Yet another good week in good ole' Tiquipaya. Hermana Lopardo and I taught more lessons than I ever have before, and the work is really going forward. I'm super grateful that I stayed here for another transfer, and starting to get a little worried about transfers haha.

We watched a worldwide broadcast for missionaries entitled, "Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts." It made me realize that I need to testify of our Savior more in lessons and emphasize the importance of repentance before baptism. Overall, it was great, and I'm excited to see the blessings that will come as we put their messages into practice.

Hermana Lopardo and I get along well, and she makes me laugh. Yesterday we knocked the door of a family, and their 4 or 5 year old daughter answered and said that her parents weren't home although they clearly were. My comp asked, "Have you ever heard the story of Pinocchio?" When the girl said she hadn't, Hna Lopardo told her and then said, "Look! Your nose is growing right now!" The little girl didn't buy it, but her cousin did and immediately told us that their parents were home haha. 

I love it here, and I know that the Lord truly guides His church and those that strive do His will. I love this Gospel, and I love and miss you guys, too!

Love Hermana Rupp

This week was awesome. The Lord truly has continued to bless Hermana Lopardo and I, and we have seen so many miracles this week. We definitely have been guided by the Spirit.

First off, Jr got baptized!! He has been such a solid investigator, and he'll be a great help to the ward. He's also been talking a lot about his mission, and he asked us when he could start his mission papers. 

Other than him, at the beginning of the week it didn't seem like very many people were progressing, but now we have 5 people with baptismal dates. The people that we've found recently are just crazy prepared. Yesterday, one of our other new investigators, who is only 12 years old, told us that she read the pamphlet for lesson 1, and that she felt something and wants to be baptized. The only downside is that transfers are in 3 weeks, and there's a good chance I may not be here. So, whenever we put baptismal dates, it's a little bittersweet for me haha. But, that's not the important part :)

Overall, things are going great. I feel super blessed and lucky to be here in Tiquipaya. I know the Church is true, and that the Lord truly guides us and answers prayers. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

¡Familia! I hope you guys are doing well and had a great week!
This week was awesome! The last few weeks Hermana Lopardo and I have been praying, fasting, and working hard to find investigators who are genuinely interested and will progress. This week, the Lord truly answered our prayers. On Thursday one of our investigators wasn't home, so we knocked the first door we saw, and the girl let us in and we taught about the Restoration. She has great questions and a ton of potential. We found two other people like her and also a family where the parents are less actives and their daughter wants to be baptized.
We were also teaching an investigator on Saturday night, and she invited one of her friends to listen. At the end of the lesson, we asked if we could help them with anything before we left, and they both said no. However, they both had a kind of a weird look on the faces and the Spirit told my companion and I to wait. We probably sat in silence for about a minute and a half and, although it was a little awkward, we both new we shouldn't leave yet. The friend started to cry and ended up explaining to us that she recently left her home because both her parents beat her. We explained to her how much Heavenly Father loves her, and that this Gospel will bless every aspect of her life. Both she and our investigator, who had never come to Church before, came yesterday and stayed for the full three hours.
Lately we've had one investigator come to Church every week (Jr, whose baptism is this Saturday), and my companion and I were so excited to have 4 more investigators this Sunday. Doesn't sound like much haha, but to my comp and I it was huge.
I know that the Lord answers our prayers, and that when we continue with patience He will always do His part. I love this Gospel, and I'm so grateful to be here in Bolivia.
I love you all!!
Love Hermana Rupp

Family! Our New Year was a little anticlimatic. We dined on bananas, yogurt, and milk, while watching the Testaments haha. We both ended up falling asleep at 10ish and woke up to all the fireworks. I think people were sending them off of the roof of our apartment, because it was pretty loud.

The next day was a little slow, mainly because the majority of the people in the street were still suffering, but apart from that it was a pretty normal week.

Our investigator whose baptism was supposed to be a few weeks ago, accepted a new date at the end of January, but she has some doubts about Joseph Smith still. However, I know that if she continues to read, pray, and attend Church, we can help her gain a testimony, and I'm super excited for her.

