Five Months Out Already!

November 5th was my birthday.  In honor of the only birthday I will ever have where my age is the same as my birth year, I am posting proof that I have reached the age where I would be considered an antique.  Here is a photo taken up in Utah about a year ago.  It is one of my favorites of all time.  In my humble opinion, I feel like I look very young for my age.


Below is what my hair looks like now.  Dave has wanted me to stop coloring my hair for a number of years now.  I just wasn't ready to do that.  I promised David that if we went on a foreign mission, I would forego coloring my hair while we served.  We are now five months out and I've become a silver fox.  You can see on the ends of my bangs just a vestige of my summer hair color.  I'm pretty sure by the time we return, most, if not all, of that color will be replaced with silver/grey. I guess if I'm going to serve as a full-time senior missionary I better look the part!

My birthday was a busy day, but full of surprises.  One of our English students, Emperatriz Dolmo (whose birthday was the day before mine) came over bright and early to wish me happy birthday and brought some surprises.

She brought this flower arrangement and a small tres leche cake.  They both had to have cost her a fortune.  She owns a small tailor business and works her fingers to the bone starting at 8 am and not closing shop until 8:30 pm most nights.  I was thrilled to get these flowers.  I don't think I have ever received as lovely of an arrangement but at the same time I was appalled that she would spend so much of her hard earned money on me.

Also, just a heads up.  If a latino ever tells you that it is a tradition for the birthday girl/boy to take a bite out of their cake, don't believe them!  It is a set up.  You will find your face planted into the icing and cake before you realize what has happened.  I thought the idea was to take a photo looking like you were eating your cake but it was a ploy to get your face close enough for them to shove the cake into your face.  Dave has it all on video.  If we can link it to the site , we'll include it.  It is actually pretty funny.

At the center the two full-time sister missionaries that are helping us out, surprised me with a gift of three service coupons, one for 10 minutes, one for 30 minutes and one for an hour.  The 10 minute one I used for a back massage.  It felt wonderful.  The 30 minute coupon was used to clear and polish 3 pairs of my shoes. My shoes looked brand new when they returned them.  These sisters are so silly, they delivered them with smiles and shoe polish mustaches!

Hermanas Camacho & Sanchez deliver my newly polished

 shoes, smiles & mustaches complimentary.

The one hour coupon was applied to kitchen help for our English level 1 graduation celebration on Saturday.  More on that later.

Carlos Hale, the area manager, had taken Dave & I out for lunch the day before as he was scheduled to leave town on the 5th for an extended travel itinerary related to PEF/SR.  We also had a huge cake delivered to us by Gabby Guerra, one of the center volunteers, the next morning as we had come home late the day of my birthday.  We had a FHE invite from a member we hardly knew Nov. 5th and it didn't start until 9 pm.  We didn't get home until 11 pm!  Good thing there isn't a curfew for senior missionaries.  It was a late night, but the member was a single mom that has only been a member for a year and a half yet spoke with the wisdom of a strong deep-rooted testimony.  She served us the best, hands down, hot chocolate we've had down here.  It had a merengue topping and a smooth chocolatey taste, not the typical bitter chocolate you get down here.  They called the merengue an egg cocktail.  We told them they needed to go into business and market that to at least the tourists.  We are learning that Peruvians don't have much of a sweet tooth like Americans do.

This week, I went out with Sister Condie to help her do missionary work the afternoon of my birthday while Dave worked on preparing for our English party on Saturday and making arrangements for a new apartment.  He is determined to have this one work out.  While out with Sister Condie, we visited a young 9 year old boy who is getting baptized on Saturday, gave a lesson to a less active member and looked up a few other less active people and set visiting appointments with them.  Here in Peru, the church is strong, but there is a high inactivity rate.  They probably average about a 12% attendance rate by the members.  Many members have stopped attending.  This past week, two of our taxi drivers and one shop attendant told us they were inactive members of the church.

For Emperatriz's birthday (November 4th) we had finally found a shop that sold printed birthday cards and picked out a card that had a pop out bouquet of roses inside.  We also found a pretty birthday bag and put an English Book of Mormon inside.  We wrote in the card and the book.  We told her we wanted to take her and her kids out to lunch next Monday (our most open day of the week).  When we gave her the card and book, she started to cry.  I don't think she gets a lot of pampering or extra things in her life.  Life for most people here is about work and meeting basic needs of life.

Dave had his turn to be robbed this past week.  We were riding on the bus during the 6 o'clock hour to our English class at the other stake building.  This time of day the buses tend to be rather crowded.  We have been warned to beware of theft while riding the bus.  Well, Dave was standing up since all the seats were taken and at one point he felt a hand in his left pocket.  He tried to grab it but by the time he reacted, the hand was gone and so was his cell phone.  Dave was pretty sure who had taken it and tried to get him to give it back.  He even asked me to tell the man to give him his cell phone back.  The man denied he took it, but at the very next bus stop he quickly got off.  Dave followed him.  I was left in the dust and barely got off before the bus took off again.  By the time I caught up with the man, who had turned the corner, the man had his hands up and Dave was frisking him in search of his cell phone.  Well, we left empty-handed.  We don't know for sure if he was the culprit or if it was someone else on the bus.  We feel blessed that it was the pocket with our cell phone and not Dave's wallet which was in the right pants pocket.  Dave hated that cell phone anyway and we brought two phones down with us so we switched the sim card to the other phone and will probably shop around for something reasonably priced down here to use for the rest of our mission as the back up phone is not the greatest either.

