"Go ASOMBRO somebody!"

A pic of us waiting for interviews with president

Hi everyone!!! I hope you guys had the best week ever!!!

21(Tuesday)

We went to the offices again for Hna Luke's school stuff!! She found the DAR scholarships and if you know anything about Gilmore Girls you will understand the excitement we both had hahaha! We got to go to bed early(!!!!!!!!) because Elder Holland was coming the next day!! We LOVE President Strong haha!!

\22(Wednesday)

We woke up at 4:25am and we all left as a zone for the devo with Elder Holland! We got lost for over an hour but good thing we had the time to get lost hahaha! We finally got there and they had each mission line up and get a picture taken!! Elder Holland finally rolled up in a minivan hahaha and then he came out and just smiled at all of us. He took a picture with each mission and THEN WE ALL LINED UP AND SHOOK HIS HAND!! And guys, because Hna Luke was leading the music WE GOT TO GO FIRST AND SIT ON THE STAND BEHIND HIS HEAD. Yes it really happened hahaha. We were the FIRST people to shake his hands so we felt super cool ahhaha! He talked to us about obedience!! It was AMAZING!!!!! I have some quotes from him as the spiritual thought and challenge for today. But wow it was amazing! That night he gave another devo that we got to go watch with some less actives in our ward! It was a question and answer and wow the spirit was so strong!! That night we contacted for awhile and welp. Its true that drunk men kiss the white people. hahah! I went in for the handshake and he pulled me right in and gave me a good ol kiss on my cheek hahaha we laughed and went home LOL

23(Thursday) 

We had district meeting! Woot!! We had such a good cita with our amigo Carlos and he said he finally got an answer about the BOM!! YES!! That night we walked home the sweetest old lady so that was fun!

24(Friday)

We went and did a service all morning!! We painted a few rooms inside of a house and me and the district leader put up this MASSIVE Barbie poster and yes dad, I was a BOSSSSSS with the drill so you could say I kept the family name proud from out here in Peru! We had a cita with Rafael and we brought a member with us and they clicked so well!! These 2 old men became friends and exchanged numbers! We love that!! Hahah!! We went to another devo broadcast with Elder Holland and it was oh so good!! It was to the recent converts about staying strong!

25(Saturday)

We had our HIGH fitness class!!! It went so good hahahahaha actually lets just say that it could only get better from here. Can't wait for the next week for class!! Long story short no one showed up but lemme tell ya, Hna Luke and I got a good workout Saturday hahaha We had weekly planning and we sent a referral to CHILE!! My MTC friends are there and the missionaries we sent it to was Elder Holmstead!! WHAT ARE THE ODDS!! We found out CHANGES THIS NIGHT!! And THANKFULLY THE SAN GERMANAS ARE TOGETHER FOR ANOTHER CHANGE!!!! YES!! We are so grateful for that!!!!!! 

26(Sunday)

So we couldn't do anything or go out until after 4pm because of elections. Soooo that was fun hahah! We made mug cakes and had a grand ol time in our apartment. You already know we had so much fun. We had Venezuelan food for lunch so that was yummy!! And then we went and did a scripture read and study with our district! Our district is all staying the same which is unheard of here haha! It's so good though because we LOVE our district!!! We had a cita with Carlos and his MOM this day!! His mom isn't a member and we got ANOTHER cita with her so YAY!!! Then we got dissed by our amiga Diana again but it's all good. We keep praying and doing what we need to do! All of our citas and home evenings fell through but we met 3 new really really awesome potential friends so yay!!

27(Monday)

Alright guys get this. So there is a mall called Plaza Norte and there is a massive ferris wheel out in front of it. We had never heard of any missionaries going on it so we said hey why not and we asked for permission hahaha the AP's called us and said they asked president and they said president started laughing hahahah and said "They totally can!" hahaha the AP's told us to tell them how it is so that they can go next week hahahah so the whole mission can thank us hahaha! We played frisbee with our zone one last time! It was so fun! I love our district guys!!!

