Well my new area is in the La Merced zone, but it is called Pichanaki. It is about 73 km or about an hours drive from La Merced. Oh boy is it beautiful here though. I love the jungle, and finally have some heat, I'm loving it. My new companion is Elder Per, and he is awesome. He isn't bossy like Elder Lima was, and that is definitly a pleasant change. He is definitely a hard worker too, he and Elder Guttierez actually had two baptisms saturday. The baptisms are awesome here though, because there is no bapismal font so all of the baptisms are in the river!!! I can't wait to have a baptism to actually get to baptize in a river, it is like a dream!
We have an awesome branch here, and I have only been here for like 4 days but I am amazed at how much the members help. The last 2 days we had two people out prosyliting with us. Its hard enough to get one person to go with us, but these guys want to go out with us as much as they can. One of them is Luis Pastor. He is 28 years old, and was baptized last month. He went with us for like 5 hours, and he has such a strong testimony I wish he could go with us like every day. We also have two young men Hillrum and Jimmy that go with us. We have a goal for 5 baptisms next month, so we will be working hard to achieve.
Oh and my companion likes to run!!!! Finally I get to run, and it is so great. We get up at 6 every morning to run. Its awesome to because we woke up at 5:30 this morning to someone yelling Elderes! It was Jimmy ready to run with us. How awesome is that! I told him we run in the mornings and he wanted to go with us, but he came at 5:30 it was hilarious. Luis Pastor also wants to run with us, he was in the military for 2 years so he really likes working out. So we get along really well :) We're just going to start a little running club or something, ha ha it is great! Our pensionista is amazing too. We have had pancakes for dinner for the past three nights with different things. How great it is to have pancakes again, and these pancakes are as close to mom's pancakes as anyone has gotten. Nobody is near as good though! That is one thing I look forward to when I get home.
I absolutely love this area, and I wouldn't mind spending like a year here, that is how awesome it is. We also live with two other missionaries too, Elder Smith and Elder Guttierez. They split Pichanaki in the middle so we each have one half. We have so great investigators so hopefully soon I will be telling you about some baptisms.
Everything seems to be going well at home. I hope everything is going ok with Tim, I will be praying for him. Hope everyone is doing well at home too, its great to hear Allison got a raise, and I hope she gets to go to Nevada for the dig. Keep up all the good work, I'm always praying for you guys. Thanks for being such an amazing family! The church is true, and how great it is to know we will be together forever. Love you guys!
Elder Lee
WRITE ME!!!
Click on the envelope and it will take you to this awesome site that will print and send Jon the letters absolutely FREE! All you have to do is type it up, press send and then it prints it off and Jon gets asap. He loves the letters and needs the love. Make sure that you send it to PERU LIMA EAST. Thanks everyone!!!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
19 January 2009-La Merced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just found out about 5 minutes ago that I am being transfered to La Merced!! I'm not going to lie, I found out last Thursday that I was going to be transferred. Its because they are making a new zone, and it is the zone La Oroya, Marcavalle. Elder Lima is a zone leader with elder cook so I am being transferred. I was really bummed when I first found out, I feel like Marcavalle is my new home. It really is like leaving home again. I'm going to be taking some major fotos in the next couple days with all of the amazing friends I have made here. I'm definitely going to be writing them too.
Great news this weekend, we had two more baptisms. I baptized an 8 year old named Rafael and another 13 year old named Dorris. Nobody passed out this time!! It was great, and I was just so happy I was able to baptize them before I left. We have still about 4 more investigators that are really great, but I guess Elder Lima will just have to send me the pictures :(
I can't believe I am going to La Merced though! It is the jungle!! I'm not going to be cold anymore. My new companero is Elder Per. I met him last transfers and he is really awesome, really short but really awesome. It is going to be great to be hot all of the time now. I've never been one who likes the cold very much. It is going to be great!
So sounds like things continue to go great at home. Airsoft wars on Y mountain, that is awesome! I'll be there playing with you guys in 20 more months. Ha ha yeah. Its good to hear that you are all still working hard, and that the house was dedicated. Oh and tell the Familia Kwong thank you for their letters, it was awesome to get letters from the new ward :) Oh and the packages arrived I guess. They are actually sending them from Tarma today, so I am pretty excited to get them. Really thank you for everything family, I love you guys so much. Keep having fun, and know that I couldn't be happier out here. Thank you for your prayers always!! My next e-mail will be from the jungle, ha ha yeah!! Love you!!
Elder Lee
The Pictures are of Rafael and Dorris at the baptism, and the familia of my pensionista.
12 January 2009--Hola Familia!
Well nothing too excited happenend this week, compared to last week at least. Oh and Estefany the girl I baptized is fine. It was really weird because just after the baptism she went and changed, and came back in and bore her testimony and everything. So it really didn't end up being too serious, but well, that is definitely going to be one baptism I will never forget.
Your right my face has gotten burned. The weather here is so weird because at times the sun comes out, and it is hot, but then like 5 minutes later it is raining and cold again. So I always forget to put on sun screen because it is always pretty cold in the morning, but I actually remembered the other day, and it is getting better. Don't worry I set the sunscreen out on my desk too, so I wont forget. The weather here really isn't too cold, at least compared to what you guys are dealing with. Holy cow, it sounds like you are having a lot of snow and ice. I think our problem is our room is 3 floors down so it is always cold, but jump roping always keeps me warm :)
The language is coming along. I actually get a lot of complements on my spanish when people find out I've only been in Peru for 3 months. I definitely need to continue practicing though, there is still so much more to learn. Its nice because at least 3 days a week I have like 45 minutes for language study.
We had a great Sunday yesterday. We had 7 investigators in sacrament meeting, and there were a ton of inactives that we had visited. It was really great, and there were probably around 80 people in the meeting. This branch is really great, and the goal is to become a ward, the problem is that we need all of the other branches in the area to convert into wards too. Because I guess it has to be a stake, so it might be a while. It is great to have faithful members though.
Crazy thing is that we have changes again in a week. This change went much faster than the last one. When your working hard time just seems to be flying. I think I will probably be in La Oroya for at least one more change, and I think Elder Lima will probably leaving this change. But who knows, its all in the hands of the Lord. I really don't want to leave though because we have some great investigators preparing for baptism. Rosario and Roberto is a couple we are working with, and they have come to church the last three weeks. They are preparing for their marriage this February, and the next week their baptizm. There are just so many great families here, it is really going to be hard to leave.
Everything is really going great. We are going to have at least one more baptizm saturday, and possibly 2 depending on the interviews and everything. An 8 year old named Rafael Quijaite, and another girl named Dorris Morales. Things are just going great, and I couldn't be happier.
Oh this morning I pulled out the family history stuff, and read the story about where the name Lee came from. How awesome, people are always asking me where it came from because I'm not chinese, and now I can tell them it came from some farms in Denmark. Ha thats awesome.
Well I'm just about out of time, but I just want you guys to know that I love you a ton. I know this church is true, and my testimony is strengthened every day through the power of the Spirit. Love you guys, and thanks for everything you do. Thanks for writing everyone!
Love Elder Lee
Your right my face has gotten burned. The weather here is so weird because at times the sun comes out, and it is hot, but then like 5 minutes later it is raining and cold again. So I always forget to put on sun screen because it is always pretty cold in the morning, but I actually remembered the other day, and it is getting better. Don't worry I set the sunscreen out on my desk too, so I wont forget. The weather here really isn't too cold, at least compared to what you guys are dealing with. Holy cow, it sounds like you are having a lot of snow and ice. I think our problem is our room is 3 floors down so it is always cold, but jump roping always keeps me warm :)
The language is coming along. I actually get a lot of complements on my spanish when people find out I've only been in Peru for 3 months. I definitely need to continue practicing though, there is still so much more to learn. Its nice because at least 3 days a week I have like 45 minutes for language study.
We had a great Sunday yesterday. We had 7 investigators in sacrament meeting, and there were a ton of inactives that we had visited. It was really great, and there were probably around 80 people in the meeting. This branch is really great, and the goal is to become a ward, the problem is that we need all of the other branches in the area to convert into wards too. Because I guess it has to be a stake, so it might be a while. It is great to have faithful members though.
Crazy thing is that we have changes again in a week. This change went much faster than the last one. When your working hard time just seems to be flying. I think I will probably be in La Oroya for at least one more change, and I think Elder Lima will probably leaving this change. But who knows, its all in the hands of the Lord. I really don't want to leave though because we have some great investigators preparing for baptism. Rosario and Roberto is a couple we are working with, and they have come to church the last three weeks. They are preparing for their marriage this February, and the next week their baptizm. There are just so many great families here, it is really going to be hard to leave.
Everything is really going great. We are going to have at least one more baptizm saturday, and possibly 2 depending on the interviews and everything. An 8 year old named Rafael Quijaite, and another girl named Dorris Morales. Things are just going great, and I couldn't be happier.
Oh this morning I pulled out the family history stuff, and read the story about where the name Lee came from. How awesome, people are always asking me where it came from because I'm not chinese, and now I can tell them it came from some farms in Denmark. Ha thats awesome.
Well I'm just about out of time, but I just want you guys to know that I love you a ton. I know this church is true, and my testimony is strengthened every day through the power of the Spirit. Love you guys, and thanks for everything you do. Thanks for writing everyone!
Love Elder Lee
5 January 2009--Interesante fin de semana
Hola familia, Como esta!
