WEEK 12 ~ Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there

                                                           Train Trip to Huancayo

We caught the train to Huancayo Friday morning. The taxi picked us up at 5:30 and the train pulled out of the staion at 7:00. We were expected to arrive in Huancayo at 7:00 in the evening, a 12 hour train ride over the Andes Mountains BUT we didn’t get in until 10:30 at night. They served the passengers breakfast and lunch but no dinner. We ate all our snacks and played cards, the same game over and over.

The train ride was just great . . . for the first 10 hours. We went through 68 tunnels and numerous bridges, climbing in elevation to 15,680 feet! The views were pretty spectacular as we traveled through the canyons and over the mountains. The local villages and pueblos along the way only have the train come through once a month during the summer months so the people and children would wave to us from their doorways and windows. I can’t imagine living so close to the tracks!!  When we got to the top elevation, I would get woosy dizzy just standing up to take a picture out the window. Whew, breath deep. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see the little towns on the other side of the mountains which are part of the Huancayo mission. We’ll see them on our way home. We are taking the bus back to Lima tomorrow morning which is supposed to only take eight hours.

When we arrived at 10:30pm, there was still cultural dancers to greet us. In Mexico there would be a Mariachi band, in Italy some violinists, but here our greeting was a dance group symbolic of the African slaves who worked in the mines. Strange at such a late hour.

We stayed at a great resort in Huancayo located up on the hillside overlooking the city. We had a room like a little cottage chalet that was just delightful. The morning was glorious with blue skies and cool fresh air and pine trees. It was picturesque like being in the Austrian Alps, a huge difference out of Lima!

After a wonderful breakfast overlooking the valley, we went back into the city and checked into the Turismo Hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon sightseeing, first to the silversmith and to the weaver’s shop. The owner shared with us the Quechua code of honor. Can you find the three ideals they live by? I bought a woven wall hanging that shows life in the Peruvian mountains to bring home.

My favorite part was to see the little Peruvian Quechua women in their native dress, multiple colorful skirts (polleras) of hand-woven wool cloth called bayeta, colorful shawl to carry their load or to carry children called k'eperina, a bowler hat, stockings and always long traditional braids. In the pictures below, notice how all the women have these long braids. Can you find the cow walking right across the street in town? How many dogs to you see with the woman waiting to cross the street? What do you think they carry in their back shawl? In the mountains, we didn't see any trucks, just bikes with these carts attached to carry large loads. In the field, do you see the women digging up papas (potatoes)?

Our last stop was to the gourd shop where we watched the old art of carving them. They showed us how they shaded and colored the designs with a burn stick. The harder they blew, the darker the colors. 

The other technique was to rub animal fat all over the carved design and then add a black paste that was made with grass reeds. After rubbing it on very well, wipe it off and the designs are highlighted. Fascinating! Can you tell which technique was used in the pictures?

Our tour guide took us to the Parque de la Identidad (Identity Park) made almost entirely with rock giving recognition to the great people of Huancayo. Actually, our gourd artist, Eulogio Medina who we had visited earlier in the day, was also honored at the park for his contribution in preserving the tradition of decorating gourds. His monument is the large gourd in the middle of a pond with a plaque to his name. It is a very beautiful park with walkways, fountains, bridges and gardens. In the bridge picture, you can see the stone castle in the back built for children to climb and explore. Visitors could also walk up and across the entrance gate looking over the entire park. It was wonderful with lots of water, music, flowers, children and benches for just sitting, reading, pondering or for the sweethearts who visit often. Ironic that such a beautiful park was surrounded on four sides by a dirt road full of potholes and no parking. Sad.

It was a wonderful trip. We love sharing with you the wonderful sites and experiences of Peru.

Week 10 ~ “Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God.”

Dear Friends and Family,

The past two weeks have been like a jet passing overhead, you see it for a few moments, turn your head and look back again and it's gone.  We are realizing we probably won't be able to write in this blog every week, thus week 10 is a combined weeks 9 and 10.  

BOLIVIA IN-COUNTRY MEETING - SANTA CRUZ 

We were busy preparing for our first trip outside of Peru, a country wide training meeting with our Bolivian assistant area auditors or AAAs.   The meeting was planned and carried out by this group of wonderful men from La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz.  

We met in Santa Cruz where we gathered the night before with some of the men and then met for breakfast and a day long meeting on Saturday.  The picture you see is of four of our AAAs Diane and me, left to right:  Jose Padilla, Saul Yerbales, Ernesto Peralta, Diane, me, Rodrigo Diaz.  Miguel Pinedo was missing because of sickness.  Brother Peralta (from Santa Cruz) was huge in planning and making sure everything was just right.  

He asked that Diane and I take some time on the agenda to introduce ourselves.  I did the talking in Spanish and Diane just waited patiently.  She had told me that she felt too self conscious to say anything in Spanish.  

When I was done and had shared my testimony, out of courtesy to Diane, I asked if she wanted to say anything.  I was stunned when she said she did and then stood up and began to speak ...... IN SPANISH! She spoke for about 4 minutes, sharing an experience she had with a senior sister missionary who works in the area office.  Diane asked her one day if she was going to "work" and the sister said "oh no, I don't go to work, I go to the office to serve."  She then spoke of the joy of service and then bore her testimony.  All the while I was sitting there with my mouth agape and tears rolling down my cheeks.  I had no idea she has spent the past two weeks every day and before going to bed memorizing her testimony so she could share it.  Even though it was a bit rough in some places, the spirit of what she was saying was conveyed clearly and powerfully.  It set the tone for the entire meeting and the men referred to it from time to time. 

