Week 11 : District Conference

June 30, 2014

Hola Familia!!

This week was very slow and tough.  I sort of began to lose motivation :P  It was hard to get out the door every day.  A lot of our investigators who have been progressing good have become a little flojo (unrelyable), thus resulting in less lessons and a lot of walking from one end of our area to the other.  

We had a really great lesson with a lady named Philidelfia and her son Carlos last week and it seemed like they were going to progress well, but this week when we went to teach them, Carlos flaked on the cita so we only taugh Philidelfia and she was so distracted, asking questions that had nothing to do with the lesson, and giving us dumb excuess why she can't come to church.  It's really sad because we thought they were progressing so well.  But  Philidelfia is so sweet.  She is like my grandma out here.   She loves when we visit, so we are not going to give up on her.

We had a Distric Conference (equal to a Stake Conference) this weekend which was awesome!!  Pres. Nuckols and his wife came and spoke.  So we usually fill like 5 or 6 rows during regular sacrament meeting, but the chapel and overflow and stage were all packed full with people!!! It was so great to see all of the strong members in Azua.  I was completely shocked to see so many people.  It made the tough week worth it.

Well, all is well here in Azua.  It is getting hotter by the hour, but nothing this Hermana can't handle.  Love you all sooooo much!!!

Love, Hermana Perry

Week 10 : The Chikungunya Club

June 23, 2014

I joined the Chikungunya club this week!  It's pretty popluar down here in the DR, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.  Here's a little info on it:

The Chikungunya Club

Club Requirements:

*Must have:

-Achy joints (everything from your fingers to your toes feel like they are broken in multiple places)

-Red splotchy rash (a mix between chicken pox and leprosy)

-High body temperature (a fever of at least 100.3)

*Initiation:

-All applicants mush chug 3 bottles of suero (a nasty drink that helps "reduce symptoms") without throwing up

*Members may receive, but are not limited to, the following:

-Pounding head ache

-Chills due to fever

-Lack of sleep

-Excessive itchiness

*This week's activity:SUERO BINGO*

This was not a fun week, as you can see from the "club" description.  Both me and my companion had the Chikungunya this week, so we spent most the our time inside, dying.  She came down with it on tuesday and was good enough to go out on friday, then I came down with it on saturday, and today is my first day out of the house.  It was a loooong week :P

In my down time, I found a few scriptures that I saw fit to apply to the situation: 1 John 2:6--> To be a diciple of Christ means to follow Him, "to walk, even as He walked," even if the path walked is hard.  The Savior's life was not easy, just as being a diciple of Him isn't.  But "come unto [Him], and [He] will give you rest" -Matt 11:28-30.  The Savior know exactly what we are going through and how to help us get through it.  The path of dicipleship wasn't meant to be easy.  It was meant to help us grow through challenges put in our way, challenges that we can overcome buy turning to the Savior for help.

It was a long, hard week, but I stronger because of it.  This church is true, I have no doubt about it.  I love this gospel so much and the fact that I get to share it with so many people every day.

Love you all sooo much!!!

Love, Hermana Perry

A mix between chicken pox and leprosy

Suero Bingo when you in the "Chikungunya Club"

Never a dull moment, even when your sick.

Week 9 : You Know You Are A Sister Missionary in the DR When...

Hola hola!

This week was kind of a slow week :P  It was sooo hot.  I guess there was a heat wave that hit so it was a lot hotter than usual.  We also had a lot more power outages this week.  We just about died in our apartment from lack of airflow.  It was a pretty good week though.  We found a lot of new investigators, a few of them are really ready to hear the message we have to share.  One of the girls we started teaching is progressing sooo fast!  She is reading the Book of Mormon and is already in Jacob!  Another family came to church on sunday and that was a huge shock to me.  When we first met the dad, he was hard core religious and fought us on just about every principle of the gospel.  They said they really enjoyed church so we will see where that goes.  The Lord has really led us to people this week who have doubts in their current religion.  They are searching for the truth which is awesome!! I feel like we are about to take off on having progressing investigators. The Lord really has prepared these people to hear the gospel and now it's up to me to bring it to them.

