Adios Cajamarca

So I have a transfer...after much time I will be leaving my pueblito Cajamarca.  I will miss this zone and all of the people who are here.  I am the first Elder to say goodbye to my pension, so it was a sad experience for her.  She is sooo happy for all the gifts that you have sent and she says that one days she wants to meet my parents.  But it was hard for me because she asked me "Will you be able to come back for my baptism?" and I wasn't able to say yes.  I know that in the mission it isn't about how many people we baptize, but about how many lives we touch with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This week we met with our mission leader and when he was leaving he noticed that he had a flat tire.  So I had the experience of helping him change his flat, which was a super funny experience for us.

Saturday night the Stake president came to teach a lesson with us to one of our favorite couples.  He testified to them that if they are unable to have children in this life the Lord will give them an opportunity in the life to come.  The Stake president here is so humble, yet so powerful spiritually.  After the lesson we had pizza and continued to talk of how the gospel can bless their lives.  I just love the gospel because it is ALWAYS a message of hope.

I seriously feel like I am leaving family behind in Cajamarca.  More than half the people I told that I am leaving did not believe me and the other half was sad.  I also had the experience to meet with two companions, two pensionistas, and one of my bishops this week, and it was a very special experience for me.  I feel bad for all the missions that have to cook for themselves because they miss the chance to really be part of a family.

I love you all, but I need to catch my bus.

Love
Elder Perryman

Happy Birthday, Elder Payare!

So this week was my companion's birthday and we had the traditional Peruvian smashing his face in the cake.  I don't know why, but here it is considered a bad birthday if someone doesn't throw an egg at you or you don't get cake in your face.

But sadly this week we have not had a lot of time to go out and teach.  The trip to Chiclayo takes a good chunk of time out of the week and Friday we had our zone training.

I am so excited for the "He is the Gift" video that the church is putting out.  That worldwide, the message of Christmas is being spread by missionaries.  It is also the perfect way for members to invite us missionaries into their homes.  I am also excited for Christmas in general.

My pension is the greatest.  This week she presented one of her friends to us and she testified of the Book of Mormon.  She isn't even baptized yet, but I have seen how the gospel has changed her life and has given her so much hope.

In the week to come are transfers so I will let you know if I stay or if I go.

Love Always,
Elder Perryman

Chiclayo!

Family!

Sorry that I am writing late, but I just got to Chiclayo.  I am now writing in the mission office and I am tired.  But I always like these trips to Chiclayo because the training's from President are great.

Sunday was the primary presentation in the ward.  I played piano and there was about 50 niños.  It went super well and it helped a lot that our investigators were there.  After church we went straight to visiting.  We taught one of the families that is progressing really well and they invited us for lunch.  We finally were able to teach the father of the family.  He is great and wants to know that the church is true.  He has hope in our message.

For Thanksgiving we actually had the chance to eat a good Thanksgiving dinner.  We ate turkey with the same family that we ate waffles with and they introduced us to some of their friends and family too.

I am sorry that I do not have a lot of time to write, but I will make it up to you all next week.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Without email I would have forgotten about Thanksgiving

So yet another crazy week in paradise.

Our shower tube broke this week; luckily the Bishop works in construction.  I am glad that we rent because when these things happen the owner has to pay for it.  I now see how owning your own house is a lot of work.

Elder Gomez (my old companion) got sick this week so we went to the clinic with him.  Despite the fact that he had a crazy fever Elder Gomez never stops making jokes.  It was enjoyable to be with two of my favorite companions for a little bit just to sit and talk.  I have been so blessed here in Cajamarca.  And luckily Elder Gomez is doing better now.

Saturday night we cleaned the church and came home exhausted.  We planned and then went to bed, but at 3am our neighbors started to play the loudest, most horrible music.  It is common here for people to blast music, but this was my first time to be the unfortunate neighbor.  We woke up at 6am super tired to get ready for 8am church.  Needless to say our day has been filled with naps and searching for a new place.

