¡Hola desde Perú! (Hello from Peru!)
This past week was the week before transfers so the missionaries who want to take the OPIc (an oral English proficiency exam) come to the mission office to take this test. I was able to observe/proctor 2 sister missionaries who took this. These sisters had worked to prepare and they both did well. Their examples are inspiring!
On Wednesday, we moved over to one of the vacant missionary apartments
near the office. It’s great to be only 10 minutes from the office (walking),
but it’s been an adjustment in life style. We can’t just jump in the car and
drive to Walmart to get what we need; we have to either walk or catch a
taxi/Uber. And we can’t stock up on tons of stuff; we can only buy what we can
carry in our arms or fit in a taxi/Uber (which isn’t much!).
We’ve definitely felt the pull of Maslow’s theory (hierarchy of
needs/motivation) as we’ve had to grapple with meeting basic needs – clean water,
hot water, shelter, warmth, food, etc.. – something that’s very foreign to us pampered
Americanos! It’s difficult to focus on the “spiritual” when you’re scrambling
to figure out how to find food for dinner. We’re reminded of the story of David
O. McKay, which was retold by H. David Burton in the April 2011 General
Conference:
“In 1897 a young David O. McKay stood at a door with a tract in his hand. As a missionary in Stirling, Scotland, he had done this many times before. But on that day a very haggard woman opened the door and stood before him. She was poorly dressed and had sunken cheeks and unkempt hair. She took the tract Elder McKay offered to her and spoke six words that he subsequently would never forget: ‘Will this buy me any bread?’”
We hope our experiences are helping us empathize with others and
become more like our Savior who “… [took] upon him death, that he may loose the
bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their
infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh,
that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to
their infirmities.” (Alma 7:12)
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
In the mission office courtyard/parking-area learning about dealing with excess mission items.
Meredith and Corinne helped us load up a sofa and some furnishing to take to the apartment where we'll live until we get our religious visas... and maybe longer. (And yes, the sofa is literally "plastic-wrapped" to the top of the car.)
Loaded up in the car with a few furnishing for our apartment that have been in storage since the prior missionary couples left the mission during Covid.
Unloading furnishings to take into the apartment.
These musicians came singing and strolling down the street as we were moving into the apartment. Corinne gave LeAnn a sol (a Peruvian sol is about 25 cents U.S.) and dared her to go and tip them. Challenge accepted!
Pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken) - Preparing our first meal in the apartment. (And a big "Thank You" to LeAnn's mom who taught her how to debone a turkey leg. That skill is coming in very handy!)
Enjoying the first meal in the apartment.
At the front outer door to our apartment. It definitely has a "Harry Potter" vibe...pretty scary looking on the outside, but not too bad once you enter this door, climb the crumbling concrete staircase, and walk down the unlit corridor to the actual door.
Lane's (and Corinne's) mom, and Corinne's daughter and family at the outer front door to our apartment. They were able to fly to Peru to visit for a few days this week.
In our kitchen. You can see our "drinking" water sitting on top of our fridge. None of the sinks have hot water, but thankfully, we have a little 5 gallon "terma" (electric water heater tank that hangs in the shower area) for the shower which provides precisely 1 reasonably comfortable, 5-minute shower (then we have to wait for 35 minutes for the next warm water shower). If you look closely you can see our new favorite appliance, the "hervidor" (electric heating pot for boiling water), sitting on the far back counter. It heats water to boiling in about 2 minutes...AWESOME!
¡Hola desde Perú! (Hello from Peru!)
It felt like this week flew by! We’ve been “shadowing” the
office elders to see what they do on a day-to-day basis, (which you would think
that we’d know by now). But, now that we are actually here in Peru, we see that
there are many things that we still need to learn!
We’ve also spent some time this week looking for an
apartment closer to the mission office. So far, we’ve been staying in the
mission home which is about a 40 minute commute in good traffic. Since we don’t
have a car, we’ve been learning the taxi/Uber system and we’ve done a little
walking as well. We walked to Jockey Plaza (a huge mall and shopping district),
ate dinner (tried the Peruvian McDonalds), bought our groceries, and then
flagged down a taxi to drive us home.
One “plus” to the long traffic commute this week was the
opportunity we had to see the Los Olivos Temple which is under construction not
far from the mission office. Our driver detoured off the regular route when he
saw the traffic jam on the freeway and drove past the temple. That made us
smile!
