Well feliz navidad!

It was awesome to talk to everyone. Hope you all had an awesome christmas! It was definitely an experience here haha. Never gonna forget it. Also the missionary work is getting alot better in our area. people are coming to church and we have quite a few with baptismal dates. its really cool. the mission is alot more fun when you are having success.
so ya  heres my letter to president leyva :

Hola presidente Leyva : ¡Feliz Navidad! Todo esta lo maximo en manchay! En verdad estamos viendo las bendiciones del señor bastante ahorita. Especialmente las bendiciones de ayuno. Hicimos un ayuno 2 semanas atrás y este semana hemos visto bastantes bendiciones. Tuvimos el bautismo de un hermana Betsabe. Ella tiene un testimonio tan fuerte y va a ser un buena miembra. Tambien hemos encontrado 3 personas que estan listos para ser bautizado este 31. En verdad ellos son milagros y gracias a la bendicion de ayuno hemos podido ayudarles. Tambien anoche encontramos un familia inactiva y ellos quieren regresar a la iglesia. Tambien ellos tienen 3 hijos que van a ser bautizados el 15 de enero. La obra esta mejorando bastante en manchay y estoy muy agradecido para ser un parte de ella. Estoy tan agradecido por este tiempo que tengo como un misionero y espero que puedo ayudar la obra a mejorar siempre.
Elder Paolacci

(translated with google translate - not the best translation - but we get the jist)
Hello President Leyva: Merry Christmas! Everything is the ultimate in Manchay! Indeed we are seeing the blessings of the Lord enough right now. Especially the blessings of fasting. We did a fasting 2 weeks ago and this week we have seen many blessings. We had the baptism of a sister Bathsheba. She has a very strong testimony will be a good member. We have also found 3 people who are ready to be christened this 31. Indeed they are miracles and through the blessing of fasting we could help. Also inactive last night found a family and they want to return to the church. Also they have 3 children who will be baptized on January 15. The work is improving a lot in Manchay and I am grateful to be a part of it. I'm so grateful for this time I have as a missionary and I hope I can help the work to always improve.
Elder Paolacci


So ya we had the baptism of Betsabe on christmas morning! it was amazing. after every baptism here we invite the person who got baptized to give there testimony. usually its kinda of short because no one knows what they are doing, but when Betsabe gave hers the spirit was so very strong. it was amazing. shes gonna be a great member. I love to see the gospel in action and blessing peoples lives.

So this weekend we have 3 baptisms, anthony, gregory, and carolina. They are all awesome and im way excited for them and once again it is absolutely amazing the change in peoples lives for the better when they embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So just some funny things that are going down here. Apparently everyone wears yellow flip flops on new years eve? so im kinda scared for that and have no idea what to expect. they are selling them on every street corner. we are gonna buy some fireworks today so we can include ourselves tommorow night in their little fireworks show.

On a sad note im pretty sure im gonna be hitting the road come tuesday. atleast thats where all the signs are pointing. so we will see what happens. i really dont wanna leave, i have truly come to love manchay and all of the people here and we are touching so many lives and having so much sucess, but i dont have much of a choice. So it is a waiting game. I should know on Monday when I write maybe.

So ya everything is great here. i love it. i found out we can do skype in our mission too (how convienient that they tell us after christmas). so we shall be talking face to face mothers day (so teach malorie to say uncle dylan by then)

oh ya and thanks to everyone that sent me stuff! i loved it all! you guys are awesome.

i hope you all have a nice week. give karleigh a hug for me. i am sedning her a letter now.

tell everyone to write me letters! you gotta promise me you all will keep praying and keep reading your scriptures

Love, Elder Paolacci

Hola

HOLLLAAA!!

Well i appreciate the sports updates as always. Crazy stuff is going down. Vince Carter ?! wahhh! Pretty cool. too bad hes kinda old. and stinks to hear about my man aaron. why would anyone want to hurt him?!

So ya heres my letter to president leyva

Todo esta mejorando en manchay. Hemos encontrado nuevos quien estan dispuestos para progresar. Tuvimos 3 jovencitas que vinieron a la capilla este domingo y yo estaba tan feliz. Este fue la primera vez este mes con un investigador en la capilla. Ultimo martes estabamos compartiendo experiencias sobre milagros en la mision. Porque yo no tengo mucho tiempo en el campo yo exprese que yo se que vamos a ver milagros en manchay. Sabemos que el señor siempre esta probando nuestro paciencia. Hicimos un ayuno este dia y estamos viendo gran consequencias por este. Ahorita estamos enseñando un familia de tres mujeres. Ellas estan bien preparadas para nosotros. Yo se que ellas son un bendicion de ayuno y mi testimonio de ayuno ha aumentado mucho.
Estoy amando y disfrutando y aprendiendo mucho por este tiempo que tengo en Manchay, y yo se que vamos a tener exito muy pronto.

Elder Paolacci

Everything is going well in Manchay. We found new investigators who are ready to progress. We had 3 girls who came to church on Sunday and we were so happy. This was the first time this month with an investigator at church. Last Tuesday we were sharing experiences about miracles in the mission. Because I have not much time in the field I express that I know we will see miracles in Manchay. We know that the Lord is always testing our patience. We fasted that day and we are seeing great blessing for our fast. Right now we are teaching a family of three women. They are well prepared and are eager to hear the gospel. I know they are a blessing of our fasting and with this fasting my testimony has been greatly increased.


I'm loving and enjoying and learning a lot during this time that I have in Manchay, and I know we will see much sucess very soon.
Merry Christmas - Elder paolacci

Well mom its really sad hearing about marge. i know you were really close with her. But you do have the benefit of knowing youll see her again. Also i dont know if she was a member but this gives you the chance in 1 year to do her temple work. Just know that this isnt the end and that you'll be blessed for helping her so much.

So this week was good. We had our christmas conference! Got to see elder capps again and speak some english, haha that was nice. We did some sketches and ate some really good food. We had an amazing time.

So ya mom president leyva said elder bell ended up going home. So if you can do your magic and try to get me some updates on him that would be great, talk to his mom or something. His name is isaac bell. (So I heard from Elder Bell's Mom last week and she said he was moving in with the office Elders - so I think he is still in Peru)

So we had 3 investigators come to church finally! It was so uplfting seriously. They are so great. They are all young woman and the young women in the ward are being great with them. They will probably be baptized new years eve!