This week the son of our pensionista returned home from his mission, and it was an interesting glimpse of what it will be like in a year. At first my companion and I were a little trunky thinking about it, but when we actually had the opportunity to talk to him, it made me realize how much I should appreciate this time that I have to be here. He seemed so sad and lost, and I've decided that I can't take this next year here in Bolivia for granted. It's great to be a missionary!

I'm glad to hear you had a good New Year's, and I hope you have a great week! I love you!!
Love Hermana Rupp

Happy New Year!!

¡Familia Mia!
It was so good to see and talk to you all on Christmas! It was probably the shortest 40 minutes I've ever experienced. Needless to say, I'm excited for Mother's Day haha.
Since we just spoke a few days ago,I don't have a whole lot to report this week expect that I'm staying in Tiquipaya with Hermana Lopardo! I didn't think I would be her for another transfer, but I'm really excited. I truly love Tiquipaya and the people here.
These past few weeks, I honestly haven't felt like a very qualified missionary. Maybe it's been the lack of people progressing, or just the feeling that I'm not doing enough, or I don't know. Either way, I just didn't feel like a good missionary.
But, I was reading the Conference talk by Larry L. Lawrence, "What Lack I Yet?" (i think this is the title, I was reading it in Spanish haha), and I felt very impressed with what he said about starting where we are. To the Lord, "our direction is ever more important that our speed." Although I lack a lot, the important part is what I try to do each day to improve and become more like Him. Before I felt discouraged, but after I truly felt hope and encouragement that I could become better. And I know that this opportunity to change is a blessing that comes from the Savior's sacrifice for us.
I would encourage each of you to ask our Heavenly Father how you can improve, and then be humble enough to listen and to change. I know that each one of us can become a little better, and that it's never too late too start!
I love you all and hope you have a great New Year! Thanks for everything!
Love Hermana Rupp

Famlia mia!
Not a whole lot to report this week, mainly just that I'm getting SUPER STOKED to talk to you guys! Transfers are next week, and I think that there's a good chance I'm leaving. I really love my area, and I don't want to switch, which makes me think that I'm more likely to go haha. But, I know the Lord will send me where I need to be, so I'm not going to worry about it too much.
We were helping one of our of recent converts this last week (who was abandoned as a child) with her family history, and it was so cool. We think we found her uncle and her grandma, but were still looking for her mother. I've never seen a family get so excited about family history. Even her father in law, who never wants to talk to us, was really interested. The Spirit of Elijah (it's elijah in english, right haha) is real, and I have a whole new appreciation for family history.
I spent a lot of time saving photos from my comp's computer so I don't have a lot more time, but It's alright because we get to talk in 4 DAYS. I'll give you lots more details then :)
Have the best Christmas, don't cry too much because you miss me :) I love you!
Love Hermana Rupp

Well, it's been an interesting week, folks. We had a baptism scheduled for this week, but our investigator bailed the night before. It was super hard and disappointing because she's so prepared. We don't know exactly what happened because when we called, she said that she couldn't because she was out of town at her brother's house, Only one problem, she doesn't have a brother... We still haven't been able to find her.
They also cut the water to our apartment. Well, probably to all the houses close to ours as well. So that means that I haven't showered in 2 days, and am a little concerned about what I'll do tomorrow if it still hasn't returned. Poor people that have to sit next to me in trufi's. Pray for me. Or better yet, them haha.
This week, it's been hard not to get discouraged. Not very many people are progressing well, and it's difficult not to feel like it's my companion and I's fault. Obviously there are a lot of things we need to improve in, but we're not exactly sure what we can do more to find prepared people.
Apart from this (does this expression work in English? I honestly can't remember), there are so many people here that have such hard lives. We just spent the afternoon cooking with an elderly couple in our ward, and I was talking to the woman that works for them, who is also a member. Not only is she so poor, but she's the only member in her family, and they hate her for it. One of our other investigators lives in one room with her three children, and doesn't have work because she's blind. So many people here have been beaten and abused literally their whole lives.
However, I'm constantly amazed and humbled by their faith and devotion. The change that the Gospel has made in their lives is so evident and so inspiring. Although it's easy to get discouraged, they are evidence that the Atonement is real. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that because of Him we can live again as well. For this reason, ¡Alegrete mucho!
I love you all, and have a great week!
Love Hermana Rupp

Our "hike" the other pday: