April 28, 2014 Alecia's birthday pictures and email!!!

  Hma Roxanna and Alecia with Perfume To all the dear people who made Alecia's 20th birthday so wonderful, I would like to give you a heartfelt Thank You!!!! She is so happy! I know that it is because of the efforts of her dear friends, especially Hma Roxanna and Hma Nunez! I really appreciate all the care that you give to her. I will forever be grateful to you all.

 Alecia and Hma. Nunez

 perfume! smells so good!

the wallet they gave me

and a wallet! BIRTHDAY GIFTS!

¨Biting the Cake¨
bolivian tradition...

THE CAKE FACE 

Pic missing here:  . louis and the key chain he gave me

my cards and gifts

 This is a rather strange and gorgeous bolivian flower

 LOUIS, THE BISHOP, AND US!

 and all of louis´s family at the baptism!

Letter to Momma:
Hey mom!!!
hey mom... i have just spent flipping 45 minutes looking for a computer that actually works here in the internet cafe we are at... and therefore i am working with half the normal time i would have to  write... just apologising ahead of time...

 This week was amazing! so many great experiences! LOUIS WAS BAPTISED THIS SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His entire family was there! And my what a beautiful testimony he gave after wards!! i cried... and we sang i like to look for rainbows in spanish with all the missionaries in our ward. his little cousin (about 10 years old) was there too! His name is J...., and he kept jumping around all excited saying, ¨wow! my turn next saturday!¨ which was way cute! and totally possible! lol! his mom is also less active, so we made an appointment for this friday to go and visit her and begin the rescue process! ;)
my birthday was fabulous! all the sisters that live in our house made little gifites for me to make it special! And hermana Roxana(our pensionista) and her family had a surprise bday party planned for me! I got american candies from one sister from my group, a wallet and perfume from hermana roxanas family, as well as two cute key chains from the little guys! A whole lot of cards and little sweets! And lots of love! OH, and my face shoved in cake! lol! its an interesting little latino tradition to ¨bite the cake¨ ... or in other words... get your face shoved in the cake lol! hma nuñez did the honors of the shoving... and i got a mouth ful of yummy cream! lol! anyway, i am trying to send pics! so you all can see!
anyway, i truly loved this past week! so very special, and full to the brim with great moments, laughs, and the spirit! i have never felt such joy as when i saw louis be baptised. he will be, and is, a great example for his entire family! and i hope to see them all strong and firm in the church before i leave this area! Yesterday, we officially rescued his grandma! Hermana julieta quiroga! And we are on our way with the rest! hermana julieta and her husband are beginning to prepare to be sealed in the temple! And the d....... family are fixing up their recommend to start attending the temple yet again! after many years of being less actives! I FEEL GREAT!!!! I DO NOT REJOICE IN MY OWN STRENGTH, FOR SUCH A THING DOES NOT EXIST... I AM WEAK... BUT MY LORD AND MY GOD MAKE ME STRONG!!! I REJOICE IN HIM! I TEACH OF HIM! AND I PRAISE ONLY HIM! this is the mission. i have seen moments so hard i thought i would never make it through.. i have beat myself up on a regular basis for a lack of perfection. i have cried and i have lost hope... but through it all... i have learned to trust in GOD... and in no one else. to love HIM who died for me... and to TRUST in that they both have a plan, a perfect plan, for me and all those i teach and love here in Bolivia.
anyway, as for kechawa... the native language of Cochabamba... or the language of the INCAS!!! Is actually quite difficult... however, i am now able to hold my own in a typical ¨how are you¨ conversation... lol! and my next step will be my testimony, and how to pray in said language... or dialect. anyway. its really kind of incredible to learn! lol! Who knows? could be the language of the lamanites.. ;) anyway, few words in kechawa:
ari- yes
mana- no
walehia- good
mana kanchu- there isnt any...
mana intendi kichu- i dont understand!
lol! have fun with that! lol! its spelled phonetically so yall can just read it... the actual spelling is TERRIFYINGLY IMPOSSIBLE! LOL!
Anyway, love you mom.. gotta try and write every body else too though! lol!
love
hma alford

