We are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints and we know that it is our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we serve. We would not be so far from our family and our home if we did not know that this is His true gospel that has been restored to the earth in the Latter days. Anyone can know if this is true by praying about it and reading the Book of Mormon. Some good people that we have talked to have told us that they already know Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as their Savior. But we say to you, that if you want to feel even closer to Jesus Christ and understand His atonement, then you can read the Book of Mormon and go to the Sunday services of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. You will feel closer to Jesus Christ and understand his atonement in a way that you never have before in your life. If you truly love Jesus Christ, then we are sure that you would want this. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it is a witness of Christ unlike anything else on this earth. It was translated by a prophet of God, Joseph Smith, and we have a living prophet on the earth today. We invite everyone to find out if these things are true.

                                          President and Sister Nuñez, our traveling companions.
                                          President Nuñez works for the church. He is over all
                                          the facilities in Chiclayo. He has actually helped us a lot
                                          with our apartment.

This place is starting to grow on me. It hit me last Sunday as we were driving home from a Conference. It's hard to explain, but it just felt like everything was the way it was supposed to be. Despite the garbage, the dust, the traffic, and the not so great food, it is definitely a unique and interesting place. If it was just like home and there were no challenges, then it would not be a great experience. One thing I find interesting is that many people who own a business, here in Peru, run it from their own home. Also, there are stores and businesses all over the place that are extremely hard to find and that you would never know were there. One day we went to a popular bakery, our maid had told us about, to buy a cake for a birthday. We had to ask other people where it was in order to find it. It was tucked away in a residential area between homes, with no sign. A lot of advertising here is done by word of mouth.


We were in Cajamarca last week and visited the home of one of our pensionistas (women who serve meals to the missionaries in their homes.) This woman and her family own a bakery. The bakery is in front of the home. Behind is the kitchen with dirt and concrete floors, no countertops and no refrigerator. Across from the kitchen was a huge room with a wood burning oven. There was only a huge old table covered in flour to do the kneading and mixing on. There were many wood shelves full of fresh rolls, pastries and croissants. We were given moon shaped bread that had a sweet caramel type of filling inside, similar to manjar blanco, which is very popular here. The bread was warm and delicious. Who would think that in this primitive place, something so wonderful could be created? The pensionista just kept giving us more and more bread to eat. We could not resist because it was dinner time, we were hungry, and it was so delicious. The living quarters were somewhere behind the business. It was very interesting. Sometimes the home is upstairs over the business. 

The next day we had a training meeting for all the pensionistas. This same woman attended and when asked to write down her name on a list, she asked another woman to write it for her. She declined the booklet that we handed out to all the pensionistas. I realized that she could not read or write and yet, she can make delicious fresh bread. What an amazing talent! I assume she does not need to refer to a recipe. She has an incredible gift that makes many people happy, including the missionaries. We met her four year old son, who had his growth stunted from an operation. He is the size of a one-two year old, but speaks and acts like a four year old. I watched him use his "freezing powers" on one of the missionaries. He was so dang cute!

Last week we were on the road for five days in a row. It was rewarding, but tiring. We drove to Cajamarca on Wednesday, had a meeting until 9:00 pm, then ate fruit and chips for dinner. My diet has definitely taken a turn for the worse! Thursday morning we had another training meeting, then spent the rest of the day driving all over Cajamarca looking at apartments for new missionaries coming to the area. Of the four rooms that we had appointments to look at, we only saw one. The owners had many varied reasons why we could not look at them. We also inspected some of the missionarie's apartments. For the most part they were pretty clean and well cared for. But very small. At one apartment a little dirty puppy started following us and crying. I did not know how to help him. I don´t know if there are any animal shelters in Peru

.                                         Views of the Andes mountains on the highway to
                                           Cajamarca.

We had our pensionista training meeting on Friday, then had the best turkey sandwich that I think I have had in my life, or at least it tasted like it at the moment. I had been craving a turkey sandwich ever since we came here, but they are very hard to find. There are two chains of grocery stores here. They are called Metro and Tottus. All of the malls here have a grocery store in them. So we went to the mall in Cajamarca and there was a huge Metro. That is where I found the turkey sandwich. There was a fresh roasted turkey sitting right in the window of the deli and it said, "Sandwich de pavo." (turkey sandwich) I could not believe it. So all four of us that were traveling together got one. The woman who made them took great pride in making them perfect. She grilled the turkey with a traditional hot sauce called "rojos", then put it on bread with mayonnaise, mustard, tomatoes and lettuce. It tasted so good!

After lunch, we made the long windy drive home. We were pretty worn out when we got home Friday evening and yet, my poor husband had three talks to prepare for a District Conference on Saturday and Sunday.  We have two districts in our mission. They are made up of branches and function much like a stake, except that the District President has limited responsibilities. Mark is considered the Stake President and has to do all temple recommend interviews, other interviews, church courts and District Conferences.

                                                    Check out the bottom of the pink box.
                                                    Preside: Pdte Mark L. Williams
                                         
So, on Saturday, we left again to go to the Guadalupe District Conference. Mark had a Priesthood Training Meeting and we did a training meeting with all the women leaders in the District; Relief Society, Primary and Young Women. Mark assured me that I was just to attend and that the other three women were going to do the training. I sat talking with these women for an hour and a half before the meeting and then one minute before it started, they asked if I would give a welcome to the women! It really would have been nice to have a little more notice when I do not know the language very well! I do not understand the way things are done here sometimes! I am learning to just be prepared anywhere I go. I am developing a whole file of talks and testimonies.

                                          Sister Nuñez and I. She is gorgeous and has been very
                                           kind and helpful to me. Wish I could communicate
                                           better with her.

