The Great Chain of Events

This is Elder Sutherland.

He was baptized a year before leaving on his mission.

His family was not too supportive.

But he went to a fireside with one of the Twelve Apostles,

Elder Richard G. Scott.

He spoke to Elder Scott after the fireside

and he asked him, "should I go on a mission?"

Elder Scott said, "I cannot make that decision for you, but

Do you want to be a bird that walks or a bird that Soars"

Elder Sutherland left everything behind and prayed that his family would understand

and then was sent to the Trujillo Mission.

(Elder Sutherland finished his mission a few months ago)

One day while Elder Sutherland and his companion were out working

they contacted a police officer that was a vigilante at a school that day.

He said that he would like to hear their message.

They took the referral and then headed out.

They sent the referral to the Elders that were teaching in the area

where this police officer lived.

The Missionaries in this area said they went by but couldn't find the address.

Well, changes happen and Elders were on exchanges so this referral

somehow got put into the garbage.

Elder Mayorga & Sutherland got to this area and were prompted to look in the garbage can.

They found this referral that he had written up

and pulled it out.

They found this family and started to teach them.

The family all loved the message

but at this time the only one that was ready to get baptized

was the eighteen year old son.

So, Elder Mayorga baptized the son, Jorge.

The son fell in love with the Gospel.

His life was changing and he was happier than he had ever been.

And the family was watching him.

The daughter then came home from college.

and there were new missionaries in the area... Elders Tapia and Erickson

They continued to teach the parents and the sister.

Last week while we were in Chimbote,

the mother and daughter were baptized.

It was so special to be there and feel the excitement and love

this family has for

these missionaries that stayed with them and kept

teaching them.

Elders Tapia and Erickson baptized the mother and daughter.

The Father of the family has been attending church and is getting closer

to his baptismal date.

We will see which Elders end up baptizing the Father.

It is a sweet continuous chain of Missionaries teaching

Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept.

Until... well, look for yourself, a whole wonderful

family becoming closer and ready to be sealed

Together Forever!

The son is turning 19 now and is preparing to serve a mission.

And the chain continues....

I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ...

We were in Chimbote last week with all of these missionaries.

I cannot tell you what a privilege it is for me

to serve along side all of them.

They are special spirits saved for this time on earth.

They are smart and dedicated

and they Love the Lord.

It is so inspiring to watch young men and women

give up everything that should be important to them

at this time in their lives and leave it behind to

Testify of Jesus Christ.

These missionaries not only give up school, scholarships, music,

jobs, careers, friendships, social lives,

cars, dating, ipads, ipods, computers, games, clothing, fads,

pets, sports, television, movies, social events, comforts of home,

and their Families...

but

they also PAY to be here.

They don't make a dime.

The rules they follow are not easy.

They wake up early and never stop.

Who in their right mind would ever go on a mission?

Those that know with all of their heart that Jesus is the Christ

and that this is His true Church.

I testify that I would not leave my family and home

unless I knew with all my heart, mind and soul

that this Gospel is True.

It is Glorious, Exciting and Fulfilling and led by a Living Prophet of God.

The missionaries that leave everything behind to serve a mission

return home and say...

It was the BEST TWO YEARS OF MY LIFE!

If you haven't listened to the missionaries and their message,

Give them a call.

You can push the mormon.org button on my side bar

and follow the instructions.

They will teach you how you can know for yourself

that these things are true.

I promise...

It will be the most important thing you have ever done!

Up on the Roof...

I told you that I love to go check rooms, right?

You never know what you are going to find.

This week: Chimbote

Half the fun is climbing up, onto, around, through

and over some amazing things to get

into the missionaries rooms.

Once you are there, some of the things you find are

just as interesting.

This week we found a lot of animals.

The higher the missionaries live,

the more likely they are to share the roof

space with guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, chickens,

cats and birds.

While checking rooms...

It is so sweet to come across one of the

new missionaries calendars.

They are always counting every day

and crossing each one off carefully.

But in a couple of months, they will forget this method.

They will start to love life and

really understand why they are here.

The missionary way of life kicks in

and then they are too tired and too busy and too happy

to make those little check marks.

This is Tofi... One of those roof dogs I told you about.

He lives on top of a three story house.

Some of our Missionaries live on the third floor

here with Tofi.

One day Tofi lost his balance and fell all three floors down.

Now poor Tofi's hips are not behind him, they are to the side of him.

This bird is part of the Hermanas companionship study every morning.

When they start to talk to each other,

this bird has to chime in too.

He is very loud and very opinionated.