So we've started to make a "You know you are a sister missionary in the DR when..." list so...

You know you are a sister misssionary in the DR when...

1) You have to dodge baseball games being played in the streets

2) Your legs burn because you put bug spray on just after you shave them

3) It's not a compliment when a man calls you pretty

4) Seeing a naked little boy no longer phases you

5) Strange Dominican men try to help you cross the street, but instead of helping you cross when it's safe, they push you into oncoming traffic

6) There are more dogs and chickens than people

7) Half of your study time is swatting ants from your desk with your Preach My Gospel

8) Ants get into every piece of food you have, even if it is in a sealed jar

9) You mix up the spanish words for baking powder and baking soda and end up putting 7 tea spoons in your cornbread making it taste like laundry detergent

10) You ask for someones address and they tell you "I have a white door"

I tried a new food this week: Apple Bananas. They are bananas that taste like apples!! Super chevere.

Love you all!!!

Week 8 : Investigator Miracles

June 9, 2014

Hola from Azua!

This week was full of ups and downs, but it was great!! I really learned the meaning of Ether 12:4 "Ye receive no witness until after the trail of your faith." There were days/moments when I was ready to break down and go back to bed for a month, but right after those moments is when the miracles would happen.

So there is this family that has been taught by the missionaries for almost 8 weeks now and we were getting ready to drop them because of their lack of progress. We decided to teach them one last time and if they didn't come to church, we would drop them. So we went to teach them and the mom was really sick and trying to teach her class (she teaches how to do nails) so we were waiting for her to finish up. We waited for 45 minutes then decided to leave. Just as we got up, the mom, Nani, finished and came to sit down. We were late to another cita so we decided to leave. We walked clear across our area to get to this other cita and the guy had left 20 minutes earlier, bummer deal. We were all bummed out and didn't know what to do. We both kind of felt bad about leavning Chino and Nani, and a bit embarrassed about going back, but we both knew the spirit was telling us we needed to, so we went (miracle #1). We walked clear back to their house to teach and just as we got there, their children got back from work (miracle #2). So we sat down and began to teach them about the Book of Mormon (which is completely not what we planned on, but it felt right). We read the intro with them and the spirit was so strong! They were so curious, asking questions and intently listening. We left that lesson with such a powerful spirit. We got all of them to committ to read El Libro de Mormon and set a cita for 2 days later (miracle #3). When we went back 2 days later, only the mom and little girl were there and told us that they had planned for us to be there 1 hour earlier so the other kids and dad left for work. We procceeded with our plan regardless, which was showing the restoration video. Right before it got to the part were the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ apprear to Joseph Smith, her other 2 kids get back from work and she askes if we can start it over (miracle #4). We watch the whole thing again and the spirit was so powerful. Nani loved it and realized for herself that the Lord answers prayers. They all committed to come to church the next day (miracle #5 [they have never been to church before]). The next day we stop by to walk with them to church and Nani tells us that her kids and husband were called into work so they wouldn't make is, but that she was coming and would drive the motorcycle over when she was ready. So my comp and I get to the church and wait for them to show up. We waited, and waited, and waited. It was an hour after Nani had told us she was leaving in 10 minutes. I had finally accepted that she wasn't coming when she walked in the door with her little daughter (miracle #6). They made it in time to listen to 3 talks and sing the rest and closing hymns. Afterwards we explained the sacrament to her and there was such a sweet spirit, like none we had felt with her before. I know she could feel it too. She told us that she really enjoyed it and that the talks were very sweet. She wants to come back next week (miracle #7). We saw her change right before our eyes and I know her family is not far behind. I know miracles, though they seem small, do happen. Nani's experience was such a tender mercy from the Lord. We were ready to give up on their family, but something changed. We received no witness until after the trial of our faith. I know this church is true. I know God works miracles in our lives. Keep an eye out this week to see the Lord's hand in your life. I promise you He is there more than we realize. Love you all soooooo much!!

