Saludos a nuestras familias y amigos
Well it is late Sunday afternoon and I am getting my first chance to write a few words for the blog and we have an appointment tonight at 8:00 in Imperial. My father always said that the road to hell (infierno in
Many of the people that read our blog will be familiar with the church hymn “I stand all amazed” and that is exactly how we feel much of the time about the experiences that we have here. Some of the experiences are extremely positive and some not so much, nonetheless we stand all amazed.
Two weeks ago the Mission President sent a late Saturday night email telling us that mission application papers had been sent for one of the young men in one of the branches we are assigned to and that he had not completed the necessary medical requirements and asked that we track him down. We were not sure we new him and if it was who we thought we had not seen him for months. The next morning we met with the District Presidency and asked them about the young man and we were surprised to hear them report that Mariano was not going to serve, he was not attending church, and was not keeping his interview appointments.
We were disappointed to say the least because we new that his mission had been paid for by another person from
The next morning was preparation day, the day we have for recreation and fun with the missionaries, so as we left the house with a prayer on our lips and in our hearts that we would find some way to contact Mariano we started out. It takes a couple of minutes to walk out of our community and then we usually have to wait for a while until we find a ride in a combie, moto, or taxi. This day however, as we walked up to the gate at the entrance to the barrio, we immediately waived down a moto that was empty and passing in our direction. It was unusual for that time of the day to catch a ride that quick unless….
You guessed it, we found Mariano, he was driving the moto. What are the chances of that? We did not know where to find him but someone did.
We got his phone number and told him that we were looking for him and how blessed we were that he stopped for us that morning. We put the President in touch with him that day and we now have a young man back on track, what a joy to see him in church today.
We wish that everything turned out that quickly and that well.
This week was transfer week which is always an exciting time for the missionaries as a transfer means new companions, new adventures, and a change of scenery. For us, we never have a change of companions, we know that we are not changing areas, and we will have to say good bye to the friends we have made when the missionaries move. I think Debbie really was hoping for a change this time because she decided we should move apartments (then said it was all my idea) so this weekend we are moving a couple of blocks away but in the same barrio. (Pictures next issue.)
Two missionaries that we have really grown to love were on their last transfer and have gone home to resume civilian life. Hermana Labeau went home to
Hermana Labeau, who we can now call Shauna, was with us for our first three months of our mission and helped us through many of our early challenges and taught us many lessons. Most importantly she demonstrated how to care about people. It is a trait that eludes most men and comes more naturally to the sister missionaries. I really notice it in my companion as well and not as much with her companion. We were excited that we could go to
Going to
The funny/sad thing about the free market taxi system is that often we walk away from sever gringo pricing and the driver will go 10 or 15 more minutes without a fare. (Fare, funny name for a transaction that has nothing to do with fairness.) Not that integrity is even in the lexicon of the majority of the taxistas but often they are willing to trade it for what amounts to a buck and a half. Tuesday I had a driver quote an amount (you always settle on the price before you start or you will be sorry) that was two thirds of what we normally pay for a ride that we have taken several times for a moment I thought the pendulum had swung the other way and I was on the winning side. When arrived I paid him the customary fare because he had either treated me fairly and I did not want the crooks to be better off than him or that we had always been treated fairly and he made a mistake that would cost him in the end. Either way it was fare/fair to me.
The other big plus in going to
Our photos storey tells a lot of what we have done in the past two weeks. You will see that we have been to the beach a couple of times and partied with our friends.
We were passing the Plaza de Armas in San Vicente one afternoon and saw this group of traditional dancers. It was very colorful but the tall dancer in the middle had makeup that gave us nightmares for several days. We stopped thinking that they would perform for a while but they started around the park, then, down the street and off into the sunset.
We managed to get this picture with Hermana Labeau at the Lima temple taken prior to finding out that we weren't to take pictures in this spot. She has been serving in Ica since December and we had a great reunion.
They did not take me seriously when I said that after such a good meal I like to take a siesta but you just have to ask my kids what dad does after Sunday dinner.
Every day is a new and interesting experience for us and most of the time it is a wonderful experience. We have learned that we can expect the unexpected. We have learned that things are only as difficult or easy as we choose to make them. The hand of the Lord is revealed only to those that look for it.
We enjoy hearing from each of you so feel free to drop us a line.
Until next time, WE ARE IN PERU NOW!