By Their Fruits...

Elder Fajardo and Elder Arteaga had four baptisms this week.

This is pretty typical for Elder Fajardo.

Do you remember the video I made about Elder Fajardo? (Aug. 18, 2010)

He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the mission.

He had to go home to Guatemala to have the surgery.

We were hoping that it was not cancerous.

We were also praying that if they could remove it

that it would not damage any of his abilities to talk and walk and hear

and teach.  We were mostly praying that it would not take his life.

The tumor was benign and the surgery a total success.

 Elder Fajardo was back in three months

fully charged and more determined than ever

to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He not only believes that this is the true Gospel

He knows it.  

He teaches with power and authority and knowledge.

He doesn't have a family that supports him.

But he has the Gospel of Jesus Christ 

that fills his soul with the knowledge that he

is truly a child of God.

He has the support of the Church and the members.

He has the companionship of the Holy Ghost

to guide and direct him

as he keeps himself worthy and listens.

To see these young men and women...

* who live the beautiful principles of the Gospel

*who are clean from harmful substances and immorality 

*who give up all the worldly things in their lives

*that leave the comforts and friendships of home

*that feel rejection on a daily basis but keep going with joy

*that leave cars, dating, jobs, education, computers etc...

so that they can help others find the true gospel 

and plan of happiness...

is an amazing testimony to me

every single day.

You have never seen such bright and beautiful

and happy

young people anywhere on earth.

By their fruits ye shall know them!

I LOVE MY MISSIONARIES!

Unfortunate but Prepared...

 Yesterday we had a couple of our missionaries that got robbed.  A hooded man jumped out and made them hand over their backpacks and any belongings.  They were not harmed at all.  And the best thing about this experience is that they were prepared for this kind of scenario.

Our missionaries are taught to never put up a fight.  

They never carry money or items worth anything with them.  

They have a few soles with them for travel.  

They even carry their backpacks so they can drop them quickly 

or slide them off easily if someone is grabbing at them. 

The Stake President in that area got on the local radio show and told everyone what happened.  

He plead with the people to please help him protect these special missionaries 

that are coming here to help us.  They come from other countries.  

He told everyone that they don't make money from missionary work.  

They don't have money with them.  

They are doing the Lord's work and helping the community.

The Leaders of the Church there have now taken a big interest in anyone 

that is going to hurt or slow up our missionaries work.

We want everyone to know that our missionaries 

have nothing with them of value except their scriptures.  

They are both sick about losing their

personal Bibles and Books of Mormon.

They had pamphlets in their backpacks

 that they hope the robber will read.

That would be a great ending to this story wouldn't it.

"Thief baptized by the Missionaries he was robbing"

I thought the radio show was a fantastic idea.

Thank you Stake President for taking such an active role 

with the safety of our sweet missionaries.

Dogs on the roof and definitely on the ground!

A long time ago I posted about how I was fascinated with all 

these dogs that live on the roofs here in Peru.  

Most of the homes are not finished on the top floor 

so they use it for the laundry room

and a place for their dogs to roam.  

There are very few people with back yards.

There are plenty of dogs on the roofs but there are packs of dogs

still on every road.  They are everywhere.

And Elder Llatance will testify of this.

President Turk and I and the Assistants went to Salaverry 

the other day to pick up Hermana Legg to take her to the airport.  

The Assistants jumped out of the car to grab her suitcases.

Hermana Legg was saying her sad goodbyes.  

She was leaving for good so she was teary.

She climbed into the car and the Elders threw her suitcases in the back. 

President Turk was on the phone in the drivers seat.  

I was in the front passenger seat.

Elder Llatance jumped in the back of the van and 

Elder Andersen followed him in the middle.  

I was talking to Hermana Legg about all of the areas she 

had served in her mission.  She said that she didn't get to serve in Chimbote.

"Oh, you never got to smell the stinky fish factories"... I said.

It is the smell of money as they call it.  

But really stinky money if you ask me.

I usually put heavy perfume on my 

wrist and when we drive by that area of 

town I hold my wrist to my nose.

 

Right as we were talking about the bad smells of Chimbote

There was an overwhelming smell that was making me nauseous.

It was bad.  I was about to throw up.  

I quickly rolled down the window.

I turned around to see what was going on

and Elder Llatance was in the back with a look of panic on his face.

He had stepped in some of those great dog droppings

and didn't know it and now had brought it into the van with us.

 Now... I was dry heaving from the odor.

Hermana Legg was still weeping in the middle.

President was talking on the phone oblivious to what was happening.

Elder Llatance had taken off his shoe and was hopping out of the car.

Elder Andersen was grabbing the baby wipes in the car

and some rubbing alcohol to try to clean it up.

