1.16.12

well quite a good week! well apart from this terrible news i have just received about my packers - its alright tho, they are just saving the rest of their super bowl wins for when I get home. Dang it still stings tho. hmmm so lets see, this week I did divisions with Capps, he is such an awesome missionary and we also have so much fun together haha. He's awesome. It's really cool seeing all of us from our group now. We are all doing really well. It has nothing to do with us being zls or dls or anything like that, we are just all doing great as missionaries. Each of us are being so blessed out here. Missions are amazing. This week in our area we focused alot on finding new people who are ready to hear the gospel, we also taught Katy a couple times this week and guess what! she's getting baptized tomorrow!
I am so excited, she is awesome. I think the possibility of me leaving was the little push she needed to get baptized. But I told her if she's only doing it now cause I might be transferred she shouldn't do it. But she said that only helped her put things in perspective and she really wants to be baptized for her. But I really am happy that she decided to be baptized before I leave. My time here in Vitarte has gone soooooo fast! and I hope its not over, this is seriously an amazing place, the work is very strong here and the members are great, but on the other hand I am willing to serve where the lord chooses. so we shall see. well tomorrow we find out the transfers, im sure someone will tell you what happens before I get to on monday. I really hope I stay because I really do NOT wanna pack haha.
Today were going to downtown Lima to buy some stuff as a zone! I am gonna try and find a good deal on shoes! super excited. We should have a great time.
Tell everyone I love em. good luck sicki with track. I'll think about knoll, I have kinda been camping for like 17 months haha jk but we will have to see about that when I get back.
love you guys, have a great week! How is your scripture reading going ? Where are you at ? Keep going !
Elder Paolacci

January 9th

well this week was good, kinda rough tho. But tuesday was consejo (zone leader counsel) with president. that was awesome. he taught us about how he knows for a fact that the church is true and taught us about the dispensations and the restoration of the priesthood keys.it was amazing. i know this church is true and that the restoration took place and all but i feel like this helped me know more about what i was teaching. at the end of the consejo i was talking with president about it and told him that it helped me turn the foundation my testimony of the restoration from sandy to firm on the rock. (he liked like that analogy alot)
we were talking about how alot of missionaries need that, that alot of us teach the restoration, which we know to be true, with a testimony built upon the sand. its not necessarily bad to have a testimony built upon the sand cause the truth is that many don't even have that testimony, but we also need to try and form a strong foundation for when the hard times come so we don't get swept away. It is so important to have a rock solid testimony. And I truly feel that is what I have developed here on my mission. I know that the gospel that I am teaching is true. I have never been more sure of my testimony in my life. I have seen how the gospel changes lives for the better. I am so grateful that I was raised with it in our home. Just always remember, when things get tough, and they always do, we have a Savior who is there for us. He will carry us through if we just have faith in him.
As for teaching this week. Well Katy (milagros sister) is having a hard time, she has accepted baptism for next tuesday but she wasn't at church yesterday and she might not go this week either because she has a trip she is going on with her school. it is hard, we are putting so much into helping her but she keeps having her ups and downs. This has been hard for me especially because I might leave this change (i hope not - but one never knows where the Lord needs you to serve) and its probable that she may not get baptized before this change. If I can ask just keep praying for her.
hmmm - so about the package I am not sure that I need anything, but if you are going to send the battery charger maybe you can send me? A FOOTBALL haha i still would love a football down here. just buy one and deflate it. if you can.
what else... oh ya so if you could send me a tad bit more money, my tennis shoes finally met their maker, and i gotta buy some new ones this week.I would be eternally grateful.
So it sounds like we got off to a great week of reading. im super proud of you guys and how well you are doing with the book of Mormon, ive decided to read the bom in Portuguese at nights before I go to bed. its hard sometimes cause i don't have much time but im currently in chapter 9 of 1 Nephi.
hey so this week i was talking to rider at the consejo and we decided we were gonna try and do this 3 weeks early thing so we can get in school. i really feel like its something i need to do. i know I need to be in school fall semester. i feel like coming home the week before school starts wouldnt give me the time i need to choose my classes and really decide what direction I want to go with my classes. and plus i dont wanna be worrying about that stuff out here, I just want to focus on the rest of my mission and deal with school when I get home. have a fabulous week, I am so excited for Shane. He will do awesome. Seems like yesterday I was there. Man it goes fast.
write me letters please, i would love photos of everyone with the gifts i sent for Christmas if you want to send them.
Love you all so much , Elder Paolacci

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO

wellllll probably the FASTEST week ever! oh FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!!!!
haha i feel like i was just sitting here writing you guys, but i guess that was last year.. haha i cant believe its 2012 already, time is flying! its weird thinking that this year ill be coming home. meh, i dont like that thought. when it was about to turn midnight on saturday i got kinda depressed haha, lol kinda like when i turned 20. i think that i think too much about this kind of stuff. maybe its just a mission thing idk. but its crazy to think its a new year and a new start.
people down here are super serious about their new years resolutions. its super cool. it has helped me realize how great of an opportunity it is to start a new year. it actually helps alot of people have the desire to repent, because after all, thats what resolutions really are. goals to change, and repentance is a change that we make in our lives, actions and most importantly in our hearts. me and my companion are really gonna work on making resolutions, or goals to repent with our investigators and also ourselves this month. I think it is so awesome that you guys are going through with this challenge of reading the Book of Mormon with me. I was never the best at reading the scriptures back at home, but the amazing thing is that there is always time to change things and be better. That is what God expects of us. We can even look at it in the way that we are still here on this earth, God gives us another day, because there are things that we still need to change or make better, things that we still need to learn. I have really been thinking about that everytime I wake up and it really helps me be a better missionary and more than anything, a better son to my Heavenly Father. He loves us sooooo much guys and he wants us to be better. He knows that there are challenges that we each have, he knows that we have our faults, but thats ok. ALL we have to do is depend on him and have the faith that we can change. Repentance is truly amazing, the atonement is the most powerful thing to ever happen and that will happen. It is kinds crazy to think about. sorry for writing a talk to you guys, but i really felt like i needed to share these thoughts with you.
just remember that we can always change, and that we always need to be changing things, if not we wouldnt still be here. I love you guys so much! I'm totally going to be reading the Book of Mormon with you guys, although I haven't decided if I am taking up this challenge in spanish or portuguese - but I am doing it - its the same book no matter what language, that is the beauty of it. I will also start tonight.