I had a very interesting and surprising experience because they asked another American lady to come and translate for me and to help with the meeting. We started talking and she casually asked me where I grew up. I said that I grew up in Modesto, CA. She said, "Really!? I lived there for a few years!" She moved there after I had already left and got married and my family had moved also, but it turns out that she was in my former ward and lived on the same street where I grew up! Then she said that we probably knew some of the same people and asked, "Do you know the Jeppsons?" I just started to laugh. Many of you know that Leslie Jeppson was and is my best friend and that her parents were like second parents to me growing up. I just love them dearly. Well, apparently, after her mission to Texas, this woman had babysat Leslie's kids and they became very good friends. Her maiden name was Amy Haight. She is married now to a Peruvian man that lived in the United States for fifteen years. It is such a small world in the church! Unbelievable!

So I sat in this room on extremely uncomfortable hard chairs for three and a half hours. The women's meeting started thirty minutes late and got out late, five minutes before the Adult Evening Session. Sitting for so many hours (including the 11/2 hour drive there) made it kind of a long night, but the talks were excellent. The other speakers got a little long-winded and did not leave any time for Mark to speak. He literally spoke for three minutes. It was late and the saints were spent, so he did the right thing. Despite being short, it was actually an amazing talk and several members told him they would never forget that talk. He gave a quote by Elder Bednar saying that we are not the ones hastening the work, the Lord is the one hastening the work. Then he asked all of his missionaries to stand up. (I forgot to stand up. I keep forgetting that I am a missionary too!) All of the fulltime missionaries stood up. Then he said it again, "Will all of my missionaries stand up!" One lady finally got it and stood up and the rest of the congregation followed and stood up also. It was a memorable lesson for everyone there!

After the meeting, my new friend Amy, asked Mark if he knew anyone who played the piano. He said, "Yea, my wife!" The San Pedro Branch had gotten a choir together and had practiced three numbers for the Conference, but did not have anyone to play the piano, so I had the priviledge of playing for them. It was a wonderful experience and so fun practicing with them. They knew the songs well and sang with all their hearts. I got goosebumps as they sang "The Spirit of God." It is one Spanish hymn that is almost better in the translation. The chorus ends up rhyming as they sing, "Cantemos, Gritemos!" (We sing, we shout!) I think I will always love that hymn in Spanish from now on!



My new friend Chandre. He really liked me and was
going to take my picture, but I invited him to be in the
photo with me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
The Conference was wonderful! Mark and I were the concluding speakers. We both felt that the Lord blessed us so much with our talks. This was the first "real" talk that I have given and I was nervous, but the Lord gave me so much strength. I did not falter or lose my place one time and I was speaking in a foreign tongue. It was truly amazing! Mark said that my talk was a miracle and it really was! He also felt the Lord's help as words came to him in a rapid way that he had never felt before. His talk truly was powerful and so inspiring. Inactivity is a big problem here in Peru. There are 3,000 members in this District and only 500 of them are active. He asked the members to pray about at least one person that they could reach out to and rescue. The "rescatar" is receiving a big push from the Area Presidency here in our Area. It is what they have asked us to do and I have learned that my husband always does what he is asked to do! We are seeing miracles in the work here and know that they will continue as we do the                                                                     Lord's will.

Cambios Pegueña y Grande

We made it through our first transfer last week. It was pretty intense. The transfer day was actually Tuesday, August 12, but it started on Sunday for both of us. Mark was at the office that day for about five hours doing Exit Interviews. I was at home getting started on cooking the food because I had two huge meals to prepare.

Monday, the missionaries departing are given about eight hours of training on how to prepare for and get a job and basically be successful in the real world, so Mark was involved with that all day. I was at home cooking with Edna. She is such a great help. She cuts up fruit and vegetables so fast, like it is just nothing. I spent most of the day making 32 cinnamon rolls for the breakfast Tuesday morning, while Edna cut up fruit for a fruit salad. Then we prepared a roast, carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy and salad for a special dinner for the eight missionaries leaving that night.  They arrived at our house at about 5:30 pm. We ate dinner and had dessert; brownies, ice cream and hot fudge sauce. Lastly, we had a short testimony meeting so they could all express their final thoughts. It was wonderful. Next we went to the airport to say goodbye.

One special missionary from Honduras, really made his way into my heart in a short time. I only talked to him about three times, but in my interview with him, he said how much he loved us and that he wished he could be in the mission longer to get to know us better. I told him I felt the same. I cannot express how much we do not want the really good missionaries to leave. Inside I felt like I wanted to just grab on to them and yell, "No, don,t go!!!!!" But I knew it was time. They had given their service and their time. I told this particular missionary that I would miss him and thanked him for his service. His reply, "Thank you for loving me." My heart melted and I said, "That was easy Elder." I still miss him.

These Latino missionaries are so cute and so sweet and loving. We have many that are converts to the church and I love to hear the story of their conversions. Several are the only members in their family. One hermana told me of her abusive family and the troubles in her life, until the missionaries knocked on her door. Their message gave her hope and courage and changed her life. Now she is serving in our mission as a Sister Training Leader. One sister from Lima with a cute, bubbly personality just brightened up my day when I interviewed her. I mentioned my love for the missionaries and she said, "But you love the sisters the best!" I said, "Of course! But don,t tell the elders, it will just be our secret!" She replied, "Yes, it,s our secret!!"

Elder Asqui: Only member in his family and only a member one year before his mission. He is awesome! He left the field as a Zone Leader.

On Tuesday morning, we were at the airport again at 7:30 am to greet 20 new missionaries, 18 from the United States and two from South America, 15 elders and 5 hermanas. What a great group! They got up at 2:00 am to get on their early flight and they all looked pretty shellshocked when they first got off the plane. I just remember how I felt the first night I came here. It seemed like such a strange world. We put them all on a bus and whisked them to Pimentel Beach. Mark gave them a little presentation and had them each burn a paper boat to represent the boats that the Spanish burned when they came to the New World. We had a small explosion in one of the garbage cans with water when an elder accidentally dropped his lighter in it. I thought we were going to have our first casuality in the mission. It literally took all the hair off his arm as he had his arm in the garbage can when it exploded. It reminded me of a mishap the mission president had when he was younger. He lit some gasoline in a cap and it blew up in his face. He did not have any eyebrows or lashes for a while!

