I Love to See the Temple! (Apr 25, 2016)

A year ago, I entered the temple and was endowed. Wow time flys! I have definitley seen the blessings and the power of hte temple. I am blessed here in the mission to be able to go every other transfer to do a session and then every week (if we can) with the recent converts and rescues from the zone. I know the temple is the house of the Lord. I never get tired of testifying of it! GO TO THE TEMPLE!!!!!!

I dont have a ton of time (as usual)... so....

Excert from Pres letter

"Miracle of the week! On Saturday, we went out with the CCM into our area. We had Hermana Blackmore with us. We didnt have any set appointments, and everywhere we went no one was home. We were trying to contact in the street but there weren't many people out and about either. We went to contact this woman with her toddler. We started talking to her and asked if we could share a message with her. She looked at us and said, "Why not! Im going home right now. Come on!" We went with her and started to share with her about the Godhead. She expressed her confusion that she has always had about that and thanked us for helping it make more sense. She said that what we had shared was something that she has always looked for. She had been waiting for a sign from God to move towards a religion and grow closer to Him. She lives with a house full of people who also want the truth. This experience strengthened my testimony of contacting in the streets. Our Heavenly Father is constantly putting prepared people in our way. We just have to open our mouths and share!"

PONDERIZE!!!!

Moroni 4:3

 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

This is the prayer for the santa cena. I love studying with the people that we teach and explaining the significance of the convenios that we made when we were baptized and the promises that we get each week. We get an "extra" spirit with us each time we partake of hte sacrament. This next week, see how much more attention you can press when the priesthood are blessing it. Also, it reminds me of Elder Bednar's talk from this last conference. Read it. 

Burrito Bar!!

That's all the time I got this week!

LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Hermana Elise Joyner

It's Tuesday...what does that mean?... BURRITOS!!! (Apr 19, 2016)

Happy Tuesday! Do you know what that means? It means I get to go to the burrito bar for lunch!  WAHOO!

The District

So this past week was super crazy with one thing or another. The big thing was that Elder Godoy from the Area Presidency came and did a two-day conference with us.  One day, the Zones here in Lima. The next day, the Zones from the south. And then to end it all, we had a leader meeting with him. It was pretty neat. He had no notes, no outline. He just spoke by the Spirit and the needs of the group he was talking to. He talked to our group about how we are the future of the church and need to prepare now. Then he went on to give us the four step secret to success on your mission. It was awesome! Then afterwards, I had the opportunity to have an interview with him. The leadership meeting was cool too. It was basically “We’ve had two days together. Now what are you gonna do leaders?” He is a funny guy. He is from Brazil, so he speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and English and kept mixing the three up. It was a good little conference.

On Saturday, we got up super early to go to the Temple for Family History. We haven’t been able to go for a couple of weeks, so it was great to be able to return. I LOVE THE TEMPLE! Even to just be able to sit outside on the grounds while the converts were inside is the best to me! When was the last time you went to the Temple? That was too long ago! GO! YOU’LL FEEL BETTER! PROMISE!

Saturday night, the other Hermanas in our ward had a baptism, so we went to help out with that. It was pretty special! Baptisms are fun! I love listening to the testimonies of people who have been recently baptized. Their spirit and will to follow the Savior are so strong!

Saturday night, we got the Cambios [transfers] call. Hermana Giler had cambio! NO! We’ve really had a great time working together. She went to Pisco. BUT! I have a new companion! Hermana Oñate from Ecuador! She’s cute and super eager to work. She just finished her training, so she has 3 months in the mission. She was in Ayacucho before, which is the farthest Zone from here (12 hours in bus). It’ll be a good time! I’m excited to get to know her.

PONDERIZE! Mosiah 7:33.  I like this verse. “Turn to the Lord…full purpose of heart…trust in him…serve him will all diligence…according to HIS own WILL and PLEASURE…deliver you.” Those are some of the phrases I liked. Especially, “His will and pleasure.” Something that Elder Godoy said is that we can be obedient and do everything that we need to and not see the blessings immediately. In His will and pleasure, God will give us the promised blessings. He just may be keeping them in a safety deposit for a rainy day when we need them more. We just gotta trust Him and keep on keepin’ on!

Well, my friends! That’s kinda all I got for ya! I always have so many things that I want to tell you but when I sit down to write it out, I lose it all. My mind goes blank…. Anyway, I hope you had a great week and that Dad had a great birthday! Have a fantastic week!

I LOVE YOU!!!

Hermana Elise Joyner

WINTER IS COMING!!! (Apr 11, 2016)

Hi family! I hope you all had an AWESOME week!  Spring-breaking, BYU’ing, siendo minionero, and whatever else you folks are up to!

Anyway, a little update on some happenings here. Esperanza agreed to be baptized! The only problem is that she won't put a date to it because she might have cancer and wants to get that figured out. So if you’d pray for her, that would be cool. I know your prayers helped Magaly and Christian make it, so they can help her too! 

This week we did some family history Skype training with some of the zones in the south. Two of the zones have senior couples who recently arrived in the mission. They are the cutest! I love Senior missionaries. But boy! Is Family History keeping us busy! Lots of things to do. 

