A Big Hello From the Jungle of Peru!

March 30, 2009 - "Iquitos is amazing. It is like a small version of Lima. Only, instead of tons of dust and buses, it is green and everyone has their own moto or their own motorcycle. If I lived here, I would totally get a motorcycle and just cruise down the streets. (Tell Taylor and Braden that they would really enjoy living down here, just being able to cruise the streets on their motorcycles...) A lady told me that a person can buy and pay off a piece of nice property down here for 200 soles. That's less than a 100 dollars, so if you need a place to live, Iquitos is open...I am sleeping with a mosquito net now and it is quite an experience. The mosquitoes aren't really bad right now, but it's winter in the jungle right now. Yeah right. I can't believe it's winter. But it is, and it's about 75 degrees fahrenheit and humid...I have seen the Amazon River. It is huge... Because it's winter, it is rainy season. My second night here, we entered the church at about 7 and it was clear skies, and when we left at 8, the streets were flooding because of how much rain was falling. It was falling hard. There are some houses here that are held up by poles. They build them this way because the water rises and goes down during the year. Right now, the water is high. It is amazing how they live. We have to walk across "bridges" to get to the houses. Now these bridges are anywhere from 5 inches to 2 feet wide, with water on both sides, and they are not very stable... It is awesome, and I love walking on them to get to the houses... We have eaten lunch in these "floating houses" and sometimes, I feel like the house is just going to collapse, but all it is, is an adventure...I am excited for General Conference this weekend. 10 hours to just sit back, relax, and listen to the Prophet, the Apostles, and other leaders of the Church... Everything is going fine."

"I'm heading to the jungle!"

March 23, 2009 - "This week was awesome! We baptized an awesome couple. Juan and Rosa. I baptized Rosa, and my companion, Elder Quiroga, baptized Juan. It was such a good baptism and they are going to be such a strong couple in the Church. It was a hard trial getting them to baptism because they had to overcome drinking and many other problems that they have had in their family. I was really impressed with Juan because he has changed completely. He is such a nice guy with a strong testimony. They are such a funny and nice couple and they are going to be my friends forever... I participated in the confirmations yesterday and then we went to their house and had dinner and watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. It has been a spiritually awesome weekend...I just found out awesome news... This week is changes and guess where I'm going... IQUITOS!!! I'm heading to the jungle this week. I am so excited. And there's even more great news. I am moving up to Senior Companion. I will be flying to Iquitos this week. I am beyond excited to head to the jungle. It is going to be really hot, but I am going to love it. Happy Birthday Mom, your oldest son is going to the jungle of Peru with mosquitos, and monkeys, and anacondas, and pumas, and pirhannas, and alligators, and every other animal. I am excited... I'll be praying for you as I use my machete to cut through the wilds of the jungle. :) Just kidding. I don't really get to carry a machete, but I will be carrying my Book of Mormon. I love you guys so much, and still cannot wait to see you."

Things are well in Peru!

March 16, 2009 - "My companion and I live on the third floor of a building and I must say our living conditions are pretty nice. We live next door to another companionship and they are also a Gringo and a Latino. I get to speak English at our home with the other Gringo, but through the day, it is pure Spanish. We do not have a pensionist right now, so we prepare our own breakfasts and dinners. Each week we go to the Metro (Wal-mart) and get food for us to eat. We usually get yogurt, bread and jam and for dinner we get chicken nuggets and bologna. In our apartment we have a microwave, dishes and a pure water dispensor. What ever items that need to be refridgerated, we store them in the fridge of the family that lives below us. Each night we buy a 3 liter bottle of pop to share amongst the four of us. We do get to have a little fun.
The temple this week was really nice, a moment of peace."

THANK YOU!!!!

March 9, 2009 - "The package that Robin sent was so nice. I got letters from the family, Grandma sent me some thin mint cookies and Robin and Dave sent some goodies, beef jerky and lots of ties for me to either use or give away. Please tell all of them Thanks for everything. I am going to give a few ties to the familia de la Cruz, who I baptized in January. Please also tell Ryan and Rachel thank you for the card and the fuzzy flip flops. They are so comfy to wear at night.
Ask Grandpa if he got a watermelon for his Birthday... :)...Speaking of birthdays...
Happy 45th Birthday Dad!!! I hope you have the Best Birthday this Wednesday. My Zone has the great opportunity of going to the Temple this Wednesday. So I will be in the Peru Temple on your Birthday! Know that I am still surviving and all is going well. I love you!"

"It's My Half-Birthday"

March 2, 2009 - "Guess what today is?...Today is my Half-Birthday. I am exactly 19 and a half today. All the kids down here are starting their school year today. They go to school from March to the end of November and then they get out for Summer break. It is a different world down here, but I love it!
In almost every prayer that we share with a family or an investigator, the person always asks to have food on the table every day. This is a huge concern in their lives because there have been many times when they haven't had anything to eat...Honestly, the prayers of these people are so humble and sweet. I love listening to their prayers. They always thank Heavenly Father for life and for one more day of life. A lot of our investigators are having financial problems. One of our investigators that had a baptismal date set, it fell through because she was about to lose her house and had to go to work. It's a hard life down here...I feel really bad for the wives and especially the kids down here, because they never really get to spend time with their dads. Their Dads get up and leave at 4 in the morning and don't get home until 11 at night. They eat a quick meal and then they have to sleep because they have to get up and get to work. They do this every day which does not allow anytime for family. Dad, thank you so much for working so hard and for providing for our family. You are so great. Thank you also for all the time that you give to our family. We are the amazing family that we are because you have been blessed with a great job, where you work hard, but then have the ability to come home and spend time with the family."