Elder Gomez!!!!

So my new companion is from Chile and has been going crazy over the world cup this week.  But he is the best.  He has 4 months in the mission and is super ready to work.  We work super well together and I am extremely excited for this change.  He also has the funniest alarm clock so we have dance parties when it goes off in the morning.  In this area we work a lot with less actives.  Usually we have about 90/400 members in church here, so there is much work to be done.  We always talk about making Baños a stake because the area is so large and this change we have goals to open work in certain areas.

I am extremely excited for this new part of my mission, especially because we will have our new president come in next week.  I love this area, I could stay here for half my mission.  We eat with the bishop, who is the most loving guy, and our mission leader is super organized.

So we have been teaching the Vargas family for a while, who live on top of a hill.  So visiting them is fun because we are always out of breath when we make it to there house.  But they came to church this week!  I was so happy a member was able to give them a ride (he has a 4x4) because the father can't walk well and one of the daughters is pregnant.  Also in the third hour we lost the father, later we found that he went outside because he was cold.  So my companion and I read 3 Nephi 11 with him outside in the sun.  I enjoyed it because even as a missionary I have a hard time sitting still in class.

This Saturday we had an activity at 7 in the morning to visit families and it was fantastic.  I left with Brother PPC, a recent convert, to "El Inca".  El Inca is a small part of our area that is above a hill.  It was fun going with PPC and he really has a love for the gospel.  He such a loving and humble guy and he helps us a lot here.  Also he has a combi (minivan) so he gives us rides sometimes.  I know that it is not important if you know a lot about the gospel, Brother PPC is still in the learning process.  What is important is if you love Christ and are willing to follow Him.

Also something that I learned about giving references for the missionaries this week (this is for you mom).  We do not think of names first when we want to give the missionaries a reference.  We must think of a date (a goal) and then pray and when we do this the Lord will put someone in our path that needs the gospel.

Love
Elder Perryman

Happy Fathers Day!!!!!!

I am so sorry I am forgetting about holidays and birthdays.  Time is passing by and every holiday here seems the same.  The commercialism in the states hasn't arrived here yet so I don't have stores to remind me what holiday is next.

The weeks here are flying by.  I am now waiting for my next companion.  I will receive him Tuesday night and we will go right to work.  Right now I am with Elder Saldaña, who is from my group.  He is great, he works hard and is just a nice guy.  He even helped me clean my room today for the new arrival.

The Miranda family is the family of the youth who just got baptized.  I feel so blessed to be able to visit this family and see them reactivate in the church.  They have the best kids.  One of there children is hyperactive (reminds me of someone) and in church he was asking me to show him magic tricks in the middle of sacrament meeting.  But I gave him my daily planner and a pen so that he could draw.  But Max, the father, is fantastic, he has such a strong testimony and all he wants is to see his three boys go on missions.

So seeing another companion finish his mission is bitter sweet, I am starting to feel old now.  But I am excited for the changes to come.  Also this new change means a new mission president.  I am happy because my area has so much potential.  It is one of the wealthier areas so many missionaries say it is hard, but I think the members here are willing and ready to work.

And I just want to take some time to wish my Father a happy Fathers Day.  I owe so much to my dad.  He is an example of humility and strength, of love and intelligence.  I really hope that I can return one day and know that I made him proud.  He never had the opportunity to serve a mission as a youth, so in many ways he is serving through me.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Cajamarca Zoo

So I have good news and bad news.  The good news is I have a ton of fantastic photos.  The bad news is I can't send them right now because the formatting is bad on my SD card.

So this week has been exhausting, but great.  Our family in Puylcana got married!  So we are one step closer to baptism with them.  I want to help open a family group in Puylucana while I am here.  I found out that there is a family group in Pacanga where I opened teaching with Elder Flores.

Today for P-day we went to the zoo.  It was the best.  Cajamarca is so beautiful and green.  We saw Emus, peacocks, lions, and bears.  It was super cool because the zoo was so open.  Also the only thing to separate us from pumas and bears was a chain link fence.

Christian Miranda was baptized this week.  We faced so many problems getting ready for the baptism.  Max, Christians' dad, is a great guy who we are reactivating.  He baptized his son, but we looked everywhere for a shirt for him.  Then Christian didn't have a button in his pants.  The water was cold.  People showed up late.  But none of that mattered, because after the baptism Christian and Max gave outstanding testimonies.  Max spoke of how he is going to do all that he can from here on out to send his 3 sons on missions.  I was so happy to here their testimonies.

I do not have much time to write because we are going to a baptism today for our bishops daughter, but I promise I will send plenty of photos next week.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Baños de Coringo

This week was great, but it has been a lot of work.  We share the ward with the sister missionaries and there was some confusion over who is teaching who and our area book was a mess.  So this week we took a lot of time organizing the area books and getting lists of members and quorums.  Though I do not like to organize a lot, I have learned that it is vital in the mission.