Next we went to the mission home for breakfast. Thirty-two people, including us, the office elders the twenty greenies and two helpers, feasted on cinnamon rolls, fruit salad, cereal and yogurt. (The yogurt in Peru is drinkable. I,m still not used to that!) Then we gave some medical advice and words of welcome. Next they walked to the mission office. We met all of the transfer missionaries in the chapel. Mark and I spoke, the new missionaries introduced themselves and then transfers were announced. Last of all, the greenies found out who their new companions were and where in the mission they were going. It was a pretty exciting morning!

For the rest of the afternoon, Mark and I interviewed all of the new missionaries. What an interesting experience. These are our first group of missionaries that will be in the mission the whole time with us! They are completely ours! I asked each one of them how they decided to go on a mission and it was so wonderful to hear that they had come on their missions for the right reasons; because they have testimonies, they want to bring the gospel and the atonement to others and because the gospel has been such a blessing in their lives. One poor missionary was really bewildered. He had already been to his apartment and realized this was not luxury living. Some of them had red eyes and were about to fall asleep, but they were all choice young adults and had a great desire to serve. The eighteen year olds seem sooooooo young! We did not get home until 8:00 pm that night. It was a long day.

                                           Sister Trainer Leaders: The Best of the Best!

This past weekend we had our first Stake Conference and visit with a general authority. It was a choice experience. Elder Grow of the seventy came to reorganize the Chiclayo Central Stake. Mark picked him up at the airport Friday evening. He had dinner with us and then talked to us and answered our questions for 2 or 3 hours. He is such a kind and gracious person. We really enjoyed having him in our home. Mark spoke at all three sessions; Priesthood Leadership, Adult evening and the Sunday morning session. Saturday evening, Elder Grow had us stand up to introduce us. Then he said, "We will let Sister Williams rest tonight but tomorrow she will give a thirty minute talk!" I am so glad he was only joking.

The Sunday morning session was incredible. The outpouring of the Spirit was overwhelming. I felt such joy in feeling the love that these saints have for the gospel and for the Lord. They had a special youth choir and they all looked so nice. The young women had on white blouses and black skirts and the young men wore suits and ties. They were all so clean and beautiful. I have not ever talked much about the music in Peru but it is a little different than what we are used to in the United States. There are no organs, only pianos, and they rarely get played. Most Peruvian services and baptisms are sung a capella. Without accompaniment. They have done this so much, that they sing a lot of the hymns in their own special way. Sometimes it takes me a minute to figure out what they are singing. They are not the best singers. There is no harmony, but they love to sing and they sing the hymns with all their hearts.

This choir did not have the best sound I have ever heard, but as I looked into their faces, I knew that they meant every word they were singing and it greatly touched my heart. The choir diector was so cute. You would have thought he was directing the Tabernacle Choir. He was very expressive in his conducting and was enjoying every moment of the production. He had created a special arrangement of "Come, Come ye Saints and the youth were happy to follow his every "command", just like the Sons of Helaman. Ha ha! Mark and I were asked to bear our testimonies. After the meeting, the saints rushed the stage. We could not get off the stage for quite some time. The good part was that I got to hug almost every young woman and shake the hands of the young men in the choir and thank them for their service that day.

Peruvians are very affectionate people and they believe in hugs and kisses. I have received so many since I have been here. We have really felt the love and the welcome of these people. I love to see the elders in our mission hug each other when they see one other. In the United States that might seem strange, but they are not afraid to show their love and affection for each other. Of course, I am not allowed to hug the elders, but I get lots of hugs from the hermanas and sometimes I forget and almost hug one of the elders! I can,t wait until I,m not a missionary any more. When I see these elders again, I hope to give them a big hug!

                                          Sister Trainer Leaders meeting in Mark,s Office. There
                                           are sisters everywhere, thank goodness!

                                          Missionaries who completed their first twelve weeks of
                                           Training (12 sisters and 1 elder) with their companions

El Presidente, Mi Esposo

There have been some challenges with living in Peru. Most public toilets do not have toilet paper, so you always have to be prepared. I always carry my package of Kleenex in my purse and we have toilet paper in our car. Many public toilets do not have a seat on them, so you get to do a squatting action that is very glamorous! The computer paper here is a different size! It is longer than our paper. I thought paper was a universal size, but apparently it is not. We have done a lot of cutting since we have been here. We always have to have a cup of water in order to brush our teeth. I always forget and have to make a trip back to the kitchen. That is the only room where we have filtered water.

Last Monday, I walked with two Hermanas who were trying to find a machine where they could get some cash. We walked all over and even took a taxi and after visiting four machines, we could not find one that was working. Saturday I went to get my hair cut and to get a few groceries. We have a copy of our passport that has been notarized that we use for ID. It is considered a perfectly legal document and most of the time we have had no problem. But every now and then we get an ignoramus who thinks they are smarter than we are, who refuses to accept the ID. So Saturday was my lucky day and the lady would not accept my ID. I decided to just go outside and get some cash. There were three machines. Two were not working and one had a line of ten people. Mark finally sent two missionaries to come and pay for the groceries for me.

One Friday night, Mark and I decided to go and get some groceries that we needed for a dinner. We found out that Friday night is not a good time to go shopping, even at 10:00 o,clock. The lines were all 10-12 people long. We waited about 40 minutes to check out and then when we got there, they would not accept our ID. Mark put up a great fight, but they still would not take it, even though we had used it there a dozen times before. Everything always ends up being so difficult! I hope I do not sound overly negative, but this is the truth of our life.

