sister missionaries) that has been lost for 4 weeks. A lady in Charaja (a pueblo) had it.
2. I waved at a member in the street and made a drunk guy's day because he thought I was waving at him. Haha!
3. Our investigator told us that when he sees God one day he is going to ask him for a shark...that doesn't eat meat. Haha!

Anyway, this week I have been reading in the Book of Mormon about the 2000 Stripling Warriors and I love this story soooo much! It is my favorite! These soldiers fought for their country for years and not one of them died? Why? Because they were firm in the faith and had been taught by their parents. I am so grateful for my parents because I know that I wouldn't be here without them. I wouldn't be a member of this wonderful church! I wouldn't be here in the mission without my amazing parents' example. I am so thankful for the Savior and his sacrifice for us. I was reading in the New Testament about the crucifixion and it made me so sad that the very people that Christ suffered for killed him on the cross only days later. I am thankful
for a loving Heavenly Father who sent His Beloved son to die for us. I love the scriptures and I love being a missionary! I love you all!
Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Eaves

1 YEAR=BBQ chicken neck to celebrate

Hello everyone!
So this week I completed 1 YEAR in the mission!!! How crazy is that???? I feel like this year has flown so fast!!!! I made some BBQ chicken neck and french fries to celebrate. I asked for chicken breast and I got the neck too...so I rolled with it...(and for future  reference, BBQ chicken neck isn't as good as it sounds
#lotsofBBQsauce). I can't believe that one year of my mission has come
and gone...

It was a great week though!!! Guess what??? Family Martinez (who had some doubts about their baptisms) are all reading their scriptures every day and Gladis, Jose and Alex want to be baptized!!!! We are still working with Daniel, the oldest son (12 years old) and trying to help him make the decision. We put a date for their baptism and they came to church yesterday. I am so happy for them! I know that they are going to be great church members! We have been praying for this family every day and I know that Heavenly Father is answering our prayers. We have been working hard here in Tupiza and contacting a LOT to find new people! There are so many chosen people here, we just need to be
diligent so that we can find them!

We also found some great new investigators, Lucia and Bryan. They are always willing to listen. In our last lesson, Lucia's daughter, Sherlinda, fell asleep (she is 5 years old). Well, her brother walked by her to get something and she (still sleeping) grabs his leg and bites him super hard!!!
There are so many great things happening here every day. I know that I will never regret the decision that I made to serve a mission. I have learned so many wonderful things here and am so grateful for the experiences I have had. I know that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God. I know that we are led by a Prophet of God, Thomas Monson. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it changes lives. I know that families can be together forever. I know that the work I am doing here is of God because I have felt His help every
second of every day. I love you all and hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Eaves

Contacting....

Hola a todos,
I am in the SLOOOOOWEST internet ever so there won't be pictures this week. Lo siento. I hope this email sends, haha!  Anyway, it's been a great week. We have been contacting lots and lots!!!!
So some great news!!!! Hermana Gladys and her son, Daniel, have agreed to be baptized on the 17th of September! I am so happy for them!!! We are still working with Jose and Alex but I know they will be baptized then too! And guess what? We were going to go and visit them on Thursday (they live in Charaja, which is a pueblo about 30 minutes from Tupiza) but Hermana Gladys told us that on Thursday she was going to go and buy vegetables because she wanted to keep the Sabbath day holy(she would have gone and bought them Sunday). She is so great and faithful! I can't wait for her to be baptized and receive all the blessings of the gospel! 

Also, Spanish blunder for the week:
A little boy asked me if I could resurrect his dog. I heard "Do you want to see my dog?" So I replied "Yes, of course!!!!" He led me to the grave and I realized that I had heard wrong...I explained that his dog would resurrect one day... I also knocked on a chicheria (where they serve alcohol). I thought it was a house...until a drunk man answered the door and we saw and smelled a bunch of alcohol. We didn't stay long at his door...
Anyway, I love the work here in Tupiza! It's so great! The people here are great and I just want everyone to accept the gospel!!!!! I had a dream last night that I went home and in my dream I was so sad because I wasn't going to be able to see all the wonderful people here progress. I am so grateful to be here as a missionary!!!! I love you guys!! Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Eaves