Letter to the President:
President Dyer,
this week has been one of the bests of my life... I was truly worried as it was the first time i would spend my birthday away from home... and because we were trying to plan a baptism... which i was afraid would fall through like all the others since October in my mission... Lets just say it was kind of depressing to look at my planner and know that the day i turn twenty years old i would have no one... But I prayed for the strength to look to God and hope in Him... And the week began peacefully. We had good lessons and a lot of fun together. the day before my birthday, we confirmed the baptism date! And planned it all out! I felt as though God had a hand in those plans... as each and every little hitch was solved easily and with out much head ache! My birthday was made special by incredible people here in my mission. I learned that i have much more here than i ever realized. God loves me. And he sent me that day many people to show it for him. I have to say I think this birthday could have been the best I have ever had! And then this Saturday Louisito was baptised! And his entire family was there! We had one of the greatest days ever! And I couldnt be more pleased or feel more blessed! Anyway, just thought I would share!
have a great week president!
Hermana Alford

Who You Are: A Message To All Men

Who You Are: A Message To All Women

April 21, 2014 Emails and pics

he zone with president and hermana dyer in front of the convent camelitas...

at the temple!

                                             Going to the doctor with hma nuñez!

                                                    With the moon in my hands!!! ;)

at the temple this tuesday!

I found somebody who knows the mangums!! Brother and sister westover, they are sirving a temple mission here in Bolivia!!! ;) Thought yall could get the pic to the mangums?

the westovers and i inside the convent! learning history this monday!

the ¨hospital¨ of back then! There would always be one nun who knew about this stuff... and would teach another.. so they always had a ´doctor´!

                                                      my birthday cake this year!

easter bunny gifts ;)

Family and Friend letter

I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!!!! HAPPY EASTER! HOPE YALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND NEVER FORGET HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU ALL!!! I PRAY FOR YALL DAILY! AND WILL NEVER FORGET YOU! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
LOVE
HMA ALFORD

Letter to Momma

Hey mom!
WOW DO YOU LOOK GOOD! ;) I love you so very much! I will be praying for little rowan and his momma so he can come at a good time.. in the time of the lord!
I had an okay Easter. The Easter bunny came! lol! and we had to give talks on Sunday! I spoke on the resurrection of Christ, and the importance of that great moment... then tied it in with the importance of the book of mormon and the great need to share it: ¨you all might be wondering, what does the resurrection of Christ and the book of mormon have to do with the work of salvation... well it has everything to do with it! When we, as members of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints know the importance of that morning so long ago... when Christ broke the bands of death, and the great role of the book of mormon in the plan of God and the knowledge we have that His work did not end that great morning, but goes on even now... then we will SHARE IT!¨ anyway, theres a small part of the message i shared this sunday... kind of poorly translated, but there ya go! lol!
anyway, its been a crazy week... ernesto was not baptised this saturday... we havent been able to find him for a week... ;( but louis is on his way!!! ;) And we are still looking for ernesto... Pray that we can find him pretty please?
 we also went to presidents house... ate sloppy joes and BROWNIES!!!! Went to the temple too... WAY PRETTY! Love the new video! And had a zone conference too! Weve been working really hard with the members! FHE is a WAY cool way to get that done! We have two tonight!!! ;)
Oh, could you pray for hma nunez? shes a bit sick... some stomach thing... has nausea every time she eats something... might be an infection or parasites... ;( Anyway, i feel so wierd!!! I am turning twenty!!! Dont worry about the package.. its gonna be fine! I feel like we celebrated my bday already at presidents house! With cake and everything!!! ;) today we are going to go eat a special lunch too... so i am alright! ;) I am gonna send ya more info in the photos okay? love ya mom!
hma alford

April 14 Emails and Pics

SERVICE! there was this giant activity this Friday night.. . and here we are  cleaning up the after affects Saturday  morning! They had a  concert in the church yard! And the price to get in? two pounds of food! We had a good  turn out... of course, we couldn't be there as  missionaries... but we helped set it up and take it down1 lol!  here we are raking with brooms!  lol! rakes sort of arent common down here...

