Mission and Adventures in Peru: Mystery Meat . . . Yum!

Loaded Taxi Ride

Hola Familia,

This week hasn’t been too exciting. We had two people that we reactivated, they weren’t attending church and now they are. It is cool to see the change that this gospel brings to people, and how much happier they are when they are in the gospel.

This week I cooked a ton ha ha. I cooked French toast and homemade vanilla syrup for my Companion, the other elders that we eat with and the family of the Pensionista. Then my Companion taught me how to cook fired bananas, there is a different type of banana that you slice and fry and it is so good (plantains). Then I cooked meat patties, I don’t really know what kind of meat it was ha ha. but they were good.

We had a very successful missionary night. We had two families that are investigating the church come and they really liked it. It is awesome that our investigators are progressing in the church. We have the family of Mirian, Joel and their son Fabian. We also have a family, where the mom is a member and her children want to be baptized. Candy, Anythony, Diana, and Luis. I love seeing them want to follow the commandments and become more like Christ in their lives. I don’t know why but our mission is having troubles. I think that we just need to work harder and harder and then the success will come however, I love the mission in Arequipa.

Games in Church

We teach a lot of less active and non-active members. In our ward and area there are 800 members and only about 80 attend and 50 are really active ha ha. SO... the work of reactivating people is huge. It is quite hard though. The doctrine of persevering until the end is so important. This life is a time to prepare and progress to become perfect, our church is for the perfecting of saints and we need to always remember that. We are not perfect and we can become better and better each day. Also the importance of this life is unimaginable and we need to always remember this and strive to be better each day. I just love this gospel.

This week is the end of the exchange. So I might be changed to a new area but I don’t know for sure. I hope that I don’t transfer. This week we are changing our room and Pensionista so we can live and eat at the same house and also to be in the boundaries of our ward. So this coming week will be exciting. Also WOW Halloween is this week, we will stay inside for Halloween because the streets will be full of drunks ha ha.

Well this is all for this week. Have an awesome week and I look forward to see what has happened in another week of your guys’ life. Have fun. I love you all. I pray for you guys always.

I love everyone,

Elder Cooley

Questions:

1. Where do you email from? Do you have to pay for the Internet time?

We email as a Zone in an Internet cafe a member owns. Yeah for two hours it is 2 soles or 80 cents

2. Have you received your package yet?

I have not received any packages yet ha ha.

3. Do most places in your area have running water?

Yeah most places have running water, but hot running water is nonexistent ha ha.

4. What movie did you watch last P-day? What was it about?

We watched Brother Bear in Spanish ha ha.

5. Did you bring the cake for the investigator’s birthday or did they get it somewhere else?

A member brought the cake for the party and it was really good.

6. What has been your favorite service activity so far in Arequipa?

Favorite service has been building stairs up the side of a mountain ha ha.

7. Will your companion get anything for Christmas? Did he get anything last year?

I don’t know, I haven’t asked him but usually with Latinos they don’t get packages that often.

8. How is the overall environment there towards missionaries? Are they welcoming or abrasive?

People love missionaries and are always really accepting. They love a nice tall American to bring in their house.

9. Since you never seem to have funny stories . . . ha ha ha. Tell me an interesting story.

Funny story, so this week we were teaching a lesson to a family about the word of wisdom. We asked if anyone has an addiction with any substance and the sister pointed at her brother and said he has an addiction to mayo because he is overweight.

10. Do you have to duck your head to fit under the shower?

Not the shower but pretty much everything else in Peru I have to duck my head. I finally was electrocuted this past week.

11. What is a simple rule that you live by day to day?

Always trust the Holy Ghost, whenever I feel a prompting I follow it.

12. How often do you visit the mission home?

I have only been to the mission home once.