August 18, 2014

Hello everyone!

I think for the most part I got sick at the beginning because I was adjusting to the food. Now I think it’s because everything we eat is fried in a lake of oil. Especially eggs which we eat like 4 everyday. But I’m trying to eat more fruit and drink more juice and yogurt. I also need more vegetables which I can only get if my pension makes a dish with them. The problem is just where I am I think. We are so far away from everything that it’s hard to get good ingredients. Plus my pension’s family isn’t the richest so it’s hard for them to go to Juliaca where they can buy this stuff. But I’m doing good right now; however, there is a pill called the bomb pill or something and it wipes out anything you might have in your stomach so that would be nice to take when I get back.

We were only able to work for a few days this last week because my companion got back Wednesday night. However, we were able to visit quite a few less actives. We are teaching a less active mother right now and her three daughters. The oldest daughter is active but the 2 younger ones (whose ages are 11 and 8) are not baptized. The mother wants them to be baptized so we have been working hard with them to rescue the mother and baptize her 2 kids. However she is on a trip to Lima and won’t be back for 3 weeks so I probably won’t be here for the baptisms, which is a little sad, especially because the mother said she really wanted me to baptize one. So I may have to wait till my next sector before I get my first baptism. But that’s not a big deal.

We still haven’t been able to get in contact with Delia yet but we'll keep trying. We also went out to the compo (or farmland) with our pension to visit a few less actives, so that was cool. All we were able to do, though, was make appointments for this next week.

I’m in Ayaviri again for this week because my comp had to go back to Lima to finish his papers. The thing with him is he hasn’t had a visa for his whole mission and has been waiting. He basically has been working on a visitor visa this whole time and every few months he’s had to leave the country for a day to get it renewed. But now he will have his visa so this will be the last time.

But that’s it for this week. Also Elder Davis, well now just Blake, is sending me pictures from home and it’s still weird to think that he’s not in the mission anymore. But glad to hear you’re all well and I love you all.

Elder Halverson 

This is Elder Flores, my comp. This is when we went out to the fields to visit some people.

Here are a few more random pictures:

 The streets of Pucara.

Celebration in Pucara. 

Chase's room in Choquehuanca - view 1.

Chase's room in Choquehuanca - view 2. I believe that's Chase's bed on the left -- not made, of course! Notice that there is no heat in the room.