Whew! It’s been a week! We received 3 missionaries from the USA on Tuesday and they are up and running. It’s so fun to see these experienced missionaries dive into the work here in Lima. It’s not easy jumping into to a new culture, living conditions, and language, even though most of them have been speaking a little Spanish in their prior mission. So we are happy to see when they jump in with enthusiasm.
President
and Sister Manly are also up and running. President Manly DROVE to the mission
office in the crazy Lima traffic … and he’s been here less than 2 weeks! That’s
courage!
We
continue to train the office elders. Lane has had some frustrating moments as the
mission credit card has been glitching lately, meaning that it gives an “insufficient
funds” message when he’s at the store check-out counter with piles of supplies
for the houses we are “opening” for all the incoming missionaries. Sometimes he
can take a few items out of the cart and then the card will work, but sometimes
it doesn’t work at all. And sometimes it does work. Anyway, the Area office is
looking into the issue, but in the meantime we’re stuck and a little nervous
about how we are going to get enough houses ready for all the new in-coming
missionaries. We are definitely looking at miracles here.
One of our
missionaries was bit by a dog on Friday, so we sent out the rabies vaccine kit
yesterday. The missionaries follow a protocol for this … taking the vaccines to
a pharmacy where they pay a technician a small fee to administer the shot
(there are 5 shots that have to be administered on a set time table). I’ve
never heard of a missionary having any problems doing this (and we’ve had
several missionaries who have been bitten). However, Sister Manly informed us
that this elder took the kit to 3 pharmacies and none of them would give him
the shot … the pharmacy technicians said that they didn’t know how to mix the
solution and that he’d have to go to a clinic. The clinic then told him that
he’d have to get a doctor’s note. AARGH! Anyway … Sister Manly had them
video-chat with our Area doctor who talked them through the process of mixing
the vaccine so they could tell the pharmacy tech how to do it. As they were
finishing up, the missionary’s companion (who happens to be one of our
newly-arrived elders from the USA) piped up and said, “Can I just give him the
shot? I’m in pre-med and have seen lots of shots given.” The Area doctor OK’d
this plan and our dog-bitten elder got his rabies vaccine! And our pre-med missionary got a little
medical experience.
Things
don’t always go as we hope … credit cards glitch, dogs bite … but Jesus Christ
is ever mindful of us and our struggles.
“… Behold,
mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I
receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.” (3 Nephi 9:14)
¡Que
tengan una semana fantástica! (Have a fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane &
LeAnn
As we were walking with President and Sister Manly from the office to our apartment, we passed this fellow that started a conversation about how he was a member. He then described how it had been many years since he had attended church because he was too busy with work and family. President Manly responded with an enthusiastic, "Bring your family with you!"
