December 16, 2013 Email and pics! She is looking better!!!!! : )

Man, the activity had to have been really beautiful... as of yet we havent gone caroling... but we are planning with all the missionaries in our area to go out caroling in each area all together and find new investigaders for each companionship! Its gonna be great! and we have quite a few families that want us to come and see them on Christmas lol! One of our investigadors has given me her account name and password for skype so that we can skype! My companions name is Hma Gutierrez! lol! sorry. And she is great! Shes not going to be able to skype with her family, cuz they dont have computers where she lives. Please pray for her. She hardly ever gets emails from her family, and is having a reallly hard time with the whole Christmas thing. I am going to do something really cool for her though for Christmas. I have gfts planned out, and found her favorite Christmas treat from home... Christmas eve I am going to sneak it all under the tree with my gifts... so that she feels like Christmas too! I am so excited! Tell every one I said thanks a million and a bove, and I will definitely go get some clothes! lol! Ask ryan if he wants just leather, or jaguar skin... cuz they are really awesome too! I am totally getting me some for my english set! lol! And leather in general is really cheap down here. I bought my set for 120 bs each down here... thats like 20 bucks or less! what! And I bought a leather back pack too, really cool for 130... like 21 or 22 dollars! REAL LEATHER!!! And hand made! Way cool! And so cheap!!! I got one package... Not sure where the other one is.. I kind of opened the socks.. I was in serious need... sorry... But every thing else is all wrapped up and under our tree! lol! Way cool! I am so excited to see yall! lol! As for my week... it was so crazy! A ton of work! and we got to talk in sacrament meeting again. I felt so much like the Lord was using my mouth! We had an entire family in the church yesterday with us! They have 5 little kiddos! and totally crazy! And another three kids from another family, and a ton of less actives! WAY COOL!!!! Tomorrow is our missionary chirstmas conference... from 3 to 8! So long! We arent gonna get anything done! We are going to go shopping today... So I am going to take pics of what I buy for Christmas and send em over next monday! woohoo! That money is a whole lot down here you know? I am going to be able to get like whatever I want! lol! Things I have only dreamed about buying! lol! love it! Tell everyone I send like a billion kisses and love and thanks! Love that scripture! Way cool.. I think my fave scripture right now is Jacob 5... The whole thing is great! And so inspiring as a missionary! I have finished up my meds.. and I am feeling great! all good! Taking vitamins to keep up my defenses, and still eating a ton of yogurt! lol! I love you a ton! And hope your week is incredible. Please keep my compi and hma santacruz in your prayers.. they are both having quite a few problems with their families... 

Love

Hma Alford

Dec. 9, 2013 We have a diagnosis!

Hey Mom,

So, I have an infection in my intestines. They gave me a ton of weird medicines that I have to take for a week... And dont worry, I am being really diligent with those. I dont ever want to return to that kind of dr in all my life. As for my companion, she is AWESOME! And so like me its kind of creepy! lol! Like I have a latina clone! She is from a little part of Peru, has a family of 6 kids, loves to craft, does not like to make decisions, is 21 years old,  and loves every one here to the breaking point. She was really nervous when she got here, but is learning so quickly! And never complains about anything! I have put her to work, and she has done a fabulous job! I love training, it helps me learn so much! You know Ive always loved to teach, well this is a type of teaching that just doesnt compare. I have also started giving classes to my whole district in English. Every day at lunch time we take a bit of time to learn English! lol! I am going to give them new assignments tomorrow! Theyll have to start praying each meal in English! haha! So cool! So yeah, this week has been hard, but way worth it. We said good bye to hma Santa Cruz, had a service (of which I spoke in my letter to the president) that almost killed us but brought a ton of blessings, and went searching for like 15 investigadors to go to the Christmas Devotional at the Temple yesterday... and not a single one showed up. We literally put in the very last ounce of our effort to have SOMEONE there... We looked for an hour more, just to be sure that no one wanted or would be able to go... and nada. Nothing. Zilch. But yeah, it happens like that sometimes... And a lot more than we would like. Anyway, we have been working hard... and I love my companion. Its different... But I love her so much! lol! So, dad says yall got my packages! Did yall get them both? Or just one? I havent gotten yalls yet... But I could get it tomorrow! pray for us! We have three baptisms planned for this weekend... but I am a little worried they wont fall through. Anyway, I love you so very much! Dont stress out with all that craziness lol! And remember always how special you are!