Love, Hermana Perry

Week 7 : Time is Flying!

June 2, 2014

Hola todos!!!!!

This week went soo flippen fast!!! Crazy crazy!!! But it was awesome :) It was quite a blur so this will be really random...

The week was pretty normal with visiting investigators and what not. We visited on guy--a member-- who has 12 fingers!! Its crazy haha but kind of cool.

One thing I think is interesting is all the little girls have their hair in braids. Like 6 or 7 all over their heads.

Everyone sits outside on their lawn chairs. Everyone. It is so cool. They just sit outside and talk and all the old men just sit outside and watch the world around them. It reminds me of my grandpa Cloward. You'd fit in just fine down here ;)

Everyone here drives motorcycles everywhere and it's crazy!! They fit up to 4 people on one scooter and often tiny babies!! Sooo scary! And they don't have stop signs so no one stops at intersectons. I don't get it.. Crazy crazy.

We visited an investgator who has a parrot and they taught it how to laugh and it is so funny haha! It also says "corre corre!!" (run run!!)

After walking around all day my feet and legs get so dirty. Even after I shower I still feel so dirty. I don't like it.

So you'd think because I'm in a tropical place that they'd have giant fruit growing on every tree and what not, but no! The fruit is tiny!! The bananas are half the size of the ones in the US.

So our washer broke the other day. It kind of looks like a a little kid play set washer haha, but it broke so the water doesn't drain. We have to wring out every piece of clothing and wrins (my spelling is going down the drain...), then hang it on the line to dry. It's a whole new experience.

So I totally have a typical mission experiene the other day. We were teaching a less active member and she gave us some juice but we couldn't drink it (we aren't supposed to take food from people unless we help prepare it) and it is super offensive to turn it down. So we had this juice and we were like, what do we do, just drink it? So we took a few sips and it was gross, just nasty, so when she left the room for a minute I poured mine into Hermana Francis' cup and she went to pour it down the sink, but she couldn't find the sink and the lady was coming back so we tired to pour some back in my cup and ended up spilling it all over. So the lady came back for a second and went to leave again and knocked my half full cup of juice off the arm of my chair half into my lap and all over the floor haha it was a mess. They my comp proceeded to tell her how great he juice was and I just felt bad for not drinking it haha. During the closing prayer I was tempted to take the juice from my comp's hand and pour it out the door but I thought the lady my catch me haha! ah it was a funny moment.

On our way to church yesterday we passed by a cemetery and decided to take a walk around it. It was sooooo creepy. They can't really bury people underground because everything is cement and they are so close to sealevel so the cemetery is just cement boxes stacked one on top of the other... soo creepy. Some were stacked 4 high. Reallly odd..

Ha so in the CCM I gained like 10 pounds no joke but I'm pretty sure I've lost all of it because of how much we walk and sweat, it's ridiculous. I've never been so hot for so long in my life.

I got sick on wednesday and it was no fun :P I just slept the whole day. I'm pretty sure it was just due to over heating and not enough water. I'm doing much better now and drinking lots more.

We had a zone conference this week and it was awesome. President and his wife came and like 3 zones came to Azua. President talked about the DR flag and how it has an open bible on it. He related it to the people and how they are so open to the gospel and very nice. It's so true. I've never received a rude comment about the church or never been turned away rudely (for the few times I have been turrned away). I'm so blessed to be in a country where they are so ready to receive the gospel.

We have some great investigators right now. One is Karubi and she is awesome. She have a baptism date for the 5th of June. She is progressing really quickly and is so excited to learn more every time we visit. Her friend just asked for a Book of Mormon so that is Awesome!!

We also just had another invesitagtor committ to be baptized!! Her name is Fransica and her brother is a member. So awesome.

