Week 31 - Amazon Jungle

Hi Mom, Thanks for the recipe! Oh my gosh! I´m sorry about Trace, I hope that passes without hurting him too much.  Yeah, thanks for asking - no, I don´t have a bug net.  Some rooms do, ours does not, but when you live in the Amazon Jungle, it´s kind of how it goes, I guess.  This week was awesome! We had a baptism, which was the crowning part, and today we went into the amazon jungle for p-day, which was awesome.  Tomorrow we have our Christmas dinner with the mission president.  It doesn´t really feel like christmas, when your in the jungle, ha ha. Man, when it rains here, IT RAINS.  Part of our sector gets flooded out, too.  Our pants aways have mud on them, and there is pretty much no point in polishing the shoes because it only lasts for a few hours until they look like they haven´t been shined in a few weeks.  Within one day my white shirts are brown.  As far as the other stuff, the people that were progressing stopped, so that is always really sad, but were always finding new people to teach. So I´m about 4 hours from Brazil and Bolivia, and in that space they are still finding groups of people that haven´t had contact with "civilization" so that is pretty crazy.  Has it been snowing back home yet? Anyway, once again I´m out of time, but I love you guys.  Here are some pics of the adventure, and Marcelina, the sister we baptized. Talk to you next week!  Oh yeah, so apparently I can call you Christmas Eve to plan the time I´ll call you Christmas and I get up to an hour or so to talk to you guys, as I have been told so that will be pretty sweet!

Week 30 - Still in the "Jungle"

Hi Family -  I´m glad you got to go the Christmas Fireside, I watched it via satelite.   It's going to be weird having Christmas in the jungle - no snow, or anything to make it feel like christmas.   No street lights here or christmas trees or anything "festive" ......... not sure how I feel about that, so I have decided to go into denial, ha ha.  Anyway,  things here are going good still, we started teaching an awesome family about 2 weeks ago.  They have a lot of problems, so it´s really different teaching them, but we taught them about family prayer, and they said they would pray every night as a family, and with just that alone their family has changed so much -- like it's completely different visiting them now.   They have come to church the past 2 weeks too, so that is something special i´ve been able to witness lately.   Man it is SO hot here!!!!  I can´t sleep at night because it's so uncomfortable, and there is always the fear of the weird species of flying insects, that I'm pretty sure haven't been discovered yet landing on you throughout the night.   We always wake up with bites.  Also,  you should try taking a shower, or, more correctly, bathing yourself with cold water and a bucket.   But despite the temporal experience the spiritual side of things here is pretty awesome.  We're teaching and finding cool people.   We have some baptisms soon - so I'm really excited for that!   You could try sending me christmas dinner, but I don't think that would work,  ha ha.   We're going to spend christmas night with some member and supposedly we are going to cook something.   That's all I have for now! I Love you.

Week 29, Somewhere in the Jungle, Peru

HEY, Glad you guys had an awesome Thanksgiving! And thanks for the pics! It´s nice to see everyone, is that Brennan? You had to send me a picture of the dinner so I could drool over it!  Here Thanksgiving is a normal day so we just worked, it was really weird.   It's crazy that it's December in a few days! So we went to the Jungle today as a zone - that was cool. My first day here I challenged a lady to be baptized and she was doing awesome she didn't come to church this week so we have to wait longer to baptize her ahhhhhh!   Anyway, we have some more people we are working hard to get baptized too.  People here have the weirdest dreams - and they always tell them to us, but unfortunately I have not interpreted any yet.  I just about got into an argument with a Jehovas Witness Friday, and apparently since I don't know the years that Moses was a prophet, I don't know what I'm talking about, which is dumb because she looked it up herself and then told me that!  Anyway that's always interesting.  We found a lady with her 2 kids that has been inactive for some time but she told us she wants us to baptize her son, so that was really cool, and she came to church this week which was awesome!  That's what is happening now. I'll talk to you guys next week! Love Ya!

