Special Occasions Deserve a Little Cuy.

Missionary work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints involves a lot. They teach, they serve, they work, they guide, they unite, basically they do anything that shows they are representatives of Jesus Christ and try their best to lead by example every moment of every day. Their duty and responsibility is to take the gospel to all the world, for it is through the gospel of Jesus Christ that we will all be united, that we will experience true joy and happiness, and ultimately be reunited with our Father in Heaven and His son, Jesus Christ, and enjoy the blessings of eternal salvation. Missionaries want every person on earth to feel the peace that comes from the knowledge of the gospel, and that is why they serve and work so tirelessly. 

One of the central purposes of missionary work is baptizing people for a remission of their sins and then confirming them members of Jesus Christ's church so they can be given the gift of the Holy Ghost. This gift is so extraordinary and so magnificent, that missionaries desire everyone to have it, for it is a gift we can hold onto forever as long as we live worthy to retain it. 

I heard an incredible version of the song, "Because I Have Been Given Much" sung by Kenneth Cope where the last verse was changed to the following:

Because of thy life's mission Lord,

I too will serve;

I'll leave the comfort of my home

to teach thy word;

I'll seek the sheep who've gone astray,

and those who've never known the way;

I'll make thy work, my work, today.

This is what missionaries desire; they want to to serve the Lord by teaching His word and inviting everyone to come unto Christ. 

One of the apostles for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, had this to say concerning missionary work and baptism, "We do not preach and teach in order to 'bring people into the Church'or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives....We invite all to come unto Christ by repentance and baptism and confirmation in order to open the doors of the celestial kingdom to the sons and daughters of God. No one else can do this." (The Purpose of Missionary Work, missionary satellite broadcast Apr. 1995)

This past week, Elder Scott and Elder Cruz had the privilege of baptizing and confirming Luis as one of the newest members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and it was a magnificent occasion for them. They were so excited to watch him enter the waters of baptism and experience the overwhelming peace that accompanies the confirmation and gift of the Holy Ghost. Luis is an incredible young man. He has a great desire in life to please our Father and be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Elder Scott feels immense gratitude to have had the opportunity of meeting him and helping teach him about the gospel. 

After the baptism, Luis parents and godmother provided a delicious tres leches cake and then had the missionaries over for dinner where they ate a traditional Peruvian delicacy was served, cuy, which is guinea pig. Elder Scott was excited to finally get a chance to try this special meal, and thought it was pretty tasty.

 

The Worth of Your Soul is GREAT!

This past week proved to be a rollercoaster of emotions for Elder Scott. He had some high-high's, but also some low-low's. Let's start with the rough stuff so we can end on a HAPPY note!  

Elder Scott was struggling with some personal issues this week and was feeling pretty beat down. Life in the mission field isn't always easy, and this happened to be one of those weeks where the Elder's were hitting a lot of roadblocks, bumps in the road, and overcoming some issues that had to be resolved. It started to affect the way Elder Scott was feeling about himself, and he was beginning to doubt his abilities. But,with his Mission President's help and a timely Open When Letter titled Open When You Need A Reminder Of Your Self-Worth, he's been able to jump over some of the biggest hurdles and get back on track to doing what he loves. 

Inside the Open When envelope was a copy of a short talk titled, Finding Self-Worth in a Selfie World that had a paragraph that really touched him, "I am what I am to those I should be serving more, to those I should be reaching out to more, to those I should be writing to instead of writing this. I am how I love others because that's one of the few things I can actually control in this life, and it's possibly the only way I can tangibly measure my self-worth. Bot mostly, I am how I love others because that's all God asks of me - and because that's all I can give Him. And maybe that's good enough." After reading that, Elder Scott realized he needed to refocus and remember his own motto of loving more. In his words, "I was loosing my true focus on love, and it's all tied into love and service. Every other principle in the entire gospel is focused on love, and I was forgetting that. I can't lose my focus on love; love of my companion, love of my other missionaries, love of the people I serve, love of my Mission President, and most importantly love of my Savior and of my Heavenly Father. 

In addition to the talk, there was a letter with a special reminder that the Savior sees the goodness of your soul, "In the best of times and in the worst of times always let that be a constant. Your Savior loves you perfectly, and when we aren't as perfect as we wish we could be, He will always be there to lift you up, calm your fears, encourage you, and most importantly love you."

Each of the letters and thoughts inside that little envelope were exactly what Elder Scott needed to see and read that evening when he was feeling so low and down, and with this new week, comes a new energy to do better, be better, and serve better. Hopefully the slump is over, and I know he's determined to keep his focus on what matters most. 

I promised some HAPPY moments, and this is one for the record books. Elder Scott was thrown a SURPRISE party by Familia Risco to celebrate is 1 year anniversary in the field. Can I just take a moment and say what an amazing family this is? I knew Elder Scott was having a rough week, and the thought that a family went out of their way to celebrate his missionary service touched me more than I can convey in words. They may not know this, but it was Elder Scott's first ever *surprise* party. How cool that it would happen in Peru! The family hid and everything which made the whole night incredible. They also showered him with balloons, cards, made him a cake, and even created a super cool party hat for him to wear. He thinks the world of the Risco family, and it just continues to reaffirm to me that our Heavenly Father is watching over my son. This has been a constant in all the areas he has served in this past year. No matter where he is at, a couple families and individuals take him in and make him one of their own. This makes being so far away from him a whole lot easier. I am very thankful to the Peruvian people who have made this first year in the mission field such a wonderful experience for Elder Scott, and for the love they show him every day.

