LETTERS: March - November 2015

11/23/15

WHAT A WEEK!

Hey Everyone!

First off I hope everyone is doing great! It is great hearing from each one of you guys!

But to start off explaining my week I have to say.... IT¨S A BOY! Yup that´s right I have my first son in the mission. I am training a new missionary for those who don´t understand. On Tuesday I found out that I´m training and I´m the District Leader. So everything from there has changed with my mission. But I can honestly tell you that I love it!

So my new companion is Elder Saenz and he is brand spankin new from the CCM and he is from Ecuador. He is really awesome and he really knows his stuff but I am teaching almost all of it in the lessons, but he is progressing quickly. I have never been so tired in my life before but I also have never been so content and satisfied! This last week for three days I had to make the journey to the offices which is about an hour and a half each way on a packed full bus with tons of Peruvians. It has been extremely tiring for those days and then having to lead every minute of the day and then have the responsibility of two other sets of missionaries. Each night there are phone calls and reports of the Lord´s work. I now have to help them if they are struggling in one part of their mission and what they do is on me. But like I have said, I am loving it! I love the leadership responsibilities.

This past week I have relied on the Spirit so much and I have felt the direction and the guide of his. This past week, in one day we found three families and each one of them are married. That NEVER happens here in Peru. It´s like gold just to find one family who is married. So that was an answer to our prayers and diligence. And also this last Sunday in the morning we had a baptism and it was a neat experience and my companion was on such a spiritual high, that being his first baptism. It´s weird to think that I have time now and now having a companion who is brand new and seeing my progression, it´s crazy! It´s in those moments when I have realized just how much I have changed and how much more in-tuned I am with the Spirit.

Well once again this week has been crazy long and tiring but so rewarding! I am doing great physically, mentally, and spiritually so there is nothing to be worried about. And with that I want to say that I love you guys so much!!!!! You guys are always in my prayers and I love you!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

11/16/15

WHAT A BUSY WEEK!

Hey Everyone!

This week has been a busy one. On Tuesday we had the mission fútbol tournament. The tournament was in Independencia so it was an hour and a half drive. We had this small van for our zone, the 20 of us. So that was a fun drive hahaha. We then arrived and we played some fútbol and it was a ton of fun. The whole mission was there, so I got to catch up with some of my companions and my group from the CCM. It was an enjoyable time and then we made the trip back home and started working at 5PM.

This week a ton happened. We married a family and then baptized the wife because in the interview for the husband it turned out that he was baptized when he was 8 and completely forgot until his father told him. We looked him up and sure enough he was baptized. But it´s all good, this family is super strong and they have such a strong testimony! Her testimony was so touching. A cool thing happened at their marriage. So these marriages are massive for many couples and they had giveaways with 3 prizes. A small prize, medium, and a huge one. And guess what, our family won the huge prize, they won a refrigerator hahahaha. So that was a temporal blessing that they received. So on the way home from the marriage, also in Independencia, we had a refrigerator strapped to the top of the roof of a taxi hahaha. But this family is super strong and in one year I´ll be able to go to their marriage in the temple, where they will be sealed. So I´m pretty excited about that!

Other than those things it was a pretty normal week, work hard and giving it my all to the Lord. Yesterday I taught Jesus, a father in whom we are going to baptize his family, and I was on my own with divisions. I relied 100% on the Spirit and I literally felt every word that I said and I could see that everyone touched him. So that was a pretty cool experience and really the first time where the Spirit guided me 100%. I really felt like I am changing lives down here! So that was a pretty neat spiritual experience that I had.

Today is transfers and after internet I will find out if I´m staying. I will be staying because my companion has 7 and a half months here. So next week I will tell you guys who´s my companion and what´s going on.

I hope that each one of you are doing well and that I love each one of you!

Elder Langfoss

11/09/15

8 MONTHS!

Hey everyone!

I hope each one of you had a fantastic week! It`s official today is the 8 month mark of my mission! The weeks are just a blur now and I am absolutely loving the work! We are finding some remarkable people! This week has been a busy one, but on P-day we went to Mega Plaza but the offices and it was pretty far away. Mega Plaza is like a huge mall which is cool. We ate at Chili`s and it was really good to eat some good American food. Then we went shopping, but of course I didn`t buy anything so it was such a long day. But I did like in the stores they had their Christmas stuff and Christmas trees! So it was a pretty good P-day but man was I exhausted afterwards.

So this last Saturday my companion`s mom came to Lima for the temple, so the members that live in our house went to the temple and met her. They took tons of photos and videos. His mom was baptized in June, so she`s really new to the temple and this gospel. But one of the videos she sent to my companion was so sweet and it touched my heart. So my companion was just a tad trunky this last weekend but it`s all good. She gave him a package with a ton of food from Areaquipa and he was kind enough to share with me and man was it good!

So a cool story that we ran into is that there was this family of 5 that I contacted last week. They were pretty cool and the father built the chapel here and as well as the temple in Lima. So he knew a little bit of the organization of the church but nothing more. But when we went back and taught them, every passing second they became more and more golden. They are the investigators that you dream about. And when we got to the part of the Restoration with the Gran Apostasía, they discovered out for themselves the reason why there are so many churches. And the moment they discovered, I have never seen someone happier than their response was! As a missionary it`s easy to get into a routine and think that this is normal, but when they hear this message for the first time, it`s like the heavens have parted and their questions for many years have been answered. It was such a testimony builder because there really are people looking and searching for the truth.

And also I contacted this other family that were a reference, and this family is also a family of 5. But they have 3 boys and the oldest is 19 but are spaced out just like our family! It made me think of our family and this connection that I felt because of it. There are moments in the mission where it`s like I`m always going to remember this and this was one of them! I was on divisions so I was with a member, so I taught everything. But teaching this family, all of them huddled around me listening intently, by far one of the most impactful moments of my mission. I will never forget that moment!

So this week has been a great one! I probably only have 1 more week left with my companion, so I`m treasuring these moments! I hope everyone is doing great!! I love you guys!!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

11/02/15

Hey Everyone!

It´s November already!! So this last week I had my first Halloween here and yeah they don´t really celebrate it hahaha. They had a fiesta at one of the schools here, with music SO loud for little 4 or 5 year olds. So it was pretty funny!

I don´t want to bore you guys with the same old same old. Yes we are working super hard and are finding a ton of new people. But that´s what I have said for the last almost 8 months. This week I want to share with you guys my testimony that God EXISTS!

I cannot say it enough, and I cannot be surer of something! And also that Jesus IS the Christ and rulers of rulers! Recently I read in Doctrina y Convenios 38:1-3 and I felt something that I cannot describe. It was a moment where I really felt something different. It wasn´t just reading a scripture, but it was like that scripture was engraved in my soul. In these last 7 months I have grown closer to the Savior than I ever have before in my life. I look back on my life before the mission and see that I could have down so much more because each one of us can have this relationship! We have to get rid of the distractions that catches hold of us. I know that you guys can do it and when you guys will do it, you will NOT regret it because I have not regretted it, in fact I regret all of the time I have wasted with those distractions. It´s easy, first start with praying because God listens to each one of your prayers. After is read the scriptures! There is so much insight that you WILL receive.

Well I´m out of time! I love you guys so much and hope the best for each one of you!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

10/26/15

Hey everyone!!

This week has been another great and uplifting week! During this week, I only had two days with my companion, and the rest I was in divisions with members! The members here are awesome! I only have three weeks here but they are like family. I have learned that I can teach and do everything without my companion, I just have to rely on the Spirit more.

This week we have continued to find so many new people! There is one family who is progressing like crazy! Last Sunday night they were a reference, and every day we have visited and taught them. The first night they were rough. The relation with their only son, 15 years old, is in the wrong group and the parents were desperate to have him follow a good path in his life. The environment in their house was depressing and uneasy. But just in this one week of teaching them of this Gospel, their house had love, peace, and stillness. It´s amazing. And like I said they are progressing like crazy and they are so prepared for the truth!

There are many more examples of people that we have found, just like them but I really don´t have enough time to write about each one. Just know that I am enjoying the mission and I can´t believe how fast time is flying! Before I know it I´ll be on the plane ride home, wondering where my mission went. I really love and cherish every moment here in Lima! I am loving this work and my boss, the Lord. I can´t imagine a better job! One of my favorite scripture has become Jacob 5:70-75. This gives me such a drive to keep on working harder and harder!

I hope each one of you guys are doing great and will have a great week! I love you so much!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

10/19/15

It`s good hearing for all of you guys!