Week 28 - New Area

Hi Mom, so...... I´m in the Jungle.   I haven´t stopped sweating since the moment I got here.  I didn´t know that was possible.   I´ll be in a lesson with sweat just pouring down my face.  I started drinking 3 liters of water every day but I just sweat it all out.  It's a lot different being here in the jungle.   My new companion is alright - he thinks he is my boss though, so I guess I´ll work on my Christ like attributes... one of the which being patience.   I got moved up to senior companion, which I guess is cool.  My zone leaders said they want me training next change so we´ll see what happens.  It´s pretty brutal trying to sleep here with just a fan, and sweating all night, but hopefully i´ll acclimatize soon.  I like it here though.   I think I´ll be able to have a little bit more success.  The people are a lot more receptive.   Part of our area has about 500 inactives which is like 3 wards, so we're trying to think of what we can do here.  We do have a regular church building here so that is really nice.   Once again I got my welcoming present of having to teach gospel principles class.  It was a 12 hour bus ride to get here from Cusco, in the middle of the night, and then work the next day, so that was interesting.   Well that is what is going on now.  Hey Thanksgiving is this week!!   Kind of weird - I forgot about it until an Elder reminded me today.   Anyways let me now how it goes!  I love you guys.  Here is some more pics.   The one with the family is the family I ate every lunch and dinner with for 4 and a half months, and then there is some pics of my new area.

Week 27, Peru

Hi Family!  Thanks for the pictures. Hey, thanks a ton for sending me a package for my birthday.  I got it right after I left the internet last week.  It was nice to have some home made cookies! Hey I have my first transfer to another area tomorrow, so that´s crazy after I've been in the same area for 4 and a half months.   It's going to be weird to leave.  I think I'm going to the jungle part of Peru too, so thats what is happening now.  We had zone conference this week, which was cool.   It's kind of brutal to leave behind the people I started to teach - I wanted to see them baptized, but I guess as long as they're baptized that is what matters.   Anyway, here are some pics! Love you guys!

Week 26 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELDER BARRETT!!

HI EVERYONE, Thanks for the Happy Birthdays!  You sent me a package? No, I haven't got it yet.  Wow - Brennan has grown a lot, he's going to be as tall as me when I get home.  I got an email from Grandma.  I'll write her back soon.  This week we started teaching a cool family -  they're married, which is like the rarest thing here.  That is one of the reasons why it is hard to baptize here - no one in peru is married practically.  Things are going good.  It is kind of weird having my birthday today without having my funfetti cake - just more rice and potatoes ha, ha.  I decided for my 23rd birthday there will have to be 3 funfetti cakes to make up for it.  It makes me miss you guys today!   Anyway I don't have much to say for this week.  We walked,  preached, and had a little more succes than last week.   We're trying to compete with the Jehovas Witnesses and the Missionary Movement and all the other missionarys out down here, so we usually have to unconfuse people at first.   I'm out of time - I love you all, talk to you next week!

Pictures

Week 25, New Post

Hi Mom, hey glad Cara had a good  birthday.  Thanks for the scripture. I'm getting better at having to give talks and lessons in church without notice, so I guess that's good.  I didn't really have a good week.  My companion was sick for most of it so we weren't able to do much.  I had a work visit with the zone leaders, it was pretty cool.  I learned a lot.   I'm always looking for ways to improve the way I teach, and my zone leader is pretty amazing at teaching, so I learned a few new things.  I think a lot just comes with time, but there isn't a perfect way because we have to teach everyone to their needs.   Sometimes that is really hard.   We're working hard to get some baptisms but it isn't really happening, at least for the moment.   I feel sometimnes like were just planting seeds. It's alright though,  I know why I'm here. Anyway,  I hope to have a better week, so I can have more to say, love you guys!

