We
received 6 American missionaries this past week! They’ve been serving their
missions in Reno, NV; Boise, ID; Salem, OR; Scottsdale, AZ; Layton, UT; and SLC,
UT. All 6 of them flew down on the same flight, which arrived in Lima at
5:15am. On Monday night, we’d set up 6 air mattresses in the “sala” (or conference
room) so they were able to catch about 2 hours of sleep before we started the
paperwork process – scanning ID’s, taking passport photos and fingerprints for
their migrations document, verifying contact information, etc. They also have a
brief interview with President and Sister Manly. Then the Assistants and the
Manlys conduct an orientation and training meeting with them.
The words
that have been showing up multiple times in my personal journal are: busy, crazy,
and crazy busy … and that’s how it’s been. In the evenings we’ve been running
to the stores to buy housing supplies – pillows, pan sets, utensils, mirrors,
etc. (and actually, Lane has had to do a lot of purchasing of large supplies –
desks, bookcases, mattresses, etc. – during the day.)
Of course,
we have to have something unexpected crop up on Saturday night, namely, finding
out that one of our missionaries who is returning home didn’t get his Covid
booster vaccine (which is required for his flight on Tuesday). So, we ended up
scheduling a Covid test and arranging travel for him to get to the test. It’s
all part of the fun. Thank heavens for online scheduling and WhatsApp
messaging!
Today we
attended the Chinchaysuyo ward which is fairly near our apartment. LeAnn’s
fears were realized when she was called upon to read aloud 7 verses from the
Old Testament (in Spanish) in Sunday School and then give the opening prayer at
the baptism which followed sacrament meeting. Even though we’ve been here 10+
months, we’re not proselyting missionaries and therefore aren’t out speaking
with people … meaning … LeAnn’s Spanish is rough. But she did it and lived!
We love
this scripture which was shared at the baptism:
“Come, my
brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money,
come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Wherefore,
do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which
cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have
spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which
perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.”
(2 Nephi 9:50-51)
¡Que
tengan una semana fantástica! (Have a fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane &
LeAnn
¡Hola a Todos! (Hello All!)
What a week! All last weekend, we were researching like
crazy, trying to figure out how to get all the documentation we needed to
travel to Peru. On Monday morning we drove to the Department of Public Safety
in Taylorsville where we were able to get our Criminal History Reports. Then,
in the afternoon, we drove into Salt Lake City to have our electronic
fingerprints taken for our FBI Background Check. There are only 2 post offices
that provide this service in our area, and on Saturday, Lane had driven over to
the post office in West Jordan (the other post office that does electronic
fingerprinting) to ask about how this works. (It would have been fantastic if
we could have gotten the information over the phone, but no one answers the
phone at the post office … and we called multiple times!) Unfortunately, the
people staffing the post office gave him no confidence whatsoever. The two
people at the desk said, “Well, yes, technically we take electronic
fingerprints, but neither of us have ever really got the machine to work.”
WHAT??!
So … we drove into the Salt Lake City location figuring that
it couldn’t be worse. And it wasn’t…yay! The woman at the counter was very
helpful and seemed to know what she was doing. It took a little time as the
machine was very sensitive and glitchy but Lane was able to get good prints
pretty quickly. I, on the other hand, was a different story. We were never able
to get a good print of all my fingers. After multiple attempts and restarting
the machine, the clerk said that sometimes the FBI accept hand prints without a
clear print of all the fingers and sometimes they don’t. AACK! We left the post
office not knowing if we’d have to try again. Luckily (or miraculously!) they
were accepted!
On Tuesday, we drove back into Salt Lake City where we had
our Criminal History Reports Apostilled at the Lieutenant Governor’s office. We
didn’t dare have our papers mailed back to us (and possibly get lost in the
mail!), so we paid the expedited fee and got them back within 10 minutes. Our
paperwork is now complete!
I (LeAnn) made three visits to the dentist this week and my
dental work is now complete!
We are all set (hopefully) to fly out on Wednesday!
While we were scrambling and jumping through hoops this
week, the phrase, “all things shall work together for your good” kept running
through my head.
“Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all
things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the
covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another.” (D&C 90:24)
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
¡Hola a Todos! (Hello All!)
Well…we have tickets to fly to Lima, but of course, as soon
as Friday afternoon hit (and all government and church offices are closed), our
Area travel representative (in Lima) informed us of several processes that must
be completed before we arrive. So, we’re scrambling to figure out how to obtain
all the documents we need. Since this is a new process, the travel rep isn’t
entirely sure on exactly what is needed either. We hope we can figure
everything out!
