Primary Programs and Fútbol

The BIG Fútbol Game

On Saturday, November 23rd, Peru hosted the Copa Libertadores final soccer game. It was between Flamengo from Brazil and River from Argentina. The game was moved from Chile because of security reasons. It ended up at the Estadio Monumental in our neighborhood (only about a mile away). The stadium holds 80,000 people and is the biggest in South America. Our neighborhood was all locked up for the event. They shut the gates on the roads into our neighborhood at 9 am for the 3 pm game.

The shut gates to our neighborhood

There was a big police presence and we had lots of helicopters overhead. The missionaries that live near the stadium were asked to stay in for the entire day. We ventured out for a little while to see the mass of humanity moving towards the stadium. It was unreal. They shut down the major roads for car traffic. They were letting buses through. The people just walked down the roads toward the stadium.

People walking down the major road, Javier Pardo, to the stadium

So many people!

We even had police on horses!

Argentina led for most of the game! But Brazil won the game in the last 5 minutes.

Multizone Meetings

It was multizone meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. The office elders and I were really busy. Everyone had to bring their emergency backpacks and also the medical kits for each apartment. For the emergency backpack we traded out water and stale crackers. Plus they got tuna if their sardines were outdated. (I would much rather eat tuna.) The medical kits were all depleted. We counted out different numbers of pills to put in each one. We put in bandaids, thermometers, and cotton swabs.

Filling the emergency backpacks with fresh supplies.

Elder Armstrong with the medical kits.

The best part of the multizone meetings were the special musical numbers that we had each day. The first day, Elder Salway did a composition with the songs "Come Unto Christ" and "Peace in Christ". Elder Horton and Elder McClellan sang and did a wonderful job. We listened to the Vitarte Zone sing "Abide with Me" in Spanish and English on the second day.  The word for abide in Spanish is permanecer.  Doesn't that remind you of permanently. We want Christ to stay with us always.

Elder Horton and McClellan singing, Elder Salway on the piano.

Vitarte Zone singing "Abide with Me."

Primary Program in the Cieneguilla Barrio

The best Sacrament meeting of the year is the Primary program. We had a wonderful program on Sunday, November 24th. There were only cute little dark haired people in our program.

How different from the ones at home where the hair color is mixed. They had matching blue bow ties for the boys and blue hair bows for the girls. The teachers wore blue scarves around their necks. Everyone had a part and two girls that will be in Young Womens next year, conducted the program. The children and teachers sang without a piano and there were some pretty awesome solos. There is only one piano in the building and it is in the chapel, so they do not practice with a piano in sharing time. The parents smile the same at their children. The children sing their hearts out. The spirit is present and is the same.

Plants of Peru

Random Picture of the Week

They do birthdays every cambio (transfer). 

They sang to me twice! Because I was there both days.

Where Did the Week Go?

Service is Great!

Monday, November 11th we traveled out to sunny Cieneguilla. Fortunately it wasn't too sunny for us. We met up with Sister and Brother Flores at the parada de la cruz (major place for buses, mototaxis, and collectivios). We then rode in a mototaxi out to their home.

Brother and Sister Flores Home

Sister Flores is the Relief Society President in the Cieneguilla Ward. We asked her if there was anything we could do for her and she mentioned that she needed some help in their yard. She has some problems with her hands and Brother Flores has had a stroke, so the yard work is hard to do. We have not gardened for quite a few months. It was nice to be able to weed around their many fruit trees. They have peaches, avocados, mangoes, apple, papaya, quince and who knows what else! It was so nice to be in a green place. Their yard is so lovely!

We weeded around these fruit trees!

The Flores' lovely garden!

For our labors, she fed us a delicious lunch of Peruvian dishes. We had potatoes with a special sauce, chicken with a red sauce and noodles, and a delicious maracuya custard for dessert.

My challenge for all is to serve someone. Light the World is just around the corner, so take the opportunity to reach out to others. "This Christmas season, each day is an opportunity to become a little more like Jesus Christ. Each day we can find joy in doing as He did and serving as He served."

How do you say that in English?

