When It's Time To Change, It's Time To Rearrange

Remember that song from the Brady Bunch? I really don"t remember all of it either. Just the chorus was stuck in my head when I was packing. 

I got changed out of Chincha! Now I am in Villa El Salvador with Hermana Jimenez, right outside of Lima.

It really is interesting to be so close to the office now. I feel the influence of President Douglas looming over me like a pretty but very large cloud. 

But really, I am excited to have this transfer. I loved Chincha with all my heart and stomach, but I know that it will be left in the good and tight grip of Hermana Mendoza. 

AMY LAURA GOT HER MISSION CALLL TO LATVIA. (Our cousin in the states). That is one of the most wicked coolest things I have heard all day, and I just heard that Justin Bieber got deported from the U.S.

Tell Amy Laura congrats, and I will send her an email next week. 
Thanks Meg for typing my pat. blessing. Much appreciated. (No Prob, Han!)

Thats all for today folks. I gotta pass the baton to Hermana Jimenez! 

Until Next Week,
Hermana Banana Addington

Here is my new companera! Her name is Hermana Jimenz, but she really is Catherina Zeta Jones in disguise. She"s from Mexico, and she is really funny. We are gonna have a fiesta together in Villa El Salvador. 

I am also gonna miss my wonderful investigator Juana and her super hyperactive daughter. Here is just a sample of how much patience we all had when I taught them how to bake cookies and crepes. By the way the crepes were fantastic, thank you very much. 

Tearing down walls for a service project

We Built This Schmitty on Tootsie Rolls

Awwhhh, what should I write this week? 
Well, first I should thank everyone who is reading this blog thing. Really it is kinda funny to hear that other people besides my family and friends are interested in the silly happenings of me and my companions here in Chincha. I hope this is giving you a breath of fresh air into mission life. And if not, well I really don"t have time to extend more because I only hve 20 minutes left to send out this email. But really, if you actually want to have the same experiences, or know a little bit more, accompány the missionaries in your own home! They are gonna have stories for miles, and you will be laughing all the way home like the 3 lil pigs. 


   We had a baptism this week! Our lovely Emma was baptized by our bishop Cordova in freezing cold water. Me and Hma. Mendoza slaved all afternoon to clean and heat the font, but to no avail. At least she felt warm with the spirit. Right after that her daughter Juana and her daughter Camilla had to head off to the hospital because she is like super pregnant and is sure to have that baby any day now, but they are still waiting until the doctor says everything is good. I just really want to see that baby before transfers! Is that too much to ask for? I taught her everything she knows!
Also, I think Hma. Mendoza is eventually going to be able to take them all to the temple with her future companion, because I am pretty sure I am going to a different area. But still, I am really happy for all of them, because I know they really will be loyal in the church. We set the foundation for which they can build their lil gospel house. 


Speaking of houses, we totally destroyed a wall this week for service! It was kinda the best thing ever, cuz I got to use an axe to chop a piece of wood,( safely lumberjack Grandpa  Clayton),and Hma. Mendoza had this hug pick that she used to break down the barriers. All the Elderes were pretty much surprised by our womanly strength.(shoutout to all my feminist ladies out there. Not really I still shave my legs when I can.Mostly.) But yeah it really was great to help other people. Many families in Peru are still in need of besic necessities like hot water and clean clothes, and people to help construct a proper house that doesn"t fall over with every terremomo( earth quake). It is sad, but it sure does motive us to work hard and help them establish the church here.
 
   I am so proud of all my family and friends sharing the gospel! Amy, ya did good with that taxi driver. But ya"ll really can ask your missionaries for phamplets! That have like a million of them that you could pass out during the day. (Just not the Law of Chastity or Word of Wisdom.) Also, if you copy someone"s addresss, phone number, and their agenda and just give it to the missionaries in your ward, they know what to do with it. 
But really, do not be afraid to share your testimonies! I felt really bad for not doing that more at home. But now I am repenting for it. 


   By the way, I am sending ya"ll a copy of my patriarchal blessing, because I left the copy of the first page at home like a dingus, and need it for guidance. If you could just send it to my email next week that would be great. i love you all! Have a good safe week! 


Hermana Hannah Banana Addington

Baby Shower Bonanza

So this week passed by quicker than Mama can rearrange a house.( Shoutout to my mama.) We hald a bab shower for one of our investigators Juana, her fiance Diego and their mother Emma and their daughter Camilla. In the U.S. baby showers are like a time for women to just eat sweet treats, talk about their husbands and share cute little clothes. In Peru however, pretty much everybody and their dog attends.  (Literally there was a dog there named Lucas.) We bagan with a prayer, ate cake and catapulcra( basically Peruvian sphagetti), and yucca, the best thing ever. And we danced the night away, or at least me and Mendoza watched everyone dance until 9, when we had to leave, because yeah we are missionaries. I was super stressfull because I have no idea how to plan a baby shower, but it ended up being a really good experience for Juana anad Diego and Emma. And Camilla, their daughter, had alot of cake. Now they are all at home i the ward, which is how we want them to feel. They really are like our family now, and we have changes in 2 weeks! At least I am going to get top see Emma get baptized and maybe get a glance of Juana"s baby. 
O am super proud of all the progress that my whole family and group of friends are making. Keep remembering to read your scriptures and enjoy your time at home. And have fun! Life is way too short. A package is coming your way this week. 
Hermana Addington

