What a great conference!

This week has been a crazy "Semana Santa" and a great Easter.  This week we have been busy getting ready for conference and helping missionaries move and the week that is coming up is filled with meetings....I hope that for my last change I can just teach, teach, and teach.

This week we ended up using our first day to help move the sister from "la union" into their new room.  It was also fun trying to get all the electric shower heaters up.  Half the zone didn't have one, which means half the zone was showering with cold water.

I did a work visit with Elder Harper this week in "Imperio" and it went really well.  He is a super funny missionary and we just talked about how we can become more effective missionaries.  I have a problem because I like to analyze the numbers.  But I also had the opportunity to visit three of the recent converts in "Imperio" who I had the privilege of meeting in their interviews before [their baptisms].  They all are active and seem to be happier than the first time I met them.  The first year as a member of this church is a super important time to progress in the gospel.

Speaking of recent converts, one my favorite people who we taught in Ferrañafe is going to go on a mission to Quito, Ecuador next month.  He will go even though his father does not want him to even be a member of the church.  He has a lot of challenges, but also one of the greatest stories of real faith.

Wow, this was probably one of my favorite conferences as a missionary.  I especially loved the talks given by Elder Packer, Elder Christofferson, Elder Holland, Elder Pearson, and Brother Gibson.  They made me reflect much upon the Atonement and how this is the time for me to prepare to be a father.  I was especially touched by Elder Hollands talk, because it made me think of my two greatest brothers: Sam and Jesus Christ.  Also Brother Gibson's word made me remember my parents.

It is always important to give heed to the inspired men of today.  I can't wait to read the footnotes in the May Liahona.  Thomas S. Monson will guide me more in my life today than any other prophet.  I have felt blessed to hear so many inspired men this week.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Chiclayo is Crazy

We have had a great and crazy week.  We have had a couple of baptismal interviews, work visits, and we have visited the rooms again with President this week.  Baptismal interviews are the best part of being a missionary.  This week I spoke with a 90 year old man named Juan.  He said that he still has at least 10 years more to live because his grandfather lived to be 140 years old.  But when we spoke my testimony of the word of wisdom grew.  He said that even though he recently is a member of the church he has almost always lived by this gospel principle.  He also told me a lot of cool stories of his time in the military and made me laugh a lot.

This week we also went out with Billy Brian Bravo to teach and it went really well.  Sadly he thinks that he needs to leave the country in a couple of weeks because of personal reasons.  He is a great guy, but it is sad to see that sometimes people are put into tough positions.

This week while we were contacting we have seen the weirdest things.  We met a guy named Jesus who said that he isn't Christian.  When I said that is weird he just said "Asi es la vida" or "Life is like that sometimes."  When I knocked on the next door someone stuck out a little baby doll hand to shake my hand, which freaked me out.  And in the same street we were contacting houses and when we were walking to the next house a kid runs out being chased by his dad with a belt.  Lets just say that we didn't have the chance to contact them...but Peru is crazy and I wish I could remember all the crazy things people do here.

I love serving here in Peru because the people are really great.  Even if we go to a store just to buy something to drink the people want to talk to us.  This week we met a man who literally cried when he spoke about how much he loved his family.  Also while we were half walk through the lesson he stopped us to ask "Where is your church?" and then "Can I go?"  I know that the Lord prepares hearts to receive our message.  They have the opportunity to accept or reject the gospel, but out Heavenly Father will always help prepare the hearts of men.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Rain, rain go away!

This week it has been raining it Chiclayo.  It hasn't been raining hard, but Chiclayo can't handle even a little bit of rain. I will send photos next week.  A couple days this week we have woken up and parts of our room have been wet, and the streets here are super muddy.  I like it though, because I miss rain, just it isn't super good for missionary work.

President Williams came this week to visit some of the rooms in our zone.  His wife brought chocolate chip cookies and it made me miss Moms cookies so much.  When President came into our room and saw that we have a mini soccer field set up he tried to shoot for a goal.  We visited the other rooms and everything went well.

Also this week we moved the Sisters from Los Andes into a new room.  They are super lucky because the owner of the house left an arm chair and a dining room table for them to use.  But it was a work out to take apart all of there stuff to move.

This week that is coming up Billy Brian is going to come and teach with us.  Since Henry left we haven't had many members to come out with us, but this will get better in the weeks to come.  The best way to find new people to come out with us is by reactivating them and helping them see how fun mission work really is.

I love you all

Elder Perryman

Vagos!

Happy Birthday Grandma Murphy!

I forgot that tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day.

With the change there are a bunch of new faces in the zone and now I feel really old.  My companion and I are the oldest by far in the zone.  But because we finish at the same time I am pretty sure that I have one more transfer left, but you never know.