So this week I have learned a ton! On Tuesday President came and gave a training for us. It was excellent and I learned a ton! He talked about attending church and how we can teach the importance of attending better. Then this week we have taught every progressing investigator and less actives this lesson. And each time we do so, my testimony in the importance of the church has grown like crazy! There really is no excuse for not attending church. It is necessary for our well-being and also spiritually. When Elder Bednar came and talked with us 6 weeks ago, he talked to us about this and also our attitude for church. He said that if you go to church and come away saying that you didn`t learn anything, it`s because you have an attitude of ¨entertain me¨ and that is completely opposite and unacceptable. It`s not about entertaining but it`s about your salvation. And for these last 7 months I have been bringing people to church and for many of them it`s their first time of attending church. And seeing the difference of these people before and after attending church is remarkable. I have literally seen the blessings that these people have received, and every one of us can receive the same, but it only depends on us. We can receive personal revelation through the Spirit that can really change our lives.

There has been many things that I have learned in these past 7 months, but that definitely is the biggest. We NEED the gospel and church, no is an afterthought. And also as missionaries, we always ask the people we are teaching if they have prayed, read the scriptures, and attended church. And I have learned that that is the only way we can be truly converted to the Lord and ultimately receive His glory. I have learned this from first hand, as doing these things every day. So it is my invitation to each one of you, a member or not, to do these things because as sons and daughters of God, it is NECESSARY!

This week has been a great week! We have taught a ton and have worked with the members. For majority of this week I have been on divisions with members and at first it`s like ¨I don`t know this area, where is my companion? ¨But I quickly realized that I don`t need to have a companion and that I can teach on my own. And when I`m doing so, I have relied more on the Spirit and have felt the Lord`s direction in the lessons! So this week we have found many new people and have had a ton of references. There is so much potential here in Las Galeras, and I`m super excited! I am in love with the mission! Now that we are entering summer, the sun is out more and the love for Peru is just that much stronger! Waking up in the mornings and the sun is just coming out brings a smile to my face!

So I`m doing all good! I hope you guys have a great week! Always are in my prayers! I love you!!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

10/12/15

TRANSFERS & 7 MONTHS!

Hey everyone!

So this week has been full of surprises! So on Monday when they announced transfers, my name wasn´t called. I was a little disappointed because I was going to have 7 and a half months in my first area. But I realized that this is where I needed to be. Monday we worked super hard and found so many new people! Then on Tuesday morning we worked like normal, and then at 11 we got a phone call. ¨Langfoss you are transferred, come to the offices right now with all of your stuff.¨ that was quite the phone call. So I did exactly as what they told me and packed up my stuff and left. I didn´t get to say goodbye to anyone or my converts but I believe that it was for the best. So we went to the offices and I received my new companion and then we left.

So my new area is Las Galeras in San Juan de Lurigancho. And I am absolutely in love with it here! It is completely different! Our area is huge and there is so much opportunity! My companion is going on his 5th transfer here, so he´ll have 7 and a half months here. His name is Elder Peralta and he is really the best! We have worked super hard this week and our mission goals for the week we hit in Saturday! But on Sunday we had divisions and worked even harder. So to reach a part in my area, we have to take a bus, and in this area, there are so many people and so much potential. So with divisions, I was up there working my tail off. We live above members who are awesome! They give us food, and if we need anything they do it for us! And that´s the same with this ward. We have received a ton of references and are working with many members. It really is the dream area to be at! Every day this week, I have woken up with a smile on my face, knowing that I´m in the mission! It still hits me, and especially that I have 7 months now!!! Soon I´ll hit a year and then it´s downhill.

So next Pday I´ll write more! Just know that I am loving it here, and that I am doing great!!!

I love you guys so much!!!!

Elder Langfoss

10/05/15

IT’S OCTOBER

Hey Everyone!

I hope each one of you guys have had a great week! This week has been such a great week! General Conference was the best, we found some pretty awesome families, and my testimony has grown exponentially!

So with conference I was able to watch Saturday morning and afternoon at some investigator´s homes. The funny thing is that like half of the first session was in English, the cable messed it up. So I was nice to watch it in English, and also the look on the faces of my companion and our investigators was priceless because they couldn´t understand anything. But the station fixed it and we were all happy. Then Priesthood session and all Sunday was at the stake center. It was really great and I learned a ton with General Conference and being on the mission!

We are continuing finding more and more people who are so prepared and this upcoming change will be baptized. Today after Internet I´ll find out if I´m transferred or not. But teaching these people is one of the happiest moments of my life because I literally see the difference in their lives. There is something when we receive the truth in our lives, it´s like seeing for the first time!

This past Sunday after General Conference we baptized Hermano Rolando Loli Quito. He has been by far my favorite convert who I´ve had. Attached to this email is a photo of him and me after the ordinance. That baptism was the first time that I experienced pure joy and happiness in my life. There is something when a person makes a covenant with God! After he immersed from the water we hugged and I have never felt so much love and joy in my life. I absolutely love this picture of us and I have many more. But the first day of this transfer he contacted us, after the second lesson he asked when his baptism is, and he continues to inspire me!

So this has been my week! There has been so amazing experiences this week, but I don´t have enough time to write them all right now. Just know that I´m loving it here, I´m loving life, and I´m just so happy!

I love you guys!!

Elder Langfoss

9/28/15

Hey everyone!

This week has been another weeks with a ton of ups and downs. There has been many moments of happiness and pure joy, and then there are others where I just don´t have any luck.

So first the unlucky moment’s ha-ha. I feel down a mountain a little bit. I wasn´t injured or anything, just my pride. And then on Thursday we went to the stake center for Family History with one of our recent converts. And the car ride down, I left my wallet in the car and I didn´t realize it until we were far away. So when I realized it, my companion and I sprinted through the traffic to get it. And this time I had luck and the car was still there and it was right where I left it. There were more moments but I can´t remember them right now. But there is opposition in everything because this week my companion and I have been teaching so well! We are ping ponging really well and we are teaching with the Spirit.

Last night we taught a less active. We didn´t know him or planned for him. We were walking in the street and a member gave us a reference, and then we were talking and she invited us to her house. We went and her son, Ronny, was there. He is 28 years old and fell away from the church 10 years ago and got into drugs and many things. But we were talking to him like we are his best friends. And we connected so well. And never has the Spirit been so strong in a lesson. The Spirit really taught the lesson. My companion would say things that I felt like we needed to say and vice versa. But to finish we watched the video ¨Because of Him¨ and that was the sealer! But it was such a cool experience for me because we teach so much and so many people, but we can feel the Spirit that strong and feel the love God has for him, is something beyond what the words can describe!

This is one example of dozens that happened this week. So many contacts that are just so prepared to hear the Gospel, it really is a testimony builder.

This week I have been studying in depth in the Plan of Salvación. I have learned so much, and each day that I study it, there is always that sweet peace and joy that I experience! And also of simplicity and the truth that this Plan has for us. But the Plan of Salvación is what I really what to teach and perfect. The Spirit is always so strong with these lessons!

Well this week has been good, I hope that everyone will have a great week!!! I love you!!!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

9/21/15

Hey everyone!

This week has had its ups and downs. But this week I really have found myself! And also we have found and are teaching some amazing people!

This week I have found the true love for the people and the families we are teaching. Knowing that I might only have two more weeks here, makes me want to work even harder and baptize these families that we are teaching. We are teaching many families right now and I am having the most enjoyable experience. Family Home Evenings with these families are the best! I have many videos of them and they just make my mission. The hard part is that these families have to get married to be baptized, so we are waiting for the October marriage. Which means that I might be gone when they are going to be baptized. It´s still possible that I´ll still be able to baptize them if I´m on this side of the mission. So my fingers are crossed.

But this week I have found my passion to share the Gospel. I no longer have that shyness that I have always had with getting to know people. And now I have this drive to have every person know of the truth because of the blessings this Gospel brings. So this week has been a good week in that sense. We have also worked so hard this week. In one day we taught eleven people and at the end of the day, we could have kept on going! We had this energy that I´ve never had before in my life!

Then there has been some downs. Some of our investigators are having problems with the Word of Wisdom, and as a missionary, you really do suffer with them. You feel their pain and trials. In this sense the mission is hard. But every time we rely on the Atonement, it gets easier, and the suffering goes away. And my testimony on the Atonement really has solidified this week. And I have felt it some way that I have never felt it before.

