With Love From Lima: Las Brisas

September 1, 2015

Well this week I had my first real not cold shower! Woot woot! I think all those times I was just too lazy to shower or wash my hair back home were preparing me for the mission. But yeah its not awful, I've just learned to shower really quickly... one arm at a time haha.

Monday is our P-Days so last Monday we went to Parque de Imaginaciones - It was kinda like a really old and small Discovery Place (in Charlotte). We went on this little ride that had animatronic (is that a word?) animals and dinosaurs. It was really quite terrifying. There was this giraffe and its neck would dip down and it was all wobbly and it had giant red eyes. Yeah it was a little freaky, but the dinosaurs were cool. I like DInosaurs. There was also the bed of nails thing, one of those orb lamps that static to your finger when you touch it. Oh and also there was a giant pregnant lady statue and an "aquarium": The aquarium was basically Petsmart fish and like an eel. Yeah it was an interesting place, but it was fun. Also we had KFC and Mcflurries cause we were more in the city so that was niiice.

Las Hermanas

Tuesday: Everyday we really study for a good bit (Personal study, companionship study, language study, and we work out of the "your first 12 weeks" book) and then we have lunch at 1 with our pensionista. NOTE: a pensionista (i don't know how to spell it...) is not our maid! Hahah we pay her every month for lunch on week days and to wash our clothes once a week. She lives about half a mile away so we walk over there and eat with her and haul our clothes over there. But shes a cool lady and has adorable children and cooks yuumyuuumy food. Anyways Tuesday we had chifa for lunch (Chifa is like Peruvian Chinese food) then we went and visited one of our investigators. His name is Segundo and he is a little old adorable man with fluffy white hair. Also He has leukemia - but hes not suuuper sickly just a little week and has to be careful- so he hasn't been able to attend church but he is trying to because he is really interested in the Church. We also visited a new investigator, Nilo, he has a lot of questions- which is really good, but I can't really answer then cause I don't entirely understand them- but he has agreed to read the Libro de Mormon! SO well have to see where that goes with him. Stay tuned. Tuesday night we had our first English Class! We meet in the capillia (church) and we had 4 people show up. It was really fun, I can't really teach that much cause I don't know Spanish yet but I actually learned a lot of new things about Spanish! Yep so that was Tuesday

Wednesday- DAVID BEDNAR (One of the 12 Apostles)!!!!! Wow I love that guy so much, I just wanna give him a big ole squueze! He was hilarious and funny and so strong and spiritual at the same time, it was ammmazing. There were 3 missions there and the CCM missonaries so there was about 800 of us. I was sitting in the 4th row so that was cool. He didn't get up and talktalktalk, it was like a conversation format- really cool. He talked about how we are agents because we have agency. We have to power to act, not to be acted upon. He also talked about hearing things which were no said. Listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and teaching through the holy Ghost. It was really cool, I wish you could have been there. Also after he left I was just saying how this day could not possibly get any better when President Larson walked up to me with a package from home! (Thanks mom!) Some tears were shed.

After we were back in our sector we were supposed to have a Family home evening with a family, but it turned out to be a surprise party! Haha it was a little awkward (the party wasn't for us) Every one was cheering (after we waited 10 mins for the person to show up) and the music was cranked and everyone was dancing and we were just standing there like awkward little missionaries. Then we got them to turn off the music for a minute and shared a message and then left. Haha but they sent us home with lots of food.

Thursday- Wednesday we really only have form 2-4:30 for appointments because we study all morning and then by 5pm we are in the institute building doing Historia Familia (working in the family history center). Yeah so not much happened thursday- well for lunch we had lentils and rice. It was good. Everything we eat is with rice. Yum.

A lovely smoggy day in Lima.....

Friday: We visited with Elisa and Miguel. Miguel is a less active member and Elisa is his mom and an investigator (he is like 50 and she is probably 70) They are reeealy pretty poor. I don't think either of them work so I'm not sure exactly how they live. He is a little strange. I think he has ADHD or something along those lines cause he is alll over the place! We were trying to start the lesson and he kept talking about the movie Die Hard and asking who was in the movie.. I have no Idea, I think Bruce Willis? Anyways he was stuck on that for a while and then he said I was some actress named Sandra stone (??). We finally made it through the hymn and then he was like wait wait its my turn to sing a song! I have never wanted to laugh so hard in my life, but I didn't, no way. He sang some operaish song and he would use his whole body and when he would hit a long note he would do this shoulder shimmy thing and then he would wiggle his hand in front of his mouth for vibrato(?) I literally pinched myself so I wouldn't laugh. BUt the lesson was good with Elisa. She wants to be baptized but she also has some problems with her legs recently so she hasn't been able to go to church. We also visited a less active family. It was a Mom- Beatrice, and Her daughter- Emily. And Guess What! She lived in North Carolina for 15 years! She doesn't speak English, but she worked as a nurse at UNC! Small world, huh? Anyways she was at church Sunday and she brought her novio (boyfriend, he is not a member) And we are going to have a family home evening with them this week! Also we made arroz con leche in our room that night- sooo goood!

Saturday- Saturday was pretty hard cause it was like a holiday here. They were celebrating some Santo this week so everyone was at fiestas. We visited with Segundo again- he hit a milestone. He is pretty shy and never wants to pray out loud during the lessons but today he did! Yay, he's sweet. I just wanna hug him. Also we visited with Kat(h)y (our pensionista) she is also a recent convert, and read with her. And then we just walked for forever. Yeah there were a ton of fiestas that night. And alot of people out in the street drinking. They party hard here.

LOMO SALTADO - YUMMY!!!!

Sunday: Church is hard sunday cause I really have for focus for 3 hours to understand what people are saying. But the end of church my brain is frrriiied. Also A homeless crazy lady showed up at the capilla. A couple people told us to stay away from her cause she was a little peligroso (dangerous). We went into our meeting and they shut to doors and some Hermanos helped her. After that we went and had Lunch with some members- LOMO SALTADO!! So gooood. and sopa de zapallo. All the food here is soo good! When we left there were some people on a street corner and they were all smiling and jabbering away and one of them held out his hand to shake mine and so i shook it, but then he didn't let go! SO I kinda jerked it out and then we walked away.. He was drunnnk! I thought he was just a happy peruvian guy (well I guess he was) but yeah i need to learn to differentiate between drunk spanish and regular spanish- it all sounds the same to me. We visited with another less active family. It was a mom and her daughter Christina. They are so sweet and the want us to come back and have a FHE with the rest of their family this week. They are the cutest and niiicest! We also visited with Gianni- he is a less active member also. He is craaaazy! He is 33 and skinny and a little bit taller than me. And he can talk your ear off! But he is cool. He is the one that speaks english. Just the way he talks is so funny- he says the darndest things. And he gave us some pastries from the restaurant he works at. I'm seriously gonna get fat here. No Bueno.

Yeah so this week was great- I wrote a lot and that wasn't even the half of it!
I am reading the Scriptures- really really reading- the scriptures for the first time and I am getting so much out of it. I'm getting giddy like a little kid Christmas eve because the dates at the chapter headings are getting smaller and smaller. (I'm at 6 B.C!) Y'all the scriptures are great. Everyone should really read them every day. Its impossible to read them and not know that they are true, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God- and it compliments the Bible so perfectly!

K I'm short on time! Love you guys and I love this Gospel and I looove Peru! !
With Love from Lima