August 11, 2014 Alecia's emails and pictures and also her testimony of the Reality of God!

 Heading to the temple this tuesday with my kid! ;) 

 AT THE TEMPLE!!!! With hma a... she is so AWESOME!!! ;) This tuesday we got to go to the temple, what a beautiful day it was!!! ;)

 Bolivian Day!!! ;) 

 Bolivian skies!!! This was absolutely incredible!!! I really felt as though if i just reached up a little, i would touch the clouds!!!

 Drinking a real coconut!!! ;) hahaha ! hma roxana gave us coconuts from chapare ( the jungle part of cochabamba) man were they tasty! and not actually that hard to open, when you know where to cut! 

This is the a family! V is the dad, a returned missionary. R, the mom,  just placed her baptismal date! And m and l, there two hurricanes of children! LOVE this family! Cant wait to see pictures of R baptism! ;)

Hey mom!!! ;)
You really are such an example to me! ;) Well, i have transfers, I am off to potosi... the very coldest part of the mission! :0 I will be buying a few things today for that!!! I really dont know much about the place.. but everyone always talks about potosi... Its cold, the people eat a lot of chunyo and there is also a gold mine there... Oh, and there is supposedly some kind of rock soup!! ;) like the childrens story i read as a little girl! they heat up rocks and put them in the soup so that it doesnt freeze before you eat it! Anyway, my new comps name is hma quispe! And hma Alarcon is going to stay here with hma Gutierrez!!! My two kids are going to be comps!!! haha! that doesnt happen very often! anyway, thats the transfer! I will be headed to sucre by plane tomorrow morning... and then by bus to potosi in the afternoon... CRAZY!!! I will be sending LOTS of pics next monday! I am so excited to go and do all the lord has for me to do there! although really sad to go... especially since i never got to go to the temple with ariana... something came up, and she couldnt go this tuesday. she will be going in the afternoon tomorrow... when i will be on the bus to potosi... ;( anyway, i have SO much to do right now!!! I have to finish packing, say good bye to EVERYONE! And get all the things i will be needing.. Oh, and we won this zone competition, so we will be going to eat for free with the zone!! ;) YUM!!! HAHA! Anyway, lots of craziness... and not much time! i love you so much mom! i am so proud of all you do...and everytime i speak of you with my investigators... the spirit is there! Send my love to bro. spencers family! and to everyone!
love hma alford

Journal entry august 9th 2014,
I am at this moment sitting on the balcony of my apartment, looking out over the horizon of Cochabamba as my companion sleeps off her fever. And what a sight to be seen! It looks like something taken right out of a story book!! A magnificent work of art that i just wish the whole world could see! A wondrous pallet of colors all painted in a mix of styles or techniques... It truly appears as though millions of the greatest artists throughout the centuries have gathered together in the heavens to paint us this great wonder!!! the lights and shadows and shades all seem to say of the masters hand, ´he´s real´. I have spoken to and taught a number of people in Bolivia... and each time i gaze at this horizon, i wonder at the blindness of many. I stand with the great Prophet who said, ´what greater sign have thee than this?´ I see God in all things. This world testifies of Him in every great turn it gives in the universe. And I stand, small in comparison, to testify of Him as the mountains do: HE´S REAL.

August 4, 2014 Alecia's emails and pictures!

Just a fun pic! ;)
 

 flying high! ;)

 Hma guttierrez has been with us this past week! she is now back in potosi... ( the COLDEST area of the mission ) and doing MUCH better in her health. she has typhoid, thats why they brought her back to cochabamba, to be able to go to the dr. (there arent many good doctors in potosi) and improve her health... anyway! its been great to have my two ´kids´ here with me! ;)

 the family all together! ;)

hma g and i! ;)
 

 hma g and i!

 Bringing hma g to the airport... headed back

 Playing in the park!

 The Fam! ;) We worked really hard to get this pic! ;) LOVE IT!

 MAKING PIZZA!

random pic my comp took of me!

the bishop and his family.

Hey mom!
What a week! We have been full of all kinds of craziness! and i have been with my two ¨kids¨ at the same time! This week we will be going to the temple, first with the mission, and then with ARIANA! ;) She is so very excited to be part of such a great work... when we explained her what it was to do baptisms for the dead... she absolutely loved it! Her father passed away when she was ten years old... and has such a great desire to do his work for him! hmmm.... what else! We are doing great! Lots of work, lots of people with baptism dates... and lots of new people to teach... The transfers are coming up this sunday! I feel like it is very likely i will be sent out of cochabamba... it is not really that normal for a missionary to stay in the same city so much time... i am glad you enjoyed the poems! I have been trying to write more lately... random thoughts, and poems, and LETTERS! With the transfers coming up, i have got to write a number of letters for all the people here! i have also been taking pics with all the members! this week is going to be CRAZY now that i think about it... we will be going to the temple twice, there will be a special activity in the ward for Bolivia day or something like that, i have to start getting ready for the transfers... and its just all going to be crazy! ;) but i am so excited for so many great things! i am healthy, and they found out that the typhoid was coming from these gigantic bottles of water, you know those blue ones you often see in offices with white little cups? There is a brand of water here that is contaminated with typhoid... we, with much blessings, never baught that water! Sounds like life is going nuts up there too! ;) I love you lots mom! so very very much! Oh! and we made pizza yesterday! SO yummy! my comp has been dying for some pizza down here! ahaha! i have to say, this transfer is killing me a bit. i dont really want to leave this area... but i feel deep down with in me, that i have truly done my part here. if God takes me out of this area, if he has other plans for me, it will hurt me to leave the people i love so much. But i will leave this area with not one regret. They say that we must leave it all out on the streets of bolivia... so that when the day is done, we will know we gave it our all. that is how i feel in the floresta. i will have no regrets here. I love this area so much. i feel as though my heart has been stretched to the bursting point to cover two nations.. two different countries, cultures, and families! I hope you have a great week mom! love you lots !
hma alford