Mom, I forgot to tell you that your poem for Christmas was awesome! Sounds like things are going well at home. That package isn't here yet, but I'm pretty sure you sent it to the right address so it should be getting here soon. A year pass to seven peaks that sounds awesome too. It will be fun to go with you guys in a few years! Hey Dad don't worry I write in my journal every night, and I'm up to about 100 pictures right now so everything is going good. Allison I'm going to send some pictures of some ruines we hiked to here in La Oroya! They were pretty sweet, and the kid who took us to them said that the Inca's lived up there during wars or something like that. It was pretty awesome. I couldn't believe they lived that high in the mountains. Steph, Andrew, and Jen hope the break was a lot of fun. Keep working hard in school, and reading your scriptures and all that good stuff.
Ok now for this crazy weekend. We had three baptisms. Three sisters named Estefany, Katy, y Jaquie. We had there baptisms saturday night, and I'm sure that was the most interesting baptism that I've ever had. I baptized Estefany, and first of all I have to tell you she is one of the most hyper people I have ever met. When I baptized her she came out of the water with a big smile on her face with her eyes closed. I think she got some water in her windpipe or something because then she passed out! Holy cow was that crazy. I was sitting there holding her so her head didn't go under water. I sat her down on the steps telling her to breath while everybody outside of the pila was yelling instructions. Within a minute or so she coughed a little and then with a big smile opened her eyes and was fine. Ha ha good times. It was hilarious because a little kid yelled "Ella salio muerta!" She came out dead! Oh man that was interesting, and hopefully that doesn't happen again.
I actually had my first confirmation sunday too. Usually the Presidencia de la Rama do the confirmations, but Jaquie wanted me to do it. So it was a great experience also. There are a lot fewer people here, but we had close to 100 people in church yesterday!! We are really being blessed and are really hoping for at least 2 more baptisms this month. Love you guys, and thank you for all of your prayers.
I'm going to attach some pictures of the baptism, and the ruins.
29 December 2008--Casi enero
Hey Family,
It was so great to talk to you guys, you don't even know! I'm glad you guys had such a wonderful Christmas. I think the best gift I got was talking to you guys though. I was so happy the rest of the day, it was great.
Church was pretty interesting yesterday. Elder Lima and I gave talks. I talked for about 15 minutes on hope (esperanza). The talks were good, and guess what, I played Joy to the World on the Piano in Sacrament Meeting! Ha ha it went pretty well. Elder Lima sang the first verse while I played, and then I tried joining in for the second verse. Lets just say that didn't work out very well. I must say people who can sing and play the piano at the same time are really talented. You are amazing at that mom. About 3/4 of the way through I totally messed up on the Piano so we just sang the rest of that verse and then I just played while the congregation sang the rest. Ha ha good times. I'll have to practice up more for next Year :)
Well the work is going good. Its rough because school just got out so everybody is leaving for vacations. We have 2 different investigatores who are really progressing well, but they are both going to Lima for the next 3 months until school starts again. It makes things pretty rough when everybody leaves for the whole summer vacation, but we are still working hard, and we have a couple that is really progressing a ton. They just need to get married, and then baptized. Thank you for all of your prayers, I know they help a ton.
I think the family had gone through the Book of Mormon twice before I left, but I'm not completely sure. That is awesome you are finishing it up right now though. Presidente Leyva challenged all of us to read the Book of Mormon from Nov 15 to Mar 15. I'm in Mosiah right now, Its a little slower studying it in Spanish, but I think I will finish by March. Everything is really going well here in La Oroya. My jump rope broke due to overuse I think, I'm going to try and pick up another one today. The food is good. I don't want to eat any more paneton for at least until next Christmas though. I ate so much it made me sick, but its all good now. I'm really excited for that package you guys sent, I'm sure it will be here by next Monday!
Thanks for everything. I Love you guys so much. How great it is to know that we can be together forever. Can't wait to hear from you again!
Love Elder Lee
It was so great to talk to you guys, you don't even know! I'm glad you guys had such a wonderful Christmas. I think the best gift I got was talking to you guys though. I was so happy the rest of the day, it was great.
Church was pretty interesting yesterday. Elder Lima and I gave talks. I talked for about 15 minutes on hope (esperanza). The talks were good, and guess what, I played Joy to the World on the Piano in Sacrament Meeting! Ha ha it went pretty well. Elder Lima sang the first verse while I played, and then I tried joining in for the second verse. Lets just say that didn't work out very well. I must say people who can sing and play the piano at the same time are really talented. You are amazing at that mom. About 3/4 of the way through I totally messed up on the Piano so we just sang the rest of that verse and then I just played while the congregation sang the rest. Ha ha good times. I'll have to practice up more for next Year :)
Well the work is going good. Its rough because school just got out so everybody is leaving for vacations. We have 2 different investigatores who are really progressing well, but they are both going to Lima for the next 3 months until school starts again. It makes things pretty rough when everybody leaves for the whole summer vacation, but we are still working hard, and we have a couple that is really progressing a ton. They just need to get married, and then baptized. Thank you for all of your prayers, I know they help a ton.
I think the family had gone through the Book of Mormon twice before I left, but I'm not completely sure. That is awesome you are finishing it up right now though. Presidente Leyva challenged all of us to read the Book of Mormon from Nov 15 to Mar 15. I'm in Mosiah right now, Its a little slower studying it in Spanish, but I think I will finish by March. Everything is really going well here in La Oroya. My jump rope broke due to overuse I think, I'm going to try and pick up another one today. The food is good. I don't want to eat any more paneton for at least until next Christmas though. I ate so much it made me sick, but its all good now. I'm really excited for that package you guys sent, I'm sure it will be here by next Monday!
Thanks for everything. I Love you guys so much. How great it is to know that we can be together forever. Can't wait to hear from you again!
Love Elder Lee
25 December 2008--Feliz Navidad!!!
Ha ha we get internet today, but I am so excited to talk on the phone with you guys in an hour you don't even know. I can't believe what happened with the phone. I actually called twice before, and I thought your phone was off or something. That is why I called Steph's phone. It is really amazing that I was able to talk to you guys for 2 minutes, and it was so good to hear your voices. I don't know what has happened to Andrew, he sounded like a grown man! I can't believe he is 5'11!! I think he is going to pass me up, and like you guys said start beating up on me :)
I don't really know what to say because I'll be talking to you in about an hour, but things are going great as always. Christmas eve was insane! We visited a bunch of families and every single family loaded us up with Paneton and hot chocolate. I ate probably an entire paneton last night, and already today probably another half. Paneton is like fruit cake and it is soo good. I don't think I could fit another piece in my stomach though. It was crazy too, they celebrate Navidad different here. They all stay up until midnight, and then I swear every person in La Oroya was lighting off fireworks. It was awesome. It was definitely the loudest bunch of fireworks I have heard for about 15 minutes.
Last weekend we had three more baptisms!! We baptized Mesias, Mery, and the Hna Pajuelo. I baptized Mesias and the Hna Pajuelo, and it was an amazing experience just like all of the other baptisms. The Hna Pajuelo is just great. She actually has a daughter in the mission, and it was great to finally see her baptized. We have been working with her the whole time I've been here. All of her siblings are Catolicos so she had a hard time with it, but I can testify that the spirit touched her heart and she decided one day without a doubt she was getting baptised. It was so amazing to see our prayers answered, and she is really recieving a lot of support from her husband and her family. This work is just great.
I feel so lucky to be here in Peru, where the people are so receptive and willing to hear our message. I know that some other missionionaries only get like one or even no baptisms. Its just great to be able to work as hard as I can, and help as many people as I can recieve this gospel.
I love you guys, and always love reading all of the letters. Its so good to hear what great things you guys are doing at home. Ill talk to you in about 40 minutes.
Love Elder Lee
The Photos are Mesias y Mery, The Hna Pajuelo, Elder Lima and I with Santa, and My group in the CCM. We had a conference last weekend in Huancayo it was great.
15 December 2008--4 mas bautizmos!
Hey Family,
Sounds like things are just as busy as always at home. Its good to hear you guys are having a good time though. Hey dad thanks for those pictures you sent too. Its crazy that the first day in the MTC was over three months ago. Only 10 days until Christmas. I love this time of year so much, the music, decorations, everything. Guess what! Only 10 more days and I get to call home too, ha it is going to be awesome. I'm way excited to talk with you guys again!
Well this weekend was awesome. Saturday we had two baptisms, Gustavo and Susan. I baptized Susan and Elder Lima baptized Gustavo. They both were confirmed in church Sunday, and it was just great to hear there testimonies of how they felt after the baptism. Yesterday we baptized Percy and Iris Alania too. We have been working with them since I got here, and the other missionaries had been working with them before too. They needed to get married, and they were married Saturday, and we baptized them at 4 yesterday. I was a little nervous because Percy wanted me to baptize him, and he is the biggest guy I've ever had to baptize. It was great though, and they were so happy to finally be baptized, and when they gave their testimonies they thanked us for working so hard with them. It was really an amazing weekend. This weekend we are traveling to Hauncayo por a conference for christmas. It should be really fun, and I hear we are going to sing hymns in the plaza. The problem is we have 5 other people that have baptismal dates for this weekend. Mesias, Mary, Sandra, Dorris, and the Hna Pajuelo. We should baptize them Friday or Saturday, but we won't be there when the recieve the gift of the holy Ghost. They are all so great though. I can see the Lord blessing us daily in this work, and I know he is really always answering our prayers. It seems like we are always finding people that are ready to hear the gospel. I feel so lucky to be here in Peru sharing the gospel with everyone.