WOOOHHOOOO CONGRATS PAPI ON DOING THE LIGHTS - I knew you could do it.

So tommorow i will be getting my christmas package! woohoo! im so excited, im gonna try my hardest to wait till saturday but i wont make any promises haha.

So once i get my new camera im gonna try and take a picture of the houses on the mountains of manchay. Alot of people have put up christmas lights and its pretty cool to see. Also people are starting to put up their christmas trees so its really starting to feel more like christmas. Still cant really shake the 100 degree christmas time feeling but its ok. Haha looks like elder rider is gonna have a white christmas! Not like ive had one so its ok - I dont know the difference.

So ya i did end up getting marissas letter, tell her to send another, and another, and another. ill start working on writting her one today. tell everyone thank you so much for sending notes and letters. i love hearing from home.

Well that seems to be all folks. tell the boys sicki nunu. tell karleigh to get better, make sure she has had a blessing. I have seen the blessings of the power of the priesthood - dad give her a blessing if you havent already.

Love you all, sorry to hear about tobias, but its ok you have maggie, and dogs without fleas. What a blessing !!!

so how are things reading the Book John ? It really helps you to reflect and get in the true spirit of Christmas by really getting to know our Savior.

so I want you all to have a merry merry christmas ok! Its gonna be rough away from home but i only get 2 in the mission so im gonna make the best of it.

Keep praying, keep reading those scriptures, keep playing the piano, keep being the best you can be and most of all just love each other. I wish I was there with all of you, but I am so happy to be doing this work and to be here in Peru.

Talk to you soon - literally hahahaha
Elder Paolacci

Pictures From Manchay

HOOOOOLLLLLAAAAA!!!!!

HOOOOOLLLLLAAA!!!!

well it's officially the Christmas season. it's starting to seem more and more like Christmas here. it's really cool seeing the little shacks up on the mountains with their little strands of Christmas lights. Whenever I get my new camera I will be taking some pics! So ya I hope you guys are all having an awesome Christmas season. This really is the best time of the year. President Leyva challenged us to read the book of John before Christmas to get our mind on what's really important. I am thinking that it would be really cool if you guys could do it too.

Things are still a little rough here in Manchay, we have a lot of good investigators, really good people, but they never go to church! That's kind of an obstacle as far as progressing to baptism goes. It's really discouraging because we cant have baptisms without them going to church. We are trying lots of ways to get them to go but still no dice. here's my letter to the president

Hola presidente Leyva :
Ya pues la obra es dura ahorita en manchay. Estamos trabajando muy duro para ayudar la gente pero todavia no estan iendo a la capilla.
Hemos tratado bastantes cosas, empezar con otras nuevos, pedir los miembros a recogerles, pero todavia nada. Estamos un poquito confundido porque nuestros investigadores parecan tan animado para ser bautizados pero no estan haciendo su parte. Estamos esforzando para encontrar las dudas o problemas que tengan pero no sabemos donde estamos equivicando. Todavia estoy animado para trabajar, todavia puedo ver como este evangelio esta cambiando las vidas de las personas en nuestra area, y yo se que ahorita este es solamente un prueba que necesito vencer. Si no lo hago estoy quitando la oportunidad que la gente tiene para aceptar este mensaje. En verdad estoy muy agradecido por este tiempo que tengo, y prometo que siempre voy a dar mi mejor.
Tenga un buen Navidad!
Elder Paolacci
(translation
Hello President Leyva:
The work is tough right now in Manchay. We are working very hard to help people but they are not going to church.
We have tried several things, starting with other new members and asking members to pick them up, but still nothing. We're a little confused because our investigators seem so excited to be baptized but are not doing their part. We are striving to find the answers or problems with but do not know where we are going wrong. I am still encouraged to work hard , I can truly see how this gospel is changing the lives of people in our area, and I know right now this is only proof I need to overcome the obstacles we are facing. If not then I would be taking away the opportunity that people have to accept this message. I'm really grateful for this time I have, and I promise that I will always work hard and give my best.
Have a good Christmas! Elder Paolacci


So we have been opening up an area within our area called San Judas. Its even poorer than Manchay but the people are awesome. But its like a half hour from the capilla (chapel) so we aren't too sure how many of them are going to start coming. The area there is really cool too. It feels like we are in provincial (the cool part of Peru) when we are there. you would never think we were in lima. I think we are going to go there today and try to find some more nuevos.

Hmm so we found a pretty sweet room/house thingy that we are trying to switch to. We really need to change our room because there is a major flee problem. But ya the place is like twice the size of the room we have now and its got a pretty cool view of manchay (ohhhhhh so pretty haha).

So tomorrow I SHOULD be getting my packages so I'm pretty excited for that. I'm going to try my hardest to wait till Christmas to open them. But don't hate me if I peek :)

So ya always ask people if they want to send me a note or something. You can always post something on facebook, ya idk.

Tell Logan to stop hurting himself. And tell the boys I'm crying inside about Aaron Rodgers. I'm glad Karleigh is getting better, tell her I have been praying for her every night. Tell the boys to do the Christmas lights! No slacking on the Christmas lights - they gotta learn someday, so why not now! Have Coleton and his friends put them up. Tell them to be creative and send me a picture.

So Thursday is our multi zone Christmas Party, so I am really excited for that. We are doing little skits so that should be a trip. I'm going to record them and put the videos I have made on a cd and send them to you guys. I also get to see Elder Capps. That will be awesome.

Umm so something kinda really super sad. We were passing by the CCM the other day and I was talking to one of my old teachers and she told me that Elder Bell got some virus and went into a coma. She said it's super rare, only like 1 in 100,000 people ever get it. But the good news is that he is out of the woods and getting better and he'll be able to hit the field again. Just letting you guys know so you can pray for him. Please keep him in your prayers. He's one of my best friends now and I really hope he gets better.

So ya I love all you guys! You have fun this Christmas season for me , and I promise I'll work hard for you guys! Read your scriptures, says your prayers, be nice to each other and know that i love you!
Adios Elder Paolacci
p.s. yes they have lights at the Peru temple

Well Hello There

Well hello there!


