Lima, Hotel, Temple and.....Real American Pizza!

Sounds like Justin had an eventful week! He and his companion Elder Gil went to Lima again for a zone leader meeting with President Fierro. They had to leave the night before and the president got them a hotel room to sleep in. "We didn't have to sleep like squants (what's a squant?) in the assistant's apartment. It was nice to stay in a hotel for a night. I hadn't stayed in a hotel for a while." He must have enjoyed that!

Then in the morning, they got to attend a session at the temple. "Which was good. When we got there, there was this lady outside that came up to every one of us and took our hands and just kept shaking and telling us, "my angels, my angels." You can tell how much respect and love the members here have for the missionaries. Sometimes you want to pull your hair out because of them because they don't get anything done, and other times you just have to appreciate and love them because of all they want to do for us."

"The meeting lasted alllll day, from 10 am to 5 in the afternoon. I saw a different side of the president. He was presenting the problems or difficulties in the mission and then asking us what we thought, how we were going to fix it. It was a long discussion. It was cool what he did at the beginning too. He told each one of us to find a scripture, go to the pulpit, read it without commentary, then sit down. He said he wasn't going to do it, but felt the impression that he should. He had us write down each scripture that each missionary said and told us that through the scriptures the Lord has just shared with us all that we needed to talk about or learn and that we could have ended there."

"For lunch he got each companionship our own Papa John's pizza! Real American pizza. I hadn't had that for a while."

On Friday, they had 4 baptisms. Flor Ramos who is 12 and the sister of Carlos who was that cute little 9 year old boy they baptized earlier. Jessica, who is a friend of a member. And Gisela and her very shy daughter Maricam who is 8. "And next week we have 4 more!"

I guess the church meetings there in Pisco are struggling with reverence, especially with the kids. The members there think the church is perfect in the states. Justin said, " It's not perfect, just much more developed and things function much better and smoothly. So appreciate that aspect."

Okay, time for more mamarina stories. Yesterday, mamarina (the crazy grandma!) attacked Justin with a broom, twice and left a bruise on his arm. "Before she has walked in on missionaries showering, thrown knives, chairs, glass bottles and rocks. She always keeps things stirred up and gives us a good laugh." For those of you that haven't heard about the crazy grandma, she is always coming up into the missionaries rooms and looking for things to take. One day she came up there with a saw in her hand and came after them with it. Justin ran in his bedroom and shut the door while his companion ran in the bathroom and shut the door. When they thought it was safe to come out, they opened their doors to see her waiting outside with the saw lifted towards them! I asked Justin why the missionaries live there with such an unstable person in the house. he said, "The president asked Sonia if the missionaries could live there after the earthquake. Sonia used to have all the upstairs for herself, but now she shares a room with 2 other people and they all share 1 bathroom downstairs so that we can live here (the top floor of the house). She (Sonia) would probably sacrifice anything for the missionaries." Sweet lady. Justin has great affection for her. I am grateful for her extreme kindness to my son! Even thought her mother is dangerously crazy!

Here is Justin with Sonia.

Today for p day, everyone (the zone) is coming to his house. Sonia is making tacos and they are planning on playing volleyball out in the streets. Is volleyball a popular sport in South America? They sure seem to play it a lot. I know Justin loves to play volleyball.

Last of all, a common topic we talk about with Justin. His bowel movements! He said he has been solid (a rarity!) and normal for the past couple of days. " The first time in 2 months!Miracle." (Woohoo!) Boy, the things we take for granted. Seriously!

Calling All People......... I'm In Peru, not Bolivia!

As Justin said in his last email, "For those of you that still haven't jumped on the band wagon, I'm in PERU, not BOLIVIA." He got a bunch of letters this week from people that sent them to Bolivia. He loves to hear from you all and thanks you for your letters. It is quite a long delay if you send it to the wrong place (could be a couple months). His new address in PERU is on the blog.

