Easter Weekend

As the world waited for the Easter Bunny to arrive, 

the Missionaries of the Trujillo Mission prepared for an Easter Concert.  

The program was simple,

He Lives!

A message of hope, of love beyond measure. 

A message of sacrifice, an eternal sacrifice, that saves us from death, pain, 

and brings us to Him,

even

Jesus Christ.

This is our message, come unto Him,

accept of His divine gift.

Follow Him.

and find great joy with your family for eternity.

A gift to the community of Trujillo, Peru

From: Misión Perú Trujillo

We hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend.

Celebrating the "Greatest of them All"

Leadership Council Meeting

We can't believe another month has passed. Time passes so very quickly in the mission. 

Our Leadership Council met to learn to be more effective missionaries.

More exceptional teachers, 

and to learn how to better use the Scriptures in their lives,

and in the lives of those they teach.

The Bible and Book of Mormon are the word of God,

His prophets through the ages have left us scriptures to guide us through the trials of this life,

and most importantly to lead us to Jesus Christ.

 Missionaries never stand so tall, as when they kneel to pray.

 Sister Perez and Elder Calle, planning and teaching.

 Our Leadership Council

 Everyone love the Sisters and Elders who arrange for the food!

Thanks Sister Vaughan and Sister Angell.

 Elder Gonzalez, Elder Bernuy, Elder Alfaro, Elder Cano and Elder Smith.

 Elder Cunningham celebrated his birthday with us!  

 Of course, after every Leadership Council Meeting we have an activity, playing soccer, basketball or doing a service project in the community.  This month we had a sports activity.

Great time had by all!

Baptisms this last week

We love to share the pictures of the baptisms that are sent to us each week.  It is such a blessing to serve during this time.  We are seeing many people come, and return to Christ.  We feel blessed to be instruments in the Lord's hands and help people find their way back "home."

The entire Arana family are now members of the Church of Jesus Christ.  Now they are preparing to go to the temple together as a family next summer! Congratulations to the Arana family. 

The Vista Allegre Ward came out in full support, what a lovely sight.
Elder Porter, Elder Spencer and Elder Valencia were so excited about this wonderful baptism.
What a great way for Elder Porter to spend his birthday!

Elder Bates, Sister Pullan and Sister Hidalgo rejoice at a baptism.

Two baptisms with Elder Cruz and Elder Swaney

 Elder Marchant and Elder Valencia, happy to be teaching and preaching.

 It takes a ward to baptize, love and retain…all missionaries in the Trujillo Mission are so thankful for the wonderful ward members and welcome and continue to bless the lives of those who chose to follow Jesus Christ and accept baptism into His Church.

Sister Taylor and Sister Degracias are so happy on this baptism day.
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Tyler Graff, our grandson

The passing of our grandson, Tyler:

A few have asked why I haven't blogged for the last few weeks.  I was unsure if I should blog this or not, but have decided that this is a part of our mission, it has affected all of our missionaries in the Trujillo Mission. It has certainly affected the Marler Family.

You may remember at our Multi Zone conferences, I talked about the Parable of the Sliver (La Parabola de la Astil). Our daughter Kim, Tyler's mom, gave me the idea, as she had used the sliver in a lesson with her Young Women Class at Church).   I had pictures of my grandson, Tyler, and pictures of his hand.  He was out playing and got a sliver in his hand and I used this message to talk about the importance of keeping bad thoughts and sinful ways out of our life.  That we need to keep our heads and hearts clean and pure, so that we don't fester, like a hand with a sliver.  

Our message was that the only way to prevent festering is to stay away from sin, bad thoughts, etc.  But we are not perfect and sometimes we make wrong choices, like playing with wood and getting a sliver under our skin, we have to take it out.  

The only way to remove sin from our lives is through repentance, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Because of his atoning sacrifice, we are able to cast our sins, our burdens, our hurts and our short-cominging upon the Lord, and he will sustain us and forgive us, if we try to sin no more. 

From this lesson, our missionaries came to love Tyler, they saw pictures of him and asked regularly about him.  They came closer to the Savior, and they desired to be better missionaries. 

Then just a few weeks later, on April 18th, Tyler fell into a swimming pool.  We received a call from our son, Tyler's uncle, telling us what happened.  Our missionaries received a message to join us in prayer for Tyler and his family.  Tyler wasn't doing well, and we decided that I needed to be with our family.  

I was home to be with Tyler and his parents for a few hours on Easter Sunday, before he passed away. To hold Tyler in my arms one more time. Many family members were there with us, our three other daughters, two of our sisters and their husbands,  and most of the Graff family.  