So this week was goodish. Only two of our investigators showed up to sacrament. Its kinda rough when we work so hard, they have accepted the gospel and no one decides to show up to church. That is kind of a really important part of the gospel, you know attending church. We have a bunch of baptisms lined up for this month, but they have to go to church at least 3 times before getting baptized. Some of them are sleepers and just lazy, but they love the gospel already. Oh and ya i figured i would start attaching my letter to the president to you guys. its in Spanish but you guys can figure it out.

Hola presidente Leyva : Este semana ha sido un poquito dificil. Hemos sido trabajando tan duro y nuestras investigadores nunca vienen a la iglesia. Siempre dicen que van a venir y todos han aceptado un fecha bautismal, pero todavia nunca vienen. Yo se que este significa que ellos tienen dudas todavia y vamos a trabajar nuestro mejor este semana para ayudarles. Este domingo tuvimos las confirmaciones de clara y irwin. Ellos son buenos y van a ser buenos miembros. Tenemos muchos investigadores que tienen la opourtunidad para tener su bautismos este mes, y necesitamos esforzar el mejor que podemos para ayudarles a asistir a la capilla. Elder Vizcarra me esta ayudando mucho con mis lecciones y pienso que estoy mejorando mucho. Entonces otra de eso todo esta perfecto en manchay! Hasta proxima semana!
Elder Paolacci

(Best Spanish to English translation I can come up with - Jason and Trent might do a much better job: Hello President Leyva: This week has been a little difficult. We have been working so hard and our investigators didn't come to church. They always say they're coming and they have all accepted a baptismal date, but still have not come. I know this means they still may have doubts and we will work our best this week to help them in any way we can. This Sunday we had the confirmations of Clara and Irwin. They are good people and they will be good members. We have many investigators who have the chance to have their baptisms this month, and we need to help them the best we can to help them attend church. Elder Vizcarra is helping me a lot with my Spanish and I think I'm improving. Once again everything is perfect in Manchay! Until next week! Elder Paolacci)

So I'm glad to see that asu beat u of a. Totally mixed emotions in different parts of the world as missionaries read their emails this morning. Me Happy. Coy Mad. sounds like it was quite the thriller haha. And the packers won of course.

Well I'm sure you guys are getting all excited about Christmas! I am too. its kinda weird here tho. Its hottttttt in December, and that should mean something coming from an Arizona boy. But its cool, there are some families who have put up like 1 or 2 strand of Christmas lights. its kinda funny, but they cant really afford more so its all good. OHHHH so i should be calling the 14th! Its the pre call to get everything straightened out for Christmas day! So ya ill be calling your phone mom, have no idea when so be ready!

GET BETTER KARLEIGH!!!!!! STOP KISSING DAVID!!!!! everyone knows that's how you get mono. I'm pretty sure i know how she got it from kyle. simple, kyle kissed David and David kissed karleigh. ive learned alot about health down here. pretty much an expert.

Coleton and Logan keep up the sports updates! make it about all sports, everything that happened, if you do them every week ill bring something awesome home for you guys! (haha 20 months woohoo). Also congrats coleton on your singing debut and becoming the next zac efron haha. CHISTE! (Joke) Im proud of you, your choir group sounds way fun. And to Logan, keep tearing it up in football and baseball! you guys are awesome.

And tell everyone I LOVE getting letters and packages - they totally make my week and help me from getting homesick. Keep sending pictures. I love watching Malorie get big. Make me a video of her. Teach her to say Uncle Dylan first.

Hmm so quick little story. this week we went to a place called La Chakra. Its been a mystery to me these last two months because Elder Johns always said it was in our area and theres trees! (its a rare encounter for me). So we took a trip to La Chakra and it is way sick.

I felt for the first time that I was in the Peru I have been imagining! I will be sending some pictures, its pretty cool.

Um so quick question, if you could in your next package, no rush, could you send my gray slacks, some more of those ties for my to give away, ask aleise to send directions on how to solve the rubix cube haha i won one in a claw game and I am trying to show the kids here and i cant quite remember! and send some more of your magic cold meds if you can. But no rush!

So the highlight of the week....drumroll please .... I HELD A MONKEY!!!!!!! My mission has been fulfilled! I'm coming home soon. Haha no not really about coming home, but totally serious about the monkey, it was way cool, a family in our ward has two and its the coolest thing ever. I'm bringing one home.

So ya hope you guys are having an awesome holiday season! Have fun for me! Miss you guys and feel free to write me. its seriously the highlight of my week when I get ANYTHING from back home! Hey and make sure you tell cory to email me but only through your email. I am can only open email from mom's email address.

pics are coming soon. I'm doing awesome, I'm working super hard,we are having success. I love my mission and I love you guys! Chow!

Elder Paolacci

Wahhhhh . . . . .

hola familia !

well i would like to start out saying i can see approximately one third of the letters on my keyboard so mom you might want to do some editing before posting this.

Boo Falcons! But I love the sports updates! THE SHMASTA SPORTS UPDATE!

And  Logan's turkey bowl update rocks too. i want these every single week! and don't be afraid to include more!

thanks to grandma and karleigh for writing me !

So ya elder diaz peaced out. hes now zl in vitarte and I'm with elder vizcarra from Arequipa. I'm gonna miss elder diaz but vizcarra is awesome too. Ya elder johns went to oaxapampa, the best area in the whole mission. I'm jealous. and ya I'm the only English speaker in manchay, but its not that bad. Spanish is actually becoming easier to speak which is weird. My email might be kinda short because this keyboard is nearly impossible to type on.

So ya about nuestras invstigadores, no one came to church this Sunday so all of them lost their fecha. it was a really sad day because we have been working so hard and no on came. we had about 10 potentials con fecha and they all bailed on us. Pero to end on a good note, we had the baptism of IRWIN! POR FIN!!! I was so happy, and i could tell how excited he was to be baptized. the only people there were the missionaries and his sister, but he didn't care, he was happy either way.

We might have a couple familias get baptized on Christmas so well see how that goes.

hmm so about thanksgiving. I forgot about it haha. didn't realize until the next day. kinda sad, but whatever. I'm glad dad and the boys had fun at the turkey bowl. I definitely miss that.

so tell Cory I cant email him and to send everything through you
 
Love you guys a lot and i will be writing a letter due to lack of ability to type today.
Entonces lots of love from manchay. Hasta lunes! Elder Paolacci

¡Buenas Dias!

