New Guys in Characato

Hey Family,

This week was actually pretty event filled and crazy. There was a lot
that happened by way of worldly things, and unfortunately not a ton of
experiences with investigators. I'll try to explain why. I was glad to
hear from all of you. It sounds like everything is going
really good and you all are busy with work and school. I had to write
Elder Lund in Brazil becuase it's his birthday today. I can't wait to
get back and share stories and experiences from the mission with all
my friends. This week I've realized that I have a good grasp of the
language.

So, Monday was interesting becuase I was finally able to get my
package that you sent men in Febuary. It only took like three hours
waiting with all the other Gringo missionaries to get our packages
from home. But, when I finally got my package I was elated to find
CD's, Journals, and pictures of my really wierd family. Oh, and the
food was pretty nice too. Thanks for everything, I know it's a little
expensive to send stuff from the states but it meant a lot to me just
to see your pictures and to see your notes.

Tuesday was really, really, really, exciting becuase we finally found
a pension. It is one of the member's moms. She is so cool. She has
been cooking us lunch and dinner all this week. She is going to feed
us for all of this transfer, and maybe more if we're here for longer.
Her name is Danizta and she's like our mom. She is really outgoing and
talkative and upfront with people. She really reminds me of my mom,
always looking out for our health and worrying for us. And her food is
amazing. I really like her cooking.

Friday morning was really an experience too. That's becuase we got two
new missionaries here in Characato. Thursday night the Assistants
called us and told us that we were going to get two more missionaries
for our area. I didn't believe it, but it really happened. Two Gringos
arrived Friday morning and we had to move them in. One of the Gringos,
Elder Davey, is from San Francisco and has been out for eight months.
The other is a brand new missionary, Elder Johnson. He's from
Cottonwood Heights and went to Skyline. He's super new and is learning
the language. These past three days is when I've really noticed that I
understand and can speak spanish. When I see somebody who knows very
little, I can see my own progress. It's not good to compare yourself
with other people, but in this case it was a real confidence booster
for me and I felt better about my work in the mission. Now we have six
people in the same house, with a tiny kitchen, and one bathroom. I was
excited to get more help in our area, but then I remembered the shower
situation. Its a challenge, but I'll get stronger in some way by this
trial.

The weather here is slowly turning to cold. There was a couple of days
when it got really chilly at night. It's wierd becuase it's pretty hot
in the mornings, then right when the sun goes down, it gets cold. It's
a good change from being just hot all the time.

My companion's family is reading my blog in Huanucò, Peru, so I
thought I would send them a shout out. My companion, Elder Usseglio is
the best. He teaches with such love for the people. I've really
learned how to come out of my shell and connect with the culture. I
really do love Peruvians. But, my comp suffered a little bit of
sickness this week. He's been having stomach problems as you all know,
and it got worse this week. So we went to the doctor's office on
Friday and they scheduled an operation the next day. It's where they
put the camera into your stomach to see what's going on, I'm not sure
what's called in English. But that night he had to have an IV for four
hours. I was bored out of my mind, but I did bring Jesus the Christ to
read. I really fell in love with the stories of Christ's ministry here
on the earth. I really learned a lot about how to teach with simple
metaphors and to ask the right questions. I've also learned some more
gospel principles that James Talmage explains well.

After that IV, the next day we went for the camera tube thing, they
didn't find anything really harmful. He just has some serious acid
reflux and some stomach irritation. They did a biopsy to see if
there's anything else. Hopefully it comes out all clean and he can get
feeling better. But pretty much that was all we did on Saturday.

Sunday was a nice rest. We didn't have church and we couldn't leave
the apartment to proselyte because it was the presidencial elections
yesterday. It was nice to be able to sleep in and just read. The
elections were pretty crazy. In Peru, you have to win at least 50% of
the votes to be the president. But, there were like 8 people running,
so the highest percentage was like 28%. So that means that the two
highest candidates run again for another vote in June. Which means we
get another day off in June, I'm excited.

I got the papers for two more packages. I'm going to pick them up next
week, so thanks in advance for all the stuff.

The church is true, don't ever leave it. I've felt the spirit in my
studies of the life of Christ. I'm really excited to get the General
Conference Edition of the Ensign.

Until next week.

Love

Elder Child