August 10th Letter

I am going to be a sister trainer leader. I have a transfer. I’m sad to leave my Sister behind to lead our sector and all the people I love in Lince but I know the Lord needs me in another area for these next few months. I have to be an example for all the Hermanas (Sister Missionaries) now. We will see how that goes. I ask that you please pray for me. I am going to need it. I am very nervous.

Cecilia and cesar got confirmed in sacrament meeting yesterday by the bishop. It was great. Their mom came too. We the 4 hermana missionaries and our ward mission leader talked to the Sunday School class about what to do when you see a new face at church. We did a demonstration of what not to do and what you should do- like being welcoming and talking to them and sitting with them in the meeting too. It was fun. After church we went to a members house. she is named Milagros and is one of the missionary´s best friends. We always go to her house to eat food and to relax and she goes on visits with us. She was a missionary for a month too. So yesterday we said goodbye to her.

Love,

Hermana Bruns

Pictures from August 3rd

Hanna, Mom of youth, Cecilia, Cesar, Dad of youth, Hermana Sabir (From State of Washington)

Maria with the Bishop’s dog (Paris).  I love that dog.  She is my little friend.

July 28th (Peru Anniversary Celebration – Fiestas Patrias) – Young women of her assigned ward in traditional Peru dance attire.

Hermana Hunter (Hanna’s old companion), Renzo and Hanna at his baptism.  Reunited once more!

After Renzo’s baptism, he made us fried chicken and french fries in his restaurant/house.  Yummy!

Cecilia and Hanna acting silly at Chilli’s Restaurant.

Hermana Sabir and Hanna eating “campfire smores” for the 4th of July.  The split a banana and put chocolate chips, marshmallows and peanut butter and wrapped it in tin foil.  Heated it up in a pot until everything melted.

Hanna, Hermana Castillo (former companion) and their friend Milagro.  This was right before Hermana Castillo went home from her mission.

August 3rd Letter

Cecilia and Cesar got baptized yesterday! Wohooo! The water was freezing and their baptismal clothes were huge on them but they did it! We are so happy and excited for them. Today we are going to visit them and work on their family history so they can go to the temple. It’s exciting stuff.

The mission makes me feel like I accomplish things. When I am in the Lord’s work He blesses me, the people I teach, and you guys. It’s a special feeling. So many blessings. Yesterday I thought about having to leave all the people I love here and I got really sad. It’s going to be hard. I have made lots of friendships as a missionary. God has blessed me and helped me come more out of my comfort zone as a person. Sure I am still shy and like to listen more than talk but He has helped me make friends because of my efforts as a missionary. I feel very loved here. I love the people here and will be sad to leave them.

Cecilia and Cesar´s mom and dad came to their baptism. The mom is less active and the dad isn’t a member. The young women presented a musical number and sang You Are A Light on a Hill by Jenny Phillips. The mom started crying while they sang. It was special. The spirit was strong and touched her heart. It was a great week!

Love,

Hermana Bruns

July 20th and 27th Combined Letters

Something on the mission that I have learned about myself is that….I really can love people, anyone, if I look at them through God’s perspective. That’s something that I couldn’t say before. Before, I got easily frustrated by the actions of others. But studying the scriptures, praying for help, and teaching with the spirit has taught me to love everyone. I know everyone is a child of God and deserves to be rescued. It’s amazing.

This week we are expecting 2 baptisms on Sunday. Their mom is also a less active we are working with and they are very special youngsters.

This week my companion went to shake hands with an investigator and he went to kiss her on the cheek and she forgot she wasn’t supposed to do that so halfway through it she jerked backward and turned bright red and we all started laughing. Poor investigator! Haha it’s fun to see stuff like that.

The Lord always has a purpose for us in everything that we go through or experience. That is the bright side of things. We can choose how we act in every situation, and when we mess up, He is always there to help us get back on track. It’s the beauty of the Atonement. I love my Savior and I know he loves me and you. He died and suffered everything that we go through so that we could have a chance to live with him and God. Alma 7. 11-13.  The ultimate sacrifice of love that anyone has ever paid in all the history of mankind. It’s beautiful.

Today we made hamburgers as a zone and played sports. I love the combination of los gringos and los latinos. It is very fun to watch how we interact with each other especially the elders. While we were making the food some latina hermanas were asking the gringo elders how the star spangled banner song went because I told them that sometimes the singers at football games messed up the lyrics so they were teasing the elders and making them nervous and singing it. haha It was very funny.

I can’t believe all of the missionaries are getting home now its incredible!!!!!