¡Buenas Dias!


So good week. First off I am very proud of my packers. showing them vikings whats up.

That's way cool about Logan's games. Third base is by far the coolest position. Make sure he keeps playing it and tell him to be aggressive.

Oh and I'm way bummed about missing harry potter with Coleton and Karleigh, but ill get over it. I'm sure it was way good. Just make sure to put it on the list of movies I miss while I am gone and we can rent it when I get home. Well thanksgiving is gonna be quite different because its just gonna be another regular day for us. i was trying to persuade elder diaz to let us do something that morning like soccer, but no dice.

I'm way excited for my Christmas package! I'm pretty sure i got all of the other packages. thank you and grandma so much. they totally make my day when I get one. So this week was really good and a little disappointing too. We started off the week strong, 8 people accepted a baptismal date for the last day of the month so we were way happy. But come Sunday only one showed up and the rest lost their date because they wouldn't have enough times attending church. But Sunday we had the baptism of a teenage girl named Clara. It was awesome because i got to baptize her! The baptism of Jorge (my first in the field) was definitely special, but this one had a little more significance to me because it was the first person that i was involved with the whole process of teaching her about our savior and the plan of salvation and then when she accepted the gospel I was able to baptize her . So that was pretty awesome.

This has been a really good week, in the fact that I was way happy the whole week. I have no idea why but I just tried my hardest to be happy and it was awesome. teaching the gospel and being obedient leads to complete happiness.

Oh yeah, 1 transfer down! so cool. this is going by way too fast. But I'm loving it at the same time. Manchay is already starting to feel like home, which is really weird. My Spanish is doing really well i would have to admit. Elder diaz said that i was giving a lesson in Spanish while i was sleeping the other night. pretty cool huh. and there are alot of times when i catch myself thinking in Spanish. its really weird but way awesome too. and scary because my English is going to die in about 6 months.

So thanks for all the letters you have sent me. make sure everyone knows how much I appreciate the communication from home. also it might take a long time for people to get a response. but i think my blog should suffice for most people for now. I truly am thinking about everyone often, we are just so busy working here morning until night.

Also if you could send me that little wood thing for the plan of salvation that we saw at missionary mall that would be cool. and some little games we can play with little kids. idk it might be cool.

Well don't got much more time. Promise I will have more to write next week. keep writing. keep reading your scriptures. remember your prayers. this gospel is amazing. I am so thankful for my family, please make sure they all know how much I love them. Logan keep playing ball and giving it your all, coleton how you coming on those 4 hymns? make sure you are reading your scriptures. karleigh glad to hear you are being good at being the oldest, but don't worry I will be back one day. keep going to seminary and studying your scriptures, remember that you have a heavenly father who is always there for you. morgan and trent keep doing good with Malorie she is getting so big. Marissa, hey where is Marissa ? make sure to tell my big sister I love her. dad don't work to hard. well tell the rest of the family I love them so much and I am thankful for all their love and support. Loving it here in Peru and I love my mission. no place I would rather be. Well until next week!

Elder Paolacci



PS - also if you can keep your eye out for nice Sony cameras on black Friday. this camera works and all but I think I want a better one. lot's of memories to record and I want to get the best pictures I can. there are some ones that I was looking at in a camera magazine that I found that are black and have 14.1 megapixels. if they have those on a huge sale that would be really cool. if not I think on one of our pdays im going to look for a new one, but I figured I would ask you to look on black Friday because it might be cheaper.

more pictures from Manchay

More Baptisms . . . .

Ahhhhhhhh That is So Cool !!!

AHHHHH THATS SO COOL!!!!! (about Kelly's mission call)


South Carolina! Ah dang hes gonna love it there. For the longest time before my mission i wanted to go to south carolina. There are definitely benifits of going to a stateside mission and hes gonna love it. Im gonna be writing him a letter today so let him know to be expecting it.

Hmmmm so all is good in manchay! On the 11th i hit 3 months woot woot. Now that i think about it though i think thats the day coy hit a year. wow thats crazy. time flies thats for sure. I cant believe this is the last week of the transfer. Me and elder diaz are most likely gonna be together again but elder johns is most likely leaving. i have enjoyed getting to know him. he is awesome. i hope another north american comes in his place or ill be all alone :( Well next week is thanksgiving no? Im gonna be so sad without the turkey bowl. Eh but ill live. But i was thinking if you could send some thanksgiving recipes that i could give to my pension that would be cool. Idk something exciting i guess.

Hmm so this sunday we have the baptism of Clara. Shes 17 and at first wasnt very excited to be baptized because her mom wouldnt be able to come because she lives in brazil, but after she prayed about it she felt the holy ghost and knew in her heart it was the right thing to do and now shes excited as can be. We are excited for her. So last thursday after the temple we went to downtown lima to a museum. it was limas version of china town. i was quite confused, being in a different country imitating a different country. Sometimes i just have these strange moments where i cant really believe im in peru.

So where we email from has a printer so let people know for now if they wanna write me they can send the email to you and you can forward them to me and i can print them off here. .

So ya while we are on the subject, mom you are pretty much a celebrity here. At least once a week i get a "hey my mom talked to your mom". haha its awesome cause now ill have all these connections when i get back. I love you mom.

que mas. haha not gonna lie my spanish is doing farely well. I have gained a true testimony of the gift of tounges because when I teach it all just flows perfectly. It is awesome. Thursday nights we have english class for our investigators and i had to give a prayer in english! holy cow it was so hard. i havent given a prayer in english for 3 months. haha i wish i had it on video you all would have laughed at me.

So i was just reading the first line of your email.....misionerA? Mom its ELDER Paolacci, not Hermana Paolacci. But keep working on your spanish. I promise if you study you will get better.

So ya the question about dec 16. Yeah we have our christmas conference dec 16 but you dont have to worry about the package getting here until the 25. well actually the tuesday before. So yes send a cd too and I will put pictures and some videos on it of my area I have made. If you want you guys can send some videos on a dvd too.

About the preach my gospels, just 2. if you havent found them yet look into alphagraphics. they can do it i think.

So ya again let kelly know im way proud of him and to enjoy the time he has before his mission, he needs to study HARD because it's HARD WORK. Let people know they can send you emails and you can attach them to your email. Handwrittens are still better but they take a while and im sure some people dont like doing it or they forget.

