Getting Around in Piura Mission

 As most of you know, we don’t have a car on our mission.  The Mission Leaders each have a car and the other senior missionary, Elder Nye occasionally gets to drive one of their cars but for us it is all about public transportation.  The Mission Office and our church building are walking distance away, as is a nice grocery store and some restaurants.  To get other places our normal mood of travel is a moto taxi.  Essentially a 3 wheeled motorcycle with a covered seat on the back, they vary from a moderately comfortable ride to a bone rattling, teeth jarring experience.

I am amazed at the bargaining that goes on.  Since we obviously aren’t Peruvian, they often try to take advantage of us with outrageously high prices.  Sometimes we just laugh at them and then they give us a reasonable price while other times they stick to the original price. The young missionaries say that we always pay too much and we are running the prices up for them.  Bargaining for a lower price seems crazy when you remember that we are essentially having a discussion over the equivalent of less $.50 but it is part of the routine to get the best price possible.

As we walk along the sidewalks we frequently hear the call from passing moto-taxis, “Moto, Moto” as the drivers drum up business.  

You can even hire a moto to help you move!

They carry all kinds of things.  Our missionaries use motos when they transfer to a new area.  Both missionaries usually have 2 bags each weighing 50 pounds.  So 200 lbs of luggage plus the missionaries themselves.  And yes they do charge more for the extra weight.  As they should.

The other day while stopped at an intersection, I heard a horrible screaming sound.  It sounded like someone was being beaten. When I looked around to figure out what was happening,  I saw a moto with 6 or 7 goats strapped all around the cargo area and sides of the moto. They were most definitely NOT enjoying the ride.  I am so sorry I wasn’t fast enough to get a photo.

Occasionally our missionaries get a ride in the cargo area and other times they sit on the sides of the driver.  I suspect that this is against some missionary rule.

On the way home from church I saw a moto that had been pulled over by a policeman. I can’t imagine what he did as they frequently don’t follow any rules.  Sometimes they go the wrong way on a one way streets or make left turns from the right lane and generally drive like they own the road.

When we went to Tumbes, which is the town up by the Ecuadorian border, we went by overnight bus.

The seats were much more comfortable than an airplane seat.  They were wider, softer and reclined much more.  I slept quite well. It helps to be short!

This dog seemed to be enjoying his transportation across Piura.  

I think this must be a daily occurrence as he seemed comfortable.

And finally….it is amazing what people will do to earn money.  At every major intersection there are willing workers who will wash your windows, sell you a paper, or a drink, or candy.  I thought this guy was particularly inventive and extremely brave.

When the light was in his favor, he jumped on his unicycle and juggled.  Just before the light changed, he hopped down and went car to car asking for money.

I think he had earned it.

Getting around in Piura is always an adventure. 

We are extremely thankful to have our driver, William and his comfy car when we do inspections of missionary apartments all over the city.

Makes our life so much easier.

And we have plenty of transportation stories from our non-inspection days.

 

Visit With The Reynolds

While our young missionaries don’t have the option to travel home for special occasions, we ‘senior missionaries’ do!  Our mission leaders flew to California for a son’s wedding.  Hermana VanAlfen went to Utah when their only daughter had her first baby.  The Nye’s returned to Idaho for their daughter’s wedding.  It was my turn in October when I flew to Washington DC to be there when Mary and Mark’s youngest was sealed to them in the DC Temple.  

Trevor Jake Reynolds

Jake was my Daddy’s name.  

The day at the temple was the reason for the visit.

Families can be together forever!

George’s sister Karen, me,  Mark’s mom Jan, the cute family, Mark’s sister Amanda and Mary’s cousin Mindi.  Mary and Mindi had been friends for several years before they discovered that they were 2nd cousins.. 

Happy Grandma!  Next time I hope someone reminds me that my glasses get dark in the sun.  Looks like I am hiding from the paparazzi!

In addition to the temple, we enjoyed the park.

Cool shadow photo

The National Zoo

Fun on the carousel!

And plenty of play time at home!

Jackson is pretty good at sharing his toys with little brother.

As long as he is in charge!

The truck that Trevor is sitting on was mine when I was a little girl.  

And I had plenty of opportunities to eat all the American fast food I had been missing.  Wendy’s,  Chick-Fil-A, and Cafe Rio!

When I flew to DC my suitcase was almost empty but not so on the way back.

Lots of Amazon orders and shopping for food we can’t get in Peru, like brown sugar, canned pumpkin, taco sauce, dry mustard, Dijon mustard, zip lock bags……

I flew back to Peru with a 50 pound bag and a carry-on that I could barely lift.  I bought enough new clothes to keep me happy for the next year.  Since the weather doesn’t change much in Piura, you don’t have seasonal clothes changes and I was tired of my clothes already.  Now I just need to ration them out over the next 10 months.

