We had to be to the S.L. airport at 7 for a 10 a.m. flight, needless to say we were up at the crack of dawn as you have to clean your MTC quarters before you leave !. Dylan, Elsie and Konner met us there. That was so wonderful getting lots of hugs and kisses from them before leaving. There was no 7 hour layover in Atlanta, which is a good and bad thing. We arrived in Lima at 11p.m. and realised very quickly that we were language impaired. We made it through the first set of gates, then were told to go to customs, there we were told, no, get in that line. So we moved to the really long line Where they have a push the button lottery, if the light turns red, you get your luggage X-rayed, We won ! so we had to get in that line. Then we walked out to the crowd (about 200 people) waiting for people. Our mission Pres. found us, he and his wife helped us get our luggage, exactly 49 lbs each !The Mission Pres.'s wife asked me how I was, the only thing I could say was, "NUMB" The mission Pres. drives like a Peruvian, scary ! We got to our hotel at about midnight. Fell into bed fast as we had to be up early to go to the Temple with the Mission Pres. his wife and elders coming into the mission. We had a lovely lunch at the Mission Pres. home. We then went back to our room for a siesta !YEA ! We then had dinner with the Mission Pres. and his family at a very nice Peruvian style buffet. Here read this and see if you would like to eat it, it moves slowly, don't worry ! Just kidding, it was a very nice place. They had great thin crust pizza. The next morning we went to the mission office visited with the Mission Pres. and went to establish our bank account. Sorry it is a wee bit more important that the internet. Just a bit. We again had lunch at the Mission Pres. home and then the Mission Pres. his wife and Doug and I went to Canete. This is where we will be living, we don't know for how long. But it is 2 hours south of Lima. On the way we saw homes that are smaller that some of the garden sheds that may be in your backyard. This is no exaggeration. The people are called invaders. They are like squatters. The land they live in is just dirt. No foliage at all. You can google earth Canete. But they have doctored the pictures. It is supposed to be a resort town. HUMMMM. Maybe it was just dark when we were there. We saw our new living arrangements. Martha Stewart where are you ?? It is some rooms on the second story of a home that was built along long,long time ago. There is 3 rooms. One is a living area with a table that sits 6, still no sitting down furniture as yet. Then there is our bedroom. It is the right size for a double bed ! They don't do closets so we have wardrobes to put our clothes in. Then the other room was a bedroom. It is going to be the kitchen. They had planned on having an outdoor kitchen that is just out the door of this bedroom, but there was not enough room for a kitchen and the washer. I probably will not have a dryer. I will be happy to get hot water for the washer. Oh,sorry I forgot about the bathroom. Well, it had all the required pieces, the tub has a glass shower enclosure but no hot water, yet. They are supposed to get us a hot water tank for that as well.The sink has only one spout and does not include a hot water outlet. That must be to wake me up in the morning. The fixtures are a lively blue ! Next we went on to our speaking assignment ! Yea, really in town one day and speaking in church. What a disaster. Not just for us, but for these people that were so looking forward to having us there. An elder tried to translate for me, I finally said, I will just bear my testimony. I had had it written in spanish before we left Calgary. Thank goodness. We departed there. Went back to the Mission Pres. home because we had been given a very special invitation, to go into the Peru MTC (mission training center) to get some more training in spanish. This is a first. No other couple has ever been in any language training center anywhere. So the next day we went to the CCM (peruvian) We love it here. It is hard work. They keep us in classes all day and into the night. This is good for 19-21 year olds, but it is a bit rough on folks that have been taking it easy for a year. At least in Peru they give you a chance to do your homework, in Provo, not so much. Stay up all night, skip a meal if you have to.Speaking of meals...we have eggs, bread and yogurt for breakfast, today i scored a banana. For lunch rice, potatoes, and a piece of meat that is exactly 1/4 in thick, if you get the big piece. For dinner there may be some greens, maybe. But there are potatoes, rice and some kind of meat that is exactly 1/4 inch thick. There is always soup, it desires some flavour. There are some deserts. Always bread. The spanish language is huge. HUGE. There is so much to learn. Not just speaking, but learning how to speak it correctly. We have been given so much here and it has been wonderful The Mission Pres. wife was going to pick us up on Friday and take us to Canete, but we were given the opportunity to stay another week ! It does cost us $60.00 a day. Which we had not planned on, but for me it is worth it. I am not quite a numb as i was a week ago. I am starting to thaw. Doug is doing really well, he can understand a lot of what is being said and can answer questions. Me...keep me in your prayers. We had the great treat of going shopping and having lunch today with the Armstrongs. He works as legal council for the church, his wife is a stay at home mom with their 13 year old daughter, just happens that the mission pres. has a 13 year old daughter as well !! Like that was a coincidence. They are form Indiana. The sun is shinning and we think winter is coming to a close. It's going to get hot here ! Thanks to everyone who has asked about us. We know we are here to serve and we will do what we have been called to do.Love to each and everyone.