Well keep reading your scriptures and work hard (cause I am working hard) remember if we are obident to the teachings of the gospel our lives are truly blessed.
Love Ya guys!
Elder Paolacci

PS - you wanted to know some things for christmas - dried mangos(costco ones) money is always nice if you have any to spare - CANDY - a recap on sports since I have been gone and whatever else your heart desires

Greetings From Manchay !!!

Greetings from Manchay!

Well everything's good from down here. Im glad the packers are doing good woot woot! And I was thinking about how cool it would be if the giants won because that's Tommy Joseph's team! so cool. Ok so im way excited for Kelly's call. I get to have email on Monday so make sure you guys update me right away. Um im not a big fan of guessing but im going to say......foreign: Toronto Canada, stateside: san Antonio, Texas.
So this week we had one baptism. His name is Michael and he's 10 years old. he's a great kid and im sure he will serve a mission when the time comes. He has an amazing testimony and such great faith for a boy of his age.

On Saturday we have the baptism of a 16 year old named nelson. The most amazing investigator ever! we seriously had no struggles with him and he accepted the baptismal challenge the first lesson. Its really cool to see how the lord prepares some people, Nelson was just waiting to here about the gospel. So when we presented it to him all of his questions were answered and he has gained the strongest testimony. We have alot of investigators and should have about 8 baptisms this month. So yesterday we had a multi zone conference. Elder Nash of the seventy was the speaker and it was so cool. oh and I also got to see elder Capps! It was awesome, we did some catching up. I love that guy. We are going to see each other again December 16th for our Christmas.

Today we went to the TEMPLE! it was awesome. I LOVE the temple. One day it will be amazing to be there with our whole family. I'll try to send a couple pics. There were a few elders from my ccm district there and it was awesome to see them again.

So I got the shirts and all the other stuff! Thank you so much! It's all totally perfect. those insoles were a great idea too. oh and don't be shy if you want to send more candy haha I promise im brushing my teeth.  so ya every thing is so good, we changed our pension on Sunday. she's not the best cook but ill get by.

My Spanish is doing pretty good. Im staring to talk alot faster and understand a majority of what people are saying. I think the thing I need to work on the most is vocabulary, but that will come I think.
Yesterday when I was talking to elder Capps I said some Spanish words in my English on accident and it was very scary. I really don't want to be one of those missionaries that cant speak English when he gets back.
Elder Diaz and I are doing good. He's a great missionary.

So I cant believe that I already have been out for three months! its gone so fast and im loving it. we end this transfer on not this Tuesday but the next. me and elder Diaz will probably be together for one more transfer after this
.
So ya im trying to get letters done for the rest of  the fam that I missed. They should be there soonish.
I love all ya guys and make sure you don't change too much while im gone! READ YOUR SCRIPTURES. This gospel is amazing and Heavenly Father is just waiting to bless us if we are obedient. I'm having fun, but more importantly I'm working really hard. It is awesome.

well, Hasta Lunes!
Elder Paolacci

P-Day Switched

Dylan's P-Day was switched to Thursday so they could attend the Temple in Lima this week. So no email till Thursday. So here's looking at you Thursday !!!

President & Hermana Leyva

Elder Paolacci with President & Hermana Leyva

This Place Is Great !!!

HOLA!!!! This place is great !

So first off I'm glad my teams are back to winning! haha oh and you need to remind the boys that i totally called the rangers to be in the world series! doesn't seem like they're gonna win, but who knows so ya all is well in manchay, I'm feeling a little better, and my eye is all better which is nice. we called Hermana Leyva and she told us to buy some medicines and stuff. but ya I also remember Ryan Miller telling me that I'm not gonna be 100 percent healthy for two years so I just have to get over it.

so this weekend was kind of a doozy. we were supposed to have 3 baptisms but only ended up with one. its really sad, one of them didn't happen just because he had to work, but the other one was really disheartening. we have this 11 year old boy who has been taking the lessons and was supposed to be baptized on Saturday. well Saturday morning we were passing by his house and his dad was in town and hes a big drinker. him and his friends were all drunk, and we felt a huge need to emphasize to Irwin(the investigator) that he needed to stay away. well later that day we were passing by and we saw him take a drink of beer. ah it was so sad because now he cant be baptized for 4 more weeks. its really rough down here for a lot of kids because they don't have any good examples.
.
Oh so I sent some letters this week, but only a couple. I'm gonna take some time today to finish them. haha and hopefully they get there!

Oh so last night was Halloween?! I could barely tell, they don't really go all out here like we do in the states Hmmm so we are looking for a new house in Manchay.
Tell Coleton to not quit playing the piano! that was my biggest mistake and I totally regret not being able to read music here.

Tell Logan I'm proud of his baseball skills and to keep working hard.

Tell Karleigh to get better, being sick sucks!

I can't believe how big Malorie is getting !

My shirts haven't arrived yet but hopefully they'll be there tomorrow.

oh and I must not have followed the instructions for the flea collars because we have massive flea problems

And idk if you would be willing, but a great Christmas present would be some new shoes! haha the old ones that i brought aren't gonna last, so if you want you can use my money and try to find some of those eccos. if you don't know what I'm talking about ask Elder Johns mom and Elder Riders mom. I know they might be expensive but they'll last.

I can already tell my English is gonna be toast in a couple months, so I'm interested to see how my emails are gonna start sounding.

sorry for sending such short emails lately, I'm working on it, we don't have much time because we need to email President Leyva too (in Spanish)

I'm working way hard down here and we are having a ton of success, it may be hard but there are always blessings for hard work. Stay strong, keep praying, the Lord is always there to hear and answer our prayers. I witness this daily, so don't ever be afraid to ask him for help whenever you need it. 


well family I love ya guys and I'll talk to ya next week

Elder Paolacci


PS - Tell Grandma Harper thank you for the package

PSS - Tell everyone thank you for the letters they truly are the best thing ever to get

PSSS - I can't wait to hear about Kelly's mission call

Where is Elder Paolacci

So the reason Dylan didn't email on Monday is because they were busy helping the circus director get his tent put up. Elder Diaz' mom told me they were on the News and so with a little help from google I found the news spot. The town of Manchay is going to LOVE this. Dylan and Elder Diaz where so happy with the opportunity to serve and help get the Circus up and running for their little town to enjoy.

