Family History Work

Dear Mom and Dad and my wonderful family and friends,

Wow, I am so happy to hear about your callings.  Mom and dad you are perfect for the job! 

Elder Carlos A Godoy

Sister Carol F McConkie

This Sunday was an extra special conference with all the stakes in Bolivia with those of Peru. For this conference, Elder Godoy, two others of the 70, Sister McConkie, and Elder Cook spoke to us through broadcast from Salt Lake. There was a room where the broadcast was in English so me, my companion, Elder Barazoto, Elder Lefgren, and other North Americans went there to watch the conference.  We were all expecting the conference to be in English and translated to Spanish, but all of the 70 could fluently speak Spanish so they all spoke in Spanish. Even Sister McConkie read her talk in Spanish.  She reminds me a lot of you, mom, no matter the task you can always do it, and her testimony of the Savior and her dedication to follow Christ is amazing just like yours. There were words that Sister McConkie struggled with, and I could totally relate with her.  Rather than listen to the English translator, we changed the channel so we could all hear their original voices in Spanish.  Elder Cook, who ended the conference, was the only one who spoke in English to which we quickly changed the channel to hear his prophetic words.  My companion laughed at the thought that he went with us, the North Americans, to hear the conference in English, but we all listened to it in Spanish.

As for the messages, I truly know that this church is guided by our Savior, Jesus Christ and that He has called these men and women to lead His church.

One of the biggest topics was member missionary work and from the birth and resurrection of the Savior and the restoration of His gospel through Joseph Smith, His greatest focus is to preach His gospel so that we can know how to live and obey his commandments to return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father.  Just like our Savior, our greatest work is to preach the gospel to the living and also to the dead.

Elder Cook addressed how important family history work is because without these ordinances that we perform in the temple, our ancestors cannot cross the great divide that Lehi saw that separates those of the Kingdom of God and those in spirit prison.  Also, he reminded us of the numerous promises of safety, protection, and happiness that will come as we turn our hearts to our fathers and help them receive the restored gospel and the saving ordinances of this life.

Mom and Dad, I am so excited for your calling!  I am so grateful for your examples and work that will bless so many lives, and you will be doing missionary work for those on the other side!!

Also, thank you for all the prayers.  Hermana Genisis is due to leave the hospital today or tomorrow.  In the hospital it has cost a fortune to cure her, and if you could, remember her in your prayers and put her name in the temple please.

Also, in the week, Elder Barazoto let me know that Hermana Escobar received a calling as the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society!  This made me so happy to know that they are progressing as a family in the church!

Hermana Escobar was recently called as the 2nd Counselor in her ward Relief Society

Also, Yulianna accepted the baptismal date for the 26 of this month.  We are working hard to teach her all the lessons and become friends with her parents so that they know we love them and will be willing to let Yulianna be baptized. Please remember her in your prayers too.

This week, I will also pray extra hard for Sarah.  I am so happy she is feeling so much better, and I just can’t wait to see Baby Bosen!

I love you all so much and hope you have the best week!

Elder Matheson

PS.  Sorry I can’t send more photos.  This computer I am using keeps saying it has a virus so I didn’t upload any new pictures.

Pique Macho - A Typical Bolivian Food

Oh and Kirtley did email.  She is going to serve a mission in Cochabamba, Bolivia!  I think it is so amazing to have so many of my friends serving missions - especially so close.  Oh and if you get the chance mom, a good Sunday dinner is Pique Macho.  I think Michael would love it.  It has homemade french fries on the bottom with sausage and meat chunks mixed with peppers and ketchup and eggs!  It is so good. 

Pique a lo Macho

From: https://boliviancookbook.wordpress.com/2014/02/01/pique-a-lo-macho-pique-macho/

Ingredients:

2 lb top round first cut steak (any soft lean beef will do great)
8 large potatoes
4 uncured beef hot dogs (you can use pork hot dog)
4 eggs
1 large tomato
1 small red onion
1 small green pepper  (1/2 large pepper)
1 locoto or jalapeno (optional)
1/2 cup chicken broth, white grape juice or ginger ale - (choose one - see recipe)*
1 tsp white vinegar (for meat)
1 tbsp cider vinegar (for the salad)
1 tbsp vegetable oil (for the salad)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cup vegetable oil to fry potatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cumin (optional)
1 garlic clove peeled and mashed (optional)

Peel the potatoes and cut in large wedges.
Peel the onion and slice in thin strips, do the same with the pepper and tomato.
Slice the hot dog in thin slices. Slice the hot dog giving it an edge. We don’t want them round.
Clean the meat and cut in cubes of 2 cm each side - this is very important as we don’t want the pieces too small or too big we want them bite size.
Mix the vegetables together and set aside. Once all the ingredients are ready we start cooking.
Start by frying the potatoes. You might end up cooking two batches, since we want them to cook slowly so they are crispy outside but slightly soft inside. This will help the potatoes to absorb the juices.
While cooking the potatoes, hard boil the eggs and peel them and cut them in wedges or round shapes. 
When the potatoes are half cooked start cooking the meat.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet and when the oil is hot add the meat. We want to seal the edges and brown them but not burn them. This takes about 5 min.
Once they are brown add half of the salt and pepper. If you want, add the cumin and garlic. I like the flavor that this adds to the meat. Reduce the heat to medium high
By this point the potatoes should be cooked and in the hot oil we cook the hot dogs. This step is important. We need to cook the hot dogs for about about one minute so they are nicely browned on the edges and crispy. Take to a paper towel.
Add to the meat 1 tsp white vinegar and 1/2 cup of white grape juice, chicken broth or ginger ale (**The original recipe calls for beer, but these are some non alcoholic substitutes) and the hot dogs. If you are cooking in an electric stove you can turn off. If you are cooking in gas cook for about 1 min. We don’t want it to be dry.
Mix the vegetables with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1 tbs vegetable oil salt and pepper.
Serve immediately after the meat is cooked it is important to serve  hot.
Put one layer of potatoes, add the mix of meat and hot dog and add 4 tbsp of the juices from the pan. Top with the salad and decorate with the hard-boiled egg.
You can put mayonnaise and ketchup on top.