Oh crazy thing happened Saturday. At the baptism I had my camera for pictures, and I let some of the young women and men in the ward look at the pictures. We were way busy with the wedding of the family Alania and everything else so I didn't look at the pictures until the night. When I pulled our my camera it had 4 pictures on it. One of those kids somehow accidentally deleted all of my pictures. Lets just say I was ready to kill someone. Its all good though life goes on. Hopefully you guys have saved some of the pictures I have sent because they are all gone. Its ok though I've started a new and I have pictures of the family Alania baptism. Everything is going great, and I really couldn't be happier. I love you guys, and appreciate everything you always do for me. Hey and Andrew happy Birthday!! I actually remembered MOnday too, but I couldn't really contact you. I actually will also be doing a pre call home to find out when I should call. So be expecting a call in the next week or so. Look forward to talking to everyone. Love you all!!!!!
Elder Lee
8 December 2008--17 dias hasta Navidad!!
Hey family, how is everything going at home? It sounds like you are all just as busy as usual. Which is great. Its good to hear you guys are having so much fun with everthing. So Allison went to LA, that is awesome. Crazy stuff going on at home. Oh yeah and tell Drew to be ready in 2 years to get schooled in Ping Pong basketball! Ha ha!
Things are going great here in La Oroya. Thank you for your prayers, I know that they are helping so much. We are finding so many people that are ready for the gospel, and I know it is because of the prayers of everyone We have 8 people with baptismal dates for this month, and they are all just great. We have been teaching so many lessons we hardly have time to eat. I think we ate dinner at 9:30 practically every night last week, but that is the way we like it. Working so hard practically forget to eat. But you know me once I realize I haven't eaten I gorge. Our pensionsita actually made good old american pancakes last night, and it was such a happy day for me! I think I took advantage of your wonderful pancakes mom, Thank you so much.
Our pensionista always loads me so full its crazy. Unfortunately I never get to run, so I have probably gained about 30 pounds! Ha ha just kidding. With all of the walking we do, and mountain climbing I have acutally maintained pretty well my weight. I swear we went up and down this mountain like 3 different times saturday for different appointments so I'm staying in good shape. I do pushups, abs, and jump rope in the morning too, so I still get the little bit of workout in a day that I love.
Today we actually had changes. Its crazy to think that I have already been out in the field for six weeks. I'm staying in LA Oroya with Elder Lima I'm definintely happy about that because I have met so many people that I love, and we have so many investigators progressing I can't imagine leaving this area right now. Speaking of Elder Lima, he is a good companion. We are always working for goals, and teaching as much as possible so things are good. He is 23 years old, and is from Arrequipa, Peru. Sometimes I get a little annoyed with him because he thinks he is in charge of the entire world, but I have learned to be patient. He always has good intentions, but he literally orders around everyone. He tells our branch president what he needs to do for the branch, its pretty crazy. Its fine though we are working hard and teaching a lot of people, and we get along so everything is good.
Its funny everyone here wants me to speak English with them. The funny thing is that Elder Lima gets mad, and says I need to always speak spanish. I think of it more as service. The young men and women in the ward want me to help them with their english homework. It is pretty funny.
We should hopefully have 5 baptisms this weekend. The familia Alania needs to get married saturday, and we are going to baptize them Sunday, but we've had to postpone like 10 times. So hopefully they follow through this time because they really are an amazing family. We also have Gustavo and Susan. Brother and Sister that are 14 and 17, and they are going to be baptized saturday. They have been coming to church and all the activities. They are really awesome.
Well hope you guys have a great week. Keep up the good work in evertthing that you are doing, and keep writing. Your letters are the best, and I always enjoy reading them. Love you all!!
Elder Lee
Things are going great here in La Oroya. Thank you for your prayers, I know that they are helping so much. We are finding so many people that are ready for the gospel, and I know it is because of the prayers of everyone We have 8 people with baptismal dates for this month, and they are all just great. We have been teaching so many lessons we hardly have time to eat. I think we ate dinner at 9:30 practically every night last week, but that is the way we like it. Working so hard practically forget to eat. But you know me once I realize I haven't eaten I gorge. Our pensionsita actually made good old american pancakes last night, and it was such a happy day for me! I think I took advantage of your wonderful pancakes mom, Thank you so much.
Our pensionista always loads me so full its crazy. Unfortunately I never get to run, so I have probably gained about 30 pounds! Ha ha just kidding. With all of the walking we do, and mountain climbing I have acutally maintained pretty well my weight. I swear we went up and down this mountain like 3 different times saturday for different appointments so I'm staying in good shape. I do pushups, abs, and jump rope in the morning too, so I still get the little bit of workout in a day that I love.
Today we actually had changes. Its crazy to think that I have already been out in the field for six weeks. I'm staying in LA Oroya with Elder Lima I'm definintely happy about that because I have met so many people that I love, and we have so many investigators progressing I can't imagine leaving this area right now. Speaking of Elder Lima, he is a good companion. We are always working for goals, and teaching as much as possible so things are good. He is 23 years old, and is from Arrequipa, Peru. Sometimes I get a little annoyed with him because he thinks he is in charge of the entire world, but I have learned to be patient. He always has good intentions, but he literally orders around everyone. He tells our branch president what he needs to do for the branch, its pretty crazy. Its fine though we are working hard and teaching a lot of people, and we get along so everything is good.
Its funny everyone here wants me to speak English with them. The funny thing is that Elder Lima gets mad, and says I need to always speak spanish. I think of it more as service. The young men and women in the ward want me to help them with their english homework. It is pretty funny.
We should hopefully have 5 baptisms this weekend. The familia Alania needs to get married saturday, and we are going to baptize them Sunday, but we've had to postpone like 10 times. So hopefully they follow through this time because they really are an amazing family. We also have Gustavo and Susan. Brother and Sister that are 14 and 17, and they are going to be baptized saturday. They have been coming to church and all the activities. They are really awesome.
Well hope you guys have a great week. Keep up the good work in evertthing that you are doing, and keep writing. Your letters are the best, and I always enjoy reading them. Love you all!!
Elder Lee
1 December 2008--Diciembre!!
Hey family, sounds like things are going great at home. About the package thing, Elder Riben said your supposed to send them to the mission office. The problem is I don't have the address with me right now because we are in Tarma for P-day. I don't know if you guys can look it up on the internet or what, but if not I will remember to send it next week for sure.
Things are going well here, we had 10 of our investigators at church last week! It was great! We have 3 baptisms scheduled for next Sunday. It is the family Alania. Great family. We have been waiting for them to get married to baptize them, and they are finally getting married Saturday. So it should be good. We have a 14 year old named Gustavo who is progressing really well, and should be baptized the 13th if things go as planned. Things are just going great, and we are really busy teaching and everything else. We have a goal for 5 baptisms for the month of Dicembre so we'll be working really hard to help our other investigators to progress towards baptism. The people here are great though. Its crazy I think we've given probably 10 blessings since I came to La Oroya. Everybody calls us angels, its pretty cool.
The food is good, I crave pizza every once in a while, but I am definitely eating a weel balanced diet. You would be happy mom I eat tons of vegetables now. I'm not saying I like them, but I have been eating them. Oh and Dad, a couple of days ago I ate half of this giant avocado and it was actually really good. I can't believe I never ate it before. I kinda feel bad for being so picky now :)
So BYU lost, that is too bad. I guess it is good to hear that Utah is ranked so high though. If its not BYU it might as well be Utah. Sounds like you guys had a great thanksgiving too. I realized when it was thanksgiving and I thought about those delicious pies and that huge meal, and football, and the puzzles, and everything else. Oh man good times. Its going to be cool to see what you guys have done with the house and everything when I get home.
Oh mom your question about retention of members. Here in La Oroya it is alright. We had a big Noche Misional the other night, and it was to encourage all of the members to help us find new people to teach, and also to help retain the new members. We had about 40 people there, it really went well. We usually have around 70 people at Sacrament meeting which isn't bad at all, but we would still like to have more. We are always visiting new members and inactives too, so we're definitely working on it.
I'm way excited though. Today we're going to play soccer with the zone for the first time since I left the CCM. It kills me, there are always people playing soccer, and I want to play so bad, but there is a rule that we can't play with the anyone except other missionaries. It kinda stinks. I could make like a million more contacts if I could play soccer with some of these guys. Its all good though, I guess I'll live.
The last 2 weeks I sent out a bunch of letters, so everyone should be getting them pretty soon. I think the mail takes 10 days one way so thats why they are taking so long, but I promise I'm writing. That is so awesome you guys went to that movie with Cecily. It sounds like you are all having a blast. Look forward to hearing more about whats going on at home, sometimes they don't give us the mail until after internet time so I haven't read anything yet but I am looking forward to seeing how everthing is going. Oh and I have been getting a lot of letters. The pouch takes a while, but they get here. Thanks to everyone for writing! Love you guys Keep up the good work in all that you are doing, I'm praying for you!!
Love, Elder Lee
Things are going well here, we had 10 of our investigators at church last week! It was great! We have 3 baptisms scheduled for next Sunday. It is the family Alania. Great family. We have been waiting for them to get married to baptize them, and they are finally getting married Saturday. So it should be good. We have a 14 year old named Gustavo who is progressing really well, and should be baptized the 13th if things go as planned. Things are just going great, and we are really busy teaching and everything else. We have a goal for 5 baptisms for the month of Dicembre so we'll be working really hard to help our other investigators to progress towards baptism. The people here are great though. Its crazy I think we've given probably 10 blessings since I came to La Oroya. Everybody calls us angels, its pretty cool.
The food is good, I crave pizza every once in a while, but I am definitely eating a weel balanced diet. You would be happy mom I eat tons of vegetables now. I'm not saying I like them, but I have been eating them. Oh and Dad, a couple of days ago I ate half of this giant avocado and it was actually really good. I can't believe I never ate it before. I kinda feel bad for being so picky now :)
So BYU lost, that is too bad. I guess it is good to hear that Utah is ranked so high though. If its not BYU it might as well be Utah. Sounds like you guys had a great thanksgiving too. I realized when it was thanksgiving and I thought about those delicious pies and that huge meal, and football, and the puzzles, and everything else. Oh man good times. Its going to be cool to see what you guys have done with the house and everything when I get home.
