Week 57 ~ Christ is Risen! Hallelujah!

This is such a special time of year to ponder the magnificent gift of the atonement and resurrection. Here in Peru at the main plaza, they have a large parade with the crucified Christ as the focus. Thousands of people join in the procession. We were encouraged to participate as a once-in-a-lifetime experience but, no thanks. I imagine Holy Week happens pretty much the same around the Christian world.

We rented bikes and rode to the Plaza Mayor about 2.5 miles. We had sweeping views of the ocean most of the day with a cool breeze so it was really delightful. We were separated from the actual beach by huge cliffs so we just enjoyed the view along the bluffs.




A tradition for Holy Week is to have the sidewalks covered in flower carpets. It was amazing to see the people working on them all around the Plaza Mayor in Surco in the heat of the sun and about 80 degrees. Pretty amazing! As part of the Good Friday festivities, a parade procession marches around the plaza stepping right through the beautiful flower carpets! While we were there, tt was still very crowded but worth the visit. We poked our heads into the St. James church built in 1571 in this old part of Lima just to see the main alter and the priest was giving a sermon. It was very busy so didn't get many pictures except of the procession pieces that are carried on people's shoulders.



We also rode another mile or so to the Bridge of Sighs. The legend is if you hold your breath as you cross the bridge your wish will come true.






Joe, Dad and Grandpa Cheney's Testimony:

A little over thirty years ago, my beloved Eileen and I had the marvelous opportunity to travel to the Holy Land with other CES friends.  Our three-week journey began in Rome where we visited in stunned silence the Christian catacombs, Paul’s prison, the Colosseum where Christians were executed as common criminals —their crime being refusal to reverence the Roman gods, and other ancient biblical sites.  We continued on to Egypt where we walked over the ancient sands that Abraham, Moses, and the boy child Jesus and his parents had once been.  Then we spent our final two weeks in the Holy Land where we climbed the mount of olives, visited the tomb of Lazarus, knelt beneath ancient, crooked olive trees, and walked atop the walls of Jerusalem.  We journeyed out of the city to the sea of Galilee where we could say, “we swam today where Jesus once walked”.  We sat together on the mount of Beatitudes at Capernaum and quietly read the sermon Jesus gave on that green grassy hillside so many years ago.  We could almost hear His voice amidst the gentle rustling breeze as we read aloud and pondered his words.

There were many more sites that humbled our hearts and gave deeper meaning and perspective to the stories we had read and listened to so many many times throughout our lives.

As wonderful and tender they were to us, nothing can compare to the early morning walk we took to the garden tomb.  Surprisingly we found ourselves alone in the garden.  To us it was a temple experience.  We quietly sat on an old bench, holding hands and watching and listening to the cooing of the morning doves.  We walked through the garden and ended at the tomb, just an opening in a rock wall.  We lowered our heads and entered.  There in that small room, hewn from rock by human hands thousands of years ago, they lay the body of the Christ.  We quietly shed tears of gratitude.  Then Eileen quietly spoke words that mean more now to me than ever before. She asked me, “what do you see?”  I had a fleeting thought she saw much more than me.  I had so answer, “I see nothing”.  “Exactly!” she said. “I see an empty tomb and isn’t it so wonderful?  Oh dear Joe, He is not here! He is risen!

Eileen always had a strong, tender and abiding testimony of the risen Lord.  She seemed to understand on a much deeper level than most.  Quietly and gently she testified of the resurrection and of the atonement of the Savior. Oh how she loved Him and set a standard for me and our children and grandchildren to follow.  

It will be six years in May that Eileen entered the spirit world. Someday I will be there too, joining my dear eternal sweetheart and because He is not in the tomb, Eileen will rise again and I will rise again with her. Dear children and grandchildren, your mother and grandmother loved and now loves you more than you can ever imagine.  I love you more than I can ever express in words and I place my testimony alongside her’s.  It is simple but has never been more true and sincere.  With all my heart and strength and fervor of soul, I echo Mom’s same words, “oh dear children, He is not here, He has risen.”

Diane's Testimony:

Christmas is a great time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the infant babe in Bethlehem, the Son of God. This is the greatest gift of God to us. But Easter is beautiful as we celebrate Jesus Christ, his life, his example, his Gospel, his atonement, and his resurrection. This is the greatest gift of Jesus Christ to us.

I know he lives today and directs the affairs of this church all over the world. He is intimately involved in the missionary service as this work moves forward. I know we are guided and protected individually by the Spirit. Our Father knows us and is aware of our needs.