Elder Llatance found some barrels of water 

that they were using to mix cement.

He started the cleanup of his stinky shoe.

Sweet Elder Andersen was making the smell worse in the car

by scrubbing the carpet.

So he was hopping in and out looking for a garbage can

 to take out the stinky wipes that he was using.

They did the best that they could.

And then we had the long drive from Salaverry to the Mission Home

to try not to be bothered by it.  

Sister Legg was laughing AND crying by this time.

After the whole ordeal... 

Elder Llatance said that when he saw my face 

turn around 

to see what the bad smell was...

he was dying because he had just discovered 

that he was the one that 

brought it in off the street.

This was bound to happen sooner or later.

They do not have any ordinances of doggy pooper scoopers here.

We are all good and fine now.

The van has been scrubbed and is back in good standings with me.

People of Peru... let's keep all the dogs on the roof. 

They are happy and we are happy.

I don't know of one missionary that leaves the mission with

the same love for dogs that they may have had before serving.

Airport Run...

When my sister was on her mission she kept track of the 

hundreds of batches of chocolate chip cookies she made.

I wish that I was counting how many times 

We have been to the airport.

Tonight we took this group to the airport.

It takes both of the cars.

They are heading to Lima to get their Visas taken care of.

They are the missionaries from other Latin countries.

They will spend the day at the embassy and they will attend

a session at the Temple.

Then hop on a plane and head back tomorrow.

This happens in our mission about every six to eight weeks.

Can you imagine what is takes in every mission

to keep Missionaries out in the field.

The organization alone of the physical church

and the missionary program

is enough for me to know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ.

 (Elders: Ramos, Velastagui, Ortellado, Bulmini, Sandoval, and Cornejo and Hermana Montes)

And on a sad note.... Elder Rivas from Chile

has to go home to heal some discs in his back.

He is great.  We will miss him.

But on a good note .... we are heading back to the airport tomorrow to pick up the

missionaries above and a new Elder that is coming in from Colombia.

I will see you on the road to you know where....  (the airport)

President Turk's out with the Elders...

President went out to work with 

Elder Massey from North Carolina and Elder Frietz from Phoenix, AZ.

They are in an area called Buenos Aires in Trujillo.

President Turk served his mission of his youth in Buenos Aires Argentina

The Circle of Life...  okay Mission Life.

They went to a woman's house that was a contact from a few weeks ago.

They could never find her at home.

Today she was home and she invited them in.

They taught her the first discussion.

She loved it, accepted the baptismal invitation...

and is looking forward to more.

 Buenos Aires area is right on the water.

These Elders live close to the Beach.

You can see that it is not a big sandy beach.

They ran into this parade?  demonstration?  March for a Saint?

Who knows what is was for...

but all of their faces were painted black

Look closely... You can see a couple of them turned around.

Raro!
If you know what this was for let us know.

Thanks Elder Massey and Elder Frietz for 

taking care of the President.

He had a Great day with both of you.

Trainers and Trainees... So Fun!

We love to get our new ones together again

after they have been in the mission for about a month.

They can really ask the right questions now and listen for 

answers that they need.

They are hungry for information at this point.

We had a great morning of teaching...

Learning, Singing, Listening...

 Practicing, Visiting, Sharing Experiences...
Some of the experiences included slip sliding in the mud, some unfortunate vomiting in awkward places and Latina girls
checking out the Gringos a little too close for comfort.

There was a lot of  Laughing, a little Crying, 
and a deep study of the Gospel.

And of course a little time for eating.

The office staff is still getting creative with the juice boxes.

They served McDonald's for Lunch

and maybe they are thinking of adding

Escargot for our next meeting.

Elder Glasgow is playing with the snails he found 

while we were 

waiting for McDonalds.

We usually play Paper- Rock- Scissors for

the Leftovers... But today we played

Listo..... Cae!

Another very fun elimination game!

They take this very serious... Extra Quarter Pounder 

with Cheese and French Fries

is highly desired around here!

The first round Elder Llatance won.... 

The crowds were not happy about the Assistant winning.

But in the next two rounds the Hermanas took it.

Hermana Avendaño won the second round

and Hermana Petherbridge took the third round.

Oh the little joys of food and competition!

Great day with all of you...  Preach the Gospel with the Spirit!

Griff's Birthday!

It's Griffin Turk Watts birthday today.

He is two.

He had his party on Saturday

but Grandpa Dean Turk came and played with him all morning.

He brought him a race track.

What is more appropriate than 

Grandpa Dean the Professional Race Car Driver

bringing his great grandson some dragsters.

President Turk's father was a professional race car driver.
He used to drive the long nosed dragsters that would go
really fast in a short strip of track.
The car would use a parachute to help it stop.
One time when he was racing the parachute didn't open
and he was in a serious accident.
This kept him from racing on the weekends.
And then he started to go to church with his family.
and this brought the missionaries to him
and Yes... He was baptized.