The meeting was very productive and the men were very prepared as we spent the day training and then I closed teaching the principles of why we do what we do. After being with these dear brethren for two days, we felt they were much more than just 5 of 35 AAAs in five countries.  We are connected to them and them to us.  We look forward to the other five upcoming country meetings in Ecuador, Columbia and Peru (3).  

SANTA CRUZ CENTRO MAIN PLAZA

We spent an extra two days in Santa Cruz celebrating Diane's birthday on April 19th and our anniversary on April 20th.  We stayed in a delightful hotel in downtown Santa Cruz, "The Senseses".  It was right next to a beautiful family park with many trees and benches.  The atmosphere was one of family friends gathering on a beautiful evening to sing and stroll and play .... and attend mass at the "Basilca de San Lorenzo" which was built in 1770 and sits right at the head of the park.  We loved the evening and the mingling even though it was obvious we were gringos and stuck out like a sore thumb.  Yet all were pleasant and kind.  The Group of men in the picture above did a little sing and dance and suddenly noticed Diane taking their picture.  They then tried and tried to get her to come down from the crowd to dance with them.  Diane was so embarrassed and politely declined to their obvious disappointment.

QUEMBE RAIN FOREST WALK 

We spent our anniversary taking a taxi out to a very delightful nature preserve/resort.  Diane discovered it and we decided to give it a try.  The taxi ride took about 45 minutes and the closer we got to our destiny the less confidence we were that we were in the right place.  The road went from four lane asphalt to two lane, to dirt road and then to just ruts in the road.  By the time we pulled into Quembe, we were a little skeptical of what we had read in the advertisement.  But as soon as we walked through the gate another special and delightful world opened up to us.  We took a guided tour of the preserve that contained a butterfly preserve and an aviary that was absolutely huge and full of all kinds of exotic birds as well as parrots, Maccaws, and Tucans.  We loved the lush rain forest fauna.  The weather was perfect as was the day.

QUEMBE con 18 PISCINAS 

One of highlights of the day at Quembe were the 18 swimming pools.  They were built to look natural.  There were four huge pools above the others.  These four were featured by a volcano like structure that spewed water and waterfalls cascading down into the four upper pools. 14 other pools were built below.  These flowed into each other with waterfall slides that looked natural but were for anyone daring enough to take a trip down.,.... which these two 60+ kids did.  Fortunately no bruises or broken bones, just childlike glee. You may notice there were no other people there tht day and we made sure we swam, sat, slid into, or dipped our feet into all 18 pools. It was a resort all to ourselves.

Diane writes: When I returned to the office, I had two birthday boxes waiting for me with numerous birthday cards and wishes. Thank you all very much!! Birthdays are fun and it was especially unique because one of my good missionary friends in the office also shares her birthday on April 19, so we even had a little office rah rah with a wonderful chocolate cake. They have amazing desserts and ice cream here, that’s for sure. Lydia Acosta gave me a darling little gift bag with the best chocolate bar and a bottle of nail polish, so I ate the chocolate while I gave myself a pedicure for the Santa Cruz trip and the polish looks great.

Week 8 ~ "Our daily discipleship will determine our eternal destiny"

Sometimes our days get off track centered on personal worries or cares or self. Being on a mission really helps us focus every day on our discipleship to Jesus Christ, what we are doing and how we can better serve him. This is such a great experience to be in Peru and share our testimony often, see the Gospel in action, and work with the Saints here. 

We spent a good part of the week planning and organizing our training sessions with the Assistant Area Auditors. We will be meeting with our assistant auditors in Ecuador in May in conjunction with the open house of the new temple in Trujillo. What a blessing that will be to the Saints there! We will be meeting in Santa Cruz, Bolivia next weekend and will stay an extra two days to celebrate our wedding anniversary and my birthday. There will be a report on that visit next time. We are planning a meeting in Colombia to include the Venezuelan Brothers since we are not allowed in that country as US citizens. We will have three more individual training meetings here in Lima with the different areas of Peru. Actually, we have 15 assistant auditors just in Peru. We look forward to meeting personally the men we communicate with by email and phone and who serve so faithfully in their callings, helping and training some 200+ stake leaders in their districts regarding the collection and distribution of sacred funds.

Friday we went to dinner at Chili’s with the Acosta’s at Jocky Plaza. It was a little drive but the Acosta’s are great to be with. They are so unassuming in their manner and service and we enjoyed talking about his travels and experiences as an assistant to the Ambassadors in South America and Africa, including all the title, pomp and ceremony of that calling, the uniform, the red carpet, the parties and diplomatic performance. He was also a mission president in Mexico. Our little Manny Acosta, a three-starred general serving for 30 years in foreign affairs. Now he serves as an aide to the Area President, and his wife Lydia is mother to us all. Such firm dedication, faith and testimony! They live right above us and we love them. After dinner we went grocery shopping and didn’t get home until almost 10:30!