We just started teaching another guy who's wife and kids are members and he is accepting the message really well. He agrees with all of the doctrine we have taught, but the down side is that we can't get him to keep committments. We keep asking him to pray to know if it's true and he says, we will see, and I'm on the path that God wants me on so we will see where it takes me. Hopefully he will come around soon. We taught him the restoration the other day and I got to be the one to tell him about Joseph Smith and the first vision. It was so amazing, the spirit was sooooo strong. That is by far my favorite thing to teach because it is soooo powerful.

We had kind of a bummer morning the other day, my comp and I. We were just tired and in a funk and I was getting frustrated and soooo hot and just wanted to be done before the day started. My comp is amazing, she knows how to cheer me up from any mood. She asked me to tell her my happiest memories and that changed my whole day. It really made me think what I treasure most in life and that is my family. I love my family so much! I have found that the Dominican's feel the same about their families as well. They have such an amazing love for each other. I feel so bless so be a representative of Jesus Christ to share the message about eternal families with the people here. I love being a missionary.

I love you all! The church is true! There is no place I'd rather be.

Love, Hermana Perry

Week 6 :In the Mission Field!!!

Ah mi madre it has been a crazy week!! But big news... I´M IN THE FIELD!!! :D I left the CCM last tuesday. It was horribly sad to say goodbye to CCM District but Soooo excited to finally be in the field. My new companion is Hermana Francis and I love her!!! She is such a sweet heart, loves to sing, hard working, patient, and such a wonderful mom to me :) I am her first child (first one she has trained). She is from Logan.

 

My new area is Azua. I forgot where it is on the map oops, but it is wonderful. It has a good mix of campo (small town, not busy, very poor), and city. It is the hottest area in the mission, but luckily is have been cloudy so it hasn't been so bad. It did rain crazy, crazy hard the other day though!! My house is sooo lovely. It is a palace compared to what I thought it would be. It's quite big too. Its right in the middle of the city and campo areas so it's perfect. On every corner there are colmados which are little stores that sell snacks and groceries. But they are seriously on every corner. I love it!!

 

So in the first day I forgot bug spray so I got some monstrous bug bites all over my legs. They look nasty but they're getting better,they itch like crazy though!!!

 

So besides our house being amazing, we don't have a whole lot of water so we have to take bucket showers... They are such a chore. Ha I've never been so upset to have to take a shower before! They will definitely take some getting used to. Basically we have a bucket in the shower with a pitcher and you have to pour water over yourself with scrubbing your hair and that water is freezing so you cry a little each time you pour that water. haha I don't like them. :P

 

This has been the looooongest week of my life. It feels like I’ve been here for a month already. But at the same time when we finish for the day it feels like we just got up. Sooo weird.

 

So this is our day in a nutshell:

6:30 get up, pray, devotional with other hermanas (we have 4 total in my house: me, mi compañera, Hermana Bush, and Hermana Flores) eat, get ready.

8:00 Personal Study

9 comp study

10 greenie training

11 language study

12-2 cook/eat lunch

2 leave to teach

8 return and plan

10:30 bed

 

We have some awesome investigators. One is named Karubi. She is getting baptized in like a month!! She's so cute. We are teaching another family who lived in Florida for a while and they speak english!!! So awesome. We have also taught a lot of less active members and those are cool too. My favorite is when a member comes to a lesson with you which actually happens quite often. While we were going to find a referral the other day we found this lady to teach, Argentina. She goes to another church and believes that all churches that talk of Christ are true. We showed her the scripture one God, one Faith, on baptism and explained how "One faith" means one church and she understood and it was soo cool! We taught her the first lesson and I got to tell her about Joseph Smith and quote the first vision and the spirit was sooo strong!! It was so cool. Sooooo cool.

 

I have never been so tired in my life. I wake up tired and struggle to say awake the whole day! There was one day this week were ALL of our appointments fell though and I was tired beyond belief and my comp said something that helped me get though the day, and many others. "It won't be a bad day if we keep going." And she was so right.

