Yesterday, we were able to attend the Lima, Peru Temple with a group of our departing missionaries. What a great experience … even in Spanish! The temple brings us peace, hope, and renewal. I often think of the following scripture when I think of temples:  “Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting...

Yesterday we visited a car museum here in Lima – the collection of Jorge Nicolini – and enjoyed an impromptu private tour of the entire facility. One interesting fact about this museum is that Nicolini purchased all the cars on display here in Perú and restored them himself (with increasing help through the years). We got a behind-the-scene look at the workshop where the dilapidated...

 This week one of the elders who is preparing for his oral English exam asked, “Sister Simmons, how do you pronounce this word: F-U-L-L?” After I said the word a couple of times and explained the concept of “full,” he asked, “How do you say: F-A-L-L?” And then he finally asked, “How do you say: F-O-O-L?” Learning a new language is tricky, and pronunciation is just one piece...

 Morning earthquakes seem to be a thing here. We had another one on Thursday around 5:45am … lots of shaking but no damage to our place. We put our pillows over our heads (yes, that’s a real recommendation of what to do if you’re in bed during an earthquake) and I (LeAnn) prayed like crazy that the building wouldn’t collapse!   As far as mission office work goes … this...

We’ve had a couple of weeks with missionaries arriving on days other than the typical transfer day. On Saturday, Dec. 18 (a few days before transfers) we received 4 Peruvian missionaries (all elders), and then this past week we received 2 American missionaries…an elder and a sister! They have been at the Lima CCM for the past several weeks (which is essentially the Garden of Eden,...