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