Life is hard and there are difficult and challenging times. No one is ever prepared for the unexpected . . . unless we expect something so we can be prepared. We need to always be vigilant and prepared spiritually to withstand the tempests that will come, exercising our faith, continual study of the scriptures and gaining strength through sincere prayer. I know, these are always the right answers. I remember hearing about the challenges of life in Relief Society lessons or General Conference talks and thought, my life is so good. I don’t have any real challenges. I now know extreme difficulties and misfortune come to us in this life and we need to always be prepared emotionally and spiritually. I am so thankful my cup was full enough to have the strength to bear the loss of my dear husband. Luke 8:52 "Weep not; [he] is not dead, but sleepeth. . ."

The assurance of the resurrection gives strength and eternal perspective to endure the mortal challenges of this life, by each of us and by those we love. I know separation from those we love is only temporary. I wait with anticipation of being in Jon’s arms again. Faith in the resurrection also gives me a powerful incentive to stay true and upright in my thoughts and actions during the time I have left in mortality so I can be together eternally with my family and with God.

The peace I feel is because of my knowledge I have that my Heavenly Father is aware of me and loves me. I love him and want to live a life worthy of the blessings he has promised.

Week 56 ~ The Lord Knows Our Needs

Joe wanted to share a personal story about the Big One in 2007 as it is still very real for these people. We feel an earthquake in the office at least once a month. Even when we were touring the catacomb passages under the great cathedral, we had an uneasy feeling being caught in an earthquake. There was an earthquake measuring 8.0 that hit the coast of Peru on August 15, 2007. The epicenter was in Pisco, about three hours south of Lima, where 519 people were killed and 1,366 wounded. There were almost 60,000 homes destroyed. Here’s a personal story.

Earthquake 2007

We had asked our co-worker Miguel about Francisco Fierro who I sit next to.  Francisco’s son Francisco has been coming into the office the past few days to have his dad help him with an application to LDS Business College.  The application is quite extensive and, sometimes, complicated.  From time to time I help them interpret the language. We were trying to get some more information about Francisco and his family and life.

I knew that Francisco had been a mission president but didn’t know where.  Since he wasn’t there at the moment I turned to Miguel who knows a lot about everyone in the office and asked him if he could tell me a little more about Francisco.  I learned he was originally from Ecuador and had moved to Peru when He was called as a mission president.  He also had been a stake president.  He was the mission president of the Lima Peru south mission during the time Peru, the Lima area especially, was struck by a devastating earthquake in 2007.

At that time Miguel’s son was serving a mission in Pisco and Francisco was his mission president.  What a connection and one of the many reasons, I have discovered over time, that these people are so close and tender one for another.  They have traveled through some very great trials together. 

So the earthquake hit. It was a devastating experience and many, many lost their lives and tens of thousands lost their homes. Miguel related a story of how a family he is now very close to had three children, a young son, and two older daughters, of about 12 and 9 yrs. old in 2007.  The mother had just left the house with one of the daughters to do visiting teaching to a sister. She was taking over a birthday cake she had made for the sister's daughter, taking her daughter with her of the same age. She left the other two children home. She called her husband who was at the stake center preparing for a stake meeting as he was serving in the stake presidency. She told him she would be out and the two children would be home.

At 6:41pm, the earthquake hit with devastating impact.  Miguel said it was like the heavens opened and the earth fell through.  The children in the house (one 4 and one 9) were terrified as the house began to crumble around them.  They ran to the bedroom and scrambled under the bed, horrified as they knew their house was falling apart.  The earthquake lasted a total of three minutes . . . three long minutes.

Both mother and father were on an errand for the Lord when the quake hit, both were serving.

The father ran home as quickly as he could manage the rubble knowing the children were left in the house, fearing what he may find. The children were outside the home when he arrived. When he walked around the house, it was totally destroyed, every room where nothing could be saved BUT in the bedroom where the children were, it was as though nothing had happened. The pictures were still hanging straight on the walls, vases and other things still as before the quake.  There was a large, old-style TV on the dresser that didn't move. That was when the little four-year-old boy said to his father, "There were two men who came to our room who were dressed in white. They told us to stay where we were and we would be safe."

Even today, the children relate how in the midst of that terrifying day, two young men, dressed in white, came to them and comforted them. In the midst of the noise, terror, and shaking and in the darkness and dust, they looked out from under the bed to see the two men dressed in white.  .  

As Miguel told us this story he shed tears along with us.  He knows the family well and says that they are still as humble and faithful as always.  I was privileged to talk with Antonio Bello a few days later and hear the story in his own words. As he spoke, I could feel the love of God flowing through his words to us. Our Heavenly Father is very aware of his children and is always there to help us.