The highlight of the week was our English class Level 1 graduation activity.  We had planned for weeks, and put in a lot of time and effort for this.  We had hyped it up at the classes for the last 2-3 weeks.  We wanted everyone to have a good time to keep them enthused about learning English.  Dave prepared pioneer games that we had learned in Nauvoo.  He made the equipment to do a ring toss game and a beanbag toss (not the traditional ones that first come to mind, however).  He also prepared the soap mixture for the giant bubble maker that Kent Smith had brought down from the states.

Jhonathan, one of our students, practices making the bubbles in preparation for the party.

I planned a Bingo game so they could practice their numbers in English and Fruit Basket Upset so they could practice their food vocabulary.  We sang all the songs we have taught them so far which are Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Happy Family, The Wheels on the Bus, and the first verse of I Am A Child of God.

The stake president, Mario Garcia, printed up certificates that looked real professional and we recognized the 12 students from all 4 of our classes that had achieved at least 70% attendance for the first level classes.  That is a major accomplishment since commitment over a long period of time seems to be a difficult thing for these people.  We also named off those with over 50% attendance as honorable mention.  We encouraged more of them to qualify for the second level which starts next week.  We hope making a big deal out of it will light a fire under some of them to want to be among those awarded a certificate next time.

L-R, Jaime Reyes 17 yrs. old, Albertina Huaman, her husband, Eusebio Espejo, daughter Regina Espejo 17 yrs. old, Victor Dolmo, 14 yrs. old, Emperatriz Dolmo, Marcia Pinto, wife of President Garcia, President Garcia, Teofila Alvarado, Jhonathan.  Hellen is on the end but she was not a certificate recipient.  Two of our students had already received their certificates because they had left the area.  Hyrum Garcia had left on Nov 4th for his mission in Cochabamba Bolivia and Juliane Quispe had left for a job in Lima.  Not present was Jeremiah Reyes.

At the end we served up plates with a variety of american food.  We had done celery sticks with peanut butter and some had raisins on top for ants on a log.  We also cut up some apples and put manjar (something a kin to caramel) on top so they could see what caramel apples taste like.  They have some rather plain flat cookies that we spread some Betty Crocker vanilla & chocolate frosting on with a few sprinklers on top.  We also did small quesadillas and ice cream floats.  The food was a hit.  Everyone loved what we served.  The boys went back for seconds with the left overs.

We had about 28 of our students attend, which was a pretty good turn out.  If all had been able to come we would have had 40.

Sunday, November 9th marks 5 months serving our mission.  The time just seems to fly by and there is so much work that needs to be done.  Progress is often slow, so we can get frustrated, but with patience and persistence, these people will be blessed.

Spiritual Thought of the Week:  "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel"  Neal A Maxwell April 1998 Conference.

This whole talk is great!  I wanted to post it all, but here is what I've managed to limit myself to.

Our Heavenly Father has described His vast plan for His children by saying, “Behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39; emphasis added). Consider the significance of the Lord’s use of the word work. What He is doing so lovingly and redemptively is, nevertheless, work—even for Him! We, likewise, speak of “working out our salvation,” of the “law of the harvest,” and of the “sweat of the brow” (see Moses 5:1; see also Inspired Version, Gen. 4:1). These are not idle phrases. Instead, they underscore the importance of work. In fact, brethren, work is always a spiritual necessity even if, for some, work is not an economic necessity.

I remind you that the gospel of work is part of “the fulness of the gospel.” Though joyful, missionary work is work. Though joyful, temple work is work. Alas, a few of our underwhelmed youth work all right, but mostly at trying to please themselves.

Each form of work can stretch your talents. Nevertheless, watch for the warning lights. For instance, if you are engaged in part-time work,are all your wages spent on yourself? Is tithing paid? Is some saved for a mission? President Spencer W. Kimball gave us this crisp counsel: “[If the young man] is permitted to spend his all on himself, that spirit of selfishness may continue with him to his grave” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball [1982], 560).

Homework from school is surely a necessity, but does mental work squeeze out spiritual work entirely? Your grade-point average is very important, but what is your GPA for Christian service?

Whatever the mix of work, the hardest work you and I will ever do is to put off our selfishness. It is heavy lifting!

Knowing how to work will give you an edge in life, and experience with excellence—a special edge!

But the capacity to work and work wisely will never become obsolete. And neither will the ability to learn. Meanwhile, my young brethren, I have not seen any perspiration-free shortcuts to the celestial kingdom; there is no easy escalator to take us there.

My brethren, old and young, sweeping is the only way to describe your spiritual history and your possible future! There will always be plenty of work to do, especially for those who know how to do the Lord’s work!

This talk was apparently given in the Priesthood session, but it just as well applies to women as well as men!