Week 24, Peru

Hi, Mom, Tell CARA HAPPY BIRTHDAY for me tommorow!! I hope she has a great day too!! This week was alright.  I helped plow part of a field with a pick axe - that is how they do it.  Nothing much really happened this week, we're still working with our families and always looking for new people to teach.  It's starting to rain here alot, and the hail here is pretty crazy, but everything is going good.  I don't really have much to say, but I'll send home some pics next week so you can see what is going on.  I'll talk to you guys next week, hope Cara has a great day, love you guys!

Week 23, Peru

Hi, Hey that's chèvere Brett passed his boards! That's awesome.  It's sweet Aunt Ines is visiting- too bad I'm not there to take part in the cinnamin rolls :( I've forgotten what all of those things are like.  Even what it's like to eat a meal without my portion of rice and potatoes!  That's cool the stake conference is in the conference center.  My address will be the same for the whole mission, because everything gets sent to the mission office, then they send it out to all the different zones.   Yesterday we were teaching a lesson, and some old guy that was visiting our family, told us that because Joseph Smith isn't mentioned in the Bible he is a false prophet.   Then later he told us that he is the last apostle..... so yeah.  This week one of the girls we're teaching got an answer to her prayers that the church is true, but her dad won't let her get baptized.  The last time we taught her she said the closing prayer, and in her prayer she said, please help my parents to understand that the things I'm learning are true.  That was so awesome! Yeah there is an elder in my zone from South Jordan too, and I started talking to him today and it was hard to speak in English - so that's good!   Cara turns 20 in a few days and I turn 21.  This is weird, I will spend the entire 21st year of my life in Perù!  I want to stay in my area longer, this will be my 3rd change here and usually the max is 4, but I have 3 families that are mine (because I started teaching them).  They are families that I want to see baptized, so I hope I can stay here a little bit longer.   My new zone is kinda lame compared to the old one because we would always go cool places.  Here, were just going to play soccer every week, but everything is going good.  I love you guys, and I'll talk to you next week!

Weeks 21 and 22

Week 21--

Hi, glad you enjoyed conference.  I thought it was pretty good--it's not the same though with the voices of the translators.  Yeah, it's finally October!  Kind of weird though, because it doesn't seem like it.  It's starting to rain a little more here that's about it.  Anyway, everything is going good.  I get a new companion tomorrow, but I'm staying in the same place so we'll see what happens.  I don't have a lot of time to write, but hope you guys have a great week.  Hey, Cara becomes 20 this month!  

Week 22--

Hi, Hey glad everything is going good! That is awesome you saw Alex!  I got the e-mail from Jennie today.  I'll write her next week.   I don't have a lot of time to write when I have a bunch of different letters to read.  I'm glad everyone is going to the temple regularly-- I won't be able to go for some time.  I got a new companion. Elder Nalli from Chile.  He's pretty cool.   We started tracting in a new area and it's going pretty good.  Our area is pretty huge.  It's pretty difficult because nobody wants to do anything, but it's alright.  We have 2 families that should be getting baptized soon so that's awesome.  Anyways that's what's going on for now.  I'll be able to write more next week.  I got a new zone that's huge so there is a ton of other people.   I love you guys and I'll talk to you next week!!

Week 20, Second Post

Overlooking the town 

Where they hold church meetings, our apartment is above

This is our apartment

This "graffiti" means "I love you"

Meal Time!

Yum!

Hi Mom, Glad you guys had a good week!  America is definately the Beautiful for a reason! Perù is a beautiful country it's just really sad the people can't enjoy it very much.  This week were weren't really out working much because we had zone conferance and interviews and all that stuff so not much really happened. Man sometimes it's really frustrating trying to teach people.  It gets to the point where my companion and I just don't know how to help the person anymore, and we can't keep teaching them because they'll be more condemned in the end if they don't accept the gospel, but I like the video called,  "Sunday will come".   It is one of those mormon messages.  Look it up on youtube.  We have a few of them to show people, they're pretty good. Oh ya, there a 4 of us in Izcuchaca and one is from Guatamala and he speaks English pretty good so that helps.  I'm doing everything i can to speak more, teaching half of the lesson, talking with people or our cook a lot, I just don't care what people think as far as that goes anymore.  Sometimes people start laughing when I'm teaching, but whatever,  I start laughing too, haha.   How did Brett do on the test? I'm sure he passed, but Jennie didn't write me back so ya :( NO IT`S FINE JENNIE!!!! IT`S FINE!!!!  Yeah, we going to watch all of conferance in the stake center in Cusco so that will be awesome! Anyways I'm still alive! And everything is going good trabjando duro para el Señor! Hope you guys have a good week, Oh yeah, I hope you said Hi for me on Grandma's birthday, and it's almost October, how weird is that! Anyways I love ya guys, Hasta la proxima, chow