ADDITION TO OUR TEMPLE POST

Janna Rogers, temple worker

"And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it.

"Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God."

Doctrine and Covenants 97:15-16

Every time I sit at the front of a session and look out at the patrons, I realize that nobody is making these people come to the temple; they are here because they want to be here.  They qualify to be here.  They know where to come as they seek answers, comfort and inspiration.

More and more often we're getting these little mountain people (around 4 ft. tall, hair braided and down beyond their waist) who tell me they cannot read.  I always explain the name of the person for whom they are proxy, and make sure they know the two names they will use.  My hands seem to swallow theirs, so I have to be careful.  I always defer to them and treat them with the utmost respect.  Most of the men get the shortest pants the temple has and they still have to roll up the cuffs (or walk on them).  Frequently the ceremonial clothing is way too long for them and we have to jack it up somehow.  But they have made a great effort to come to the temple and we, likewise, will make a great effort to see that they are comfortable and have a good temple experience so they will feel the Spirit and have the desire to return as often as they can.  I realize, too, that this temple is still somewhat of a novelty for the older generation.  They take it seriously.  It was dedicated exactly 30 years ago.  The newer generation is simply growing up with the temple here, so it's easier to take for granted. The closest temple for many of the older generation would have been the Los Angeles Temple or maybe one in Central America.  They realize that to have a temple right here in Lima is a gift from God.  I don't doubt that many of them are the pure in heart as described in the scripture above.

Week 55 ~ House of the Lord

The Lima temple was dedicated in January 1986 by Gordon B. Hinckley. It is a beautiful temple and brought in high-end development in the surrounding area and continues to do so today. In the pictures below, you can see the building next to the temple. It houses the Distribution Center, a cafeteria, and apartments to rent for those staying a few days to do temple work. Across the street is the Pardos Chicken Restaurant where we eat every week before attending the temple. The surrounding neighborhoods are nice and there are several new car dealerships along busy road.

Elder Stephen and Sister Janna Rogers are currently serving their mission as temple workers. Both of them speak Spanish very well and they put in many long hours. The temple opens at 6:15 and there is usually a line waiting to enter. Since the endowment rooms are very small sitting about 25 patrons, they take turns and do other work while waiting for another session which start every 45 minutes. Only about 10% of the people here have their own temple clothes so the laundry is always busy, especially when the big bus loads come to do temple work.

The people come from so far, 10-24 hour bus rides from southern Peru and the jungles of eastern Peru. They come as families and involve their children in the baptisms and the experience of just being on the temple grounds. They rotate and have one parent or family be with the children while others can attend a session. It’s very sweet.

Sister Rogers told me one thing she has noticed here in this temple is the sweet spirit with which the people serve. They are so humble and even when the celestial room is full, you can hear a pin drop. Very different from the U.S. where there is more whispering and talking with happy hugs and conversation. Sister Rogers says it’s very sweet to see the Peruvian people pray, read scriptures, cry and ponder as they enjoy the spirit of the celestial room. 

IF

If I could go to Galilee and walk where Jesus walked

And sit in tender grasses on the hillside where he taught;

If I could feel the gentle breeze as it lifted from the sea

Where He called the humble fishermen, how full my heart would be.

If I could sit and ponder on a rock that knew His hand,

Or walk along the seashore where His feet had touched the sand--

My spirit yearns within me, but it doesn't seem my fate;

I'll never walk where Jesus walked, I'll never--but wait!

I've worshiped in His temple, where I know He's walked before.

Did His feet go down this hallway? Did His fingers touch this door?

Has He stood here in this very room and looked at what I see?

In the beauty of His temple I can feel His love for me.

I close my eyes and picture Him; my worries melt away.

I don't have to go to Galilee or travel far away.

My tender heart is filled with things He'd want me to be taught,

And my testimony burns within--I've walked where Jesus walked.

Carma Salvessen

I had some extra time in the office so I opened up FamilySearch again. Joe’s mother complained she was at a dead end so I thought I would give it a try. I’m not sure if she was concentrating on the direct line but I began to research the siblings of her 3^rd great grandfather and the line exploded with the first sister, Grace Mae Rhoades, daughter of Cyrus Rhoades, married Pearl Andrew Paulson. I wasn’t getting much information. I found the 70-year-old father, Peder Paulson, living with his son in El Dorado, Kansas so when he didn’t show up on the next census I knew he had passed away and began looking at the cemeteries in Butler County, eighty of them! 

