Turkeys and Stuff

It's been a good week, also been an exhausting week! This may be my best letter yet.. in the context part of it, since I´ve straight been writing essays for the past 24 hours (College application essays....gotta get that stuff in now, unfortunately.) 

Started off strong on Monday, our p-day, as we celebrated Perú going to the World Cup with a little fútbol game of our own. We beat the Laureles Zone 1- 0 in our first game and tied the second game, therefore we won! It was a ton of fun but it WRECKED us. 

                                                                             

After the game, since we were in Salaverry, we NATURALLY had to pass by Ana and the fam. Abraham came to the game and told me Ana made a pizza because she knew I would stop by.. and we did. Love being close to Moche and being able to always see them. That was super good. 

                                                                                

With Abraham at the game. I love this family so much.

On Tuesday we were EXHAUSTED and beat up. We barely talked the whole day because we were so tired. We did get to see Jose though and had a really great lesson with their family. The spirit was super strong and we were about to invite the whole family to baptism when Jose goes, “I´ve seen that place” (the Sacred Grove) “I've seen that place in a dream.” We thought he was going to say something about Joseph Smith or something super cool, but nope... He told us the same dream he tells us every time he sees us. It was a bummer because it killed the spirit and only half of them accepted the fecha (baptism date.) We have planned to visit them tonight so we´ll read Mosiah 18 and talk about church and baptism. They couldn’t come to church for some reason. They weren’t home all day. We think something happened in the family because their house was dark all day long and we couldn’t get ahold of them. 

Anyway, apart from that, I went on 2 interchanges this week. One with our District Leader, Elder Luna, and the other was with my GUY, Elder Velasquez. With Elder Luna we did a service in the morning, cleaning a house that has been abandoned for 3 years.. that was fun. We found giant bugs and spiders and even a dead cat that a rat used for it's nest.. haha sure loved that one. 

Elder Velasquez and I mobbed here in my area! We went to Dany and taught him a bomb lesson. We read 1 Nephi 11 with him since he's read up until that point. The kid is a stud. He couldn’t come to church though because his mom left and he had to take care of the store, BUT the kid is doing awesome! He´s progressing a ton. 

Thursday was easily one of the best days of the week! Mostly because we ate a ton. Hermana Rios (the mission president's wife) took my companion and I out from 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon to visit the missionary's rooms in the zone, and in the journey she took us to this super nice restaurant and we ate my favorite plate, “Lomo Soltado.”

                                                                             

 

After that, we only had 2 hours to proselyte until we went to the bishop's house to eat Thanksgiving dinner!! He invited us and the sisters over since he knew it was Thanksgiving in America. Love our bishop´s family! So yeah, we ate Turkey, Pollo a la braza, mashed potatoes, potato salad, rolls, corn, chichi juice. All the goods. Even ate some keylime pie! So don’t worry, Thanksgiving was definitely enjoyed! 

                                                                              

On Sunday we had a pretty hard day. Every cita (apppointment) we had failed.. we had a bunch of awesome citas too ☹ The only cita that didn’t fall through was with our boy, Irvin!! We taught him the restoration with the video and invited him for the 30th of December to be baptized. His answer was, “Yeah.. Of course!” Love the kid! He´s come the past 4 Sundays in shirt and tie, goes to every Noche Misional (mission night) and went to the Face to Face fireside. He´s basically a member, he just needs to get in the water! 

So yeah, it's been a pretty good week, just coming back exhausted every night! For p-day today I'm  gonna workout with Elder Velasquez then watch The Best Two Years as a district. Loving life. Hope you all have a great week!

Con amor, Elder Rokovitz 

                                                                             

With my companion, Elder Torres, after the game last week.

A little Thanksgiving gift from Hermana Mirian (the bishop's wife.)

Elder Velasquez and I got hungry so we made some Chow Mein.

Trying to study.

Got hungry again haha....

Now THAT'S a burger!!!

The "sqwad" after the interchange.

Devuelta Al Mundial (Returned to the World)

AL MUNDIAL AL MUNDIAL PERU VA A MUNDIAL!! (TO THE WORLD TO THE WORLD, PERU GOES TO THE WORLD) CHEEHOO! (Perú won their fútbol game and are headed to Russia for the World Cup. That's a huge deal in Perú.)

This week has been exhausting! Haha, I'm absolutely beat. Monday we ran in the morning then after that we played soccer so that started off the week on a tired note. 

The next day we gave a Zone training from the consilio (counsel meeting) we had the other day. We pumped up the Zone and we are already seeing a huge difference in everything, which is awesome.

During this week we were able to have a super good lesson with familia Roncal (Hermano Jose and his family.) We taught the Day of Rest and it went AWESOME. I felt super guided the entire lesson, it was such a spiritual lesson. Not only that, they understood perfectly and promised not to sell this Sunday and come to church.. well they came to church! But, THEY didn’t sell.. but they asked the sister of Merlinda (Jose´s wife) to come and work while they went to church.. Haha, we forgot to include, “nor your ass, nor your servant, nor the gringo that’s in your house" etc.. We actually didn’t get to take the sacrament because we went to go get them and they took until 8:15 to get ready and when we got to church they had just barely closed the chapel doors.. so we had a good explanation of the importance of the Sacrament and being on time. 