Joe and I had plans to go to the Larco Museum downtown Lima Saturday. We have heard how wonderful it is and full of artifacts from the past civilizations in the area. But, as we were ready to go, we get a call inviting us to the beach. Now, how can you turn down an invitation to the beach!! So we quickly packed a picnic lunch and put on our sandals and sunglasses to meet up with the Gonzalez’s who have a van. It was loaded with our friends from the mission, the Kendall’s, Cannon’s and Bart’s along with the MTC President, Jose and Sister Monica Gonzalez from Colombia. We drove about 1.5 hours south of Lima to the most beautiful beach in all of Peru, Playa de Santa Maria! We truly felt like we were back in California, beautiful warm water, sand and resort neighborhoods. It started out foggy but soon gave way to a sunny day with a warm breeze. I even got a little teary-eyed when I sank my feet into that cool sand and heard the surf and seagulls. Even here so far from home, I felt a piece of home! We spent most of the day playing in the surf up to our thighs, walking along the beach, visiting and resting. Just wish we had a frizbee! Got home about 4:30 tired but rejuvenated, bringing plenty of sand home with us in our shoes, pants and hair!

Joe's Journal Entry
One day this week at the office I w­­as putting my food in the fridge in the cafeteria when I began talking to Isabela Carrera, one of the cleaning ladies.  She told me about her life and I was touched and amazed.  I learned that she lived in a little pueblo about two hours from the office.  She gets up at in time to catch a bus at 4:30 am every morning and to work by 6:30.  She then works until 4:30 pm and takes a bus home again, day after day.  She told me about her conversion and how her Pappi had taught her many things about religion from the time she was a little girl.  He had been raised by a step father who taught him about the earth and the seasons and spiritual things.  Two things her father taught his children really stayed with her.  One was tithing, that if you made10 soles you paid 1 to the Lord.  He said if she ever found a church that taught the law of tithing it a true church.  The second thing she remembered was that the name of the true church would be named after Jesus Christ.   She remembered her father’s teachings and for the next number of years (she is now 66 yrs. old) she grew up and lived her life watched and observed.  Then one day in 1986 she met the missionaries and began taking the lessons.  When the Elders taught her the principle of tithing she began to cry and knew she had found the true Church and it was named after Jesus Christ like her father told her.  Isabella was baptized and later her husband and all of her children.  She now has a total of 10 children, 9 daughters and 1 son.  One of her daughters passed away.

She told me that when it was time for her and her husband to be sealed, they were in their home asleep the night before they were to get on a bus for the temple.  She began dreaming and had a vivid dream about the temple and specifics of the endowment even though she had never heard anything of the temple ordinances.  Her dream was very detailed and as it continued she was beckoned by a man dressed in white telling her to wake up.  She suddenly awoke and realized she had overslept and had just enough time to catch the bus with her husband for the temple.  They got there in time for the session and when she went in, she again cried and remembered her dream with a detailed account of the endowment which was exactly the same she had dreamed the night before.  Amazing story.

One more story about Isabella.  She told me when she was a little girl her mother got very sick, so much so that she was hospitalized and then suddenly slipped into a coma.  She was “gone” for nearly 7 days.  On the 7^th day her Pappi told his children that “Mommy” had died.  Suddenly Mommy awoke and she saw her children crying and asked what was wrong and if Daddy had spanked them.  They told their mommy they were crying because Daddy had told them she had died.  She then told them where she had been.  She said, “I left my body and went toward a light and then there was a beautiful place with flowers and trees and I was on a path that was like gold.  There were many people on the path with me and they kept leaving the path.  Some went to the left and some went to the right.  I didn’t know which side to go to, left or right, so I stayed on the path until I found myself alone.  I kept walking and suddenly I saw a man dressed in white and shining brightly. I walked up to him.  He smiled, and I felt great great peace and love.  He told me that I wasn’t suppose to be there yet and I needed to go back along the path and to the place where my children and husband were.  He said your children are crying for you and need you.  I turned around and began walking and then suddenly I awoke and saw my children crying.”  Isabella said that she always remembered her mother’s story and years later when she joined the Church she understood what her mother had seen in the spirit world.

I was so touched listening to this good and humble woman who works so hard for so little but knows who she is and her purpose in life.  I felt I was standing on sacred ground with this sweet humble elderly woman with bad knees and arthritic fingers.  She radiated light and love and understanding.  I can learn much if I will listen and feel God’s love flowing through these dear, humble people.  

WEEK 7 ~ We're Not Hors'n Around

It’s a beautiful day in Lima, Easter Sunday, General Conference weekend, the traffic quiet and weather cool. The church office building has been closed Thursday and Friday because of the Semana Santa, or Holy Weekend. Here in Peru, the people celebrate the Friday before Easter as the most holy day of the year because of the crucifixion of Jesus. We didn’t go to the celebrations downtown but have heard it is pretty crazy similar to Mardi Gras with parade, food, face painting, music, balloons and the Catholic Mass with all the tradition and ceremony depicting the death of Jesus.

So, in contrast, we have been enjoying the quiet of home and conference addresses. Today we walked to the town cemetery up on the hill, quite a walk actually. I think it is the only extended lawn area in the city except for the church office and temple. We were there right when the guard opened the gate to let us in and it was so beautiful and peaceful. When Pres. Uchdorf spoke of opening the gate, I thought of how the guard opened the gate for us so we could enter the cemetery. Joe and I are so grateful for the resurrection and as we looked out over the expanse of markers and flowers, we thought how great will be the day when the graves of the righteous will be opened and the people will walk again. Easter Sunday there were fields of fresh flowers!

