Week of Birthdays

This week was more learning about the mission and getting our feet wet.  Presidente Chipman wants us to attend lots of meetings, meet people and get a feel for where we can do the most good - and then just do it.  We accompanied a missionary companionship on Thursday evening.  They had two lessons scheduled, but one had to reschedule, so we went to just the one.  She was a single woman with a daughter living at home.  We met her at the back of the restaurant where she worked.  They were doing street repair, so the street was closed down and they weren't doing much business, but it was very noisy.  A ward member had referred her to the missionaries.  The missionaries were from the States and spoke very good Spanish.  We introduced ourselves and they taught her the plan of salvation.  She seemed very receptive.  Tim bore his testimony and told her how much God loves her which obviously touched her.  I am learning how to bear my testimony in Spanish.  It will come.  She did set up a time for a second lesson.

After the lesson we tried contacting a list of people the bishop had given the missionaries.  We were impressed with how well they knew the area.  The addresses here are not easy.  Not many people were home, but the missionaries were able to get the name and number of a neighbor to contact later.  There were lots of dogs, dusty roads and a little rain.  It was a good time!

We also went to the mission home last week to observe the process of assigning missionaries to their areas (the transfer board).  We are getting about 24 new missionaries this week and only losing about 11 who have finished their missions.  So Presidente Chipman is opening some new areas and switching some things around.  It was interesting to watch the process and helpful in getting to know who the missionaries are.  

Monday was Hermana Chipman's birthday, Wednesday was Presidente Chipman's birthday and Sunday was Tim's birthday.  We felt very proud that we were able to find and walk to a flower shop.  We bought flowers and chocolate for Dave and Lisa and then jumped in a taxi to the mission home where we ate soup together on Tuesday (in between the birthdays).  Then Saturday the Chipmans took us to lunch for Tim's birthday.  

We then walked to an outdoor market near the city center that was pretty cool.  This is far enough from our apartment that we'd have to take a taxi both ways.

We are still figuring out the whole shopping, cooking, no car in Peru thing.  But we are getting better at it.  We walk to the store and take a taxi home since we have large heavy bags.  However, we need to go to different stores for different things, so that's tricky.  I think I will be cooking chicken in a lot of different ways.

Saturday was our p-day, so before birthday lunch, we walked to pick up Tim's shirts from the lavandería. We then happened upon this cemetery not far from our apartment.

I guess it's common here to stack the coffins.  Some look to be buried, but many are stacked like this.  The gardens were very pretty.

This statue of Jesus has a vine coming out of his head attached to the tree.  We looked up John 15:5. "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

Here is a short video by Elder Jeffrey R Holland entitled "True Vine"