So yeah this week has been awesome and busy. I have really felt my growth in my testimony and as a person. I hope each one of you will have a great week! I love you guys!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

9/14/15

6 MONTHS!!!

Hey everyone!!!!

I officially have 6 months.... WOW!!! I seriously don´t know where time has gone. If the first 6 months are the hardest with the language gap and the homesickness, I can´t imagine how fast these next 18 months will go! I´m really loving the mission and I´m in love with the culture here in Lima! When you can understand and talk with the people, it feels like home and not some exotic place. Now that the ¨winter¨ is over (cloudy, misty days), Lima is completely different. The sun is always out and there´s a nice breeze, it´s like paradise! At times walking in the streets it hits me, I´M NOT IN AMERICA, I´M ON MY MISSION. It´s so weird, but I´m completely in love with the culture though. With the sun out, people out in the streets with their families playing soccer or talking, the Spanish music always playing, it´s wonderful! At those moments, I´m just absorbing it all in because before I know it I´ll be back at home, where things are much different.

This week has been another hardworking week! We are always finding people that are just waiting to hear the Gospel. Everyday my Spanish is getting better as well as my teaching. My companion is pushing me more and more with everything and I´m truly growing because of it. This Friday I was sick and I couldn´t leave the house, don´t worry Mom I´m fine right now! But man a day without working really feels awful. You get this energy and this drive when you work and teach all day. And a day without it really is hard. But once again, I´m all good, it was only a one day thing. But this week in our lessons we have taught so well with the Spirit! And my favorite part is when we ask our investigators if the Book of Mormon is true, and each one said yes. Having them say yes and hearing their testimonies, my testimony of the Book of Mormon grew exponentially. The Spirit was so strong in those moments and you could see the light of Christ enter their eyes when they said yes. And also their excitement! That is one of the joys of the mission, is seeing this change in the people´s lives.

This week’s letters will be a shorter one, we don´t have that much time because we are going to Lima Central. I hope everyone will have a great week and know that I´m doing good and I´m loving it down here in Lima! I love you guys!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

9/07/15

Hey Everyone!

This week has consisted of work, work, and work! Yesterday we had a baptism! Her name is Mirella and she´s the first of her family. Her family will follow in this month! We have been teaching that family almost every day because their baptisms are coming up soon, and I have so much love for that family! The mom loves to laugh and most of the Family Home Evenings are full of laughter. I have some videos that I´ll send home in a few weeks. But that family is huge and is full of fun. Their kids are my age so it´s like teaching my friends! They are so ready for the Gospel and I have seen the change in their lives because of the Gospel. We are teaching many other families and individuals just like them too. So I´m really loving the mission right now. I love seeing the change in the people´s lives. And it´s not because of me, it´s because of the Spirit. When teaching, I really can see the difference or the change in the people´s eyes when they choose to accept the principles of the Gospel in their lives.

I didn´t have that much time today, but I just want to let you know that I´m doing great and talk a little about what I´m experiencing. Coming on my mission has by far been the best decision of my life!! I hope each one of you will have a great week! I love you!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

8/31/15

So this week has been a really exciting week! First was transfers. It looks like the Lord wants me in Vista Alegre for another 6 weeks. This means that I´ll have 6 months in my first area after this transfer! I really know my area now and we are really doing some amazing things. So Bedoya left and he´s now a zone leader, and I received a new companion. His name is Elder De La Flor and he´s from Peru. He is 22 years old and has 6 months in the mission. We will die in the mission at the same time! He and I are already best friends after the first hour together. He works extremely hard and has had a ton of success, but at the same time his personality is super chill. If I knew him before the mission, we would´ve been best friends. He is a convert of a year and a half. He has such a great way of teaching to bring true conversion and change to the lives here in Lima. We, in this first week, have had a ton of success. But first I´ll talk about something that was extra ordinary that happened.

Elder Bednar came and talked with us!!!! Wow, I´m still star struck hahaha. It´s not every day that you get to see and hear and talk with an apostle of the Lord! To say the least, my life has changed completely after hearing from him. But something that stuck out to me was that he´s normal and has a sense of humor! Never has 4 hours gone by so fast! And also never have I felt the Spirit so strong in my life. There were questions that I have had all of my life that were answered without even asking. He talked about what you guys hear this last Sunday with faith and also conversion. And also inspired questions. The whole 4 hours was him talking with us, not at us. That is something that I keenly learned and now am aware of. When we teach and ask questions with the answer in our head, we are treating the people as objects, not human beings with agency. The whole time he led by example and asked inspired questions and lead in a way that we were not his objects. And because of that, I learned like crazy. There was just so much that he talked about that I can´t even write a tenth of it right now. But just know that it was the coolest experience of my life.

So the mission. This week has been truly remarkable. We will have some baptisms this week and for the month, we´re looking at five or six baptisms. We have been working so hard and now we are seeing the fruits of our labor. I can honestly say that I have never been more happy or satisfied in my life than what I am right now. Seeing the change in the people´s lives is truly remarkable! Something really cool has happened this week and my testimony for "The Lord is preparing people for us" was fortified. In Tuesday, our first day together, at 4 PM all of our appointments fell through. So we were looking for someone. Then I remembered one contact that Bedoya and I had and felt really strong to go and knock on their door. We knocked, no one answered but then there was this man that approached us. He said that we need to teach him right at that moment. We went to his house and he told us many years ago he attended church and really wanted it in his life. We taught him lesion one and it was so good! At the end when he gave the closing prayer, he prayed with all of his heart and he was in tears, so was I because the Spirit was super strong. We then set it up for Saturday to come back. We did and in that lesion, he asked us when his baptism is. We then set up a baptism for in 3 weeks and yesterday he attended church and was right at home. That was one of the most enjoyable sights in my life, seeing him truly love the Gospel! There have been many stories like that in this last month like that too. I have grown so much from it and I know I say this every week, but this Gospel and this church is true, without a doubt in my heart.

I´m out of time for today! I loved hearing from you guys and I love you!!!!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

8/24/15

Hey everyone!!!

So today is transfers. After emailing today I will find out if I´m staying or if I´m going. I have really come to love my area like crazy. We are teaching five or six families that are really progressing! These last 6 weeks have been really hard, with teaching every moment and extremely tiring, but these 6 weeks have been my favorite 6 weeks of my life! My companion has pushed me a ton and I have grown like crazy from him. I have really come to love the mission. Every day I wake up just so happy. The mission is so much fun when you can understand the language ha-ha. But these last two weeks have just flown and we´ve worked so hard. I really do hope that I get to stay in my area with my companion for one more transfer, but it´s wherever the Lord needs me. Sorry for this short letter and the lack of awesome experiences that I´ve encountered, but I am really out of time. Next week´s letter will be so much better! I love all of you guys so much and you´re always in my prayers!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

8/10/15

5 MONTHS DOWN!

Every week I know I say that time is flying but really, where has the time gone? And this week has been the fastest week of my life. I can´t believe that this transfer is almost done too. WOW! But this week has been a really good week!

We have been so busy working and teaching people. Yesterday we only had 8 investigators come to church and it´s sad but we were a little disappointed because we have so many people who can do it or come unto Christ. It´s just so hard because there really isn´t anything that we can do because it´s their decision. So this year so far in our mission we have had a little bit over 1000 baptisms but our goal for this year is 1600, so there is still so much more work to do! It´s crazy the number of baptisms for one of the smallest missions in the world too!

On Saturday we had a baptism of Jojan and it was a really neat experience! He is only 10 years old but he´s so smart! In our lessons he had deep doctrine questions and things like that. His parents’ aren´t members but he really wanted to be baptized and has been attending church for a year now. But after his baptism, his testimony was so strong and there was this peace that went through my body. I was such a refreshing feeling and with Elder Bedoya we are going to have many more experiences like that!

I don´t have that much time this week but it has been a really rewarding week. I´m in love with the work, there is like a high that comes from the mission and work that just makes you want to work even harder! Well I hope you guys have a great week! I love each one of you guys!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

8/03/15

THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST!

Hey everyone! It`s nice to hear from you guys!! I know I say this each week but seriously yesterday was P-day, the time is flying!!!! Well this week was a really good week!

We have been working super, super hard and we are finding success. Every day we have a new investigator. So this week we have 23 new investigators, yeah it`s a ton. And that with the last three weeks, we have over 50 new investigators! And each one are so ready! We just have to follow up now. We are finding so many families, it`s so hard to remember names because first off there are so many people and second off its Spanish names lol. But the work is becoming a part of me and my life. I was on a work visit with our Zion Leader and he doesn`t know his area, so there was some time wasted. And I just felt awful because I wasn`t working.

