Last week in Lima

Feilz Navidad!

Today is the 25th of July and the dead of winter in Peru, so my District has decided to celebrate Christmas today!  One of the impactful experiences I have had here is watching others change.  I love the talk given by President Monson last fall about seeing men for there potential.  Something my companion and I have been saying to each other is "Every man is destine for greatness".  I want to live these words.  I know men change everyday.  I know that Heavenly Father would not have placed us here on this earth if we were not foreordained for greatness.  I feel like the days go by faster and faster as I get lost in the work.  My companion and I feel like we have know each other forever, and have great doctrinal and spiritual discussions.  He is a perfectionist, and I am not, so it has been fun for us to teach each other and learn from each other to serve the Lord.

I found out this week that over 1/4 of the Church speaks Spanish.  That is outstanding.  I am so blessed to be here in Peru, where the Lords work is hastening.  I love the people here.  I know, I know, I say that every email, but I mean it with all my heart.  With the little Spanish I know I love telling bromas (jokes) with the Latinos and finding out more about there culture.  Some of the Latinos ask (as a joke) if I am from Cajamarca, which is a town in Peru of white Latinos.  Also when Latinos see my name tag they say "¡Perry! like Feneus and Ferb".  For those of you who don't know, Feneus and Ferb is a Disney show for kids.  And another weird thing is when Latinos imamate dogs (don't ask how I know this) instead of saying "ruff" they say "Wah".  I even love the staff here at the CCM, one of the janitors always comes up to my companion and I and says "¡Mi Carazon! es enferma.  Necisito chocolaté."  If we tell him that we don't have any he tells us that he will die soon without chocolate.

Today is the last day to go to the temple in a couple of years.  It has been a gift to be able to go every week, and I wish I had gone more when I was home.  I realized that my purpose here is not to baptize Gods children, but to fully change there lives and bring them to the temple.  I know that God has a purpose for me here in Peru.  I feel so blessed everyday by Him.  I see miracles everyday and I grow everyday.  I am truly doing the Lords work.

Te Amo,

Elder Perryman

Ustedes pueden hacer esto

Buenos Dias!

I just want to begin by apologizing for my spelling from here on out, learning Spanish is not helping my English.  By the way "ñ" <---these thingy's are on the keyboards here and its so cool. The title of this one mean "you can do it", it is from a talk which we heard this week, which I loved.  I enjoyed getting/reading all of your emails this week.  This week has been so busy/gratifying.  In my letter I sent home I mostly talked about my experience of "prosilitismo" out in the streets of Peru.  It was a severely humbling experience.  I love the people here and how willing they are to listen to us.  One of the "homes" that we went into was so rough that just thinking about it makes me sad.  Some of the people here live in the most humble conditions.  Though most Peruvians are happy, this is because this country has such a strong faith in Christ.

Our little adventure for this week was going to Immigración. Picture the DMV, with three floors, all in Spanish.  It was a trial of patience to say the least.  Think about a stack of paperwork, then make it into a different language.  This was nice though because it gave me some time to test my Spanish.  The fun part was that while most people took a tourist bus there, me and a couple other missionaries took a cab.  The cab drivers name was Oscar and he liked to drive fast.  We drove further into the city and the roads got even crazier.  We saw forklifts on the main roads and no one really seemed to mind it.

Today was P-day and it was so great.  We got to go to the temple, which is always fantastic.  Also we went to Tottus and got fried chicken, we call it PFC and it is delicious.  Later today Elder Coons and I got to introduce ourselves to all the new North Americans, because we are zone leaders.  A friend from back home (Carson Tunney) came in this shipment.  I have already talked to him a bit and I can tell he will be a stellar missionary.

Some fun things with the language: The more I speak with Latinos the more I find out about words I shouldn't mix up, because of the faces they give me.  When I tell them that I am from Ohio every once and a while they think I am saying I am angry (Enojado).  Pescado means fish, and pecado means sin.  And my favorite from this week is Sagrado means sacred and sangrado means bloody.  So while teaching a lesson about the Restoration I accidentally said "The Bloody Grove".

Lessons are going super well besides that.  Elder Coons and I are working super well as a companionship.  We are exact opposite, but it works for our benefit.  He is very serious, but deep down he has a heart of gold.  He is a great example of being focused as a servant of the Lord.  When we teach I can feel the Spirit testifying through us.  It is such a great experience to be able to be an instrument in the hands of God.

I have never been so grateful for the wonderful life that I have.  I am so blessed to have a loving family, a girlfriend who is a supreme example to me and many others, and a gospel which brings happiness to everyone who will hear it.  I know this church is true.  I know that I must go forward with all my heart, might, mind, and strength, to serve the Lord.  I owe it to Him.