 

 

They have so much fun together, and I LOVE it!!

Elder Cruz and Elder Scott

The morning of September 13th, Elder Scott opened a package we sent him. Inside was a photo album with pictures of lots of friends and family wishing him a happy hump day, letters from dozens of loved ones, bags of American candy, and a few other odds & ends. He told us his favorite moment of the week was reading the letters everyone sent. They really touched him, and he sends his gratitude to all. 

Balloons, candy, and a camel!
Who could ask for more?

A huge stack of letters from friends and family back home

Extra candy yumminess

I'm not sure why I missed the extra word

Caleb painted this for Kyler

And of course a walrus photo from Lil'Walrus, aka, CALEB!

Inside this little book was well wishes
and photos from about 3 dozen loved ones.

Jordan whipped out this card in 5 minutes.
His artistic skills always amaze me.

Haha, Even Rosie & friends got in on
wishing Elder Scott a happy hump day!

 Just a few of the dozens of letters and cards he received. This made his whole week!

Of course Publix newsletters always
create HUGE smiles!!

Then on the evening of September 13th, Elder Scott partook in one of the crazy missionary traditions of burning a shirt at the halfway point. He looked through his meager belongings and found his most ratty, used shirt, wrote a lot of memories on it like his list of companions, places he's served in, goals he has for the next 12 months, and members he has had the privilege of teaching, and then him and Elder Cruz lit up their barbeque grill and burned it until it was unrecognizable Truthfully, I don't understand the concept too much, but boys and fire seem to go hand-in-hand, and it's a tradition that has stuck in a lot of the missions. I'm just glad he had a lot of fun, and hope that shirt won't be missed too much.

I don't know. I'm not convinced this shirt looks too old or
too grungy to engulf in flames, but happy burning Elder Scott

I do,however, love the memories he included

Someone get the s'mores kit!

Possibly too happy at the thought of flames.

Okay, truth, this made me laugh. I'm shocked it burned so well.
Happy Hump Day, Elder Scott
Time to make the next 12 months magnificent!

As always, thanks for continuing to think about, pray for, and reach out to Elder Scott. He is so excited to see what the next 12 months has in store for him, and continues to love his time in Perú

Halfway Done With The Best Yet To Come.

An entire year has passed since our sweet missionary left the safety of his home in order to preach and teach about the gospel of Jesus Christ in Perú, and boy, 

what a year it has been!

On September 13, 2016 we bid adieu to Elder Scott as he embarked on his mission in Trujillo South Perú.
It was hard watching him walk away from us knowing it would be 2 years before we could get another hug, but we also had an overwhelming sense of peace wash over us as we knew the Lord would be helping him every step of the way. 

Life in the Lima Perú CCM and a companionship with 

Elder Weller

Elder Weller and Elder Scott

Lima, Perú LDS temple

President and Sister Moore

Saying good-bye to the CCM

First day in Trujillo

Training in Palermo and a companionship with Elder Parra

Elder Scott loved his time with his trainer, Elder Parra. He learned so much about missionary life and how to be a successful missionary those first few weeks with him. He also got to learn how to overcome homesickness, a challenging obstacle for sure, but one he was able to overcome as he lost himself in missionary service. Plus he was able to meet lifelong friends while he was in Palermo. It is a time of his life that will never be forgotten and cherished forever.

Good ol' Elder Scott....er, I mean St. Nick

Still in Palermo, and a new companionship with 

Elder Choque

Elder Choque was a great companion for Elder Scott. He taught him how to balance the demands of missionary life with good natured fun. 

Transferring to Moche and a companionship with 

Elder Moran

Elder Scott loved having Elder Moran as a companion. He worked hard and taught Elder Scott good lessons on obedience and hard work. They learned the in's and out's of Moche together since the area was new for both of them, and they learned even more about selfless service when the worst floods in history rocked the county of Perú and they were able to assist many people that needed to rebuild from scratch.

Still in Moche and a new companionship with Elder Daza

Elder Daza has a super strong spirit and desire to share the gospel, and Elder Scott loved the way he taught lessons. Elder Scott absolutely loved his time in Moche, especially the people he met there that became extended family.

Transferring to Chimbote and a companionship with 

Elder Chiza

These two were a good companionship because they each had strengths opposite of the other and were able to learn and grow from each others talents. They learned how to navigate a huge area together and worked hard finding people to teach and serve.

Still in Chimbote and a new companionship with Elder Cruz

Elder Scott was super excited for this transfer because he was getting a Greenie. Elder Cruz is new to the mission field and is an amazing person. Elder Scott says his testimony and desire to share it are on fire, and he is a great listener which is such an important quality to possess. He really loved his time with Elder Cruz.

Happy Hump Day, Elder Scott

I can't believe it has been a year already. We sent Elder Scott a photo album with a bunch of photos and letters from loved ones back home, and here are a few of the photos he will be receiving today. Thanks to everyone who continues to think about and pray for Elder Scott. Mission life can be the most rewarding, yet hardest time of a person's life, and we are so grateful for all those who support him in his efforts to better his life and the lives of countless others.