Goodbye - Transfers & a Mini-Vacation

The week started out better than last week.  We needed a pick me up after our disappointments last week.  Sunday, the 9th of August we hit our 14 month mark so it was nice to have a good day to celebrate that benchmark.

We started out the day by attending the Inti Raymi stake conference.  We held our breath as we waited to hear who the new leaders were going to be.  We were saying silent prayers that the leaders would be people supportive of the self-reliance programs.  Elder Godoy, second counselor in the area presidency was there to make the callings. We couldn't have been more happy when we heard the announcement.  The new stake president, Carlos Albert Moreyra Pachas, previously was the bishop of the Vista Alegre ward.  His ward is the ward that is all gun-ho about the self-reliance program and have started the workshops in their ward.  So we know he will be supportive as we work to implement it in the stake as well.  His first counselor we are not familiar with, but we've heard that he is very much in to family history.  His second counselor, Miguel Angel Farfan, is going to be our biggest asset.  We are very familiar with him.  He was on the high council before this and was a faithful attender of the business workshop we presented to the members of the high council all ready.  He gained a strong testimony of the inspiration behind these programs and immediately organized a workshop group for the Young Adults in his stake as he was assigned over them on the high council.  He gets things done!  That is probably one of the best things about him.  We are pretty sure he will be assigned to oversee the self-reliance initiative in the stake.  As Derek says in his mission blog posts - YAHTZEE!!

After stake conference we headed out to Urubamba to sit in on the business workshop that the full-time missionaries are presenting to see how that was going.  We were really pleased with what we saw.  When we got there the elders had the room all set up, copies made, the report form up on the board, the tv ready to show the videos.  They had done their preparation.  The members were slow in getting there and instead of 10 like in the first class they only had 4 finally show up (which is disappointing but oh so typical here), but the 4 that came were really sharp and 3 of the 4 are youth preparing for a mission.  I was impressed that if they can learn these principles now in their youth and form these habits, they will be sure to see the blessings of the Lord in their lives and they will be a strength to the church here in Peru.  So sweet to see.

 Business workshop in Urubamba led by Elders Bravo & Jensen

We left there and went right back to Cusco to visit the Vista Alegre ward and see how they are doing with their workshops.  They are presenting the education and the business workshop.  Again, we were very pleased with what we saw.  Both groups had 8 people in attendance.  We were told that is only about 1/3 of those that attended the first business class but the education class actually added 2 people.  They were following the manuals well and staying within the time frame and the groups were having good discussions among them.  It was working just as it should and the members are facilitating the groups, not us!  YAHTZEE again!!

 Above, the Education workshop at Vista Alegre being led by Brik (far right)

 These two photos show the Business workshop hard at work, above doing partner work and below watching one of the videos as part of the class.  This group is being led by the member sitting on the floor, Jose Pompilla.

It was a very satisfying day to say the least, and a good morale booster 

Monday was piano lessons and preparation for our returning missionary training.  It was a bit of a challenge as we didn't have our projector any more.  Dave managed to hunt one down last minute.  We rely on a PowerPoint Presentation for most of the day so it was crucial to have one.

This group was a bit unusual as it had more sisters returning home than elders.  We had 9 sisters and 6 elders.  7 of the 9 sisters we have worked with in one way or another and our two sisters who helped as volunteers in the office when they were on crutches due to knee injuries were among the group.  3 of the 6 elders we have worked with as well.  It was sad to see them go, but they had such big smiles on their faces and you could see how happy they were to be returning home to family and friends and we know they have been great missionaries!

Front row L-R:  Sister Camacho (Mexico), Sister Borja, Sister Condie (Cedar Hills), Sister Ramos (Nevada), Sister Rasmussen (Sandy).  Middle row L-R:  Sister Rodriguez (Honduras), Sister Tuft, Sister Essig (Centerville), myself, Sister Sanchez (Honduras), Elder Rhoades.  Back row L-R:  Elder Valdivia (Argentina), Elder Gonzalez (Panama), Elder Perugachi (Ecuador), Elder Cando (Ecuador), Elder Alzamora (Peru), Elder Cedeno (Ecuador)

We are amazed to realize we only have three more RM trainings and then we will be the ones leaving as well!

We didn't stick around after our part of the training this time as we had planned a mini-vacation.  Yes, senior missionaries get to do that!  Considering that we don't take regular P-days we figure we can afford to take a few days off.  We've been wanting to visit the hot springs in Santa Teresa for just about a year when we first heard of them and we finally got to go there.  And it was an adventure!