We had to be to the S.L. airport at 7 for a 10 a.m. flight, needless to say we were up at the crack of dawn as you have to clean your quarters before you leave MTC!. Dylan, Elsie and Konner met us there. That was so wonderful getting lots of hugs and kisses from them before leaving. There was no 7 hour layover in Atlanta, Which is a good and bad thing. We arrived in Lima at 11pm and realized very quickly that we were language impaired. We made it through the first set of gates, then were told to go to customs, there we were told, no, get in that line. So we moved to the really long line Where they have to push the button lottery, if the light turns red, you get your luggage X-Rayed, We won! so we had to get in that line. Then we walked out to the crowd (about 200 people) waiting for people. Our mission Pres found us, he and his wife helped us get our luggage, exactly 49 lbs each! The Mission Pres' s wife asked me how I was, the only thing I could say was, "NUMB" The mission Pres drives like a Peruvian, scary! We got to our hotel at about midnight. Fell into bed fast as we had to be up early to go to the Temple with the Mission Pres his wife and elders coming into the mission. We had a lovely lunch at the Mission Pres home. We then went back to our room for a nap! YEA! We then had dinner with the Mission Pres and his family at a very nice Peruvian buffet style. Here read this and see if you would like to eat it, it moves slowly, do not worry! Just kidding, it was a very nice place. They had great thin crust pizza. The next morning we went to the mission office visited with the Mission Pres Establish and went to our bank account. Sorry it is a wee bit more important that the internet. Just a bit. We again had lunch at the Mission Pres home and then the Mission Pres his wife and Doug and I went to Canete. This is where we will be living, we do not know for how long. But it is 2 hours south of Lima. On the way we saw homes that are smaller that some of the garden sheds that may be in your backyard. This is no exaggeration. The people are called invaders. They are like squatters. The land they live in is just dirt. No foliage at all. You can google earth Canete. But they have doctored the pictures. It is supposed to be a resort town. Hummmm. Maybe it was just dark when we were there. We saw our new living arrangements. Martha Stewart where are you? It is some rooms on the second story of a home that was built along long, long time ago. There is 3 rooms. One is a living area with a table that sits 6, still no furniture sitting down as yet. Then there is our bedroom. It is the right size for a double bed! They do not do closets wardrobes so we have to put our clothes in. Then the other room was a bedroom. It is going to be the kitchen. They had planned on having an outdoor kitchen that is just out the door of this bedroom, but there was not enough room for a kitchen and the washer. I probably will not have a dryer. I will be happy to get hot water for the washer. Oh, sorry I forgot about the bathroom. Well, it had all the required pieces, the tub has a glass shower enclosure but no hot water, yet. They are supposed to get us a hot water tank for that as well.The sink has only one spout and does not include a hot water outlet. That must be to wake me up in the morning. The fixtures are a lively blue! Next we went on to our speaking assignment! Yea, really in town one day and speaking in church. What a disaster. Not just for us, but for these people that were so looking forward to having us there. An elder tried to translate for me, I finally said, I will just bear my testimony. I had had it written in Spanish before we left Calgary. Thank goodness. We departed there. Went back to the Mission Pres home because we had been given a very special invitation, to go into the Peru MTC (Mission Training Center) to get some more training in Spanish. This is a first. No other couple has ever been in any language training center anywhere. So the next day we went to the CCM (peruvian) We love it here. It is hard work. They keep us in classes all day and into the night. This is good for 19-21 year olds, but it is a bit rough on folks that have been taking it easy for a year. At least in India they give you a chance to do your homework, in Provo, not so much. Stay up all night, skip a meal if you have to.Speaking of meals ... we have eggs, bread and yogurt for breakfast, today i scored a banana. For lunch rice, potatoes, and a piece of meat that is exactly 1 / 4 in. thick, if you get the big piece. For dinner there may be some greens, maybe. But there are potatoes, rice and some kind of meat that is exactly 1 / 4 inch