Week 13 Missionary Email
Date
December 11, 2023
Area
Santa Fe District, Lima Peru North Mission
Companion
Elder Shuldberg
Week 13 Missionary Email
Hello everyone!
First full week in Lima and now I am officially not a tourist!!! We have a baptism coming up this week and I also gave a talk in church, along with many other memorable stories and experiences!!
I'm not HIM: One day we were walking in the streets and we saw a member calling us from his "moto": "Élderes!!" so we walked over and started talking (this happens a lot here). While we are talking, a rough-looking man comes up, gets on his knees and starts worshipping us. He kissed our hands and feet and this might have been one of the most uncomfortable moments of my entire life. We quickly but politely ended the conversation with the member and got out of the situation as fast as we could. I was glad to get out and start walking.
Fútbol: On Thursday night, we went to the Fútbol activity at the church because some of our non-member friends were there and WOW!!!!!!! These guys were absolutely cracked at soccer!! It was beautiful to watch. It's crazy when you see little 5-year-olds kicking a soccer ball in the street way better than you have ever seen in the states. They are playing soccer everywhere - the streets, the basketball courts, the turf fields. There is also always people watching as well, with near 24/7 concessions. It's kind of funny how their foot-eye coordination is so off the charts but they can't catch a ball for their lives! I also bought a soccer jersey of a team called "El "U"" (pronounced "oo"). There are two main soccer teams in Lima, and they are HUGE rivals. I personally think I chose the one that wins more, but that's just me. And don't worry guys, I'm not a soccer fan now, I just gotta stay involved in sports somehow.
Bus rides: This is the primary way to get from one part of town to another. To get on the bus, you wave your hand out, and they just stop on the side of the road for you. Once they stop, basically the second you enter they slam their foot on the gas and start driving (I almost fell over today getting on the bus to the mall, I was not prepared!). To get out, you yell "baja!!" and they stop, let you out, and slam their foot on the gas again. The bus drivers are also very aggressive. Sometimes, we are so close to another bus that I could probably put my notebook out the window and it would bridge the gap.
Temple trip: Friday we had the amazing opportunity to go to the temple! We took a lot of the friends we were teaching and I think they were all very much edified. The temple was farther away than I thought (45 minutes by bus), but when we got there, it was totally worth it. It's so cool how you can feel the Spirit in the Lord's house, no matter what part of the world you are in. It was different (three stories, right in the middle of a very loud part of town) but it had the same feeling and the art was phenomenal and super modern. I can't wait for the dedication next month!
Talk: Saturday night, my companion told me "oh, and we're giving a talk tomorrow." I was understandably quite shocked. That night, I wrote down some quick notes (Alma 34:32 and a quote from President Nelson). The next day, they called "Élder Ruler" to the stand and there I was, below-average Spanish skills and all, teaching a Spanish congregation about things that we need to do to prepare to meet God. Afterwards, people said that they loved what I said and understood me very well, some said even more than my companion!! This is an absolute miracle because I couldn't even understand the compliments they were giving me - I had to look to my companion to interpret LOL!!!!!
"Get a popsicle": One day, both my companion and I felt that we should get a popsicle from a certain stand at the same time, which is kind of weird because I'm not a huge popsicle guy, and there's like a gazillion popsicle stands around here. We both got a popsicle and we started talking to the vendor about what we do as missionaries. She was interested, but not any more interested than any of the other people that meet with us and drop us immediately after. We set up a return appointment, and I left with the best popsicle I've ever had, thinking the Spirit had a really good taste for popsicles. Confused, I wrote this down in my journal: "the Spirit has a good taste for popsicles". However, when we met with this girl, she said that she had been looking for the correct church of God, and she was looking to be baptized in the true church of Jesus Christ. It honestly seemed too good to be true. Now, I will always get a popsicle, even if I'm not sure.
Élder Regla
Pictures: Us in front of the church, the temple travel group, and of course me in front of the "El Gringo" restaurant, because that's what people call me everyday.
First full week in Lima and now I am officially not a tourist!!! We have a baptism coming up this week and I also gave a talk in church, along with many other memorable stories and experiences!!
I'm not HIM: One day we were walking in the streets and we saw a member calling us from his "moto": "Élderes!!" so we walked over and started talking (this happens a lot here). While we are talking, a rough-looking man comes up, gets on his knees and starts worshipping us. He kissed our hands and feet and this might have been one of the most uncomfortable moments of my entire life. We quickly but politely ended the conversation with the member and got out of the situation as fast as we could. I was glad to get out and start walking.
Fútbol: On Thursday night, we went to the Fútbol activity at the church because some of our non-member friends were there and WOW!!!!!!! These guys were absolutely cracked at soccer!! It was beautiful to watch. It's crazy when you see little 5-year-olds kicking a soccer ball in the street way better than you have ever seen in the states. They are playing soccer everywhere - the streets, the basketball courts, the turf fields. There is also always people watching as well, with near 24/7 concessions. It's kind of funny how their foot-eye coordination is so off the charts but they can't catch a ball for their lives! I also bought a soccer jersey of a team called "El "U"" (pronounced "oo"). There are two main soccer teams in Lima, and they are HUGE rivals. I personally think I chose the one that wins more, but that's just me. And don't worry guys, I'm not a soccer fan now, I just gotta stay involved in sports somehow.
Bus rides: This is the primary way to get from one part of town to another. To get on the bus, you wave your hand out, and they just stop on the side of the road for you. Once they stop, basically the second you enter they slam their foot on the gas and start driving (I almost fell over today getting on the bus to the mall, I was not prepared!). To get out, you yell "baja!!" and they stop, let you out, and slam their foot on the gas again. The bus drivers are also very aggressive. Sometimes, we are so close to another bus that I could probably put my notebook out the window and it would bridge the gap.
Temple trip: Friday we had the amazing opportunity to go to the temple! We took a lot of the friends we were teaching and I think they were all very much edified. The temple was farther away than I thought (45 minutes by bus), but when we got there, it was totally worth it. It's so cool how you can feel the Spirit in the Lord's house, no matter what part of the world you are in. It was different (three stories, right in the middle of a very loud part of town) but it had the same feeling and the art was phenomenal and super modern. I can't wait for the dedication next month!
Talk: Saturday night, my companion told me "oh, and we're giving a talk tomorrow." I was understandably quite shocked. That night, I wrote down some quick notes (Alma 34:32 and a quote from President Nelson). The next day, they called "Élder Ruler" to the stand and there I was, below-average Spanish skills and all, teaching a Spanish congregation about things that we need to do to prepare to meet God. Afterwards, people said that they loved what I said and understood me very well, some said even more than my companion!! This is an absolute miracle because I couldn't even understand the compliments they were giving me - I had to look to my companion to interpret LOL!!!!!
"Get a popsicle": One day, both my companion and I felt that we should get a popsicle from a certain stand at the same time, which is kind of weird because I'm not a huge popsicle guy, and there's like a gazillion popsicle stands around here. We both got a popsicle and we started talking to the vendor about what we do as missionaries. She was interested, but not any more interested than any of the other people that meet with us and drop us immediately after. We set up a return appointment, and I left with the best popsicle I've ever had, thinking the Spirit had a really good taste for popsicles. Confused, I wrote this down in my journal: "the Spirit has a good taste for popsicles". However, when we met with this girl, she said that she had been looking for the correct church of God, and she was looking to be baptized in the true church of Jesus Christ. It honestly seemed too good to be true. Now, I will always get a popsicle, even if I'm not sure.
Élder Regla
Pictures: Us in front of the church, the temple travel group, and of course me in front of the "El Gringo" restaurant, because that's what people call me everyday.
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