The people here have some weird traditions.  One is when someone is scared, they take an egg, dip it in water and then rub it on their arms and make a cross.  Then they throw the egg away to get rid of the bad spirits.

The last week we went to the hospital to visit an older sister in the ward who had an aneurysm.  She is doing much better.  When we were there I took her by the hand and she started to take off my CTR ring.  It was a good experience, especially because some of her children who were there are not members of the church.

Our pension is doing super well.  She loves to listen to "secret Prayer" in her house and prays powerfully.  The gospel really is "line upon line."  We just need to remember that this process should just be in one direction.  When someone truly searches, prays, and reads the Book of Mormon, it is impossible not to have a testimony of our Savior and his church.

I love you all,
Elder Perryman

What a week!!

So this week has flown by. It started with our zone training, which was great.  We have been focusing a lot as a mission on "The family: A Proclamation for the World" and it has been working wonders in our work.  We are trying to get the zone excited for December, which is usually the best and hardest month for missionary work.

We have 3 families right now that are progressing toward their baptism, but for me the greatest story of all is our pension.  This week we celebrated her birthday with her and it was great.  Members from the ward came to make her feel loved and she has said that she really feels like she is part of the ward.

We also taught her (Maribel) a powerful lesson this week.  While talking about the importance of prayer she explained to us that for a while in her life she couldn't pray, she had lost her faith.  She explained to us about the death of her husband from cancer and how his suffering and death was the source of so many doubts.  I remembered my purpose as we taught that our first purpose is to help others have faith in Christ.  Sometimes as missionaries we want to skip faith, thinking "well he believes in God," but I know that true faith brings hope.  Until someone truly believes that they can be with their family for eternity they still lack faith.  It is a blessing to preach the restored gospel of eternal families.

I love you all
Elder Perryman

Happy Birthday Mom!!

So this week has flown.  Monday was transfers, Tuesday we left to go to Chiclayo, we had our meeting Wednesday, and we came back to Cajamarca Thursday.  As beautiful as the trip through the mountains is I would rather take a 40 minute plane ride than 6 hours in bus.

I am guessing that my suit has gotten pretty worn in the mission because when I got to Chiclayo a couple Elders told me that they like my brown suit (it was black).  But our stay in Chiclayo was nice and luckily is wasn't super hot there.  The meeting that we had was very spiritual.

Sunday was great.  We had a catholic friar come to church (in robes and all).  Also we had Jhan and Mily come to church and they are progressing.  Jhan is the kid who broke his arm in the park that we helped.  This is probably the weirdest way that the Lord has put someone in our path, but I am glad we got to know this family.  They are fantastic and always have their Bible open when we visit them.

We have a couple new missionaries in our zone too.  They are fantastic.  I have already gone contacting with one and I am excited for this month.

Happy Birthday Mom!  You are the greatest.  This week I have been reading the last chapters of Alma in the Book of Mormon where it talks about the 2000 Stripling Warriors.  Everything that they accomplished was thanks to their mothers.  I feel the same; I always tell people that without my mother I would not be here and it is the truth.  Thank you for everything mom and happy 39th birthday! ;p

Love,
Elder James Oliver Perryman

Dana Goicochea!

This week has been great.  It has gone by so fast, but has been great.  Our pensionista is the best.  She is not a member, but she is active in the church right now.  She has told us that she thinks that a mission is the best thing that young people can do and wants her son to be a missionary.

Dana Goicochea was baptized this week which was fantastic.  Her mother is a member, but her father is not.  We are trying to teach her other siblings and her father and I know that one day they too will join this great church.

Tomorrow we are going to Chiclayo so this week we wont have a lot of time to work...but to get to see President Williams and have the training meeting.  This week was also changes, but I am staying in Cajamarca for a bit longer :)

Sadly here they do not celebrate Halloween like they do in the states so it has been a pretty calm week.

It is interesting how the Lord is putting people in our path.  For example, the boy who broke his arm is now our investigator with all of his family.  We  have so much work here to do that the hardest part of our work is to manage time.  But time management is such an important skill.

