We opened our Mission Call one year ago, Cuzco is where Lyle wanted to go and even though we didn't request it, we were so happy when we opened the envelope and saw that it was where we were called to serve. It has been challenging and wonderful all at the same time. I love the people here and the beautiful places we have been to. We love working with the missionaries and now the Mission Presidency. It has been an honor to serve the Lord in this corner of his vineyard.
Pictures of our Most Recent Adventures
Well, we did a night in Quillabamba as the Presidency had some business there. This is the hotel we stayed at. This pool is a rare sight. We didn't bring swimsuits and it is probably good that we didn't swim, we came home with lots of bug bites as it was and we would have had more. There is no mosquito abatement here. By the way, the rooms were not that great, just the view.
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| Coconut Tree by the pool. |
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| The big trees are mango trees and they are loaded, only the fruit is still green. I miss having fresh mangoes, I think they are my favorite food here. |
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| There are so many beautiful birds here, there were a couple red parrots here too, I just didn't get a picture. |
The next day we were dropped off at Urubamba to do familysearch with the people the missionaries send to us. We love this town and have found this small bed and breakfast for $28.00 a night, the beds are comfortable, the rooms clean and updated, lots of hot water and this great breakfast.
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| Nothing beats the sights and smells of the market early in the morning, as you pass by the fresh flowers and herbs. |
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| A room full of bananas brought in fresh by the farmer. |
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| Look at this tiny door in this very old wall. This is what I look like as we leave the hotel with all of our stuff. Lyle has the small suitcase. We are on our way to church and we will leave for Cuzco right after church. |
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| Colorful plants for sell, by the woman who grew them. |
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| Lyle said this is the future us. |
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| Wonderful sister missionaries! We worked with these two and other missionaries all weekend. It is always fun to spend time with them. |
Quick Trip to Puerto Maldonado for District Meetings
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| No bus this time! Yeah! |
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| This is a very popular restaurant in Puerto with the tourist. Look at this beautiful flower. This is the "jungle" area of our mission and they have fruits and flowers I haven't seen anywhere else. The fruit juices are amazing. |
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| Mission Presidency at a buffet lunch in the middle of nowhere. This is a Brazilian grill restaurant that plays Brazilian music, notice the Rodizio grill in the back. This town is the gateway to Brazil from Peru. |
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| This is Judith, she is 15-years old and she stayed by my side the whole weekend. We had problems getting her account set up and finally, the second day, we were able to get her in her account and put in all her information. Lyle isn't around much to translate for me because he is busy helping with the District work now, so Judith and I had a great time together trying to communicate with my very limited Spanish. I love spending time with these very patient people. |
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| View out the airplane window. |
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| Ariel view of Cuzco |
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| Back to Cuzco, the dogs and the garbage. This time I saw a poor man joining the dogs. It always breaks my heart to see scenes like this. |
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| This is our district. We meet together once a week to have a lesson and report our progress. |
I am getting more and more comfortable with the language. I am also recognizing and getting to know the missionaries (even though they trick me all the time by moving around) and the people here. We have been very blessed to be here. I have a testimony of missionary work, it is amazing to watch the changes for good in the people that accept the gospel. It is also amazing to watch the growth of the missionaries from the time they arrive to the time they return home. The gospel of Jesus Christ brings happiness and peace to everyone that it touches. This year has been a year of tremendous growth for us and it will continue to be as these last few months are packed with lots of traveling and work. Thank you family and friends for all your love and support this past year, we love all of you.
Quillabamba would be a perfect place - if it wasn't so remote, and without the bugs. The hermana's legs were covered with dozens of bites, their "repellent" is to wipe on liquid soap, doesn't seem to work very well. Hopefully they get to wear pants now. We picked fresh fruit right off the member's trees, and got the only fresh orange juice we had for a year - usually "juice in a box" (think Sunny Delight). We stayed at the same hotel - they were working on the swimming pool then, so it looks like they have it finished now. There was black mold growing in the shower.
ReplyDeleteWe love Urubamba. If we had to move from Cusco, we would have moved there. Such a pleasant climate and fun little town, and wonderful members. We stayed at the hotel right next to the chapel - usually we were the only ones there. It was a nice place, but their mattresses and pillows were the hardest I have ever felt. The pillows were so hard they hurt my ear. After the first trip, we brought our own. Where else can you find palm trees growing at 9,400ft?
Puerto Maldonado is another favorite place, but we only flew there, so it was always an easy and pleasant trip. I would cap a soda bottle half full in Cusco, and when they opened the plane door at PM, it would squash in an hourglass shape. Again, we have such wonderful memories of our trips there, including the restaurant with the big flowers on the table, overlooking the river. Didn't make it to the Brazilian rodizio.
And lastly, you know you're back in Cusco when dust from the unpaved roads around the airport blows in your face while looking at the dogs and garbage. The city could use a good PR firm to upgrade their image. I would volunteer to reduce the free-roaming dog population by about 3,000. But as you know, the Peruvians are soft-hearted about all animals, even garbage-eating dogs. Coming back from Urubamba and Chinchero one day, I actually saw a great big pig in the garbage along with the dogs - right in town.
Well, it looks like you're zipping all around the mission. We know that Lyle has so much to do in the Mission Presidency, and that Nancy is a pretty good hand at Historia Familiar by now. Despite our lack of proficiency in Espanól - though we did have a pretty good HF vocabulary - the people were always so patient and grateful to us. What a great experience you're having, treasure every moment.