  This is my pensionista , hermana roxana.. .  and  a typical plate of bolivia. This plate happens to be liver.... With rice and a salad...  Almost all bolivian food looks somewhat like this. rice or noodles on the bottom , meat,  potatoes, and a small   salad. Thought yall might like to see liver though! lol!  I  am so lucky with my  pensionista! She is so great! She has us try  all kinds of stuff... but if we dont like it, its okay with her!!! INCREDIBLE!  Anyway, we have tried all kinds of things... but she listens to what we say, and loves to try and help us love the  food! LOVE HER!

we also went to the hospital this saturday! they have a kids day here! lol! and we brought all kinds of cute gifts to the kids there! fun!!!!

Family and Friend letter

Okay, so sorry ahead of time f or the random spaces, i am fighting with a really ridiculous key board right now! lol! Anyway , wanted to share a story with you all . We went to eat at a members house  a few weeks ago..  and find out that the mom of this beautiful young family is a member, without ever having been baptized!!! she goes to church , takes part in all the activities, gives lunch t  o the missionaries, and really appears to b e a member!!! but has never been baptized! so , we set an appointment  for a family  home evening night. And  what a blast! We also found out why she hasn't been baptized up till no w.. . tithing an d callings.. . she  just doesn't like the idea. . . even though she understands the why and all that..  so ,  i shared my testimony of the tithe. and i  have never been so grateful for what my parents have taught me  on that particular point in all my life. i  shared the story  of that amazing tithing blessing Christmas.. .  and many more incredible moments i ha e experienced as a result of the decisions my parents alwa s made.  My  tears over flowed, and i  saw the  special change in her eyes that we as missionaries always look for .  the look of  a touched soul.  God prepares us   through experiences and  special angels in our lives to touch  the souls of  others. M y parents are goodly parents, i testify of that fact  and  the love i have for them.  I know i could not be the person i am with out then and their influence in my  life.   Mom, i love you m re than you know, and you are m y model of life and way of being. Dad, you are my hero.  do not ever forget how much  i honor and love you as well. thank you for all you teach me!    

Letter to Momma

WOW! YOU SHOULD TOTALLY  HAVE SENT ME THAT ICECREAM!!!1 LOL! (Story to go with this comment: I took the kids to Chick Fil A and bought them all dinner. Then I wanted to get them an ice cream cone. Brandon had already had a shake so I wasn't going to get him one. I thought 7 kids minus 1 equals 6 plus 1 for me equals 7 and I handed out all the ice creams and still had one left. I couln't believe it when I realized that I had bought Alecia an ice cream cone! ) That is so funny! lol!   :)  thanks  so much for all the prayers and fasting ! i have really been feeling the affects down here.     And your study as well! thank you! i had never thought about it that way! lol! I will be   Okay,  so my key board is ridiculous!!1 i am so very sorry for all  this craziness! i l ove you so much you kn o w that right? love your pic!  thanks for sending it!  sounds to me li k e y ou made m emories wi th jessie this week! she was so ver y impressed, and  i know she is going to take that moment with her for the rest of her life. . . jsut like so many i have  with me now! this week has been so very full of craziness!   we have celebrated hma ninataypes bday, done a ton of service,  hma guttierrez is off to sucre ,        and hma ninataype s is  training  in the same house with  us!  so fun! anyway , ate liver again, and we have been working really hard with mayber, louis, adn  ernesto, as well as ernestos sister yudith! hopefully, we will have a baptism this week! oh, this tuesday  is temple day!!! AWESOME!!!  hope to be able to get a few necessary items... lol!  and im gonna be sending pics! dont you worry! lol1 i lo ve you to ns  m om!!! hope you know that!
lo ve
hma alford

April 7, 2014 Alecia's emails and pictures

My comp and I with  The pensionista and her fam!

Hma nuñez taught me that trees pass good energy when you hug them... now, whenever I am tired or just want to curl up on the ground and give up... I hug a tree!!! lo

Ready to hear the conference!

