When we arrived I was amazed at how small the Chiclayo
airport was, it made the Idaho falls airport look massive. We drove to
the mission home and had a little breakfast. All the missionaries (except
for a few from Cajamarca) were there. We had a brief meeting and met the
president and our new companions. My trainer is Elder Palacio, from Lima.
He is really nice and speaks no English. No one really talked much
with President Risso (no interviews or anything) he just kind of sent us off on
our marry way. We are assigned to work in Pueblo Nuevo, which is an
incredibly humble town with wonderful people. Elder Palacio and I went to
the bus station with other missionaries in our zone and waiting for a bus.
Imagine a south American gray hound bus station. I really needed to
use the bathroom but as I walked I noticed that there was no toilet paper, and
no seat. Welcome to Peru (for real this time). Hna. Batman (a
sister in my district, and yes that is her real name) then told me that
bathrooms here are not as good as the one in the bus station. We took an
hour and a half bus to Guadalupe, which is the center of our zone. Then
we took a cambi (a little van) to Pueblo Nuevo, and then a moto taxi to our
room. We dropped our stuff off and then Elder Palacios told me that we
had work to do.
The next week after this moment was the most humbling time
of my life. I met The branch President, David Garrido and some other
members. We also gave a blessing and I did the anointing. Everyone
here has about 4 or 5 names so blessing can be a tad difficult for gringos.
I do not have time to write about everything that has
happened in the past week, and there are already things I don't want to tell mom
about. The first few days I felt so alone, I didn't understand anyone, I
was in a new world. I relied heavenly on prayer. This was a time
where my faith was truly tested, I needed it. Faith is crucial and this
week has made me realize how real God is. I know that I could not speak
the amount of Spanish I can today without the help of God. The gift of tongues
is real. How happiness does not come from the world, but from heave.
I know that as we focus on our families and on Christ we will feel
indescribable joy.
I have been setting many goals for myself and each time I
accomplish one I feel closer to being a true missionary. We were
challenged on Friday at our Zone meeting to read PME (PMG) entirely by Wednesday.
I finished today and now I am challenging myself to read the whole Book
of Mormon out loud in Spanish, in my first 12 weeks. All things are
possible through the Lord, who strengthens me. Elder Greene, a gringo who
has hit the year mark, told me that if I get rid of everything English I will
learn Spanish faster. It is my companions birthday soon so I will give
him my English Book of Mormon.
I have a bunch of random things written in my daily planer,
too much for a single email. But I will share a few things. One of
the members here, Pedro, my be the nicest happiest guy I have met in my life.
He served his mission in Columbia. When I asked him what Columbia was
like he said: "Its like Peru with beautiful women." Every one
drivers motorcycles and they are just called motos here. I have seen
everything on a moto from 5 people to a mattress, to 15 feet of rebar. It
shows me how much ingenuity the people here have. People here also park
there motos in there "living rooms" During language study we
were going through vocab and one of the words was "conquer".
Elder Palacios looked at me and said "like, to conquer a
woman". I started laughing and then told him to never use that
phrase and instead say "steal her heart". The people here are
so nice. I cannot explain how gracious they are. The other day we
were walking and a member invited us in to share her birthday cake with her.
The "cake" was basically cornbread. Also Mom thank you
for the glow sticks, the little kids here love them.
I am so glad to be out here serving the Lord. The
people of Peru posses so much faith. I did not understand how blessed my
life was until I came down here. I pray to God and count my blessings
everyday. There is a man in our ward, who has tremendous faith, who
doesn't even have a door. I cannot imagine thinking of a door as a
blessing. I know that the people here are prepared to here the gospel.
The first days were rough for me, but if they were easy I would have
learned nothing. I continually read the Invictus Poem president K gave
me. I know that God cares about every single one of his children.
It is amazing that even out here I know without a doubt in my mind that
God is watching over me.
Te Amo,
Elder Perryman
PS I am sorry if I was scatter brained, a lot has happened
this week. Also these pictures are from the CCM and from when our bus
broke down.
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