I am happy I got to be there for shoppping and fast food but 

I am thrilled that I got to be there to enjoy such a special time with this darling child.

Happy Golden Anniversary!

 50 years ago today!

Happy Golden Anniversary!

October 29, 1975 - October 29, 2025

What better way to celebrate that serving a mission during our 

Golden Years!

First in Salt Lake City

Then in Piura, Peru

With an eternal companion!

Nuestra Casa

 The other Senior couple spent many long hours making our apartment a comfortable, homey place.  They did a great job and we love it. And yes, it is on the 4th floor.  The arrow points to our living room window.  

Climbing up all those stairs several times a day helps us get our daily exercise.  Hermana Malpica lives directly below us.  Almost every time we come home, George says, “If we lived in her house, we’d be home.”  Our Apple Watches have alerted us that the numbers of ‘flights climbed’ over the last few months has increased significantly.  No joke!

An interesting thing to note on stairs here is that some stairs as you turn the corner are triangles and others are squares.  And it isn’t consistent.  For a few days the lights on our stairs were not working and I held on as I made my way up and down.  Don’t want to misjudge, thinking it is a square step and be surprised with the cut off.  

Another interesting thing about apartment here is the security.  We have two keys, one to let us in the locked common area before the stairs and another to get us in our apartment. Here is lock #1.

We have heard of missionaries getting locked out of their apartment but also locked in the apartment outside area.  You would just hope you have your cell phone so someone can be called to rescue you.

On the first floor of our apartment is a living/dining room, laundry room, a kitchen, Elder Lewis’s office, and a cute little under stair bathroom/luggage storage area

Upstairs there are two bedrooms, one of which is my ‘office’, and a bathroom.  The only hot water in the entire house is in the shower.  None of the elders and most of the sisters don’t have the luxury of hot water.  We did just get permission to put instant hot water heaters in the showers in all the sister’s houses.  They are thrilled with that news. 

Here’s the view from our front windows.

I have been amazed at how quickly a foreign place can feel like HOME.  And our little corner of Piura definitely does.

Four and a Half Months Later…

 Somehow with writing a weekly newsletter, writing in my personal journal and all the work in the mission office, I never have gotten around to working on this blog.  Since it is my pictorial personal history, I decided I should share something of our lives over these past months of the mission.

Although our time in Salt Lake was wonderful in many ways, we were extremely excited to finally be on our way to Peru, with 4 50-pound suitcases, 2 heavy carry-ones and 2 ‘personal items’ we were definitely NOT traveling light.

But we were traveling happy!

Salt Lake to Atlanta - 3 1/2 hours

Atlanta to Lima  - 6 hours and 45 minutes

Lima to Piura - 1 1/2 hours 

What a great greeting party!

On the left, President and Sister Van Alfen who are from our Stake in Eagle.  We didn’t know them before but quickly have learned to love them and their spiritual insights and leadership.

Next the two Assistants to the President.  Since they live in the apartment below the Mission Office, we get to know them well. They are outstanding young men and it is easy to love them.

Then Hermana Malpica who is a dynamo!  Originally from Peru, she has lived for 40 years in the US so she is fluent in both Spanish and English.  She handles all the travel and visa requirements for the missionaries.  And also arranges weddings.  That may sound strange but because of the complications and expense of getting legally married, many people live together for years and raise a family. When our missionaries teach them the gospel, they cannot be baptized until they are officially married.  Hermana Malpica does the leg work to make that happen. And it is not a trivial assignment.

The other ‘senior couple’ is the Nyes.  Interestingly they are from Meridian, Idaho.  They are very young to be considered senior missionaries.  When their youngest child left on her mission, they decided to serve also.  When they go home they will go back to work until they are officially retirement age.  Hermana Nye is the mission health advisor.  She spends her time helping the missionaries stay healthy, gives medical advice and also arranges their care if they need to go to the doctor.  She is a great mix of a caring mom and a no nonsense nurse.  The missionaries love her. Elder Nye is a pharmacist so he is a great help to his wife.  Besides that he is a super hard worker, willing to tackle any problem to help the mission, and capable of doing almost anything.  He orders supplies for the missionaries to use in their teaching, manages the office, handles packages, technology, various ‘special projects’ for the Mission Leaders….and probably a whole lot of things we don’t even know about. 

The other two young elders have been the ‘office elders’.  The one behind Hermana Malpica has been handling ‘technology’ and the one on the end has been doing finance and housing.  It took both of us to replace him.  In the language of the mission, he is our Dad, since he was our trainer.  Elder Von is brilliant and created all sorts of programs that have made our lives easier.  He stayed in the office to train us for about 6 weeks.  President Van Alfen was happy that we came so that these young missionaries could go out and teach the gospel and invite people to come to Christ.  