All the cochabamba sisters at the temple with president and his wife!

My zone with hma and president dyer! 

I hope that you are having a good week. Yep! ITs been fabulous!!!
How was transfers?Good, I am still with hma nuñez... ;)
What was your favorite part of conference? You do know that that question is almost unanswerable right? lol! But I did really like what richard g scott said, ¨love one another, love enough to SHARE your Convictions!¨Loved that part!
Do you have a new companion and are you training? see above answer! lol! ;)
How is your finger, did you find out if it was broken or not? I am okay, wrote dad about it in more detail... but im pretty sure its not broken How is Ernesto progressing and M.... and L....? Ernesto has accepted a baptismal date!!! Just needs to gain a testimony before hand! M.... and l....went to the conference, and we are going to set a date this tuesday or wednesday!!!
We have been praying for them?Thanks so very much for all your prayers!!! Keep em coming! .. but  Im in Bolivia... :) Thanks for telling me about little rowan! I am sending like a ton of letters home... Including a few for all the new babys and their mommas! maybe ill put it off till next monday though so I can send a letter to Lauren too... anyway! sounds like a cool party!!!!
You are incredible! And I am so excited for you as you become more healthy, strong, and share that strength with all! I love you so very much! And am so proud of your growth... i feel like all of you are growing with me as I am down here! And I love it so much!
anyway, i am doing okay... absolutely loved the conference... am so very excited for the next few weeks because we are going to set a date with m.... and l...., ernesto is being prepared for baptism on the 19th, we are going to the temple on the 15th, the presidents house on the 14th, and my bday is on the 24th!!! I feel like everything is just looking up!!! And I pray that all these things can come to be... especially with our incredible investigators!!!
hope yall have a fabulous week! oh, have yall sent that package yet? if not, could you send my scrap book? the brown one with a butterfly on it... it is empty, and is in one of my boxes... ony if you can...
love ya mom!!!
hma alford

lol! this is the lama i saw this week!! lol!

 Letter to her dad:

My fingers okay, i dont think it was ever broken... just deeply bruised or something. it only hurts to touch it or squeeze it a little bit now... whereas before I could hardly even move the darn thing... How awesome that Michael went to the conference! M.... and L.... went as well! And we had aFAmily Home Evening night with them and their family right afterwards! POWERFUL stuff! We are going to invite them to baptism this tuesday or wednesday!!! PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM AND FOR US!!!!!!!!! As for doctors, ill keep that in mind  next time! lol! I pretty much know all of them by name now! lol! so you are probably pretty right. I was sharing a bit with a few nurses, seeing as they came in and out every hour to check my vitals and change out the liquidy stuff... (she is taling old news here, she is not in the hospital right now. Her Daddy tld her she was probably sharing the gospel with the nurses and doctors) i had plenty of time to start up conversations! lol! youve been closer up to a lama than even i have! lol! Although the other day we showed up at hma roxanna´s house, to find a giant lama skin lying in the pathway!! lol! sister julietta is going to use the wool for pillows or something... thank you so very much for your testimony! I will be printing that out and translating it to share with investigadors! thanks!!! I love you so much you know!
Conference notes
Russel M. Nelson ¨Faith is the antidote to Fear! When we speak of faith,faith that can move mountains, we are not speaking of just any faith... but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.¨
LOVED THAT!!!
Anyway, other news... I am still with hma nuñez, Ernesto has accepted a baptismal date for the 19th!!!! PRAY FOR HIM PLEASE! And I am working on a package! Might get to send it today actually! ;)
love you dad!
hma alford

March 31, 2014 Emails and Pics!!!

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 hey dad! your multi tool comes in handy! Here i am fixing my dresser doors... i have also had to fix a number of beds, drawers, dressers, doors, and tons of other stuff. lol! those who are off to serve a mission! bring multi tools! lol! its a good idea!