Our plan had been to ride the local train out to Aguas Calientes the town at the bottom of the hill from MachuPicchu Wednesday morning so it didn't interfere with our training but we couldn't get on the train in the morning due to the tickets being sold out by the time we went to buy them, so we had to ride out Tuesday and spend the night in Aguas Calientes.  The Johnsons, the family history missionaries went with us.  Their schedule is usually open around transfers as the missionaries never know if they are going to be changed or not and the ones with changes are too busy moving around to work with the members and the Johnsons on family history.

We had dinner in Ollantaytambo before catching the train.  We had hoped to have time to visit the ruins there as they are supposed to be pretty impressive, but we didn't get away from the training as early as we had hoped so there wasn't enough daylight for long enough to make it happen.  I did get some photos using my zoom lens of the ruins on the side of the mountain.  Another day we will get out there!

 They look pretty impressive even from a distance.  You can see above a wall going straight up the mountain on the left of the photo.

Wednesday morning we had time to kill in Aguas Calientes before we could catch the local train out to the hydroelectric plant, the last stop on the line and the closest location to Santa Teresa.  We explored Aguas Calientes a bit and checked out possibly seeing MachuPicchu again the next day as we were anticipating a 6 hour wait for our return train on our way home.  We introduced the Johnsons to the yummy French pastry shop we had discovered when we came out in November, and we discovered some new pastries that we hadn't tried the last time.  We also discovered a square that we hadn't seen the last time.

 Statue of Inca Manco Capac.  It was rather cool and wet, especially for August which is during the dry season.

This photo shows how the mountains just tower over the city.

 Everything in the city is touristic,even the planters, the park benches and the garbage cans.

Oh, and the restaurants get into the show as well with very interesting attractions.

The local train out was not as antiquated as I had been led to believe.  I was expecting hard wooden benches and crowded conditions, but we had padded seats (not great but passable) and only a few stand up passengers.  The cost with our national carnet cards was a whooping 15 soles one way.  Round trip 30 soles, which is equivalent to $10 US.  The biggest cost was the time it took to buy the tickets. We had a two hour wait in Cusco to buy the train tickets out to Aguas Calientes and each time we bought the tickets to the hydroelectric train tickets it took probably 30 minutes to buy.

 Train station as far as it would go into the jungle at the hydroelectric plant.

Hydroelectric plant

From the hydroelectric plant, we had to take a 30 minute combi or taxi ride over dirt, rutted roads to reach Santa Teresa.

The hotel is the part above.

Our hotel, EcoQuechua Lodge was just outside of town, set among the jungle.  You could hear the rushing water of the river the whole time, birds chattering in the trees and there were not a lot of people around.  It was very relaxing.  We had dinner by candlelight that night at the open air restaurant with only a grass roof.

Views from the lodge's open air dining area.

  Below, view from our room.

 Dave relaxing outside our room.

Before dinner, however, we headed out to the hot springs.  What a treat!  The pools were large, the water was clear and warm.  Not too hot.  It felt like sitting in a large hot bath that never cooled.  We stayed for about two hours.  We were all so relaxed and refreshed.  It was pretty enjoyable.

Pretty beautiful, huh?

We only stayed one night and then headed back, but again had a 6 hour stay in Aguas Calientes.  We did some more exploring and a bit of shopping.

 We took the Johnsons on the river trail walk where you can see lots of plants and flowers, although not so many as when we went in November.

 We discovered a few new fountains and water canals.  This one was pretty cool, in the shape of a snake.

 But was really fun was playing with this parrot.  He took a liking to me.  He didn't want to return to his owner after perching on my shoulder for a bit.  I was a bit nervous as it got right up next to my neck and ear.  Wasn't sure if I was going to get bit or pecked.  But no damage was done.

We had one day back in Cusco from this mini-vacation, Friday.