Thursday,  I walked to the grocery store, about two miles, bought groceries, loaded them into my little hand cart and walked home. It got pretty hot so I’m not sure I’ll do that again, maybe if I don’t buy so much food! The grocery store was crazy crowded on Thursday, people preparing for their Easter feast on Friday. We also did some heavy cleaning and laundry. Also on Thursday, Joe went to the car museum which he found pretty impressive with about 100 cars on display.

 We had quite a large earthquake last Tuesday which lasted 10-12 seconds. The building was evacuated for 15 minutes to make sure it was safe. It measured 5.9. We were glad we were in such a safe building since the Church builds to US building codes and beyond. The same morning I was having quite an experience at home. I was going to have a bowl of oatmeal but there were weevils in the box , then the milk was sour when I poured it on my cereal, and when I cut the bread to make a sandwich (which was in a plastic bag on the counter) the ants came crawling out of the bread.

There is a senior missionary here who is an expert in FamilySearch. I took advantage of my free time on Friday to spend a few hours with her learning some of the wonderful technology tools available online and how to get around the FamilySearch program, how to attach families together and attach source materials and documents. Sadly, I haven’t been able to scrapbook so I hope doing family research on the computer will give me a new challenge. I’m pretty excited about it even though I don’t have a lot of time to spend at it.

Every day I work at the office answering emails, approving expenses, and helping Joe in handling some of the problem cases. I try to practice the piano an hour a day at the office and, of course, drill and work with Spanish a few hours a day, mostly at my desk. I’ve been working on saying my prayers every day in Spanish. I’m slow but I can say a pretty complete prayer. This week I’ve increased my vocabulary and can put together simple but complete sentences. I have a long, long way to go but at least I’ve seen some progress in the six weeks I’ve been here. I get frustrated easily when the same word means different things depending how you use it or, you use a particular word here but not in another situation even though the word is the same. Ugh! Joe is also meeting with the MTC tutor once a week wanting to improve the financial vocabulary and general office conversation. He helps me a lot.

Wednesday evening after work, a group of senior missionaries rented a taxi van together. The driver drove us down to Mamacona south of Lima to a hacienda that raises Peruvian horses. We attended a demonstration show of their beauty and unique showmanship. At one point, a Peruvian dancer danced with the horse and it was obvious the horse enjoyed dancing with her, prancing around her as she turned and turned, flipping her skirt. 

These same horses will compete in the National Horse Show next week so it was a real treat to see them perform for us what they will do next week in front of the judges. After the horse show, we were treated to a beautiful candlelight Peruvian dinner out on the veranda, and enjoyed a little more dance entertainment. The weather was delightful, no noise and we loved the company.

WEEK 6 ~ “Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.”

It’s hard to believe tomorrow will mark the 6th week anniversary of our arrival in Peru.  Even though we have basically been doing the same thing for the past 6 weeks, time is passing quickly as we settle into a routine.  We continue to walk to work each day, the five minute route, and to walk home.  I counted the other day and counted from my office cubicle to the front door of our apartment and it was exactly 600 steps.  I suppose if I lengthen my stride a little the number will be less.  Maybe that is true in most things we do.  As we lengthen our stride, the days become shorter, the work becomes more understandable, our purpose for being where we are at a given time becomes clearer and the distance between us and God is shortened.  This week we did lengthen our strides in a number of ways

CIENEGUILLA

Yesterday we decided to do something very different.  Up till then we had only ridden the bus one time.  We decided that we wanted to take a bus and go east as far as we could or wanted to.  We ended up catching a bus to Cieneguilla, a very nice little resort town (to the Peruvians in Lima) that sits in a little valley with a river running through it.  There is some tubing down the river, horseback riding, swimming, volleyball and football, and, of course, lots of eating.

The bus ride was another adventure.  We knew that the smaller buses (like 1½ size of a large van) were usually very packed with people.  We thought Saturday would be different…. We were wrong. We waited across the street from our apartment, waited and waited and waited for a bus to take us east.  (There are no bus schedules.) The first one that came by we flagged down and then crowded into a bus already packed, and I mean packed like sardines and then some.  If you have an issue with invasion of personal space, then the buses that travel to the little pueblos outside the big cities are not for you.  But we were prepared and we got on and shoved and pushed and wiggled our way into a place we could barely stand in by ourselves, let alone with three others, 1 square foot,  holding onto a bar running the length of the bus and smiling along with everyone else. Diane mentioned she felt like everyone was looking at us, probably because we were white and looked like tourists, me in my baseball cap and Di with a sun visor.

 It was an exhilarating thrill ride for about 30 minutes.  Let me give you a verbal picture of the system itself.  There is one driver and one attendant that stands at the one door.  I call him a “herdsman” because that’s what he does, he herds people on and off the bus.  As soon as the bus stops, if there are any to exit they will, all the time while the herdsman yelling "adelante, adelante!! Baja Baja Baja!!"  Then he yells for the people getting on to do the same and for the others to push their way back even if there is no place to go.  At that point we just lean all the same way.  It’s an amazing experience.