I am really progressing in my teaching, The first three months were just trying to survive but now I am loving teaching and seeing the people`s reaction to the truth. My companion loves splits with members and I do too. My companion is a leader and at times he talks more in lessons. But with the splits, I am able to be the leader and I love it!! I can`t wait to not be the junior companion. I really love teaching!

This week a member`s dad passed away and guess who conducted the funeral? Yeah that`s right, us. It went really good, but I would much rather teach a family or something not around dead people hahaha. But no it was an opportunity to grow, talking to a crowd about the plan of salvation who don`t know what is happening after this life. The Spirit was really strong!!

This week I studied a little of the Atonement and I am so grateful for what Jesus Christ did for us. I received so much revelation and significance in my life. I am in 3 Nephi right now and the part when Jesus came to the Americas. It is truly amazing and awesome, the literal definition of awesome (to be in awe). I have read the Book of Mormon many times before the mission but reading it now and in Spanish, there is so much more significant to me. I cannot explain my feelings for the love Jesus has for us!

That`s about it for me this week! I loved hearing from everyone! You guys are always in my prayers and I love you!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

7/27/15

ANOTHER WEEK DOWN!

Thank you guys for your letters! I loved hearing from everyone! This week has been the fastest week of my life! We have been working so hard. We have 17 new investigators who are all so prepared for the Gospel. On Friday, we went on splits and I was with Elder Patzi, he has the same time as me and he´s from Chile. But he works so hard and we have become great friends. But that day we contacted almost 45 people and at the end of the day it hit me.

That day, all of that day I understood everything. I understood what everyone said. I couldn´t believe it and I couldn´t believe that I didn´t recognize it throughout that day. I was amazing and every day since, I have been able to understand everything in lessons, but I still don´t understand all of the slang. And here in Peru they use so MUCH slang.

I am still working on my speaking. It is coming but whenever we get into arguments with someone in the street, the words just come out of my mouth without even thing. That´s the hardest thing for me to speak before thinking. But with every lesson and every person we talk to it´s getting better.

We are working crazy hard and we are finding so many people. And every time we teach a lesson, my testimony in the gospel and in Jesus Christ just become that much stronger. Right now I don´t want to be anywhere else in the world than here. But at nights, I am exhausted. Last night I feel asleep in my clothes and shoes and everything and then my alarm went off at 6 30. It´s crazy but in the days I have all the energy.

Well I am out of time. I love hearing from everyone!!! All of you guys are in my prayers and I love each one of you!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

7/20/15

FIRST TRANSFER WITH NEW COMPANION!

Hey Everyone!!

It was awesome reading all of your guys’ letters! This week has by far been the best week of my mission and my life! So it was hard to say good-bye to Martinez but the saying ´´change is good´´ could not have been more true! He was awesome but lacked working hard. So on Tuesday we went to the offices and that´s where we learned who our new companions are and where we are heading. So I´m still in Vista Alegre but my companion is now Elder Bedoya. And guess where he´s from, Colombia! He reminds me so much of Carlos is so awesome! He is such a hard worker but we are having so much fun! I have found my Latino twin, he loves to be organized, to have a clean house, work hard, and still have fun!!

So the week before, Martinez knew that he was leaving so we didn´t contact or have any new investigators. But now with Bedoya, we have 14 investigators and countless contacts. He is pushing me with talking and I love it! In these last 5 days I have progressed more than in the last 6 weeks with Spanish. I see the Gift of Tongues just that much stronger! We have been teaching like crazy! Every hour we teaching and contacting like crazy. I have never been more tired at nights in my life, but the feeling is so rewarding! I have never had this happiness with me throughout every hour of the day. I can know teaching really well and that´s thanks to Bedoya. I have been giving the invitation for baptism and almost everyone is saying yes after the first lesson. But with Spanish, I am really progressing!!

Last night we taught a reference, Rafael. Martinez and I went to his house once but he wasn´t there and his mother is a devoted Catholic and wouldn´t even look at us. But this time when we went, his mom invited us into her house as if we were the Pope Lol. And Rafael wasn´t even home at the time. But we were teaching his mother and then he came home. He sat down and we taught both of them. It was so cool and at the end when I gave him the invitation to be baptized, he said, ¨I already know that this is the truth and yes I want to be baptized! ¨ His mother still wanted to be Catholic, but I know that the Lord softened her heart to let us in and I know that Rafael was prepared for us. I felt this happiness that I cannot describe! And the cool thing is that this isn´t the only experience that I have had this week that is like this. Our area is completely different and there are so many families that we are finding!

This week I had the opportunity to go to the Temple with recent converts in our stake and do baptisms for the dead. It was so cool! I went with another missionary, Elder Vargas, and we had so much fun! While there I saw my teacher from the CCM. He is awesome and it was so much fun talking to him in Spanish. He really is a special person in my life! The temple is such an amazing place, I have never felt so good in my life! I just felt so clean and I have a testimony on the importance of temples. If you guys have a temple recommend, go to the temple at least once a month. You guys cannot afford to not go! But that experience was so cool and it was all in Spanish too.

This week Elder Bedoya got me to try Octopus and it was awesome! I love it and I´m definitely going to have that much more!

Well other than that it just has been a ton of teaching, contacting, and just having a ton of fun! I hope you guys have a great week! I love each one of you guys and are always in my prayers!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

7/13/15

4 MONTHS DOWN!!!

Thanks for everyone´s letters! I really enjoy reading them and hearing how everyone´s doing! This week I reached the 4 months mark. I can´t believe it at all, before I know it I´ll be skyping you guys in Christmas. This week has been the fastest week yet!

So this week we have been teaching a lot and working really hard. And this is the last week that I have with Elder Martinez. I am actually really sad because he and I have become really close. Each night for the last week we´ve been up to 11 or so just talking. I have learned so much from him and I´m truly going to miss him. Today we have transfers, and we find out who´s getting transferred after emailing today. But we still don´t know where our new area is until tomorrow morning at the offices. I couldn´t have asked for a better Dad in the mission!

Yesterday at church I gave a talk, with a 5 minute notice. I was scrambling and I was going to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But then at last minute I felt like I needed to talk about prayer, and when I decided that´s what I was going to talk about it, I had this feeling of peace. And it lasted throughout the whole talk. I talked the best Spanish so far and the words were just rolling off of my tongue. The scripture in 2 Timoteo (Timothy) 1:6-8 is so true and I have a testimony of it. And afterwards I just had this happiness and this confidence that I really can talk Spanish. After that experience, giving a talk at home and in English is like nothing hahaha.

So remember Ernesto who we just baptize two weeks ago? Well he has been my favorite conversion so far in my mission. Yesterday we were with him and he is so different. I remember the first time teaching him and he was serious and just always looked angry. Well yesterday with him, he was smiling the whole time. He is a completely new person and you can see this light that just glowing from him. And it´s the light of Christ in his life. If you were to go to church and see him for the first time, you would think he´s been a member for years, but it´s only been two weeks. This aspect, seeing the change in people´s lives and seeing that this is a direct result of the Gospel, really is my favorite part of the mission. After that time with him yesterday, I had this feeling of happiness that I can´t describe. That feeling pushes me to continue to work hard even if at times it seems impossible.

Well this week has been awesome and I hope you guys have a good one this week! You guys are in my prayers and I love you so much!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

7/06/15

So I am officially 19! I can´t believe it, it feels just like yesterday I was home having my 18th Birthday party! But first 4th of July is nothing, which made me miss home because America is the greatest country in the world, how can they not celebrate it? Hahaha. But yesterday was really special! Birthdays are a big thing here. So everyone at church yesterday made such a big deal, I got countless hugs and birthday wishes. Then lunch at a member’s house we had cake, and a lot of it. Then that night we went to Ana´s and celebrated my birthday. They had a huge dinner, presents and a massive cake for me. It was such a fun time, so much laughter and love that was there last night! I got these toy cars, obviously, and this throwing game. They really don´t have that much money and yet they still give so much, it really is humbling. Then the member who we rent from gave me chocolate and socks. But tonight we have another combined celebration party for me at another member’s house. And then on Tuesday is an even bigger party at Ana´s with another present that they´ve been making a big deal. And also on Tuesday, our zone is celebrating the birthdays of the missionaries for this month. So pretty much I have to work really hard this week to burn off all of this cake hahaha. But these people go all out for birthdays! I have many videos and I will have many more photos for next week.