Justin got in a ton of trouble when his dad called the mission home about his typhoid fever. Oh well, no apologies from us, sorry. We'd do it again when it comes to Justin's life! I guess Justin did not inform the mission president about his sickness (as we suspected) and got in a ton of trouble for it. Hopefully there won't won't be a next time, but if there ever is, I think he will call the mission office first. The church has a doctor (Dr. Drake) from the US that serves in the Bolivia/ Peru area treating the missionaries. That is a very good thing. I heard that you do not want to go to the doctor's in Peru. It's very scary! I actually got a kick out of what Justin wrote about the whole thing so I'll post his words here. "Well dad managed to cause quite a ruckus here in Peru last week with his phone call to the offices about me getting sick. When I got home from fishing (I got a sunburn from sitting on the pier all day. It felt kind of nice. I am getting quite a good farmers tan.) last Monday Hermana Sonia, my pension, was freaking out and asking who I told that I was sick because President Fierro had called a half hour before all mad and up in arms that I hadn't called the office before I got the blood test and it wasn't authorized or something and said I couldn't do anything else, not take a pill or anything until I called him again. Which sucked because I was going to get another blood test in the afternoon to verify that the one in the morning didn't screw up (I had been fasting all day to do the test too because you can't eat before them) but of course the president disappeared all day and wasn't in his home or office. So the phone call from dad actually impeded the situation, although I know it was out of love. I finally got a hold of him the next morning and he asked why I didn't call yesterday. I told him I called until 10 pm and reminded him that he had left. Then I got a lecture about the line of authority and how we love our pensions but we need to call the offices when we are sick and they will tell us what to do and the president needs to know and on and on. But in the end, he had me call Dr. Drake the doctor for the area of Bolivia and Peru for all the missionaries. He graduated UCLA and everything and he was a bit worried and was saying I had to take the pills they gave me right away and should've started yesterday (which I was going to do! If the whole dad/ president thing hadn't of happened) But anyways, I've been on these antibacterial pills and everything's fine, so I'll live. I managed to get everyone here in Peru to calm down about it, so don't worry or anything. So please stop calling the offices, everything is just fine."

Life as a zone leader sounds busy. Justin says he is always doing paperwork, dealing with people's problems or calling someone. He doesn't have much time for writing or anything for himself. Good thing he is not his mission for himself. We will get fewer letters, but being busy in a good cause is a good thing. It will be a good learning experience for him. When Justin was called to be a trainer to Elder Gil, he felt too inexperienced and inadequate. He said he was "freaking out about it." Then he wrote, "I remembered 1 Nephi 17:3, how the Lord always provides a way to fulfill his commandments, and that if President Fierro gave me this assignment, he must know something I don't and that I can do this with the Lord's help. I feel like any of my difficulties from before this in my mission have helped me prepare to train, taught me to humble myself and rely on the Lord's help. But I'm sure looking back on this, training will of been preparation for something else. I guess that's just how the Lord works." You were right about that Justin. Good insight.

They had another baptism last Saturday. A 15 year old girl named Karol. And looking forward to three more this Friday.

Today is changes and he said a ton of new missionaries are coming to Pisco. He has to get people off to their new areas and receive new ones, and get everyone situated. Today for his p day he is also going to Pisco to buy stuff and write a few letters. He is trying to write back everyone that wrote him for Christmas. He'll be busy!

Today is Justin's mom's birthday and in his email to her he wrote, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! How many years are we at now? Love you." 29 Justin, always 29!

A Couple of Surprises

On Wednesday last week, the missionaries had interviews with the President Fierro. In Justin's interview, he was asked if he was ready for more responsibility. Justin told him, "I guess if that's what I need." Probably not the best response, but that's okay. President Fierro made him a zone leader which really surprised him to say the least because he has not been a district leader yet and has only been out in his mission for seven months. For those of you that don't know what a zone leader is. Justin and his companion are in charge of all the missionaries in their zone (the Pisco area), which is about 12. They are responsible for them and how everything is going there, the numbers, and the paperwork. In the zone of Pisco, there are 2 districts, so they will manage all of that. It will be a lot of work, but Justin will do great. Justin's dad told him to lead by example.

