Looking for Jasmine

Dear family and friends,

Another week has passed in Perú.  A fun little bit of information: I hit my one year mark this Thursday! I can´t believe that it´s been a year since all that goodbye stuff.  I can testify that that was truly the hardest part.  It´s a relief to have it all in the rearview mirror, and I´m pumped to have one more year to give it all I´ve got as a full time missionary! I have a feeling that it´s gonna fly.

Here´s a pretty randomg thing: they don´t use 8.5"x11" paper here! It´s all like a half inch bigger, which is pretty bothersome.  All my papers poke out of their folders by just a little bit and get all wrinkly.  Things that never in a million years I would have thought of at home when I thought about the "culture change."

We had kind of a funny experience this week.  An appointment had fallen through and as we were walking to our backup plan, we saw a house with the name "Jasmine" painted in big letters, right on the front of the house.  We thought, "Well, here´s a great referral.  Let´s knock and ask for Jasmine!" So that´s what we did.  The lady yelled from inside the house (as is custom here), "Who is it?" Us:"Excuse us, is Jasmine home?" Lady: "Who are you?" Us:"We´re missionaries, representatives of Jesus Christ, and we have something that we´d like to give to Jasmine!" Lady: "Um....no, you´re mistaken! Jasmine doesn´t live here!".....Well, that´s fine.  We might have been mistaken.  But painting JASMINE on the front of your house, when there´s no Jasmine that lives there, seems pretty mistaken too.;)  We got a good laugh after.

I read a statement in Preach My Gospel chapter 1, that goes something like this: "You have been called to represent Jesus Christ in helping people become cleansed from sin."  It really struck me this morning.  What an unbelievable responsibility! We are to stand in Christ´s place, as his authorized representative, and use our priesthood authority to cleanse people from sin! Lessons, family home evenings, fellowshipping of members, or extending commitments, don´t cleanse from sin.  They´re all means to an end.  BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION.  Priesthood ordinances do cleanse from sin.  How grateful I am to know the restored gospel and have the chance to make and renew covenants every week, covenants and ordinances that bring the Holy Ghost and cleanse from sin.

Well, I hope you all have wonderful weeks, and I'll talk to ya next Monday!

Love, Tanner