Oh mom your question about retention of members. Here in La Oroya it is alright. We had a big Noche Misional the other night, and it was to encourage all of the members to help us find new people to teach, and also to help retain the new members. We had about 40 people there, it really went well. We usually have around 70 people at Sacrament meeting which isn't bad at all, but we would still like to have more. We are always visiting new members and inactives too, so we're definitely working on it.
I'm way excited though. Today we're going to play soccer with the zone for the first time since I left the CCM. It kills me, there are always people playing soccer, and I want to play so bad, but there is a rule that we can't play with the anyone except other missionaries. It kinda stinks. I could make like a million more contacts if I could play soccer with some of these guys. Its all good though, I guess I'll live.
The last 2 weeks I sent out a bunch of letters, so everyone should be getting them pretty soon. I think the mail takes 10 days one way so thats why they are taking so long, but I promise I'm writing. That is so awesome you guys went to that movie with Cecily. It sounds like you are all having a blast. Look forward to hearing more about whats going on at home, sometimes they don't give us the mail until after internet time so I haven't read anything yet but I am looking forward to seeing how everthing is going. Oh and I have been getting a lot of letters. The pouch takes a while, but they get here. Thanks to everyone for writing! Love you guys Keep up the good work in all that you are doing, I'm praying for you!!
Love, Elder Lee
24 November 2008--Hola todos!!
Hey family, another week has flown by and I am e-mailing again. I got all of the Dear Elders today, and they were great to read. It sounds like things are going great at home. It is really good to get letters from everyone and hear how everyone is doing. I'm sad I Don`t get to help out with the yard and stuff at the house. If your not done in 2 years I'll definitely be there for you guys! Good to hear everyone is doing well in school and stuff. I can't believe Andrew is getting so tall. You guys should send some family pictures over e-mail or something. Good to hear the girls are having fun helping Drew out with the yard, and Steph keep up the good work with swimming. I can't wait to hear how the BYU-Utah game turns out. It just sounds like you guys are having some much fun with the new house!
Well things down here in La Oroya are going as amazing as ever. I had my first actual baptism Saturday where I actually did the baptizing. We had 3 baptizms, Nancy Estrella, Betty Cruz, and her daughter Mayumi. I baptized Betty, and it was really an awesome experience. I felt the spirit so strong throughout the entire service. It was great. I'm going to attach some pictures of the baptizms. We had Diego last week too, so we met our goal of 4 this month. In the photos Betty is the taller one. The work is really great, and my spanish is improving daily. Once in a while I get weird looks from people wondering, what is he talking about. But most of the time it seems like people understand me.
Well its still pretty cold, but I think it is probably colder there so I'm not going to complain. Thanksgiving is in 3 days! Oh I'm going to be missing those delicious Pies! Make sure everyone eats an extra piece for me!! Oh and with packages, I don't think there is a problem sending them. I'm just a little worried about the cost. Our district leader gets them all the time from Logan though, so I don't think it is to expensive. You asked what I want for Christmas. I think a box with about 50 butterfingers would be amazing, but you guys can really send whatever. I would really kill for a butterfinger or two though :) Well Love hearing from you guys, and look forward to hearing more. Thanks for everything. Love You!
Elder Lee
Hey family, another week has flown by and I am e-mailing again. I got all of the Dear Elders today, and they were great to read. It sounds like things are going great at home. It is really good to get letters from everyone and hear how everyone is doing. I'm sad I Don`t get to help out with the yard and stuff at the house. If your not done in 2 years I'll definitely be there for you guys! Good to hear everyone is doing well in school and stuff. I can't believe Andrew is getting so tall. You guys should send some family pictures over e-mail or something. Good to hear the girls are having fun helping Drew out with the yard, and Steph keep up the good work with swimming. I can't wait to hear how the BYU-Utah game turns out. It just sounds like you guys are having some much fun with the new house!
Well things down here in La Oroya are going as amazing as ever. I had my first actual baptism Saturday where I actually did the baptizing. We had 3 baptizms, Nancy Estrella, Betty Cruz, and her daughter Mayumi. I baptized Betty, and it was really an awesome experience. I felt the spirit so strong throughout the entire service. It was great. I'm going to attach some pictures of the baptizms. We had Diego last week too, so we met our goal of 4 this month. In the photos Betty is the taller one. The work is really great, and my spanish is improving daily. Once in a while I get weird looks from people wondering, what is he talking about. But most of the time it seems like people understand me.
Well its still pretty cold, but I think it is probably colder there so I'm not going to complain. Thanksgiving is in 3 days! Oh I'm going to be missing those delicious Pies! Make sure everyone eats an extra piece for me!! Oh and with packages, I don't think there is a problem sending them. I'm just a little worried about the cost. Our district leader gets them all the time from Logan though, so I don't think it is to expensive. You asked what I want for Christmas. I think a box with about 50 butterfingers would be amazing, but you guys can really send whatever. I would really kill for a butterfinger or two though :) Well Love hearing from you guys, and look forward to hearing more. Thanks for everything. Love You!
Elder Lee
17 November 2008--Put me down for un bautizmo!
Hey family things are still going great in Peru. Yesterday was really an amazing day. First of all Elder Lima and I had to talk in Sacrament meeting. I talked for 15 minutes in español, and it felt like 5 minutes. It makes me wonder why I had such a hard time with my farewell talk that was in English. I actually prepared it about an hour before church too There just wasn't time this entire week. After all of the church meetings we had the baptism of Diego Rosales. Elder Lima baptized him, but it was just great to be a part of the whole thing, and I ended up having to give another ten minute talk at the baptism. It was just a great experience, and the Rosales family is really an amazing family. It was good to see all of their family is now baptized into this wonderful church. It is really great to see how the church is already blessing their lives. I was going to send you the pictures, but I forgot my camera back at the room so I will send them next week.
La Oroya is an interesting place. It is a mining town, and it is like in a canyon so it stretches really long, but isn't very wide. There are about a million taxis and buses that drive back and forth and they honk constantly. It took some getting used to. I remember back in Tooele people would honk at you because they knew you. So I was used to waving every time I heard a honk. Well lets just say that ended fast, or I would be constantly waving! We ride in the taxis and buses all of the time to just because we have so many appointments, and no time to walk like three miles back and forth. Its good though because we contact every one we ride in My favorite thing is when we contact entire mini buses. We ask them to turn down the music, and then we go on with our message, and then take down the names and addresses of those that are interested. Its awesome. I think this last week we had like 27 new investigators.
I am fine with the money situation. I love how things here are so cheap. Whenever I am hungry I just buy bread. Its like 8 pieces of bread for 1 sol (33 cents) so I load up! We get 85 soles for personal expenses per month so I'm good. I'll let you know if I have problems with the money situation though.
Oh when I get home I am never going to worry about dogs when I am running every again. There are dogs everywhere, and some of them aren't very big fans of the missionaries. The worst is this one dog right outside our apartment. Everyday it goes crazy when it sees us. It nipped at my pant leg once, and after that I swore if it came near me I was going to drop kick it. Everytime we walk passed we carry these big rocks, and when it sees us it keeps barking but usually keeps its distance. We finally decided that the dog is catholic, and thats why it hates us so much. Our apartment is good. I have 4 blankets now so I am nice and warm at night. The only problem is we haven't had hot water for like 2 weeks. Thats ok though, I am doing just fine and couldn't be happier out here serving.
I guess I only have like a minute left, but just want you guys to know I love you and always pray for you. Look forward to hearing more of the amazing things that are happening at home. Love You!
Elder Lee
La Oroya is an interesting place. It is a mining town, and it is like in a canyon so it stretches really long, but isn't very wide. There are about a million taxis and buses that drive back and forth and they honk constantly. It took some getting used to. I remember back in Tooele people would honk at you because they knew you. So I was used to waving every time I heard a honk. Well lets just say that ended fast, or I would be constantly waving! We ride in the taxis and buses all of the time to just because we have so many appointments, and no time to walk like three miles back and forth. Its good though because we contact every one we ride in My favorite thing is when we contact entire mini buses. We ask them to turn down the music, and then we go on with our message, and then take down the names and addresses of those that are interested. Its awesome. I think this last week we had like 27 new investigators.
I am fine with the money situation. I love how things here are so cheap. Whenever I am hungry I just buy bread. Its like 8 pieces of bread for 1 sol (33 cents) so I load up! We get 85 soles for personal expenses per month so I'm good. I'll let you know if I have problems with the money situation though.
Oh when I get home I am never going to worry about dogs when I am running every again. There are dogs everywhere, and some of them aren't very big fans of the missionaries. The worst is this one dog right outside our apartment. Everyday it goes crazy when it sees us. It nipped at my pant leg once, and after that I swore if it came near me I was going to drop kick it. Everytime we walk passed we carry these big rocks, and when it sees us it keeps barking but usually keeps its distance. We finally decided that the dog is catholic, and thats why it hates us so much. Our apartment is good. I have 4 blankets now so I am nice and warm at night. The only problem is we haven't had hot water for like 2 weeks. Thats ok though, I am doing just fine and couldn't be happier out here serving.
I guess I only have like a minute left, but just want you guys to know I love you and always pray for you. Look forward to hearing more of the amazing things that are happening at home. Love You!
Elder Lee
10 November 2008--2 semanas en el campo--news from Jon
Yeah, I heard Barack Obama is the new President. Everyone here asks me how I fell about it, and I tell them it doesn't matter to me, I'm going to be in Peru for the next 2 years. Yeah we'll see how things go with that. Sounds like things are going well at home. It was so great to read all of those dear elders and hear what is going on at home.