The sisters have to yell...

Please Be Quiet Paco!

Cherrios are Good

They have a lot of American cereals here

but for some reason no Cherrios.

Sometimes I miss my Cherrios.

BUT

I never miss them when Lucy

makes her pancakes

with a fried egg

on top.

yum!

Thank you Miss Lucy!

AM I POLLYANNA?

Sometimes things happen in the mission that are

not appropriate to blog about.

Sometimes it feels like a ton of Peruvian bricks

are sitting on your chest.

There can be heaviness involved

in the mission field.

But we have to remember that we are here on earth

to learn and grow.

We can't make decisions for other people.

We respect everybody's agency.

But when we feel heaviness,

We turn to our Heavenly Father

and answers come, things turn out,

and miracles happen.

We just take one brick off at a time.

President Turk is fantastic with all the pressure,

problems and solutions.

But more importantly

He listens to the promptings of the Holy Ghost

and follows them.

He was called of God

by the authority of the Priesthood on the Earth.

I testify that he holds the keys for

the Trujillo, Peru Mission at this time.

We really do love this calling.

We have never been so happy and fulfilled.

Am I Pollyanna?

Probably...

and I hope I always will be.

Thank you Heavenly Father for this Beautiful Opportunity.

Slingbacks and Things

We were with these great gentlemen today. It is the Porvenir Zone

with Elders Gricius and Warren as Zone Leaders

We did some surprise room checks...

Whoa, I will make sure to let everyone know

that I am coming next time.

I tell the Assistants

to Leak that it is a possibility

that Hermana Turk will come and see

your rooms.

They definitely forgot today.

It sure is a great start to get these rooms

under control.

I will not show you the bathrooms.. eeek!

While we were out driving we passed the giant slingback

in the middle of the road.

You see, Trujillo is the shoe capital of Peru.

And Porvenir is the shoe making area

for Trujillo.

Hence the giant Slingback.

The Elders were saying.. "What's a Slingback?"

Oh silly men...

The things they learn on a mission!

Giant shoes are fun!

By the way, this style of shoe is a slingback.

(Sometimes there is too much testosterone around me)

Elders Huntington, Almanza,Mayorga, Nichols, Facer, Warren, Chuiz,Villena, Riveros, Mikesell, Howard,

Gomez, Espin, Farnsworth, Casupa, & Gricius make up Porvenir Zone.

They are a fantastic group... We Love you!

Dividing the Mission... Exciting and Tearful!

It's Official!

We are being divided.

This was in the Church News Today...

The Peru Chiclayo Mission is being created by dividing the Peru Piura and Peru Trujillo missions on the Pacific coast of that nation, making a total of 10 missions in Peru.

Peru Chiclayo

(See that cute little picture of the Temple on the map.... That is still in our Mission.)

Details Coming Soon

Viru

A quick update of the Viru Zone

They were in for Interviews and Training

Elder Brito and Elder Mennis are the Zone Leaders for Viru

Elder Nichols, President Turk's Assistant, found out that

Elder Araneda knew his brother Tyler that served a mission in Chile.

Elder Vasquez served in the army so he had to show some of

his arm wrestling skills.

He whipped a few of the Elders until...

Uh oh, he picked on Elder Merkley who throws

shot and discus and hammer

Sorry Elder Vasquez, his first loss.

Elder Merkley is left handed too but don't tell Elder Vasquez.

Elder Briones and Elder Cerrutti

got to pick out some ties

as the Foosball Champs

Then back out in the field to work hard.

Carry on Viru... You are doing Great!

Here are your Missionaries...

We just had a great Multi-Zone Conference on Wednesday.

This includes all zones except

Huaraz, Chimbote, & Cajamarca

Enjoy these Faces.

If I missed yours, let me know.

We love your Missionaries!

A Little Piece of Home...

Sometimes I find pictures on my camera that I didn't take, like this one.

As I was admiring the beautiful way they arranged the

refreshments today for one of the Districts,

I looked behind Elder Nichols at the large picture

that is in our office.

Can you see it... The picture of Christ and the lamb?

It is the Greg Olson painting called

"Lost No More"

It reminds me of home.

My mom has this original painting in her living room.

So when I arrived in the mission and saw this picture,

I felt that I had come home.

The best thing about our picture here in Peru

is that it is a tapestry.

The tapestry is beautiful

but there is a little mistake...

Christ has six fingers on his hand.

I think they forgot that the thumb counts as a finger.

I love this so much. I wish I could take it home with me.

It is the Peruvian version of the Greg Olson.

I Live in Peru... I have to keep reminding myself.