The missionaries have expressions here, when strange things happen or things do not work, like; "Only in Peru!" or "Because we are in Peru!" I heard a new exppression the other day. Some of the missionaries talk about their "Peruvian moments". So here are a few of our Peruvian Moments. Women pulling out there full breast to nurse their fussy baby in the checkout line or in church. That still really shocks me. Men urinating on the side of the road in full view of traffic. Last week in Cajamarca, right in the middle of the city, a girl pulled down her pants, squatted right on the sidewalk, urinated, then got back up and pulled her pants up. As one missionary put it, a lot of Peruvians do not have privacy issues like we do.

Now to happier thoughts: my wonderful husband! I think he is amazing and has handled so many difficult situations in such a wise and confident manner. I have heard him answer questions I did not know how to answer and handle situations I did not know how to handle. He seems to always know the right thing to say. After one such situation on the phone, I commented on how well he had handled some difficult questions from a missionary. He commented that he hoped he was not only wise, but also directed by the Spirit. I know that he is.

                                            Presidente Williams, Mi Esposa and the love of my
                                            life. There is no where else on earth I would rather be
                                            than with him!


There was one situation when he maybe did not say the right thing. One day we had a maintenance man here removing a sink that we did not want in our bathroom. Our maid, Edna, took me in the bathroom and asked me if we wanted the bidet (look it up) removed next to our toilet. I was not sure and called Mark to come and look at it. He came and Edna asked him if he wanted it taken out.  Mark said that no, it was fine. Then he said, "I mean, I don,t use it." Then turning to Edna, "Do you use it?" This was all in Spanish, so it took me a second to realize what he had just said. Wow! That could have been an awkward moment, but I laughed out loud and said, "I can,t believe you just said that!" Mark swears that was not what he meant! He wondered if she used the bidet for cleaning. I kept laughing and noticed that Edna and the maintenance man were laughing too!

The mall (Real Plaza) is the nicest place in Chiclayo. And the most like the United States. There is toilet paper in the bathroom (very rare in Peru), lots of American stores, McDonald,s, KFC and Chili,s! A week ago Saturday, we decided to actually go on a date and spend the evening together. We started by having dinner at Chili,s. It was very early for Peruvian dinner times, so the restaurant was not overly busy and it was even a little bit quiet. It was so nice to just sit there and talk to each other. We ordered tortilla chips with guacamole, burger bites and fries, great American food! It tasted so good! After our food came, I realized the music playing in the background was even American music. I could sit there, and as long as I did not look out the window, I could imagine that I was in the United States. It felt so good to be back home.

In front of the Lima, Peru Temple

About three weeks ago, after our trip to Jaen, we had to go to Lima for one night to do some paper work for our Visas. So the day after the day we had just returned home, we flew on a late flight to Lima. The church is amazing. They always have have every detail of al these things that need to be done all figured out. When we got to Lima, a man was waiting to pick us up and drive us to our hotel, not a memeber of the church, but somebody hired by the church to do this. Little did we know that our hotel was an hour drive from the airport. When we finally got there, it was 1:00. Our room was gorgeous. (It was all they had available) It was extravagant: a huge jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, a huge shower, his and her toilets, a patio with a nice couch, a suite with a couch, etc. It was the nicest room we have ever stayed in our whole life and we got to enjoy it for five hours. We had to be up at 6:00 am and ready to leave by 6:30 am. So much for a romantic night in Lima!


                                           The back of the Lima, Peru Temple

Here is what my husband does: He reads and responds to 170-230 emails from the missionaries each week. And most of them are written in Spanish. That is just what he does in his spare time; between interviewing missionaries, attending meetings, answering endless phone calls, taking care of crises, writing letters to Salt Lake, calling and meeting with Stake Presidents, meeting with and training his leaders, making changes and transfers every six weeks, going to the airport and making lots of road trips.

Despite all of this, he somehow manages to let me know, in small ways, that my wants and needs are very important to him. Then, even though we have had very little quality time together, I feel such gratitude for him and to be married to such a wonderful person who always lets me know that he cares about me. Last weekend, we traveled to Cajamarca for our second time. It was a quick trip to interview 26 missionaries that we had not met with yet. We left Friday morning about 8:00 am and got there by 1:15 pm in order to begin interviewing at 2:00 pm. The plan was to get there in time to have lunch before we started, but that never happened. So by the time we finished interviewing at 7:00 and Mark met with a Stake President until 8:00, we were pretty tired and hungry.

We decided to go to the mall to find something to eat. The options were not that great, so we settled for Pizza Hut. We waited about 25 minutes to get our food (fast food is not fast here) and then finally sat down to eat. It turned out that what I had ordered was not appetizing to me at all; it did not look at all like the picture, so I took a few bites and pushed it aside. Mark was not happy about this, because he wanted to make sure my need for food was taken care of.  I mentioned that the chicken looked good, so my husband got up and went and stood in another line to get me some chicken, while his food sat on the table getting cold.

When we finished eating, we went to a department store. I had forgotten to bring a jacket and I was very cold. I keep forgetting it is winter here and Cajamarca is in the mountains and much colder than Chiclayo. So Mark went with me to the store, helped me find and pick out a sweater and then stood in another long line to purchase it for me. As I stood there watching him, I realized how lucky I am and knew that he would not want to be doing anything else right then, until he had taken care of me. And yet, I knew he was exhausted. He had been up late the night before, gotten up early, driven five hours on windy roads and interviewed missionaries for five hours. His next mission was to take care of me. No wonder I keep following him all over this earth!