It almost seems surreal to be here – over 4,200 miles from
home. On one hand, things seem very different – the housing construction, food,
language, etc. And on the other hand, things seem very familiar – people we
pass on the street smile and say, “bien dia,” we’ve found familiar food, and God’s
work keeps moving forward. We love this quote from Elder Uchtdorf (October 2020
General Conference):
“Our best days are ahead of us, not behind us. This is why
God gives us modern revelation! Without it, life might feel
like flying in a holding pattern, waiting for the fog to lift so we can land
safely. The Lord’s purposes for us are much higher than that. Because this is
the Church of the living Christ, and because He directs His prophets, we are
moving forward and upward to places we’ve never been, to heights we can hardly
imagine!”
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
¡Hola desde Perú! (Hello from Peru!)
It’s been a busy week here in Lima. See the below pics for
details!
This morning we attended church near the Area Office where
many of the Americans here attend. This ward provides a translator which is
super nice for me (LeAnn) since my Spanish is very rough! One of the speakers
mentioned how important it is for us to be careful in keeping our promises and
covenants and not be reckless. She referenced Lehi’s dream where he saw many
people who “wandered off and were lost” or “were drowned in the depths of the fountain”
or ended up “wandering in strange roads” (1 Nephi 8:23-33). Nephi shares
insight into how we can avoid getting lost in the mists of worldly darkness:
“Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the
word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and
with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word
of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.” (1 Nephi
15:25)
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
¡Hola desde Perú! (Hello from Peru!)
Believe it or not…we’re finally in Peru! It’s been a
whirlwind, but we’re grateful to be here. We left Salt Lake City on Wednesday,
Sept. 1 around 9:30am and arrived in Lima (with one layover in Houston) at
11:00pm (10:00pm SLC time … we’re only an hour time difference from Lehi). Our
travel went smoothly, but getting through the huge migration line and picking up
luggage took about 1 ½ hours, so didn’t officially arrive to Peru (through
customs) until after midnight, technically Sept. 2. I (LeAnn) did get stopped by what I thought
was a drug-sniffing dog and its police handler. Apparently it was a fruit-sniffing
dog, and my contraband apple was discovered! The officer was super nice though
and just confiscated my apple. Lane had been walking in front of me and had no
idea that I’d been stopped! But luckily the officer had been able to say, “Do
you have fruit?” I understood that!
President and Sister Packard picked us up at the airport and
drove us to their apartment where we will be staying a few days until we find a
more permanent place. We really
appreciate their generous hospitality and help in getting us down here to Lima.
On Thursday, we tagged along with Sister Packard (Lane’s
sister, Corinne) as she made some apartment visits. The driving here is crazy,
but Corinne is now an expert Peruvian driver and she holds her own in the
traffic wars! We loved seeing some of the missionaries live and in-person!
On Friday, we met our Area travel contact at the Interpol
office to start the process of changing our tourist VISAs to religious VISAs. I
was semi-terrified and had visions of being taken to an interrogation room
where I would be asked all sorts of questions I couldn’t understand. But…it was
actually quite uneventful. There was definitely a somber feeling in the air,
but we were able to complete the needed forms, be fingerprinted, have a dental
(?) check (where we opened our mouth and the doctor/dentist shined a flashlight
around and counted our teeth), and have our picture taken. Hopefully, our
paperwork will process quickly!
On Saturday we got up early to beat the crowds for grocery
shopping at Macro (like Costco). Corinne and Meredith (President Packard) had
to purchase supplies for the upcoming P-Day activity. It is interesting to see
how the stores work here. When you enter a parking lot, you have to take a
ticket (like at the airport). Then, when you exit, you have to show proof of
purchase to leave. So, you have to remember to get your ticket validated before
you leave the store area.
Also on Saturday, we were able to do some fun sight-seeing,
with Corinne as our personal guide, down at the ocean and outside the temple.
And we even bumped into two elders at the temple who will be entering our
mission this Wednesday!
On Sunday we attended a stake conference where both
President and Sister Packard spoke. They do an amazing job with their speaking
and we can feel their love for the people. Also, it’s interesting to see the
differences and similarities in church buildings. This building had no foyer;
you enter right into the chapel from outside and the doors are kept open during
the meeting. At one point, I had to do a double-take as I saw a fluffy dog
follow someone down the aisle next to where we were sitting! One of the teenage
boys was finally able to coax the dog back outside.
We love being here and are excited to learn more about our
mission and the people of Lima! Seeing the beauty of this world – the ocean,
the hills, the people – reminds us of this verse:
“And on the seventh day I, God, ended my work, and all things
which I had made; and I rested on the seventh day from all my work, and all
things which I had made were finished, and I, God, saw that they were good;”
(Moses 3:2)
Life is good!
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
