Mission and Adventures in Peru: 353,858 steps = 109.739 miles . . . And he walked and walked and walked

Hola Familia,

Helping

Well this week was a lot better and we were able to get more done. After writing emails on Monday we went to Central and got lunch at TGI Fridays. It was so good. After we went shopping and I got some awesome gifts for you guys. It is so amazing all the authentic stuff from the stores. We then went and played basketball with some other North American missionaries. It was an awesome time ha ha.

Later that night after P-day ended, we went to the farthest and poorest area of our mission named Huasacache (Map). We had family home evening with a family and it was so humbling. They live on a mountain literally I have pictures. It was cool and we taught about the atonement, after we had Chicha (Chicha Information) with arroz (rice).

Mountain Living

We gave three blessings this week to members and non-members. One blessing was to an investigator’s dad who was on his deathbed. So my companion gave him a blessing of comfort and said that God is ready to see him and receive him. Crazy! One blessing to a menos activo (less active) woman and she finally came to Church this past Sunday.

On Thursday after a long day of working we come back to the room to find out that my companion had left the keys in the room. Luckily our window was kind of opened. I constructed a pole and was luckily enough to get the keys back after 45 minutes of trying. On Friday we had the only food I cannot eat. It is called Aceituna and it is about 100 times worse than olives, which I hate. The dogs won’t even eat it. Later that day we went to Tiabaya (Map) to help out some Missionaries in our zone. It was fun to work in a new area. On Saturday we found this awesome hidden ice cream place in a house. It is delicious. That is the only thing I buy besides fruit and granola from the street. We contacted forever ha ha with not much success.

Ricoto Relleno and Fried Fish

Fasting for 24 hours is new to me. But it is awesome and I love the experience that comes with it. Then on Sunday church was great I found out I am giving a 10 minute talk next Sunday. But we had the best lunches; I have pictures of Ricoto Relleno, and fried fish. I love the members.

The missionaries before us didn’t work very hard and had no previous investigators for us. The Ward did not like them and so we have been working really hard to get the trust back of the members and have them give us references. It’s hard sometimes because we work so hard to find people and nothing. I know that if I keep working it will be good. I have gotten to bless the sacrament twice so far.

Investigators

A cool experience this week was when we were teaching a 20 year old named Edson. He has become less active. We were teaching him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and I started to talk about the atonement and I could just tell the he needed to hear some blunt stuff about repentance and I was able to tell him. I have noticed being on a Mission that I can really tell when someone needs to be talked to. It is really cool. I anointed 3 people, also in Spanish.

I love the mission and wow I have learned so much about myself and how important life is. I am hoping not to get sick on the mission so I am being really careful with all the food that I eat. Sometimes I just have to close my eyes and drink the drink. Blessing the food has never meant more in my life ha ha. I know the power of prayer and the comfort of the atonement in our lives. It is awesome what it can do for me. After understanding it so much I can really trust in it. The atonement is real and can help any situation.

Thank you all for all the support you guys have given me.

I love you all,

Elder Cooley

Questions:

-What is your favorite scripture this week?

King Benjamin’s address to Mosiah for sure. It is just so blunt and tells you what you need to do. Mosiah 2-5

-Do you have a favorite experience so far? If yes, explain.

Favorite experiences so far are the food and being in Peru.

-What was Neil Anderson's talk on? And why did you like it so much?

The talk was on honesty and how crucial honesty is in our lives. It was also about the atonement. Because honesty is really what is important in this life and he focused on how essential it is.

-Have you had any clumsy moments?

I have not had clumsy moments yet so far.