We actually taught that same lesson to Dany on Sunday because he came late these past 2 Sundays. We put a fecha (baptism date) with him as well for the 6th of January! He was a little nervous about it but we explained really well what it meant and whatnot, plus in the second lesson yesterday, we explained more and he seems to be feeling a lot better about it! 

Also we taught Jennifer this week. Luis already left to work for 28 days so we won't see him for a hot minute. But the good thing is that they did talk and she seemed happier and actually asked us if she could come to the next wedding happening (which will be in December from the sisters) so it sounds like they talked about marriage and feel a lot better about it! Super hyped about that. 

Apart from that, not much happened this week… oh wait.. one tiny thing.. PERÚ VA A MUNDIAL!!!! (PERU IS GOING TO THE WORLD!!!) Yup. Perú beat new Zealand 2-0 this week and are now qualified for the World Cup. The country went NUTS! I wore my flag cape again that day. That night though, holy cow!! When the game ended, my companion and I went on our roof and the entire country was roaring! It was ridiculous. But oh boy, was it awesome! 

Anyway, on a more spiritual note.. the missionaries this year got to participate in the “Face to Face” for YSA (young single adult group - ages 18-30.) It was amazing! Super spiritual and helped me out a ton with many things. Also, Irvin went to that, as well as came to church again for 3 hours in shirt and tie! We couldn’t teach him this week but the next week we are hoping to be able to put a fecha (baptism date) with him as well for December. We´ll see what happens. 

But yeah, pretty good week. Went on 2 interchanges this week so that’s why I'm even more tired. But it's all good. We're gonna play Laureles (my old Zone) in soccer today, sooo we're gonna beat 'em! Bouta get hyped. 

I literally forgot that this week is Thanksgiving.... haha but thanks for reminding me! I love you all! Besitos. Vamos Perú!

Tu Peruano fiel, Elder Rokovitz 

                                                                                 

Our game plan for the soccer game today.

I found a Mountain Dew here. It doesn't exist here actually. I bought it even though it cost 4 soles. Normally it's 1 sol for a soda. (A sol is equal to about .30 cents in the states.)

Me and Dany, the biggest Peruvians on the block, puttin' the team on our backs, literally.

Inka Kola

CHEEHOO! This week has been LIT. First off, my new companion, Elder Torres, is a straight G! We're actually "brothers" because Elder Harper trained him as well. But the kid is awesome! We are mobbing together. He's a straight homie. He's a hard worker and his dad is a cop so he's straight up with the people and not afraid of anyone. So yeah, hopefully I stay another change and get to send him home at the end of his mission.

                                                                           

Me and my new companion, Elder Torres, from Chiclayo Peru.

Tuesday was fun. As we were in the bus station waiting for all the elders to come in to get them to where they needed to be, I heard a familiar, "CHEEHOOO!!" Coming from one of the buses pulling in. Dang straight, gotta see my boy Elder Johnson! Haha love him. The kid is training so he´ll end his mission training a new missionary. The next day we had consilio (council) which was cool since literally 10 of the 12 companionships of Zone Leaders or Hermana leaders are from my CCM group haha, but consilio was awesome! I'm super hyped for the upcoming month and the stuff we´re about to do. And with my new companion's help, we're gonna MOB!

                                                                           

It was so great to be at council meeting with so many of the missionaries I came out with 15 months ago. We have been "family" since day one.

So real quick about the investigators. We went to Jennifer twice this week (the ones that came to the class in church about the Law of Chastity last week.) We talked about marriage with her using Helaman 5:12 (And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty stormshall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.) She “said” she talked with her husband, but we quickly found out that wasn’t true when we returned on Sunday. On Sunday we started talking about it and they started bickering and fighting about the problems of one another and that’s why they couldn’t get married. I basically, low key, told them to shut up after that because everytime we would say something they would go off again. In the end, we had an amazing lesson about communication and it turned out super good. My companion likes to sing hymns to people (we´ve done it 3 times this week) so we ended with us two singing a hymn. As I was singing I thought, “Man, I would NEVER have done this at home. I'm sure Mom would love to see this one”, haha, but no, we left with a HUGE spirit in the home which was awesome.

Also, we found this kid Irvin, this last week. Wow. He is an Inka Kola! (Quick explanation: There are two types of Inka Kola soda here. One is called, Oro, which means "gold" in Spanish and the other is called Inka Kola. Inka Kola is 100 times better than Oro. Oro is basically a rip of Inka Kola. So when the investigators are straight fire, they´re Inka Kolas.. not gold) Anyway… he's a STUD! He's gone twice to the church in shirt and tie for 3 hours.. like WHAT?? He's the most prepared investigator I've ever met. He´ll be in the water soon. I'll let you know the date next week. But we had a perfect first lesson with him. It ended up being pure revelation because what we talked about was literally what had brought him to the church in the first place. Wow. Love it.