Friday mornings you will find me co-teaching an EnglishConnect class with Sister Pratt. Sister Pratt is my upstairs neighbor. When she first arrived in Peru, she felt she should join the local exercise class that meets in the park. (It's way to early for me! 7:30 am!) She invited the ladies in the class to learn English. So the class began. When I arrived she asked if I would help her. It's always great to have more people that speak English in the class to help. Most of our students are older women and a few younger ones with children in school. Last Friday I was the teacher and Thor was my helper. They are a wonderful bunch of ladies.

English Connect class

P-day at the Playa

Saturday, November 16th, we had p-day with the office elders and the Amatos. We went to Miraflores in downtown Lima. We were in the area that looks over the beach. We were actually up on top of the cliff and the beach is way down below.

Miraflores The view from the top of the cliff

We rode bikes! It was a lot of fun. We did not keep up with the young elders. We would stop and look at the view.

Elders on p-day!

After the beach we went to a Mexican place, Pico Gallo, for lunch. Not as good as Cafe Rio, but still very yummy!

We rode home with Hermana Amato. We were in the last ovalo before our home and deja vue! She ran into a car. Fortunately neither car was damaged. You move very slowly through ovalos because you never know which way a car is going to go. It's just weird that we have been in two accidents in eight days! One with the President and one with his wife.

Plants of Peru

Random Picture of the Week

I don't know if the cat started at the top of the slide or not!

Don't Text and Drive!

Trainings and more Trainings

On Sunday, November 3rd, we had a training in the Las Flores Stake.  It was on self reliance in the wards. Bishops, a member of the Relief Society and Elders Quorum presidencies, and the ward self reliance specialist were invited to come. Thor talked about what self reliance is and how it can help their ward members. Thor talks and does the presentations--I make the google slides beautiful!

Self reliance training in the Las Flores Stake.

Tuesday, November 5th, we had 2 week training for the newest group of missionaries. They don't look quite as shell-shocked at two weeks. It's still really hard for them to be on a mission and all the new things they have to learn. They all seem to speak the language better. At this training they are each asked to share one funny thing that has happened to them and one miracle that they have seen in their two weeks here. One of the funny stories was an Elder was on a bus--standing up because there is no room to sit--he reaches into his little money pouch to pay for his ticket. The bus makes a sudden stop at this moment. The elder is not hanging on to anything. His money goes flying and he falls down, taking four people with him.

We shared a training on money management. Something they need to learn quickly on a mission.

November 6th was the final training for the week! Thor and Miguel Serrano did a training for the missionaries that are leaving in the next month or two. They talked about the vocational test that they had already taken. They talked about resources in their home countries. They asked if they had reached out to contact people that worked in the field that they want to study. They talked about being an "Elect" returned missionary and what choices they would need to make to achieve that. They talked about their first week home and what their specific plan is. Also goal making and how they can keep those good habits and abilities that they have developed on the mission.

Elder Lindstrom and Miguel Serrano with the missionaries who will be leaving soon.

Interviews and more Interviews

I spent three days this week interviewing missionaries. I am over the English program in the mission. We have an English Specialist in each of the zones (a missionary) and they teach a weekly lesson. It has been about 7 weeks since we started this new program. I talk to each Latino missionary in English and asked them questions from their weekly homework. Each Latino missionary is strongly encouraged to learn English on their mission. It's fun to talk with them and see how much they understand. It exactly like me and my learning of Spanish. Es muy difícil. 

Hermanas Mayta and Stephan--two of the missionaries that were interviewed. Hermana Stephan is the English Specialist in her zone.

On Friday we were traveling with the mission president to Chosica to interview the missionaries there. The President was talking on his phone and for one second he looked down and the next second we had rear ended a truck. Thankfully we were not going very fast and seat belts work! We only have a few bruises from the experience. Unfortunately the car didn't fair as well.

No one was hurt! The car was the only casualty. 

Notice the bumper on the truck. It is folded underneath due to the impact.

Sad History

On Saturday we went with two other couples to the National Museum. They had an exhibit on the 20 year conflict they had with the terrorists. The terrorists, also known as the Shining Path, were trying to bring communism to Peru and make it a communist country. This movement started in 1980 and lasted until 2000. Many people were killed, over 69,000 and many others went missing. Some of the pictures in the exhibit were haunting. A very sad time in their history and not so long ago.

