The Alcalde... Our Mayor

We have appreciated so much our relationship with the Alcalde

of Trujillo.  When we first arrived in Trujillo, President bit into

something hard and broke his tooth.   He hopped on a plane

to Lima to get it fixed.  On the way back to Trujillo,

he sat next to César Acuña... the Mayor of Trujillo.

They struck up a conversation and an immediate friendship.

We now see that the broken tooth was a huge blessing in disguise.

The relationship with the Mayor has given us many opportunities

that we would not have been able to have.

Today President Turk, Elder Smith and Elder Jimenez

went to deliver flowers to thank the Mayor for his 

help with the Christmas Show in the Plaza and many other things.

The Mayor brought the President and the missionaries into his office 

and said that he was so impressed with our missionaries 

in Trujillo.  He said that what the missionaries are doing 

is far better than anything that the Politicians are doing

 for the Peruvian People.

Can I get a Hallelujah on this one?

Oh how I can Testify to the world about this.

These missionaries at age 18 to early 20's....

still just young and quite ignorant in the way of politics,

can change society with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

When you live the Gospel of Jesus Christ

the world makes sense.  There is a beautiful hope of a bright future.

There are Answers and Direction and Friendship and Love

that abounds one with another.

The Gospel teaches families how to stay together to build

strong communities...  through living the nine principles given in the 

Proclamation to the World on the Family.

Do you know the nine principles?

The answers are on the bottom of this post

Not only should we know them .... we should live them 

and teach and preach them.

The Proclamation is powerful and the key to a happy society.

When Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the 12 apostles was here...

he was able to meet the Mayor and actually give him a blessing.

The Mayor was not feeling well at the time.

In this blessing, he told the Mayor that if he focused his 

political work on building families, that he would be successful 

in his endeavors here in this city.

World... Listen to the Prophets and Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Happiness lies in the foundation of families.

Anything we can do to support the family 

is noble and righteous.

The Alcalde and President are working on another big service project
that we can do together with the city and the missionaries.

We are grateful for his friendship...
Thank you Alcalde!

Answers:

(Love, Faith, Respect, Prayer, Forgiveness, Repentance, Compassion, Work, 

Wholesome recreational activities)

Temple Worthy....

We have a Branch in the mission called Huamachuco.

They are not a part of a Stake or a District.

They are too far away from either of them.

So the Mission is directly in charge of this Branch.

We have another Branch in Otuzco.

So we have 12 Stakes, 2 Districts and 2 Branches.

We had several members of the Huamachuco Branch 

come in on a bus today... It takes about 5 hours.

They were each interviewed by President Turk

for Temple recommends.

There are two families that are being sealed

and a few going for their endowments and then

a couple for baptisms.

 They were in the offices for a few hours so

our sweet missionaries started to entertain them...

 and feed them and get them a hotel to clean up in.

They were getting on a bus tonight to drive through

the night to Lima to the Temple.

It will take another 12 hours to get to Lima.

 They were all very excited.  

To be sealed together forever has been their dream.

And now.. they are on their way.

 We hope that everything goes smoothly.

This is why we are here...

These moments make me so happy.

Another perfect day in the Trujillo Mission.
Congratulations!


~Special Addition~

The Giraldez family sent this photo of the families of Huamachuco
after the sealings.  And we found out that Elder Aquino
who just left our mission this last week was
there in the session with his family.
Beautiful!

New Ones and their Trainers...

Here are all 35 new ones and their trainers and areas...

It will be a miracle if everyone is included, spelled right, 

in the correct area etc... Good Luck to me!

Hermana Balcaza from Argentina will be trained by Hermana Sheridan

and they will be in Palermo

Elder Contreras from Honduras will be trained by Elder Hendrix

and they will serve in Casma

 Elder Cachique from Iquitos will be trained by Elder Vélez

and they will serve in the East Zone

Hermana Bedoya from Huacho, Peru will be trained by Hermana Sandstrom

They will be in the Primavera area

Below

Hermana Carbone from Lima will be trained by Hermana Doxey

and they will be in Huaraz

Elder Diaz from Chile will be trained by Elder Beazer

they will serve in Chimbote Sur

 Elder Rojas from Santiago will be trained by Elder Pugmire

they will serve in Central Zone

Elder Rybertt from Chile will be trained by Elder Cornejo

They will serve in Virú

Below:

Elder Bustamente will be trained by Elder Kellogg

They will serve in Salaverry

Elder Garcia from Cusco will be trained by Elder Zapata

They will serve in Esperanza

 Elder Sarria from Chile is being trained by Elder Hill

They will serve in Huaraz

Hermana Aparicio is being trained by Hermana Eddings

They are serving in Chimbote Sur

Below:

Hermana Romero from Argentina is being trained by Hermana Lujan

and they are serving in Huaraz

Elder Zavala from Peru is being trained by Elder Johnson

they will serve in Moche

 Elder Yaicate is being trained by Elder Lorenzo

They will serve in Huaraz

Elder Quiroz is being trained by Elder Contreras

They are in the East Zone

Below:

Elder Rodriguez from Peru is being trained by Elder Bustinsa

They are working in Porvenir

Elder Cuya from Casa Grande is being trained by Elder Reyes

They are working in Chimbote

 Elder Yupanqui is being trained by Elder Chicche

They are serving in Chimbote

Elder Elescano is being trained by Elder Randall

They are serving in Central Zone

Below:

Elder Fernandez from Argentina will be trained by Elder Ferreira

they will be serving in Chimbote

Elder Quispe will be trained by Elder Callapa

They are serving in Casma

 Elder Garcia will be trained by Elder Almonacid

They are working in Chimbote

Elder Oruna will be trained by Elder Salazar

They are serving in Huaraz

Below:

Elder Huayhuapuma from Peru will be trained by Elder España

They are working in Palermo

Elder Lopez from Mexico will be trained by Elder Cañarte

They are serving in Porvenir

 Elder Arimuya is being trained by Elder Cottle

They are serving in the Laureles Zone

Hermana Trelles will be trained by Hermana Huaman

They are serving in Chimbote Sur

Below:

Elder Sanchez from Lima will be trained by Elder Herrera

They are serving in Villa del Mar

Hermana Montalvo from Peru will be trained by Hermana Bond

They are serving in the Laureles Zone

 Hermana Maza will be trained by Hermana Diaz

They are serving in Primavera

Elder Pacahuala will be trained by Elder Fernandez

They are working in Florencia de Mora

Below:

Elder Cabrera will be trained by Elder Ordoñez

They are working in Casma

Elder Uriarte is being trained by Elder Almazán

They are working in Laureles

Elder Cachique from Iquitos is being trained by Elder Vélez

They are working in Rio Seco

Elder Cordova will be trained by Elder Minaya

They will serve in Chan Chan 

We are so excited to have you all with us.

Let's Get Going.... 

Thank you Trainers.  We Love You!

Don't just be Good... Be Great!

PS - I did duplicate a companionship because I had odd numbers.

Thirty-Five... Whoa!

Hey, look where we went this evening.

Here's some of our best friends... the gate keepers at the airport.

Trujillo airport is very small... so we are familiar with many that work there.

 As we pulled up.... there were some very familiar and dear faces...

waiting out front. 

The office Elders came with the buses.

Ready?   Get into position Elders!

PERFECT

 And then on cue the missionaries started to come... 

and they didn't stop until we had 35 of them off the plane.

 Can you say... Ginormous Group?

They all made it and we are thrilled.  We will put up their photos

and trainers and new areas tomorrow.

But now they are going to settle, eat and then go to work for the night.

It was just like a sea of love and happiness swept in....

Bienvenidos Mis Hijos!

Finishing With Honor

Ahhhh... I love these missionaries so much.

I love how they have grown and developed.

I will pray for each one of them.

They are awesome!

 Elders: Yat, Saldivia, Oroxom, Merida, Quiroz, Batz, Roman, Vera and Aquino

The most important decision that they will make

is choosing the person they are going to marry.

 Hermanas: Jackson, Cevallos, Jimenez, Galleguillos, Mori, Cornelio, Petherbridge and Shearman

I hope that they will each become the person that they 

want to marry and all will be well.

 Elders: Saldivia, Yat, Aquino, Olivares, and Vera

We took the group shot in a different area because of the sun

and look who is looking down upon them...

two angels that always seem to find the camera.

The Assistants have taken great care of these missionaries.

This group is made up of 6 Peruvians, 4 Guatemalans, 3 Chilenos,
3 North Americans, 1 Bolivian and 1 Ecuadorean and 2 Assistants.

We had two families that came too..

Hermana Shearman's parents and sister came from Arizona.

And Hermana Cornelio's parents and brother

came from Lima...

Sweet memories with their missionary daughters.

We will love you all forever and ever....

Here is the goodbye video!

New Mission President!

We are thrilled with the announcement of the

New Mission President for 

Misión Perú Trujillo

The Best Mission in the Whole World!

We want President and Sister Marler to know 

  that they are about to enter the greatest time of their life.

We will be talking to them shortly... 

Kathryn A. and D. Kurt Marler

Dennis Kurt Marler, 60, and Kathryn Ann Nelson Marler, five children, San Pasqual Ward, Escondido California Stake. Brother Marler is a stake public affairs specialist, temple ordinance worker and a Spanish ward young single adult adviser. He is a former counselor in a stake presidency, high councilor, bishop, bishopric counselor, elders quorum president, ward Young Men president and missionary in the Florida South Spanish Mission. Dentist/Partner, Marler Campbell Dental Group. Born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Don Leroy and Janet Carol Marler.

Sister Marler is a multi-stake public affairs director and former stake public affairs director, ward Young Women president, counselor in a ward Relief Society presidency, seminary teacher and community relations specialist. Born in Mt. Vernon, Wash., to Eric Alton and Mary Rebecca Herrold Nelson.

Little Sandia....

I love this story...