Justin also told us he has been feeling pretty bad the past couple of weeks. Not pooing normally (pooh is a common thing for us to talk about with him being in a third world country! Poor guy!), not able to eat much and gas coming out of every opening (again.....poor guy!). So this morning he went to a clinic across the street and had a blood test. They said he had typhoid fever ( serious?!!!). Yes, he was vaccinated for typhoid fever before he left the states, but it doesn't fully protect you from the disease. He went and bought all these pills and said, "hopefully I don't die."

Then he went on to tell us more trivial things (anything is trivial after he tells us he has typhoid fever!) like how it rained (as he put it, a light sprinkle) last night and everyone started freaking out and acted like it was pouring. It doesn't rain much there. He was planning on going fishing today for his p day. He says they don't use poles there. Just string and a hook. "Seeing as I couldn't catch anything in the states with all the equipment, I doubt I will have any success here. Wish me luck! Times up, got to go! Love, Justin"

By now Justin's dad and I are thinking........."I've got typhoid fever......... going fishing.......wish me luck..........times up, got to go!" .....................Is he kidding us?! You don't drop that bomb on us and then........got to go! I had Justin's dad call the mission home to make sure they knew about Justin's diagnosis and treatment. Then we could rest easier and put away most of our worries. They will make sure he gets the best care and treatment. Sheesh Justin!!!

Be Careful What You Wish For

Justin's companion told him that before they were companions, Elder Gil wrote in his journal that he wanted to be Justin's companion. When Justin was serving in Lima with Elder Cachique, he taught a class on praying sincerely. Elder Gil was in the class and he thought Justin had a lot of good insight. After he told Justin this, Justin told him, "You better be careful what he wishes for next time."

The two amigos.

Giving The Seed A Place To Grow

The last letter we received was a nice long one! We love when that happens! In it Justin expressed his experiences with people he has been teaching and their desires or lack thereof to know if the Book of Mormon and the church is true. First of all, one cannot be true and the other not. If the Book of Mormon is true, then the church is too. And if the church is true, the Book of Mormon is too.

"The people that don't take the time to really read and study intently and pray with a real intent and desire to know, never progress. They never get it. It never clicks. I've yet to see a person who has really read and prayed sincerely and diligently, not receive an answer (from Heavenly Father). Even some of the most hard hearted and closed people, if they open up just a little or give the seed the smallest place to grow (like in Alma 32), they receive an answer. They come to know and feel the Book of Mormon is true. And when they know that, they know it all. They get it. They understand that the church is true and the need for baptism. They become really changed people. Their doubts are washed away and they have a desire to apply the teachings of the Book of Mormon in their lives because they know it's true."

It is Justin's strong faith and testimony that prompted him to serve this mission for the Lord. To share with others this great message and help bring this unspeakable joy into the lives of the people of Bolivia/ Peru. We are so proud of his decision to sacrifice 2 years of his life in this great service. Interestingly, it is Justin that is being greatly blessed through his tireless efforts. His faith and testimony are growing stronger and his relationship with the Lord greater. Hard things and trials make you stronger. It is actually not much of a sacrifice at all when compared to the blessings. We are proud of you Justin.

Yes! Fluent In Spanish.......Finally!

Justin had a good week. "Worked a ton. We had about 27 lessons in total. A lot of our investigators finally came to church. Normally we have 5 or 6 come, but his week we had 15! The chapel was full. We now have 12 people progressing towards baptism. And we are baptizing a little nine year girl this Friday (helping the primary grow).

His companion Elder Gil, pronounced Hill, had to go to Lima today to do his visa stuff. " He had to leave at 3 am this morning! So I had to wake up and walk him over there ( it's about a 5 minute walk from the house) and I didn't feel like walking around the dark Peruvian chollo filled streets at 3 am, so I woke Elder Crisanto up and made him come with me. When we walked downstairs to get out of the house it was dark and we kept bumping into people sleeping and the couches. When we were trying to open the front door, we saw mamarina (the crazy grandma) walking towards us in her night gown with a huge 2x4 ready to kill us because she thought we were breaking in or something. She started screaming for her daughters and coming at us with a stick. We got out of the house pretty quick and ran. She is crazy. ( Justin sent us videos of the "crazy grandma" and she really is crazy! She has come after the elders with a saw in her hand in broad daylight! For some reason she does not like the missionaries and always tells them that she wants to kill them. Yikes!) I have been wondering why she is up at 3 am wandering the house. Probably talking to her friends. She sees people. When we got back to the house, she completely barricaded the front door so we couldn't get in. We had to knock until Sonia came and opened it up. This morning when we were leaving, she was sitting in front of the door reading her Book of Mormon in English and had me read a bunch of stuff. She said we "the Mormons" were ruining their families life and taking their beds. Haha. She is a member." I neglected to tell everyone about this lady and Justin's life living under the same roof as her!

