Proselyting in Peru: January 28, 2014

Hello Family!

This week has probably been the best week here I've had so far. We had another transfer today so it kinda sucks because one of my good friends that I've made here was leaving in the transfer because he was in the group ahead of mine. I don’t remember if I've mentioned him before in any of my previous emails (i probably have) but his name is Elder Meaker. We have a lot of stuff in common and the nice part is that he lives in Washington so we are already making plans of the cool times we are gonna have when we get home. Yesterday was super crazy though because it was the last day before a transfer. I got a little emotional when I was saying goodbye to the district ahead of mine who was 2 elders and 2 sisters because we have all become super good friends. I’m going to try to write them as much as i can though. They have done a lot in the MTC to bless my life and they feel like my brothers and sisters. I also got to give a blessing of comfort to Elder Meaker though which was pretty cool. That guy is like a spiritual feast. He always has these really cool messages that make me feel better whenever I’m down or am having a really stressful day. We call it Meaker moments whenever he talks because of how good his messages are. We all decided that he is going to become an apostle one day. Me and my companion have also been made the zone leaders for this last two weeks as well.

The week was so good though because it started with THE TIE Ceremony. So basically there is a tradition in the CCM where the group that’s leaving passes down the ugliest tie I have ever seen that looks like it’s been made out of a 70’s sofa. Anyway it’s been passed down 10 generations of elders and each time the elder who gets it writes there name and mission on the back. The ceremony is basically a bunch of random questions where you get points and then there is a scenario. I don’t have time to explain the whole thing right now but I’ll explain it to you later. Well my companion won and he is actually wearing the tie in the pictures we took with the sisters.

On Friday we were out all day in Lima Central for our visas. Lima central is really beautiful though. It’s the more touristy part of Lima so it looks a lot nicer than the outer parts. There are a ton of old buildings everywhere because it’s basically like their version of Washington D.C. We also got to go eat at Burger King and I did not realize how much I missed American food. It was a really good day and on the way home it was dark outside so the whole city was lit up.

The next day we went out proselyting for the second time and my companion was one of my Latino roommates so that was really nice because we already knew each other really well. We were able to do a lot more this time than we did the first time. We taught 3 lessons and had 2 contacts. The first lesson was to this inactive family so we just taught a boy in front of his house because his parents were gone. The second was to a hair dresser who we talked to on the street and she wanted to hear our message. We also taught to an old lady in front of her house. We also gave 2 blessings to a family, one to a mom and the other to her baby. It was a really good day and instead of coming back an hour early we were out for the entire time.

Sunday was also crazy spiritual because we had some good classes taught by the branch presidency. At the end of the day the district above us came into my district class and bore all their testimonies to us. It was sooo good and I could feel the spirit really strongly. It got pretty emotional in that room though. I don’t think I've cried as much as I have here in my whole life. Anyway after that all the gringos sang a really cool rendition of God be With You Till we Meet Again to all the Latinos which was amazing and also super spiritual and emotional. Anyway I’m having an awesome time here and I only have 2 more weeks till I get out in the field so I’m super excited. I love you all.

Love, Elder Halverson