Our daughter, Kim with Tyler a few months ago…one of the few times he stayed still for a picture…He was always active, playing, and trying to keep up with his older brother and sister

Our hearts are heavy, we have felt sadness, but we have also felt hope and joy.  Our faith teaches that families are eternal.  That if we follow God's plan for us, that we can all be together, as a family for eternity.  This gives us great comfort.  We know little Tyler is now with our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Children are perfect in Christ and his atonement.  He is also with many loving members of our family, who have passed on before,  who are now caring for him, and teaching him.  Tyler will be looking over us, one of the angels who will protect us.  We love him so very much, and always will.  

Tyler, Riley and A.J. outside the San Diego Temple where their parents were sealed together for all eternity.

I have only been back for one day, but the missionaries I have spoken to tell me that because of Tyler, they are working harder.  They want to do their best.  We are already seeing the fruits of there labors. They now, more fully understand the importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they share with the world, and the importance of the great Plan of Salvation.  

A message from President Marler:

During the last two weeks, many wonderful things have happened here in the mission. I have shared the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ with many people.  This message is one of hope, of love and of the Saviors redeeming sacrifice for us.  Interestingly enough, a little over 2000 years ago, on Thursday of this same week, Jesus Christ plead with His Father that the cup might pass from him as he knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Father did not answer that prayer, even though His heart must have been breaking as ours was.  On Friday, 2000 years later, we plead with the Father that he might grant us a miracle and let Tyler live.  The Father, again, did not answer the prayer in the way we had hoped.  On Easter Sunday, little Tyler passed away.  Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and on that first Easter Day, Christ lived again, and because of that, Tyler will too.  We know that this time apart is but a short one in the eyes of the Lord, and we will all be with Tyler again.

Kim and Arnie, A.J. Riley and Tyler
a forever family

Welcome China and India

This will be a different type of blog entry, and I hope you will enjoy this.  Over the last month we have had 5,000 people read our blog from various countries in the world.

From South America we have readers from Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Colombia.

From Central America we have readers from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador.

We have readers from Canada, the United States, France, Spain, Germany, The United Kingdom, Sweden (thanks Jennie), Russia, Serbia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the Ukraine, Indonesia, Australia and Belgium.  There are also 25 people from China and 34 from India that read our blog each week.

Many of the people from these countries have probably heard about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but in some countries the Church does not have a large presence.  We welcome the people of all nations to look at our blog and to enjoy the photos of our missionaries.  They enjoy sharing their mission experience with you, and we hope you will learn a little about the Gospel of Jesus Christ as you read our blog.

We have included a link or two for you, so you can learn a little bit about the Church of Jesus Christ, and have some of your questions answered.  We would also like to share a bit about our faith.

We are a Christian faith.  We believe in God, the Eternal Father; in His son, Jesus Christ; and in the Holy Ghost.  We believe all three are Gods, separate and distinct beings, yet inseparable in their purpose and their love for us.

We are Heavenly Father's spirit children and we lived with Him before we came to this earth to live with our earthly parents.  We chose to follow the plan of our Heavenly Father and to come to the earth to learn to become more like Him, so we could return home to Him one day.

Because we would not be perfect, we would fall short of being able to return to Heavenly Father.  His law says that we need to be perfect to live with Him.  Because of this, his plan included having His only begotten son in the flesh, Jesus Christ, pay the price for our sins, so we can ask forgiveness for our sins, keep the commandments of God and try to live our lives the way Christ lived His.  (we call this repentence).  It is a beautiful gift that Jesus gave us.  He was perfect, he lived a perfect life, and He willingly gave His life and took all of our pains, sins, hurts and disappointments upon Himself, so we could repent and return home to our Heavenly Father with our families.

Families are eternal.  If we accept the teachings of Christ and follow the path He has set for us, we can receive rich blessings from our Heavenly Father.  These great blessings are found in the Temples of the Lord that are now in many countries of the world.  In temples we are given great gifts from Heavenly Father that help us in our daily walk, and help us to know how to return home.  Families are bound together for all eternity in the temple.   Here is a picture of our eternal family:

This is a picture of our family on the day our daughter was married in the San Diego Temple

This pictures includes our parents and some of our brothers and sisters and their families as well…we love our "Forever Family"

Jesus organized His Church while he was on the earth, it was called the Church of Christ.  After His death and the death of his Apostles, the Church was changed by the votes of the Nicene Council in the year 325 after Christ.  Many churches were formed, just as there are in the world today.  In 1820 a young man, Joseph Smith prayed to determine which church he should join.  God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him, and told him to wait and not join any of them, because the true church of Christ was no longer upon the earth. 