Setting Chinca on Fire: Missionary style

 First off, this email will not have photos because this internet pace is a little old, and I do not want a virus in my memory. So, just imagine these things in your minds until next week!
We have been setting Chincha on fire this week, WITH CHANGES! No but really, it was time for a change in this área. I have already been here for 3 months, and really we needed to be receiving more references, have more lessons, and find more new people. So, first we had an activity with all the relief society proeslyting in the main park, iwth plaques and everything. At first they had the same looks on their faces that I had the first time we cntacted in Lima Norte, my ol CCM days. But eventually they learned how to be relaxed and share their phamplets. They are alot more willing to be present in the lessons now, just because its easier than street contacting! Still we need to train a couple of them to share less, because one hermana spread the Word to a couple that we as members are condemned if we use Facebook, and that he could receie the priesthood and bless people in the street.  lol  Then we had alot of less actives proselyting with us too, sharing their testimonies and whatnot. One part of a lesson went a little risky when one member started interlacing the law of chastity with the Word of Wisdom,sharing his experiences in rehab, (I told her, "Hermana, you said that you husband has not had a drink for 20 years, but did you know that he is cheating on you?") But eventually me and Mendoza pulled the reigns back in. That is one thing I have learned now, how to be more direct and motivating, and how to control time.

And we had 2 services helping Ignacio build his house! We lifted about 50 bags of cement in the Street, and then filled a foundation. And it was great to get attention from the people in the Street, especially those thinking me and Mendoza were training for the navy, because we were the only sisters among 20 elders.
Teaching Ignacio has been really interesting. Because he cannot really speak full words or hear well, we have been using all the photos and phamphlets we can find to explain stuff. Today we are teaching tithing, heaven help us. But he really is Smart, and remembers things really well. We just need to learn a few different signs together because he was not taught sign language officially. But it really is fun. Hma. Mendoza studied acting before so she can explain things a little more easily, but I am gonna learn! The gift o" signs, people, it is real.
Also we have been preparing Juana, Emma and Diego for their baptisma and marraige. Juana is also going to have a joint baby shower with the Bishop"s wife. The theme is " We threw this together becaues we are still 20 something misioneras and do not know all adult things yet." But it will be great, I am excited.

¡Chao! Hermana Addington

Missionary Power

Just so you know Meg, this key in this keyboard is horrible, so please correct everything with amor, kay? 
So, I do not mean to sound like sacreligious or anything, but I feel like I have become more like Jesus thi week than ever before. Its begins with the lessons. making them easy enough  for an eight year old kid named Rodrigo and a man who cannot speak or read named Ignacio can understand. We are pretty lucky though, because Iagnacio is meno activo, and wa taught all these things through hi family and elders, and we are just bringing them back to hi memory. He i incredibly sweet and hilarious. Me and Mendoza probably look like silly chicken, trying to learn his sign during a leson. His signs are totally different than normal ASL, and they actually make more sense. Also Rodrigo is helping us to find different words to explain prophets and revalation. Really, I love simplyfying stuff. That is how God and Jesu always teach, and that is how we always need to explain stuff. 
We are trying to find more families right now, and although it really is not the eaiest thing in the world, we are strengthening the members, because with their references, everything is better. I never knew how much power the members in my home ward had when they were working with the missionaries. When I go home (whoah, no right now, hold your horses), I am going to give the missionarie like 5 ref. a week. (Family you better check me on this when I get home. I am a woman of my word.) 
I am so happy to hear about all of the success everybody is having right now in their new citie. Amy in her pequena apartment. (yes it is kinda like the mission, minus cucaracha, dirty water, and a dirtyshower curtain;) Mama and Dad in their new jobs, Grandma Judya nd Grandpa Clayton preaching the gospel in Oregon. (I have a 7couple here in Chincha exactly like ya"ll named Joe and Maritza Mendoza. They are going to serve a couple mission in I do not know where this year.) Meg and Abby geeting ready to start school in Utah and shake things up over there. And I am almot sure that all my other past roomates are already married and have like 6 kids each by now. Chiste I hope not! Enjoy your single lives ladies! 
Really everyone is doing great, and I am really loving hearing about all your accomplishments. Jut do not forget to leave time to spend with one another. something great to read all the time i the Proclamation for the Family.
When I figure out how, I am gonna send a video of me and Mendoza. It is hilarious because I cannot dance. 
Hermana Addington

CHANGE MAGIC

 I would first like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that have been writing me faithfully while I have been off at war. I will not name names, but you know who you are.
 Really, it does help to lift the spirits when you see your inbox full of fun messages not about finances. I may not be able to respond to all of ya'll every week, but I really will try to every month. You just have to  be patient with your lil missionary. 