I am so happy to see how small and simple works can have a large impact on others.  I can especially see this in the members here.  When members invite or show brotherly kindness to an investigator or a member returning to church it makes all the difference.  Members truly are the key to the work here.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Elder Waddell's Visit

So this week an Area Seventy, Elder Cabrera, and a General Authority (Seventy), Elder Waddell came to visit Cajamarca.  I never knew that there was a difference between the first two and the other six quorums of Seventy, but Elder Waddell explained it to us.  Elder Waddell came just to see the missionaries and it was fantastic.  He spoke so boldly about the gospel and how it is to be a missionary.  He speaks with a Spanish (like Spain Spanish) accent so it is just entertaining to listen to him.  But he made it clear that we eat, sleep, and even shower, to baptize.  That the Lord’s work (Moses 1:39) is different from our work (D&C 11:20).  But the greatest thing is that he spoke of how we are not assigned to Peru Chiclayo, but that we are assigned to President Williams.  I forgot my notes (which are in Spanglish) but overall he spoke of how the goal is conversion and not baptism and how that everything that occurs in the gospel is to seal families.

Also for stake conference Elder Cabrera came and spoke about the family.  It was incredible; he spoke of how celestial families should be.  He spoke in such a kind and tender way.  Luckily my pensionista sat up in front and she said that she loved it.  She has a heart of gold and I know that one day she will be sealed to her husband.

Because of the visits, President Williams, his wife, and the assistants came up to visit.  Elder Lalli and Elder Noriega (the assistants) stayed with us for a couple of days and it was great.  Elder Lalli is a good friend in the mission so we talked a lot about Elder Waddell.  Elder Waddell said that the one thing he has learned as a Seventy is that he is nothing.  He also explained a little about what happens before and after general conference.

Anyway I do not have much time left, but I love you all and I will send photos next week.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Waffles!!!

I just have to start this by saying that I had two breakfasts’ today; I made my pensionista banana pancakes and then we ate waffles as a district.  I missed waffles.

So I love missionary work, but I would be a liar if I said that I love touching (knocking) doors.  It is an essential part of the work, but we always try to contact people in different ways when the traditional tracting does not work.  This week we were walking to visit a member and we saw two ladies struggling to paint a lamp outside a very nice gated house.  I offered to paint and told them that I wouldn't need a ladder.  When the owner came out she started to put her hand out and tell us that she didn't want anything, but when we told her that we were just there to paint she let us in, fed us lunch, and accepted a date for us to return to teach.  Service brings miracles.

The gordito in the photo is Jesus.  He turned one the other day so we stopped by to see his family.  Part of the family are members of the church, but the other half are investigating.  The husband (who is holding his baby in the photo) works in another city, but we try and teach him as much as we can.  He is great and his wife wants to be baptized, but is waiting for his permission (Cajamarca is a very "machista" society).  I love seeing families together, but I want this family especially to be united in the gospel.


The picture of all the missionaries squished together was all of the North Americans in my zone at conference.  The price that we pay to watch these inspired messages in English.

This week has flown by and in this week that is coming up an Area Seventy is coming up to visit Cajamarca.  I am super excited for another opportunity to listen to Elder Waddel.

Our new pensionista is also our new investigator; her family is the greatest.  She has already said that she always wants to be part of this church and one of her sons today said that he believes that Joseph Smith was an inspired prophet of God.  My favorite thing about eating with them is that every time we eat we usually end up staying and teaching a small principle.  Today we finished breakfast talking about temples with Maribel (our pension) and we finished lunch speaking with her son about why there are so many churches.  It truly is a blessing to be with them.

I really do think that I am in the best zone in the mission and I am extremely happy to be here.  While visiting with other Elders here I see how they teach and I am so happy that this zone also has great missionaries.  We see sad things almost daily, but it all just makes me feel so grateful for everything that I have; especially this opportunity to preach the gospel of Christ.