Puppies!!!! And wild hair... lol! ;) 

hey mom... i love you so very much you know! this conference was really fabulous! we had to watch it sunday though, because here it would have been way too late at night to see it on saturday. its a little bit hard to type right now because i had a little incident this morning... getting off the truffy, or bus, a lady slammed the slide door on my pinky finger. i am pretty sure its broken... it hurts so very bad! is kind of purple and swollen.. but i cleaned it off really well and put a bandade on it. luckily, where we got off was right in front of  a little farmacy... so i was able to buy a little bit of hydrogen peroxide and bandades... otherwise, it would have been a little sketchy to have an open wound in the streets of bolivia... lol! anyway.. its not so bad now, but i cant really use it much! so, this week has been hectic.. we had interviews with the president, zone conference, the relief society general conference, and the sisters that live with us had a baptism. We had four invs in church with us!!! ;) and ernesto went to the baptism too! we have quite a few invs that are so close to baptism!! we are just praying nothing gets in their way! i was hoping you all could add them to your prayers as well... ernesto and his family. he is so great! a reference from some other sisters... he isnt even baptised yet and is sharing the gospel! brought his two nephews to church this sunday! hes great (24 years old)! wara, she is 12 years old, and has almost all the lessons already. loves the gospel and knows that its true. the problem would be her parents, not overly keen on the idea of the church... and dont want to talk to us much.. more her dad than anything. Mayber and Louis. Mayber is the boyfriend of our pensionista, and louis is her son. neither one was very interested in the gospel before... but now are just loving it! mayber is just so excited, went to church last sunday and loved it! says he felt a fire inside of his heart! and wants to go back! That is just exactly the kind of thing we want to hear from people!!!! anyway, his granpa died this week and left to santa cruz! poor thing is hurting a whole lot.. but we are hoping the plan of salvation can help with that. anyway, they are the most incredible investigators we have right now. please pray for them! we are hoping to have baptisms this month of april!!! ;) anyway, other crazy things.. so, i have told yall before that i ate cow feet... but i have found out just what cow feet are like this week! before it was just a juicy gravy type thing they make out of the stuff and put in a  meat pie like thing... but this week i actually ate the dang foot!!! i dont ever want to hear anyone complaining about jello... i know what cows foot tastes like in reality! and it is fowl!!! bleck!!!! there were evern hairs sticking out of the thing. and you can totally tell how they make jello out of the stuff! it has a sort of wierd gelatin feel to it! lets just say GROSS!!!!  okay, on other wierd stuff.. cow stomach. turns out they have another way of preparing that stuff too... before, i had tried it like a smashed fried patty. gross... but not as bad as this! sliced and boiled with rice and veggies... the most nastiest thing!!! and you can see the green insides where the grass has dyed the inside walls of the cows stomach!!!!! i dont like that. Liver, how ever, is actually quite tasty... kind of like heart. :) anyway, those are the latest food adventures down here in bolivia... my pensionista got bored and decided to play around in the kitchen. they actually like this stuff down here... interesting right? on other news, transfers are coming up this sunday... and president says 11 sisters are coming!!! newbies!!! i am kind of hoping i get to train.. but that all depends on the Lord. anyway, i love you so very much mom! hope you can share the stories with everyone... because i am not going to be able to write much more... my finger hurts...
oh... the conference!!! so, remember the video of the womans hands? these were my thoughts... ¨what are my hands doing now? where is my life headed? are my hands worthy to be compared to the hands of Christ? questions for the soul...¨ I LOVED the phrase, ¨here I am, send me...¨or in spanish, ¨he me aqui... envia me!¨ Just loved it so very much!!! And, last off... ¨do i know the worth of my smile? my soul?¨ anyway, i loved it all so very much... and there are lots of other notes... but its all in spanglish! lol!
 i am going to be able to see hma santacruz today! she is headed home! the last week she has been traveling bolivia with her mom.. and tomorrow she is off to argentina! so sad to say goodbye you know? ;(
so... please let every one know I love them bunches! I am going to try and respond to all the others letters... but I only have a half hour left.. and my finger is killing me. oh, and cant send pics cuz this computer is choppy.. :( love you!
and off I go!
hma alford
ps. aunt lauren is pregnant too right? is it a boy or a girl?