Sooo to start off this week, it was a really great week and my testimony has been strengthened a ton. It started off going to an investigator, Jarira, who is super cool. We met her last week and this would’ve been our second visit with her. We get there, and I'm guessing it was her husband, opens the door. We started asking his name and how he was doing and he didn’t say anything, he just closed the door in our face.. and I HATE that! So.. I knocked again and started to say we came to visit his wife, but before I could finish, he just goes, "We're busy! Go away.", and slams the door again! I was like, nope! So I knocked one more time. He opened the door and he goes, "What? Do you want me to call the police?! I'm busy, okay!" I told him we were just looking for his wife, Jarira, and that we had a cita (appointment) with her and he just goes, "She's not here!" Then slams the door. I was so livid! We had been having a pretty good day then he just cut the spirit. Luckily it was like 15 minutes before we usually go to eat. But yeah that wasn’t fun.
(Ana actually sent this picture after the above story happened. She explained that he was quite upset for having the door slammed in his face three times. She assured me that they helped to calm him down and feel better.)
Later in the week on Friday we had been walking all day and not getting in anywhere. Honestly we don't knock doors too much, just when our plan A an B´s fall through for 4 hours or something. Our mission president encourages that we try to take out references from members and others because they will stay active more often that way. At like 7:15 p.m. we started to knock doors, and door after door we weren’t getting anything. We finally got to a door at 7:45 p.m. and the lady just shook her head in the window and then walked away. I kept knocking and nothing. After that, I was devastated because we had been working so hard all day and had gotten nothing. As we were heading back to the pencionista's house, I decided to knock one more door - a door I had seen earlier that night but just didn’t knock. But this time, their gate was open and so I took it as an invitation to come on in! We knocked and she was like, "Sorry, I'm Catholic." I just told her that I came all the way from Utah to share this message and asked if she had just 15 minutes to share it. She finally let us in and there was her and 4 of her young adult aged kids! It payed off big time to not give up that last 15 minutes and just knock one more door after having been beaten down all week.
On Saturday we visited Felicita, a recent convert who lives by the beach. Her house is literally a house built of straw and sticks, built on sand, but she has her 2 kids and is just happy. We had the lesson sitting down on the sand and it was such a great and humbling experience! It's so true how you always told me that I don't realize how blessed I am. Sometimes I see people's living conditions here and think that to myself. It's pretty crazy sometimes but I sure am so greatful for all that I have been blessed with! I don't like it when people call me pitúco and comment on how rich I am.. I don't really like talking too much about my home life for that reason. (As Cory told us about Felicita and her humble living conditions while we talked yesterday, he literally got choked up with tears. It greatly humbles him to see that others have so little and are still happy.)
The week finished off with one of the best days of my mission. Yesterday after talkling to the family for Mother's Day, we went to the bishop's house to have a NDH (Noche de Hogar - family night) with his family, parents, and a new investigator, Vilma, that has come to church with them twice, but this was the first time we had the opportunity to visit her. We wanted to teach The Restoration. We started off with the lesson and then she kept asking tons of questions! Luckily it was us, the bishop, his wife, and the bishop's niece, who is a returned missionary, because wow, her questions were super deep and confusing, but every time she had a question, we had an answer for her immediately! After finishing, she just kind of was a little not set on the whole thing. The bishop, his wife, and the bishop's niece had all testified of our words and still nothing. I then testified to her the strongest and best testimony that I had ever born. I told her that I didn’t leave everything I have and come all the way to Perú to tell a bunch of people lies, rather I came all this way, leaving everything, to share something I know to be absolutely true and something I know will bless the lives of others. She then broke down crying and told us she wants to change. She is about 60 years old and told us that she has been to so many churches and never felt the right one, but she has just felt super at peace with this church, she just wants to know for a surety it's true. She also told us all her life she has had weird, paranormal like activity going on. But recently it was stronger than ever, that in her house her bible will just all the sudden get thrown across the room and she hears voices and stuff… like some pretty sketchy stuff. We told her maybe it's because Satan knows what she is about to enter into and so it's getting stronger. But yeah, anyway it was a pretty crazy night but I had never born such a deep testimony in all my life! It was awesome!
Mom, you're so right, though I may have hard times and whatnot, it's where I'm supposed to be and it's such a great experience to have for my life and to be able to bless the lives of others.
Anyway, I have to go now! But I love you all. Have an amazing week!
Love, your favorite missionary, Elder Rokovitz
Love, your favorite missionary, Elder Rokovitz
Our Zone hiking a sand mountain on p-day.
The view from the top.
Heisman haha.
Our Zone.
Me and Elder Salazar.
Me and my companion, Elder Aldea.
Just me at the sand mountain.
Me after rolling down the hill after losing to "What Are the Odds" game.
Love that Matécito/Terere drink.
I think that's corn or something in the truck.
A Catholic parade was going on. This is the culture I'm talking about that I love so much. It is super cool. The street was filled with devils and then the angels/saints. (When we were talking to Cory yesterday, I asked him what his favorite thing about Perú was. He said, "The culture and most of the food." When I asked if there was anyting he didn't like, he thought for a while and then said, "There's nothing really. Well, maybe freezing cold showers. I haven't had a warm or hot shower in 3 months. Just freezing cold water every day.")
Me and Elder Aldea with devils from the parade.
Me and Elder Aldea with about 1% of the angels and devils from the parade.