Yesterday, Sunday, he went to extend a calling to a man who has served as a bishop for nine years. The Stake President is getting ready to release him and is afraid he will be very sad without a calling, so he suggested him as the new secretary that Mark needs in his presidency. The man did not know yet he was being released as a bishop, but when Mark asked him to serve as his secretary, he immediately said yes, without any hesitation. Mark was floored. He went on and said, the calling will require a lot of time and traveling. "Okay", he said. Then Mark found out that before being a bishop for nine years, he had served in a Stake Presidency for four years and as a bishop six years before that. Mark was so touched and amazed by this man,s willingness to serve. We were both very humbled and want to be as willing as this man is to serve in the Lord,s kingdom.

Los Misioneros

One Hundred Twenty. What does that number mean? It is not a percentage or a statistic. It is the number of missionaries that Mark and I interviewed last week; twenty four a day for five days in a row. It was incredible, but it was not easy. Especially in Spanish. Most of the time I can get the gist of what the misionaries are saying; most of the time. Then I go out and try to follow a conversation and I cannot understand a word that is being said. I know that the Lord continues to bless me and help me with the things that I really need to do.

So last week we went to a store called "Makro". It is the Peruvian equivalent of Costco in the United States. It has some products in bulk and some individual. Many that we would never use. We made three great finds; an air popper (that does not work very well), frozen berries and chocolate chips! They are a little different from Nestles, but they actually worked quite well. So, at the last minute, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies for some of the missionaries. As they came in for their interview, I presented them with one chocolate chip cookie. That was the best I could do with short notice. The reaction to those cookies was priceless.

                                           View from our apartment.

                                           View from our apartment.

                                          View from our apartment.

                                            Our lovely median. The truck is going over a rompe
                                             muelle (speed bump). There are no speed limits, just
                                             speed bumps right in the middle of the road to slow
                                             traffic down.

Some of these missionaries had never tasted a homemade chocolate chip cookie before. In South America, they are not really big on using ovens because they feel like the energy use is just too expensive and wasteful. So most do not do a lot of baking. One Latin sister took a few bites and said, "These cookies are going to be famous in Peru!" Several asked me how I made them. Another sister, later in the day, said, "These cookies are already famous!" Word was getting around that you got a delicious cookie at your interview. The North American,s reaction was the same, because they had not eaten a homemade cookie for so long. There was one elder who reached slowly toward the plate and I could swear that his hand was shaking. His only comment was "Oooooooooh!"

One thing that was impressed greatly on my mind  last week is that these humble obedient missionaries sacrifice a lot to serve their missions. Our missionaries in Peru do not cook for themselves. They have what is called a "pensionista". This is basically a person who cooks their meals for them and sometimes does their laundry. They go to the home of their pensionista for all their meals. Most of the missionaries do not have kitchens in their apartments so they are at the mercy of the pensionista for what they eat each day. They usually do not have any say about the menu. There are some exceptions. Peruvians eat a lot of rice and chicken. Most of the missionaries get huge piles of rice everyday. And they do not get to serve their own food and they are expected to eat whatever is on their plate. If not the pensionista may be offended and think they do not like the food. Sometimes they get a plate with rice, potatoes and pasta! Imagine what that would do to your system!

                                          Our driveway to the parking garage.

About two weeks ago, we had a sister with a doctor,s appointment that was late in the evening. It was too late and dangerous for she and her companion to make the two hour journey back to their area, so we invited them to stay the night with us. I cannot even tell you what a treat that was for them. They mentioned how they missed eating peanut butter. I casually said that I had peanut butter and they were welcome to have some. Their eyes lit up and they were almost jumping up and down. Then I casually asked if they would like it on toast. They both exclaimed, "Warm toast?" They could not believe it! They continued to react the same to cold milk, cold water and german pancakes with syrup. How many of us jump up and down at the thought of peanut butter or warm toast? I was so touched by their excitement for these foods we take for granted everyday.

Most of our missionaries do not have warm water either. One day I had this conversation with a missionary. Missionary: "We don,t have any warm water when we shower. There is a little heater there in the shower, but if you use it, you run the risk of an electrical shock while you are showering." Me: "An electrical shock!! That,s horrible!" Missionary: "It,s not a really big shock, but I do prefer the cold water rather than the shock." Me: "How can you take cold showers?" Missionary: "That,s just Peru!" We visited a sister apartment one day.  It was decent, neat and clean. But extremely bare. Three rooms: "living room", bedroom and bathroom. Furniture: two beds, two dressers, bookshelf, table and two chairs. At the time we visited them, they had two extra sisters from another area staying with them. One sister had a foot problem, so she needed both the chairs in order to keep her foot elevated. The others got to sit on the bed or stand. I was wondering where the comfortable couch was to chill on!

The missionaries in our mission are not allowed to drive. It is amazing how they manage to get around and go where they need to go. A very popular mode of travel here in Peru is called a "Combi". This is a large van that operates like a bus. The Combis have no schedule. You go to the Combi stop and you wait until one shows up. Then you wait until the Combi is full with other passengers. They will not leave until it is full. Every single seat.Then you drived over bumpy roads in an extremely full van with no air conditioning, of course! For many missionaries, this is a two hour trip. One missionary told me that in order to get to the interview, he and his companion had to ride in a Combi, then on a motorcycle "thing", and then take a taxi. What an adventure!

                                          The van on the road is a Combi. They are everywhere!

Now as I write of these experiences, once again I am touched by the dedication of these missionaries. All of our missionaries are willing to work and to sacrifice so much! Mark and I live in luxury compared to these missionaries. We have a three bedroom apartment with tile, two couches (plus chairs), warm water and a fully stocked kitchen. The inconveniences we have experienced are nothing compared to our valient missionaries.