Well I hope you guys have a great week and a great start to the new year. Remember you have a clean slate and a new year. I am pretty sure its bowl game season huh? so recommitt to sending you big brother scores next week of the bowl games haha.
love you guys a ton, elder paolacci

Merry Christmas from the Vitarte Zone

Christmas

Christmas Week

wellll quite a good week i guess you could say Christmas is sneaking up on us! idk why but its been a little harder this year to have it sink in. its been kinda depressing because the people where I live don't go all out on Christmas lights like they did in Manchay. It's crazy how they people with less money are the ones that do more to create the Christmas spirit. I really hope this week the people around here stop being so rushed and stop to feel the Christmas spirit, because Christmas is a time of year that's really special, especially when you are teaching about the life and ministry of our Savior. It just seems like they aren't feeling the Christmas spirit yet. But in all other regards it has been a great Christmas season.
this week we have been working alot with Katy, the sister of Milagros.
she said she wants to get baptized but she feels like there's something stopping her. we are praying soooo much for her. that would be the best Christmas present ever to see her choose to take this step in her life. I feel like her and Milagros are like my sisters. It's crazy how Heavenly Father has put these people that seem to grow closer to me at this time of the year (at this time last year I met hermana Blanca and her family, what a true blessing that was for me). So if you will all just keep Katy in your prayers and I'm sure she will be able to feel the prayers of others on her behalf.
Our zone is working super hard. We had 5 baptisms yesterday and everyone is super excited to keep working hard and spreading the message of the gospel. We have got a great zone (except we are now really missing Elder Biliter).
Elder Quiñonez is seriously awesome tho. He's the only member in his family and was baptized 2 years before he came. He's got an amazing testimony and teaches super well, we are having a great time teaching together.
Well I hope you guys have an amazing Christmas week, it's my last in the mission. I'm gonna have the best time that I can sharing the gospel, keep me and the people here in your prayers. love you all! Talk to you soon !!!
Elder Paolacci

Amazzzzzzing Week

woooohoooo!!!!
new baby in the family! I'm so excited! Delainie is such a cute baby, I cant wait to meet her! well I just got back from the office and Sister Baldwin just dropped off the package so I now have it. I can't wait to eat the cookies. I'm gonna use these new shoes as my shoes for important stuff when I have to look good and I'll try to treat them well so I can use them when I get home. ahhh so excited!


well this week was ammmmaaaazzzzzing
Lets see Monday we watched Toy Story 3 with the zone and played basketball. We needed a down day and it was fun and relieved alot of stress. 


Wednesday was probably the coolest day of my mission. We found out on Tuesday night that the ward wanted us to go to the temple with them to help with baptisms. So we instantly called president and he gave us permission.
That night we called our converts and 3 said they might be able to go, Stephany, Yuri (its pronounced Judy, she got baptized like 2 days before i got here), and Milagros! But none of them were sure. In the morning we called Yuri and she could to go, stephany got permission from her mom so she was super excited but Milagros still didn't know if she would be able to make it work. After we called, Elder Biliter and I kneeled and prayed that she could receive the help to be able to go. We called her again awhile later and she said she had just prayed and felt that she had to go no matter what. it was amazing to know that we were praying at the same time as her and that God truly answers our prayers when we need it most.
Well to say the least, the experience in the temple was amazing, its hard to even explain in words how I felt. We got to be witnesses for the baptisms and I cried seeing Milagros get in the water. I swear, she is the most spiritually powerful person I have ever met. Let me just be the first one to say that she's gonna marry an apostle one day. I'm so glad she got in contact with you mom and you are talking to her, she loves you.
When she got baptized I told her that Logan had the same bday as her but apparently it was alot cooler coming from you . She came running up at church with the hugest smile asking me if I knew they had the same bday, haha I just acted surprised. She's so awesome and keep talking to her! (The bad thing is now that she knows my name)


Saturday we had two baptisms! It was a mother and daughter that got baptized like 3 years ago but they never got confirmed and fell away and so we were so happy to help them back and have them get baptised and confirmed. it was an amazing baptism and I got to baptize the mom and Biliter baptized the daughter, such an awesome experience.

Hey, so did you guys see the First Presidency Christmas Devotional last night?! amazing huh, I'm downloading the videos right now! those are gonna help us sooo much, what an awesome resource.
So when President Monson was talking I had the strongest impression and truly feel like we should start and end with a prayer when we open presents on Christmas, something small, but it'll help alot to keep the spirit of gratitude and the focus as to why we really give gifts.
Sounds as though grandma is loving DC and doing really well. Tell everyone I love them and send all my best.
I hope that you have a great start to the Christmas season! Loving it here in Peru !
Elder Paolacci