 

My spanish is dying. By the end of the day I struggle though lessons. I'm pretty sure I’m getting worse :P

 

On saturday we got to go back to the Capital (it's about 2 1/2 hours from Azua. We took a bus and went for a greenie training with the new President (President Nuckols) who got here on friday. We were the only sisters who came the night before so we got the stay at the mission home which is something that apparently never happens so it was pretty sweet. Their house is HUGE!! Our room along what huge. I felt like we were in a hotel. Crazy. We got to sit and talk to President and his wife for a while and get to know them. They are so nice. The next day we went to church with them and everyone thought we were their daughters haha. Also, sunday was mothers day here, so Happy Mothers Day again mom!! After church everyone who is new to the mission came for dinner and a meeting. We learned how to manage our stress and what we should be doing to train. On the way home we road a guagua. It is a small bus that they pack full of people. Crazy crazy.

 

It's a huge adjustment but I'm sooooo excited to finally be in the field!! I love it sooooo much!!! I know this is where I'm supposed to be!! I love this gospel.

 

Love you all so much!!!!

 

Love, Hermana Perry

 

Our appartment, very nice, but very little water, and no hot water. Asking Mom to send solar shower.

 

 

Hermana's Bush and Flores

 

 

 

 

No one wears their hair down, It's way to hot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes! this is what happens when you forget to put on bug spray.

 

 

 

Streets of Azua

 

 

People put the motorcycles right in their homes.

 

 

 

Friends from High School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 5: Short One - Plus pictures from leaving Utah

 

 

Hola!! :)

This week was quite normal for the most part. On Friday we got to go on splits with the missionaries in the west mission and that was crazy!! My companion only spoke spanish. We went to houses that were smaller than the rooms here at the CCM which is pretty small. But they are sooo happy!!! I already love them soo much! I'll send the whole experience home in a letter so get it from my mom if you want it.

We had an amazing devotional by Elder Holland this week that I want to share a little bit about. He talked about how we have to follow Christ which means even into the Garden of Gethsemany. There will be hard times in a mission, no doubt, but missons were never meant to be easy. Missionary work isnt easy because it wasn't easy for the Savior. He doesn't ask us to follow Him the whole way into the Garden, just at least stand on the very edge and expericence the tiniest fraction of hardship that He did. That is how we grow closer to Him. Holland also said that we invite people to come unto Christ which means we have to be there. Our message isn't "go unto Christ" but "come unto Christ". In order to truly convert souls, we ourselves need to be converted.

The week was pretty normal other than that. I've been kind of sick and that's never fun. I did, however, get to call home!!! :D 15 minutes was not long enough though :P This is our last full week at the CCM :( I'm going to miss this place, but I can't wait to get out there!!!

Sorry it's short this week :P Love you all!!! Next time I write I will be in the field!!!! :D Unreal...

Love, Hermana Perry

 

 

P.S. From Marsha, Mom,

 

We were able to speak to Ashlyn on Sunday May 11, 2014 for Mother's Day. She is soooooo happy.

Since her letter to be posted was a short one, we decided to add pictures that hadn't been posted yet from this journey.

 

Corinne, McKaye, and Ashlyn April 2014

 

 

 

Just after Ashlyn was set apart as a Mission. Dallin, Corinne & Ryan Born, Marsha, Sister Ashlyn Perry, McKaye, Grandma & Grandpa Cloward, Lizzy Jessop, and Gabby Ramos.

 

 

 

 

At the Orem Cementary, Dad would be very proud of his daughter.

 

 

 

 

Dad, he will be with her and watching over her while she is on her mission.

 

 

 

 

Gabby Ramos-Escobar, Sister Ashlyn Perry, & Lizzy Jessop

 

 

 

 

Corinne, McKaye, & Sister Perry

 

 

 

 

McKaye and Ashlyn BESTIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma & Grandpa Perry

 

Mom and Sister Perry

 

Very proud Mom

 

 

 

Big, little Brother Dallin & Sister Perry

 

Corinne Born & Sister Perry

 

 

Brother-in-law, Ryan Born & Sister Perry

 

Uncle Rob Norberg and Sister Perry

 

Please show your ID, "Can't you tell that I'm a missionary?"

 

 

Meeting another missionary going to the D.R.