This week has been pretty uneventful. Just doing the missionary thing! And I love it!!! I was reading in Alma 29 this morning. Alma is talking how his only desire is to preach the gospel for the rest of his life. I'm living Alma’s dream! I get to go out and preach the gospel every minute of every day! In the end of the chapter (it’s not very long) Alma describes and talks about the success he and his brethren and have had. I especially love verse 13! "God hath called me by a holy calling, to preach the word into this people, and have given me much success, and the which my joy is full.” Lately, I've been feeling like I haven’t having much success as a missionary. But as I listen to conference (especially Elder Holland) and read this chapter, I have come to realize that the only success that matters is that which comes from God. And in that “my joy is full”.  I really do love being a missionary and can't imagine my life without this experience. How lucky am I?! 

So!!!  GREAT NEWS!  THE WEATHER IS CHANGING!!!  In the days when we are out and about, it is still grossly hot. BUT at night and when we wake up, there is a little chill in the air. I even started sleeping with the sheet again. I’M SO EXCITED!! I have a new appreciation for air-conditioning.

So yesterday was kinda fun. I got sick Saturday night (DON’T WORRY MOM. I’M FINE). So for the first time in my mission, we stayed in on account of my health. But yesterday was different here in Peru. It was election day. On election day, it is law that everyone has to vote. To make that happen, it is also a law that you can't have formal, organized meetings. So we didn't have church yesterday. We stayed in during the morning and left to work after lunch. All missionaries had to be in their houses at 7:30 PM last night so we were in early. It was a weird day. When you get sick here, you have to drink this super gross drink. It's 1000 mL of sterilized electrolytes. It's gross. Bleh! I don't recommend its taste.

I ain’t got nothin’ else to say, so here are thoughts on General Conference. I really liked Elder Anderson's talk about the children. I'd say that one of the hardest rules for me is to not pick up the children. I just want to hold them them and hug them and give them the love that some of them don't get from home. But you better believe that I do what I can within my limits! I also like Elder Ballard's talk about family councils. It made me want to have a family council because talking to my family is fun! I thought that what Pres. Monson chose to say was interesting. Choices are important. I loved all of Sunday morning! I really liked Elder Hale’s talk about the Holy Ghost. It pretty much helped answer a lot of the questions I had. And then of course, Elder Holland's talk. That also answered a lot of my questions. I like how he said “The great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don't always succeed.” We get credit for trying! Gosh I love conference!

Basically, I came on my mission at a good time! In August, we had Elder Bednar. We just had Elder Robbins. Wednesday, we will have Elder Godoy. And in June, we will have Elder Rasband. If Maddie came two weeks earlier, I could see her at Elder Rasband’s conference! But unfortunately, she will just miss it.

Anyway, that’s all I got for you this week!  Hope you had a great week and that Dayne is gearing up for all those finals!

Love you!!!

Hermana Elise Joyner

PS. Thank you Perschkas for the Easter Card!  It was a pleasant surprise!

PPS. The picture is of these snow man dolls a less active made for us. She wouldn’t let us leave while she made two dolls and then went into her back room and pulled out two different ones to give to us. It was too funny! She’s cute!

Hermana Joyner, Hermana Giler, and the Snowmen!!

TEMPLO TEMPLO TEMPLO TEMPLO!!!! (Apr 4, 2016)

WHAT A TREAT WE GOT THIS PAST WEEKEND!!!!!! I just LOVE CONFERENCE!!!! It's like Christmas for missionaries! 

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!!!!! WAHOOO!!!!!!

So before I start into conference, PONDERIZE! ENOS! I did pull new stuff out every time I read it. What really stuck out to me when I read it is the principle of true conversion. Enos struggled and cried and strived for a remission of his sins. Through his faith, he was able to obtain it. Once he gained his own spiritual autosuficiencia [self-sufficiency], he desired and cried unto the Lord for his people as well as his enemies. He made covenants with the Lord and then stayed true and worked in God's work until the end of his days. This makes me think about what the truly converted do. Preach My Gospel says that when we are really converted, we want to share the gospel with others. I just love that! I saw this in San Juan with Magaly and Christian. After her baptism, Magaly came and accompanied us to lessons where she could share her own testimony and help more people come unto Christ. I love the last two verses of the chapter:

"26 And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world.

27 And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen."

How great would that be to hear our Father say "You have been faithful and have worked so hard in my vineyard. I have prepared a place just for you!" I just love ENOS! THE BOOK OF MORMON IS TRUE!

Ok, CONFERENCE TIME!!! First off... TEMPLO TEMPLO TEMPLO TEMPLO!!!!!! WE ARE GETTING ANOTHER TEMPLE!!!! Granted, I won't actually be here when it is open, but I'M STILL SO EXCITED!!!! What a blessing it will be for the people here! They are such good people and were so pumped up yesterday when President Monson made the announcement. Remember the story that somebody (I think it was Elder Cook...) siad about when they announced the temple in the pacific islands (don't remember where) and all the missionaries were jumping on their beds? That pretty much describes us in the English room yesterday. 

I want to write so much more because I have so many other thoughts, so I will write them out and send it next week. Oh how one hour goes by so fast! Talks I loved- all of them. In particular- Elder HOLLAND (!!!!), Elder Hales, President Uchtdorf, Elder Anderson, and Elder Ballard. I'll talk about it next week.

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Hermana Elise Joyner