We were sore afraid!

We spent Christmas with our Bishop and his family. We made Hawaiian pizza together, which was super fun, and then ate it! Then we went to bed and slept until midnight, when suddenly all of Huancayo lit up with fireworks. We were sore afraid! The first thought that crossed my mind was that there must be war! And EVERYONE we know called us for the rest of the night. Apparently that´s how they celebrate Christmas here. Everyone gets one single present and they open it at midnight, before they go to bed. A little different. But I tell you. I have never seen so many fireworks in my life. To a Peruvian, the fireworks are basically the most important part of Christmas. They love their fireworks. They say new-years is even better, so that should be fun to see if we can sleep at all. After that, we were only able to teach for a couple days and not many people were at home. We brought 10 investigators to church, though. Mostly one family, the which will be very hard to leave this Tuesday (assuming I have transfers). This  family are about 27 people who live on this big patch of land with their cows and all. They´re super great and are progressing smoothly. I´ve come to love them very much. I don´t figure I´ll ever forget them, or the simply inspired way we came to find them and teach them. Wish me someplace warm for these transfers! Love you tons, and I hope you have a great holiday season!
Much love,
Elder Alexander

This is the bishop and his family with our Hawaiian pizza.

I´ve been cast as Cindy Lou Who.

This week was super cool because our investigator is progressing sooo well! They all came to church and he´s been reading and it´s just been a blessing to see these changes in his life. I´m excited for Christmas! We´re going to be spending Christmas Eve with the bishop and his family. We´re going to cook and sing and it should be fun. Everyone wants us to come over for Christmas. Our Christmas day and eve are already filled with appointments. It´s nice to know that so many people consider us as family. Peruvians are very loving people. We have our multi-zone Christmas conference tomorrow. Our zone is performing the story of the Grinch. I´ve been cast as Cindy Lou Who. So there´s that. I´m super excited for our Christmas call! It looks like we´ll be doing it in our pentionista´s house. I would like Grandpa to be there, too, so he can translate whatever she says (and the things I accidentally say in Spanish).

Last night, I made a nativity with some fruit people have given us.

They have an Incan ampatheater, where the Incas used to do performances and ancient stuff.

"Lo voy a poder hacer."

We had an awesome week! This week, we gained a stronger testimony of the power of fasting. Last week, I wrote about the investigator who was having trouble with his drinking addiction. Well, he´s been feeling a bit hopeless, so we fasted for him this Sunday. And, he came to church with all of his family, and told us, upon his arrival, "Lo voy a poder hacer." Or, "I´m going to be able to do it". I know he is, too. The Lord is doing great things in his life. 


We made the lemon bars! It was super fun, especially for the pentionistas kids. However, it turned out more like lemon jam. We ate it all anyway.

Translation: "turned out very ugly and Alexander did it"

It´s been raining a lot. Every day, at about 3:00 it starts raining, but before that, it´s all sunny and hot. Even when the skies are clear, we always have to carry a jacket with us. Sometimes the sun shines and it pours rain at the same time, which is odd.


I love you all very much, and hope you´re enjoying the Christmas season and sharing the "Dádiva"!
Much love,
Elder Alexander

Here in Perú, we eat our Kraps with our Fanny.

All is calm, all is bright (dang Peruvian sunburns)

All is calm, all is bright (dang Peruvian sunburns), here in Huancayo. We had an interesting week, I suppose. We felt like we should visit a member who is actually active and doing well, but when we got there we found that he was not doing so well. His son had recently left on the mission and they have no way of communicating with him because they don´t have email or even know how email works. Anyway, we helped him and he told us his conversion story and how he was an addict to alcohol all his life basically. Which was incredible because just that morning, we had been racking our brains trying to find someone to help one of our investigators with his alcohol addiction. So, he came with us to our appointment. The person we wanted to help wasn´t present because he happened to be drunk, but the member shared his testimony of the atonement with the family and the Spirit was undeniably present. We have another appointment with the both of them tonight, which I´m excited for. We also printed him a wallet-sized picture of his family to carry with him to look at whenever he feels tempted to drink. I´ll attach that picture, I suppose.


Something else that happened this week is that we met someone from Holland and someone from Germany, living in a humble little house in our area. They had just been visiting their friend who´s studying here. They both spoke perfect English and we shared a bit about the church and our testimonies with them. They weren´t interested but it was awesome to get to know them and hear about their culture. They say they don´t like America and our culture. Understandable, I suppose.