For almost three years President Turk and I 

have been driving back and forth to Chimbote.  

I can't count how many times we have

driven this route but it has been a lot.

About an hour and fifteen minutes into the drive you come to 

the little town of Chao... 

The main street is lined with fruit stands and tents on each side.

The traffic gets a little thicker and there are people

everywhere... so you drive slowly down this section of street.

I always look at the children and what they are doing.

I spotted a little girl that was running a

watermelon stand.  She was sitting in a chair just 

watching the cars and trucks go by....  I caught her eye..

and I waved at her.  She jumped up and waved back at me.

This started our waving tradition for almost three years now.

She knows our car.... and every time we pass her 

we honk and wave at her.

She is the happiest little girl ever.

Today as we waved, I couldn't stand it any more.

I asked President Turk to please pull over.

I had to see her.

She watched as our car pulled over in front of her 

watermelon stand.  I waved at her to come to us.

She ran over to the window.

For Christmas I asked President Turk to please

just get me a ton of Peruvian coins that 

I could give to the children selling gum and candy on the streets.

But today, as little Sandia came over to the window....

I grabbed the heavy little bag of coins and 

handed her the whole thing.

It was heavy.  She felt it and then looked inside and exclaimed

"Para mi"

And we said si... si

She closed it back up and held it tight against her chest 

and started to cry... 

I started to cry and I had to put the camera down so that we could

grab each other and hug and blow kisses.

We didn't even ask her name or how old she was... 

We were just caught up in the sweet moment.

We will always call her little Sandia... which means watermelon.

I think that she is around 11 or 12 now.

So when we started to wave at her she must have been 9.

She has to sit and sell watermelon every day

and she is always happy...

and she made me and the President happy too.

She is an inspiration.

No matter what your situation is... find a way to be happy!

My Casma Cowboys...

There are twelve missionaries serving in the Casma Zone.

They are my cowboys.  They are on the Frontier.

I love to spend time with them.

Zone Leaders are Elder Johnson and Elder Mieles....

 Special Number was VERY special... they wrote an original song...

I am not sure who the composer was... I will find out.

Because this Zone is all Elders....

We can do a few different games.

Today after interviews and training... a little dodge frisbee

Casma Cowboys love the foam frisbees.

They work really hard out in the small areas around Casma....

San Jacinto, Cachipampa and Huarmey.

Casma is a port and has a lot of fishing.

San Jacinto has the sugar cane fields...

Cachipampa has avocado, grapes, and mangos

and Huarmey also has fishing.

The baptismal fonts were all being filled as we were leaving Chimbote.

 We had one pants casualty... but the good news it was a repeat.

These pants had been repaired before.

Here are the sweaty little happy faces of Casma...

Elders Antuña, Vera, Hendrix

 Elders Jensen, Johnson. Sato

Elders Mecham, Mollo, Sancé, Callapa

Elders Martinez, Ordoñez, Mieles, Castillo

I love you all... my Cowboys

Keep up the good work from morning until night.

Cowboys never stop!

A Little More Chicken.... Please!

This is so sweet....

Chimbote Peru Zone made a banner

 with our mission goal on it

and had it hanging up in the cultural hall 

when we arrived this morning.

The whole zone had signed it....

They are diligent!

2013 in 2013!

These are sweet times for the President

as he gets to spend precious

one-on-one time with his missionaries.

We just realized that we only have one more round

of interviews to go.  :(  

These are my favorite photos of missionaries...

They really love to learn and love to improve

their missionary skills.

I am putting a bunch of photos of this Zone 

on the blog today because

I forgot to take a photo of the whole Zone.

Today... was a strange day.

Everything that I have done for almost 3 years left me.

I am not thinking straight.

Thank goodness for the Assistants.

I could tell that they are both a little under the weather as well.

We were all a little frazzled today.

But that doesn't keep us from having a great time...

Look we were celebrating birthdays.

We played a few rounds of Listo Cae for the extra chicken at lunch.

And then ... while we were waiting for the President - (phone)

I started playing some of the fun songs that I have been 

singing with the children on Wednesday afternoons.

I started with "Quién Soy Yo?"

Who am I... and the children have to act out the animal

that they hear in the music...

So the Elders jumped up and were some of the best

animals ever...

During my children's singing class this week

I also told the children that anytime they heard

the music... the "Chicken Dance"  that they had to jump up 

and do the chicken dance moves.

The children loved it... 

Elder Mecham was always with me running the projector

and microphones 

at the children's singing class so ...

When I turned on the chicken dance music

he started to dance and then fly 

around the cultural hall and 

all the Elders followed.

When President Turk came back in and found us 

doing some chicken moves....

 There wasn't a surprised look...

there wasn't a "stop this nonsense" comment....

He just jumped in and finished the dance with us.

He's lived with me too long to be shocked any more.

By the way... He does the Chicken Dance

with his grand children on Skype

So this is a very sentimental song to him.

We will never forget our Chicken Dance in Chimbote.

Thank you Elders in Chimbote Peru Zone

for making me soooo Happy.

I needed it today.