Week 20, Izcuchaca, Peru

Excerpts from a letter Aaron sent to Cara this past week:
"I'm not sure where to start telling you about how things are here.  First, Peru is crazy.  There is some stuff here that I'm not sure I'll understand the whole 2 years I'm here.  The way people live down here is so different!  And some times it's hard for me to deal with.  I've seen a lot of stuff that has made me ask, "why!?!"  The people are different too, but the awesome people we are teaching right now, they are great!  The mom has so much faith!  And their little girl is really cute.  One thing I've really come to learn or something that has become "real" to me now is the fact that everybody IS A CHILD OF GOD!  Before, that was just something I would say, but I'll tell you it's true!  I'm going to be honest, this is not the easiest thing I have done in my life.  The fact that I'm in pretty much a different world and a new language for me has been the cause of a few really hard days.  I get so frustrated sometimes when I'm trying to teach or just talk with people and I can't say what I feel I should say or even just express myself.  It's really horrible when people don't really pay attention to you because you can't speak well.  I have had people start laughing at me  while I'm trying to offer a prayer, and even in the CCM here in Lima during the practice teaching session.  There have been some days where it just makes you want to cry.  It is very humbling.  Now I just laugh myself and don't care what anybody thinks.  I just have to do what I've been called to do.
The food here is another story.  You already know some about that.  A few days ago our cook lady member person (she's awesome) had some cook books out and I went through and put my initials on stuff that sounded good.  So now, thanks to the grace of the Lord, we are eating with a little variety.  There is still the soup for lunch everyday with the random piece of chicken or cow you've never seen or heard of before, and when you see it, you're just. . . . hmmmm?
You wanted to know about the person I baptized.  His name is Miguel Angel Alverez Mendoza.  He's 18 and he has his own little tailor shop.  His dad is a member, but he is an alcoholic, like every one else in his family, which is really sad.  Miguel is really awesome.  He's still having some problems, but considering his circumstances he has a lot of faith.  It's really hard to get people to follow through on their commitments.  A lot just won't come to church, which really is bad, because we can't baptize them until they do.  We keep working hard, and we have some really awesome people that are progressing.
I want to let you know that I KNOW that the church is true, that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, that the Book of Mormon is not just a book, but it has power because it is the Word of God!  I know that Father in Heaven provided this gospel for our happiness in this life and in the one to come.  And I know the Word of God has power to change a man from what he used to be, to a Son of God.  I share that with you in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, even the Son of God, Amen.
P.S.  "For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss."  Alma 37:44

Week 19, Cusco, Peru

Hi Mom, this week I fell down a manhole - well something like it - just one leg though, but we were trying to find this guys house in the dark and I didn't see it, thought I'd let you know.  Also we had our stake conference this week with President Monson and Elder Christopherson and another Seventy and the Relief Society President, so that was awesome.  Elder Christopherson speaks Spanish very well so that was really cool, and I actually understand about 80 percent of was being said so that was sweet.  There is always gaps with words or expressions I don't know, but for the most part I understand. Still working on learning how to talk though, progressing.   I was told that for 4 months I speak very well, but still having a difficult time once and a while, but looking at where I started from I think I'm doing ok.   We're still working hard down here.  One of the Hermana`s we are teaching told us that we are an answer to her prayers, that was awesome!   She even traveled all the way to stake conference in Cusco, I can`t wait till she is baptized but we have to wait for her and her husband to get married, but he`s working in another city till probably December.   It will be awesome when it happens and he really likes the church and everything too.  I also taught this couple about the importance of marriage and everything and after we left their house I was just like WOW - what just happened?   I don't think it was me speaking, but yeah,  that's the best stuff that has happened this week.   I'm out of time but I love you guys, and hope your week is great! Here is some pics of the ancient Inca salt mines we went to and some ruins. 