The trip to Cieneguilla was about 45 minutes.  It would have been shorter but as we were descending down into the valley, we came up behind a truck filled with tons of bricks.  He was geared down to the lowest gear and riding the brakes and only going about 1 mile an hour, no kidding.  The road is very crooked and treacherous there so the driver wisely did not pass ….. Until he could see at least 30 feet in front.  I always close my eyes and pray when that happens.  We finally passed the truck and made our way down into the little green valley.

It was such a refreshing experience to be out of Lima in a place that actually had some green plants and trees and a river.  We ended up at a restaurant and resort called “Mesa de Piedra” or table of rock.  It was a day of diversion for many families who were there on a weekend getaway.  There were soccer games (like five on five on a half field, and volleyball teams.  People had come from all over, especially Lima, for the day.

We just sat and watched the activities for a while and then decided to go see the ruins that are close by. We walked down the street and asked several how to get to the ruins of Huancan.  We walked up a little path and then up a road to where the ruins were.  When we got there the gate was closed but a woman (Ana) who works for the Peruvian Tourist and Culture department was at the gate.  We learned they were preparing for a celebration of family heritage of the two societies that had been there since 1000, the Ichma and then the Inca.  She literally gave us a personal tour because I told her we would be in Bolivia the day of the multi-country celebration..  She took us up and we walked around the amazing site, seeing the holes where the tombs where and the fresas of the calendar system the Incas used.  It was really an amazing thing to see and to be high enough to look from a place above down on the ruins and then down into the valley of Cieneguilla.

Just a little fun trivia about the above pictures:  the bottom left with the two holes. It was the custom to bury their family members right there in their home; their dead lived with them. In the middle picture, the circles represent the months of the year. In the right picture second from the bottom, can you pick out the city plaza? Well, maybe if it was a bigger picture.

We then went back to the Mesa de Piedra Resort and had lunch.  Our waitress was a little LDS young single adult, Cecilia. I decided to order something different, Guinea Pig.  Not again!  Tasty but no meat. I’ve never had to dig through so many little bones and flesh.  This was not a fat guinea pig and was cooked with its little legs poking out.  Well, it was tasty, the two small bites I was able to pick out. .  I had a slice of what I thought was a red pepper.  It must have been a jalapeño because I ate it and it kept getting hotter and hotter until my tongue and lips were burning.  It finally cooled down.

We saw Peruvian dancers and a Peruvian band and ate on a table made with a slab of rock.  What a day!

We caught a bus  back to La Molina, this time with room to sit down.  Our experience coming home was watching from the back of the bus the people being packed in one at a time.  There was never a time the driver passed up a stop because the bus was too full, amazing.  We also saw that many of the people on the bus lived in the little shacks built on up the barren hillside without a tree or bush in site.  In fact the only trees we saw along the way were a few at the bus stop.  Even though the countryside around Cieneguilla was stark, barren, hot, dusty and barren, the people are kind, gentle, courteous and just thankful for what they have.  What a lesson we can and should all learn from them.

WEEK 5 ~ Our Mission Memories

We have grown accustomed to the noise of the nearby street. It starts very early in the morning about 5:00 with car horns and buses. With the construction next to us, the traffic has been diverted from four lanes to two. That has slowed the traffic way down and it is separated from us by a row of trees and bushes. The construction is moving along, however, and the road that passes our apartment will open again soon, thus more dirt and noise.

In the early morning hours, we hear a bike horn similar to a child’s bike horn a few times a week. They are notifying the neighborhood they are there to sell bread on their cart, beep beep beep beep.

Several times a day we hear what the Americans call the national anthem, car alarms! They go on for quite some time as a status symbol. Some of the cars are so sensitive, all we do is walk by and it sets them off. We are getting more adventurous taking the bus instead of a taxi. It is a lot cheaper and we are learning which bus goes where even though there are no route maps available online or otherwise. If we choose the time of day carefully, we can even find a seat. We tell the driver “la esquina” (the corner) or “baja aqui” (stop here) when we want to get off. If we do too much shopping, we have to get a taxi home which is only about $2 for every five miles.

Friday my computer was down so I went home and did the weekly cleaning. I cleaned the window sills, under the couch and under the beds, vacuumed, dusted, swept and mopped until everything was clean again. Then I went out and bought flowers just for the house and they are beautiful.. We did see a few drops of rain this week. A few drops (I really mean a few drops) fell on the sidewalk and a woman walking in front of me down the sidewalk whipped her umbrella out. I kid you not. I think she was just hoping. I did take a picture, quite humorous. And you don't see women in their traditional dress very often but this picture was taken by the church office building as she was selling vegetables to anyone who passed by.
                    

A few weeks ago, the Relief Society announced they were looking for dancers to perform at the Relief Society birthday celebration. That sounded like fun so I talked Julene Kendell into joining me for the performance. Just think, I told her, when would you ever again get to learn a Peruvian dance and dress in costume to dance? She is older than I but she was a good sport and accepted the opportunity (challenge). We practiced   Wednesday and Friday, 5:00-7:00 for two weeks, then performed last night. Our practices were very hot. The dance is from the highlands of Cusco, and part of the dance included going down on one knee, standing up, turning around and going down on our knee again, four times! Well, we’re too old for that so only the younger girls did that while we stole away and took off our heavy wool skirts to reveal our denim jeans underneath. 

We ran back out with our “sombrero” cowboy hat just as the music was changing and ended with a country line dance to some real country western music. The audience loved it! We were glad we participated. Julene admitted she had a wonderful experience and would have never volunteered if I didn’t encourage her. We became close to the Peruvian sisters we danced with; a great memory.