I´m digging the Christmas season here. Everyone has their decorations, even though they may be humble. We only know two people so far that have a Christmas tree. And they´re both fake, of course. But nonetheless it´s undeniably Christmas, here. I need to find a new excuse to reject the panneton.
Much love,
Elder Alexander

Making peppermint bark in Veronica(member)´s house!

Sprinkling the bark like the professionals we are.

Don´t worry about the dog bite. It wasn´t even deep. The health secretary just had me keep an eye on the dog for ten days to make sure it´s not sick or anything. And it´s all good. The dog came up behind me and I didn´t even see him unil after he had bitten me. The dog dazer couldn´t have helped much. :(
Thanks for your love and worries.

Pachamunca!

Hope you´re enjoying the Christmas season!

It´s funny how you titled your email "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!" Here, it just seems to be getting hotter, as if Summer were just recently approaching. The work is marching well here, in El Tambo! We had the baptism of a young man, this week. His mom is now an activated member and his father is to be baptized in January, because of work. Also, we started teaching the Pentionista´s aunt, this week. We didn´t even know she was her aunt at first, her being simply a contact. Our pention´s father was, at one point, the Stake President, and the Pentionista has a strong belief that he, having passed away, is having a strong influence on her family´s conversion, now.

My favorite memory, aside from the baptism, this week, was yesterday, as we were prostiliting. We were knocking on the door of an appointment, when an old man, slightly drunk, came up to us and started thanking us for our service. He was very nice, and he said the missionaries used to teach him, when he was younger. He then sang to us an old traditional Peruvian song, looking deep into the eyes of each one of us, but I could not for the life of me make eye contact with this man for fear of laughing. The oddest part is that it was a rather romantic song, and he seemed to be singing it with such passion to us. So, we invited him to church, of course. The member we had accompanying us was not even phased. Did I ever tell you about the drunk man that kissed me on the cheek in Carhuamayo?

I love you all so much and hope you´re enjoying the Christmas season!

Much love,

Elder Alexander

My companion is LOCO.

The neighbor's dog finally bit me! (Don't worry, He's not diseased. Just a jerk.)

I´ve never loved so many people so much.

This week went well! We had a less active member return, and her son,  is getting baptized this Friday!  Anyways, her husband will get baptized in January because of work. Also, I believe that God has heard our constant prayers for another investigator and her family because she came to church with her daughter on Sunday and was asking the teacher questions in the gospel principles class (in a good way). We have an appointment tonight with them. I expect, as the last time, that it will be a Spiritually powerful lesson. I really feel that God sees them as a very special family. There´s something that a missionary can recognize when they make contact or speak with someone. I´m not sure how to describe it, but I think it´s a manifestation of God´s love for these children. Like something in our hearts that drives us to do everything we can for them, and love them. When Elder Tolbert first got here, I felt that way about a family we contacted. They are a large family and they consist of about 12 potential members. We´ve been teaching them consistently now, and they have been coming every Sunday. Even though our first contact didn´t go so well, and we only talked with an old lady chewing coca who told us to come back some other day, we just felt like we needed to be there. And it´s true, as always. It´s truly a blessing to be able to teach them, as well. I´ve never loved so many people so much as I have in the mission! Keep these people in your prayers. It really does make a visible difference over on this end!
Much love,
Elder Alexander

                                   Just in case you think I´ve ever exaggerated about the size of doors here.

                                                     Got this shirt custom-made.

Just in case you´re confused about the weather here, I would like to share that I am just as, if not more, confused. In the mornings and afternoon it´s crazy-hot so you feel like dying. Then, in the night, around 5-6, it rains/hails and get super-duper cold so you feel like dying. 4 is my favorite hour of the day.

I almost forgot to tell you! I got to interview an old lady for the Hermanas in my districts. The only thing is that she doesn´t know a single word of Spanish. Just Quechua (however you spell that). So, we had a translator for the interview, and it went well. In the end, I asked her who she would like to baptize her. I don´t think she understood all that well, because she answered "Joseph Smith". The only odd thing about that, is that as she said that, she motioned to me. She wanted me, Joseph Smith, to baptize her. So, I accepted, explaining, of course, that Joseph Smith is dead.
So, I baptized her. And got to practice my Quechua, as well!
 

We had an awesome week, this week!

We had an awesome week, this week! About the flooding, it hasn´t really reached Huancayo, apparently, because it hasn´t even been raining all that much. In fact, today was loco hot! The zone went to Witapiana to cool down, but me and my companion didn´t because he´s got a cold and that would probably not be a good thing, it being about the altitude of Cerro de Pasco. Crazy to think that you´re having snow down there. The pention´s family is doing well. One person is getting her interview tomorrow, and after that, she´ll be an active member. Her sister is in the same boat. The other is doing a bit better. They even came to church this Sunday! Even though it was a different church, I´m just glad that they went to A church. My companion gave his first    health blessing, which was super cool to see. This time, he didn´t say like he did the other time, "aflojados" instead of "aflijidos", luckily (which is the difference between Afflicted, and Lazy). So, this Saturday, if not the next, another investigator  will be getting baptized. The kid´s pretty excited, too. I got the package this week, that you sent, and I dig the new tie! Also, the articles about obedience were awesome. We taught a lesson the other day about obedience to recent convert kid. We talked about Christ, as well as Nephi and Joseph. Recently, Joseph has become one of my favorite prophets. He always just trusted in the Lord, did His will, and everything went incredibly well for him. Anyways, all is going great here in the Lord´s viñard. Take good care of yourselves and be of good faith (is it not the same?)

Much love,

Elder Alexander

Is it time for them to send me new ones yet? My foot was just bleeding because the plastic in the back is coming off. I´m using my other pair now! :)

The view from my balcony.

"Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations"

Well, our investigators got baptized! I´m super happy for them. I have no doubt of their faithfulness. She gave a beautiful testimony and how she had been searching and praying to find the true church for most of her life. And when we arrived in her door, she just knew at that moment that it was right. And just to think, if we had been distracted, or not listening to the Spirit in the moment in which it whipsered to us to knock their door, she may not have recieved this anwer to her prayer. I´ve just recently been reading in Isaiah, chapter 58, all of which I adore, and verses 10-12 have been something in my mind, of late. More than anything, I love how it says in 12, "thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations". I think we have more of an affect than we know, many times. Like when Heber C. Kimball was called to England, it was said in his setting-apart blessing that he would "prove a source of salvation to thousands". I just pray the same could be said for me. that´s why I´ve been putting a new focus on following the Spirit, so it may "guide (me) continually", and that I might find these many people who have been praying to hear the words which we have to share. 

No, they don´t really celebrate Halloween here. They call it day of the witches here, and anyone who is even slightly religious is convinced it is a devil-worshiping holiday. So.... no. 

I love you all sooooo much, and I can´t wait to meet baby Paxton on Christmas!

Much love,

Elder Alexander

Life is golden out here.

Greetings, beloved family.

 So, our investigator and her son (those contacts I was talking about), are getting baptized this Sunday, if all works out as it should. We´ve had a great week, this week. We´re teaching some awesome people, as well.
 We´re teaching a large family now. The sister has been less active for about 10 years and is now coming to church; and her son, is set to be baptized on the 15th of this month. Then, her cousin, is not member, but we´ve been teaching her and she´s been coming to church and already has a beautiful testimony. Her husband has many doubts, still, all of his family being catholic, but we have the 22nd as their goal. Also, the brother has been inactive for a long time, and is finally attending again. I´d just like for you to keep them in your prayers. Anyways, life is golden out here. We just got the new Liahona and I absolutely love the article about the Jaradites and difficulties in life. I know that we´re doing good things here, and I have a firm testimony of the change the gospel and it´s ordinances make in the lives of people. 

Much love,

Elder Alexander

Soy tio!!!!

Soy tio!!!! I just screamed that in real life and everyone kind of glanced up from their computer screens and then just went back to what they were doing, seeing that I´m just a crazy gringo. I´m so happy about this!  I think Paxton was a fantastic choice. I read Emma´s email before any other and I thought Paxton must be her new boyfriend or something that she met of facebook, but no! It´s my sobrino!

We had a good week over here. Lots of walking. My feets have actually started bleeding, but now I´m putting Herba-santa on them, which is nice. Our investigators, the ex-everythings I talked about last week, came to church. They sat next to a member and I over heard that they said they´re going to get baptized this Saturday. Unfortunalely I´ll have to tell them that they need one more attendance and one baptism attendance, so it won´t be before the 8th that they do. But they were so prepared all their lives, that we didn´t have to do anything much. When we taught the restauracion, everything just clicked for her. Then, when we taught the Plan of Salvation, this week, she felt the Spirit so strong that she just knew, without a doubt, in that moment. That was the high of my week, along with when we were walking down the street and a bird pooped on the shoulder of my companion. That was pretty awesome.

I don´t know if you remember _____, but we finally taught his mom the restauracion last night. She had sooooo many doubts and questions. being a lawyer, I suppose that´s normal. But we got past all those crazy questions. Me and my companion were just praying so hard that she would feel the Spirit. Finally, in the end, she did. I know because she just cried out of nowhere when I talked about all the blessings of being in Christ´s church. She just has so much fear of commitment to a religion, but I´m hoping that she can get over that.

Anyways..... soy tio!!!!

Much love,

Elder Alexander

This is the pention´s house. Cotton candy and cleaning solution (not for lunch).

Did I ever mention that our backyard is a junior high school and that children are always watching everything we do?

I threw it off the roof, just to be safe.

Well, we had a great week! On the subject of listening to the Spirit, we had some great learning experiences this week. The other day we were walking down the street, when my new companion suddenly wanted to turn around and go knock some house that looked empty. I, reluctantly, agreed. When the lady answered the door, she didn't even give us a second to say who we were before inviting us inside. So we sat down with her, and she told us that she had just been praying that God guide her to the church that´s right for her. Interestingly, she´s been catholic, evangelical, and Jehovah´s witness, and visiting basically every other church that exists. But she never got baptized. Later, after teaching her the message of the restauracion, she told us that she wants to join the church. Just like that. And then we had a very similar experience about an hour later with a different door we knocked, except this man basically just invited us in to convince us that our church is evil. In the end he said in just the same way that he wants to join our church. But I don´t want you thinking that it´s always that easy. Those were our only two appointments that day. After getting doors slammed at just the sight of us, and having people tell us that we´re the devil´s servants, etc. etc, I can say that there´s a prominent contrast between when people are touched by the Spirit, and when they deny it. My companion is doing great. He´s been exhausted, understandably. I figure we´ll both be here for Christmas, which should be cool. I stopped playing tricks on him, because the doll started following me places. It might have just been my companion, but I threw it off the roof, just to be safe. It´s so hard to find time to write you this letter. It seems like I never have a free second anymore. But I will get it to you soon, along with the SD.

Much love,

Elder Alexander

I took my companion to the potato market last P-day. He literally whispered "this is so cool" about 15 times, under his breath. The last picture is of a hamburger from Cafe-cito, the best restaurant here. The shakes are the best in the world!

 

The number 403

Following up on the doll incidents, in the morning of the transfers I got up early and put the doll in my bed. I showered, and then when I came back, my companion didn`t even want to talk to me. I`m assuming that it was a great success. jajaja! Now, I`ve got a new companion. He`s strait from the MTC.  Poor guy. I forgot to tell him how to use the shower, so he took an ice-cold shower his first day. But he`s doing great. I love the guy. He already did his first baptismal invitation, although he, instead of asking the person if they would get baptized, told them that they would get baptized. Nevertheless, they accepted, so it`s okay. It`s been a little stressful at times, training while being a district leader, but I`m actually loving it. This may very well be my new favorite transfer. We`ve already had some great spiritual experiences. For example, we gave a health-blessing to the little girl who lives below us, and now she`s all better and she wants to take the lessons, along with her mother. Apparently she wasn`t supposed to get better so quickly. Also, I felt like we should visit a contact we had about 2 months ago, but I could not remember where he lived for the life of me. I prayed to be reminded, and the number 403 just came to my mind. It happened to be his house number! So, we`ve been doing pretty well, here. Our progressing investigator right now is named ____The only thing in their way to getting baptized is that their mom has two new-born twins and finds it hard to come to church on Sunday, and the father has felt the Spirit, but is hesitant, nonetheless. Thanks for all your prayers! You`re in mine as well!

Much love,

Elder Alexander 

I have no complaints!

It's starting to get rainier here, which is a downer. We've learned it's necessary to carry a coat, even when it's sunny, because the rain often comes un-announced. The other day it caught us and we walked 20 minutes in it in short-sleeved shirts. But for the most part the climate is comparable to Santa Barbara. Transfers are this Tuesday. Fingers crossed that I don't get sent to Cerro de Pasco! I'm just hoping Elder Guzman doesn't leave. There are some old abandoned dolls in our room, of which my companion has great fear, and I've been getting up early every morning and moving them slightly. This morning he freaked out. There is much potential here, and I hope to take the joke much further. I'm loving it here in Huancayo. I have no complaints! Now, lets see how many photos I can attach.

chocolate milk

To-scale Gringo-peruvian height comparison

Cow-foot jello

Fruit, Tumbo

I´m excited for another year of the best thing I´ve ever done.

This week was pretty nice. We had district-leader training, and now I know things I didn´t know before, have papers I didn´t have before, ate food I didn´t eat before, and got a stomach ache I didn´t have before. during the meeting, everyone decided to call me, but it´s okay because I ignored them, except for one call I recieved from an unknown number I felt like I should answer. So, I did, and it turned out to be a very important call. One of the families´daughters that we´re teaching was in bad shape and needed a blessing quickly. Just a reminder that those strange little feelings we get are important, and often times urgent.

We baptized a young man this week. He´s a super kid, and he has a great testimony already. We´re teaching his mom, now. His grandma´s another story, though. She always tries to kick us out of their house. When we were waiting outside, during his baptismal interview, she stuck her head out of the window and let out the loudest belch, without a hint of shame. But her scare-tactics don´t phase me.

Then, we went to the pentionista and we celebrated my 1-year-anniversary. As expected, they smashed eggs and flour in my hair and shoved my face in the cake.

I got told by a drunk man this morning. He asked me what Noah did, then without giving me time to answer, told me that he "saved the animals". He, then, pointed to a pack of dogs in the street, digging through some trash. Then, he looked at me. "Then, why do you do nothing?" Which kind of hit me. So, I´m kind of worried about the dogs right now.

That´s great that the first thing you want me to do, getting home, is fall down the stairs. You´ll be happy to know that´s not something that´s changed about me. The other day I did just that, climbing the stairs in the most public part of our area and some 87 people laughed.

I love you all and I´m excited for another year of the best thing I´ve ever done.

Much love,

Elder Alexander

The best chocolate cake I have ever tried in my life

My high this week was that we went to visit our investigator on her birthday and we got talking with her dad and ended up laughing and chatting for two hours. And when we left, she suggested that we say a prayer, on our knees, and her dad joined us, which was genial! But its's looking like the baptism is going to happen THIS week, if all goes right. Also, we ate the best chocolate cake I have ever tried in my life. Just look at how succulent it is!

  

 My low is that we went to the zoo and a monkey threw a rock at my leg. Ouch! Also, I bumped my head in a doorway and now I remember all the words to the Hello Kitty theme-song. But, I guess that's not really a low...

The teaching and all is going fantastically. We've got some fantastic people we're teaching right now!

Much love, Elder Alexander

Elder Uceda

This week was pretty great because Elder Uceda came and gave us a multi-zone training to all the missionaries in Huancayo. In total the training lasted 9 hours, including the essential Sister-Henderson-Brownies and  KFC breaks. He addressed many topics, but mostly he spoke about the recent changes in missionary work. That the Presidency needs us to focus less on baptizing and more on converting, helping transition to member-life, and strengthening the ward's families. The Spirit's presence was very strong in the meeting, and we all left with a new energy for the work. The thing he said that stood our to me the most, was that we should look to the Apostles and Presidency as our example in how we teach. I've made it a goal of mine to study and apply the way Richard G. Scott teaches to my own teaching. He has recently become one of my favorite speakers.

Last P-day, me and  my companion walked around all day in the downtown area.

We discovered that banana-chocolate-chip ice cream is the absolute best of flavors.

We also discovered that all the cool stores are in the mall that is against mission rules to enter. Phooey. Nevertheless I found Ranch dressing and I am happy about that.

Also, I gave a talk on missionary work yesterday. It went well. it reminded me of how thankful and fortunate I am to have seen some good friends of mine make the choice to be baptized (Maggie and Alisia). I think it's given me a special perspective and more personal connection and appreciation for this work.

Scripture of the week: 1 Cor. 1:10-27 (God's wisdom is infinitely greater than our own)

This is a cow that I found flying through Tambo the other day.

Proselytizing again in a short-sleeve shirt. Whoo!

I do say, I like being here in Huancayo quite a bit. Proselytizing  again in a short-sleeve shirt. Whoo! The only problem is, I feel as if I´ve forgotten how to socialize with normalish-like persons. After all, the culture is a complete contrast to my previous area. Perhaps I spent a little too long, living in the mountains. More than anything, I love the people here. The members always give us stuff. I have already received two bracelets, a necklace, a bookmark, two pens, two cards, a scroll, stickers, and a beaded key-chain dog named Mantito (little Manti). The town isn´t called Manti. Just the ward. I think it´s a name from the BoM or something. The town is called El Tambo, but El Tambo is already a different ward. Anyway, the primary source of these gifts is a 7-year old girl (who has plans to come to my country and marry Elijah (sorry, Elijah). She turns 8 on Sept. 19, and wants to get baptized on her birthday, but she couldn´t because her father was very against it. He won´t even greet us, let alone talk to us, so we gave his wife (member) a baptismal permission slip and then prayed like crazy all week that he would sign it. In the end, he told her that he "doesn´t approve", but "will sign the permission". I suppose that´s good enough for now. I´ve never seen anyone so excited to get baptized, though. Thanks for all your prayers! The district meetings are Tuesday, it turns out, but everything went great anyways. You´re in my thoughts and prayers and I hope that your days are filled with

Much love,

Elder Alexander

                                Me and my companion. He´s half a year older than me, actually.
                                    Fun fact: my record is 600 steps on this rail without falling.

                                      The pention got us whoppers for dinner the other night!

One Colgate costs six cents more than other Colgate, without reason. Slightly larger Colgate finds this amusing.

I now live in Huancayo

I moved!!!! Whooo!!! I now live in Huancayo. My area is called El Tambo. It´s on the outskirts, but it´s still modern. There aren´t many stores, but that´s a good thing. It´s like suburb. But it´s all dirt! All the time! And there´s wind! And the dirt takes flight and attacks you from all angles! But I´ll get used to it, I figure. My companion is pretty cool. His name is Elder Guzman, and he´s from Bolivia. He kind of looks like a latino George Harrison. But we get along super well. Every time we leave the bedroom, we play this peruvian patty-cake-style game that´s really just for school-girls, but it´s so cool that we adapted it. 

Also, the pensionista is soooooper nice. Every day she asks us what we want, and if she doesn´t know how to make it, she cooks while watching how-to videos on youtube. She makes us all kinds of stuff like american pancakes, chow mein with stir-fry, tortilla soup, and all sorts of things that she didn´t even know existed until some missionary requested it. She also has two daughters who are probably the smartest kids I have ever met. They tour the country doing math competitions and both have ridiculous collections of metals. They made me bet 50 cents that they couldn't guess my name, but what I didn´t know was that they had searched my bag and found my drivers license. And then they went and found my facebook, so if I get random requests and messages from peruvian children, that is why. 

Oh yeah, I´m a district leader now. That means that I have to take numbers three times a week and give an hour training to my district every week. But most importantly, I have a cool cellphone. Oh! And Huancayo is the only place in the mission with KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and various other north-american chains! And the city-center is only 10 minutes away! That means my personal fund won´t last as long as it should here. haha. I´m sorry to hear that Elijah wiped out. But I´m sure he looks pretty tough with all those cuts, which is always a good impression when school starts. The ward here is big, and looks almost like a ward back home. The members are super membery. We've even already got some great references and investigators. Did you know that Huancayo is the place that drinks more alcohol than any other part of Peru? Well, now I do! This morning some kids invited me to have a cup of beer, in the street. And, last night someone tried to sell us drugs. .......Maybe I need another haircut or something, because I don´t think they´re getting the right impression. Thanks for the scriptures you guys send, and also the pictures! I love you all so much! Please pray that I can be a good district leader and help my district! :)

Elder Alexander

"Blessed are the potatoes?"