Week 18, Cusco, Peru

Note:  Aaron's two last letters were short and mostly in Spanish.  I would have posted them anyway, but they did not translate well.  Sorry!  Here's this weeks letter:

Hi Mom, I'm glad you had a great week with everybody, tell Brett I hope he does well on his test.  Hey, tell Grandma happy birthday for me this week too, please, and that I will write her soon.  Tell Cara good luck for me with her starting school.   I got my package 2 weeks ago it only took about 3 weeks.   Sorry, but there is so much stuff that happens throughout the week sometimes I don´t remember it all, but thank you very much for sending me the stuff I needed, however maybe next time you could perhaps send some home made cookies or something like that!  This week has been really good.  We have a new little family that we are teaching and they are awesome.  The mom has come to church the past two weeks with their daughter and they stay for the whole thing!  (which here is a big deal)  We have some others that are progressing well too.  Yesterday we were teaching a guy with his wife for the first time and we were teaching the restoration,  my companion started to talk about baptism and the guy said,  "What do I have to do to be baptized?" it was awesome!  I hope things keep going great with them.  Oh yeah,  I forgot to tell you I´m first counselor in the Elders quorum.  Everything is going good.   I hit 4 months yesterday, it´s crazy the way time works once you're a missionary everything in the past feels like a dream.   I can only imagine what it will be like 2 years from now!   Anyways, I love ya and I'll talk to you next week.

Week 16, Cusco, Peru

Hi Mom.  Wow, everybody wrote me this week!   I'm sorry I don't have time to write all back, having only a half hour isn't the best.  I don't think my comments acerca de (about) catholocism was recieved well,  ha ha.  I was trying to be a little funny, however most don't seem to receive my humor well.  I don't hate catholics or bible bash people or anything.   Not really much happened this week, I was sick the first part so I wasn't able to work as hard, but I'm all good now. HEY Elder Anderson talked to us this week and taught our whole mission a lesson, it was awesome.  He speaks 4 languages.  He was walking around and having everyone participate.  It was pretty cool, and he bore strong testimony of the savior at the end.  Two other 70 were with him and they spoke also.  So ya,  I love you guys and I'll talk to you next week!

Week 15, Cusco, Peru

Querida Familia, Previo un saludo! Estoy Luchando contra a los catolicos, y la falsa doctrina del diablo. Por què la papa es un profeta del diablo y sus ensenanzas es el camino al infiermo. Es Deficil y a veces duro, pero Dios es conmigo. Y el precio de una alma ante los ojos del Señor es grande. 
Este semana ecountro un poco mal salud, pero estoy trabajando duro. Es todo en honor a la verdad. 
Hey everybody, I had my first Baptism this week! It was awesome!  The water was so freezing cold but the spirit of Dios was like a fire burning!  I was practicing the prayer all day (ha ha) and down here they have 4 or 5 names and they are usually really difficult, but I did it right the first time (with the ayuda del Señor) that's an experience I'll remember para siempre (forever). I´ve come to find down here that Catholocism is not a religion, it´s a race! We have this kid we're trying to teach, and we went to his house and it was just his dad there, and he was said that his son doesn't have time for us and that he was born catholic and he will die catholic, and that all of his family is catholic and will die catholic and that God provided the catholic church basically to put an end to all that is wrong in the world........ little does he know he´s wrong.  There are quite a few people like that in Izcuchaca, but it´s alright for the weapons of our warfare are not carnel, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds and casting down vain imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against God and bringing every thought into the captivity of Christ. (I forgot the ref. for that).  But I'm out of time!  I love you guys!, hope you have a great week!

