First Month in the Mission--Favorite things

We have now been in Lima for 4 weeks.  Everyday is full of new people, new ideas, and new things to learn.  We have learned so much already.  Some of my favorite things about Peru are:

The missionaries of course!

Our first meeting with our missionaries.  They are so like the  2000 Stripling Warriors!  I will never sing "Called to Serve" again without remembering the moment we walked through this singing group of 200 Elders.

This is our first group of missionaries

This is a breakfast we had in our home for the office Elders.  They loved American pancakes and having the President cook it.  It was reminiscent of the deer hunt breakfasts.

 I love the people, they are humble, kind and very loving.  I love how the women all give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek and whisper, ¿Cómo estás?

  I love the fruit.  It is so sweet, ripe and plentiful.

Little carts like this are all over Lima.  The front is filled with different types of fruit.  It is like a large wheelbarrow.  The back is a 3 wheeled bicycle.  They peddle fruit all over town.

This is the fruit stand just outside of our home.  The fruit is really good.  We soak all of our fruits and vegetables in a mixture of chlorine and water before we eat or peel it.

We stopped and bought a bag of the best oranges for 6 soles  which is about 2 dollars in American money.

  I can't say that I love the food, but it is kinda of interesting to try different types of food.  We have tried many of the Peruvian dishes.  Here in Peru they have 50 different kinds of potatoes.  Our missionaries eat a lot of rice and potatoes.  The missionaries should not have lettuce, strawberries, fish, or any food from the street venders.

This is a Peruvian dish that has chicken, beef, pork, potatoes, corn, beans and many spices.  It is cooked in hot coals in the ground in a pottery dish for hours.  It is very good.

This is the pit where the chicken is cooked.  Notice the handful of herbs

The Peruvians have the best drinks, lots of juices.  This is the missionary couple from our mission.  We are going to enjoy a fruit slushie type drink.  It is delicious!  They use lots of limes in their cooking.  Our missionaries have to be very careful what they eat.   We are having our first P day and the restaurant has very safe food

Our first P Day

  I love singing in Spanish.  The words are easier for me to say because they are broken down into syllables.  One of my dad's favorite hymns is Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel.  The Saints in Peru love this song too.  We sing it often and I love it! I love singing a cappella with the missionaries.   The missionaries and members sing with real zest and I love singing the songs of the gospel.  The language is different but the feelings you get while singing are the same.  We often hear the lively Peruvian music playing in the towns as we pass through them.  The pan flute and the guitar music make me happy.

  I love it when our elevator is working!  We have two elevators to use.  One is being replaced so only one of the elevators is working.  It is doing double duty and it breaks down often.  We have gone up and down our 19 flights of stairs maybe once a week.  Alan would rather go up and down the stairs rather than be caught in a broken elevator.  He has only been trapped once so far.  The elevator is a problem,  I can't walk and Alan has major claustrophobia!

   I love seeing all the new different modes of transportation here in Peru.  The people are poor and you can see many ingenious inventions for getting around or making money.

This is a taxi on a three wheeled motorcycle.  We discourage our missionaries from riding in these!

  I love the beautiful church buildings here in Peru.  It makes me so happy to see these beautiful people have such nice well kept meeting houses.  The church buildings are always the most beautiful building in the towns.  We have about 35 chapels in our mission and two beautiful Institute Buildings.  The Lima Temple is just a couple of miles outside of our mission.   All the Peruvians are proud of the beautiful grounds and call it their temple.

This is one of our beautiful chapels.

The Lima Peru Temple 

   I love how simple the gospel has become for me.  I cannot tell long stories, or even share the things I have learned over the years.  A simple prayer and testimony is all I can share right now.

  I love spending 100% of my time sharing the gospel.  I haven't opened my wallet more than once in the past month.  I don't feel the need to buy anything just what we need to eat.  Life is centered around the mission and the missionaries.

  I love that we have a medical doctor here in our mission.  My job is to take care of the missionaries health problems.  When I need advise or immediate help I can call him.  His last name is Gough.  He is from England.  My ancestors are from England and they originally spelled their name Gough.  I tell him I am sure we are related.

   I love the inspiration we are receiving as we direct this mission.    I have come to realize how much our Heavenly Father loves his missionaries.  We have been inspired to do things for our missionaries that we would never have thought of without a little inspiration.  The Lord has placed wonderful people in our lives to teach and help us.

This is my good friend and helper, Zuly.  We are the 5th Mission President she has helped.  I don't know what I would do without her.  She shops, cooks, and helps me feed the missionaries.  Only problem she does not speak any English.  So when we talk it is like a game of Charades.

This is a picture of our Mission Couple, The Webbs.  They have helped us so much.  What a blessing!  There is so much to learn.    They are going home the first week in August.  We will really miss them.  However, our good friends the Burts are coming to help--Blessings!

This is our two assistants, Elder Leishman and Elder Baez.  Notice how they are carrying all the baggage and Alan isn't carrying anything that is how it has been for the first few weeks.  Great Elders.

This is only a little taste of all the happenings this month.  Stay tuned!  We love you and pray for you!