I have interviewed many missionaries who are the only member of the church in their family. One of these missionaries told me how hard the first four months of his mission have been because he has received no support from his family. They are not happy he is serving and have not written him one time. I told him that the Lord knows him and the struggles he is having. I told him that the Lord knows of his sacrifice and that he will be blessed for it. It was a very tender moment for both of us as the Spirit bore witness to this truth. Maybe I needed to remember this also.This could be said of every missionary in our mission, or in the world, for that matter. The Lord knows them and what they are doing and he will not leave them comfortless. He will bless them and prosper them for what they have doing.

Los Santos de Peru

There is nothing that happens fast in Chiclayo, Peru. Nobody is ever in a hurry (except when they are driving!) For instance, if you ever need to eat on the road, you just know it will take an hour to an hour and a half. There is really no such thing as fast food. There is a McDonalds and KFC at the mall, but it is a totally inconvenient location. Also, when you order juice to drink, they make it right then, so it takes 15 minutes to get a drink of juice. It is inconvenient, but on the other hand, you know it is really fresh! We have had papaya, pineapple and limeade made this way. Another interesting thing, is that Peruvians do no like to drink their drinks cold. So a lot of times the juice is room temperature. Some classier restaurants will ask if you want the juice cold and bring ice. You always have to ask to get ice! Several people have told me this is because most Peruvians believe that cold drinks will give you a sore throat or make you sick, so they prefer to drink them warm.

I have talked a lot about foods I do not like, so here are some that I do like. I love the fresh limeade! I have been sick twice since we have been here, both times on a trip, and the fresh limeade was the only thing that sounded good to me at all. The seafood here is delicious, very fresh and prepared perfectly. They have a dish with rice and mariscos or camarones (shellfish or shrimp) with yummy corn and peas and good seasonings; I think it has curry and some other things. The most interesting thing that I think we have tried is a juice called chicha morada (purple corn juice). In the grocery stores, you see large amounts of this dried purple corn that I could not imagine how they ever made it appetizing to eat. Then I learned that they make purple juice with it. They boil the corn and season it with cinnamon and cloves and then strain it, and of course they add sugar, to get this unique juice which is really quite tasty. We tried it at a restaurant and we liked it!

I love to hear Peruvians talk. Most of them speak such beautiful Spanish. The way they roll their r,s is amazing! (By the way, there is no apostrophe on our Spanish keyboard) One word I have learned is "chevere". It is the equivalent of saying "cool" in English. I am curious if they say it in Chile also (I always forget to ask Eric.) It does not translate to any other meaning. The day we were in Chachapoyas, there were two hermanas at the church building waiting for an institue class to begin. Here in Peru, institute is usually on Saturday night. The girls were 19 and 20 years old, but looked much younger. One was studying to be a veterinary and one to be a lawyer. Pretty impressive, just like most LDS young adults! They began talking to me and were very interested in me, maybe because I am an "American". They were very patient in listening to my very slow Spanish. I noticed after one of my comments that the one girl said "chevere". I was flattered that she thought something I said was "chevere" and I felt pretty "chevere" because I knew what the word meant!

This past weekend I have been touched by the kindness and love of the members here. Saturday, I had a little extra time and I really wanted to get my hair cut. Of course, I had no idea where to go. I thought of a sister I met at a dinner, Sister Gonzales. She is the wife of our Stake President and our neighbor. She had assured me several times that she would be happy to help me with anything that I needed. I had Mark call her and ask her where I could get my haircut. She told Mark she would be happy to pick me up and take me to a place she knew of to get it cut. I was touched by her kindness, but the story gets even better. You have to understand that most women in Peru do not drive and I have not even driven a car since we have been here, which seems so strange now that I am writing it. So this sweet sister comes to my 7th story apartment, and escorts me downstairs where I find my Stake President waiting in the car to take us to the hairdresser! I was already feeling bad for inconveniencing them and then the sister tells me that they have been busy getting ready for a huge birthday party they are having for their four year old son which starts in one hour! So these very kind people literally dropped everything they were doing to come and help me. Sister Gonzales went to the hairdresser with me, sat there with me and explained to the lady what I wanted. Then President Gonzalez came back and picked us up and drove us home. I am still overwhelmed as I think about these kind gestures from these people. There are definitely some choice saints here in this area.

                                         Visiting the Coast after a ward conference. Our kids

                                          say all we do is relax on the beach!

Sunday, (July 20th) was the most choice experience I have had on this mission thus far. It was so unexpected. I had actually been feeling a little bit useless the day before and wondering what I can contribute when I cannot speak the language. I prayed and asked Heavenly Father why I am here and what I can do. Saturday night we attended the longest baptism known to men. Baptisms here never start on time and when they finally do start, after they have finally gotten everyone assembled in the chapel, then they say for anyone who would like to take pictures to leave and go out in the foyer. This baptism was supposed to start at 7:30 pm and finally began at 8:30 pm. Remember, nothing ever happens fast and nobody is ever in a hurry. So, after six speakers and singing a dozen different songs, we got home pretty late. We were supposed to leave for a Branch Conference early, so I knew it was going to be a long day.

My prayer Sunday morning was to just have the strength to make it through the day. We left at 7:15 am and drove a little under two hours to a small town called Guadalupe and attended  the Guadalupe, Peru Branch. They had a very nice chapel and I noticed right away that these people were special. They were all dressed perfectly; even the little boys were in suits and ties. Sometimes, this is unusual in Peru. Mark and I were sitting on the stand and I was marveling at how wonderful these people looked and I noticed an older gentleman sitting on the front row. He had on an unusual tie and at first I thought it was kind of hideous. It was a sky blue color with some big picture on it. Then I looked closer and realized it was a picture of the Salt Lake Temple! I was overcome. I thought of this humble man who I am sure has never and will never see the Salt Lake Temple in real life and yet here he was wearing its picture on his tie and obviously had a great love for this temple!