thick. There is always soup, it desires some flavor. There are some deserts. Always bread. The Spanish language is huge. HUGE. There is so much to learn. Not just speaking, but learning how to speak it correctly. We have been given so much here and it has been wonderful The Mission Pres wife was going to pick us up on Friday and take us to Canete, but we were given the opportunity to stay another week! It does cost us $ 60.00 a day. Which we had not planned on, but for me it is worth it. I am not quite a numb as i was a week ago. I am starting to thaw. Doug is doing really well, I can understand a lot of what is being said and can answer questions. I ... keep me in your prayers. We had the great treat of going shopping and having lunch today with the Armstrongs. He works as legal council for the church, his wife is a stay at home mom with their 13 year old daughter, just happens that the mission pres. has a 13 year old daughter as well!! Like that was a coincidence. They are form Indiana. The sun is shinning and we think winter is coming to a close. It's going to get hot here! Thanks to everyone who has asked about us. We know we are here to serve and we will do what we have been called to do.Love to each and everyone.

Aug. 17th 2009 and “The Whitney’s” are on the way to Peru! That is Elder and Hermana Whitney are on the way to Peru.
We have just spent a phenomenal week in the Missionary Training Center in Provo Utah where we have been briefed on our assignment, instructed on the use of the Preach My Gospel manual, and we even managed a few (6) hours of Spanish language study. We were kept busy every minute, or so it seemed. With 2200 missionaries on campus and a constant turn over of 500 missionaries leaving each week it becomes very clear that time is of the essence and it is a serious place.
We were part of a group of 16 mission couples plus 4 senior single sisters all of which were the nicest, dedicated, wonderful people that you could every meet. After only a few hours we were like, well, brothers and sisters. Kindred spirits if you will. Our individual assignments varied, about half were assigned to Church Education Services (CES), a few were mission office, genealogy/records preservation, two were Perpetual Education Fund and the rest were proselytizing. We met a couple from the group before ours that were going to a small appliance repair mission at on of the church historical sites, for real! We spanned the globe; USA, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Italy, Germany, Mongolia, Japan, and the Philippines.
I would like to make a comment about each person that we got to know but as people they don’t know will read it I will only make a general statement the does justice to all. I have never been with a group of people that were more selfless and committed, genuinely concerned and interested in every ones success. Without guile or ego best describes them.
Many of you will understand when I say that we had many experiences that were singular and more than coincidence. One that I would choose to make particular mention of is in regards to a humble servant of the Lord that means the world to us by the name of Neal Beecher. 35 years ago Brother Beecher was our home teacher. He made us (Debbie and I) his labor of love and loved us back to church. He was transferred away from Calgary shortly after we returned to the fold and had no idea what impact he had had on our lives and how many lives that his service has impacted. He does now as we had a joyous reunion with both he and his wife as they continue to serve the Lord at the MTC, still impacting thousands of lives for good.
One humorous but true story; we repacked all of our belongings on Sunday and weighed our suit cases, try as we may we could not get everything we needed and intended to take with us under the 50 lb per bag limit. The penalty for the first pound over is $150. We made what we believed to be the correct adjustments then went to bed. You know how things go, you find the dirty clothes bag, toiletries, ect that can’t weigh that much so you stuff them in, well guess what, they do make a difference. When I weighed the bags this morning three were overweight and on was right on. With a prayer on our lips we determined that all we could do was all we could do and got on the bus for the airport.
At check in our bags weighed 49, 49, 49, and 50, the one that was right on was still right on, you figure it out.
Dylan, Elsie, and Konner came to the airport to see us off and brought a critical plug adaptor for our converter. It was a beautiful sight for us and even though it brought tears they were tears of joy.

Next stop Lima Peru.