Love

Hma Alford

December 2, 2013: Alecia's answers to my questions:

Question 1: How long have you been bleeding? I only bled for three days this past week

Question 2: How much weight have you lost? I have lost about 30 pounds as far as I know

Question 3: When is your appointment for the colonoscopy? It was this friday at 6:00

Question 4: How are you feeling emotionally? I am feeling fine right now, although it was really hard when I was in the hospital... I have never felt so trunky before in all my mission. However, the Lord placed me with Hma SantaCruz for one more transfer for a good reason! I needed her to be with me to get through it. 

Question 5: Do you know anything at all about what they are looking for? They wanted to see if I had some kind of inflamation or hemroides. 

Question 6: Can you get probiotic Yogurt, I am told that it might help you. Not sure if it will though! Yes, I can and have been eating it every morning since I got out of the hospital because they told me the same thing... 

Question 7: What can I do for you? Is there anything that I can send you? Just continue praying and remember that I love you. I am sorry I didnt tell you earlier.. I just didnt know how. I tried three times... and couldnt seem to type the words... 

I have been praying that your body heals completely and that you are able to continue serving the people  that you have learned to love without any Health problems. 

Question 8: Do you have a new companion? If so what is her name and how are ya'll getting along? I am going to TRAIN!!!!! LOL! Which means I wont know till wednesday in the afternoon who is my new companion. Hma Santa Cruz is going to Sucre... Could yall pray for her? She is feeling really bad lately with a urinary tract infection and they took out her wisdom tooth... Anyway, I will have to tell yall who is my new companion next monday! 

Question 9: Oh and how are you feeling physically! I am feeling fine. Nothing hurts... I have a TON of gas... always! But I am fine physically, it just was a bit wierd to bleeding that way. 

Mom, I am so very sorry that I worried you. I was so stressed out about that when Hma Dyer told me she was going to have to call youl. I just dont want yall to worry. I am fine. I was only in the hospital for a couple days so that they could put some electrolytes and vitamins in me. I had gone a while with out being able to eat as a result of the medicine to get rid of the parasites... My body had begun to reject all nutrition. So, since I couldnt get it in myself, they did it for me through iv. I was fine though, nothing overly serious. I am working and eating and playing now! lol! Dont worry about it! And I am really happy I have lost weight, and am now working on keeping it off! lol! 

Okay, as for my week... I am SO excited to train! But really scared too! I want to do the best I can! And I have gotten really used to Hma Santa Cruz! I dont want her to go! This is the hard part of the mission... the goodbyes that you just cant escape from! Oh, I am also in a choir for Christmas! We are going to sing at the temple this Sunday! With a ton of other choirs in Bolivia! Its gonna be great! We are planning an activity with the yws so that we can gain some more confidence in the ward! We are going to make brownies, invite invs, and paint fingernails! woohoo! lol! We are also praying really hard to have a baptism this weekend! Her name is faviola and is eleven years old... But we need permission from her parents first! Anyway, I have been pretty much working on my own with members all week because hma santa cruz is feeling so sick... I have really learned that I am capable of doing this on my own! I can totally train! I have been taught well, and am ready to go on. I think for a good while there I was getting really dependent on my companion... But now, the Lord has taught me that with Him all htings are possible! I can do this! Anyway, I gotta go... I wont know tilltomorrow what they found in the analysis... but I am really doing fine! lol! I lvoe you, sorry for the scare... And I hope you have an awesome week! Happy Bday! And happy thanksgiving too! 

Love

Hma Alford

I asked her another question: I asked if she needed clothes and this was her answer:

Yeah, all my clothes are kind of falling off! lol! But clothes are way cheap down here... so dotn worry about it! 

A Prayer request: Nov. 29, 2013

Okay, everyone. I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving and remembered to count your blessings. I enjoyed a wonderful day full of my wonderful blessings, my family! It was really fun and I enjoyed the food and company!

So I really don't know how to post this so I will start with, Alecia is fine. She is having some health problems. I received a phone call today from Sis. Dyer, the mission president's wife.  Alecia has been having a few intestinal problems. She has been in the hospital for dehydration and she has had a few other issues.  She will be having a routine colonoscopy(sp?) done, I am not sure when. I am told that this is routine and not to worry that the church uses only the best doctors. With this being said, I am asking for all of my friends and family to pray for her health and for my peace of mind. I know that she is where she needs to be. I know that our Loving Father in Heaven will keep her safe and take care of her. I just wish that I could hold her and be able to tell her how much I love her.  Thank you all for you love, support, and prayers.

