May 26, 2014

Sorry about not writing you last week; our internet was really terrible last week and nothing was loading.  

Anyway it’s funny about you guys dieting and stuff. If you really want a good diet just move here. XD I eat a ton and I’m still losing weight.  

Our week here has been kind of slow, too. One day the other companionship got sick so we had to help them out for a good chunk of our day. There was a cool fair for 2 days for the anniversary of the high school here. Each class was dressed in traditional clothes and was dancing. Consequentially, everyone was gone to be in the party. We also lost power here for 2 days which was a little scary when we went to dinner. So basically for those 2 days we couldn’t work after it got dark because it gets a little sketchy. We had an activity planned for the branch on one of those days but had to postpone it till later this week. One of our investigators was talking to a member and she told us that she wants to be baptized along with her 2 daughters which would be awesome. The only problem is that it’s hard to get an appointment with her with a member because she is always working and whenever we do have an appointment we can’t get a member to go.   

But yea also Sunday was really intense yesterday because our church attendance has been dropping recently so all the missionaries here gave talks on the Book of Mormon because we are trying to get the leaders to do stuff and gain testimonies as well as all the members so we burned them a bit and hopefully now they can see why this stuff is so important.  

Me and my companion are doing good together and are doing our best. Sorry if it looked like we were really trunky. XD It was just when he talked to his family they made him a little trunky. Oh, also as far as the other cities go, Ayaviri is like a 30 minute drive in a van and Juliaca is one and a half hours in the other direction from Choquehuanca. But yea, all’s well here in our little pueblo. Also you’re right about being able to understand the people you work with because the people here have the equivalent to a redneck accent but with Spanish.  

Anyway I love all you guys and I hope you’re enjoying the warmth. We had a cold front blow in and it is absolutely freezing here. We sleep in 40 degree weather every night even in our adobe house so we really have to bundle up. Anyway till next week everyone!

Love,

Elder Halverson

May 12, 2014 - New Companion

Hello family,

This week not much happened because I didn’t get my companion till Thursday so I just did divisions with the 2 elders left in Ayaviri. Then, for the rest of the week there was a party so we couldn’t meet with anyone and then I was sick for a day. Hopefully this next week will be a lot more productive.  So, I’ll mainly tell about today.

We went to a place about 30 minutes away from Ayaviri called Tinujani. It’s really cool.

Anyway, it was really cool because I got to meet the new zone for the first time. During changes we had half our zone leave. Anyway I really like all the new guys. Both me and my new companion, Elder Davis, get along really well. It was a fun day, though, because the place looks a lot like southern Utah with all the rocks and everything. Anyway it was really funny because there was a river we had to cross and everyone wanted to try and jump it but I just found a bridge to cross. Everyone ended up getting their feet wet because they landed in the water. When we got back we had a skipping competition in the river. It was a pretty fun day.

Anyway, I don’t have much time to talk so that’s all for now.

Love,

Elder Halverson 

 Last dinner with his trainer, Elder Nicholls

 Last picture with old zone

 Chase's new "best friend" (Lobo the husky). He says all the huskies are named "Lobo", which means wolf in Spanish. 

 "Working in Compo"

Loading up to go to Tinujani

Chase at Tinujani

New zone at Tinujani. New companion on far left next to Chase.

Sunday, May 11, 2014 -- MOTHER'S DAY PHONE CALL!!!

Note from Chase's mom:

It was sooo wonderful to talk to Chase on Skype for Mother's Day!  He is completely happy and loving his mission!  His Spanish sounds really good, too!  (But of course, what do I know?  I'm just a gringa...and his mom, which, of course, makes me a little prejudice!)  