Spiritual thought:

Why is life and all types of missionary work so hard?

"Ït's not easy because Salvation isn't a cheap experience"-Elder Holland 

It is so true though!! We want everyone to be able to participate in this great gospel. It is hard because eternity is worth it!

My challenge for you all:

Elder Holland challenged all of us missionaries to "go äsombro somebody" which means astonish. We can do that by sharing the gospel in small and simple ways!! Pray for someone and pray for inspiration of how to serve them!! 

I love you all so so so much!!!!! Have the best week ever!!!!!!

 pic from our balcony

Chaufa is the name of the dog that lives by one of the chapels where we have district and zone meeting and the day after I found out about Sadie, Chaufa came and sat by me so we took a picture!! Chaufa looks a lot like Sadie huh??! She is sweet like Sadie too! 

fotos de el temple de última semana! 

More from the temple

Activity with Latina comps for the day! (The one on the far right is the hermana cap I did intercambios with and the girl in the middle is the YW that we took with us!)

A pic of us from our balcony haha it was bright!

While working on Hna Luke's scholarships, we found the DAR and we both loveeeee Gilmore Girls so OBVIOUSLY we needed a picture hahahah

And no I didn't nail Hermana  Luke in the face that picture was posed hahaha!
 That was after her first HIGH fitness class!!  Hahaha!

Elder Holland visits Lima

This summary is from Sister Strong on their facebook page:

Élder and Sister Holland were here today - January 22, 2020!!! The special devotional was held at the Limatambo Stake Center, together with the Lima South and Lima West missions. We were spiritually fed by Élder and Sister Fallabella (our South America Northwest Area President), Sister Holland and Élder Holland concluded. 

He spoke about Obedience, the first law of heaven. It was powerful, instructive and inspiring. We are thankful to have a relatively obedient mission, but we all left encouraged that we can do better! How blessed we are to have a living prophet and apostles who travel the earth today to teach us, to call us to repentance and remind us the purpose of this life; which is to make an effort each day to become more like our Savior Jesus Christ. Élder Holland acknowledged that missions are hard. But they are hard because “the work of salvation is not a cheap experience”. 

Élder Holland taught us that as full-time missionaries we have been called and set apart by priesthood authority as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. And while we are not asked to Atone for another person, symbolically we will have to sacrifice, and give a little of what He gave. Teach what he taught, act as he acted, shed tears as he shed tears, because the adversary is real and we are partnering with the Savior in the work of Salvation of the souls of men. There is no easy way to accomplish God’s work, it is the price of discipleship. “ 

Elder Holland shook hands with all the missionaries 

What a privilege we have to learn from God’s anointed servants and now to go forth and put our shoulder to the wheel!! On a personal note it was a special day for the Strong family, because we were able to see our son “Élder Strong” who has been serving in the Peru Lima South mission for 16 months. My “mother heart” is very full today! 💝 #feelingblessed

What a good, good week!!!!!

These two cute hermanas

Hi everyone!! Wow what a good week!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLEY!!! Let's get right into it!

Tuesday the 14th

We had entrevistas (interviews) with President today!! Man mission presidents really are called of God! It was so good to talk to him!! The rest of the night we tried to track down Diana who used to have a fecha(bap. date) but it is kinda hard when you can't find her...haha esta bien. 

Wednesday the 15th

We had a lesson with Carlos who is 15 and has been coming to church for SIX months but the missionaries have never been able to find him until now. MIRACLES!! We taught him and it was so so good!! We got through about half of what you need to know to be baptized because well, he already knows everything!! It was really cool because Hna Luke said people have literally been trying for MONTHS to find him and I had been having a feeling about trying to track him down and here we are!! There really is a plan for everyone!! We had the funnest NDH (family night) with the sweetest family Benites and their granddaughters! 