Can you find Dylan ? click on the link to watch

All is perfect here in Manchay !!!

Hey so ya I didn't try to get you worried last week. All is perfect here in Manchay! I had my first MISSION baptism Friday! (Logan will always be my first) we have been working hard and I am getting more and more accustomed to the mission. It is still hard but I think I am going to love it.

So the reason I am emailing on a Tuesday is that yesterday we decided to go do a service project for a member. I wasn't totally feeling up to it because I wasn't feeling too well and I woke up with an eye infection BUT I really want to do anything to help the people here. They are wonderful and I can see I am going to love serving them. We ended up raising a circus tent! so crazy. hard work but it ended up pretty cool. but after the project I had my first experience with a stomach virus! oh so fun! I am still feeling it but I will be just fine. DON'T WORRY! I have been taking the things you sent so I will be ok.

my Spanish is getting better and better. I hope it clicks sooner than 3 months but if not, I will be okay. the people here are AWESOME and are totally helpful. the Bishop had thought I had been out for 9 months when he heard my Spanish. but im sure he was lying just trying to be nice. but ya the people here are great and I have seen that you've been talking with them haha.

One of the sisters from the branch is going to send my pics for me so I don't have to take up my time and she's going to take a video too.

I miss everyone. every night I am thinking about all my other friends serving missions and that definitely helps. my mtc buds I am sure are doing great and im sooooooo glad I am here

I don't have a whole lot of time today. I love you guys and miss you all. I want to hear more about what's going on at home. oh and im way excited for Kelly! cant wait to hear where he's going!

love you guys, don't worry about me, im fine

love Elder Paolacci

ps - I got a lot of letters last week. from the whole family. im pretty sure I got one from everyone. Tell everyone thank you for me. It totally helps. I pretty much have zero time to write back but I am trying at nights. thanks for all the stuff your guys are sending!

No Letter today . . . but got fabulous pictures !!!

Well he must be in trainings today so we haven't gotten an email. Maybe tomorrow. But a wonderful sister in Peru sent me these cute photos. He looks like he is going to be just fine. I love this boy !!!!

P-Day

A Glimpse at Manchay, Peru

Manchay . . . . This is HARD !!!!

oh wow what a week!

First off I'm just gonna say this is HARD! I figured it would be somewhat hard but I didn't really realize until I got into the field how hard this was going to be. Just like Brother Miller said, poorest living conditions and huge language barrier. You can't even imagine the living conditions.Well I'm serving right now in the beautiful town of Manchay! jk its not beautiful at all. probably the poorest, ugliest place I could ever imagine. The best description I could give of Manchay is Iraq with mountains. It's definitely the roughest place to start but I figured any place after this will be amazing so I just have to work through it. My first couple days were really rough and I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep doing this but it's gotten better. My comp is amazing. His name is Elder Diaz. hes from Chile and he's been out 9 months. He's been helping me alot . It's really rough here without anyone to speak English with.
OK, my time is short so I'll give you a brief recap of the week.
We left the CCM and went to the mission office for some training on Tuesday. After a couple hours of that we went to President Leyvas house for a lunch. The best food I have had on my mission. There we got to talk to them for a while. After that we had our interviews and then we found out where we were going. Pretty much everyone but me and Elder Capps got sent to bomb places. Elder Rider is in cerro de pasco, Elder Norris is in Setipo which is by la merced, and Elder Sheridan is in huancayo. they are all so lucky, haha but they'll get their turn.

So that night I went out and we had an "appointment". and everyday since then we've worked from 6:30 am to 10 at night. This week the other companionship in our district had a baptism, and we have one Friday! oh and Sunday I got to give a talk in church! It was quite nerve wracking, but I did it. it was around 10 minutes and I was sweating up a storm after. My pensionista is nice, shes a little crazy and the foods hard to get used to.

I am running out of time I have lots more to tell you . I'm gonna try to send some pics real quick. love ya guys so much!

pray for me please haha.


con amor,
elder paolacci

Okay so I have done a bit of quick research on Manchay - It is true - he did start out in the hardest area physically . . .

Another missionary described it " The people of Manchay are very poor; they have no running water and most don't have electricity. They live in "houses" with plywood type walls, dirt floors, and tin roofs. Scores of dogs roam freely through the streets of dirt, and many children do the same. The air is thick with dust and foul smells"

Dylan ran out of time and couldnt send any pictures, but I found this picture of another missionary couple that served in Manchay. 

I also found this video of some service missionaries teaching about hygiene to people of Manchay (there are the dogs - so glad we sent a Dog Dazzer)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6USEQz_ulNY&feature=related

Last Day at the CCM

Elder Riders parents traveled to Argentina to pick up his older sister, Hermana Rider, who was just finishing her mission. They were able to travel to the Peru CCM so that Hermana Rider could say "Hello - Goodbye" to Elder Rider before he heads into the field. We were so fortunate that Sister Rider sent these photos from her phone yesterday while she was there.

Here was her note

I was able to visit the CCM today - the day before these Elders begin their work in earnest. You should be proud of them. They are excited and ready to go and teach people the gospel. What a great experience to be amongst them!

Elder Paolacci & Elder Rider

 I am positive that the Lord sends these young Elders to serve in the right place at the right time.I know now without a shadow of doubt that Dylan was to go Peru. He is exactly where the Lord needs him to be. I am certain that was decided long before. Dylan has developed friendships that will truly last a lifetime.I am often reminded of Saturdays Warrior when I see the relationships that have been developed here and I wonder, if these young men have been together before. Dylan may be acting silly in the above picture. But I know that emotions are tender and they are very anxious to get out into the field. But they truly are sad that they will not be together.

We were able to send a small package with the Rider's to give to Dylan. It has another memory card, a bottle of calcium, probiotics and Advantage Liquid Concentrate (we had heard from other missionary moms this will help and keep them healthy and not get stomach issues - so we were willing to try)

This morning at 6 am they traveled to the mission office with President and Sister Leyva. They will spend the day there and today be given the mission assignments and either this evening or tomorrow morning they will travel to their new area and meet their new companions. No more English from here on out except when he emails home.