Week 14, Cusco, Peru

Hi, glad you guys had a fun Saturday.  Hey that´s awesome with Brennan tell him I think that's awesome. Thanks for sending the things I need, I really appreciate it.   You´ll have to see some of the mountains around here - they make the Oquirrh mountains look like nothing.  Our baptism this saturday fell through so that was a little disappointing.  The churchs around here teach some pretty interesting stuff.  A lot of the people we talk to always ask about the number of the beast, when is the end of the world, and what is hell.  One girl this week I asked her what she hoped for in life, and she was like "nothing" and then I asked her what she thought the puurpose of life was and she said there is pretty much no purpose.  We tried to teach her some stuff but nothing really happened so that was a bit depressing.  Some of the recent converts gave talks this Sunday and it was really awesome to hear their testimonies.  Everything else is going good though.  Anyway, I have to get off the computer, say hi to everyone for me.  Love ya, cuidense, next week.

Week 13, Cusco, Peru

Hi Mom and Dad, Hey that's awesome you saw Jared and Carly, glad things are working out for them, I'll have to write them soon.  The only address I have is for the mission office - the one i gave you, they divy out the mail every week to the diff. zones.  Things are going good.  We had another baptism yesterday, well the other elders, but still it was awesome. My companion and I have a baptism this wednesday, so I'm hoping that goes thru and I'm really looking forward to that. I taught the lesson for our zone meeting today, it went pretty good. I think I might be in a trio for the next few weeks until cambios, because the other elder left this morning.  Oh yeah! I ate guinea pig this week! It's alright, not a lot of meat, I'd rather eat something else though.   We helped out our branch president this week for a service project, cleaning up corn stalks for 8 hours and picking out corn.  Then later in the week we helped build a roof, the old way with mud and stuff.  People down here still build new houses with adobe and mud roofs, with no fancy stuff.  Everything is going good and I think I've eaten the average amount of potatoes, chicken and rice that the normal person eats in a year or so in the past month.  Variety doesn´t really exist, all the restaraunts in Izcuchaca are either chicken or pig, but at least I have food.

Week 12, Cusco, Peru

Hi Mom, glad everything worked out well with Brett and Jennie.  Wow, brennan has grown a lot when I get back he´ll be almost as tall as me! How is Cara doing? What do you mean by postage? If you could please send me 2 packages of those grey socks I like to wear - the hanes brand work socks - the thick ones. If I use those slim church ones for the rest of my mission I'll have hobbit feet ha ha. We had 4 baptisms on Saturday.  That was awesome.   We baptize in a waterfall so that's way cool!  I got to participate in the confirmations on Domingo (Sunday), that was a spiritual experiance. I´m gonna have to learn the ordinance prayers pretty quick. Oh yeah, I ate cow stomach last week, that was brutal.  I couldn't finish it, I tried, I really did, but it was like an inch of fat with like the stuff on your tongue but 5 times the size.   I'll have to send my memory card home from now on because the internet is way to slow to upload the photos.   Everything is going good.  The other Elder from California that lives in the next room to us goes home this Sunday, so I'll be all alone in the "spanish" world with no help, but I'll learn faster that way I think.  Anyways I love you guys, and I'll talk to you next week!

Week 10, Cusco, Peru

¡Hola!  I`m not going to write much because I want to send some photos and that takes some time. I`m glad Brennan had a fun birthday, I didn´t even get to see the last Harry Potter movie and now it´s all over, oh well. Yeah, I think I remember the Dinosaur park a little bit, sounds like everybody had a great time! Glad things are going well for Brett and Jennie! And that´s awesome with Dad, i hope it works out really well! Everything here is going well.  I challenged a lady we're teaching to baptism this week and she accepted so that will happen next month, so that is exciting! Other than that just teaching every day, and working hard, sometimes I bomb the lesson because of my Spanish, my companion always saves it, but as long as the spirit is there it´s all good. 