This week we made a list of less active young men from 18-25 years of age and we have been trying to find them all.  The list has about 50 names, so you can see that the work now in Peru is concentrated more on finding less actives.  But I really like working with "potential future missionaries," I would love to have a calling with the young men one day.  The problem is a lot of these young men come from broken homes and they don't realize yet how much the gospel can help them and their families.

I am starting to really love playing soccer.  My companion is a soccer fanatic and he dribbles the ball in our room whenever he is thinking or bored.  Also he cut my hair this week and as a joke he shaved off the sides of my head and left everything else.  But don't worry he fixed it afterward.

I still feel like I am going to be a missionary for the rest of my life.  I feel like I would get lost if I wasn't teaching someone daily.  I love teaching now and I hope that I will be able to do teach in English too someday.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Las Ultimas 12 Semanas! (The Last 12 Weeks!)

So I will be in La Victoria for another change with Elder Cosentino (Buentino).  It is funny because we are from the same group so we just tell people that we are going to finish together.

This week was pretty filled with meetings and planning.  The leadership training was great (as always); we basically spent all the time about baptism.  Also President spoke of how it is hard to speak Spanish and it is hard to speak English, both take practice.  But the most important language we can learn in the mission is the language of the spirit because it will be the most important here and for the rest of our life.

We had our zone conference Friday and I think it well pretty well.  I really like trying to motivate missionaries, but it is something I am still learning how to do.  Most of the conference we did practices and they all went really well.  I really like the missionaries that we have in the zone right now, because it is a group of hard working and obedient missionaries.

This week Henry Rojas went on his mission.  Henry is a great recent convert in the ward who almost always leaves with us.  He has even started to contact and knock doors with us.  He is way more prepared for his mission than I was when I came out.  I wish I had gone out with the missionaries more before.

This week has been good and we have some great families which we have found.  We even found a whole less active family in our area and they want to listen to us.  I know that the true motive of our work is to help all families make it to the temple.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Apostasy!

Elder Cosentino is one of the funniest companions I have had.  He has limited English skills, but he is trying to learn more.  Every time we have an interesting lesson he always says "apostasy" in English, like when someone told us this week that the US President is the devil.

This week I have bumped into one of my favorite members from Ferreñafe twice in the same week.  His name is Brother Tantachuco, and his son always came with us to teach.  Needless to say this was the highlight of my week and he also said that one of my converts is going to the Quito, Ecuador mission.  Sadly Luis, the young man who I taught, comes from a humble background and his parents are not members of the church.  In fact his father is against him going on a mission and won't help his son at all.  It is sad, but it brings me so much joy that in spite of so much opposition Luis wants to serve the Lord.

Also this week we had work visits from the assistants.  The was great because it has been a while since I have worked with Elder Lalli.  I love the mission because I have become fascinated by the scriptures.  When we had finished teaching for the day we went back and continued to talk about doctrine.  Then progressively we talked about how we need to go on a couple double dates after the mission.

Sunday we ate at a members house and they were so nice to us.  I could see they happiness in this small family because they do the small things in the gospel.  I know that eternal happiness is built line upon line and I know that I am on my way to achieve it.

Love,
Elder Perryman


PS:  Yes I have lost weight.  I now work out every morning, eat fruit salad for dinner, and I am trying to cut down on rice.  So now I weigh 80 kg or 176 pounds...I used to weigh 200 pounds.

Recieving Saturday

I feel like in each one of my areas I learn a lot about another religion, because a lot of the people who live their practice it.  In my first area it was Evangelistas, then Catholics and witchcraft, then Jehovah's Witnesses, and now Adventistas.  There are so many here.  We were teaching an Adventist family this week and we didn't realize that we set the appointment for Friday night (or there beginning of the Sabbath day).  So when we got there they offered to say the first prayer to "Receive Saturday" then we taught a lesson on the importance of the sacrament (not the day).

This week Henry, a youth in the ward who has his mission call, has been coming out with us a lot.  We went contacting and I realized how prepared he is for his mission.  He would knock on the doors and start teaching without fear and the people would let him in every time.  The members do so much work here.

Also this week we have found great families.  We taught a family that loves the concept of a modern day prophet and they want to raise their child in a church.  I really hope that the families that we are teaching begin to progress.

We are also working with Martin, who is ready to be baptized, he just needs to give up alcohol.  It breaks my heart to see how sometimes he is so full of hope and other times he loses hope.  I have seen men overcome alcoholism in my mission before, and I know that it can only be done through true conversion.  This is what I hope to see with Martin.

I love you all,
Elder Perryman