Hear things are going great! We have a baptism Saturday. Diego Rosales is his name, he had run away from home, and had returned last Sunday. His family has been baptized, and we have been teaching him. I can't believe my first baptism is going to be Saturday! We have a lot of great investigators. In Sacrament meeting yesterday we had nine of them attend. It was such a good day! Last night we were meeting with one of our investigators Bety Cruz and her daughter Mayumi, and they accepted a baptismal date for the 22 de Noviembre. I have met so many great people already. This is great.
We definitely have busy days. We get up at 630 and exercise for 30 minutes I haven't been able to run, but I bought a jump rope so that should keep me in pretty good shape, I'm thinking. We eat breakfast which is usually just bread, ham, and hot chocolate. Then from 8 to 11 we study. Then from 11 to 930 we proselyte, except for an hour for lunch and dinner. We always have appointments, and are trying to contact people so the time really flies. We had 33 new investigators just for this last week! It just amazing to see people gain a testimony of this gospel, and I am learning so much about the gospel myself.
We put on a talent show Saturday Night. It was great, but it really cracks me up how things work here. The invitations were for 6 o'clock, but the thing didn't end up starting until like 730. It is funny how people don't really care about time, people are just pretty easy going. It was an awesome time though. Nobody is really shy about sharing their talents. The relief society did some hilarious skit dressed up like chickens, and we did 2 skits about making good decisions, and how unfortunately missionaries couldn't dance. It was a good time.
We are having dia de preparation in La Merced today. It is about 3 hours from La Oroya, and its all down hill. We are in the Jungle right now, and it is Hot! I'm loving it! We are supposedly going to check out some caves as a zone. It should be pretty cool.
Well that is whats been going on in my life. Time seems to be flying. I lucked out with my trainer, Elder Lima. He likes to work hard, and we do for sure. Oh yeah yesterday Presidente Agustanelli needed help moving a couch into his house. We though oh no big deal, but the problem was that his apartment is like three stories up, and the only way to get it up there was tie a rope to it and lift it up to the roof. It was hilarious! There me and Elder Lima were trying to heft this couch three stories high with a rope. We got it done though, a few cuts and scrapes here and there. Oh I wish I had a picture of it!
Well it sounds like first term is over for the kids. Keep working hard guys and writing me letters on Dear Elder I really enjoy hearing from everyone. Steph, you are going a 29 in your 50 back, and a 115 in the 100! That is awesome! I can't believe Dustin went a 101. He is going to break that record for sure. Hey and you are probably going to beat my times in the backstroke! Keep up the good work. Andrew keep having fun in school. Hey, and work on that Spanish bro. I expect you to be fluent by the time I get home, so we can talk and nobody else can understand. Keep up the good work on the house too. I hope that your getting better. Jen its sounds like you are turning into a professional on the cello. I hope when I get home you'll invite me to one of your private concerts or something like that! Allison BYU is awesome! Almost as good as SUU. Ha ha just kidding. Keep having fun at school, always remember I am praying for you guys. It sounds awesome that you are using your archeology skills to dig up the back yard. Mom, I love you. Thanks for always writing me, I always love hearing what is going on at home. Keep up the good work with your huge class and stuff. Dad, I'm glad you only have to work 4 days. I hope you have gotten into a van pool that you can sleep. It sounds like things are going well with the tooele house. Love you guys, and thanks for all you do. Always remember that I'm Praying for you.
Love,
Elder Lee
Hear things are going great! We have a baptism Saturday. Diego Rosales is his name, he had run away from home, and had returned last Sunday. His family has been baptized, and we have been teaching him. I can't believe my first baptism is going to be Saturday! We have a lot of great investigators. In Sacrament meeting yesterday we had nine of them attend. It was such a good day! Last night we were meeting with one of our investigators Bety Cruz and her daughter Mayumi, and they accepted a baptismal date for the 22 de Noviembre. I have met so many great people already. This is great.
We definitely have busy days. We get up at 630 and exercise for 30 minutes I haven't been able to run, but I bought a jump rope so that should keep me in pretty good shape, I'm thinking. We eat breakfast which is usually just bread, ham, and hot chocolate. Then from 8 to 11 we study. Then from 11 to 930 we proselyte, except for an hour for lunch and dinner. We always have appointments, and are trying to contact people so the time really flies. We had 33 new investigators just for this last week! It just amazing to see people gain a testimony of this gospel, and I am learning so much about the gospel myself.
We put on a talent show Saturday Night. It was great, but it really cracks me up how things work here. The invitations were for 6 o'clock, but the thing didn't end up starting until like 730. It is funny how people don't really care about time, people are just pretty easy going. It was an awesome time though. Nobody is really shy about sharing their talents. The relief society did some hilarious skit dressed up like chickens, and we did 2 skits about making good decisions, and how unfortunately missionaries couldn't dance. It was a good time.
We are having dia de preparation in La Merced today. It is about 3 hours from La Oroya, and its all down hill. We are in the Jungle right now, and it is Hot! I'm loving it! We are supposedly going to check out some caves as a zone. It should be pretty cool.
Well that is whats been going on in my life. Time seems to be flying. I lucked out with my trainer, Elder Lima. He likes to work hard, and we do for sure. Oh yeah yesterday Presidente Agustanelli needed help moving a couch into his house. We though oh no big deal, but the problem was that his apartment is like three stories up, and the only way to get it up there was tie a rope to it and lift it up to the roof. It was hilarious! There me and Elder Lima were trying to heft this couch three stories high with a rope. We got it done though, a few cuts and scrapes here and there. Oh I wish I had a picture of it!
Well it sounds like first term is over for the kids. Keep working hard guys and writing me letters on Dear Elder I really enjoy hearing from everyone. Steph, you are going a 29 in your 50 back, and a 115 in the 100! That is awesome! I can't believe Dustin went a 101. He is going to break that record for sure. Hey and you are probably going to beat my times in the backstroke! Keep up the good work. Andrew keep having fun in school. Hey, and work on that Spanish bro. I expect you to be fluent by the time I get home, so we can talk and nobody else can understand. Keep up the good work on the house too. I hope that your getting better. Jen its sounds like you are turning into a professional on the cello. I hope when I get home you'll invite me to one of your private concerts or something like that! Allison BYU is awesome! Almost as good as SUU. Ha ha just kidding. Keep having fun at school, always remember I am praying for you guys. It sounds awesome that you are using your archeology skills to dig up the back yard. Mom, I love you. Thanks for always writing me, I always love hearing what is going on at home. Keep up the good work with your huge class and stuff. Dad, I'm glad you only have to work 4 days. I hope you have gotten into a van pool that you can sleep. It sounds like things are going well with the tooele house. Love you guys, and thanks for all you do. Always remember that I'm Praying for you.
Love,
Elder Lee
3 November 2008--La Oroya!!!!!
I finally have e-mail!!! Presidente told us we could write when we got to our areas but there was no time. i got here to La Oroya ate lunch, and we already had appointments for the rest of the day. It is insane. I'm in an area that is 12,000 ft. above sea level. Presidente Leyva told me to take a two hour nap once I got here to adjust to the altitude, but that didn't happen either. i am doing great though, i never thought i would be out of breath walking, but it has happened. It is amazing the difference in the amount of oxygen there is up here. We took about a 3 hour drive from Lima to get to this area, and Elder Lima and I are the only elders in this area. It is great.
Well seeing how it is so high it gets pretty cold. So the first day i was here I bought the two sweaters and have been wearing them ever since! So much for Peru being warm everywhere. The district leader just gave me my third blanket today, because they didn't have them my first day, and all I can say is thank goodness. It is going to be nice to be warm at night! Well my area is called Marcavalle, and everything is really going great. We have 4 people with baptismal dates in this next month, and we are working on 2 or 3 more. We are teaching constantly whether it be an appointment or contacting in the street. We have a goal for 30 contacts a day. So we are pretty much going non stop. We had 50 people at church on Sunday, and it was fast and testimony meeting. These people really have such strong testimonies in the gospel, and they are all so nice.
Our pensionista is great. I have definitely been eating my fair share, and if I'm still hungry we can always by bread in the street. 8 pieces for 1 soul! thats like 33 cents. Now that is what I'm talking about! I'm going to take some pictures of the area, and send them next week. hopefully this is the last time there will be a post poned e-mail. I'm really appreciating now how nice the CCM was. They took such good care of us there and we got to play fùtbol everyday. It is just a whole different life down here, where people live and how they live. I love it though!
Today is seriously like Christmas though. I haven't gotten any mail in like 2 or 3 weeks, and today the District leader just handed me a package with like 20 letters in it. I really can't wait to read them. I think we are going to play risk as a district today, so that should be pretty fun. I would much rather play soccer though, but if thats what they want to do I'm not going to complain. I am so happy to be out here doing this, and happy for all of the support everyone is giving me.
It sounds like things are going well at home. You won the chili cookoff mom, that is great! It really sounds like the house is amazing, you guys should send some pictures of what is going on over the e-mail. I really miss seeing you guys. How are things going with dads work and the commute, and stuff? How is school for Allison? What did Steph swim, and what were here times in the meet? I am so excited that swim season has started, I really miss swimming competitively. I'm sad that I have'nt heard anything about cross country season, but I guess it is over by now. Its hard to believe how fast that went. Those were good times. How is andrew doing, is he running still? Jen tambien, how is she doing. You probably told me all of this in the letters I am about to read, but I'm just curious to hear more about what is going on.