 

My Adress is

Elder Aaron A. Barrett

Jirón Ricardo Palma

Manzana "A" Lote Number 2 (Use the number symble not the word)

Edificio Ricardo Palma, 4to Piso

Urbanización Santa Mónica

Cusco, Perú

First Letter from Mission Field, Izcuchaca, Peru

HOLA FAMILIA, I understand mi Sobrina and mi Hermano had birthdays since I last wrote.  I hope they both had a great time!  I'm glad your starting to feel better Mom!  HI to Bro. and Sister Johnson (Say thanks to Sister Johnson for writing me.  I'd write everybody seperate letters but on my income it's expensive.   I was happy to hear from her,  and I hope they are doing well down in Delta!) So, I'm in my first area here in Peru.   It's called Izcuchaca, and it's about an hour away from Cusco.  I was going to send pics but I forgot my camera so I'll send them next week!  Were going to some ruins today as a district for p-day so I'll have pictures of that too.  My companion is Elder Chavez.  He is from Nicaragua.  He is 25.  He's a really great teacher and he's helped me out a lot. My first night I stayed at the Mission President's house because the busses to our town stopped for the day so we had breakfast with the mission President and his wife.  That was cool.  He seems like a really nice guy.  My room is alright, it's the shower that's no bueno, haha.  Basically, if you want warm water you have no pressure and if you want more water presure the water is freezing cold.  There is some little electric coil thing on the shower head doesn`t work very well -- welcome to South America.  It's given me a lot of perspective.  The people here are really awesome, I like it a lot.  The area I'm in has been closed for 15 years and was just re-opened 4 months ago.  There is about 25 members or so but we had record attendance yesterday of 41, so thats exciting.  There is no bishop or anything, just a group leader.  We only have sacrament and sunday school. Oh yeah, we live above the church which is basically the size of 2 living rooms. We already have a baptism for the end of this month.  I can't really take any credit--my companion taught him all the lessons with his old comp, but we challenged him 2 days after I got here and that was way cool.  I hope it goes through, we have several other investigators we're teaching as well.  It's hard just because I always hit the language wall but I get a little better everyday so that's how I look at it.  We don't have to worry about cooking.  We have a cook for lunch and dinner and another lady that does our laundry by hand.  I gave my first talk in church yesterday.  It went alright,  I didn't stay up there to long.   Every Friday we have nocha misional which is basically the members get together and we teach a lesson and play game, kind of like mutual.  There is two other elders that live in the room next to us and one is from California, so that has helped me but he only has 3 weeks left.  That's my life as a missionary right now.  I don't have time to write my address-sorry.  I love you guys (and Aunt Mary wrote me, too.   Say Hi to her for me and I hope they're doing well) Talk to you next week.

Week 4, Lima, Peru

Everything is fine here, we went tracting this last Saturday(well actually visiting inactive members and we taught one lady), and it didn´t go well at all, it was a pretty tough experience, I can´t wait to start getting more of the language down that will help so much, because i´m not scared to talk  to people and that stuff, so once i start learning more spanish that will help so much. I'm leaving for the field this coming Monday! That´s pretty crazy, i´m a little nervous honestly, but i´m sure everything will turn out all right just quite of few tough days ahead with the language, but since i´ll be imersed in it and have to speak it all the time, i´m sure it won´t take to long. And the new companion i sent you the picture of last week is only my companion while i´m here, all the north americans have 2 differant latino companions while they stay here, because the latinos are only here for three weeks.  And all the water here at the mtc is filtered, but last saturday we were at a members house and the old guy gave me some sort of drink and it made me really sick for that night and the next day, i´ve gotten sick a few times while being here.
Next time I email i´ll be out in the field!! I Love you Dad, and Mom , and the Family(hope things work out for Jennie and Brett the way they want them to), keep me up to date on things at home. Love you guys!

New Companion, Lima, Peru 6/28

More Pictures from Lima, Peru 6/11