Lots of Love
From the Momma! : )

November 25, 2013 Parts of Alecia's email to me

I am really excited about Thanksgiving... We are going to make mashed taters and pumpkin pie! ANd I think hma rosmary is going to make a little turkey! yum! We cant spend a lot fo time on all this... but itll be really fun! ANd in the morning, we are going to do a little devotional together as a companionship! Oh hey! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!! In advance!

As for me, I have been really busy this week as well! And had some really cool experiences. Hma Santa Cruz had to have one of her wisdom teeth removed this week, and spent a whole day in the house. But we did divisions so we wouldnt lose a day of work.. and I went out with a sister from our ward.... And pretty much taught all on my own! I really learned so much in that time! I can really do this! I have learned so much here! I never realized how afraid I used to be. Mom, I used to be afraid to talk on the cell phone, afraid to leave my family, afraid to talk to people i didnt know, afraid to put my all into a relationship with some one. I have learned to be stronger. I am not afraid anymore. Hma Santa Cruz has taught me so much... and I am going to miss her! She said she is going to go up to salt lake the february after I go home..and I am thinking it would be awesome if we could all go see her.. so yall can all meet my newest sister. She really is fantastic! 

As for Thanksgiving... I am thankful too. More thankful than I have ever been in my life I think... I have learned so much, seen so much, and experienced more. I know the lord loves me. I know he loves these people. And I could not be more thankful to be here in this work in this time! 

Dont stress out so much! okay! I lvoe ya! 

Love, 

Hma Alford

PS:

Well, to be honest mom, I just didnt know how to bring up a subject like this. Its kind of hard to write your mother when your in a foreign country and tell her you were sick... I was a bit sick... and decided not to tell you at the time for this exact reason. I dont want you to worry about me at all.. and besides which, it wasnt anything really abnormal or life threatening... so I decided to keep that experience to myself. Dont be mad, but I know you and how you worry sometimes... All is fine now, I am eating everything in sight and I dont hurt anymore. And I have all the energy in the world! lol! It was quite a while back when I caugth some parasites twice... But I am all good now and healthy healthy healthy... Its a normal process down here, you catch parasites from the food ... But they know how to take care of it by now. and its pretty much just a matter of being really annoyed for a little while... and losing weight! lol! But I am fine, and hope that I have become accostomed to the food so that I dont have the same problem later..  Sorry I didnt tell you... but I just didnt know how to write something like that to you...

A note from me the Momma: You can imagine the tears that flowed down my face as I read the end of this. I know that she is being protected. It really hurt my heart to think that she was sick and I didn't know. However, I do understand how she feels because I don't always tell her everything either since she is so far away. Hmm like mother like daughter. I am so thankful that she is getting better and will be praying for her to not get anymore parasites. I knew something was up, it is just not normal to loose all the weight she has without being sick. But doesn't she look so happy!!!

I am grateful to my Father in Heaven for such a wonderful daughter. She is amazing and I am very "well pleased" with all she does. Keep her in your prayers. Love you all.

To any of you who may have found my blog in Bolivia Thank you for watching over my precious daughter. She loves you all so much and through her I have grown to love the Bolivian people too. God Bless you all!!

November 18, 2013

Wow! I am so in awe of all that is going on over there! Kady has finished the Book of Mormon! Bethanys going to the temple! And Brandons going to be driving soon! (Watch out all those in the streets! Your lives may be at risk! lol!) I am glad your class went well! I had some cool experiences this week too.. I had to talk in church this sunday... and what a hard time I had preparing for that... I ended up talking about something totally different. I prayed before hand for the Lord to put His words in my mouth for the members... and when I went up there I didnt even look at the talk I had prepared. My my my.. I just hope they took it with the love that was behind it!  But I truly feel that the words I said were of God, and so I am content with my talk! And we also went to a cool conference for all missionaries in Cochabamba! Awesome! They have chosen three missions in south america to begin a trial run with Kiosks and publicity and all kinds of new stuff... and they gave us our fair share of chastisement for wasting time. ¨Satan himself hides in your watch¨Thats what they said. He may not be able to tempt us to drink alcohol, or do something really ridiculous like that right now... But he would just love it if we wasted our time playing around, walking past the people who need us, staying in the house a few minutes longer... We might have the agency to choose how we will use this time... But we do not have the right to waste the time of God! Thats what they told us! Ouch! I have got to get my tail in gear and start working harder! Anyway, in other news! I FINALLY sent the Christmas Package, and one with your bday gifts and some letters... Oh, and I lost the flash drive you sent me today... Luckily, I have copies still of everything that was inside. We went on a special outing for just the sisters and Sister Dyer today! They told us we were going to see waterfalls.... Turned out to be a creek, but we had a blast anyway! And I saw nature for the first time in almost an eternity!!!! I have been dying for trees, and birds, and water! I have never been in such a giant city before! There doesnt seem to be an end to Cochabamba! If it exists, I sure havent seen it! We also went to see a mansion and took a ton of pics there! i felt like I was in a movie, like Pride and Predjudice Latin style! lol! Anyway, this week has been good... We didnt have hardly anyone in the chapel with us this sunday because of some school activity.. But we are really hopeful for some baptisms coming up! Woohoo! Oh, and I have begun decorating the house for Christmas! SO cool! lol!  Anyway, I love you a million times a million times a million and more! And I am going to send as many photos as I can! LOL!