I looked at every one of them one-by-one to see where Peder Poulson was buried, very tedious. Every time I entered his name, the screen showed “Sorry, that name does not appear in this register.” I was imagining after 50 or so cemeteries how it would look to have the name pop up on my screen. I got to the end with nothing. The thought came to me that I may have missed something. I went back one page and, sure enough, there was a large cemetery in El Dorado I had missed, typed in Peder’s name and there he was! At first I thought it was an error message or something, hee hee. I was so delighted I gave out a little yelp in the quiet office and did a full swivel turn in my chair in celebration of the find.

In addition to finding him, there were another 30 family members also buried in the same cemetery with birth dates, death dates and related family members I may have never found. Many of them were born in the 1900’s so temple work won’t be done, but, hopefully, there will be many names prepared for work to be done.

Week 54 ~ Missionary Training Center

Oh my goodness, it’s already March!

“The bad news is time flies.

The good news is you’re the pilot.”

Saturday we walked to the National Agrarian University specializing in the management of the land. We’ll have to catch it on a weekday as everything was closed on Saturday EXCEPT the great shops with organic food, fruits and vegetables and meat market. We checked out the little shops and then enjoyed a great lunch of grilled trout and salad. The process for buying the items at the small shops everywhere is really weird: first you pick out what you want, they write you a sales ticket, then you go to a separate cashier outside the store to pay, and return to the store where they have your items in a bag behind the counter. When you show them you paid for the items, they give you your bags. That includes meat and cheese, whatever. Of course, you have to wait in line for each step, even when you go back to collect your items. We know it is to protect the shopkeepers as they don’t have any money in their shop and the cashier is behind bars.

Lima MTC

The Lima MTC was constructed and then dedicated by Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on August 27, 1998. It has a bed capacity of 144 missionaries, and is within walking distance of the Lima Peru Temple, maybe 15 minutes. Currently there is an average of about 120 missionaries organized in two branches consisting of both native Spanish-speaking missionaries (three week stay) as well as English-speaking missionaries who are learning Spanish (six week stay). The MTC  contains three buildings: an administration building; a building with the kitchen and eating area on the bottom floor with a large auditorium above; and a building that houses the classrooms on the bottom floor with residence and laundry facilities on the second and third floors. The campus is always meticulously maintained and has a sand volleyball court, an artificial turf soccer field, an outside basketball court, ping-pong tables, and other sporting and exercise equipment. We can see these from the window of our office. Although it's been too hot to see any activity as of late, it's fun to look out to see the missionaries playing volleyball, basketball or soccer.

Bill Murray serves as Bishop of the English speaking missionary branch and loves the spirit that is there. Recently, there have only been one or two sisters and 10-12 elders since this is a low time of year. During the U.S. summer months, that number goes up to 40-50. Joe goes over every other Wednesday to serve as an investigator for the brand new missionaries. Their spirit is strong and energetic as they only left home two days prior and look forward to serving. The purpose of the exercise is to get the new missionaries to ask questions that will help them really know this person they are talking to, their problems, family, concerns, work, etc. He chuckles when he is introduced to the group and the first question to him is "What do you know about the Book of Mormon?"

One day when I arrived the group of new arrivals was very small, 5 elders and 1 Sister.  Bill Murray had told me that the sister’s name was Truly Benevolent. (I can’t remember her last name so will call her Sister Jones.)  I’m sure she had been teased over the years, but I couldn’t wait to gently tease her, too.  I sat there for the hour and engaged in conversation with them.  Sister Jones was great and asked many questions. She really did quite well and was very sincere.  When we were finished, I got up to leave and then turned to all of them and said, “This has been a wonderful experience.  You have all been Truly Benevolent,” and, turning to Sister Jones specifically, “especially you Sister Jones.”  She just gasped, shook her head and laughed.  I don’t think the elder missionaries had a clue what was going on.  It was a lot of fun.  I truly (no pun intended) love to be with these dear and benevolent missionaries every chance I get.  

In the office Friday, we had a chance to talk with the new MTC president, President Garry Moore. He was the worldwide administrator for Church Education and Joe worked with him a lot over the years. He has been serving pretty much non-stop for the last nine years, in Madrid, Spain as temple president, then Frankfurt, Germany as assistant to area presidency, Salt Lake area over senor missionary couples in the temple department, former president of the Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission and now here in Peru as the MTC president. Such an example of faith and dedication! In evaluating ourselves, I'm not sure we could commit so much of our life, but then again, in pondering how it would be different with more space and convenience in the apartment and a car to run errands, life would seem more normal with the opportunity to serve every day together. The hardest part is learning a foreign language.