Unfortunately, our connection wasn't very good and we had to call back three or four times to re-establish our connection.  But, we were able to talk for about 40 minutes and it was absolutely wonderful!  I was just sitting down in Relief Society when his message came in, "Hey, I'm on Skype now", so I just booked it out of church and ran home to get on the computer as fast as I could. I was so excited that I used the wrong key to try to get into my car. LOL

Chase told me that he's lost weight and his pants are all loose.  He says he just mostly eats chicken, potatoes, and rice.  It's bland but it's filling...at least at first.  He says that the food doesn't stay with him for long and he doesn't stay full.  He doesn't like the cheese in Peru and misses all the different cheeses we have here.  I told him of a box I'm putting together for him containing some meat and cheese and I could almost see him drooling -- he was that excited about it!

He's starting to enter the winter months so he's already wearing sweaters and says it's pretty cold except when the sun is shining during the day when it's a bit warmer.  He just got a new companion on Thursday named Elder Davis from Kaysville, Utah.  He says he really likes him and they get along really well. 

Chase said there was some party or wedding going on in Choquehuanca that slowed down the work last week.  It sounds like the wedding from "Bride and Prejudice" (Bollywood version) where the whole town celebrates.  Chase was also sick on Saturday and stayed in bed all day.  :-(

Chase is amazing and I'm so proud of him!  His letters aren't eloquent and he doesn't write a lot of details, but when I saw his face today, his countenance showed the light in his eyes and the testimony that he's growing!  He's becoming a completely different young man and is truly a disciple of Christ!

May 5, 2014

So we just read our news for the changes today. My companion is moving up to be an office worker in Cusco. I’m getting another gringo companion. I’m staying in Choquehuanca for this change as well. This will be a very interesting change though because we have some families that are really progressing. I’m kinda thinking right now that I’ll just be here for this change and then leave. I really think that we will be able to baptize the families we are working with but I’m just sad that Elder Nicholls won’t be here for it. Since being here I've realized the reason that there needs to at least be one gringo in Choquehuanca. I’m really excited for this change and the blessings that I’m sure will come with it. I will really need to work hard with my Spanish now that all my companions have been American.

As for this last week, it was pretty funny. It was kinda like panning for gold and only finding a few nuggets and no gold dust. We didn't have very many lessons but the ones we did have were really strong and spiritual. The problem was that there was another holiday for this week and so it makes it really hard to find people.

I've learned so much from Elder Nicholls and I’m sad to see him get a change but at the same time, he really needed it. I've also learned so much from being in Choquehuanca about obedience, charity, and humility. I’m excited to learn more this next change and continue to grow. I’m excited also for my new companion and all we will be able to progress together. Other than that, my district leader is getting a change and my gringo zone leader is going to open a sector and will be training in his last 2 changes. This change is really crazy but that’s how we progress in life. Anyway, that’s the big news for this week. I’ll have to lead my sector for the first few weeks and it will be a little challenging but I’m excited for the challenge and being able to learn. I’m working hard as ever and I love you all very much. I’m so thankful for the opportunity I have to serve here and help others come closer to Christ. I’m thankful for all that I can learn and for all the friendships I've made here. Anyway, until next week I’ll tell you all about the new members to the zone.

Love, 

Elder Halverson

April 28, 2014

Hello Everyone.

This week was kinda funny. I got to meet my "uncle" in the mission when we went to Juliaca for p-day (basically another elder who was trained by the elder who also trained my trainer). Anyway so Tuesday was a normal day but for Wednesday and Thursday I did divisions in Ayaviri with one of my zone leaders who knows no English so that was a really fun experience. I went back on Friday and taught for the first part of the day and then we were hailed in for the majority of the day. We do have, however, some new families that we are teaching and they look really interested in the gospel. 

Saturday I was sick the whole day but Sunday we had 5 investigators at church which was pretty cool. Sadly this is the last week of my training as well as this change. I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen this change but it will exciting to see. Anyway, that's basically it for this week.

Love you guys and hope you have a good week. I’ll tell you what happens next Monday.

