"THE BIG NEWS!"

July 20, 2009 -
"Hey Amazing Family!!!
The BIG NEWS... I don't think I should tell you until you get the letter... But hey, I can't wait any longer either... The Big News is... Monday last week (6th July), I was still in Iquitos and we were as a zone in the big zoo of Quistochocha looking at cool animals and taking pictures... Suddenly, the Zone Leaders came running with their cell phone telling me to hurry up and answer it... I was so afraid that I was going to answer and that on the other line, there was going to be some bad news, or that I was going to be in trouble, even though I hadn't done anything... Come to find out, it was President Pérez on the other end of the line… He asked me how I was doing and how I felt and how Iquitos was. I told him that everything was good. He then told me he had a favor to ask of me… A favor? What could possibly be this favor when he is in Lima, and I am in Iquitos?... This is the BIG NEWS… PRESIDENT PÉREZ CALLED ME TO BE HIS PERSONAL SECRETARY!!! I was at a loss for words and couldn’t believe he was asking me to be his Personal Secretary… He told me that I would have to come two weeks before the next change and be trained by the current Personal Secretary… I said yes… He told me that it is going to be a great privilege to have me in the Offices with him. I said the same and thanked him for this opportunity… That is why I am now in Lima. I AM IN THE OFFICES!!! Being the Personal Secretary, I do basically everything for the President, and all the missionaries. I make flight plans, hotel reservations, take phone calls, handle the important documents like Passports and IDs, help with the changes, make the packets for the missionaries that are going home, call the parents of the Gringos that are going home (which means I talk in English!!!), help the foreigners get their Peruvian IDs, and I get to hang out with the President a lot of the time… Mom, I cannot honestly put into words how happy and excited I am. Please do not worry about me for nothing. I am right where I need to be. I know Heavenly Father was listening to my prayers. Being in the Offices, we work on computers and do all of our work in the mornings, and then we leave in the afternoons to go out and preach the Gospel. My area is a hard area, so I will probably not be seeing as many baptisms, but I know that I am going to be so happy… I will be here in the Offices as a minimum amount of time, six months… That means that I am going to celebrate my Birthday, my 1-Year-Anniversary in the Mission, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s with President. I am so excited and I am going to have so much fun!!! :) I know that for Christmas, we spend the day with President in his house and we get to eat a huge meal with him and his wife… I am so so so so so excited… So that is my BIG NEWS… I hope you are all fine with that… I couldn’t be better… I know I always say that I am fine and could always be better, but I think right now, I am perfect. The only thing that could make everything completely perfect would be to be with you guys…my family… Elder Nemelka is here as Assistant to President so I get to have a fun couple weeks with him before he goes home… He came back from interviews in the jungle and brought back some huge ants called Ziquizapa for all of us in the Offices to eat… These ants are huge… They find them in the jungle, cook them up, and serve them, just like the suri… I was totally prepared to eat it and thought that I would just soar right through it… But, it was disgusting… It was fine at first just crunchy, and then the juice came out, and I about threw up… But I conquered the Ziquizapa! And to take the flavor of the ant away, I ate some of my Tootsie Rolls…Family, just so you know, I am doing perfectly fine… I am without any worries. I can’t even put into words how good I feel… Keep up the good work at home… Enjoy the hot days of summer… I am living in winter weather right now, and I feel kind of like it’s Christmas time, wearing my sweaters and jackets, but Christmas still isn’t for a couple months… Honestly I am doing fine. Don’t worry about me. I hope you like my Big News… I am really happy… Have fun and enjoy summer!!! I love you guys so much… Love, Colyn"