I am so happy to hear from you mom, and read what is going on there. Don't worry at all about me, things are going great, and I am so happy to be out hear preaching the gospel. The spanish is still coming along. I understand what people are saying most of the time, I just need to continue to learn more words, and continue to practice my conjugation. I guess I will have no problem with that considering I'm probably the only person who speaks english in La Oroya! Its great though, and my knowledge of the gospel has increased so much already. It increases more and more every day. If there is any advice I could give the kids is to pay good attention in seminary, it is such a blessing to have it. Well I love you family, and love hearing from you. i can't wait to read all of these letters! Yo amo!!!
Elder Lee
Well seeing how it is so high it gets pretty cold. So the first day i was here I bought the two sweaters and have been wearing them ever since! So much for Peru being warm everywhere. The district leader just gave me my third blanket today, because they didn't have them my first day, and all I can say is thank goodness. It is going to be nice to be warm at night! Well my area is called Marcavalle, and everything is really going great. We have 4 people with baptismal dates in this next month, and we are working on 2 or 3 more. We are teaching constantly whether it be an appointment or contacting in the street. We have a goal for 30 contacts a day. So we are pretty much going non stop. We had 50 people at church on Sunday, and it was fast and testimony meeting. These people really have such strong testimonies in the gospel, and they are all so nice.
Our pensionista is great. I have definitely been eating my fair share, and if I'm still hungry we can always by bread in the street. 8 pieces for 1 soul! thats like 33 cents. Now that is what I'm talking about! I'm going to take some pictures of the area, and send them next week. hopefully this is the last time there will be a post poned e-mail. I'm really appreciating now how nice the CCM was. They took such good care of us there and we got to play fùtbol everyday. It is just a whole different life down here, where people live and how they live. I love it though!
Today is seriously like Christmas though. I haven't gotten any mail in like 2 or 3 weeks, and today the District leader just handed me a package with like 20 letters in it. I really can't wait to read them. I think we are going to play risk as a district today, so that should be pretty fun. I would much rather play soccer though, but if thats what they want to do I'm not going to complain. I am so happy to be out here doing this, and happy for all of the support everyone is giving me.
It sounds like things are going well at home. You won the chili cookoff mom, that is great! It really sounds like the house is amazing, you guys should send some pictures of what is going on over the e-mail. I really miss seeing you guys. How are things going with dads work and the commute, and stuff? How is school for Allison? What did Steph swim, and what were here times in the meet? I am so excited that swim season has started, I really miss swimming competitively. I'm sad that I have'nt heard anything about cross country season, but I guess it is over by now. Its hard to believe how fast that went. Those were good times. How is andrew doing, is he running still? Jen tambien, how is she doing. You probably told me all of this in the letters I am about to read, but I'm just curious to hear more about what is going on.
I am so happy to hear from you mom, and read what is going on there. Don't worry at all about me, things are going great, and I am so happy to be out hear preaching the gospel. The spanish is still coming along. I understand what people are saying most of the time, I just need to continue to learn more words, and continue to practice my conjugation. I guess I will have no problem with that considering I'm probably the only person who speaks english in La Oroya! Its great though, and my knowledge of the gospel has increased so much already. It increases more and more every day. If there is any advice I could give the kids is to pay good attention in seminary, it is such a blessing to have it. Well I love you family, and love hearing from you. i can't wait to read all of these letters! Yo amo!!!
Elder Lee
22 October 2008--Late Dia de Preparation again!
Hey family,
How is everyone doing? I guess dear elder is going to send everything to the mission, so I guess I´ll get it in a week. I can't believe I am going to be out in the field in 1 week! This time in the Peru CCM has really flown. It has gone a lot faster than Provo.
Well my new companion Elder Garcia is great. We went prosyliting on Saturday, and it was an amazing experience. Really much better than last time. We made a goal of getting 10 contacts along with visiting all of the families that they gave us. We ended up getting 8 for the day, but we just didn't have enough time. We taught 4 lessons. 2 to inactive families, 1 to an active young womens president, and one to a contact we made on the street. I am beginning to be able to contribute more and more to the lessons.
The most amazing spiritual experience of the day was that last lesson we taught on the street. We were looking for a house, and they didn't answer the door. I saw this guy standing outside his door down the street a little ways, and I thought maybe we should contact him. We started walking the other way though, and then I had a strong feeling that we needed to go back and contact him. I told Elder Garcia, and he said "Lets go, but you contact this time" So we went up and contacted him. It turned out that he was Catholic, but was interested in what we had to say. Elder Garcia taught them about the authority being taken from the Earth, when Christ and the apostles died, and then I taught everything about the resoration. I recited the first vision and everything. He was really interested, and after we bore our testimonies we gave him a Libro de Mormon, and a restauration pamphlet. It was an amazing experience. It was just a testimony to me to always listen to what the spirit says. I know it was the spirit that told us to make that contact. It really was just an amazing experience.
Well this last week has gone by so fast it is hard to believe. The food is still good, soccer is still good, teaching is still good. I am just having a good time all around. In the field we are going to have a lady that cooks and does our laundry. It is going to be nice I think, to not have to worry about doing that stuff, but just concentrating on the work.
It is good to hear about how things are going at home. I can't believe BYU lost! They were doing so good, and to TCU of all teams, hopefully they can still win conference. Steph drove all the way home from hurricane! that is awesome, I can't believe how different things are going to be when I get back. Sometimes I think of how long 2 years is and then I realize how fast it is going already. I just want to do the best I can in the little time that I have.
I love you family, and I miss you so much. I can't wait to see how everything turns out with the houses and stuff. Good luck with everything that is going on in work and school, and I pray for you always. I'm going to send a hand written letter too, because 30 minutes of e-mail just isn't enough! Love you, and look forward to hearing more from you!
Elder Lee
How is everyone doing? I guess dear elder is going to send everything to the mission, so I guess I´ll get it in a week. I can't believe I am going to be out in the field in 1 week! This time in the Peru CCM has really flown. It has gone a lot faster than Provo.
Well my new companion Elder Garcia is great. We went prosyliting on Saturday, and it was an amazing experience. Really much better than last time. We made a goal of getting 10 contacts along with visiting all of the families that they gave us. We ended up getting 8 for the day, but we just didn't have enough time. We taught 4 lessons. 2 to inactive families, 1 to an active young womens president, and one to a contact we made on the street. I am beginning to be able to contribute more and more to the lessons.
The most amazing spiritual experience of the day was that last lesson we taught on the street. We were looking for a house, and they didn't answer the door. I saw this guy standing outside his door down the street a little ways, and I thought maybe we should contact him. We started walking the other way though, and then I had a strong feeling that we needed to go back and contact him. I told Elder Garcia, and he said "Lets go, but you contact this time" So we went up and contacted him. It turned out that he was Catholic, but was interested in what we had to say. Elder Garcia taught them about the authority being taken from the Earth, when Christ and the apostles died, and then I taught everything about the resoration. I recited the first vision and everything. He was really interested, and after we bore our testimonies we gave him a Libro de Mormon, and a restauration pamphlet. It was an amazing experience. It was just a testimony to me to always listen to what the spirit says. I know it was the spirit that told us to make that contact. It really was just an amazing experience.
Well this last week has gone by so fast it is hard to believe. The food is still good, soccer is still good, teaching is still good. I am just having a good time all around. In the field we are going to have a lady that cooks and does our laundry. It is going to be nice I think, to not have to worry about doing that stuff, but just concentrating on the work.
It is good to hear about how things are going at home. I can't believe BYU lost! They were doing so good, and to TCU of all teams, hopefully they can still win conference. Steph drove all the way home from hurricane! that is awesome, I can't believe how different things are going to be when I get back. Sometimes I think of how long 2 years is and then I realize how fast it is going already. I just want to do the best I can in the little time that I have.
I love you family, and I miss you so much. I can't wait to see how everything turns out with the houses and stuff. Good luck with everything that is going on in work and school, and I pray for you always. I'm going to send a hand written letter too, because 30 minutes of e-mail just isn't enough! Love you, and look forward to hearing more from you!
Elder Lee
14 October 2008--Yo amo Mi Familia
Hey everyone, sounds like things are going well. These weeks are going by so fast. It is hard to believe that I am heading out in 2 and a half weeks. Well I got my new companion. His name is Elder Garcia, and he is from a northern part of Lima. He is awesome already. We have practiced teaching twice, and both of the lessons went really well. Its great. I have really lucked out with companions.
Well I think the craziest thing that happened this week was I got called to be a zone leader! Crazy huh. Well the calling is going well so far I had to plan out sacrament meeting sunday, and it went really well. I was a little worried at first, but I kind of like having a leadership position. Elder Myler and I are the zone leaders, and we are in charge of 5 other districts. It is pretty awesome.
Well we went out prosyliting again on Saturday. This time we went to a more wealthy area right by the ocean and it was definitely different than last week. Everyone had intercoms, so we had to talk into those instead of talking to the person face to face. I definitely like having personal contact more. About 15 of the 20 places we had to visit did not live there anymore. The others we were able to talk with, but we didn't have any long lessons. I realized the importance of talking about the gospel to everyone you know. At times we were so focused on finding these people we didn't stop and make as many contacts on the street. I am going to change that next week. I am going to talk about the gospel to everyone I see. I think that I will feel better about it when I am in a harder area like that. It was a good experience though.
We got to teach 2 five minute lessons, and gave an inactive member a book of Mormon. We committed a lot of people to come to church. I don't know if they went, but I pray that they will.
Things really are still going great here. Yesterday we had turkey, rice, mashed potatoes, rolls, and chocolate cake. It tasted like thanksgiving dinner, it was so good! My favorite meal is still breakfast though. I love eating cereal, it is great. Fútobol is still awesome. I don't think this group of latino´s is as good as the last one, but it is still fun. We had to go to immigration today to get peruvian id cards, so we didn't get to go to the temple. I'm sure we will get to go next tuesday though. Thanks for all your prayers, and I love the Dear Elders, they are great!