Elder Halverson

April 21, 2014 - Travel to Lima for Visa

I traveled all the way to Cusco alone Monday morning, flew out to Lima at 7:00pm, ate McDonalds in the Lima airport, slept in a pretty nice hotel. The next day we sat for like 4 hours for our visas and after went to the mall in Lima central for lunch and ate pizza. After that we flew back to Cusco and I spent the night there with the office workers (who have a really nice apartment). In the morning, I took a bus back to my sector but the bus didn’t stop till we got to Juliaca, which is like an hour drive from my sector so I had to take a bus back to Choquehuanca. It was pretty cool though because in the group I went with to Lima in my mission were all Latinas and 1 Latino and none of them knew English. There was one gringa and she knew less Spanish than I did. So the whole trip I was just talking to them which was pretty fun. I didn’t think I knew that much Spanish until I started talking to them. I still have a lot to learn. But yea I’m officially a Peruvian now. XD It was pretty cool though cuz I also met a guy from the same zone as Elder Meaker in Trujillo but he goes home today from his mission but he was canceling his visa as we were getting ours.

As far as this week goes it was pretty short because we only worked for 3 days. The first day I got back we had an activity where we watched The Testaments with the branch and it was super cool because it was a really spiritual activity and we had some investigators there as well. Also on Thursday I was in the biggest lightning/rainstorm in my life. We were hiding out in a little tienda in the plaza and the lightning was striking in the plaza as well. It was so insanely loud and crazy. You could feel the shockwave of the lightning and I could actually hear the lightning hit the ground before I could hear the thunder. But other than that nothing really happened on Friday or Saturday. 

Sunday Elder Nicholls had just like a one day sickness so we were stuck inside the whole day. We probably won’t move into our pensionista’s house while I’m here though because they need to save up more money before they can start building it again. Plus our transfer is in 2 weeks. Elder Nicholls thinks he'll leave and I’ll stay in Choquehuanca for one more change and then go to Cusco and work in the office, which I think would be fun but we have no idea what’s going to happen. For Easter though everyone eats 12 different plates and then they just get drunk so it was hard to teach people. But yeah we are getting along really well and still working hard. Anyway that’s all for this week. Love you guys.

Elder Halverson 

April 14, 2014

Holy cow, a lot is happening. [In response to telling Chase about all the people going on missions now.] I've only been away for like 4 months right? Seems like it should be longer with everything happening. Everyone is leaving; it’s really weird.

Anyway as far as that family is going, we invited them to church this Sunday. The dad said he couldn't go because he would be working. It was cool cuz I felt the prompting to promise him that if he came to church that his work would be more successful and he would receive help in it. Sadly he didn't come; however, the mother and son came and it was super cool. We met with them after and the mom was asking some really good questions. I don’t think they will be getting baptized this change but I believe they will next change. Elder Nicholls thinks that he will stay one more change to baptize them. I only have a few more weeks of my training so I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I kinda hope I leave Choquehuanca but at the same time I would be a little anxious to because that’s all I know. We kinda think that we will stay a 3 change together in Choquehuanca.

But yea I’m in Cusco right now and traveling to Lima tonight to get my visa. Not too much to report this week; however, we are teaching a crazy lady who thinks she is possessed and she is also a butcher. So yea we won’t teach her without a member present. We also had 26 contacts this week and only 4 news. But yea that’s all that’s been happening here. I can’t think of anything else to write about. Also I’m surprised to hear that you guys still have the cat. I kinda thought you got rid of it like 2 weeks after I left. Anyway it’s cool to hear that you guys are fellowshipping your neighbors. Also I miss the spring trees, and trees in general. I’ll probably end up going to Madre de Dios this change XD then I’ll have all the trees I want in the jungle.

Anyway, that’s all for this week. Love you guys,

Elder Halverson

 Picture from his hike a couple of weeks back.  The valley is at 13,500 feet.

 Choquehuanca (the village where Chase is serving) is the one in the back, on the other side of the river.

Not sure where this is exactly. I think it's in the neighboring town.