Last week we went out with two sister missionaries. Their first appointment rescheduled, so we walked to a large park and started talking to a Venezuelan man who was there with his daughter. Since I don't understand Spanish, I thought I would be most helpful if I kept an eye on his daughter so they could talk. She was very cute. I'd guess she was about 4. They talked long enough that it was time to head to the missionaries' next appointment. We were also able to speak briefly to a man walking his dog on our way to the apartment and gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet.
We then entered a very large, high security apartment complex. There was a security guard who took photos of our DNI cards. The elevators had a place to swipe a key card as well. Our apartment complex has a doorman and locked doors, but it isn't that high security. Actually, many places here have spikes, or broken glass on the walls and fences so you can't climb them, and all the church buildings are gated. Dispite all that, I don't feel unsafe here. The young missionaries get their phones stolen a lot though. An elder last week told us he was crossing the street, and a car rushed by with a guy hanging out the window who grabbed his phone right out of his hands. And a lot of the missionaries are pickpocketed on the very crowded buses. We aren't in danger of that - we aren't smart enough to figure out the bus system, and too proud to squeeze on there if we could figure it out.
This shows the spikes. I need to get a photo of the broken glass.
This is Tim waiting for a taxi in front of the stake center/mission office. All the church buildings are walled in like this with gates that lock.
Anyway, we taught a young women in her early twenties and her mom about the Plan of Salvation and the Fall of Adam. A young returned missionary also joined us for the lesson. I tried bearing my testimony in English while one of the sisters translated, but it is hard to participate when you don't know the exact context of what was taught while choosing your words carefully so they can be translated. Spanish is coming very slow for me.
We also celebrated my birthday last week. Our cleaning lady, Marian, who is also in our ward, invited us to lunch with the office missionaries for my birthday. One of the office missionaries also had a birthday that day. Marian is their pensionista and makes the office missionaries lunch and dinner each day. In fact, her daughter's birthday was that week as well and they threw a large Latin style party for her over the weekend at the church. We were invited, but had an appointment at 7:15. The invitation said the party started at 6:00. Knowing all Pervuians show up late (to church, baptisms, meetings etc.) we arrived at 6:30 so we could wish her a happy birthday before our appointment. The cultural hall was all decked out with decorations, tons of food and a DJ was playing. However, only the grandma and her friend were there. We later learned the party didn't get going until about 8:00 and didn't wind down until 1:00 am (at the church). That's how they do things here.
Marian owns a bakery and made two cakes. Note the Inca Kola to the left.
These are the office missionaries. Elder Sanders with the pink tie turned 20 that day.
We then went to dinner the night before my birthday with the Chipmans and the VanDusens (office couple). This was dessert - Yum!!
The new missionaries were arriving the next day, so we celebrated before they got in. One of the North Americans didn't receive his visa in time, so we ended up with 5 Latins (Peru and Guatemala) and 1 American (Utah). It was a very small group this time. Only 1 sister.
On my birthday, Tim and I went hat shopping. A lot of people wear hats here because the sun is very strong.
We then went to lunch and I had ceviche (the next best thing to sushi). The Peruvian missionaries love ceviche, but aren't allowed to eat it because you have to be careful where you get it from. They are always very disappointed when they arrive to find this out. We also went to the free museum that had been closed the week before. This was the most interesting thing we saw there:
The next day we helped send the new missionaries off to their new assignments. Only one stayed in town and the others were bused to outlying areas. A couple days before we took the office missionaries to lunch. Two of the missionaries were being transferred outside Arequipa and we wanted to do something to thank them for their help.
This is a great little sandwich shop in the center of Arequipa. Elder Sanders (back right) and Elder Verastegui (front right, striped sweater) were leaving for other areas. You can tell who the Peruvians are because they are wearing sweaters in 75 degree sunny weather. Both of them speak very good English.
After sending the missionaries to the office, we then left with the Chipmans for the Pedregal District Conference. As part of the mission presidency (Executive Secretary), Tim helps present the numbers and stats during the leadership meeting. On the way, just outside of Arequipa, the traffic came to a dead stop. After about a half hour, we figured we weren't going anywhere anytime soon, so we turned around and mapped out an alternative route. Suffice it to say, a 2 hour drive turned into a 4 hour drive. President Chipman had to move back the presidency meeting for that night.
We stayed at a hotel a couple of miles from the church and woke up to a large gathering across the street of what must have been an evangelical church. Lots of music and preaching very loudly. Church for us didn't start until 11:00 because many members come from far away in buses for the conference. At 10:00 we went down to the parking garage to head to the church only to find that one of the buses for the gathering across the street had blocked the exit to the garage. The hotel owner ran over to try to find the driver to no avail. So we all (Chipmans, 1st Counselor and his wife, and the other secretary and his son) flagged down mototaxis:
The bus blocking the exit
Tim flagging down the mototaxi. We passed this one off to the Chipmans.
The Chipmans in the mototaxi
A little negotiation
They were pretty slow, so I enjoyed the irony of the Ferrari logos inside.
Time to pay up
Hermana Chipman took these videos:
Tim and I arriving at the church
A little taste of Pedregal
The conference went well and we made it home in record time this time. You never know what you will encounter on the Peruvian roads. Case in point, the 2nd counselor of the mission and his wife were driving home to Arequipa about a month ago and came across a motorcycle accident. The rider had hurt his leg badly. With no 911 here, they put him in the back of their car while Hermana Sheely put pressure on his wound. Apparently, there was blood everywhere. They had about a 30 minute drive to Arequipa and the nearest hosptial. At the hospital, he later incurred an infection in his leg and the missionaries have been praying for him. The infection is now in his foot and he may lose it. He has received a blessing and we are looking for a miracle. Tim and I will need to be verrrrrrrry sick before we go to a hospital here. We will definitely fly home if needed.
Last week the mission office asked me to take over the Mission Bulletin. They gave me a little training and I sent it out on Friday. I plan to do a new one each transfer (about every 6 weeks). I thought I'd share a little quiz I put in the bulletin and some of the answers from the missionaries. So, on our way to Pedregal we came upon this sign on the back of a truck:
I asked the missionaries to tell me what the sign means and the most creative and the most accurate would get a Snickers bar. Here are the winners (of course, I had to translate them):
This was the most creative: "It means the time is close to the 2nd coming and we must accelerate the effort to be able as missionaries to catch people like fish that are dying for lack of water...the living water that is Christ and that we take them along the paths of the covenants so that they may receive the baptism of water and fire so that they may be saved and find hope."
This was the most accurate: "It is a warning of an environmental danger. It means that the materials being transported are dangerous for the environment, in this case for marine life organisms.
Create assumption: Fist that falls asleep is carried away by the current."
Honorable mention:
"It is a photograph of a very abandoned desert city where there was no water, therefore there was no baptism and the little fish died for that reason."
This one was accurate, but a late submission: "That is a warning that what you are carrying can contaminate everything that is there, both the vegetation and the animals along the coast or rivers, and it is a reminder not to hit it because it can do terrible damage to the environment!!!"
And finally, this one made me laugh: "The answer to the symbol survey is that we cannot eat ceviche on this mission."
While we were in Pedregal, our friend Alicia was baptized. We were sorry to miss the baptism, so we asked she and her boyfriend, Brayan, over to dinner on Sunday to celebrate. They are a great couple and we had a nice time. Brayan is already a member and a returned missionary. Alicia is going to the temple for the first time on Saturday and invited us to be there, which we are looking forward to. Alicia is now contemplating going on a mission, but she needs to wait a year, so we'll see where life takes her.
This is Alicia and Brayan and the missionaries who taught her
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