Love,
Elder Perryman

 

  

    

Conference! (I was late to the party)

So conference was awesome!  I watched the Saturday session in English and the Sunday session in Spanish.  I enjoyed being able to listen to the talks in Spanish and English without translations.  But I especially loved the priesthood session.

So this week we were super low on lessons but we decided to do a lot of service this week.  We helped two different families move into the fourth floor of different buildings.  But thanks to this service we had 10 investigators (4 families) come to conference.  One of the families investigating the church even gave us a ride to church in their van, we even passed by to pick up another family.  But I just feel Like my Heavenly Father has blessed us this week.  To open an area, this is a miracle.

Ia am sorry I do not have photos this week :( Because this computer will not accept my SD card.

One of the new families that we have been teaching is Marivel, Alexis, and Diego.  They live right by us so we just offered to help them move.  Two years ago Marivel lost her husband and she has been searching for a church to solve her doubts.  When Marivel came to conference she cried and said that she had never felt the spirit so strongly, and that she feels like this is the church for her.

I know that this is the church for everybody, because it is His church.  I love that we have a prophet on the earth and I attempt to sustain him everyday with my service.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Elections!

So I feel lame today because everyone has seen conference except for the missionaries in Peru.  We had elections this week so conference here has been postponed till this weekend.  Elections are a bit different here because they are one day and are obligatory.  If you don't vote you get a huge fine.  Also there can be no public gatherings on election day.  One of the weirdest things too is that police officers cant vote.

Anyway this week has been fun because we had a multi-zone conference and President Williams came up.  The conference was great and I also had an interview with president and with his wife.  They are both fantastic and I can tell that they have great testimonies of this work.

Tuesday we had a meeting with our stake president and then election day he invited us over to his house for lunch.  Presidente Barbosa is such a great stake President and he helps us so much in the work.  The members make ALL the difference in the work of salvation.

Also this week we went to visit a member in our area and told him of the help that we need in the area.  He told us to wait a second and he left he room.  He (Walter is his name) came back with a map of Cajamarca and started pointing at streets to tell us where members live and who we should visit.  Sometimes they say that we always should find the "Golden investigators" in the mission but "Golden members" are way better to find.

I am so excited to watch all of conference this week!  I know that it will help me so much as a missionary.  I love you all and the next fall conference we can go as as a family :)

Love,
Elder Perryman

Abraham Sacrificing Isaac??!!??

Mickey Mouse Pancakes

So my companion is fine, but we need to go back to the dentist this week.  Last week we were both a little sick so I am sorry I wasn't very focused on emailing (sorry mom).

So the up side to cooking for ourselves is that we save a lot of time in the morning and also we can make what we want.  Which for us consists of cereal, pancakes, and oatmeal.  These things are not typical for breakfast here so I count it as my tender mercy.

So this week we have been doing a bunch of interchanges to see how the zone is doing.  I had an interchange with a new Elder (Elder Wirthlin) this week and it was a lot of fun.  It made me remember what being new is like.  Even though Elder Wirthlin isn't a Spanish master, yet, he has a great desire to serve and is super humble.  It made me remember that in the mission it doesn't matter if we are talented or we speak the language perfectly, what is important is if we are willing to follow Christ.

President Williams is coming up to Cajamarca this week.  I am super excited because his visits are always great.  But we still have a lot of work to do here to prepare.

Peru is really different, so life and culture are different, but it all feels normal to me now.  I am sure that things like millions of dogs on the street is weird in the US, but here it is normal.  Also here in Cajamarca people don't yell out "gringo" in the street that much like they do in Chiclayo.

This week I have been studying a lot of Christ´s teaching, especially the phrase "What class of man ought ye be?"  It is something that as a missionary I know that I must be more like him day to day.  I know I am incredibly imperfect, but I also know that through Him and can make my weaknesses strengths.

Love
Elder Perryman

Family!!

Hey sorry about that, we got back sooner then I expected, but we still need to go back.

This week has been great, yet hectic, as always.  It is the start of the rainy season and I love it.  In Chiclayo it doesn't rain so I find my self lucky.  But I have been to the clinic way more than I would have liked this week.

