"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

"Cookies of fire"

¡Hello! It´s been all celebration, here in Carhuamayo these days. The fireworks have been going like all night, every night. I asked somone what all the ruckus was for and they told me "it´s the thirtieth of August!". I swiftly corrected him that it was, actually, the FIRST of August. He, in turn, argued that the thirtieth of August actually starts on the first of August and continues all throughout the month of August. Confusing as that may be, I have accepted it as it is. But seriously. I went to sleep last night to the sound of fireworks, and woke up to the sound of fireworks. They do not sleep when it is the thirtieth of August. Sometimes when I don´t know how to say something in Spanish, I kind of just guess, and I´m almost always right. But yesterday I said fire-crackers as "galletas de fuego", which I´m sure many of you can already translate, but it´s basically "cookies of fire". Also, there´s this new thing that people do. It´s an impression of me. The pentionista started it. They pretend to be really tall and then proclaim "Wishywishywishywishywishy!" And everyone thinks it´s sooo funny, because that´s exactly how English sounds to them. We´re hoping for a baptism soon. The only dillema is that the kid's mother wants him to know all the Bible and be perfect before he gets baptized, and so forth. The mother is very Catholic, but she´s a faithfull member of the LDS church, as well. Loves!

Much love,

Elder Alexander

Reflejo de Flehmen

Well, my companion went to Lima, so I was in Cerro with Elder Cayo most of this week. During that time, I really gained an appreciation for my area. Carhuamayo is all completely plain, but Cerro is comparable to San Francisco, in that the ground cannot remain stationary. It is always going up or down (I´m talking about hills, not earthquakes). Also, the mindset is a little different. For the first time in my mission, I heard someone say that they only believe in science, which was cool. Also, someone invited us in, actually, and then he showed us his rap material, which was absolutely horrible. And then someone destroyed all my happiness in life by telling me that I, in fact, did not invent the "attracting the ladies" face. It´s called the "Reflejo de Flehmen" or the "Flehmen response", and it´s something that animals have been doing for years, already.

The schools in Carhuamayo do this thing called desfilar, and it´s like they all compete against each other at how well they can march in synchronization with wooden sticks. The pention´s son, Alexis, is five years old, and apparently his whole school was doing great, aside from Alexis, who for some reason decided to walk in an odd, frog-like fashion.  I would have taken pictures, but..... Sorry about that.

Much love,

Elder Alexander

Flehmen response
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


(Dem animals be stealin all my swagga, essay)

Flehmen response in a horse

The flehmen response (/ˈfleɪmən/; German: [ˈfleːmən]), also called the flehmen position, flehmen reaction, flehming, orflehmening, is a behaviour whereby an animal curls back its upper lips exposing its front teeth, inhales with the nostrils usually closed and then often holds this position for several seconds. It may be performed over a site or substance of particular interest to the animal (e.g. urine or faeces) or may be performed with the neck stretched and the head held high in the air. Flehmen is performed by a wide range of mammals including ungulates and felids. The behaviour facilitates the transfer of pheromones and other scents into thevomeronasal organ located above the roof of the mouth via a duct which exits just behind the front teeth of the animal.