So this week we went up to that mountain and found many, many people! It is so exciting but our legs are exhausted! The first time we were up there, there was this woman who was carrying water jugs up the mountain with her two little girls. I knew we needed to help her, so we offered and she accepted. And the thing is, she lives pretty much at the top. It was such a long and hard walk, but when we got there, she was really receptive with us and our message of the Restored Gospel. We scheduled for the next morning. But when we were talking, I just had this overwhelming feeling of love and compassion for this woman. I know that it was the Spirit showing me the love that God has for her and each one of his children. So we finished talking with her and headed back down. While going down, we contacted some more people. But after we finished we headed back down. And while we were almost at the bottom, we saw her again and her girls, collecting more water. Once again I knew that we needed to help her. And this time it was double the amount of water for Martinez and I. Wow, which was the hardest thing I have ever done physically in my life before. But the nearer we got to her house, the easier it became. I know that that was the Lord lifting the burdens off of our hands. When we arrived at her house, she was so grateful, I´ve never seen someone more grateful in my life before. And now I have such a strong testimony on charity and putting others in front of you because the feeling that comes from it is like no other.

So since that night, we have been up there every day. We keep on finding people and the lesson with that woman was so good! She had quite a bit of questions, but I could really see that she was taking it to heart with what we were teaching! She keeps on saying that we are such a miracle for her and her family.

I am having such great experiences on the mission and I am really cherishing these moments. Never in my life before have I felt this much love for a people and the Spirit as well. But I know that these feelings are not only restricted to me here, but they are at home or where ever you are. And my advice is putting others over yourself. At first it might be hard, but once you see the blessing you make on others, it becomes so easy!

But I´m about out of time. Thank you for all of your letters! I love reading them so much!! It sounds like everything is going well with everyone. You guys are always in my prayers and I love you!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

6/29/15

Hey everyone!

I loved hearing from everyone! I can`t believe it`s already P-day again. Next week I will be 19! I`m so excited for it! Now people will stop calling me a baby. But every time they think I`m in my mid-20s, even once 30, until I tell them that I`m only 18!

This week has gone by so fast but I got sick on Thursday. It was very similar with the week before I left. I had a fever and I was constantly in the bathroom. But Like before, it was only for less than 24 hours. So now I am fine and am feeling great!

Every Wednesday we have service projects, and this week was the Benazar family. Their house is on top of this mountain (hill) and the project was carrying huge bags of sand on our backs to their house. It was a ton of work but they were very appreciative and it was so worth it. Service is the best! The Spirit it brings is like no other! I love it so much and each week I love forward for Wednesdays with service.

So yesterday I was on splits with Elder Pitcher and we did ´´Home teaching blitz´´ with one of the members. We taught many less actives and it was very cool. But then we went to this one family`s house and I talked a ton. I could actually express myself without really any trouble! The Lord blessed me so much with the strength to do so because I know I could not have done that on my own. The mother was shocked when she found out that I only had 3 months, she thought I had over a year. It was the coolest experience! After them, we went and taught Ana and her daughter. Before she wouldn`t ever listen to us but now she is! I know that we can baptize her and Ana`s husband! Ana is so strong and she wants them to join so badly, and now they`re much more receptive!

Last Saturday we baptized Ernesto! It was so good! But the water was freezing lol and he`s an older man, so it took him a while to get in. But it was really good and I know he`ll continue to be strong in the church!

Well that`s my week, another busy week of teaching and meeting a ton of people! You guys are always in my prayers! I love you guys so much!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

6/22/15

So this week has been really good!!

This Tuesday, we had interviews with President and it was really good! He sure knows the scriptures and had answers for all of my questions. But I really do like him!

This week we went to Lima Central and it was America. There were many greigos and it felt like I was in Chicago. There were many cool things there! The history is crazy. We took a tour of a museum and it is crazy. The Catholics used to torture those who didn`t believe. We went through the tunnels of the prisons they were kept in and the torture methods they had. They were some gruesome people! But Lima Central is very cool and I would definitely take you guys there!

Yesterday was the temple dedication for Trujillo. It was really special. We watched it in the stake center. I have such a strong passion to go to the temple and never in my life will I go without my temple recommend! It really is a special place on the earth!!

This week has been full of teaching and contacting. One night one of our appointments fell through and we were just starving. We just were going to the Plan B appointment and then a woman stopped us. But it was strange because she was behind us and called after us and guess what, she had food! She gave us the food and then she asked us why we were here in Lima. We did the normal contacting stuff and she really wanted us to come to her house and teach her this coming week. The Lord really is preparing people to hear His Gospel. That was a special moment in my life, seeing the Lord`s hand in someone`s life. Then we also have two contacts and one is Colombian. She is so cool and had friends from Colombia who are members. I have really high hopes with them!

Well that was my week. Another normal week of hard work! I love you guys and you guys are always in my prayers!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

6/15/15

ANOTHER WEEK IN LIMA

Hey Everyone!

It´s so nice to hear from everyone! Well Lima finally feels like home to me and that´s because I am starting to understand about 80 percent of Spanish, and I´m having fun! Now it´s still hard and I go to bed exhausted but I´m enjoying it so much! I love the people here!

Again it was another busy week of teaching. We are teaching this family right now and they are really progressing. They have come to church twice and that´s where you can tell with investigators being serious and progressing or not. And those that go, receive a strong testimony of the Gospel. I can´t talk enough on the importance of going to church because that´s where you feel the Spirit the strongest and receive personal revelation. But going back to the family, they are in their late twenties to early thirties and they have as son, Santiago, who is 4 years old. For me with understanding Spanish, it´s so much easier with her and all middle aged women, they speak so clearly! But this family is the best and they are progressing. They just need to get married and then hopefully baptize them! We also found this area way up in the mountains that doesn´t have any members and it´s all new housing. So the field is white and we are going to harvest it! But the only problem is, we have to pretty much hike up this mountain but that´s nothing for the fruits of our labors.

Martinez and I are still really close but at times my patience is tested. It´s not only him, it´s pretty much all Latinos. Time does NOT exist here. But I will have to build a bridge over this challenge, right mom? Other than that, Martinez is the best and I´m lucky to have him as my ´´dad´´. He knows so much in the scriptures, especially in the Bible. And he is a great teacher to me! The plentitude of the Gospel is in both the Bible and Book of Mormon. We really need to study and ponder the scriptures. I promise you that you´ll get so much out of them and help with whatever you are going through if you do these things. Never in my life will I go a day without reading them, they are that crucial to me and you guys as well!!

Parents here call their children ´´Chooky´´ or in English, Chucky. Like Chucky from the scary movie. It´s so funny hahahaha!

Well that´s about it for this week! I love you guys so much and you guys are always in my prayers!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

6/08/15

3 MONTHS!

This week will be my three month mark! The time has flown and hopefully now the Spanish will come just that much easier.

This has been another good week in the mission! Just busy with teaching many people. We have been reactivating a ton of less actives and it´s such a rewarding feeling seeing them back at church! The ward is growing! My goal by far for my mission is to convert long lasting members, it is easy to get baptisms but the lasting converts are so much more rewarding!

On Tuesday we were walking on the streets and a member stopped us. She said to come with her and teach this man she knows. We went and he´s a golden investigator. He, Ernesto will be baptized by the end of this month! He is an older man and has a hard time of hearing, so our lessons are really loud! But yesterday at church I was helping him sing the hymns and I don´t know why but the Spirit was so strong when I was tracing the verses with my fingers. It was a feeling of complete peace and a knowledge that this is where I´m supposed to be!

Like I said early, we have been teaching a lot of less actives and I´m starting to understand them! It´s so nice when you can interact and have fun with the members. It makes the time just that much faster! In personal study I do the best to follow the Spirit and I´ve noticed that whatever I have studied for that day, I use that scripture or doctrine that day with our lessons!

Last night I helped a member with preparing cui, guinea pig, and it was pretty gross and cool at the same time. The member liked to mess with me with it, but it was such a fun time! I have pictures of last night in my Dropbox.

Elder Martinez and I are getting along so good! He is like my brother and we are always laughing! This week his camera broke, so we tried to fix it. I didn´t know about the compressors and the shocks it gives you but it hurts, it´s like a Taser! So my reaction was pretty funny and he got shocked as well. And this made us laugh for the rest of the day. But many small things like that makes us get through hard days!