Doing anything here in Peru is twice as much work as back home. Laundry takes twice as long because the washing machine is so tiny, have to get a taxi to go to the store for milk, dishes are washed by hand, and cooking is quite an adventure. We’re really pleased when something turns out good. I made my own chili in the crockpot and it was delicious. Last Sunday, I cooked ribs in the crockpot and, boy ‘o boy, they were better than anything downtown! I can't find powdered bitter baking chocolate anywhere, you know, like Hersey's. I have a birthday coming up so maybe someone could send me some so I can make my own birthday cake! :) A small package can be sent to the Area Office: 

Oficina de Area Sudamerica Noroeste

Hermana Cheney

Calle El Grifo, #151

Urb. Campo Verde

La Molina, Lima 12, Peru

WEEK 4 ~ Lines Lines Lines

Monday  "Interpol and Teeth"
We had an experience that every missionary couple has the opportunity to have at the “INTERPOL” (headquarters for the Peruvian Nation Policed) where we applied for our visas.  The morning began at 7 am with our driver, Fernando, picking us up and taking us downtown close to the American Embassy to have our pictures taken for our visas.  We spent a good 45 minutes there waiting for the pictures to be “completed” even though they were on the computer.  We then were driven to INTERPOL where we waited in line to take a number to wait in line to have our teeth checked (yes, I kid you not) Each person went into a very small room one at a time with three women  One woman was the “tooth inspector".  We were told to lie flat on our back on an old (probably discarded) dentist chair and then open our mouth wide while the tooth inspector looked at each one of our teeth all the while we held our mouth open as wide as possible.  She then told the other two women all about our teeth, which ones had fillings, and crowns, bridges, root canals and probably even cavities.  I'm surprised she didn't tell us we needed to floss more.  The other two woman recorded what the tooth inspector said on a piece of paper written in pen or pencil.  That is how they identify a non Peruvian if by chance they die while in the country.  It’s by your teeth, no photos just a written report by the visual exam of the tooth inspector.  I'm sure there is an explanation for whey they do it this way.  Maybe they just like to see our dentures.  We then waited in line …… again to have our passports checked and then given permission to have our finger prints taken.  After that….. well we were done.  It was quite the experience.  Another day in the life of a missionary.  We will hopefully receive our visas in several weeks.  I hope my teeth are still in good shape by then. 


Thursday  "Night at the Theater"

We attended a special Peruvian dance performance at the new Grand National Theater. It is really a beautiful facility for concerts and special events. The dancing was fabulous and the costumes were so brilliant in color and detail. Some of the costumes were Las Vegas style. We couldn’t take pictures so I took pictures of the program to share. J It was absolutely grand choreography and dance steps requiring strength and endurance.

Saturday  
"Premera Capacitacion"  
We participated in our first AAA training on Saturday. Even though we could not be seen through our Skype connection, we could see the brethren in Venezuela and hear them and them us.  At first it was a little difficult. And, I’m sure, somewhat frustrating for them when I didn’t even know what they were asking me or that they were even asking a question.  They wanted to receive some counsel from me.  Finally I asked them to speak much slower.  which they did very slow, like a recording 3X slower than normal.  It was pretty funny.  So I asked them to speed up a little, then a little faster and then we got it just right and I could understand.  I told them that they would need to be patient with a 62 year old man who had lost millions of brain cells the moment he turned 60.  They really laughed and slapped their legs.  It broke the ice and I stumbled through.  I was grateful the Spirit took over and we were able to communicate a little better.  I was able to give them some simple counsel that I’m sure they already knew but it was good for me to say it.  We were with them for an hour and Diane shared her testimony …….. in Spanish.  I was so surprised.  I was ready to translate for her but she had written her testimony and read and said it to them.  It was simple and she struggled with some of the wording but those dear men understood what she said and I felt the Spirit touch them.

 "Un Gran Paseo"

Yesterday (Saturday) us and three other couples (the Acosta’s, Kendell’s, and Clark’s)  went on little paseo down to the ocean to a mall (Larco Mar) to the Inca Market and Kennedy Park, Dinner and then we topped the evening off by going to the “Water Park”.  We Began the day by sharing taxis and driving to the beach and mall, which is built into the side of the hill overlooking the beach. Diane was able to get two blouses that she was looking for.  

We (the Kendells and us) walked from the beach 14-16 blocks to the Inca Market where we looked more closely at the many wonderful Peruvian made crafts and blankets etc.  On the way we went past Kenndy Park, a main gathering place in that district (Mira Flores) for tourist and where to catch a tour bus of Lima.  Right next to the park was an old Catholic Cathedral, well known  for their care and protection of feral cats.  Needless to say their were cats all over the place, sleeping, lounging and strolling around the church and park.  It was amazing.

We finally met up with our group at the Inca Market.  Diane bought a few things there and then on the way to dinner, Sister Kendell noticed a specialty store with a lot of kitchen items.  Diane has been looking  and looking for a crock pot and was told by all that there was no such an item in Peru.  However,  Julene Kendell and Diane decided to look in the store anyway.  And there on a shelf surrounded by a zillion rice cookers were two crock pots.  Diane was ecstatic.  So we bought the smaller one.  That was quite the process just being able to purchase it.  I first had to get a ticket for the item. I then had to go to another part of the store stand in line to pay for it (taking about 20 minutes) and then  after paying, I had to go to another part of the store, stand in line again for another 15 minutes.  That’s how they do it here and I guess they think it’s an efficient method.  You can’t just go in a store, buy something, pay for it and walk out.  I guess it might be that they don’t have items stocked on the shelves and have to retrieve it from the back storeroom.