As a mission we are trying to focus  more on families.  We met Pier and Yanina this week and they came to church with their little daughter.  They are super good and I hope that they can progress.  I always enjoy teaching entire families because the purpose of life seems a lot clearer to them.

This week we visited Elder Boza.  I really enjoy the chance that we have to work with other missionaries here.  Especially seeing how we can help out in the areas.

I love you all and hope that you have a great week.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Tooth Ache

So I do not have time to write this week.  My companion isn't doing so well so we are going to the clinic right now.

I love you all

Elder Perryman

PS  Sorry mom

  

Danny Jambo

Danny Jambo got baptized this week!  Even though I am no longer in the area I am extremely happy to hear about this because Danny is the best.  Friday we went to Baños to do Danny´s interview and I was so happy to see the members there.  I heard about Max Miranda, one of the families that we worked with to reactivate got sealed in the temple this week.  Also a sister in the ward gave me a horse statue, but I have know idea how I will get it home.

We started to spend a lot more time in the area this week and it was great.  There are a couple of young men, Ivan and Brayan, who have been coming out with us almost everyday.  They are great, but neither of their dads are members so they need a lot of support.

There is a recent convert here is fantastic.  Her name is Nora and she is about 60.  Every time that we visit her she knocks on her neighbors doors to invite them to speak with us.  I wish everyone would do the same.

Elder Payare is great.  He is a perfectionist and a super hard worker, but also is crazy at times.  We always come back to our room exhausted.  Everyone tells me that I am going down hill for my time, but it feels like I have been doing more work after the year mark.  I am also starting to realize how much there is to do and how little time we have on a daily basis.  Time is one of Gods greatest gifts.

It is interesting to balance zone things with area things, but it made me realize that in life we will always have to find a balance between the temporal and the spiritual.

Love,

Elder Perryman

Pueblo Libre!

Hello Family!

I feel like I need an extra hour for everyday to get everything done this week.  We got back from Chiclayo Wednesday.  Going from cold to hot to cold gave me a cold, but I am okay now.  We finished most of the temporal matters in getting the zone ready now (rooms, pensions and other stuff).  I am super happy because we have a kitchen in our room so I can cook non-Peruvian food.  Unlike in the States where you can get food from different parts here you can only find Peruvian food.  But last night I made a grilled cheese and I couldn't have been happier.  Also we have one of the few rooms in the mission that has two shower knobs so hot water has been my tender mercy for the week.

Also we spent about half a day this week going through finances or medical things.  Because we are 6 hours away from the office we have to do all that fun stuff here.

Sunday was fantastic, because we actually took a good chunk of time to teach and we found some great families.  Amable and Carlos, one of the families that we found said that they had been waiting for us and that they need to be closer to Christ.  Amable has cancer, but says that the only thing she wants in life right now is for her family to be united.  We had a very impactful lesson with them and they said that their whole family will come to church this week.

I love you all.

Love
Elder Perryman

Cajamarca Sur!!!

So this week has been one of the craziest in my mission.  I have a new companion, Elder Payare, from Bolivia, and he is awesome.  He is a super humble, hard working missionary but also super fun.  We are the first Zone leaders in Cajamarca South so we are just a little busy.  There are three brand new areas in the zone (including our own) so we have been more then busy this week with finding rooms and pensions.

I am sorry I didn't write yesterday because I spent Monday on a bus going down to Chiclayo for a leadership meeting.  President Williams is great.  There are a couple of changes that are happening in the mission, but they are great.  We are trying to focus more of less active members and we are trying to strengthen each ward.

So these days are kinda non stop but I see so much potential in my new area (Pueblo Libre).  When we are just walking from one area to the next or we are looking for rooms we meet knew people.  We met a lady just by happenstance whose children are less active members and she loves the church.  We had a good time talking with her about the church and we were just checking for rooms.  We as members of Christs church should always find some time or some opportunity to speak of Him.