Thursday the 16th:

Our day started at 330am haha YAY WE LOVE THAT! We headed to the temple SUPER early and on our way we had to use roads we aren't allowed to use at night because they are dangerous and so we said a GOOD prayer haha and headed out the door. A random car came speeding up next to use and legit just YELLED and SCREAMED at us then drove away hahahah esta bien esta bien! We went to the temple and WOW it is so pretty!! There is nothing better than being in the temple with my family away from my family. I really felt at home when I was in the temple and WOW am I grateful for that!!!! On the way home I was dancing in the bus and just having a good time because why not and this guy came up and wanted to know why I was so happy hahah! YAY for good contacting ways right?? So we talked to him and it was awesome!! My craziness has its perks haha! We went to Familia Arambulo's after and sweet Lucha started crying because she thought cambios (changes) were this next week and she wasn't ready for us to go. I brought the book of pics I have of my family and shared a testimony of how I have the best family at home but God has also given me family in Peru that He has blessed me with!! He has been preparing us to meet!! So cool! OH there is this thing called Paneton which is basically a fruitcake, yum right? Welp nope. But we get it all the time and we have to love it! Haha during a cita I had poured some of my lemonade into her cup while our ward member was gone and she threw back the shade by telling him how much I just loveeeeeeeeee paneton hahaha so I got a lot of Paneton that night WOOT!!!!!! hahah!

Friday the 17th

We had intercambios with the Hermana caps and it was so fun! We got to do a cool activity with another zone and we took a youth out for the day. It was really fun! I was with 2 latinas alllll day so my 5 sentences only went so far but esta bien haha okay okay long story short I almost died this day because I almost got left and I had to jump into a cambi that was going 10 miles an hour hahaha but its okay. Hermana Luke and the other Hermana Cap decorated the apt. because it was my one month in peru!!

Saturday the 18th

We were going to have a service but it got cancelled! Dang it! But it's okay!! We got our weekly planning done and to top it all of we had the opportunity to sing at a baptism so we did that!! It was the coolest experience ever!! So after that we tried contacting in some different ways like leaving a BOM in a store and coming back to get it butttt rejecting every time but it's okay guys it's okay hahah! 

Sunday the 19th 

We had TWO AMIGOS AT CHURCH!! Guys YES!!!! Miracles!! We haven't been able to get Rafael to come and he showed up today and he said he LOVED IT!!! After church we headed to the offices so that Hna Luke could work on some more school stuff cause she leaves this summer! Then we came back and had back to back dinners! YES WE LOVE THAT! haha! Familia Arambulo fed us and ordered us food...oops yes it happened on Sunday but what can you do when they just do it...anyways. All of the members know how much I love Inca Kola and so Hermana Karina poured 4 glasses of Inca and then she started drinking out of the bottle, Hermana Lucha asked her why because there was 4 glasses. Hermana Karina explained that she had poured two for me because she knows how much I love it hahaha! I feel so blessed hahaha

Monday the 20th

We woke up and did some HIGH fitness cause we can haha and then we bought some fruit! We then went and did some stuff with the district!! WHAT A GOOD DAY!!!!!

Okay so spiritual thought is this:

"....that surely the most thrilling sight and sound in life is that of Jesus not only passing by but His coming TO us, stopping BESIDE us and making His abode WITH us." God and Christ are in the details!! I promise you!! Christ is as involved as we let him!!

My challenge for you all is this:

every good thing comes of God, right? Right! Everyday write down 5 gratitudes. I promise you that you will be able to see how involved they BOTH are with every aspect of our lives!! 

I LOVE YOU ALLL!!!!!! 

Love,

Hermana King:)

1 month in Peru!

Bus pic

3 week training

This is information on the 3 week training.  This is taken from the Strong's facebook page: 

It’s hard to believe these missionaries have been here for over 3 weeks!?! We had our “3 week training” with them on Friday. Now they have some experience under their belt both they and their trainers have lots of questions. 😊 They are working hard and we were so impressed that they jumped right in arriving at Christmas time and were a part of many activities from the beginning. Now things are settling down and the normal routine of missionary life has begun. They will be a great force for good in la Misión Lima Central! 2020 here we come!