 On Friday we did have lunch with both of these leaders, along with our boss, Carlos Hale who was up from Arequipa to meet with them as well.  We liked what we heard.  Pres. Moreyra is feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment, which is understandable.  Pres. Farfan informed us of some other great news.  He told us a youth in his stake is pushing to get BYU-Idaho Pathways on board here, something we have been interested in as well.  This youth has 6 people committed to participate and has been told if he can get 10, it will happen.  We know of 4 people who have come into our office in the last month asking about Pathways, and we also happen to learn recently that our friends, Henry and Gabby Guerra were Pathway leaders down in Lima before moving up to Cusco, so things could easily fall into place.  The biggest challenge is that the deadline to apply for fall semester is August 25th - not much time to get everyone on board.  What a great blessing it would be for the youth here should they be able to have access to BYU-Idaho Pathway program and what a boost to our push for the members and missionaries to learn English.  Keep us in your prayers, please!!

Saturday we headed out again with our boss, Carlos Hale to visit Quillabamba.  March was the last time we visited there.  This was only our second time out.  The road was still pretty, but not as impressive as we are not in the rainy season right now so where it once was green, it is now rather brown.  And where once there was water cascading down the mountains everywhere you looked, this time you would occasionally see a waterfall here or there and the water was pretty limited.

But it was still nice and warm there.  No need to wear a sweater or jacket at all.  Bug spray was, however.  We learned we were there during the mosquito period.

Saturday night we met with the youth who had finished the education workshop and needed help filling out their Perpetual Education Fund loan application.  We got about 4-5 of them completely signed up.

Spiritual Thought for the Week:  Richard G. Scott  Ensign May 1996 as quoted in the Institute Book of Mormon Student Manual, chapter 21.

"Problems or trials in our lives need to be viewed in the perspective of scriptural doctrine.  Otherwise they can easily overtake our vision, absorb our energy and deprive us of the joy and beauty the Lord intends us to receive here on earth.  Some people are rocks thrown into a sea of problems.  They are drowned by them.  Be a cork.  When submerged in a problem, fight to be free to bob up to serve again with happiness...

"The Lord is intent on your personal growth and development.  That progress is accelerated when you willingly allow HIm to lead you through every growth experience you encounter, whether initially it be to your individual liking or not.  When you trust in the Lord, when you are willing to let your heart and your mind be centered in His will, when you ask to be led by the Spirit to do His will, you are assured of the greatest happiness along the way and the most fulfilling attainment from this mortal experience.  If you quesiton everything you are asked to do, or dig in your heels at every unpleasant challenge, you make it harder for the Lord to bless you."

What? August already!?

After two pretty good weeks in a row, this past week was a let down.  Our Book of Mormon institute class was a bomb.  Not one of our students showed up.  Our facilitator training meeting scheduled with the Inti Raymi stake was a bomb as well.  Not one person showed up.  Not even our Victor Condori, the member of the stake presidency assigned to self-reliance, nor our stake specialist, nor any of the other committee members.  Each ward was supposed to send three people to this meeting to be trained and not one showed.  It was pretty discouraging.  We had been making such great progress with this stake and everything had been coming together.  Well, it can't be all steps forward, there has to a few steps back from time to time for things to be real, I guess.

We heard through the grapevine that the Inti Raymi stake presidency was going to be released at the stake conference scheduled for the weekend.  It's about time as President Carrasco has been serving for about 12 years now.  But we are pretty concerned.  We have come a long way with President Carrasco, gaining his confidence and building a working relationship with him.  We hope the changing of the guards doesn't set us back to square one again.  After all, we only have 4 more months to make a difference.

We did have some time to stop by Nilda Mamani's home and see how she is doing with her fight against cancer.  I have been so worried she wouldn't get treatment due to her worry about finances, and her fear of hearing bad news.  But she has been following up with the doctors and it now looks like she will have her uterus removed sometime soon.

Nilda's oldest daughter and her 6 year old daughter.  Both in pink.  How cute.  Her oldest is helping her mom with her laundry business.

We had brought her some chocolate no-bake cookies to help cheer her up.

I was pleased to hear her say that she can feel the strength of the prayers of the members.  She is calmer and more at peace about things.  She told us the doctors did another blood work up and were astonished at the results.  They came back a lot better than anticipated.

Please keep her in your prayers and please contribute to our go fund me account.  We are not getting a lot of donations as we had hoped.  Honestly, everyone should be able to contribute something!  If you could see how little she has, and feel of her sweet spirit, I'm sure you would want to help.  Seriously, $5 or $10 dollars from everyone would go a long way.

Here is the web address to make a contribution -  gofund.me/8g5dp5defc

Saturday our schedule was pretty open so we decided to go exploring with the Johnsons, the family history couple serving down here.  Their schedule as well was open.  So we took them to see the ruins just out of town called the Temple of the Moon and some additional ruins near by called Temple of the Monkeys, which they had not visited before.  They then took us to see some ruins just out of town as well, called Inkilltambo and they were pretty impressive.