Mom thank you for always writing, I really love hearing everything that is going on at home. Dad I hope work is going well, and I am so glad you were able to rent the house out. Ha ha hopefully we can keep it! Allison sounds like you have a lot of homework, and school stuff. I definitely don't miss that! Steph I can't wait to hear more of what is going on in swimming and school. Andrew, how is cross country bro. Hope you are getting better. Jen keep up the good work in school and everything else your doing.
I'm going to attach some pictures of the last group. Elder Malara is the one with me in the red, and the others are other companions. Love you guys!
Elder Lee
9 October 2008
Sorry about not e-mailing the last 2 days. We had a big 10 year reunion for the CCM, so they had all of the missionaries that served in peru and bolivia come to the CCM for a big reunion. So for our p-day we had to help out with that, and we didn´t have any time to e-mail. So preparation day is still on Tuesday, but we just had so much going on we didn't get time to e-mail.
You guys rented the house to the heralds! That is great, It sounds like everything is working out great. I'm not sure where your supposed to send mail but I think starting to send it to the mission is fine. We have 19 days left in the CCM, and then we will be out in the field! This last three weeks has gone by so fast, and a ton of crazy stuff has happened in the last week.
On Tuesday my amazing companion, Elder Malara left for the field. It was rough, he was such a great companion, it was really hard to see him go. I got some good pictures with him. I'll have to send them next tuesday. All of the Latino's were gone by yesterday. They are all so awesome, I'm going to miss those elders.
Oh I think it was Monday night. We were in a meeting with President Groeberg when the ground started shaking. It felt like a roller coaster at lagoon. We had an earthquake! It was so awesome. I don't remember ever feeling an earthquake before, it was way cool. It was really weird to feel the ground shaking like that. It only lasted like 5 seconds though.
What did you guys think about conference?! That was the best conference I have ever heard. I felt like every single talk was directed to either me or our family. In the Sunday evening session one of the members of the 70 talked about us prosyliting on Saturdays here at the CCM. It was awesome to hear him talk about the work that we had done visiting inactive members. I couldn't believe it. Then the very next speaker was an elder that was at the CCM just 2 weeks before, talking to us about missionary work. We all got to shake his hand, and everything. I just thought the whole thing was amazing!
Yesterday was really an awesome day. After the Latino's left we got to go on a tour of Lima. We went to an olive tree grove, and it was so interesting to see those trees, and think about the atonement of Christ. They had a big olive press, and milstones there. It was really intersting. After that we went to the ocean, and just walked around for a little bit. They had some sweet crabs, and there were a bunch of surfers too. I wanted to go swimming so bad, but it is obviously not allowed.
Then we went to the center of the catholic church in town, and a big area with tons of people in it. When we went into the catholic church I just got a bad feeling. You could tell the spirit wasn't there. It actually really made me uncomfortable. It is so different then the spirit that we feel in the temple, and it made me appreciate it so much more. We went to these little shops, and it was awesome. I went up to a lady and asked her, ¿cuantos soles por la peru camiseta? They had some sweet Peru jerseys and they only cost 20 soles, like 6.50 or so! I couldn't believe it. Then I saw the same jersey just like 5 feet away and she said she would sell it to me for 12 soles, It was awesome. So Elder Perkes and I bought these sweet Peru Jerseys for 4 bucks a piece. It is crazy because you can bargain with people if the price is to high. I almost bought a USA jersey for 5 bucks, but decided I would wait. I love this place!
Elder Perkes and I were wearing our Jerseys in the big square with tons of people, and a peruvian guy asked to get his picture with us. We talked with him, and he has been a member for 10 years. He saw are tags and wanted to get a picture with us. It was great. Then this huge group of crazy peruvian girls wanted to get pictures with us. They said hola elderes, and I asked them what they knew about the church, and they said they knew a little. I think all they wanted was pictures though, it was crazy. Don't worry though they were joking around saying abrazo (hugs), and Elder Perkes and I were very clear that there were no abrazos y no toca.
It was crazy though. I remember Aly, my Peruvian friend said that was going to happen, and now I have experienced it.
We had the ten year reunion, and It was really great to greet all of the older missionaries. I got some much practice with greeting people, I felt like a pro talking to them by the end. I would ask them what mission, and it was just great to talk in spanish. They said I spoke well to. Everyone asked if I was related to Herald B. Lee, I wasn't sure, are we? Well everything is going great, and I love you guys. I will e-mail again next Tuesday, and I really am glad to hear things are going well. Love you guys, can't wait to hear more. Thanks for everything!!
Elder Lee
You guys rented the house to the heralds! That is great, It sounds like everything is working out great. I'm not sure where your supposed to send mail but I think starting to send it to the mission is fine. We have 19 days left in the CCM, and then we will be out in the field! This last three weeks has gone by so fast, and a ton of crazy stuff has happened in the last week.
On Tuesday my amazing companion, Elder Malara left for the field. It was rough, he was such a great companion, it was really hard to see him go. I got some good pictures with him. I'll have to send them next tuesday. All of the Latino's were gone by yesterday. They are all so awesome, I'm going to miss those elders.
Oh I think it was Monday night. We were in a meeting with President Groeberg when the ground started shaking. It felt like a roller coaster at lagoon. We had an earthquake! It was so awesome. I don't remember ever feeling an earthquake before, it was way cool. It was really weird to feel the ground shaking like that. It only lasted like 5 seconds though.
What did you guys think about conference?! That was the best conference I have ever heard. I felt like every single talk was directed to either me or our family. In the Sunday evening session one of the members of the 70 talked about us prosyliting on Saturdays here at the CCM. It was awesome to hear him talk about the work that we had done visiting inactive members. I couldn't believe it. Then the very next speaker was an elder that was at the CCM just 2 weeks before, talking to us about missionary work. We all got to shake his hand, and everything. I just thought the whole thing was amazing!
Yesterday was really an awesome day. After the Latino's left we got to go on a tour of Lima. We went to an olive tree grove, and it was so interesting to see those trees, and think about the atonement of Christ. They had a big olive press, and milstones there. It was really intersting. After that we went to the ocean, and just walked around for a little bit. They had some sweet crabs, and there were a bunch of surfers too. I wanted to go swimming so bad, but it is obviously not allowed.
Then we went to the center of the catholic church in town, and a big area with tons of people in it. When we went into the catholic church I just got a bad feeling. You could tell the spirit wasn't there. It actually really made me uncomfortable. It is so different then the spirit that we feel in the temple, and it made me appreciate it so much more. We went to these little shops, and it was awesome. I went up to a lady and asked her, ¿cuantos soles por la peru camiseta? They had some sweet Peru jerseys and they only cost 20 soles, like 6.50 or so! I couldn't believe it. Then I saw the same jersey just like 5 feet away and she said she would sell it to me for 12 soles, It was awesome. So Elder Perkes and I bought these sweet Peru Jerseys for 4 bucks a piece. It is crazy because you can bargain with people if the price is to high. I almost bought a USA jersey for 5 bucks, but decided I would wait. I love this place!
Elder Perkes and I were wearing our Jerseys in the big square with tons of people, and a peruvian guy asked to get his picture with us. We talked with him, and he has been a member for 10 years. He saw are tags and wanted to get a picture with us. It was great. Then this huge group of crazy peruvian girls wanted to get pictures with us. They said hola elderes, and I asked them what they knew about the church, and they said they knew a little. I think all they wanted was pictures though, it was crazy. Don't worry though they were joking around saying abrazo (hugs), and Elder Perkes and I were very clear that there were no abrazos y no toca.
It was crazy though. I remember Aly, my Peruvian friend said that was going to happen, and now I have experienced it.
We had the ten year reunion, and It was really great to greet all of the older missionaries. I got some much practice with greeting people, I felt like a pro talking to them by the end. I would ask them what mission, and it was just great to talk in spanish. They said I spoke well to. Everyone asked if I was related to Herald B. Lee, I wasn't sure, are we? Well everything is going great, and I love you guys. I will e-mail again next Tuesday, and I really am glad to hear things are going well. Love you guys, can't wait to hear more. Thanks for everything!!
Elder Lee
30 September 2008--Hola!
Hey mom,
It is crazy to contact people, it takes so long to do mail and stuff. I guess my letters got there though. That is great. I recieved a bunch of dear elders yesterday! I think that is probably the best way to do it. It is great to hear that everything is going so well. If you could have steph or someone tell everybody about the pouch system that would be great Through text or something. Cecily said you told her about Dear Elder and thank you. I love whoever thought it up.
Well this last weekend was amazing. We went prosyliting all day on Saturday! Some of us went about an hour north of the CCM (MTC) and it was seriously one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I know that I am supposed to be here teaching the people of Peru. We came to this place called Barrio Ermitaño. We met at a chapel, and they gave us each about 15 inactive families to go out and contact and teach. It was such an eye opener for me because we were on the side of a mountain, and these people were so poor I seriously couldn't believe that they lived where they did. Most of these houses were like shacks, and they were all built so close together. We climbed tons of stairs, so I think being here I am going to be able to stay in good shape!
The people are so amazing though. They have so little, but yet they are so friendly and so humble. Every person we talked to was willing to help us find someone or listen to our message. It was amazing. We ended up teaching three lessons, and in our first one I gave out my first Libro De Mormon! Sometimes I have a hard time understanding everything that is going on, but I catch words here and there and I am able to teach too.