After that, I chose to carry it even though Diane offered.  I slung it over my back and held on to the bag “handles” and carried it like a back pack the rest of the day and into the evening. We Walked and walked from that store back to Kennedy Park and the Church and to a restaurant close by.  By the time we arrived my feet and knees were killing me and my load of the crock pot lightened.  I took my shoes off and enjoyed dinner.  After dinner we went out and got two taxis and then over to the water park where we finished the evening. What an incredible place.  It is a very large park with grass and old trees and large and different water fountains all over the park. We walked and walked and were amazed at the beautiful and different fountains.  One had a lazer light show every 45 minutes.  We were able to stand at the fence and watch the show of different colored lazer beams and movie projections using the mist from the dancing fountains as their screen.  It was just amazing,.  We ended our evening there and got a taxi and came home just exhausted but very satisfied with spending such a wonderful P-day with such great friends. 

WEEK 3 ~ Fruit for the Body and Spirit

We were at Jocky Plaza at Saga Fallabella’s, a store similar to Penney’s. It is four floors so Joe was on one floor buying a couple of shirts and I had gone up one level to look for his socks. I was in the process of choosing when a woman employee came up to me and started talking to me . . . in Spanish. She had noticed my name tag and was asking questions and explaining something to me but I couldn’t keep up. I started to get pretty frustrated because she just kept talking like I could understand. I was so relieved when Joe showed up and took over the conversation.

She had been sick, looking for answers and was looking for a church to go to. Her name is Milagra and Joe gave her a pass-along card and invited her to church. We don’t know where she lives but we hope she will look up a church or call the mission home number on the card. It was a miracle Joe showed up to talk to her when he did because there was a long line downstairs to pay for his shirts but, while he was standing in line, an employee came up to him and told him she would help him at another register. It only took a few minutes what would have been 10-15! The Lord takes care of the small details in our life, especially when we are on his errand! Again, our taxi driver going home was very interested, as well, and Joe gave him a pass-along card. We just pray we say the right things so the Spirit can testify to them.

The work in the office is going well. I am learning more and more every day. I have access to some pretty amazing and confidential sites on the church website. My eyes have really been opened. I study Spanish about an hour every day at my desk, as well as answer emails. They come in Spanish, I translate, ask my mentor how she would respond, and then write a reply in Spanish. I do a lot of expense approval which doesn’t need any Spanish at all, and I created quite a complicated Excel form. I had to learn how to use Excel because it's been so long and I couldn’t remember anything. The days go by fast.

It is summer here so there are lots of fruits available and they are so good.  In the picture, can you name the different fruits shown? The bananas go bad here really quick, probably because they are so fresh, so I made some awesome banana pancakes and banana muffins last week. Yesterday, our outing for the day was to walk to the fruit store. We bought one of every kind of fruit so we could try them all since we had not seen many of them. That was weird! The little red (plums) were all seed but tasted good what little meat there was. The mango and papaya were great.  The prickly pear was a total disappointment because it was so full of seeds. I guess the people strain it to get the pulp to use in recipes. I have no idea. And then the biggest laugh for us was the passion fruit, the pretty peach-colored fruit the size of a baseball with a hard outer layer. I cut it in half and scooped out the seeds that were really slimy. All that was left was a thin layer of gristle and the hard shell. We just through it out and found out later that it was passion fruit and the slimy substance around the seeds is the heart of the fruit that they make juice from. That was the first thing I scooped out into the sink!

Last Wednesday we were at Jocky Plaza, the big mall downtown. We bought a sofa table to put against the wall, and I actually found a silk fichus tree that was priced reasonable. The table was delivered, but Joe was a good sport to carry the 5’ tree all over that huge mall, in and out of stores, for the next hour or so. Then we bought two area rugs I had to carry and then catch a taxi home! The apartment is feeling like home. I've included some updated pictures.

The security at our apartment is really good. There is a gate that cars have to go through that is opened by a guard who sits at the gate. Then there is another gate to our six apartments that we have a key to. Even our door has a double bolt. The security at the church office building is very tight, as well. It takes us about 5 minutes to walk to the office and then we go through a security check point that is a little house we pass through to get to the inside property. It is opened from the inside when they see who we are. We enter the building through the big double doors but to get past the reception area we need our key card to open the inside door to the offices. The food here is pretty expensive and there’s not much in the way of familiar items. We learned about the lunch room downstairs in our building so we’ve been going there. You can by a pretty extensive hot meal for S/. 7 (7 soles) which is about $2.25. I still take a few things from home for lunch but Joe has been buying lunch there and then we eat a very light dinner, a salad or sandwich. We go out to dinner about three times a week because it is so good and not very expensive. Joe had prime rib tonight with potatoes and it was only about $13. My dinner was $10. When we buy food at the grocery store, we can hardly get out with less than $50 for a few staple items.