Later, God called Joseph to be a prophet, like the prophets of the Old Testament.  Through Joseph Smith the Church of Jesus Christ was once again restored to the earth, with all of the original principles, teachings and organizations.  That Church is on the earth today. It is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We invite all to come unto Christ, unto His teachings,  

and receive all of the great blessings He has for you.  

The message of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, this is His Church upon the earth, in these the Latter-days (or last days before His coming again).  We love Jesus Christ, we testify He lives, He loves us, He is our Savior and He has redeemed us from our sins and short-comings.  

This is the reason we all serve,

Love,

 the 242 missionaries of the Trujillo Peru Mission

On their way home…a slide show

Here is the slide show for our departing missionaries.  We had a wonderful dinner tonight.  Brother Son (Elder Dennis' family is here) helped the Assitants make hamburgers on the grill!

We had a Family Home Evening with the missionaries.  It was a treat to have Elder Dennis' parents with us.  President and Sister Marler gave the missionaries some last minute advice, shared their love with them and sang a song or two.

The highlight of the evening was having all of the missionaries share their testimonies, their love of Jesus Christ and gratitude for this wonderful experience they have had serving here in Misión Trujillo.  

We concluded with a slide show presentation of these terrific Elders and Sisters….

We send you back to your families with our love, admiration and gratitude.

Returning home with honor...

Here we are again, it has been another 6 weeks, and some of Trujillo's finest will be returning home to their families.  

They have served with honor, they have served the Savior diligently, they have served the people of Perú with loving and warm hearts.

They have invited many souls to Christ, many have accepted the invitation, and have received the ordinance of baptism.

Baptism is the door that puts us on the path to follow our Savior Jesus Christ.  From baptism, we learn of His atoning sacrifice for us, that He suffered and died for our sins.  We learn of His resurrection, and that He overcame death, that we all might live with Him and our Heavenly Father once again.

Here are a few pictures of some of this dedicated group at some of the most special moments in their mission.

An Invitation

One of the greatest things we do is to meet with the Leaders in the mission.  Our leaders include, Sister Leader Trainers, District Leaders and Zone Leaders.  They, in turn, return to their areas and teach the principles they learn to the missionaries they serve.

Our goal as missionaries is to invite the people we meet to come unto Christ.  Our training this week was focussed on the principles that our Prophet, President Monson and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have been teaching us about the "Work of Salvation."  

Elder Castillo and Elder Smith…teaching our Leadership Council

Hermana Paiva…how to use the Area Book

Elder Marchant & Elder Hanson

Elder Palma and Elder Diaz…great teachers!

We are learning to work with Ward (Congregations) Councils throughout the church to be successful in bringing souls to Christ.    We also invite those who have been away from the Church and its teachings for a period of time to return, and join with us in our worship of our Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ.

Sister Farley sharing information at a Ward Council Meeting

Ward Council in Chimbote

One of our members during the Council Meeting

The question may be asked, can't I worship, read the Scriptures and follow Christ and his example without going to Church?  The answer is yes, of course we can, but the problem is this:  part of following Christ and his example is to obey all of his commandment. 

Jesus awaits to welcome us home, to comfort us, His arms are always extended to us

 One of those commandments is to join with the body of Christ on the Sabbath Day, Partake of the Sacrament (partaking of the bread and water in remembrance of the atonement of Jesus Christ and his grace and mercy on our behalf), and  keeping the Sabbath Day Holy.

Christ administers the First Sacrament to the Twelve Apostles

So we invite all to come unto Christ.

To follow his perfect example.

Jesus appearing to the people of the American Continent

To Worship with us, to accept his atoning sacrifice and his love for us.

To recognize it is only through His Grace that we are saved from death and sin.

He loves His Sheep (that's all of us)

and that we have the desire to "be born again," become new and changed in our hearts with the desire only to serve the Lord, and do good to our fellow man, all the days of our lives.

We invite all to come home to Him

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What is our purpose?

In our Mission Council we are helping our leadership to have a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities.  They are learning to share the mission experience with all members of our Church as we invite all to "Come Unto Christ"

The work of the Lord "is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life" of his children
Moses 1:39

And we, as members of the Lord's church, have the opportunity to share the message of Jesus Christ with all the people of the world 

 We proclaim His love and his divinity through word and song

We are children of a loving Heavenly Father, He loves each of us individually
He knows us.

 

We teach of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice for us

We teach of His goodness and mercy

 We sing praises unto Him

We council one with another, and testify to all people in all lands,  that Jesus is the Christ

We study the words of His prophets from the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon and his modern day prophets.

We also have a good time together as we share these messages

 ...and we partake of his bounties

                                                                                                        

We fill the mission home with love and music

Our Mission  Leadership Council

Thanks for your examples, your service to the Lord and your love of those you serve.