Anyway it is getting late and we have a bus ride to Cajamarca tomorrow :)

I love you all,
Elder Perryman

Bye Bye Baños (I think)

So this week has been crazy.  It has flown by and I am just ready to know what is going on.  Monday night I received a call telling me that there will be 2 new elders in my district.  Then Tuesday we had our district meeting and in the night I received a call telling me that President Williams will be coming Wednesday.  Wednesday night President told us that the Cajamarca Zone is going to split in two and then each district will receive (at least) 2 MORE elders and that we need to find a pension and a room for them the same week.  Thursday was a leadership meeting and afterwards President came to our area to revise our room/area book (our room is super clean) and then to see the pension and room for the new elders.  Saturday we signed the housing contract and Sunday we showed the new Elders the area.  On top of all of this I think I have a transfer and I don't know what is going to happen.

This week we started off having FHE at the Stake Presidents house.  He spoke with us about the area, the families that need help, and what we can do.  Then my companion and I taught about unity and how it affects conversion.  The spirit we felt in his house was super strong and a great way to start off the week.

Friday night we had mission night and it was super fun.  We brought Andres (a recent convert) and promised his mom that he would be back before 8:30.  Andres is the best, we always visit him and I gave him a CTR ring the other week.  In the activity I lost track of time and at about 8:40 I told Andres that it was time to go back.  He said he didn't want to go, but I insisted because I didn't want his mom to think that I am a liar.  He ran back to where his mom works crying and I knew something was weird.  We followed him and when we got to his moms work I sat down by his side and talked with him.  He told me that he was sorry and then explained to us about in his school how they bully him and he just wants to stay and hang out with us.  I gave him a hug and told him not to worry and he started to cry on my shoulder.  I felt so bad that some times the most valiant youth have to pass through difficulties too.  My companion gave him advice to help him and then we left.  But what I love most about Andres is that he told me "I am sorry that I lost my CTR ring in school (someone stole it) I will always try to do what is right".

This week we taught a new couple.  The husband is German and the wife is Peruvian.  They were super nice and receptive to us, but I feel like we were teaching their minds, and not their spirits.  Sometimes we can teach and feel the spirit super strong, but it is still up to each person if they want to open their heart to feel the same thing or just to think about the problems.  Also when we finished the lesson they said "padre nuestro" in German.  You can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink.

Anyway this week was crazy and the week that is coming up will be crazy, I love you all.

Love
Elder Perryman

[Sorry, no pictures this week from Elder Perryman]

Alberto Einstein

So Albert Einstein has a Peruvian cousin and he is one of my new investigators.  His name is actually Jorge and he is a physics professor here in Cajamarca.  But he has a literal zoo in his back yard with a monkey, eagle, owl, peacock, and some other animals.  We are trying to find new people to teach here to start off this new transfer well.

We are working super hard here, but I need to say that every fruit of my work comes from the members.  I can have 50 lessons in a week, but when the members help, it makes all the difference in the world.  We need to have some leadership training here, but the youth here are the best.  I love the spirit that the young men bring to the work.

 This week our pensioniasta took a trip to Trujillo because the Bishop baptized his mom.  So because we didn't have a pension for a week we had to fend for ourselves which explains the photo with the bunny.  It was delicious needless to say.

I am super tired, but I am so excited for this week. we are starting off with a FHE at the Stake Presidents house tonight.  I love having FHEs with members because I can feel the spirit always in their houses.

The Vargas family is doing super well and they just need to get married to get baptized.  I really hope this happens because they are such a sweet couple, but they have a lot ahead of them.  But I have seen them, in there humble circumstances, find so much happiness in the Gospel of Christ.

Love
Elder Perryman

PS Contacting here is rough

Aqui no es = This isn't it

 

Darío

I'm staying in Baños del Inca!  This week is transfers and I am staying for at least another change, which is great because I love working with Elder Gomez.  Also Elder Gomez is an uncle!  His 14 year old sister had her daughter a couple days ago and everything is fine.  Despite everything, he is super concentrated in the work and shares all of his experiences with his family, who aren't members (yet).

