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:

My comp and I had a pretty free pday, so we went and explored one of the more rural parts of our area. It was super pretty and fun, and sort of felt like a normal hike at home. So I´ll send photos of that next week as well.
This week was good. Slow, but good. A lot of our investigators bailed, so I feel like we walked a ton and don't have a lot to show for our efforts haha. But, I know that we worked hard and did what we could, and that slow weeks are bound to happen.
Hermana Lopardo is awesome. We get along great and we work hard. I also don't think I've laughed this hard in quite a while. I feel very comfortable and happy here in Tiquipaya and, for this very reason, I'm starting to get the feeling that I won't be here for much longer haha. Oh well, I'll worry about that when transfers come :) Either way, I'll focus on enjoying every day that I have here.
Thanksgiving was a great. We went to the house of our recent converts, and the Elders (who are also gringos) and I told them that we were going to have an American dinner. Unfortunately the Elders couldn´t find any turkey in the supermarket, so we settled for the next best thing: hot dogs haha. We didn't have anything to cook them with so we literally just used sticks that we found around their house and roasted them around the campfire. It wasn´t quite what we had in mind orginally, but it really felt like we were with our "family away from home." I thought about all of you together and it made me a little sad that I couldn´t be there too, but I know this is where I should be and I really love being a missionary here in Bolivia.
Elder Godoy, one of the Seventy, also came to visit Thursday, and we had a conference with all the missionaries. One thing that he talked about was the difference between lecciones and enseñanzas, or that we can´t just have lessons, we need to really teach and help people progress. It made me think that, not only do I need to improve in this, but that many times we do the right things, but we're sort of just going through the motions. Our goal should always be to come closer to Christ and invite the Spirit more into our lives.
Anyway, I hope that Thanksgiving was great and that you have a safe drive home! I loved the picures. Love you all!!
Love Hermana Rupp

This week can best be summed up by saying that I have a firm testimony of "forget yourself and go to work."
The week started out rough. On the verge of tears rough. My trainer left, I felt completely inadequate, and despite all the logical reasons why I shouldn't be nervous, I just felt sick.
Hermana Cabarcas left Tuesday morning, and my new companion, Hermana Lopardo, and I, arrived in Tiquipaya early that afternoon. That whole morning I had just felt sort of depressed, but when we went to our first appointment, all the negative feelings just went away. It was such a miracle:) Later that night and the next morning they started to return, but, once again, we went to our first lesson and I felt great. I love the people here so much, but I don't think I truly realized how much until this week.
Hna. Lopardo is super cool. Obedient, hard worker, and has got a definite sense of humor. We get along great and I'm really excited for this transfer.
Yesterday we had one of the best lessons of my mission thus far. We went to visit a man we had contacted the day before and, like usual, he said he didn't have time. So we left and were almost to the end of the street when he came back out of his house and asked us to come back. So we returned and taught his family and him about the Restoration. They were all super attentive and had perfect questions. They have crazy potential and I'm so excited for our next appointment.
I love being a missionary and there is so much joy in sharing the Gospel.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Love Hermana Rupp

So we have transfers tommorrow morning, and I´m staying in Tiquipaya, but Hermana Cabarcas is leaving for Potosi. I don´t know much about my new comp, so I´ll let ya know next week :)
We have a lot of really great investigators, and I definitely feel a weight of responsibility to help them progress. Frankly, I feel really inadequate, but luckily I don´t have to do it alone. In fact, if I try to do it alone, I´m doing it wrong. I´m very grateful this is the Lord´s work, and I can have full confidence that He´ll help it progress. I just need to be an instrument through which He can work. I´m trying to become that.
I´m constantly impressed and humbled by the poeple here. We went to visit a convert of three years the other day, and she has practically nothing. She has barely any money, and doesn´t always know what she´ll eat for that day. However when we entered her house, she had hymns playing in the background and she had been reading an old Liahona from 2013. I could feel the Spirit so strongly in her little home, and I´m so impressed with her. I know that she has so many challenges in her life, but she still continues to do what she should. I wish that all could have her faith and conviction, including myself.
That being said, I think about the things I did at home, and whether or not they invited the Spirit. A lot of times they didn´t. So I would challenge all of you to think throughout this week if what you are doing is something that can invite the Spirit to dwell or not. If not, fix it.
I know this is the Lord´s work, and I´m grateful to be here in Bolivia. Thanks for all the great examples. Love you!
Hermana Rupp