HoLa!

I cant believe i am already writing you guys again!! Its crazy to me. We found a place to live and I am so grateful! Because I can finally study. So that's been nice. I love studying honestly! The gospel is so amazing if you just take ten minutes to sit down and study! You learn so much. Everything about this gospel just makes sense.

sorry this keyboard is sooooo bad! so fix me errors for me please!

We have only less actives that we are really teaching. One is a couple that isn't married. The guy doesn't want to get married but wants to know more about the church. Its so sad! Really I am so grateful for my parents who are married. There really are so many blessings from a man and a woman that do the will of God and get married. I can tell our family is more united from it and oh how I am so grateful for my family. 

The other is just struggling with life. She is so funny. We went to visit her and she walked out with no pants on! haha we were laughing so hard. She is like 50ish too. We took her to a little girls baptism and you could tell she knew she needs to get her life back in order. She was baptized 25 years ago but needs to do some changing. I love her and her sweet spirit. 

Another family, the dad wants to baptize the little girl but cant because he isn't wiling to give up some things. How grateful I am for dad!! I know he loves us and will do anything for us. If this mission has taught me anything it has taught me how important family is. It really is the central part to the gospel. God loves us so he gave us families. I am grateful for mine. And I know no family is perfect but that's why we are a family to grow and learn and help each other. I hope each of you are finding ways to help each other and support each other because the family is all you really have left when everything else is gone. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Church here is so different but still the same. As missionaries its frustrating because people don't realize the importance of church. We really do need to go every single week no matter where you are in the world. Because you need to renew your covenants and show God and Jesus Christ that you are trying and you are remembering them. Ward council is a little frustrating. They think that missionary work is totally all done by missionaries which is totally false. Missionaries leave every six weeks but members are there forever! They should be fellowshipping the people. They assign us families to go visit. We went and visited this one and the mom looked out the window and said no another day and walked away. It was actually kind of funny but we tried another time and they weren't home. So in ward council we told this guy what happened and he told us I know missionary work is hard but you guys are lacking confidence and need to try harder. It made us so mad!! We were so frustrated because we were thinking this guy has no idea what we are going through. He isn't learning a new language and what were we supposed to do? Be annoying and make them hate us? But one thing I am grateful for is the fact that the Savior knows what we are doing and how hard we are working. Don't let other people influence you. Always have the savior in mind and get your approval from him and be good to the missionaries!! Help them!! It is so much easier for investigators when members are involved. 

I love this gospel. Everything about it just makes so much sense. It really is a beautiful thing when the holy spirit testifies to you and when you testify of the gospel. I am grateful I am here preaching what I love so much and what makes me happy.

Love every single one of you!

XOXO

Hermana Rasmussen 

or as some people like to call me Hna Rapunzel

I Promise I'm Alive!

Familia! Oh it feels so good to finally be able to write to you. My life has drastically changed but thats expected. The ride to Huancayo was rough. It was long and i felt so sick. I didnt think the altitude would bother me so much but it definitely did. I love President Henderson! He is so funny and very willing to help. He is a real guy and i love that he is very straight forward. I also love that Hermana Henderson is the same. She is very motherly which i love.

Hermana Holland and Hermana Rasmussen

My new companion is Hermana Holland from Orange county California. She is a blonde as well so its been fun being together. I love her and we get along so well so it is amazing!! I have been blessed with her as well. We traveled 7 hours away from Huancayo to Huánuco. Our área is Colonial and we share it with elders. We are opening it but not really because we are just taking the spot of other elders. It has been really stressful because i dont even know what i am doing let alone trying to start from scratch but its been fun. My pensionista is amazing!! her name is Karla and she makes amazing food. we havent eaten rice once! But we eat chicken quite a bit. she is such a cute lady. she is only like 36. So cross your fingers because i havent gotten sick yet.

 We dont have an apartment yet. so we have spent a lot of time looking for one. we have been sleeping at the Hermana leaders house on the ground with mattresses, living out of our suitcases haha. we think we found one and hopefully can move in tomorrow! I cant wait to finally get started. this week has been crazy and long but good haha.

The Ward here is great. There are two sisters here who help us all the time. i love it! they go with us to appointments and i appreciate their help so much. It makes me want to help missionaries when i go home. So sunday was interesting. we as missionaries had to take five min and bare our testimonies. It wasnt all that scary so thats good i just hope people understood my spanish haha. also they ran out of cups for the sacrament so they tried to fill some more up´but the wáter was turned off so they gave a Little deacon money to run and buy a wáter bottle down the Street. we all just sat and waited. it was pretty funny. oh latins! haha church is very different but also completely the same.

my first p day was great. we went on a hike but our bus broke down half way up the mountain so we walked the rest of the mountain to do the hike. it was beautiful. you hike to five differnt lakes. it actually looked a lot like Iceland. we were with a ton of missionaries and every single one asked if i was new. haha is it that obvious?? how funny. wow. life is great and i love being a missionary. its fun walking down the Street with random people coming up to you saying hermanas! and i just love my companion.

so patience,, haha i have definitely needed to learn that especially with spanish. i get very frustrated because of spanish. i cant speak it and i feel like i pronounce everything wrong and having a gringa companion doesnt help because all i want to do is speak english. and then in lessons i just sit there and smile and say my testimony a few times throuhgout the lesson. but i learned that patience and faith go hand in hand. everything will work out  with time. That is the key Word. preach my góspel says patience isnt being anxious or angry and that is something we can all work on. Now i need to work on humility.

So i was baring my testimony about family home evening i know kind of random but i realized how important family time is. Not being with you guys i cherish those moments when we were sitting in the family room and dad was yelling shush the yak. haha i love it. so spend more time together and enjoy it!!! because it really is the most happy you can be and this i testify.

Until we meet again.

XOXO
Hermana Rasmussen

Mission President's Letter

Dear Rasmussen Family

     We want to let you know that Sister Rasmussen arrived safe and sound here in the Perú Huancayo Mission.  We are grateful to have her here!   She and the other 12  new missionaries arrived from Lima on Tuesday afternoon, and we oriented them that evening and for much of the day on Wednesday with their new companions. Your daughter and her training companion then headed to their proselyting area in Colonial Ward, Huanuco .

     Thanks for letting Sister Rasmussen come to our Mission.  We look forward to eighteen good months together with her.

President and Sister Henderson

Perú Huancayo Mission

So the bus ride was like 10 hours with lots of stops but it wasnt bad. my head hurts way bad from altitude and also my hands and feet are very numb from no oxygen. we are at 11000 feet. my new companion is hermana Holland but i havent met her yet and i am going to an area unknown but i am also opening an area... can you believe that? i have to train and open an area hermanas have never been before!! here i go... im going to go kick some spanish booty!!

love you all and my new p day is monday 

XOXO

Hermana Rasmussen

Here Comes Huancayo

Happy birthday MOM!!!! I have been thinking about you all day and want to wish you a very special day. I hope you know i am there in spirit for the festivities!!

You guys will never guess what i experienced. AN EARTHQUAKE!! it was way little but Hna Holden and I were in with an investigator for the very first time and i was talking and then all of the sudden the house shook. so i kept talking and then the house shook again!! and i said what is that in spanish? and in english our "investigator" goes, thats an earthquake. we need to get out. so we walk out and i was freaking out because it was way cool but i wish it was bigger... apparently there was a 5.5 earthquake somewhere else and lima felt the after shock. then a few days later we felt a tiny little one. it was pretty exciting! I guess in Huancayo there arent any earthquakes.

So remember how i told you all that i got called to speak on sunday two weeks ago? well everyone kept telling me how lucky i was that i didnt have to prepare talks anymore because i already gave mine. i kept preparing them because they asked us to and i didnt not want to just in case. well i am sitting on the front row during sacrament meeting and they say we are very pleased to hear from the following. i got extremely nervous for some reason and i lean over to hna Holden and say ahh! i am so nervous for you guys and then all of a sudden the guy conducting goes and Hna Rasmussen in the Huancayo mission. I yelled out front the congregation AGAIN? i cant believe i did that... but he goes again? well did you prepare a talk? and i said yeah and he goes well maybe we will just have to hear from you twice. then the branch president stands up and goes no we will pick someone else. Afterward the guy conducting came up and apologized and he said for some reason i just really really was pushing for you to speak. i knew you needed to.. i dont know what that was about but im just glad i didnt have to speak again. And now i am a laughing joke in the CCM because anytime they need people to do something everyone goes have Hna Rasmussen do it. I literally get called on to do everything. its fine. Thanks for the last name dad haha because i guess it just speaks to everyone.

The coolest thing happened today! We went to the temple this morning. We were supposed to leave at 6 40 to be at the temple by 7 05 for the 7 30 session. we sat waiting for a bus and didnt get one until 7 10.. because every single one was full so we thought we wouldnt make it on the bus. well we finally had to split a bit to fit us all on buses so my companionship and a companionship of elders got on a bus. i see this cute old lady smile at me as i get on and i just say hello how are you. and she said im okay really sadly, so i said why? obviously this is all in spanish and she said my son died one month ago. It was so easy! so im like who has a plan of salvation pamphlet!! haha and then we gave it to her and she was sooo grateful. it was neat. she gave us her name and address and said she would love to learn more. she seriously was so grateful and That is why we couldnt get on a bus earlier. we needed to be there at that time. Who knows if that lady will ever join or who knows what but it was fun.

Elder Bednar came. There were 800! missionaries! It was crazy. and long. he talked for three hours straight but we sat there for four all squished. He had a good question and answer segment and this sister asked how do i know if i am teaching by the spirit. i loved what his wife said. she said every single week we are taking the sacrament right? and one of the blessings is to ALWAYS have His spirit to be with us. so always literally means always! as long as we are worthy. i had never thought of it that way. it just never hit me i guess. but Elder Bednar said dont get so caught up on having the spirit with you. Realize when it leaves you! Because you can feel that. it made me change my perspective a lot on the spirit and teaching with it. i really am glad someone asked that because just like my bus story just barely. the spirit is with us and will guide and direct us always.

What did yall learn about faith? I learned two very simple things! faith is action. Duh! literally every story in the Book of Mormon is about faith and acting on it and when we act on faith we can literally move mountains! okay maybe not move mountains but things we can do is so powerful that its like moving mountains. i have been pretty nervous about going into the field and all i can think about is this phrase, exercise your faith in christ and face your fears!! It is that simple! Faith is an amazing concept and i am excited for life to keep facing my fears and acting on faith. 

This week i really want to work on patience. i am going to need a lot of it especially with myself these next few weeks. Because guess what!! I only have 5 days left in the CCM. I leave for Huancayo Tuesday morning. Like 2 am early morning. I am ready for that 8 hr bus ride. Here we come! I am so nervous but i am so excited to share the joy i have with others. We all joke we are going to the lost land because nobody knows where it is and it is so far away from everything that nobody really cares about it. There are 2 north american sisters, 3 latin sisters, 3 latin elders and 4 north american elders. I am so excited!!

I hope you all have a great week! And dont forget to seek to have more patience.
XOXOX

Hermana Rasmussen