 You walk down into this slot canyon just on the edge of town and you come across this impressive site - extensive terraces built by the Incas.

 You are so close to Cusco, you can still make out certain buildings and landmarks.  I am pointing at the condor statute that is located a few blocks from the Inti Raymi chapel building.

This is a kiln, used by the Spaniards, not the Incas.

 We've climbed onto the side of the terraces and above is looking back.  Below are gardening toughs.  They would plant above and allow the ditches to fill with rainwater and the plants' roots would soak up the moisture.

 There is a deep font with stone canal work leading the water into the canal.

 To get a sense of the depth of the font, look at Dave as he stands at the bottom and prepares to climb out.

 But even more interesting is the stadium seating surrounding this font.  What do you think our minds went to as we observed this spot?

 The photo below shows the view looking down from the top tier.  We couldn't help but think of this as an outdoor baptismal font.  We could just imagine holding a baptismal service at this location.

 And look below.  How beautiful the rocks fit together and they even form what looks like a flower.

It was a fun place to find.  And of course, our scoutmaster, Dave Rhoades, took us out of the slot canyon by a new path that the typical tourists don't follow that is for sure.  We walked by some mud housed built on the side of the canyon.  It really gives you a new appreciation for the living conditions we have.  They may not be as nice as the states, but they are certainly better than what many here in Peru live in.

We came home from our exploring and got ready for a birthday party for a 4 year old, Alexia Caseres, the daughter of Javier, our compatriot with self-reliance.  Man was that girl spoiled.

 She had a Frozen themed party and she even dressed up in her Elsa dress with her braid to the side, just like Elsa.  They had a big pinata prepared.  Blue and White helium balloons.

 Her mom had made up the cut outs and lettering, the cupcakes and gift bags and the table was covered with goodies to munch on.

 You can see the Elsa candle on her cake above, and the princess with her tiara below.

 And Dave wasn't going to waste his chance to be a kid.  He played with the long balloons, being silly and sword fighting with the boys.  Then he took a turn at dancing with the girls.  Good thing dancing is allowed for the senior missionaries!

 They even had someone dress up as a grown up Elsa and she conducted some of the games for the kids.  Luckily we had another commitment that forced us to leave after only about an hour.  The music had been cranked up and the kids were congregating and all the sugar was starting to kick in by the time we left.  We were sure they wouldn't even miss us.

Our other commitment was a dinner get together with some other couple missionaries, the Oxborrows.

 The Oxborrows, pictured above and Sister Oxborrow below, were finishing up their mission as records preservation (the same thing the Haslers are doing) in Huarez in central Peru.  They were doing some traveling before returning home (just like we plan to do).  Since they worked in the same area as the Haslers, they wanted to visit with them and we were invited along as well.

 It is always fun to meet other senior missionary couples, share experiences, compare notes and bond together.  Below we are saying good-by to them at their hotel.  The Oxborrows are from the Mesa, AZ area, but they had her brother and his sister along for the trip and they live in Lehi, Utah.  They had served in English-speaking Gayana about a year and a half ago, in self-reliance!  So that was fun to meet them.

The one thing our evening together proved is that no two senior missions are the same.  Even if it is in the same general service area like self-reliance or family history.

It was a pretty fun ending to a frustrating week, so it helped lift our spirits and get us in a better frame of mind to head into our next week.  We are now at the 14 month mark.  Only 4 more months to go!

Spiritual Thought for the Week: This conference talk seemed to fit the bill this week for us.
"Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying" by Elder Dale G Renlund from April 2015 General Conference.  Here are some of the best parts of his talk from our perspective.

"A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying"
"God cares a lot more about who we are and who we are becoming than about who we once were."
"One of God's greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final."
"The Savior will bind up the brokenhearted...give ...beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mouring and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."
"No matter what, with His help, God expects Latter-day Saints to keep on trying."
"We must not only be tolerant while others work on their individaul illnesses; we must also be kind, patient, supportive, and understanding.  As God encourages us to keep on trying, He expects us to also allow others the space to do the same, at their own pace."
"If we don't try, we're just latter-day sinners; if we don't persevere, we're latter-day quitters; and if we don't allow other to try, we're just latter-day hypocrites."