Well other than that, it has been another normal mission week! Thank you for all of your guys´ letters! You guys are always in my prayers! I love you guys!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

6/01/15

FIRST TRANSFER DONE!!!

Hey Everyone!!

I can´t believe my first transfer is done. Only one more till I can actually start to communicate well! But time is flying now! Now I´m really adjusting to the mission life. Talking about Spanish, some days it´s really good, I´m understanding a ton, and then there´s those other days where I feel like I can´t understand anything. But there are fewer and fewer of those terrible days with not understanding Spanish.

This week has been the best week of my mission and most likely my life! We married Ana and baptized her!!! She is such a special person and my favorite in the mission so far. The marriage was pretty cool and I have some pictures with it. Then we had an after party at her house and tons and tons of food. Oh that reminds me the parties here are pretty lame as a whole. The normal Peruvian party, not members, is have music blaring, sitting in chairs around a room and drinking like crazy. They do this from 4 in the afternoon to like 7 the next morning. It´s pretty sad lol. But Ana´s party was pretty good, loud music and sitting around but no alcohol. It was a lot of fun because Pitcher was there so I had someone to speak to. Then there was the reception that night at the chapel. Like I said in my last letter, I´m really loving the culture here. The people here are really special! The next day we had here baptism and it was so cool! The only drawback was the water was freezing and it took her awhile to get in lol. But by far the best baptism I´ve gone to. On Sunday, she was confirmed and receive the Holy Ghost, and when she sat she had goose-bumps all over. I´m so happy that she got a special witness of Holy Ghost and priesthood power. You can see the light of Christ change her from the first time I met her to now. This Gospel is so true and from this experience, it motivates me to work harder, even if I´m giving it my all right now.

So every Wednesday we have a service project and it solely involves moving dirt and rocks from one place to another. It´s not exciting but it´s hard work and it´s so rewarding! This Saturday we had a service project as a stake. It involved picking up trash on a street, and holy crap is there a lot of trash. I have already talked about the trash system and how awful it is, so I won´t talk anymore of it.

This Monday was really cool with the futbol tournament, we came in 3rd place but more importantly I got to meet up with Elder Von Gunten and Morrell! We had so much fun talking and talking cars with Von Gunten, I have pictures too of it.

So this week I found that our ward has around 600 members and only 150-200 are active. So we are going to be reactivating a ton. We have many new progressing investigators for this month, so it´ll be another busy and hardworking month, hopefully 6 baptisms!

(I have uploaded my pictures to Dropbox, so Dad log into it and you guys can see them!)

I love each one of you guys and I hope you have a great week!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

5/23/15

ANOTHER WEEK DOWN

Hey family!

This week we are emailing on Saturday, not Monday, because we have the mission soccer tournament this P day. I´m pretty excited for it not because of the soccer, but because I´ll be able to see Elder Von Gunten and Elder Morrell, my CCM amigos. Also what I´m looking forward to is the Jerseys, they´re pretty sweet and I don´t have to wear the Swimming Section shirts anymore.

Everything is going great though in the mission! I´m just trying to absorb everything because it´s going to go by so fast. I have no idea where this last month went. And this is the slow part of my mission with the lack of knowing the language completely. I´m starting to enjoy the culture down here. The first month was such a culture shock, but now everything is becoming like home. Our house is right by the market and pretty much it´s where people set up tents and sell whatever they want. It´s so crowded and packed every day, but it´s pretty cool. Everyone is so close to each other, I can see why it´s hard for them to adapt if they came to America.

After seeing the pimped out moto that you showed me, I see them everywhere with the spoiler. So another this about the people is that they work super hard. Many start work at 7 and don´t get home until 10 or 11 at night. They work so hard but the problem is that Peru overproduces so they don´t get a whole lot. They are such humble people too. Oh and also they copy everything. It´s almost impossible to find a legit Nike product without going to a Metro or Nike factor. However Nike is everywhere. They make the shoes themselves and then slap on a Nike sign. You can buy a pair of Nike shoes for 30 soles or 10 dollars. They are crap though. In all though the people are just amazing! And I love them so much.

The seasons are changing and I can feel it. I have had a little congestion but nothing bad. My companion is really hitting hard with it. It´s starting to get cloudy. It´s pretty cool with the mountains and when you go way up in them. But yesterday it was like 70 or maybe a little less and everyone was freezing. Oh and their ´´raining´´ is only sprinkling and no more. They say that it´s going to get so much cooler though and I´m so excited for it.

Alright so the member who owns our apartment and lives under us is exactly like Gram Cramer. We had Family Home Evening with her and some of her friends. That was the picture with a lot of people. But how she carried out the FHE was just like the Christmas Eve programs. It was home away from home! My companion and I are really getting along. At night we are always dying laughing at something that happened throughout the day. The language gap is closing and time just flies when you can talk with someone throughout the day. He has so much patients with me.

A funny story was with the Devil Child. He is a benazar and is 4 years old. He is super loud and he acts as if there is a demon in him. But the funny thing is that we were teaching his grandma who lives a little lower than them. When we finished the lesson, we went to go teach him and his family. There was music playing in the background. And when we looked up the stairs, he was naked dancing to the music. by far the funniest thing that I´ve ever seen. Martinez and I were dying! It took everything just to make it through the lesson. But he´s a good kid, just many stories in my journal with him.

Well that´s all I have this week. I love all of you and hope you all have a great week!!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

5/18/15

FIRST MONTH IN THE FIELD!!!

All I can say is wow, just wow! Time is flying now, it feels like yesterday I was talking with you guys. And I know it´ll only go faster! I am loving the mission so much now! President talked with our zone last Wednesday and it was such deep doctrine, I loved it! Just look up ´´Teachings of Joseph Smith´´ with intelligence. It´s mind blowing. Yesterday in Sacrament Meeting I understood 90 percent of what they were saying! That was a tender mercy from the Lord. But after I was back to the normal understanding. Every opportunity I had to speak, I did! And my speaking has improved so much. It seems the more I understand the people, the faster the time goes, I just can´t wait to be fluent! So I am officially done with homesickness. I had a dream on Saturday and it was that I was home without serving the full two years. The feeling was just awful and since that dream, I haven´t wanted to be home, but to stay here and serve!

Now for this week I want to bear my testimony. First I want to talk about prayer. I was readying in PMG and it talked about prayer, especially in Moroni 7:48. When I read it, there was so much power behind it. So I decided to pray exactly like what it says. There is so much power behind prayer and I have such a testimony on it. I have felt the love that God has for me and it brings me to tears every time. My companion must think that I´m trying to be like Eyring or something. But I know that God has the same love for everyone that he has for me. And because I have been praying with everything cada prayer, the Spirit has been with me all day. It´s like being on a spiritual high 24/7. I challenge you guys to do the same with prayer because I know that you guys will receive the same that I have.

Second, I know that Christ lives! The Spirit has testified to me so many times in my mission so far that He lives. While teaching Ana this week, we watched the video ´´Because of Him´´. The Spirit was so strong while watching that, I was crying. Just everything that He did for us is simply unbelievable and we can never comprehend it. I am only starting to understand a little bit of what he went through. I have asked myself before ´´Why is the mission so hard, especially with the language? ´´ And now I know why and that´s because what He went through was never easy. It´s just like that talk with Holland. But I have such a solid testimony that Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and that He continues to live!!!

And lastly, I know that the Lord is preparing people for me to teach! Last night we went on splits, so I was in a different area. There was this family that we taught and everyone was attending church and some were already baptized. However the father wasn´t. And for that lesson, I received so many promptings by the Spirit to bear my testimony. And when I did, it was the strongest testimony I´ve ever given in my life, even though it was in broken Spanish. I know that my testimony changed him. And I know that he will be baptized. (The Spirit told me he will. In my Patriarchal Blessing it talks about how it will only be through me that some will come unto this Gospel, and the Spirit reminded me of that promise last night!) Don´t have to give that to others. But I know that this is where I need to be! I love the people here so much!

I love each and every one of you guys! You guys are the best and are always in my prayers! I hope that you guys will have a great coming week! I love you!!!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

5/04/15

WHAT A WEEK!

Hey everybody!

It is great hearing from everyone! You guys are awesome and are always in my prayers. I´ll send pictures, last week the internet just stopped for me and I couldn´t send anything. Has it been a week already???? Time flies and it´ll only go faster when I can communicate without a problem. It´s been a really busy week. Taught countless lessons, met some amazing people, and I baptized someone for the first time!