I AM SO LUCKY!

Painting Explanation...

LOST NO MORE The shepherd and his flock have been ever-present symbols of the Lord and the people of His pasture. The ancient role of a shepherd was much more than an assignment to herd sheep. The shepherd loved his sheep, he knew them, named them, provided for and protected them. In return, the sheep responded to their shepherd and recognized his voice. His call alone could bring them back from their wanderings in unfamiliar paths. If lambs were lost, he sought them out and brought them back to the fold. Those who hear the Master’s call and then seek to follow in His path will find Him and there enjoy contentment and safety at His feet.

Tuesday, Martes, ~ whatever you call it

We had more of this today... A large district in for Interviews,

training and a little fun.

While this district was in the office, President Turk's Mission Presidency's Secretary,

Alexis, popped in to finish some work like he always does.

(Alexis on the left below) Somehow Elder Del Aguila,

one of our full time missionaries got together with him and they realized

that Elder Del Aguila's older brother

baptized Alexis about 12 years ago in this same mission.

Elder Del Aguila is following in his brothers steps now as he has been

in three areas that his brother has served in.

He keeps running into his wonderful converts.

(Alexis & Elder Del Aguila)

This is Elder Barinas.

He is not happy because he got stuck with cleaning out the stinky

little refrigerator in the office.

When I saw that it needed cleaning, I made them play the game that we used

to play in our family when I was young.

We would put the names of the chores on pieces of paper.

Then we would fold them and gather in a circle.

Someone would throw them up in the air

and we would all grab one.

Whatever you had written on your paper was your chore.

Well, Elder Barinas got the paper that said

Pobrecito.... with skull and crossbones.

I guess that was the assignment

for the this stinky fridge.

Thank goodness it is so small.

I will do a follow up picture after it sparkles.

Happy Valentines Day... Yes, in Peru too!

They do Celebrate Valentines Day in Peru.

I am sure you were each wanting to know.

Here is a picture taken of Terry and me going to the market in Trujillo.

Well, It will be us very soon.

Grow old Along with Me..

the Best is Yet to be!

We all know that if you have a great marriage… you have a piece of Heaven on Earth.

And the opposite is true, if your marriage is struggling; you have experienced some of that endless torment and unquenchable fire that we call hell. This is no fun.

President Hinckley said ...

“The truest mark of your success in life is the quality of your marriage.”

If this is true, and it is, we better check our priorities and our

matrimonial manners.

We really want to do whatever it takes to

have a successful marriage.

"Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds."

Here are a few of the manners.

Discuss differences softly and unemotionally

No name calling or losing tempers

Finish the conversation

Don't walk out

No silent treatment

Make time for each other alone

Listen

Forget yourself

Serve your spouse

and the most important...

Take care of your Spiritual Self first.

Everyday Scriptures, Prayers, and Covenants matter!

Really all we have to do is...

Try to be like our Savior in everything we do.

Then we don't need rules.

I Love You Terry!

I am thankful that you are my Valentine and my Hero.

Another perfect day in Paradise...

We started this morning in the office with two of our distircts.

They came in from Huamachuco and Otusco.

We had our opening meeting together. Song, Prayer, Business, and then

Terry and I each spoke.

There is always a special number by one of the districts.

And then the Zone Leaders take over the training.

President Turk starts his one on one interviews.

There are always a few drop ins.

Today, Elder Weathers came looking for some crutches.

Don't worry Sister Weathers, just a small sprain.

It is a chore in Peru to find crutches tall enough for some of my missionaries.

But these will do.

Here are some of the Standards of Excellence

Raffle Winners.

Great Job...

Elder Bennett and Elder Glasgow

and Elder Ogburn and Elder Cermeño.

Looks like dinner with them later tonight.

But now... while the President is in interviews

and the Elders are in training,

Elder Jones, Elder Andersen and I

are off to inspect a few rooms.

This is always very interesting to me.

You never know what you are going to find.

I make sure that they are keeping their rooms clean

but also that things are in good repair.

They did pretty darn good this week.

So when we arrived back, training was finished and the

President was wrapping up interviews.

There was just enough time for a quick

single elimination, blind draw foosball tournament.

Then off to lunch.

You know, Chicken and Papas fritas

and of course the famous Inca Cola.

Okay, that was the first half of the day.

Then another district came in for the same exact

schedule in the afternoon.

(Florencia de Mora/East Zone )

Missionaries were then out the door at 5:30...

~ To Preach and Teach and Work as Missionaries Do ~

Again...

It was another Perfect Day!