Monday we had a Family Home Evening group for all the senior missionaries, about 32 in all. It was held at the temple cafeteria so we learned we can eat there after work and before a session. We had a barbeque and everyone brought a potluck to share so there was plenty of food. We even played games!! We did the hula hoop, suck the marshmallow to another cup relay, and stack and collapse cups. We have met some wonderful friends here which mix up our work, home and play.

Oh, we found a nice place to walk/jog just a few blocks from our house. It is a green belt down the middle of a very busy thoroughfare at 7:00 in the morning. It’s almost park-like with a big fountain and sculptures made in the grass with cement and bricks, etc. like a turtle, snake, ant, ladybug, butterfly and alligator. Can you see the animals? Along the path are groups of workout equipment which is a nice alternative. It’s about a mile long path so it’s a good little run down and back a few times with cars and buses passing by. 

Last night we attended a baptism that turned out to be quite a sweet deal. While we were out in the morning, I wanted to get some fresh flowers for our apartment. They have beautiful flowers for little expense. While I was looking at the different arrangements, I just got a strong impression to get flowers for the baptism and to give them to the Jessica whose two good looking sons were being baptized, one 21 and one 16. The floral store only had arrangements in red and yellow so I asked if she would make up the same arrangement in white with a little pink. She said she would and since it is right around the corner from our home, Joe picked it up an hour later. It was beautiful and only cost S/.70 ($23) with white lilies, white roses and white starbursts.

The baptism was 5:00pm at our building. We walked over with the Acosta's but when we got there, we learned from a Brother who came to the church especially to notify anyone who was there that it was moved to another building about 15 minutes away as part of a stake baptism. Bless him for taking time to come by! We hustled to find a cab and the first one that came along knew exactly where the LDS building was! Wow. After winding through many neighborhoods around and about, we got to the ward house 15 minutes late but they hadn’t started yet. I had time to meet with Sister Jessica and her family to tell her the flowers were especially for her and then we placed them in front on the podium. I felt so happy I had listened to the spirit because the chapel was full with 9 baptisms and the flowers added such a beautiful touch. We were a little worried that certainly there would be no passing taxi in that neighborhood to take us home but a good brother from our ward who works at the American Embassy was there with his big Honda Pilot. His family was not with him so he had room to take us and the Acosta's

home. That was a pretty special experience to be with so many missionaries and new converts and see the work moving forward!

There is apparently only one sister in Relief Society who plays the piano. She is a senior missionary and will be going home in July. Today she was filling in with the Primary so someone had heard that I played. They asked me to fill in . . . right now. Oh my goodness. I played a little prelude and said a sincere prayer. Our song was Dad's favorite, How Great Thou Art, and I played it almost flawless and wasn't even nervous. It was a tender mercy and answer to prayer. Maybe I can be of some service to play. There is a piano at the office so I will try to practice a few times a week. One observation I had today was that all the young boys wear suits, whether or not they are passing the Sacrament. During the Sacrament, they look so good! We live in a very nice and affluent part of Lima so I'm sure it's not like this on the other side of the city.

WEEK 2 ~ Taxi Rides, rain, and small earthquake

Our week was a very busy one, still learning much, well at least we have a handle on the phone system in the office..... kind of.  We are finding that each day is so full and busy with learning our assignments and trying to understand the Spanish around us.  We work in a section with 8 others around us.  All of them are Peruvian residents and none of them speak English.  They are so wonderful to work with and with a few English words that they know, hand signals and spanglish we get by.

The picture in the middle is L to R: Jorge, Francisco, Joe, Miguel, Mario and Nelly, the audit department. We work on the second floor.

One of the days last week was a very exciting one.  The wall behind our desk is banked with windows running the entire length of the room.  It overlooks the Peru MTC.  As we were working someone exclaimed excitedly to look out the window.  All got up and rushed to see what it was.  It was a miracle ...... it was raining .... a few drops literally but all were excited to see. Kind of like seeing snow in San Diego.  It averages about 2 inches of rain per year so any rain is a rare occurrence.  It was certainly a highlight of that day.

The other night after going to bed, I had just stood up from prayer when Diane came into the room and asked  "did you feel that?!"  I had not but she, being from California knew that we had experienced a small earthquake.  We found out the next day it was a 4.5 quake.  That night, before I went to bed I put some shoes and pants and shirt I could grab quickly just in case.

Finally, the taxi rides.  This has been our only mode of transportation so far.  Taxis are not expensive but we have to plan our trips so we aren't taking them everywhere and all the time.  Most run on natural gas which is about the same as regular gas in price but much cleaner and more economical.  We have met some very interesting and intelligent men as we have traveled.  Last Friday we took a taxi to and from the shopping mall. I learned I needed to have pass along cards with me as both were very interested in learning about the Church. One had just separated from his wife of 15 years and was very sad about his situation.  He wanted to know what our teachings were about the family.  I told him that God wanted families to exist beyond this life.  That is what we teach.  It was that simple and he was visibly touched.  He asked if he could come to church with us. We waited for him today but he didn't show up.  I know his name and he has my phone number.  

We are finding that we are making good friends with the taxi drivers and now they are looking for us as we go to a spot to catch one. We have met two Roy's, Jorge, John Wayne, Ulysses, and a slew of others.  We love the people.  For the most part they are warm, friendly, and very helpful.  We are becoming more accustomed to this beautiful country, both the physical and spiritual look of it.  This is our 2nd week report.