We taught a husband and wife and after we had told them how God loves us the wife started crying because she had had cancer and had prayed to God, and had survived it. I felt the spirit so strong when we were teaching them. I love it so much. I love the people so much already. The last man that we taught was a man that was sitting with his two little children on the steep stairs. He wasn't one of the people we were supposed to teach, but we just went up and talked about his beautiful children. Then we taught about how families can be together forever, and we ended up teaching practically the whole first lesson. We were teaching about the restoration, and I had the opportunity to recite Joseph Smiths first vision in Spanish. It was really an amazing experience. As we were teaching I had scriptures popping into my head too. It is amazing what the spirit will do for you when you have studied the word. Just like in D and C 84:85. I really can't wait to go out and prosylite again. It is amazing how much we are learning, and at the pace we are learning. We teach at least 2 lessons in Spanish everyday. It really is great.
My companion Elder Malara is amazing too. He is such a good teacher, and always lets me put in my word too, even if it is a little slower and I sometimes struggle thinking of words. I am sad he is going to be leaving in another week and a half. He has invited me to his wedding after his mission though, so I think it would be awesome to come to that.
The food is still good. This week a craving for chocolate hit me so hard I couldn't believe it. I want candy so bad, we eat like nothing sweet here. So of the desserts they give us are so bland, and it cracks me up because all the natives say "Es muy rico". I'm thinking not so much. Well soccer is amazing too, we still play for an hour everyday, and I am loving it. Missions are amazing!
Well I realized it was September 27th and I had no way of wishing Allison a happy birthday. So Allison happy Birthday, I hope you are having a blast! You are Old!!
Thank you for giving me the updates. It sounds like mail is going to only take me a week one way so I'll be sending some more letters too. I love you guys and thank you for all the support you give me. You are the best mom thanks for everything! Love You all!
It is crazy to contact people, it takes so long to do mail and stuff. I guess my letters got there though. That is great. I recieved a bunch of dear elders yesterday! I think that is probably the best way to do it. It is great to hear that everything is going so well. If you could have steph or someone tell everybody about the pouch system that would be great Through text or something. Cecily said you told her about Dear Elder and thank you. I love whoever thought it up.
Well this last weekend was amazing. We went prosyliting all day on Saturday! Some of us went about an hour north of the CCM (MTC) and it was seriously one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I know that I am supposed to be here teaching the people of Peru. We came to this place called Barrio Ermitaño. We met at a chapel, and they gave us each about 15 inactive families to go out and contact and teach. It was such an eye opener for me because we were on the side of a mountain, and these people were so poor I seriously couldn't believe that they lived where they did. Most of these houses were like shacks, and they were all built so close together. We climbed tons of stairs, so I think being here I am going to be able to stay in good shape!
The people are so amazing though. They have so little, but yet they are so friendly and so humble. Every person we talked to was willing to help us find someone or listen to our message. It was amazing. We ended up teaching three lessons, and in our first one I gave out my first Libro De Mormon! Sometimes I have a hard time understanding everything that is going on, but I catch words here and there and I am able to teach too.
We taught a husband and wife and after we had told them how God loves us the wife started crying because she had had cancer and had prayed to God, and had survived it. I felt the spirit so strong when we were teaching them. I love it so much. I love the people so much already. The last man that we taught was a man that was sitting with his two little children on the steep stairs. He wasn't one of the people we were supposed to teach, but we just went up and talked about his beautiful children. Then we taught about how families can be together forever, and we ended up teaching practically the whole first lesson. We were teaching about the restoration, and I had the opportunity to recite Joseph Smiths first vision in Spanish. It was really an amazing experience. As we were teaching I had scriptures popping into my head too. It is amazing what the spirit will do for you when you have studied the word. Just like in D and C 84:85. I really can't wait to go out and prosylite again. It is amazing how much we are learning, and at the pace we are learning. We teach at least 2 lessons in Spanish everyday. It really is great.
My companion Elder Malara is amazing too. He is such a good teacher, and always lets me put in my word too, even if it is a little slower and I sometimes struggle thinking of words. I am sad he is going to be leaving in another week and a half. He has invited me to his wedding after his mission though, so I think it would be awesome to come to that.
The food is still good. This week a craving for chocolate hit me so hard I couldn't believe it. I want candy so bad, we eat like nothing sweet here. So of the desserts they give us are so bland, and it cracks me up because all the natives say "Es muy rico". I'm thinking not so much. Well soccer is amazing too, we still play for an hour everyday, and I am loving it. Missions are amazing!
Well I realized it was September 27th and I had no way of wishing Allison a happy birthday. So Allison happy Birthday, I hope you are having a blast! You are Old!!
Thank you for giving me the updates. It sounds like mail is going to only take me a week one way so I'll be sending some more letters too. I love you guys and thank you for all the support you give me. You are the best mom thanks for everything! Love You all!
23 September 2008
Hey mom and family!
I still can't believe I'm in a different country! The MTC here is great. They actually call it the CCM here. I have another awesome companion Elder Malara. He is from Lima, and he doesn't speak english. We are being forced to learn spanish so much faster because our companions don't speak it. Sometimes it is kind of hard, but it is still awesome. We have probably taught 5 lessons in Spanish already. In the provo MTC you wait until you are 6 weeks in before you teach in spanish, and they are already having us do it in the first week. This is great! My spanish is improving so much faster because everyone just speaks spanish. One of my teachers doesn't even know English. Ha ha it cracks me up. We are actually going to go out and prosylite all day on Saturday! I'm a little nervous, but it is going to be great. The work has literally begun. I am going to be out knocking doors and making contacts on saturday. It is crazy. I love it, and I'm so happy I am out serving a mission.
Now for the food. We eat massive amounts of rice at every meal except for breakfast. I´m not going to lie I went in with the attitude that I would try everything, and I actually love rice now, and I have been pounding the vegetables! I have never eaten so healthy in my life. I love when they have cake once in a while though. You know me, I love the junk food! Every meal has chicken or beef, rice, potatoes, and bread. I really don´t mind it at all. I´m sure we're going to be eating a lot less when we get into the field though.
Fútbol is amazing. I have no problem at all playing with these guys. It is a blast though because they are all good. It is just great to play competitive soccer. My favorite was when my companion kicked a corner and I headed it in for a goal. I think I scored like 4 goals that game, so I am definitely enjoying the soccer. It is definitely something we look forward to every day.
I'm actually in the same district as Elder Perkes from Tooele. It is great because we are good friends. Every night I am out cold right at 1030, I have no problem sleeping at all. I just love the people down here already. They are all so friendly, and willing to help whenever. It is great, and they are already becoming such great friends. It is too bad they are only going to be here for 3 weeks.
We went to the Lima Temple today, and it was great. I love going to the temple, and just sitting there and soaking in the spirit and the peace that they have. It is just like any other temple on the inside. We went through a session. They had us do it in English though. Which is good because though the spanish is coming along sometimes people talk so fast it is way hard to understand.
Well I'm going to get some e-mails I would like you to forward to, but I don't have them at the moment so it is going to be a week. I hope everything is going well at the house in Provo. I miss you guys. I just want you to know that I am so happy I have this opportunity to serve the Lord on a mission. I know this church is true, and I am so glad we get to share that with other people. I really love you guys, and I look forward to when the mail comes and I get to hear more. I love that Idea though. Love you guys!!
Elder Lee
I still can't believe I'm in a different country! The MTC here is great. They actually call it the CCM here. I have another awesome companion Elder Malara. He is from Lima, and he doesn't speak english. We are being forced to learn spanish so much faster because our companions don't speak it. Sometimes it is kind of hard, but it is still awesome. We have probably taught 5 lessons in Spanish already. In the provo MTC you wait until you are 6 weeks in before you teach in spanish, and they are already having us do it in the first week. This is great! My spanish is improving so much faster because everyone just speaks spanish. One of my teachers doesn't even know English. Ha ha it cracks me up. We are actually going to go out and prosylite all day on Saturday! I'm a little nervous, but it is going to be great. The work has literally begun. I am going to be out knocking doors and making contacts on saturday. It is crazy. I love it, and I'm so happy I am out serving a mission.
Now for the food. We eat massive amounts of rice at every meal except for breakfast. I´m not going to lie I went in with the attitude that I would try everything, and I actually love rice now, and I have been pounding the vegetables! I have never eaten so healthy in my life. I love when they have cake once in a while though. You know me, I love the junk food! Every meal has chicken or beef, rice, potatoes, and bread. I really don´t mind it at all. I´m sure we're going to be eating a lot less when we get into the field though.
Fútbol is amazing. I have no problem at all playing with these guys. It is a blast though because they are all good. It is just great to play competitive soccer. My favorite was when my companion kicked a corner and I headed it in for a goal. I think I scored like 4 goals that game, so I am definitely enjoying the soccer. It is definitely something we look forward to every day.
I'm actually in the same district as Elder Perkes from Tooele. It is great because we are good friends. Every night I am out cold right at 1030, I have no problem sleeping at all. I just love the people down here already. They are all so friendly, and willing to help whenever. It is great, and they are already becoming such great friends. It is too bad they are only going to be here for 3 weeks.
We went to the Lima Temple today, and it was great. I love going to the temple, and just sitting there and soaking in the spirit and the peace that they have. It is just like any other temple on the inside. We went through a session. They had us do it in English though. Which is good because though the spanish is coming along sometimes people talk so fast it is way hard to understand.
Well I'm going to get some e-mails I would like you to forward to, but I don't have them at the moment so it is going to be a week. I hope everything is going well at the house in Provo. I miss you guys. I just want you to know that I am so happy I have this opportunity to serve the Lord on a mission. I know this church is true, and I am so glad we get to share that with other people. I really love you guys, and I look forward to when the mail comes and I get to hear more. I love that Idea though. Love you guys!!
Elder Lee
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