The two kids that were going to get baptized this week are going to get baptized this next Sunday. we are going to sing a special number for them. loveyouuuuuuuuuuuu

Love,

Hanna

July 13th Letter

What a great experience getting to see Renzo Carbonel get baptized. Do you remember me always talking about him when I was in La Marina? He was that investigator that turned his life around through the Gospel but never got baptized. WELL HE DID YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They finally opened up that sector again and put two excellent hermanas there that went to knock on his door to find him almost everyday until they found him. They told me he was drinking and smoking again and didn’t want to quit to take the last step to baptism. But through the spirit and mercy of God, he decided to do it. He was baptized yesterday and me and Hermana Hunter got to be there and talk with him and hear his testimony. I cant describe how happy I feel right now.  It was the best in  the world. The spirit was so strong . The reason that he always smoked and drank was because he felt lonely and depressed. But through Jesus Christ he knows now that he is never alone. Jesus is always there with him to keep him company and understand him.  We were waiting for him to arrive for his baptism.  We were just talking to other members and when I saw him I just started crying and he did too. The spirit was very present.He told Hermana Hunter and me that we were like sisters to him and that he loved us.  I was so happy inside that he had finally gotten to that point. He bore his testimony on how the Gospel has changed his life. It’s the weirdest feeling being a missionary and wanting SO BAD to hug him but I can’t so I just stood there and shook his hand for a long time. Ha! Ha! It was a very beautiful experience and the spirit was soooo strong! I also got to see Bishop Vargas and the less active lady and her daughter that we lived with. It was a fantastic day!

Hermana Sabir is doing better. She is with a cough now. We are hoping for 2 baptisms this Saturday. Maria’s friend Cecilia and her brother Cesar are going to be baptized. We are so excited!!! Maria is a missionary without a name tag. She is wonderful and loves helping us teach the gospel.

I love seeing people progress and make covenants with God. I loved seeing how the atonement changed Renzo. He knows now that he is never alone. That Jesus is always with him and his spirit with always help and comfort him in all times.

Have a great week.

Love,

Hanna

July 6th Letter

It is such a joy to hear that Jenna (Tyler) is going on a mission. I can’t believe it! Today we played minute to win it games with our zone. We prepared a Chilean food called completos that consists of a hot dog with avocado, tomato, and salsas on top with french fries. It was delicious. For the fourth of July, me and my companion made banana split s´mores (like we always did at girls camp). You cut the banana down the middle and fill it with chocolate chips and peanut butter and we added marshmallows. Then wrap it in tin foil and let it heat up. You have a delicious dessert!!! We also sang the national anthem and wore red white and blue too. Haha it was a good week. We are teaching Maria’s friend Cecilia who decided to get baptized on the 18th of this month! We are bonding with her and helping her get used to the traditions of the church.  Maria is a big help. We love her!

The new mission president is quiet, calm, and collected. He told us up front that he didn’t like having the attention on him but the area presidency made him have a meeting with all of us (ha! ha!). His wife speaks very little Spanish and is struggling but willing to learn. Looking forward to bonding and loving them both. They have 2 teenage kids that are going to live with them here in Lima. What a sacrifice…They are from Idaho.

Love,

Hanna

June 22nd and June 29th Combined Letter

My companion is Hermana Sabir and she is from Washington state. She is African American and is still learning Spanish. She is 19 years old and really funny. She loves to eat and tell jokes. We are getting along great. She is really anxious to learn new things and connect with the people. I’m happy to have another chance to train.

We are teaching the friend and brother of Maria. She is great and always does visits with us. We love her!!! We got to see the Trujillo Temple dedication. It was beautful and Pres. Uchtdorf and David Bednar were there. We watched it from our stake center. We had to show our recommend. Maria and her dad went and so did Nidia. It was awesome. We did the Hosanna shout and everything. It was a good week!

The training is going well. My companion got sick this week from the new and different food here in Peru but today she is feeling better. She is doing great and so am I. A little stressful as normal but alright. Today we read the last email from President Borg. It was sad. I took a picture of it. It’s hard to see him and his wife go. They are such awesome people. I am going to visit them in Utah when I get back!

My companion is progressing but she always talks to me in English and I always have to remind her to talk to me in Spanish. It’s difficult at first I know, because we both speak English but I told her the best way for her to learn is by speaking in Spanish always. And I told her reading her scriptures in Spanish and English side by side will help her understand it better too.

We are going to the temple tomorrow as a zone and I’m excited. I will understand the session in Spanish better than ever before. I love the temple. It has a different meaning for me, than the first time that I got my endowments. It’s such a special place. We are so blessed to have one 15 minutes away from us at home! I am going to take advantage of that for sure. I am really getting in to the Book Of Mormon. I am growing to love it more and more each day. It has such a strong testimony of the prophets and people who lived back then and their faith in God.

Love,

Hanna

June 15th Letter

My week was good. Yesterday President Borg told me I will be training again!!!! I’m so excited. I get to be with a brand new missionary. I will find out today in like 2 hours who she is. My companion is going home tomorrow. She finished her mission. The whole mission is getting together one last time because President and Hermana Borg finish their mission in 2 weeks. They are sooo trunky, anxious to see their new grand kids. We put together a special arrangement of “God Be With You til We Meet Again” for them and they asked me to play the piano. I’m excited but we are all going to cry.

This whole week. we spent saying farewell to all my companion’s converts and loved ones here in the mission. She doesn’t want to go home but has finally accepted that it’s time. God has a time for everything.

