We've been back from Chivay since Easter Sunday, so I have a lot to catch up on, but I'll focus on the highlights.
Each Tuesday, we visit district councils. One Tuesday we went to the Pichu Pichu Zone for district council. We took a taxi to a church building and the gates were locked. So we had to get another taxi to go to the correct church and the driver got lost. To say the least and with all the traffic and crazy drivers we were pretty late. But we were able to set up with the same sister missionaries to go teach the mother and 16 year old daughter again. The mother was baptized while we were in Chivay, but her daughter is getting baptized in a couple of days. We took a taxi out to that lesson and the driver bemoaned the whole time because we didn't have the exact address (the missionaries had sent us a pin). He also got a little lost and we were late to that lesson. There is a theme here.
Two weeks ago we visited the missionaries in the Misti Zone and it happened again. We went to the wrong church and had to get another taxi to get us to the right church. This time we didn't get lost, but it was frustrating. From there we arranged to go out with two elders teaching the next evening. We met them at the temple where they had a lesson with two sisters. These sisters have a date for baptism later this month. We sat in the annex and gave a lesson about temples and the sisters had some really good, thoughtful questions. We were able take them inside the temple to a special waiting room where they could pray and ponder. We waited outside the room and actually were able to speak to the counselor in the temple presidency who agreed to meet with then and answer any questions. It was a great experience and even with my terrible language skills, I could feel a strong spirit.
We took a taxi to their ward that Sunday (we didn't get lost, but we made it barely on time), where we met the young daughter of one of the sisters (she is single). We plan to attend their baptism as well. The missionaries told us that they met one of the sisters one evening when they had made a goal to walk up a hill and talk to everyone one along the way. They stopped in a tienda and spoke to the sister that was there. They asked her what she would say to Jesus if he were standing right there in front her at that moment. She started to cry because she had no idea. It's a great thing to think about.
Then last week was missionary transfers. Tim and I helped out a lot this time because Hermana Chipman had gone home for a medical procedure and the office couple had family in town. About 16 missionaries finished their mission and went home last Monday. We helped to send them off and took lots of photos. They watched a slide show of the mission and then we all took turns and bore our testimony. I read mine in Spanish. It was a great experience. Then they loaded up on a bus and went to the airport. I got a little emotional watching them leave.
Then Friday, the mission received 15 new missionaries. We met them at the hotel and helped get them settled and ate lunch with them while President Chipman interviewed them and the missionaries called home - and many more photos were taken. We then went to the mission office to set up for orientation the next day. The mission office is in a church building and when we arrived the next morning for the orientation, the ward had taken down everything we set up - so that was fun. We helped with the orientation and the missionaries received their assignment and then they were on their way. Some had a 7 hour bus ride to look forward to. It's more like 4 to 5 hours by car. We also ate dinner with them the night before which is fun to get to know them.
This week we went to district council meeting in Pedragal. It is about 2 hours away. The mission driver drove us out there. Yes, we were 10 minutes late. We had a great visit and went out with the missionaries (and driver) to lunch after the meeting. There were about 13 of us. The missionaries told us the restaurant was safe and was just down the street. After walking about a mile or so, we arrived. Not quite as close as we envisioned. It's always fun to get to know the missionaries.
On the drive back, we stopped in La Joya and dropped off one of the companionships. We then met with their pensionista to go over the new contract. Her husband is the branch president there and she was super pregnant - any day pregnant. They struggle financially and just have a one room home with a bed for them and one for their daughter, a small dining table with plastic stools and a worn out couch. I never saw the kitchen and the toilet was in a closet with clothes hanging to dry. We left there thinking that we need to come up with a way to help them. The next day she went into labor and had a beautiful baby boy. The hospital conditions is a whole other story.
Other things we work on:
Running English Connect
Surveying the missionaries re a pilot program the mission is participating in regarding phones. I sent out a survey to the missionaries (in Spanish😬) and then summarized their answers. An area authority will be here the beginning of May and we want to present him with the data.
Helping with medical records for the missionaries
Working on creating a stake out on the coast.
Meeting with the pensionistas.
Attend meetings.
Anything President Chipman needs help with at the last minute to lighten his load.
Our goal this week is to give ourselves a lot more time to get places and to be sure we know exactly where to go and what the address is - no more being late.