At Justin's 6 month mark he noticed he overcame a huge hurdle....... the language barrier! " I realized yesterday that I really don't speak much English at all because no one else knows how. But I don't ever feel that claustrophobic feeling like I can't understand or can't communicate with anyone or get across how I feel or what I say. It just feels like normal now, just talking. I don't really have urges or crave to speak English. So I guess that is a good thing. I guess it means I can communicate fine in Spanish, but of course there is still a long ways to go." Finally, Justin's biggest hurdle and frustration is conquered! When he comes home, he'll have to learn how to speak English without a Spanish accent. As he likes to say, "What a hoot!"

Happy New Year!

The pizza does look tastey!

For New Year's Eve, all the elders from Pisco came to the house Justin is in ( there were about 10) and Sonia (their pension) made pizza. Justin said it tasted really good and pretty American. He said the lights were out for most of the night. " There is always no electricity or no water." He bought more fireworks and lit them with all the little kids. Justin said it is tradition there to make big human doll scarecrow things to put out in the streets and light on fire at midnight. I hear it is symbolic of burning the old habits you had so you can start fresh with the new year to become better. Justin said it looked pretty weird too see all the dolls burning in the streets, fires in every direction and fireworks everywhere. He said, "It looked like a war zone." He had fun though.

Here's one the dolls that was to be burned at midnight. They named it Hermana Manrique, after a missionary that went home couple of weeks ago.

The dolls burning.

Here's his zone on New Year's Eve. Fireworks extravaganza!

For p day today they plan on going fishing or playing volleyball. Today (New Years Day) everything is dead. He had a hard time finding an open Internet cafe to email us. He said they saw a huge group of gringos (white people) in the plaza in Pisco. He says most of the gringos they see there are from Europe on vacation. This group was a church group from Alabama on a two week mission. The missionaries told the group they too were on a mission but for two years. He said, "they talked funny."

Justin told us about his Christmas. For Christmas Eve, they did a ton of fireworks with the kids in the street. Then at midnight they went in and opened presents. He said, "The adults did a secret Santa type thing Most people bought chocolates or something. And each kid got a little toy, like an action figure, and they were so happy with just that. Different from the states. They just enjoy being together as a family the most." I like the sound of that! They then had dinner. "We had chicken, mashed potatoes with the gravy powder mom sent. They eat this cake with fruit in it (it's called fruit cake!) and chocolate milk stuff. Then we went to bed. I of course refused to conform to the opening all the presents Christmas Eve tradition and waited until the next morning to open all my packages. A ton of sweets and candy! And the best part was all the letters and tape from everyone. (I knew that would be his favorite thing!) After that we called home, hung out for a little while, then went out to visit members. It was a good day." Here are some Christmas photos Justin sent to us.

In Sonia's home. Looking festive!

Christmas Eve meal. Chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy.

The kids opening their gifts.

Reading all the Christmas letters on Christmas morning. His favorite gift! (I love this picture!)

Justin's bed filled with packages from home.

A Christmas gathering with the mission president and his wife (Santa).

Sister Tenorio ( mission president's wife) entertaining the missionaries.

President and Sister Tenorio.

Justin and President Tenorio, his second mission president. In June, 2009 Justin will get a new mission president...... his third in one year!

My Christmas lovin' boy!

Last Saturday the Huamani family got baptized (the family they found while lost in the hills), the two parents and their son Jair.

" 2008 is out the window and here I am in South America for all of 2009. Wish me luck. Maybe I'll wind up in Bolivia for 2010. Who knows. Anyways, love you all and happy new year."

Justin with his Bolivian flag.