What a good time to be alive, right?!

Hi friends!!! What a good time to be alive right? Right! I hope you are all doing well!!!

As always, here is the rundown!

Tuesday the 7th:

We did the funnest painting service with our district!! We did that early in the morning and straight from there we went to the offices so that Hermana Luke could work on her BYU app! Woot! So we spent the whole day there. We had about an hour and a half to talk with people so we were walking around and the guy that had legit YELLED in our faces and come up to us, yeah, so we saw him again! But this time he came up to us with his wife and he apologized for the last time he talked with us. We ended up having a really, really good conversation and he wants to learn more! It is crazy because you never see the same people twice in Peru! So that was a miracle!!

Wednesday the 8th:

We had zone meeting and district meeting! We taught our district about stress management and WE KILLED IT! WOOT! Our whole district is training and all of our trainers said that this was the best district they have ever been in so that was so GREAT!! We saw all of our "amigos" that are progressing this day so that was a blessing!! I also got to try pollo a la brasa today!! It is just chicken and fries haha! 

Thursday the 9th:

We had weekly planning and like always, WE ARE STOKED!! We also went to Familia Arambulo and I have never laughed so hard. We started to teach them some english phrases and words so that was a blast. The Arambulo family is the family that really helps me know why I am here and they make me realize that I can do hard things. They are so loving and they allow me to make mistakes while teaching them because they really understand the spirit. BLESSINGS!! No language can stop friendship and this fam defines that perfectly!

Friday the 10th:

How are we in double digits in JANUARY already. What the what!! We woke up early and met the district to head to our 3 week meeting with President!! it was great!! We just asked questions and we learned how to be a better disciple of Christ. President and Hermana Strong are amazing. We spent the rest of the day here at the offices to finish some stuff for Hermana Luke's schooling! Then we went home. We talked with our Duena (landlord) and we shared a short message with them and they loved it! They ordered us PIZZA FROM PAPA JOHNS!!!! We had a knock at our door and it was PIZZA! What a miracle. haha!!

Saturday the 11th:

We had a super fun contacting activity and I spoke spanish with a Latina comp for TWO HOURS haha! And I managed! Woot! MIRACLES!! We sang hymns for contacting and we met the coolest family that we got to teach!! We had lunch with familia Arambulo! We had a super fun stake activity and we watched Ephraims Rescue! Okay so this activity was a stake activity but in reality it was a very small gathering of basically 20 people including the missionaries but ESTA BIEN! hahaha! It was great!!

Sunday the 12th:

We sang in church!! We sang Father I Adore Thee (THANKS GIRLS CAMP) and we translated it into spanish. Everyone loved it! We also taught relief society! It was great!! We have a new "amigo"!!! His name is Carlos and he is READY FOR BAPTISM!! He has been coming to church for 6 months but the missionaries had never been able to find him outside of the chapel.....until about a week ago and we taught him today!! He knows everything he needs to and has the strongest testimony!! YAY FOR THE GOSPEL!!!! WOOT!!!!! so we are excited to get a date for baptism with him!!

Monday the 13th:

We woke up this morning and got ready and headed to the ZOO!!! YES WE LOVE THAT!! The zoo was so fun!!!!! then we got pizza at Little Caesers because the zoo is in a niceeeeeeee part of Lima so once again, we love that!!

Such a good week!!!! 

my spiritual thought comes from Elder Uchtdorf!!

"If you hesitate in this adventure because you doubt your ability, remember that discipleship is not about doing things perfectly; it's about doing things intentionally. It is your choices that show what you truly are, far more than your abilities." GUYS!! We are doing better than we think we are. That is something that I needed to focus on this week! 

Challenge for you all!! You know missionaries love to give challenges hahah

Read " Your great adventure" by Elder Uchtdorf and then pray about how to talk or show or explain you story to a friend! For example, write your testimony in a BOM and go give it to someone! We are proud to be members of the true and restored gospel!!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!