Thanks Grandpa Dean

and Happy Birthday again to Griffin.

He has celebrated for a week

with something fun every single day.

We Love Griffin!  and Great Grandpa Turk!

Hermana Legg's Leg...

We drove to the port city of Salaverry this afternoon

to pick up Hermana Legg.

Sunday she somehow stepped down wrong and broke a bone
in her foot.

She can't put any weight on her leg

for about 6 to 7 weeks.

This doesn't really work when you are a missionary.

To sit and stare at the walls is not fun.

Fortunately she had only three weeks left before 

she was finishing her mission.

The decision was made for her to head home a little early and 

get the bone properly set and start the recuperation.

  So, she said a sad goodbye to her companions and

her pensionistas.  She has served twice here in Salaverry

for a total of 10 months of her mission.

She loves the people here and she loves her companions.

These pensionistas are like family to her.

As we were putting her things in the car, 

a gentleman who had been drinking a bit 

came rushing across the street, 

he took her hand and bowed his head

and told her how much he was going to miss her.

Everyone in Salaverry knew and loved Hermana Legg.

We then took her to the airport.

I felt so sad leaving her by herself

and in a wheelchair.  I wanted to fly with her and get 

her safely back to Idaho.

It will be a long trip home 

especially because everything came to an abrupt end.

She was a great missionary and left with honor.

We will miss her ...

But ...

We will keep in touch!

Much Love and Luck to you Hermana Legg.

We Love You!

The Fenns

Tonight for Family Home Evening we went out to dinner with

James and Whitney Fenn.  James Fenn is the Construction Supervisor

 for the new Trujillo Temple.  They are from Montana

and will be here for about 3 years.

They have a long legacy of family members 

that have served as Temple Construction Supervisors

and as Temple Construction Missionaries.

His parents served as missionaries for the San Salvador Temple.

He has an uncle at the Rome, Italy Temple.  He has an uncle at 

the Cordoba, Argentina Temple.  He has family that have been 

construction supervisors for chapels and Temples all over.

And now he will continue the great work here in Peru.

They are Lucky!

We took them to the Chelsea restaurant which is an old Mansion

built here in Trujillo during the Spanish rule by the Spaniards.

Later a British man came in and turned it into a great 

restaurant.  The fun part is that it plays great music that we know

and love.  Tonight we had great ambiance, great food and great company.

Welcome Fenns!

"Papa French Fry"

I talked to my parents today on skype.

Sometimes you just need to see your Mom and Dad...

no matter how old you are.

I can remember my grandmother Mutti when she was about 90 years old

saying to one of her daughters...

"Caroline,  you didn't even fuss.  I am proud of you."

I can't remember what she was even talking about

but me and my sister Beth said...

"Good grief Mutti, she is 70 years old

and you are still praising her for not fussing?"

The parenting role goes on forever and ever.

Anyway...

My parents looked great.

They were playing with my Grandsons

Griff and Walker.

They were getting ready to go to the Park for 

Griffin's birthday party.

Griffin turns 2 this week.

Here is my Dad with my Grandson Griff.

My grandsons Tillman and Griffin call him "Papa French Fry"

because they eat "Jack in the Box" with him on Tuesdays

and he always gives them french fries.

I heard that while everyone was playing kick ball 

at the park during the party today...

that the ants attacked and infested all the pizza.
Those are some quick moving ants.

Thank goodness they didn't get to the baseball cupcakes.

They said they had a great time anyway.

Later in the afternoon

I was with all of these noble ones.

We were at La Rinconada Building.

Really, there is nothing better than hard working missionaries.

 Elders: Llatance, Andersen, Cermano, Serrano, Guymon, Behotas, President, 

Bourque, Zetina. Briones, and Hannemann

We were attending some baptisms with all of them.

Elder Guymon sang the special number 

while Elder Bourque played the piano.

Below is Elder Guymon with his trainer Elder Serrano.

So far so good on the training.

Keep up the good work Elders.

New Ones...

Here they are...

Four new ones that are ready to go.

Elder Whitelock from West Jordan, Utah

is being trained by Elder Vera in Chimbote Peru

Elder Felt from Sandy Utah 

is being trained by Elder Gamboa and will serve in Viru

Elder McMullin from Logan Utah

is being trained by Elder Vilchez and will serve in Chimbote Peru.

Hermana Petherbridge is from Maryland and is being trained by 

Hermana Avendaño in California, Trujillo

We had a brief training in the Mission Home

after a great lunch...

And then they were out...

They are ready to fly!

Best of Luck

and Much Love!