I loved getting all the pictures this week! Thanks, mom!!! :) My favorite is the Riding High one with Emma on the Ostrich. I laughed pretty hard at that. hahaha! I don´t think I ever sent photos from Fiorella´s baptism, so I´ll attach that. I did finally get the camera. It´s a pretty red canon. The guy even threw in a free case and two free memory cards. Gotta love Perú! This is my last day here, in Carhuamayo. Wednesday are the transfers, and I´m pretty darn sure I´m out of here. My guess is Huanuco, for my next area. At least, that´s what I´m hoping for. But, I sure am going to miss Carhuamayo. I had to say goodbye to everyone yesterday. I think I may even cry, leaving this place. There are some great people here. Do you think it would be possible to come visit after my mission? I may have told a few kids that I´d come back and now I guess I kind of have to. I am kind of sad that I´m going to miss the craziness of the 30th of August, though. Yesterday, they had a live whine-o band playing and the singer was singing a song about Carhuamayo. It went: "Oh, how pretty, Carhuamayo, with it´s party, 30th of August. And all of it´s potato, the holy vegetable." The people loved it. I´m not too sure about the potato part. I don´t recall in which book it was the Jesus stated that "blessed are the potatoes". In my opinion, I find Eggplants a bit more majestic. Anyway, wish me luck in the transfer! Fingers crossed that I go someplace warm! ;)

Much love,

Elder Alexander

Caroline, when she found out I´m leaving tomorrow, grabbed me by the tie and screamed at me that I´m not allowed to go.

Me with the "jovenes" of the branch one last time!

                                    Joel, Maria, Kattycita, Lucero, Me, Katty, My companion, July.

Those crazy parades.

Well, you know how I told you about those crazy parades and everything? Well, at one point we were walking by the plaza, and all of a sudden a huge crowd came around the corner and filled the street! They were walking in our direction, so we tried to push our way through, which we found was not a good idea, because they decided to push their way through as well. Someone shoved me, and yelled "dance gringo!" Then, a few other people, in agreement, also screamed "dance, gringo!" "I dont know how to dance!" I proclaimed, but they persisted. So.... I danced. It´s not even really dancing. They just walk with their hands out, like their wearing an invisible hula-hoop, and take little tiny steps. So, I did that. Apparently well. Until I saw a member on the side of the road, which I used as an excuse to escape, acting very ecstatic to see her. It was, over all, a rather frightening experience. I know now that the little-step parades are something to avoid.


 So, right now, I´m writing from Huanuco. We´re here for a couple days, doing p-day and tomorrow multi-zone conference. It´s super pretty here. But, on the down side, I´m a little sick. I threw up getting off the bus, here. I think it´s just the crazy climate change. It´s really hot here. Is summer really almost over? I feel like I missed it. Tell me what time you guys pray as a family, and I´ll pray with you at that time. Maybe like once a week. Anyway, I love you guys dearly. Stay cool! You´re always in my thoughts and prayers!

Much love,

Elder Alexander

Much greater than merely "significant".

I love you all so dearly. It´s so hard to believe I´ve been away sooo long. I think time is moving faster here in Peru, than it does over there. My computer keeps freezing. Must be the cold. lol.

 I hope you all know that I´m doing well out here. I feel like I´m becoming a better person. And although I sometimes get frustrated with the results of our  efforts here, I want you to know that I have done anything but lose faith. On the contrary, I´m learning to depend on God more than ever before. There´s this video that they always make us watch in the mission called "la expiacion y la obra misional". I saw it for the zillionth time this week, but this time it really spoke to me. Well, it´s kind of spoke to me every time I guess. You should really see it, if you haven´t. I guess I just want to apologize if I ever complained. I think San Ramon just gave me a weird impression of how missionary work was supposed to be. I felt like we were going to baptize the whole word in San Ramon! But I figure I´ve learned by now that it´s quite different than that. It´s much better, and much more meaningful. And I feel like I appreciate it more, now. The cold doesn't make things most excellent, but the things that the Lord does, do. So, I guess what I´m saying is don´t think that I´m just out here suffering in the cold, not baptizing, teaching, or doing anything significant. Because, in God´s eyes, I figure, I´m doing what he wants me to do, which alone feels much greater than merely "significant".

 I love you! I got a package last week, and the TJ dark chocolate is fantastic! Thank you sooo much! And I loved the drawings and everything. So cool, guys. :) I hope everything went well on the car drive. Man, I used to love that car drive. We´ll have to that when I get back, yeah? My clothes are alright. The pention just sows them for free if something rips. I´m using the combat boots these days. They´re more comfy, warm, and the water doesn't get in and touch my feet.

Much love,

Elder Alexander