Love ya! 

Hma ALford

 I found magnolia trees! It was so cool to see them! They almost dont exist here! But there were a ton in the mansion´s gardens!
My Christmas tree this year! Man the coolest thing! The Balderamas, the family we live with.. has already put up their tree, and we see the lights every night! So pretty! lol!
Some really pretty snowy looking plants from the mansion!


I forgot to tell yall we went to the temple this week! With one of the converts of Hma Santa Cruz! What an experience !
Hma Santa Cruz and I at the mansion!
The mansion!

November 4, 2013

 Halloween in Cochabamba!!!

I was a gypsy! Hma Santa Cruz was a pirate, Elder Wilson Captain America, and Elder Nicho Super man! We carved pumpkins, ate creepy looking food, and had a blast! lol! My pumpkin was the coolest of course! lol! I loved it! What an awesome Halloween! We went to the Bishops house and had dinner with his family... then carved the pumpkins at Hma Rosmarys house! lol! What a blast! Hma Santa Cruz and I had so much fun dressing up!
 lol! love yall!

 Service in Cochabamba! (She looks a little worried!)

So yeah, we had to do service with Sister Alborta... and no one else could do this part! I had to climb into this tiny little hole... in my skirt! And fill up buckets of water to pass them up through the tiny hole! This is how they get water here, is they fill up a giant tank every once in a while... and they have to empty it out before they can fill it back up! I was so exhausted after this! AND WET!!!! LOL! It was really hard! But no one else could do it because they are scared of small places... Never mind the fact that I was terrified in that dark little hole full of water and who knows what kind of creepy crawlies!!! But we were able to help her out a ton! And thats what really matters right? lol! And now Ive got a pretty unique memory! lol!

 So yeah, I didnt end up changing my hair! And I will tell Sister Rosmary you said thanks for the mama bear attack! lol! Ill be sending a package this following monday... I still have a few things to finish up before I send it.. But hopefully itll make it to yall before Christmas! I really want yall to have something from me under the tree! lol! That would be so cool! lol! So yeah, a bit more detail about my crazy week... We got a call from one of our investigadors today.. She hasnt really been overly interested so far... but she called us up this morning and asked us to come over to see her. We asked if it would be okay if we came later in the day, because we were in the middle of a service... But she asked us if we could come right then... so we left and went to see her... and she told us about some problems she has been experiencing (which is crazy because shes really one to hold everything in, not to share her problems) and then started crying and asking us to help her. We sat and hugged her for like five minutes... and then shared a little bit about prayer and the love of the Lord, and how he is there for her always... She started crying all over again and we were able to see her heart open up to the gospel. Something that I have truly learned out here is to show all the love you have for the people...because that is the key to them knowing that you are really there for them.. And that opens the door to their hearts. This entire week has been an unending stream of experiences just like this one... Where we have been able to see people open their hearts, minds, and doorways for us to begin teaching. I know it was truly inspiration that Hma Santa Cruz and I stay together another transfer.. Because none of this would have happened if not! What a miracle huh?

Here, weve been busier than ever... I think we have appointments stacked on top of eachother back to back and some at the same time for this entire week! But thats a good thing, because it means we are working hard! We have nine people with a baptism date... and we are working ridiculously hard with the ward! They are really coming a live in the mission work! I love to see them flocking to us to offer their help! And its a good thing too, or else I dont know how in the world we would get to all of our appointments ! We have to do a lot of divisions to get to them all! lol! Anyway, everything is going great down here! Oh! And we had a Halloween party too! Ill send pics as soon as I can! And some cool service! lol! I love you! Have an awesome week!
Hma Alford