Juan Augusto Leyva, 47, Peru Lima East Mission; California Ward, Trujillo Peru Central Stake; counselor in the Peru Trujillo Mission presidency; former stake president and counselor, bishop, high councilor and missionary in the Peru Arequipa Mission. Regional manager of LDS Employment Resource Services. Born in Chepen, La Libertad, Peru, to Arturo Leyva Sanchez and Olga Petita Ponce Solano de Leyva. Married Luisa Rita Yturbe Gutierrez, five children.

A stake Young Women president, Sister Leyva is a former ward Relief Society and Primary president, counselor in a ward Relief Society presidency, Relief Society teacher and seminary teacher. Born in Trujillo, Peru, to Segundo Julio Yturbe Leon and Teresa Gutierrez Flores de Yturbe.

(http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/52008/New-mission-presidents.html)

I am positive that he will be in good hands

Here are a few different maps I have found of Peru and the different mission areas. Dylan is serving in the PERU LIMA EAST MISSION (Este)

 

My heart is full this morning.  I am truly grateful for Dylan and his dedication and his service to serve our Heavenly Father and the people of Peru. As he has expressed in so many letters home, he has never been happier. It is the hardest work he has ever done and he misses us, but he would not trade this experience for anything. How amazing it is to always feel the spirit so strong and to know that you are doing the Lords work. He has grown and learned so much in the 9 weeks he has been out.  He truly feels a love for the Spanish language and the people of Peru. I know that our Heavenly Father will continue to watch over and bless them. 

We are anxious to hear how things go - but we may not hear until his p-day next week.

Last week at the PERU CCM !!!!

Heyo Familia,

Haha im glad you guys tried to translate my testimony, it was probably terrible spanish but i tried. but when love things so much you want to share. and two things i am anxious to share is my love for my savior and my love for the spanish language. when you are here you feel the spirit so strong you love to share.

first off we did get to watch general conference. AND IN ENGLISH! Haha i love spanish but general conference wouldnt be the same as in english. It was amazing! My favorites were Anderson´s and Uchtdorf´s talks. They were sooo good.

Packard looks like hes in pretty bad shape so hopefully he´ll make it to next session. Priesthood session was definitely the best. It was cool because the mtc choir sang and i would have died to be in it because they sounded so good. Ahhh we were all so jealous. the whole time i was just thinking about dad and coleton watching it. it was way cool

And i am so proud of Kelly! holy cow! 3:41! thats so good! i wish i could have been there, but just to watch because we all know i wouldnt run it. Tell him im way happy for him and that hes the man! Oh and congratulations karleigh! I wasnt ever cool enough to get that kind of stuff

So from what i can gather its monsoon season there. I already miss rain! Apparently it hasnt rained here for 30 something years which seem really weird to me. Alot of houses dont have roofs just because they dont need them.

Haha i am ssooooooo excited to get into the field! i know the first month is going to be really hard but id rather be learning out there in the field. We leave tuesday morning around 6 am and the mission home is like 15 minutes away so we might just be hopping right into our missions. Im really nervous but im also super anxious. it may not seem like it to you guys but it feel like ive been gone for 6 months already. so i think the time will go by faster out in the field and i want to be able to savor every minute.

Oh so on sunday they had elections here as i think you discovered and lima got a new president. Haha and apparently shes gonna legalize marijuana and gay marriage so the difficulty of the mission just rose a little.

Oh so i guess i talked in my sleep in spanish two nights ago which is pretty cool! Now only if i could do it while im awake.

Well i dont have much more time so ill talk to ya guys later. thanks for chatting with me mom. next email will be from the field! Wooooooo! Love you guys!

Elder Paolacci

***Notes from our chat***

** it's our last pday together and yes we are definitely enjoying it. these guys are the best we are all super tight
**alrighty! thanks alot! im so excited for the pillow. Oh and i forgot to mention in my email that this place is a small world. So there is an elder from snowflake who was really good friends with meagan hoopes best friend lexie. His name is elder denhalter. And there is an elder from thatcher that knows brody so that was cool too.

**im gonna send the memory card i have now home with elder riders parents or in the pouch if i can. i have some videos of the ccm and stuff.

**where you able to get those shirts from pomeroys and some good pens to send
(my answer was yes. advice to any soon to be missionary moms - they love the CTR sport fit white shirts at Pomeroys in Mesa and he said good black pens are really hard to find there)

Tour of Lima

Last Wednesday all the missionaries got to go on a "TOUR OF PERU" and here is their day in pictures.

Trip to Lima

heyo familia!

This week at the CCM has been great! All the new elders came in on Thursday so that was pretty cool. There's alot of them. I guess theres' around a total of 150 of us now and its way crowded here. Apparently its the most theres ever been here. But its still way awesome. Ha ha I'm a little disappointed about the football scores but its alright.

Everyday my testimony is strengthened about why I'm out here. i miss you guys and all but I wouldn't cut this experience short of two years for anything. Its amazing how happy i am all the time. I know it sounds weird but having the spirit with you all day everyday is amazing.

Well my new comp is Elder Ewing. Hes been in my district since Provo so we already know each other real well. He's really tall, like 6 foot 7.  He's way easy to get along with. Elder Sheridan is still in my room, I love him. He's almost convinced me to try and go to Univ. of  Utah after the mission.

I did end up having a way spiritual experience this week. it was during our tour of downtown Lima, and at the end they dropped us off to go shopping and grab some real food. And it was coming down to the end of our time that we had to shop and we had been buying jerseys from this lady (like 5 dollars each, CRAZY) and the other elders in my group told me it was time to go. But as I was walking out of her shop I was literally stopped in my tracks by the spirit was totally prompted to go talk to her about the church. she ended up being totally into it! She asked for a Book of Mormon before I could even offer it to her. I told her that in three weeks there will be some more missionaries there that she could talk to and she was super excited. It was so awesome, just thought I would share that experience with you guys.

And I guess while we are on the topic of the tour we went on, AMAZING.
We got to stop at the beach and take pics, drove through the business district with all the huge buildings, and then we drove through downtown Lima that had a bunch of cathedrals. Sorry I didn't explain it better last week but the presidents house I was talking about was the president of Lima (the ccm president lives here). And all we did was drive really slowly by it. At the end of the tour when we got to go shopping, me and Elder Capps grabbed some pizza. It was like 50 cents a slice! everything here is super cheap.

