la paz 1 - march 7

Hi.

Thanks for your letters. And for the package! I got it a few days ago…it made my day. Thanks for sending that. HAPPY BRITHDAY SARAH! Officially a teenager. ¡Que cosa, no cierto! Espero que tu dia haya sido fantastico! And glad to hear that Bro. Graff enjoyed that story. It really is so great to see the fruits of another one’s labor.

Well, what a week. Full of adventures. We got lost a few times. walked a bunch! Ran into a couple of drunk men, one tried to dance with me in the street, the other cried and told us he didn’t want to drink anymore. And just trying to find houses here. But it’s true what you said mom, the fear passes, and we rise to yet another challenge and we become better for it.

Well, we didn’t open this area, there were 2 hermanas here last transfer, a white wash is just 2 new people in a new area. But this area here is a little different. The streets don’t have names…well, the map has names but you ask the people what street they live on and they say “I have no idea”. “how do you not know where you live?” and then you contact and ask for their direction and this is what they tell you “just go down this street and turn at the corner, go down til you hit a grove a trees, and my house is in there, you can’t miss it.” and then we try to find it later and end up asking every single person on the street…”do you know so and so? And by the way we are missionaries….” And in the area book there are like, 100 investigators…so we just pulled out a bunch of papers and put them in order of where the streets are and then we go and try and find these people. It’s like a game. On the map, all the streets are straight like a grid…then you get out there and they are all windy and curvy and the streets don’t go all the way through and so we try and find another way and end up in a beautiful field where we have to cross over this sketchy looking bridge and we get to the other side and find roads, but now we don’t know where we are.

La Paz is pretty small…there are two districts, and there are us and a pair of elders in our district…so we share the area. so…we have La Paz A and La Paz B. they are both new as well…the other day they asked me, “are you guys walking as much as we are?” I just laughed, “yes.” And it’s up and down…there are no flat streets, they don’t exist here. And every night this week we have come home exhausted. And every morning I wake up a little more tired then the previous day, wondering how I am going to make it through the day. But it is BEAUTIFUL here. A little dirty, but so pretty. This morning we went to the river and played soccer on the sand…the 6 of us here in La Paz. Central here reminds me of Laguna Beach a little; sloped streets with all the little stores on the sides. And the people here are really friendly, for the most part. But the district is pretty small…there were about 40 of us on Sunday…including the kids, but this area is progressing a ton. I wanted to come here just because everyone talks about how pretty it is. But it’s not super hot here... it’s about the same as San Nicolas.

My companion is Hermana Escobar. She is 25 years old and is actually waiting to receive her mission call. She sent her papers in January…it takes a few months here. She is pretty quiet, but she has been talking a little more every day. She is the only child…and her dad passed away when she was 10, so it’s just her and her mom. She was scared to teach the first few days, but now she is starting to add more in the lessons. But she just follows me and doesn’t ask a lot of questions. But she is from Ramallo, a little town outside San Nicolas…she is in the stake San Nicolas…and we actually were at the same baptism, but I don’t really remember her.

But we are working hard, trying to find these investigators. I really hope we can help this area. La Paz has only been open for a little over a year, and it has seen a lot of progress, so I hope we can make a difference here. I feel like I have to prove myself, but it’s good for me, I think I work better when others have confidence in me and I am put under pressure. It forces me to rely even more on the Lord, and to really put my trust in Him. The mission has taught me a lot, and I continue to learn…

I love you guys so much! Thanks for your support. You don’t know how much that means to me, to have a family that loves me and supports me in all that I do. I’ve had a pretty blessed life.

Todo mi amor,

hna. amundsen