That morning the Spirit was strong and I felt the great love that the Lord has for these humble saints. Living the gospel is not always easy for them. They only go the temple once a year. They drive 12 hours on a bus to Lima on a Friday night, get there on Saturday morning, do temple work all day and then drive back on Saturday night to be home in time for church on Sunday. I felt the love these people have for the Lord and His gospel. They want to do their part. The feelings I had that day were tender and overwhelming. It was not easy to speak when I bore my testimony, but I knew what the Lord wanted me to say. I am so grateful that the Spirit is the teacher and the testifier and somehow I was able to convey to these people how the Lord feels about them in my broken Spanish. He loves them beyond comprehension, so it was easy for me to love them too. It was a miraculous day in so many ways.

                                 These are my new friends, the sisters of the Guadalupe Branch.

                                 The sister on my right is the wife of Mark's 1st counselor and the

                                 one on the left with flowers is the Relief Society President. Notice

                                 the flowers added for a touch of beauty! Relief Society sisters

                                 think the same all over the world!

                                 

Physical and Spiritual Nourishment

The food and water in Peru are a big problem, especially for foreigners who are not used to it. It is horrible to see what some of the American missionaries suffer because of it. We have an hermana who has had parasites, salmonella, stomach infections, etc. for the whole year that she has been here. We have another hermana in the hospital right now who has been throwing up for three weeks as well as dizzy and light headed. She was just diagnosed with a parasite. Last weekend we were staying in a hotel in Jaen. I rinsed out a glass in the faucet and left it sitting on the counter. By the time we got back in the evening there was already mold growing in it. The water is contaminated with bacteria and parasites.

The food here is very different than in the United States. The supply and variety are very limited compared to what we are used to. We are so very blessed in our country. Foods not available; lemons, lemon juice, berries, frozen vegetables or fruit of any kind, chocolate chips, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, good cheddar cheese, tortilla chips and tortillas. I am afraid I will discover more. I already miss Mexican food so much! The dairy aisle has milk, yogurt (which you drink), butter and margarine. It is a struggle to come up with of ideas for what to fix. We do have spaghetti and pasta. Mark would be lost without that! The canned fruits are pears, peaches, pineapple, cherries, and apricots. Our purple smoothie with spinach has become a true green smoothie in some strange lime color of green. I am substituting pineapple for berries now. I tried to buy four cans of pineapple at the grocery store and they said I could only buy two!? They did not say why.

There are four foods here that missionaries are never supposed to eat; ceviche (a favorite food here that is a cold soup with raw fish), strawberries (the only berry availabe here), pork, and lettuce, so no salads. The staples of the Peruvian diet are chicken, rice, chicken, eggs, and chicken. I have always loved chicken but I am pretty tired of it right now. They are also obssessed with french fries, which are usually greasy and soggy. I used to have a weakness for french fries, but it is gone now. And here is the killer; I have not had one peice of chocolate that I have liked and wanted more of. Is anyone getting a sense of the items that are on my wish list? That is if you happen to be sending a package. Sees Candy and chocolate chips are pretty high on the list!

I have to mention what we did last weekend because our schedule was insane. We made another six hour trip to a city called Jaen. Jaen is in the jungle part of the country, so it is quite hot, humid, lush and green. We traveled a lot of windy roads again. It is not as touristy as Cajamarca, so a bit more primitive. Our hotel was interesting. No electricity in the bathroom, no blowdryer and crunchy towels. People in this country are very frugal and dryers are considered a luxury. Our maid does not believe in drying our towels in the dryer or using the dishwasher, in fact, she is literally the dish washer in our house. She insists on washing everything by hand even though we had a new dishwasher installed just before we came here. It is the first thing she does every morning and she gets very upset if I even try to rinse a dish off. My body is literally going to pot because I never do any housework.

We arrived in Jaen at 5:00 pm and did interviews from 5:00-9:00pm. The role of the Mission Presidents wife has changed in recent years and I have the priviledge of interviewing the missionaries also. We finally had dinner at 9:30 and then to bed at 10:30. The next morning was zone conference at 8:30 am, then more interviews from 2:00-7:00 pm. Dinner at 8:00. Home by 9:00. The next morning we left Jaen and drove to a city called Bagua Grande where we have a branch and interviewed six missionaries. Then drove three hours to Chachapoyas, another branch, and interviewed eight missionaries. Both of these branches meet in very humble circumstances. The building in Bagua Grande is not even completely enclosed. Next, we left Chachapoyas at 6:30 pm and drove back to Jaen. Home at 10:00, dinner and bed at 11:00.

                             This is mark eating his first Peruvian hamburger. They were disgusting,
                               but we were so hungry! I am not sure what we were really eating!

We have felt a lot of opposition since starting this new calling. The parking situation at these hotels is always very cramped and enclosed in a locked gate. All of the churches here have locked gates around them as well. The morning of our zone conference, the car parked behind us had a dead battery. We were twenty minutes late. Then on Sunday, our credit card would not work so we could not pay our hotel bill and check out. That was another ordeal and again we were twenty minutes late for church. That seems to be our standard time now, always twenty minutes late. By some miracle, they were just beginning to pass the bread and we were able to take the sacrament. That was very important to us. We felt it was a great blessing.

 After the sacrament, the bishopric welcomed us and invited us to come and sit on the stand; then informed us they would like us to speak for fifteen minutes. Panic set in for me. Speaking on the spur of the moment is not very easy for me in Spanish. Somehow, I managed, with the Lords help and a little bit of time because of a youth speaker, to get my thoughts and words together. Mark said it was one of the best talks I have given. When I thought back about it, I could not even remember exactly what I had said. I know I was blessed with the gift of tongues in the very moment when I needed to open my mouth and speak. The Lord has been so merciful to us despite the great opposition we have felt in doing this work. That is what gives us the strength to carry on: The love and help of our Lord Jesus Christ in doing His work, the work of salvation.