I am doing well. Learning new stuff everyday. We went to the temple with Nidia our convert on Friday.  She was baptized and confirmed for her mom who died 11 years ago. It was very special to her.

Independence day in Peru is July 28. Its called Fiestas Patrias (Patriot Party) and everyone wears the flag and colors of Peru. There is a ward activity and the members always dance old dances of the Peruvians. We eat food and there are always fireworks. It’s super fun.- We sing the national anthem all together.

On personal days we play sports or go to the beach or go to a museum. We went to eat with the whole zone afterwards. It’s fun to be with the zone. I got to be companions with Hermana Hunter yesterday because her companion is also going home and they had a training meeting all day. So her and I were together like before! Her Spanish is getting better and she seems to be doing good.  I’m excited for this week!

I can feel the Spirits influence in my life and I know it helps me to get this work done. I can feel the mission changing me everyday into something different. I’m different than I was a year ago. I have a new purpose. I know my goal and how to achieve it. It’s a good feeling, but one that I needed to come on the mission to get to this point.

Love,

Hanna

June 1st Letter

Today I was studying the Book of Mormon in Alma 50-51. It talks about Captain Moroni and his quest to keep freedom among the Nephites. The Spirit touched my soul profoundly when I shared what I was reading with my companion later. I started crying because it was very strong and the feeling of gratitude I had for all that they have done for us. Thanks to their diligence and obedience to the Lord, we Americans are free today. We owe them our lives. I gained a stronger testimony that this book is true and that God preserved it for us today so that WE could know what they did for us. It’s a special experience.

Maria Campos got baptized on Saturday!!! She had many trials and tests but in the Lord’s time, she was baptized. Her mom died a bit before Mothers Day, her brother and his wife are evangelicos(Evangelists) from a different church and always confuse her, etc. Our zone leaders were pushing us to make the baptisms that we had planned for May happen in this last week. So we gave it everything we had. With Maria we had our district leader come and interview her. We planned her baptism even though she told us she wouldn’t get baptized until she received an answer to her prayers. The day of her baptism came and she was so excited. After she got baptized, she bore her testimony. She said she felt fireworks within her, a feeling of happiness she couldn’t describe. She knew with a surety that she was a daughter of God. She finally received an answer!!!  We are so happy for her. Her less active dad got to baptize her too and was happy too. It was a special night.

It was a good week for us. We are looking forward to another.

Love,

Hanna

May 25th Letter

Dear family and friends,

So I got the best news yesterday. We got to go to a fireside in the institute building that is right next to my first area: Las Brisas.  The fireside was about Historia Familiar (Family History) so basically the whole Las Brisas ward was there too. I got to see lots of my friends from there and chat with them. The Elder Uceda that is from the Area Presidency used to be in that ward. His son is now bishop there and his wife Bertha was one of my favorite people in that ward.  Although she has two young children, she always completed her role every member a missionary by coming with us to do visits or lessons every Sunday after church. So there was this less active old guy named Anibal that we always went to visit. He has diabetes and had to get lots of blood taken so he is very weak. He can’t walk because his legs are messed up and really skinny and he always has lots of pain. He would always cry and ask us what he did to deserve this punishment from God and so on…One time visiting him we told him if he had faith in the Lord, he would give him strength to get up and walk to church to be able to attend. Bertha told me that this month he came to church on his own. He came walking, by himself. He is active and strong in the church again!!! What a miracle that Lord has given us!!!!! When I heard it I couldn’t believe it and started crying because I was so happy. I know God works through us to bring to pass miracles. Its amazing. I’m so happy!!

It strengthened my testimony so much to know that all the work we did, every time we visited him-paid off. I know my Savior lives. I know God lives and works to help his children in these last days. That was my experience for this week.

Our ward mission leader is missing in action. No one has seen him for 2 weeks now. The bishopric went to his house and he never answered. We called him and texted him and he finally answered us and said through text he was sick. I have a feeling its something more than that but at least the bishop is aware and can help. I hope he will be ok.

We are doing good. Nidia got baptized last Saturday. We are shooting for 3 more baptisms by the end of May. We will see what happens. Something funny that happened this week was that we went to eat at a restaurant and had an ají challenge. Ají is chili pepper salsa and it’s really spicy. We took videos of it which I can’t send through email but a missionary from Ecuador doesn’t like ají so it was funny when her face turned red when she had to eat a spoonful of it and was panicking because she wanted water.

I’m truly grateful for the mission and how it is changing my life, and my heart.  My desires are changing too, and I know its for the better. I feel so happy to have it in my life. And to be able to share it with others. Sometimes I feel exhausted.  It’s true but I never lose sight of what I need to do to make me happy and others too. The Gospel truly makes us happy when we can live it. We are freed from sin and sorrow. We are happy and feel peace to know that the Lord is in charge of everything and that everything is going to be OK. We can truly rely on him and his Prophets. Their words will lead us to eternal life.

Heres a cool video of family history is spanish. It’s a song by David Archuleta:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDU3EBSpwxg

Love,

Hanna