So one of my Zone Leaders is from Las Vegas and guess what, he dated Elder Eliason´s sister! It´s such a small world, it was so much fun talking about good old Eliason. My Spanish has improved dramatically! My speaking is improving little by little each day but my understanding has improved like crazy! It is still hard to understand a person without teeth or the people way up in the mountains (hicks in the US). But I´m understanding so much!

Like I´ve said before, I´ve been reading El Libro De Mormón and that works miracles! I can now read Spanish pretty much like English besides some words that still trouble me. And I´m understanding so much more of what I´m reading, it really is the Gift of Tongues! Contacting is hard because it´s getting me out of my comfort zone but I´m really starting to enjoy it!

Oh! I found out that I actually like spicy foods! There was a distinct change while eating at a member’s house. Instead of crying about how much it burns, I actually enjoy the taste, sensation, and thrill that comes from it... That was something that changed for me this week!

So I baptized for the first time on Saturday! His name is Daniel Benazar and he is 10 years old. Within the last couple of weeks, we gave him all of the lessons and he wanted to be baptized. It was by far the best experience of my life! I had to do it in Spanish, so I was a little nervous and he has like four or five names (not American names). But when I did it, I did it perfectly, so that was a miracle! But the feeling I got when he reemerged is simply indescribable! I just want another one again and guess what, we have one this coming Saturday as well! Oh yeah and Lima Norte is the highest baptizing Spanish speaking mission in South America, so I´m pretty excited about that!!

And after that day on, the Spirit has been so strong! Yesterday we taught the best lesson of my mission, as well as Elder Martinez´s mission! I did everything the Spirit prompted me to say, and the feeling is so rewarding! My Spanish speaking has improved because of it too!

Well that´s about it from me this week! I hope everyone will have a great week! I´m excited for Skyping on Sunday!!!! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

4/27/15

FIRST WEEK IN THE FIELD

Family and Friends!

It´s great hearing from all of you! Well this past week was my first week out in the field. And man the expression ´´It´s like taking a drink out of a fire hydrant´´ is so true. There is just so much to take in. Alright the first day. It was really hard to say good bye to my district, not as hard as leaving home but pretty close. We got on a bus and President spoke to us the whole way, hour and a half ride. When we arrived we took pictures, meetings, and interviews. I love Presidente, he is such an amazing guy! His son works for EPIC in Madison, so he knows Madison pretty well. He has also heard of Bishop Gates but they weren´t in the same stake. Presidente was telling me the statistics of the mission. And here it is: 245 missionaries, many zones, he likes small districts, the size of the mission on one side is 8x2-3 miles and the other is roughly the same, and for each missionary there are 22,000 people. That blows my mind! There is always people to talk to. Now my companion. His name is Elder Martinez and he´s from Dominica Republic. He is 24 years old and has been out for 6 months. He doesn´t know really any English, so the first day was pretty quiet. But we´ve talked a lot now, his English is improving and as well as my Spanish. Just with less than a week, I feel like I´ve learned more than all of the CCM. My companion is hilarious but he can be disorganized and a tad lazy, but nothing too serious. I love him so much. Each day I have been reading El Libro De Mormón and it has helped me out so much. I also have to memorize all of the lessons and so far it has also helped me out so much. Each day I write down something to tell you guys, so here it is. The President of Peru looks like Michael Scott. ASPCA needs to come here because the dogs here are sad, there was a boat load of them, at least 6 on each street. The big problem here for the people is drinking and marriage. Marriage is super expensive but the church has worked out a deal where the church marriages are super cheap. The trash system here does not exist. You just throw trash on the ground and where there is a big pile, the garbage men pick it up. The smell here can be good and then just awful. The food is so different, but every place that I have ate so far, the food has been really heavy. Time does not exist. At least a half hour late to every appointment but I guess that´s just the norm here. The people literally have nothing and yet they feed us a lot. The people here are super receptive to the Gospel, a part of that is because they are a super curious people. There is no excuse to not serving a mission. A family is living in poverty and yet they still have 3 kids serving missions. The kids here are a lot of fun but the boys especially are rough and violent. We were teaching them how to read and they´re like 12 years old. We have an investigator named Ana and she´s just waiting to get married next month to be baptized. She´s heard all of the lessons already at least twice, so she knows the Gospel really well. Her niece was present for one of them and pretty much Ana taught the whole lesson. She had this drive and fire that really inspired me. The cars here are crap and super loud. When my companion falls asleep, he´s out. One time I seriously thought he was dead. It took me a minute to wake him up. The families at the top of the mountains have nothing but they still give us so much. I don´t know how but they do and it touches my hearts. I have felt the Spirit so strong this week and it´s been awesome! That´s all I have time for, I love each one of you guys so much. I can´t wait to Skype in just a few weeks!! I love you guys!!!!!

Love,

Grant

4/15/15

This week has been an awesome week! This will be my last time writing in the CCM. Next Tuesday morning, I will be with my mission president! I´m so excited but I´m also going to miss the people I´ve grown so close to. Tomorrow will be my last normal CCM day, after we will have many conferences explaining things to get us ready for the field. But now onto what happened in this last week. So much personal revelation I´ve received! It all started last P-day, I was taking a nap and all of a sudden I awoke. I felt like I needed to read the BOM, so I did. I read in 2 Nephi where Isiah sees Jesus Christ, I was blown away because I´ve read that part many times before but I gained so much reading it this time. Then I was prompted to pray. This was the first time in my life that I prayed with every ounce in my being and I felt like I was literally talking with God (He didn´t talk back obviously). But after the prayer, I had this overwhelming feeling of peace and joy that I have never experienced in my life. From this experience, I can tell people with confidence that you can and will receive this feeling if you pray with everything you got. Then Sunday came around. I had to give a four minute talk in Spanish. I had everything prepared and when I was giving my talk, my pronunciation was really good, probably better than English. This was a confidence booster. One of the Bishopric gave a talk and it was as if he made it just for me! Then in Sunday school, the same thing happened. And can you guess what happened in Priesthood? The same thing happened. I was on such a spiritual high that day and all of the videos we watched, I could feel the Spirit so strong! This part right now isn´t spiritual but it was hilarious! On Monday night Elder Jones, Elder Morrell, and Elder Von Gunten were doing like a WWE thing, fake wrestling, and it was hilarious. I have it on video and I will put it on drop box next week. But the funny part is that the mission president walked in while they were fighting and it was exactly like the Best Two Years scene where the mission president came in on them. The mission president here wasn´t all the upset, just said that they needed to be more mature, but easily the funniest thing that has happened here. Now back to the Spiritual stuff. Last night we had the opportunity of hearing from one of the seventy. He was the one who spoke Portuguese in the last General Conference, he was the first one to speak in his native language. He was so AWESOME! He is had us ask him questions and he would answer them and talk about what we had questions about. The Spirit was so strong and I learned so much! His conversion story moved me so much. His talk has lit the fire for me to go out and give it my all in one week! I will be forever grateful for what he talked about. Then this morning, instead of shopping out in the city, Von Gunten and I proselyted. It was amazing. We talked with so many people and I am still amazed with the openness of these people. The coolest was when we were talking with this guy and he was very receptive to what we had to say, and then his daughter came and his granddaughter came. We left and then ten minutes later we saw them again and the little granddaughter was holding the pamphlets. That image touched my heart so much. But just talking with the people always gets me. We handed out over twenty pamphlets and each person treasured them. I just cannot wait to be doing this every day in less than a week. I am loving it out here and I love this Gospel. I love hearing from you guys and I love each one of you!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

4/08/15

It´s so nice hearing from everyone! This week was an awesome week! I´m starting to get Spanish! It´s such a nice feeling the progress. General Conference was awesome and it´s so much different being on your mission when watching conference. The talks are incredible and it goes by so fast. It´s crazy that Soares, who spoke in the Priesthood Session in Portuguese, was just talking to us 3 weeks ago in the CCM. Time is warped here, I have never experienced time that flies by this fast. I´m getting to the point where I just want to leave the CCM and teach people. In the lessons my companion and I are teaching, I´m getting most of what I want to say out there. There have been times where it gets pretty overwhelming but in those times I have relied on the Lord and it is quickly gone. I finally am getting into the groove and my mind is focused on the people now, not myself. I have learned so much about myself in this one month and I can´t imagine what it´s going to be like for the next 23 months. I love every one of you guys and I am praying for each one of you guys! I love you!

