Alpacas are the answer to everything! (Week 38)

Holy alpacas, family! This week has been one of crazies... So well
start with the crazies..

So after email time last week Elder Zavaleta and I went to downtown
Tarija and went shopping for some trinkets and ALPACA sweaters. And
let me tell you that they are the answer to lifes questions. I bought
a sweater, gloves, I little hat thing, and just LOVE IT! i never take
off my alpaca sweater. Its lightweight and just so snug! Afterwards, I
took my comp out on a date nightesque lunch to a peruvian restauarant
which was SUPER GOOD. And I immediately repented of my sin of giving
mom and dad a hard time for always going on date nights when they were
stressed out... I know that those times really help life!

Another crazy thing? I finally got the GET BIT BY A DOG action checked
off my list of things to do on the mission. But it wasnt bad, so mom
dont freak out. It was one of those RAT DOGS that just follow you, and
then you feel a pinch on your heel, and then use your cat like
reflexes to kick and realize a dog tried to bite you! It didnt even
break the sin because I was so dang fast to kick it. Thats right. And
a few days before that we were chased by like 10 dogs. Its not bad
when you have rocks! Before PITA comes after me, lets be real: You got
two choices... either youre going to be eaten by dogs or youre going
to scare them with some rocks. Rocks win. I may have even screamed
PETRIFICUS TOTALUS to try and see if magic would work... it didnt.

So this week was kind of crazy and hard. So at the end of my email
time last monday, I got an email from my old companion, Elder Chura,
that one of my less actives that we were working with had passed away
last week. Ahh he was 32 and died because his family couldnt pay for
dialysis. Wow. That combined with some other things just set me up for
some frustration. But the Lord loves us and prepares us. As I got
ready for a Zone Conference, which is a meeting of like 50
missionaries with our president, I decided to free write a letter to
God and see what I really felt. As I wrote it, it was filled with
feelings of despair, of MY wants and MY needs and nothing about what
God wanted for me. I decided to take a pause and open my scriptures,
where I found a scripture talking about receiving power and authority
from God. As I pondered on that, I pondered on my journey as a
missionary. Sometimes I get so focused on finding people and baptizing
and just doing what I want and going where I want to go and getting to
my happy place, that I seem to forget that I need to go where God
wants me to go. For a cheesy example, lets look at Rapunzel. She
wanted to see the flowing lanterns gleam and that was her destination.
But her journey was what really counted. The moments she rose to the
occasion, other moments where she fell, and other moments where she
loved. Now, I am not looking for my companion, so I dont have that
going for me. But I feel like we need to focus on how God is shaping
our journey. We look at our weaknesses and feel unworthy, but we
really need to understand that its the Lord giving us the chance to be
strong. As I sat in that meeting and continued to be fed and to see
the beauty that comes from acceptance of the Lords guidance in my
voyage through life, I saw how much I meant to the Lord and how much
He meant to me. After that point, we started to find people to teach.
We found people who really needed us. We are working miracles slowly
but surely. But it didnt come to me until I accepted that the storms
that were ahead of me were not as powerful as my Savior with me in my
ship. I wish to finish by sharing something by Brad R Wilcox in his
talk, His Grace is Sufficient. He quotes a hymn about the pioneers and
I want you to pay attention to grace, the enabling power of Jesus
Christ. These píoneers suffered so much but always had so much faith:

Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.

As dark as night may become, we can always count on the sun coming up.
As dark as our trials, sins, and mistakes may appear, we can always
have confidence in the grace of Jesus Christ. Do we earn a sunrise?
No. Do we ahve to be worthy of a chance to begin again? No. We just
have to accept these blessings and take advantage of them. as sure as
each brand new day, grace--the enabling power of Jesus Christ-- is
constant. Faithful pioneers knew they were not alone. The task ahead
of them was never as great as the power behind them.

I testify that Christ is guiding each of our journeys. I testify that
He will help us as we submit to that which He has in store for us.
Dont worry about what you have or have not accomplished in this life.
Worry about how the Lord has molded you into the person He wants you
to become.

I love you all and pray for you all.
For a dollar!
Elder Risueño