February 2, 2010, Two weeks from today we will be arriving home, just about now. Time is so fluid. Right now it seems like every day is a week and a week is a month. Thank you to my kids who have continued to call us up to the end. I wrote some things last week, but they were pretty negative and I don’t feel good about including them in a blog. So I went back through some things I wrote in the past that were not included at that time, so that is why the dates are rather out of order. Sometimes I don’t know what to pray for; I know that God will not keep us from all trials and pain, illness and suffering. That isn’t his job. I guess his job is to help us get through hard times and to continue to love us and guide our lives, if we will let him. I just came up with a good prayer, though, for this mission. “God, please help me to remember the good times, the good friends, good people, and the things we have been able to do to help and serve.” If we could live with our good memories, it would go a long way toward making the present more pleasant.

Monday Nov. This week is thanksgiving and you will all be eating a nice dinner with family and friends. I hope that for all of you. We will be teaching the last of our first complete 11 week self employment class on Thursday. I am grateful that things are going better for me here. I have things to keep busy with that I feel are worthwhile, which is really what I have wanted all along. The summer has arrived in Lima so we will see the sun every day until we leave. (This did not happen) Glenn and I have discussed what we will say when people ask “How was your mission?” Probably only our good friends would bother to listen to the long and complicated answer. Sherry suggested “It was a once in a lifetime experience.” And you can draw your own conclusion. I am grateful that I feel enough better about the whole experience that I could say it has been a blessing; and I would consider doing it again, only not in Lima because of the long dark winter. In August I would have gone home and paid my own way if Sam and Peggy had not been coming in October and already had their tickets. Now I am glad we didn’t go home. I guess we have probably had all the typical mission experiences and that is one of them, the discouragement and then it gets better. I am grateful for that, that it got better.

Things of interest: the cockroaches, harbingers of spring, have come out (only outside at night. We haven’t had them inside so don’t get too horrified.) One day walking to the office I saw that they pulled out all the trees in a particular area along the main road and wondered why they would take them out. Then another day while walking I saw a bus pull out of there, and a pee spot on the ground. So I guess it is a bathroom stop for the bus drivers. It was a bathroom spot before, but the buses couldn’t pull in.

On Nov. 17, my birthday, we put in a 12 hour day that started with a staff meeting in the morning to discuss loan exceptions—we approved them all; we got home at 10 pm from a vocational test in which 45 kids came. School starts again the beginning of Jan or Feb and kids are beginning the process for loans.

Dec. 3: Other things I have learned while on this mission: If you sit long enough you get used to sitting, just like if you walk enough on hard surfaces you get used to it. When we left home, I could hardly stand to sit in the MTC for the long meetings. I was used to being up and going, working in the garden, or sewing, or doing something all the time. Now I find I can sit for long stretches with no ill effects. The trouble is I am not so sure this is a good thing. I have no muscles left and it will be hard to work again when we get home.

December 8, 2009 We had a conversation with a man here who asked us if we would like to send our children here so they could see what Peru is like; he meant that when children, especially teenagers, from the United States come to an underdeveloped country they see what they have that other people do not have and they are more grateful. He then said that he wished to send his children to the US to open their eyes to the possibility of a better world. I see his point about seeing that the world can be better, the question is what better means. It would be good if they could see the good things about the US and not just the “stuff”– like people who work hard and obey the laws, the opportunities for an education, and people can have a chance for good jobs without being exploited by employers. That justice can be for everyone. Peru could use a few lessons on safety, also. I must admit that I like to see things clean and pretty and not with rubble everywhere. And I really appreciate having nicely painted walls and landscaping.

It is the season for Thanksgiving and I tried to think of what I am grateful for that came of this mission: Friends. We have made some wonderful friends, people we have come to really love. Doug and Connie Earl are so fun and we could talk to them about anything without being judged or them being shocked. Scott and Beverly Zimmerman are wonderful examples of staying faithful in spite of real adversity. Because Beverly had no one in Tarma to talk to, no one in Tarma speaks English, when we visited them she and I talked almost nonstop about everything important and unimportant in our lives. So in a very short time we became friends. She had a hard time in Tarma, it was not easy for her to be there, but because she loves her husband and knew it was what he wanted to do, she did it. And he loves her and knows she has always been a clean freak and that is okay. You can see that they love each other.

Orlando Handa and Armando Rebaza have qualities I admire. The new PEF guys are good guys also. Other Peruvians have extended friendship to us, as much as it is possible with my limited Spanish.

Examples of really good People: Kay and Jack Beals have been great examples of hardwork, loyalty to each other, not complaining, and just being nice. Kay is always positive. Br. And Sr. Talledo have a wonderful marriage relationship and we have seen other husbands and wives who really love each other and it is obvious when they are together. The people in Manchay have been an example of facing adversity with courage, faith and good cheer. They may cry at home, but they show strength in public. And many of them have very hard lives. The people in Villa El Salvador showed self-reliance, a willingness to learn and to work to face the economic challenges in their lives.

I am grateful for the chance we have had to travel around and see this interesting and beautiful country. We have seen the jungle, the highlands and the coast. Each is different and interesting. The archeological sites, other sights and sounds and smells and tastes that are new and interesting. I have experienced new ways of looking at things. I’ve had the chance to experience something different than living in Ohio for the last 27 years.

I am grateful for what I have learned: I have learned how to use the computer better. We have studied career counseling, vocational tests, non-profit organizations from the receiving and giving end, the complexity of non-profit giving, how to start a business, corporations and how they work. All these are things I knew almost nothing about. I’m not claiming to now be an expert, but I know a lot more than I did about all those topics. I now know what a mission is like, not just what you hear others say about what a mission is like. I am grateful to have all these experiences, no, I am grateful for what I learned, not what I had to go through to learn them. And I forgot Spanish, my Spanish is mas o menos. And now we are learning something about writing a book, another new experience.

February 2, again The Branch president asked us to speak in sacrament meeting the last Sunday we are there. It took a long time, but I guess we have finally gained some acceptance in the Branch. They stopped announcing that we were there and welcoming us every Sunday, some time ago. I just realized that! I don’t know what I am going to speak about. It has to be pretty simple because of my limited Spanish. Something about God, I think, and his love for us.

And I need to tell you that we managed to get Angelina through the process and she starts school the end of February. She is going to cosmetology, which is a 16 month course teaching hair cutting, massage, makeup, etc. It seemed like a good choice to me. She certainly won’t get rich, but it is something she can use her whole life, as extra income with a family, and if she wants more education, she has some skill she can use to make money while she continues her education. She still has 4 years and money left in the Fund. She thinks she can get the job back that she had working for a school in the morning and go to school in the afternoon, so she will have enough money for her bus fare and the 15 sole a month required to pay back the loan. HURRAH!

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