                                          Just another road trip! Elde Noriega is not Saudi Arabian,
                                          he just hates the sun! That is a pillow case on his head.

Friendship

Every city in Peru has a nickname.  Chiclayo is the city of "Friendship" because the people here are so kind and friendly.  A week ago today, Monday the 7th, Mark and I made a five hour drive on winding roads to return from a four day trip to Cajamarca.  It is one of the zones in our mission.  We were tired, but really needed a few things we had not had time to get since being in Peru. So we went to the mall. It took us 45 minutes, and asking three people, just to find it. We shopped for three hours (there is even a grocery store at the mall) and we were exhausted.  We went out to our car, only to find out that we had left the lights on and our battery was dead. Of course! It seems that anything that can go wrong does on this mission. We asked a passing store employee for help and he said that he would get a parking lot attendant to help us. The attendant brought a battery charging box, but it would not work. Now more attendants came. They decided to push our car out of the parking spot and bring their car to charge the battery since we had the cables. The attendant informed Mark that this would cost 10 soles, which is not too much, only $3.70. So they got the car running and the other attendant told Mark he owed 20 soles, $7.40. We were not very happy. It is still not a lot, but twice the amount we were told in the beginning. We are learning that once people know you are American, they try to take you for all they can get! We felt so warm and welcomed. I am praying really hard for the gift of charity.

Despite being so kind and friendly, Chiclayo is a very dirty city. Many of the streets are dirt roads with large rocks and huge potholes, so dirt is just part of life here. The first night we were here, I made the mistake of walking on our floor barefoot for a few minutes. By the time I went to bed, my feet were black! We know now to wear shoes at all times. Oh, and there is no carpet here; not in our apartment or in any of the churches or anywhere. I guess they would just be too filthy? I am not sure why. When you drive around the city, there are piles of garbage everywhere. Nobody seems to really care. The previous mission president told us it was a dirty city and now we understand.

Our first week in the mission we had meetings almost everyday.  The first Tuesday we had a Mission Leadership Council which is held monthly, the first Tuesday of every month. This is a newer meeting that replaced Zone Leader Council a little over a year ago. The biggest change is that Sister Missionaries are now called as Sister Training Leaders and are part of the council along with the Mission Presidents Wife. They have responsibility for sisters assigned to them, for training, and to conduct exchanges every six weeks with other sisters in their zone. We feel like this is an inspired change and that the sisters add so much to the meetings. They have such good and unique insights and such wonderful spirits.

The next two days we had Multi-Zone Conferences with four zones each day that are either in Chiclayo or close to it. Mark and I introduced ourselves to all the missionaries at the beginning. We have taken our blanket, that our children made for us, everywhere we have gone and showed the pictures along with a picture presentation from our ipad. I think all the missionaries have enjoyed learning a little bit about us. Mark and I also spoke at the end of each conference.

So after three days in a row of meetings, on Friday we left to drive to a city, and zone, that is six hours from the mission home. We got to Cajamarca after four hours on winding roads. It is in the mountains at about 8,000 feet. The terrain is much more green than in Chiclayo. The drive there was so interesting. There wer houses and people all along the way that live right along the highway. Their children and animals play right next to the highway! It scares me to death. I am so afraid we are going to hit somebody or something! We saw many donkeys, chickens, dogs, turkeys and goats. Many of the women in this area dress in traditional Peruvian dress and it was fun to see them.  We stopped and asked these ladies if we could take their picture and they looked at us like we were crazy.  They were very hesitant and could not understand why we wanted to take their picture. I am not sure why Mark thought he needed to be in the picture!

I jokingly asked one of the assistents (Los Asistentes), Elder Lattin, where the rest stops were along the way. He said that if someone really needs to go, that they just stop at a house and say, "Puedo aquilar su bano?"- "Can I rent your bathroom?" and you offer them a sol.  They either say yes and take the money or yes and say it is fine and refuse the money. I was determined to just hold it the rest of the way. These homes were very primitive and humble. The drive up the mountain reminded me of the scripture in Jeremiah 16:16: that the Lord will send hunters "and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks". This Work of Salvation is so amazing. We literally send our missionaries to every mountain, hill and hole of the rocks. It is so wonderful!

We spent two days in Cajamarca. Saturday was our Zone Conference. This was only one zone, so a much smaller group than the conferences in Chiclayo. It was much nicer; much easier to meet and talk to all the missionaries. Cajamarca is more of a touristy town, so things are a little nicer. For example, we actually had carpet in our hotel room! It felt like such a luxury! We are so blessed in the United States with so much. We never have any time fr site seeing, but we did walk around the Plaza de Armas in the middle of the city and visited a huge Catholic Church right next to our hotel. Fue muy interesante! I am sorry, but two of the statues in the church reminded me of Halloween. Everyone always asks us how we liked the area when we get back from a trip and I say, "Well, the church and the hotel were nice!" That is all we ever really get to see.

Like I said, we returned from Cajamarca on Monday. I love talking to the missionaries. They are such a great example to me. They work so hard. One of my children mentioned to me that what we are doing is so hard and later I thought, "It might be a little hard, but what the missionaries do each day is much harder than what we do, so if they can keep working so hard, then we can keep working not as hard!" I hope that makes sense. Our missionaries never rest, so why should we? The only day I have not been around the missionaries was on Wednesday of that week and it is the only day of this mission that I was depressed and homesick. The missionaries buoy me up and strengthen me. They are so brave, courageous and strong! They are such a great example and inspiration to me. I want to be like all of them someday when I grow up!

                                                           Los Asistentes, Elder Noriega (Lima, Peru) and Elder Lattin
                                                              (Laguna, California)

This is the spot where mark got pulled over for the first time by the police on our way to Cajamarca.  It turned out he was supposed to have his lights on. He blamed the Assistents for not telling him that.