And now, funny things that I have noticed about Peru. 
1. Peppa Pig (British cartoon) is super popular but they do not know that the characters really are British, because the talking is in Spanish. 
2. Backyardagins,(Nickelodeon cartoon)  also super duper popular. 
3. There is a ritz crackery snack here called Kraps. 
4. There are about a million different ways here to say the word alli, aca, alla, and  halla. And they all mean here       and there. 
5. Every single time I have seen a salon here in Chincha, there have been like a bajillion pics of Brad Pitt. Whatz       the deal people?

Since I am still staying in Chincha with Hermana Mendoza this transfer, we had service in an old folks home, where Catholic nuns worked! It was super cool. And the sad part was that Hermana Alonso had to leave to Ayachcho, but I am super happy for her and super sure she is gonna rock it there. 

I will write more about the investigators next week because I ran out of time! Lo siento! 

Love, Hermana Addington
PS. Dad could you send me fruit by the foot in a package? I miss it. 

Hermana Mendoza, a Catholic nun, some lady, probably the old folks home coordinator, and 

Hermana Hannah Addington. Also take a moment to notice that they are wearing pants. Pants are a blessing.

Hermana Mendoza and Hermana Hannah Addington. I have no idea as to what they are holding, or importance it holds to them, but I really like Hannah's curled hair and Hermana Mendoza's eyebrows. 

This is a photo (go right to left) of me, Hma. Mendoza, Hma. Milagros (a member), Hma. Powell, and Hma. Alonso. This happened right before Alonso left for her transfer in Ayachcho. She is gonna be eating guinea pig in abundance.

Make new friends, and keep the old, one is Colombian and the other Peruvian

The lovely Hermana Merren and the other Honduranians had to leave their missions this week to serve in Colombia, because apparently their paper had an error and they are not legally allowed to be serving in Peru. So, they all packed their bag and left the land of eternal rice, making like a bagillion changes in the mision field. I felt super bad to see Hermana Merren leave, with all her funny Utah/Honduranian gigglynes, but at least now she can actually finih out her mission with hopes of returing to Peru as a tourist. Other news, WE MOVED! POR FIN! We had just about had it with all the nutzo noise outside our apartment, plu the lack of constant electricity and water and abundance of cucharachas. Plus all the action happening with the mercado in front wa making us a little bit afraid to walk around. Don"t worry all, there were no deaths and we are not martyrs, we jut needed to be in a place that actually was not in construction 24/7. But thi new houe we are in right now is great, because we are cloe to Hermana Patty and her silly dog Max, members, and we can actually sleep at night without hearing any Corazon Cerrado song. We made the whole move in like 90 mins because we couldn"t break curfew. So, how is that for a challenge House Hunters? All of the coupe on that show are hilarious. "We need space for entertaining." I am not sure about the energy flow in this room."It"s all a bunch of Peruvian grade bologna. Really now all my standards for a house are: water, electricity, no cucarachas, no stabbing, and that really is it. And a roof and a floor. Cuz really that is all you need to be happy and comfy

I have no idea why ya"ll still do not have my phyical address, b/c I sent it like 4 time, but here it is:
Sister Hannah Joan Addington
Peru Lima South Mission
Av. Jorge Bassadre 592, oficina 604 A
Edificio Torre Azul, San Isidro
Lima 27, Peru
You can end all the packages and letter you want to thi, and you do not have to worry about the postage. Jut use normal U.S. postage and the mail will switch over to outh America magically. There, happy now?
I almost choked while eating dinner in a member"s house the other day, Luckily, Hermana Mendoza realized that I wa trying to Heimlich myself. The abuelita member wa trying to help, but she had no idea what to do.he was just like, "Hija, breathe, repirse." Finally, Hermana Mendoza got behind me and popped that sucker right out. Word to the wise for everybody: learn the Hiemlich manuver! It works like a charm. Her food was still really good, and we had dessert afterwards, but I till do not ever want a story like that again.
And now news from the field: We are teaching 3 families right now, 2 of which till need to be civally married in order to be baptized. But really they are o great and have a real deire to learn about all these things, like reading the scripture, attending church, and obviously being baptized. Me and Mendoza have really high hopes for them, because we know how much of a difference the gopel i making in their lives. 3 Nephi 12:14-16 say it better than me. Thank you everyone in my life for being my example. All my iter, my parents, the Perry family, all my friend on missions. Do not be afraid to share your light and references with the missionaries. You will be blessed.
Sincerely,
  a little chuncky Hermana Addington

Hermana Morren (sent to Colombia) and myself eatin carbz..so many carbz

BUNKBEDZ