And to answer your question if there is anything i need, I definitely do. I don't know if you would be up to it but if you could get like two more of those shirts from Pomeroys that would be amazing. because the two that I have are the only ones i ever wear because I really don't like the other ones at all. So if you could do that just send them to the mission home or whatever. Another good idea would be pens. You did send some pens with me but i would kinda like some nicer ones. I'm gonna look for some while shopping but idk if they'll have any. But those are the only two things i could think of that I need. Idk if its too late to send them with Elder Riders mom, and if it is just send them to the mission home.

Oh and one request about the letters. Try to send handwritten ones!
they are so much more exciting to read (well actually i wouldn't know cause i haven't gotten any).

I'm definitely excited for that stomach medicine stuff because lets just say eating rice twice a day every day makes things interesting.

My Spanish is doing great. It seems like its slowing down and that one of the reasons I want to get to the field because I heard it gets better way faster out there. But I just wanted to share my testimony in spanish. Theres probably a couple errors in there but the more I share it the better it will get. Well that should keep you guys busy for a little bit trying to figure it out.
Yo se que este opportunidad que tengo ahora a servir el señor es el mejor opportunidad yo he tenido en toda mi vida. Yo se que si guardo los mandamientos y ser obidiente durante mi mision, mi padre celestial va a bendicirme. Estoy tan emocionado a ir al campo y poder a hablar con la gente de peru. Yo he tenido muchas experiencias espiritual ya aqui. Estoy haciendo amigos que tenerá para toda mi vida. Yo se que este iglesia es verdadero y quiero ayudar a las personas a tener el mismo luz que tenemos en nuestras vidas. You se que nosotros como un familia, hemos sido bendicido porque tenemos el evangelio en nuestras vidas. Yo se que sin el evangelio yo no podria tener el gran vida que tengo. Yo se que Jose Smith (joseph smith in spanish, dont ask me why) fue un profeta de dios, él tradujo las planchas del oro mediante el poder de dios. Y yo se que el libro de mormon es perfecto y lo tiene la plentitud del evangelio de Jesucristo. Yo se que Thomas S. Monson es un profeta de dios, y él recibe revelacion para nuestra dia. Y mas imporatante you se que si nostros tenemos fe en Jesucristo, y Nuestro Padre Celestial, ellos van a ayudarnos en nuestras vidas (Alma 44:4 is my favorite). Y digo estas cosas en el nombre de Jesucristo, amen.

Okay so I used transloator to translate this :

I am happy to have this opportunity to serve my savior and it is the best opportunity I have had in all my life. I know that if I keep the commandments and am obedient during my mission, my Heavenly Father is going to bless me. So I am excited to go out into the field and teach and serve the people of Peru . I have had many spiritual experiences already here. I am making friends that will last for all my life. I know that this church is true and I want to help the people to have the same light that we have in our lives. I love my family and we have been blessed because we have the gospel in our lives. I know that without the gospel I would not to have the great life that I have. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that he translated the golden plates by the power of God. And I know that the Book of Mormon is perfect and it has the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God, and that he receives revelation for our day. And  most importantly that if we have faith in Jesus Christ, and Our Heavenly Father, they are going to help us in our lives (Alma 44:4 is my favorite).  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love you guys so much, and try to have all you guys write me letters. Especially the boys and Karleigh, and Definitely PAPA! Maybe you can pass the word to my big sista's - they could drop me a line sometime.  Miss you guys all alot. well, hasta la proxima semana! (that means "until next week")

Con Amor (with love)
ELDER PAOLACCI

Exciting times in Peru !!!!

hopefully all the pictures have come through. i don't have to much longer on the computer but i will give you an overview of my week. ah this has been a crazy week tho with all the changes. we have some extra time this morning because the 3 week rotation is here. kind of like organization day at the ccm. the north americans stay for 6 weeks and the latinos stay for 3 weeks. well yesterday a huge group went out into the field and there are just about 50 or so of us north americans here waiting for the new group to come tomorrow. they are expecting about 120 missionaries. it is going to be crazy full here. but first off apparently we had an earthquake last night. it was weird, first earthquake Ive been in. it wasn't bad or anything tho.  secondly we got new comps today, i have an american named elder ewing. hes way nice and hes about 6 foot 7. I'm not in rider, capps, or norris' district anymore so that's kind of disappointing. and rider changes rooms. totally bummed. but i am still in sheridan and bells(another one of my new best friends) district.

because there is just a small group of us here today we are going on a tour to downtown lima today and we leave at noon. I'm way excited because we get to go see the presidents house (which is gonna be awesome) go to a real market and get some real food. i got the package of candy and i was way excited. candy is the best here. we need all the sugar we can get.

lastly last week we were playing a game in our class with our teacher hermomo gallo where he would write a word on the board and you have to get the word. haha simple game. BUT as he was writing one of the words it started to look like he was having a little trouble. it was kinda weird cause no one knew what was going on. all of a sudden he just seized up and dropped to the ground and started having a massive seizure. it was really scary cause it went on for about 3 minutes. after about 2 minutes we decided to give him a blessing. elder despain in my district gave it while he was having the seizure. it was really scary but as soon as he ended the blessing i mean as soon as he said amen hermono gallo came right out of the seizure. it was crazy. this was definitely the scariest/most spiritual moment of my mission. it was a huge testimony builder to witness the power of the priesthood. it is real and the blessings of the priesthood are real. it was amazing. the next day hermono gallo was back and things were fine. priesthood blessings are amazing.

well thats all i got cause i dont have too much time. i love you guys and ill talk to ya next week.

LOVE ELDER PAOLACCI

It was exciting for Dylan to send home a ton of photo's today.

This is Elder Castro, fondly referred to as "Chancho" i don't think our boys will ever forget him.They have learned many lessons in their 3 weeks with "Chancho"

We look forward to the time that Dylan takes a photo "without" a goofy face. He has never been one for serious photos. I guess I am just happy he is taking pictures and capturing these memories !!!!

Dylan has loved rooming with Elder Matt Rider for the first 6 weeks of his mission. I am sure this is one of those "life-long" friends he refers to.

I continue to be so proud of this young man and his desire to serve the people of Peru and the sacrafices he is making to serve a mission and be a tool in the Lords hands.

He is doing well !