¡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
¡Hola a Todos! (Hello All!)
It’s been another busy week in the mission and here in Lehi,
UT. We are encouraged to see the Covid numbers trending downward in Peru, and
hopefully that will continue. But…we still don’t have any news regarding when
Peru’s religious VISA process will open up. So, we continue to serve from afar.
This week in Relief Society the lesson focused on Elder Jorge
T. Becerra’s recent General Conference talk, “Poor Little Ones.” Elder Becerra
currently serves in our mission area presidency and somehow we feel a connection
to him, even though we’ve never personally met him. We love his reminder to:
“… be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed
unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen
the feeble knees”
“And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto
thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord”
(Doctrine and Covenants 81:5,4).
¡Que tengan una semana súper fantástica! (Have a super
fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
A ward member's basement flooded from a leaky pipe.
¡Hola a Todos! (Hello
All!)
Although we are anxious to actually get to Peru, this week we
experienced the “silver lining” of serving our mission from home. We were able
to see – live and in-person – five of our six children and their families!
Granted, some of our visits were less than 24 hours, but it was still great to
see them. However, we’re kicking ourselves for not taking more pictures!
Our mission had zone conferences this week, which means
super busy days for President and Sister Packard. We moved forward with our
regular schedule of meetings, language teaching, and working with the office
elders.
This month’s Liahona
magazine has a great article dealing with faith and doubt entitled, “When in
Doubt, Keep the Door Open to Faith” by Molly Holt. I love the following excerpt:
“We keep the door open [to our faith] by continuing to do
the little things God has told us are good for our souls. We keep the Sabbath
day holy and attend our meetings. We read the scriptures, even if it’s just one
verse at times. We listen to a hymn or conference talk. We talk to Heavenly Father
about our concerns and hopes and ask Him to help us know the truth. We keep the
commandments, repent, and seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost.”
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
Served in Brazil, Washington State, then finished in Brazil!
¡Hola a Todos! (Hello
All!)
This past week was a transfer week in our mission, and we
felt, perhaps, a little more melancholy than usual, due to the departure of one
of the elders who had been working in the office when we “arrived” in the mission.
He helped train us in our office duties, and it was sad to see him leave
without really getting to meet him in-person!
As I (LeAnn) was helping one of the sister missionaries
practice her English this week, I noticed that she was all bundled up. She
mentioned that it is “really cold” (probably got down into the 60’s, but it
feels cold to them!) in Lima now. I explained that even though it is hot here
in Utah (high 90’s and low 100’s), I still have to wear a sweater indoors
because certain people who live in my house like to keep it cool. She then
said, “Oh that’s like when I went to the temple in Guayaquil (She’s from
Ecuador). It was so hot outside, but when I went in the temple, I got very
cold. My nose felt frozen!” I guess the “cold church syndrome” is pretty
universal…at least for women!
This past week I read Alma 26:22 which reveals the secret to
knowing the “mysteries of God.” The key lies in implementing the 4 “-eth”
words:
1.
Repenteth
2.
Exerciseth Faith
3.
Bringeth forth Good Works
4.
Prayeth Continually
It sounds so simple and straight-forward, yet each of these
4 things requires sincere effort and dedication. The verse also explains that
those who follow these 4 keys will bring souls – even thousands of souls – to
repentance. However, my younger (and admittedly, wiser) brother, Ryan (who
incidentally celebrates his birthday today!) recently shared a quite different
insight he’d received from this verse when he was a young missionary in Brazil:
“There are lots of commentaries and ideas of what is meant
by the phrase ‘mysteries of God’. I don't think there is one right answer.
Some might think of super deep doctrine. Others have looked into the
origin of the word ‘mystery’ and its translation in other languages and made a
connection to symbols or temple covenants. But one interpretation that
the Holy Ghost taught me on my mission was that ‘the mysteries of God’ also can
refer to the answer to the question ‘What does Clodoaldo [a young man he was
teaching in Brazil] need to be taught today?’ Understanding the needs of
those we are trying to serve, whether as a missionary or in our calling or in
our own family, is one way that God reveals His mysteries to us.”
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
We appreciate all that young parents do for their children and our grandchildren!
¡Hola a Todos! (Hello
All!)
Last week marked the first time an entire zone passed the
Monday surprise apartment cleaning check! It’s been great to talk face-to-face
with the missionaries when we make these video-calls.
Our big, exciting news of last week was the birth of
grandbaby #10, born to Alden and Katie. He is their 3rd boy! While
tutoring (English study) one of the sister missionaries, I (LeAnn) mentioned
that our 10th grandchild had been born the day before. I also
mentioned that this grandchild had arrived a little early, as his due date was
Sunday, July 4th. I was completely surprised and impressed when this
sister missionary piped up with, “Oh, isn’t July 4th the day of
Independence for America?” She wanted to know how we celebrate here in America.
I need to learn more about Peru holidays!
On Friday, our son Jaron who served a mission in Argentina called
to share the news that Peru had won their fútbol (soccer) game against
Paraguay. He was a bit shocked that we weren’t following the Copa América and asked
us how the missionary work was going. Apparently when he was on his mission, mission
work slowed to a snail’s pace when these events occurred. No one would answer their
doors, and it was even tough to coordinate with the members. They love their
fútbol! So, I suppose this is a testament to the great focus our missionaries
have. Not one missionary we interacted with last week mentioned anything about
these games!
President Packard continually teaches the missionaries the
importance of taking a focused-approach to goal-setting through daily and
weekly planning and referenced M. Russell Ballard’s April 2017 general
conference talk:
“Goal setting is essentially beginning with the end in mind.
And planning is devising a way to get to that end. A key to happiness lies
in understanding what destinations truly matter—and then spending our time,
effort, and attention on the things that constitute a sure way to arrive there.”
¡Que tengan una semana
súper fantástica! (Have a super fantastic week!)
Love,
Lane & LeAnn