Love,

Elder Langfoss

4/01/15

Hey Everyone!

This letter is going to be a little bit shorter because there is something wrong with the computers, so the time I have is cut in half. This week went by so fast! It feels like it´s either Sunday or Wednesday, both are the best days. Last Wednesday and Thursday I was sick. We believe that it was something in the food because there were a lot of missionaries who were have siempres. It just happened that two guys in my district and myself were the ones who got it the worst. The feeling was similar to the week before I went out except I did not throw up at all, but there were times that it came pretty close to. But being in our room for a day, not learning anything, was the worst feeling. I am so inspired to get this language, nothing will stop me. At times I do get really discouraged but what I like to do is think about Joseph Smith and what he went through at Liberty Jail and then my problems seem to go away. So the sickness is over and there is nothing to worry about, I am just fine. Today we got to go out to Metroes, a store, and get things if we need to. I just love getting out in the city and seeing the people here. I can´t believe that I have less than 3 weeks in the CCM. I´ve gotten really close to my district and the missionaries here. They feel like family and I have only known them for only 3 weeks. Well I´m out of time and I apologize for the short letter. I hope you guys have a great week! I love all of you guys!

Love,

Grant

3/25/15

WEEK 2

It´s great to hear from you all! I´m still in love with the city and the people of Lima. There is just so much here and the people are just amazing. Every time we go into the city, the people are willing to talk with us. So much different than America. The cars here in Lima are ridiculous. You go from old 80´s Toyotas to Audi R8s and classics. I´m in love with the cars here. Today I just saw a new M4 that had all of the track stuff on it, I really want it. The driving here is atrocious. Anything floats. Mom, you would be freaking out down here. But enough about the cars and driving. I am having a blast in the CCM but I would love to be out in the field. It´s funny how each person in my district is like a friend I had at home. But Elder Jones and I have become super close. It´s so weird that I can become so close to somebody in just only two weeks. The Spanish is coming along but last night I got really discouraged with it. I just want to learn and understand Spanish, but the only way is through hard work. I am going to be studying Spanish for the rest of my P-day after I write to you guys. It feels like I have been in the CCM for a long time but it´s only been in two weeks. It´s easy to think that life would be so much better if I was serving somewhere with English as the language but I know there is a reason I´m out here learning Spanish. The teachers here are still amazing! Both of them had to be interviewed in English, so we were helping them with some English. The tables turned and suddenly we were the teachers. I give them so much credit for their patience. They are truly special people. When my companion and I are giving a lessons in Spanish (we give a lesson everyday), I feel the Spirit so much. It´s so awesome to be intoned with the Spirit because ultimately the Spirit is the teacher, and he puts words into my mind or phrases that I would have never said. Right now, Lima is the hottest it´s been in a long time. I still find it really nice, there is always a nice little breeze and the humidity hasn´t gone past the point of good old Illinois. I guess there has been a lot of rain somewhere in Peru and there was a mud slide. This means that there´s going to be an earthquake or something. This morning there were sirens for an earthquake but nothing happened. They say that in Lima, you feel it, but it doesn´t destroy anything. Here in Lima, it never rains. The most is like a little rain once a month. I cannot complain at all, it´s always sunny and bright here. Even if there are a ton of clouds, somehow it´s still is really bright. Well I´m doing great! And I love hearing about you guys. I love you!!!

Love,

Grant

3/18/15

It´s nice hearing about home! And to be honest I don´t miss it at all. Lima feels like home to me already. I haven´t gotten homesick at all, even when everyone else in my district has. It is paradise. It reminds me so much of San Diego except I haven´t seen the ocean yet but I heard that the beaches are great and the waves are awesome for surfing. The CCM is an awesome place. The Latinos (missionaries from Peru, Colombia, etc.) are so much fun. It´s really nice when they can speak some English because I don´t understand them at all when they speak Spanish. The Spanish is coming along, I´m remembering a lot from high school Spanish but I just need to understand what they´re saying and how to pronounce the words correctly. When writing Spanish, I feel like I´m doing really well. And whenever I write in my journal, I´m already messing up my sentence structure. This week has been awesome! There is nothing like having the companionship of the Holy Ghost with you all day and all night. There has been times where I can´t find something in the scriptures and I pray to find it, and once I say amen, I have the exact chapter and verse in my head. It´s unbelievable. My companion is Elder Reyer, he´s from Minnesota and he´s a really cool guy. My teachers are the best teachers I have ever had. Our district has two teachers, one in the morning and one at night. The morning teacher is Sister Parr.... (I don´t know it exactly) and she speaks so much Spanish! The first day was overwhelming but now I´m understanding most of it. The night teacher is Brother Ar... (Same thing) and he is the best. He has so much energy and is so funny. Both are from Peru and served somewhere in it. For some reason both call on me like crazy. At first it was like ´´what the heck? ´´ But now I now so much more because of it. I don´t know if they saw potential in me or what but that has helped learn the language so much more. One night, our DL called on Brother Ar.. To say the closing prayer, but in English. That prayer was the strongest prayer I´ve ever experienced. It was at the same level as my prayer in Spanish but it had so much power! From that prayer and on I´ve had this love for the people in Peru that I have never had anywhere else, even in America. The people here are the greatest. The district is really cool, we´ve grown so close to each other and it´s has only been 7 days. Elder Von Gunten is huge into cars and he and I get along really well. He has had some sweet cars, but it´s so nice to talk to him and talk about cars. Like I said before, my Spanish is doing okay but the progress from the first day to now is unbelievable and that´s what I have to look at. It´s so easy to get discouraged looking at others who are practically fluent and you´re not but I just think about me and my progression. I´m memorizing 40 words a day and 12 phrases. This helps me so much. The food here is pretty good. Everyday there is chicken and rice. But there´s a variety, no buffet though. The fruit here is unbelievable. My favorite is this one where you have to crush it open and then you suck the seeds out, but not chew it. It´s a weird feeling at first but now I´m in love with it. I found that I can´t have that much rice and when I don´t eat it or not that much, I feel so much better. So I hope somehow out in the field I´ll be able to avoid it. The most important lesson I´ve learned is some of what I already said about not to look at others progress, just your own progress. The real lesson is talk to everyone you see. On Monday we had to go to immigrations to apply for my visa. We were there for like six hours so we had so much opportunity to talk to people. I wasn´t with my companion but I was with Elder Hendrix. He is from Idaho Falls and he´s a little bit older, 21, and has been in the CCM for a month now. His Spanish is really good so we were able to talk to many people. We were at one end sitting outside, but we decided to move to another area. I was a row of three and we were sitting on the outside seats. We saw a guy standing so we moved over to let him sit down. He sat down and his name was Joseph. Before we agreed that the next person we talked to, I would be the one to introduce us. So I did, and he spoke English! I was so happy. As it turns out, he lived in Miami and was a producer for a Latino soap opera. He was in Peru for shooting film for this coming year. He started talking about how for the last three weeks he has been going to a Christian church and he was telling us how much different it was than what he grew up as, Catholic. That was all we needed and we started talking about the message we have for him. I have always heard of the perfect investigator who is just ready and this guy was. He had questions and we answered them and you could see that he was eternalizing it. You could see his facial expressions and the more he learned, the happier his expressions became. Elder Hendrix had so much power when he was talking about the Restoration and the First Vision and the Spirit was so strong too. All I could do was smile! He took the BOM and promised us that he was going to read it, he asked us where the nearest chapel was and what time church was. He was so ready and prepared for the Gospel! After we left, Hendrix and I couldn´t stop smiling and hugging each other. That day, I experienced what true happiness and joy is. That feeling is something that I will never forget and I´m tearing up a little just writing about it. I cannot wait to get out on the field and tell more people about the Gospel!! The people here are so ready for it too. Lima Norte Mission is really close the CCM and I will always be in the city. It´s so cool here. Well I have to go, I love you guys and pray for you guys always!! I love you guys!!!!

Love,

Grant

3/11/15

I ARRIVED!

Everything went smooth but it was a long flight. We got to the CCM around 1 and did not get to bed till 2ish. At Atlanta two Elders and I passed out a BOM to a Peruvian named Jordan. He was a very special guy and was extremely receptive to the message we gave. The CCM here is so beautiful! There are so many plants and landscapes that I have never seen. Even though I have been here for less than 24 hours, I can already say that it feels like home. The people here are so nice and I cannot wait to tell you more on Monday. Well I have to go. I love you guys’ lots!!

Love,

Grant