Apart from that, we´ve been walking a lot this week. We decided to find all the golden “antiguos investigadores” (ancient or old investigators) in the carpeta de area (area folder), as well as finding and talking to a bunch of members we don’t know. It was super cool, but LOTS of walking.

Also I had an amazing personal study that answered a question I've had for a while. Dad sent me a talk called "Candlelight of the Lord" and it was amazing. In the talk was the exact question I've had. It brought me to tears to read the answer, right there in front of me. I immediately thanked Heavenly Father for answering my question. It helped so much. 

Life's good. Super great week and I'm hyped for these upcoming weeks-months! Gonna be lit!

Te amo fam.

Ya Inka Kola fiel, Elder Rokovitz



                                                                         

Saying goodbye to my boys, Elder Walker and Elder Houskeeper. They came up from Huaraz and I got to pick them up to take them to the bus station. 

Our "friend" we found in the street. He was as drunk as ever and was just passed out right there on the street.

Me and my companion, Elder Torres, saying goodbye to Elder Chapman. His mission is over. 

Me and Elder Torres enjoying that good ol' pizza we get at council meetings.

Pizza time during council meeting. 

The boys, with Elder Martinez in the back.

Me with one of my favorites, Elder Valesquez.

Junk Food and Sleepovers

This week has been.. interesting. I apologize in advance for the short letter. I don’t have my journal to write down what happened this week but I'll give a little run down. 

Basically we've just been going around saying goodbye to everyone and whatnot for Elder Andrade. He will finish his mission on Tuesday and will be heading home. 

Last Tuesday I was with Elder Jorgensen and on Thursday I was with Elder Mott on interchanges. Elder Mott and I had a really good lesson in his area and put a fecha (baptism date) with her. 

During the week we taught Jennifer and Luis about the sacrament and it was an awesome lesson! They came to church on Sunday and loved it. In the second hour the teacher talked about the Law of Chastity in depth. At first I was worried because I felt like the teacher was low key, kind of burning everyone. At the end of the class Luis thanked the teacher for teaching that and said he loved the class and now understands the importance of respect for his spouse and marriage. Super cool. We felt hyped. 

My son, Elder Aldea, (the missionary Cory trained) came to town with my grandson (the missionary that Elder Aldea is training right now), Elder Boren, on Wednesday night. We got some dank burgers that night and stayed up talking until.. late. 

                                                                             

Eating giant burgers with my son, Elder Aldea, and grandson, Elder Boren. My, how time flies.

These burgers were huge!! At first, I thought they were expensive at 10 soles, but they really weren't when you consider that is about $3.00 in American money.

The next day I stayed with my old Zone Leaders from Laurels, Elder Salazar and Elder Chapman. They stayed with us Saturday and Sunday night because they're finishing up their missions on Tuesday and wow, was that fun! But we stayed up super late 2 days in a row with them, PLUS the night I stayed up with Elder Aldea on Thursday, PLUS we have eaten like crap these past few days! We have had hamburgers, tacos.. Saturday and Sunday, lasaña from Hermana Ana, and 2 pies.. Yeah, it's been good but I've gotta change my ways or I'm gonna get fat like I was in Moche. 

                                                                             

Eating tacos with familia Goicocheya.

Elders sleepover.

So yeah, basically doing nothing significant these past 3-ish days because my companion has gone to the temple and had a bunch of meetings and whatnot so I've been chilling in the office or other areas. Not too much crazy stuff happening. 

I'm just SUPER tired at this point and EXHAUSTED! Oh yeah.. haha oops, my new companion is going to be Elder Torres. He's from Chiclayo.. also finishing in 3 months haha, so I'll most likely be sending another one home. I knew him before in Viru. He trained Elder Greer. He seemed super cool so we´ll see how he is! But yeah.. life's fun. I'm still exhausted. Gonna sleep all day. Love you all! Have a good week.

Tu misionero fiel, Elder Rokovitz

                                                                              

Something I found in the street...... Poor ol' putty tat.

Buying my water..... I drink a lot of water.

I found this story in the Liahona..... Reminds me of my accident and looks just like my car. (Cory was involved in a roll over accident when he let a friend drive his car one night, shortly after getting his driver's license. Six kids in the car, no one wearing seat belts and miraculously, no one was hurt....except the car. The photo laying on the magazine is Cory's car.)

                                                                                

Making cookies with the bishop's family.

The bishop's family.

Prestando (borrowing) the bishop's microwave to heat up our lasanga haha.

The boys - our investigators: Henry, in the red, Elder Andrade, Angel, a convert from Chao who now lives here, Dany, in the black and Hugo, in the white, with  me in the front.

Elder Andrade and me with Dany.

Us with Mariaelena.

Me with Elder Salazar before he heads home.