The work continues

We had another great week in the Peru Lima North Mission. We are still trying to get used to the crazy schedule in Lima. People like to stay up late. They tend to get home from work late so they like to meet late. If you ask for an appointment on a given night and ask for their preferred time so far it has always been 8:30 pm. Hermana Borup’s response is “Can I come in my pajamas?”  We haven’t figured it out because things still start in the morning at regular times. School begins at 7:30 a.m. Because of the later schedule, in most of the world missionaries need to be home by 9:30 pm but in the Lima area, all missionaries can stay out until 10:30. ( at home Hermana Borup is usually sound asleep by 10:30) When we are walking in the streets at 8:30 it feels like things are just getting started. The street vendors are just setting up, by 10:30 most of them are taking things down. We’ll figure it out.

We have found our way back into doing some office work. Well, really that means Hermana Borup is doing it and I am helping her figure it out. Because of the late schedule, it is difficult to make appointments during the day. This is a way we can be productive and helpful. As we expand our circle of influence, our time in the office will most likely decrease. Ojala! 

As part of our work to help get people to the Temple we are helping them set up an account in the app FamiyTree. This helps them start to record the important dates of their deceased ancestors. When they have an account on the church website (Churchofjesuschrist.org) They can then get those records ready to do Temple work for them. So we are helping people get an account on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. This is not really easy and don’t make a mistake! It’s not easy because you need to have the membership record number of the new member. This means the Ward clerk needs to enter it into the system. So far this part has been really good. The Ward clerks are great and do this quickly. There can sometimes be a delay in getting that number, but so far so good.

But don’t make a mistake!......I know from experience. We were helping a new member set up her church account. She didn’t have a personal email account (required) so I created one for her. No problem right? Well, when we went to her house to help her set up the account I wrote her email down wrong. So the confirmation email was sent to an email that doesn’t exist. It not only doesn’t exist, it can’t exist. Since this was 9:00 pm I couldn’t just call the tech support and get it straightened out. So our 30-minute walk (one way) was basically wasted. I called the next day. I was told that to change the account the new member needed to be with me. I asked if maybe her supervisor could help, and she said no. I asked if the Prophet could help, and she said maybe. I have a call into him. I’m not sure I will get an answer before we return to her house this week. 

One of the new members we work with speaks English quite well. Since our Spanish is not to the “quite well” level (yet), Our conversations usually end up being in English. He came over this week so we could help him set up his accounts. We couldn’t get his number in time so that didn’t happen. But something better did!. He brought his cousin who wants to learn English with him. While He and I were figuring out that we couldn’t set up his account, Hermana Borup was talking with him in basic English. (our Spanish might be better than his English)(about time)). We decided to share with him the story of the Restoration and the First Vision. We love the video called The Restoration (English, Español). We told him that we were going to show him a video in Spanish about the restoration of the Church and then we were going to talk about it in English. When we finished the video we asked him how he felt. He said (limited vocabulary) I feel really calm. We told him that the feeling he is having is the Holy Ghost telling him that what he just saw is true. His cousin (new member) testified to him that it is the Holy Ghost and that what he just saw is true. It was the highlight of the week. To help light that spark in someone and then have someone with the light shining new in him bear his testimony was espetacular! 

We love the work. To be a small part of the work of the Kingdom is a great privilege. We feel lucky to be part of it.

Until next time!

Hermana Y Elder Borup

A woman in Lima makes these really cool wood sculptures. She makes church-related sculptures also.

It might be dangerous here.

This is not the city we live in but the map says we are in Lima.

Apparently, it is really posh to put ice in the toilet?

Fancy restaurant with 2 pigs

It seems like at least half the motorcycle police are women.

This is where I got my haircut. They do tattoos also. Maybe next time.

We took a trip to the Lima Missionary Training Center to get the first course of a rabies vaccine.

The MTC feels like you are in another world. It's very peaceful 

The other Lima Temple

A very good looking couple outside our mission office.

Stake Dance Festival. Every ward had a dance.

Typical street noise in our neighborhood.

 

Our walk home from the mission office.