To add to the fun, I (LeAnn) cracked a crown while eating a
salad (not even a crunchy salad!) … Aargh! Why is it that our teeth always seem
to be a problem?! Thus, we get to add a couple of dental appointments into the
mix of things to do this week.
So…this weekend has felt a little chaotic as we’ve been
scrambling to get information, work with the dentist, and also start packing! In
my mind I thought that once we had our airline tickets, everything would fall
into place. Listening to Elder Wong’s recent general conference address brought
some much needed peace and reminded me that God is in the details of our lives
and He knows the end from the beginning. Elder Wong stated,
“God is our Heavenly Father. He loves all of us. He knows
our potential way better than we know ourselves. He knows not only the details
of our lives. God knows the details of the details of the details of our lives.”
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
The sunset sun is again peaking through the hazy smoke on the horizon.
¡Hola a Todos! (Hello All!)
Today we celebrate six months into our mission…time flies!
We hope to be able to actually go to Peru, and we may have that opportunity
sooner rather than later…stay tuned!
Lane has been doing a lot of housing contract work –
writing/modifying contracts with the Area, working with the landlords to nail
down payment details, and working with the office elders to obtain the proper
signatures. His legal background has been a big help…none of the rest of us
like to trudge through the legalese.
I am still struggling to understand Spanish! But I find
comfort in this thought from Elder Uchtdorf (April 2021, General Conference):
“We are all infants compared to the beings of glory and
grandeur we are designed to become. No mortal being advances from crawling to
walking to running without frequent stumbles, bumps, and bruises. That is how
we learn.”
“As we seek to follow Jesus Christ and walk the path of
discipleship, line upon line, the day will come that we will experience that
unimaginable gift of receiving a fulness of joy.”
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
Zoom call with a representative from the church Area office, helping us figure out the process of getting to Peru on a tourist visa and then changing it to a religious visa upon being there. The church authorized us to follow this process as part of a pilot program (although LeAnn thought they said "pirate" program!).
She doesn't eat much yet, but likes to suck the salt off!
¡Hola a Todos! (Hello All!)
It’s been a good week … but nothing really new to report.
When I (LeAnn) make an English tutoring video-call, it still surprises me to
see the sisters I teach wearing coats and gloves (yes gloves!) in their
apartments. It is chilly in Lima now and they have no furnaces. But they are
full of smiles and good cheer! They are great examples to us and remind us of
the truth found in 2 Nephi 10:23:
“Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are
free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of
eternal life.”
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
We received a fun note from a cute 7 year-old neighbor in our ward,
thanking us for being missionaries!
¡Hola a Todos! (Hello All!)
We are not alone! This week we discovered – thanks to my
sister, Annette, who is always friendly and outgoing – several more couples who
are somehow connected to Lima, Peru. Annette recently moved into a new ward (in
Highland, Utah…just down the road from where we live in Lehi), and at church
she saw a sister who was wearing a missionary name tag. Long story short – this
sister is also serving a mission with her husband in Lima! They serve in the Lima
Tambo Mission (which is located in the downtown Lima area), and they were able
to serve in Peru for 5 weeks before they were evacuated due to Covid. Now they
serve remotely just like us. Anyway, through this connection, we found out
about a group of current and former missionaries who stay connected through
WhatsApp and other events. As luck would have it, they were holding a picnic in
an Orem park celebrating Peru’s Bicentennial…July 28 and 29 are independence
holidays in Peru. Although most of the couples at the picnic have completed
their missions, we were able to meet face-to-face with two other couples who
are doing what we are doing.
Aside from the regular mission work and the fun evening
picnic, it’s been a bit of a rough week for me (LeAnn). Let’s just say that I
received some love and chastening from the Lord. There are many “chastening”
verses sprinkled throughout the scriptures and in several of these verses, the
Lord emphasizes that whom He loves, He chastens. For example:
“Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom
I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven, for with the chastisement
I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things out of temptation, …”
(D&C 95:1)
It’s so hard (at least for me) to own-up to mistakes/errors/sins
and take the necessary steps to correct my actions, but when I do, the Spirit,
through Christ’s Atonement, brings complete peace. Repentance and forgiveness are
such blessings! Even from a secular perspective, I recently heard the phrase: “Get
it off your chest, then give it your best.”
On a final note, today is our wedding anniversary … hard to
believe, but it’s been a great 35 years! And we’re looking forward to another
35!
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