Love,

Elder Perryman

P.S. - My new address after the next couple weeks will be:
Peru Chiclayo Mission
Calle Maria Izaga #690, 3er Piso
(Cruce con Av. Balta)
Chiclayo, Lambayeque
Peru

Addresses are super confusing here...

¿Qué en el Mundo?

I am half way through the CCM! It feels as though I have been here for an eternity already.  Some of the elders have started to call is spiritual Alcatraz, because it is surrounded by high walls.  But I know that the walls are for our sake and not for the people outside.  I am really starting to love giving lessons in Spanish.  It is really comforting having Elder Coons teach with me because he knows a lot of Spanish already.  A couple lessons ago our investigator started telling us that he is worried about faith, but I counseled him (in Spanish) that his faith was like my learning Spanish, it is a great process but it only happens "poco a poco".

We have new roommates, they are fantastic guys.  They are from Honduras, Chile, and Peru.  I gave them all some of my peanut butter (which they loved) and then I traded the rest for some stamps.  So please send me more stamps, and Peanut butter, once I am out in the field.  The Spanish language is great.  I love speaking with Latinos in Spanish and they attempt to respond in English.  Learning from and teaching one another is the best way to acquire a skill.  We have three language books here and the missionaries call them Nacho, chancho, y Eskeleto.  We have two great teachers, and one of them knows no English, the other day he tried to spell Utah on the board and spelled it "Yuta".  Also this language has a couple of interesting slang terms.  If you want to say someone is really guapo or lindo (handsome or pretty) you call them a churro.  It funny things like that make me love Spanish.

As we reach our halfway point we are starting to get into a comfort zone.  I am trying to remind myself of Sam´s email constantly that there is no growth in the comfort zone.  That I need to stretch myself if I am to grow and learn.  Everyday I try my hardest to learn the language, memorize scripture, and pray earnestly.  Some days are super rewarding and some days are frustrating.  The thing that matters though is the change I can see through the power of Christ.  I know that it is through him that we can make the most impactful change in our life's and the life's of others.  I see miracles occur everyday hear and I can see Gods hand ion our work.

I love all of you and I promise I read every email, even if I don't respond.  Thank you for all the love and support.

Nos Vemos,

Elder Perryman

Yes, he is that tall!!! 

Poco a poco

Hola familia!

I love getting and reading everyone's email.  They are great moral boosters and it is nice to hear about what is going on back home.  Also can you please send me by mail (not email) a copy of the Voices of the Valiant.  I want to challenge you because this surge in missionary work, to find families for us missionaries to teach.  We are dependent on the faithful members of this fine church.  I love the Peruvian people, they help me so mcuh with Spanish and I help them a bit with English.  By the way Peruvians can not pronounce "d"s, its pretty funny.  The other night we were teaching the Peruvians tongue twisters and Elder Gutierrez came up one that goes something like "Perryman tiene perros, pero un perro de Perryman toro Perros, pero e perro fue a Peru".  Tongue twisters in Spanish are way harder, this one roughly translates to "Perryman had a bunch of dogs but one left for Peru."

Elder Christoffereson came and spoke to us on the 28th, it was a very powerful experience.  He spoke with so much conviction, it made me so excited to get out into the field (even though I can't speak Spanish yet).  Our first group of Latinos have left to serve in the field, I miss them already. 

 

Elder Ortiz, one of my roommates will be a fanastic missionary.  He has only been a convert for one year, but when he bears his tesimony (even though I dont catch everything he says) I feel overwhelmed by the spirit.  He really has a heart of gold.  Elder Ortiz has been working since he was 9 years old, selling fireworks.  He has had many jobs since then, and he told me that after his mission he want to take a trip to America with what he has earned.  His truly humble spirit has made a huge impact on me, I feel so spoiled for all the blessings I have taken advantage of in America.  Today is Independence day!!!  To celebrate they had a huge buffet, it was so good.  We also recieved a new shipment of Elders and Hermanas today.  They are mostly from Honduras or Utah. 

 

We went to the temple again today, it is so fantastic!  Though it is interesting going through in Spanish.  We take a cramped bus to go to the temple.  It feels like you are riding a rollercaoster and the other cars are always only about an inch away.  We also go out and shop around town every P-day, which is a new experience.  The stores are pretty nice, but it is weird seeing everything is Spanish.  One of the pictures attatched is of the Elders of my zone.  I love all of them and we work so hard together to prepare to server those in Chiclayo.  I know the Lord put us all together for a reason.  I know that I need to be here and I know I must serve.  I love you all and I hope to hear from you soon.

 

Love,

Elder Perryman