Posters of their missing family members.

Eight coffins being carried for a burial after a terrorist attack.

Last message she received from her son, before he went missing.

Plants of Peru

Random Picture of the Week

Hermana Santana taking a selfie with Elder Lindstrom's phone. That's Hermana Pacheco in the background.

A Colorful Week in Lima

Something Purple

October is Mes Morado (or purple month) in Lima, Peru, and the faithful dress from head to toe in purple as a sign of their devotion to El Señor de los Milagros (the Lord of Miracles). This Christ figure, known for its miracle-working powers, is housed in the Church of the Nazarenes, and thousands of purple clad worshippers come to pray and make offerings during the month of October. There are several processions on different dates in October, including a 24 hour long procession which is one of the largest in all of the Americas annually. Tens of thousands of the faithful dressed in purple tunics, sing hymns and pray as they accompany a huge two ton litter which bears the painting of the Christ from the church of Las Nazarenas. The smell of incense and the steady beating of drums add to the solemn atmosphere as the procession winds its way along the narrow, purple clad streets of Lima.

The procession of the Lord of Miracles

The origins lie in colonial times, when a slave drew an image of Christ on a wall. The wall with the image stayed standing despite an earthquake which destroyed the rest of the building. Thus, this image has since become one of the most venerated in South America, and the church of Las Nazarenas was built around it.

https://www.inkaterra.com/blog/seeing-purple-the-lord-of-the-miracles-festival-in-lima-peru/

A home in our neighbor that was decorated for the procession.

We had two different processions that came by in our neighborhood. The first was my favorite. It was a child's procession on October 30th. The little ones were dressed as angels or dressed in purple. They had a band that played the same sad song over and over again.

The childrens' procession--they carry a small litter with a picture of the Lord of Miracles.

The angels in the procession

Today, November 3rd, we had a really serious procession. The litter they had with the painting of Christ, looked seriously heavy. Everyone was dressed in purple. They would stop at different houses and put the litter down. There would be some kind of talk and then singing and incense waving.

The procession on our street

Something Orange and Black

Monday, October 28th, there was a special activity for all the sister missionaries in the Peru Lima East mission. It was a fun morning. We played Halloween bingo and frosted cookies! The hermanas brought clothes that they no longer wanted to wear and were able to trade them.

Hermanas Morales, Flores, Segundo, and Suarez

We had a fun sandwich bar for lunch. The missionaries were very excited about the spinach that they could put on their sandwiches. (They are banned from eating lettuce. It cannot be cleaned well enough to be safe.)

Hermanas Niziato, Morales, Cuellar and Black

We had some special messages from the sister training leaders. It was about the beauty that they all have within them. We were reminded that we are all children of God. We each have divine potential within us.

Something Colorful

Friday, November 1st, we traveled to Lurin, to the Beach! We were at a resort by the beach, so we officially didn't hear the ocean or see the waves. We were invited to help at the Young Single Adult Conference. There were about 950 youth that attended. On Friday we were suppose to help with a self reliance training. Funny thing, we went on the wrong day. We were scheduled for Saturday.

Our group went home in the van, and we stayed to help out.

Feeding the 900!

They put us to work! We helped with lunch. It was a major production to feed that many people. We then helped with a Family History presentation. In the late afternoon President Amato, his family, and about 30 of our missionaries arrived. They did a training for all the youth that want to go on missions. We rode home in a van with the missionaries.

Hermanas Segundo and Suarez teaching at the JAS convention

On Saturday we traveled back to help with the self reliance training. It was a lot of fun talking with the youth that came to our station. We talked about EnglishConnect--a program to learn basic conversational English; and BYU Pathway--a low cost program to help people get university degrees. We had fun seeing the youth from our Pathways group and youth from the ward that we attend.

Plants of Peru

Random Photo of the Week

I saw this big yellow spider at the convention!

This is what happens in a soccer game when an elbow hits the nose of Elder Wilcox. Also this week in soccer, Elder Shockley broke his wrist!