Also this week a less active family invited us over to eat.  Fernardo, the dad, asked me if I knew how to make american burgers and of course I said yes.  So I had the opportunity to grill for the first time in forever which was fantastic because I miss a good hamburger (sorry mom).  But the best news is that they came to church this week, so we will continue to visit them.

Also in this area our mission leader is super organized.  In my last two areas my mission leaders didn't do much, but here he helps us a lot.  I have learned that members really are the motor for missionary work in their ward or branch.  Without the help of members we are just touching doors all day.

Today President Risso came to say goodbye to Cajamarca.  I had a good interview with him and I am excited to meet the next president, President Williams.  Also because the whole zone got together, Elder Flores came down from Chota, which is about 4 hours away.  So he is staying the night with us, which is fantastic because he was my second companion in the mission and one of my favorites.

Love,
Elder Perryman

Baños del Inca!!!!!!!

So basically my life is wonderful.  To start off I will answer a few questions.  Cajamarca is basically the promised land for missionaries in the mission.  Elder Tacuri is my new companion.  I knew him before, so we are getting along.  He is finishing his mission in four weeks, but we are working hard here.  I am a District Leader now which is fun.  Also thank you for all the photos of Sam and his adventures.

This feels like the high point of my mission; with the area and with lessons.  We needed no time to teach well together as a companionship and we are working well with the members.  This week we are working with helping a family come back to church.  They all came Sunday and the father has plans to baptize his oldest son and give a baby blessing on his two youngest sons.  It is the best to work with families.

Also this week we went to Llarahuaca which is a small village that is a little outside of Baños del Inca [Baths of the Inca].  We taught Nicolas and his family about the importance of marriage.  We taught him with his wife and his two children, and there spouses.  So it was interesting to see the spouses poking their husbands during the lesson.

For P-day we went to Llacanora (the names here are tough)  to explore.  There are two natural waterfalls and it is beautiful.  I couldn't resist but climb up the waterfalls with my companion.  Also my area is called Baños [Baths] because the is a natural hot-springs in the center of the town.  Also this week I finally had the opportunity to shower with a bucket because we didn't have water in the morning.

Love,
Elder Perryman

PS photos, I have a million, but here are a few:

The waterfall in Llacanora (my area)

Basically my area is wonderful

My farewell in Ferreñafe

The Bus ride to Cajamarca

My room/companion

A member in my ward makes the coolest paintings of temples

Hno Miguel and his work

  

Cajamarca!!

I am going to Cajamarca!!  I am not 100% sure yet, but word on the street is that I will be in Urrabamba, and I will be in a grupo familiar (family group) which means that it will be smaller than a branch.  Woohoo! I am excited because that means that we will be working a lot with members,

Elder Palacios is going home tomorrow.  It is weird to think so much time has gone by since my first change. I keep seeing so many great missionaries finishing there missions and I feel like I just got here.

I do not have a whole lot of time because I am visiting like a million people to say goodbye today.  I will miss the families of this ward so much.  Sunday I gave a talk and so did Luis, who is a new member.  Luis and his twin Jesus were baptized right as I came in to the area, and it has been a privilege to watch them grow in the gospel.  And to see how it has effected their family.  Their father used to not give them permission to go to church, but in time he wanted his other son, Rodolfo, to be baptized as well.  I hope that I can visit Ferreñafe again after my trip to Cajamarca.

What else...there was an earthquake this week so that was pretty cool.

This week Joan, a new member, called us asking for a blessing.  He told us that he felt terrible and he didn't know what to do but as he walked outside he saw to doves in his door and decided to call the missionaries.  My testimony of blessings has grown so much in the mission.

I am excited to see what this next chapter of my mission will be like.  I am excited to serve in the Mountains and to eat more cuy (I'm joking mom).  I know that the Lord is preparing his children there for the gospel

Love,
Elder Perryman

Loco!

So Skyping the family was fun.  I wish I could have spoken more with Sam, but it was super nice to be able to see his face.  Also I realize how much a loving family is a blessing in my life.

So since we already talked this week I will just share a story.

This week as we were taking a car from Chiclayo to Ferreñafe I started talking with the driver, Felix, and he was a super nice guy.  He began speaking about his life and the strange jobs that he had in Lima.  Actually in Callao, which is the dangerous part of Lima.  He had a job selling coke from tienda to tienda (store to store) and he had an extremely dangerous area.  On his first day working a group of guys saw his uniform and mugged him.  He said that they told him that the next time he would have to bring more money or they would do something worse.  He didn't want to lose his job, so he prayed for what to do.  He told me that later in the day he had the idea to work dressed as a homeless man.  So he went to work the next day with one sandal, ripped jeans, and a dirty shirt.  The same guys who mugged him just yelled "Oye Loco!" at him, but left him alone.  He was able to go from store to store selling in his area without anyone bothering him and he ended up having some of the best sales in the City.

It makes me think of how sometimes, we have challenges so big it looks like the only option is to quit.  But when we are backed up against a wall, that is when we must exercise faith.  Through prayer, we can ask, receive, and give thanks, for all the blessings we will ever need.

Love,
Elder Perryman