Harry and Gina are a sweet couple that the missionaries have taught for a while.  The other week Gina came looking for us in the street and wanted us to talk with her husband Harry.  When we went to their apartment they just started to say the worst things in Spanish to each other and Gina said that she wanted to take their child and leave.  This was one of the most uncomfortable moments of my mission and one of the few times I had know idea what to say.  Finally, we told them that we are not judges and all we could do was pray.  When we prayed I asked for guidance so that we would know what to say.  We ended up speaking of Christ and how the only way we can form a family is if we follow His path.  We told them that all they must pray and talk when there are problems, never yell or accuse, and then we left.  The other day we visited and Gina was in her house with her mom and brother; she told us that everything was better and that they are praying more together.  It is notable the difference between when people try to solve problems following the world or when they solve problems following Christ and His example.

I miss having dogs. The other day a dog on the street followed us for about an hour and when we got back to our room we looked out the window and saw him waiting for us outside.  It sat down in the middle of the street and was looking up at our window whimpering.  We felt bad so we put a bowl of water outside for it.  But the whole time it was waiting outside my companion was asking "should we let it in?" I told him that we couldn't and that it probably has fleas, but I felt bad to leave it outside.  Basically I miss dogs, especially domesticated dogs and not just 1,000 dogs in the street. By the way the dog zapper thing works.

This week I was so happy because we had so many less actives in the church Sunday.  We work a ton with less actives, but this also makes me realize how much the members are needed to help these members who are coming back to the fold.  This week we taught Darío who is super funny, but has a lot of problems in his past.  He told us about how he knows the world but because of that he misses the church.  He talked about how he enjoys our visits and going to church because it reminds him of the spirit he felt when he was active.  The company of the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest gifts we have as members of His church, but it is also something we can never take for granted.  I have learned of how much people (especially less active members) crave for this peace in their lives.

I love you all - have a great week!
Elder Perryman

Richard Cusma!

The work continues in Baños del Inca!  Congrats dad on 15 years since your baptism.  Your conversion is something that has had a large impact on my mission, and on my life.  This week we visited a man named Antonio whose wife is a member.  The sisters were teaching him for a while but they gave him for us to teach (they teach with more love, we are a bit more direct).  While we were teaching him he spoke about how he feels like his family is the most important thing, but he doesn't think religion is super important.  I shared Dad's story and I promised him that they only way to unite the family is through the Gospel of Christ.  He shared how he respects everything his wife and step daughter do but he has his own beliefs.  I felt compelled to tell him that it is not enough to respect our family, but we must support our family.  This week was the first time he came to church.  I was so happy to see him there because I love seeing families together at church.

The pictures below are from the Fongal Festival which is like a small state fair.  It was a very cultural experience. I especially loved seeing all of the animals there.

Richard was baptized!!! Woohoo!  His grandfather baptized him and it was a great experience.  His cousin and his aunt gave their testimonies crying.  Everyone spoke about how this was the start for his preparation for the mission.  The last Sunday my companion and I taught the young mens class (The YM president wasn't there) and Richard said that he wants to serve a mission.  I am telling you that the greatest joy I have had in my mission is to see(and baptize) so many future missionaries.

President Williams came to Cajamarca this week to do interviews.  He and his wife are fantastic.  He is super funny but at the same time can be very serious and spiritual.  He is also extremely encouraging, he said that he could see the love that I have for me companion and for the people we visit.

This week we taught a young woman named Margeri.  We taught her with a North American who was visiting family and is preparing for the mission.  She had a thousand questions about the book of Mormon, the priesthood, and Joseph Smith.  We taught everything about the restoration and for part of the lesson she had tears in her eyes.  She prayed and when we were about to leave she asked us "I feel like it is true, but my father is a preacher, what can I do?"  As soon as she finished to say that my companion told her "We will teach him the same, because it is the truth, I am the only member in my family, but one day that change because the truth will never change and they must accept it too."  It was something so strong that we were just on a spiritual high all day.

I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week

Love
Elder Perryman