You are familiar with the saying, “It takes a a village”.  That phrase definitely applies to a mission.  There is so much that goes on behind the scenes to keep the missionaries healthy, living in safe and clean apartments, with money on their debit cards, necessary travel arranged, teaching supplies in the right places, phones working correctly…..you get the idea.  I am glad we get to be a small part of all of this.

Music & the Spoken Word

One of the ‘perks’ of our bonus mission at the Church Headquarters is that we can just walk across the street and attend a broadcast of Music & the Spoken Word.  If you haven't heard of it, here’s a brief introduction.  

“For more than nine decades, nearly the lifetime of radio, The Tabernacle Choir has presented a weekly program — Music & the Spoken Word — without interruption, giving voice to peace, hope, inspiration and the goodness of God. No other broadcast can claim such a heritage.The first broadcast of Music & the Spoken Word was on a summer afternoon, July 15, 1919.  Today, 96 years later, it is the longest continuous weekly network broadcast.  In a world so noisy and full of distraction, this program continues as a welcome reprieve, fulfilling through word and song our hope expressed each Sunday: “May peace be with you this day and always.”

The amazing talents and spirit that fills the Tabernacle each Sunday morning during the taping of the 30 minutes broadcast is a perfect way to start our Sabbath day.

I thought I would share a few tidbits from the  ‘spoken words’ we’ve enjoyed over the last weeks.

I wish I could share the music with you but it is readily available on YouTube.

“Kindness is a lovely force but it can only be powered by people.  For all our magical gadgets, no appliances, instrument, apparatus or device can extend kindness to another human being.  That power is vested only in people. “ Anne O

“So what’s in a name?  When it comes to the name of Jesus Christ, everything.  His titles and names remind us of His divine role in our lives-bringing us hope, healing, transformation, and salvation.  He is our Savior. He is our Redeemer. He is our Christ.”

‘The individual piece and stitches of our service to others may appear small and insignificant.  But a tapestry could never be called beautiful without the thousands of individual stitches by which it was made.  ‘Great things are not done by impulse,’ said Vincent Van Gogh, ‘But by a series of small things brought together.”

“Jesus Christ laid down His life for you and me, His friends.  And it’s this great sacrifice-this greater love-that is known as the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  His atonement includes His suffering, death, and Resurrection, which together makes it possible for us to return home to God and to receive heavenly help along the way.

The Savior’s love is more powerful than our biggest mistakes.  Because of His atonement, we can repent and begin anew.  

Jesus’s love is stronger than our deepest sorrow, depression, and even our most vexing anxieties.  Because of His Atonement, we can find peace and hope.”

‘The pace of life has changed-yes. But not the purpose or the principles. Let no one be deceived about flexibility as to fundamental principles. We cannot afford to be flexible in terms or honesty.  We cannot afford to be flexible in matters of virtue, old fashioned as the word may seem.  Flexibility must not mean setting aside considerate manners, or sound morals, or honorable obligations-or setting aside the commandments or tampering with the basic laws of life……to change the superstructure-the facing and the fashions- is one thing, but to tamper with the foundations is another…..the age old, God given rules of honesty, morality, responsibility….and even the inner voice called conscience are still what they have always were, no matter how times have changed, no matter how modern we feel, no matter how flexible other things may be.”

“It is life’s challenges, the weight, the strain, and the struggle, that true inner strength is forged. May we discover that the quiet work of building inner strength has the power to transform us and lift us and inspire those around us.”

“Nearly 600 years ago, Thomas á Kempis, in his book, The Imitation of Christ, wrote: ‘Love is an excellent thing….It bears a burden without being weighted and renders sweet all that is bitter…..Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider, nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller’. God is a God of love and we can feel the power of His love as we exercise faith and trust in Him..  Thee is power in love - it is God’s power.  Power that can change our lives, power that can change the world.”

It was raining in Salt Lake City this morning so we were very happy that Music and The Spoken Word is now being broadcast from the Conference Center which is right across the street from our apartment.  During the summer when the number of tourists in Salt Lake City swells, the larger and more comfortable Conference Center is better equipped to handle the crowds. It’s only about 2 blocks to the Tabernacle but in the rain it was nice to only walk 1 block.

I was particularly touched by both the music and the spoken word this morning.

“Faith is that quality of trust which prevents the uncertainty of the future from destroying the opportunities of the present-which brings peace in the midst of confusion, and sleep even when some problems are unsolved.  Faith is trust, belief, conviction, a force in the lives of all balanced men, and it leaves an awful emptiness when it dies or departs.”

“And thus it is with prayer.  We may not know quite how it works, but we don’t need to. The Lord has not burdened us with complicated formulas.  He has made the process of prayer so simple that a humble child on his knees can make it work.  The only requirements are that out desires be righteous and our supplication to be sincere.  The Lord stands ever anxious to assist us.”

“Knowing that God’s love for us is real and unchanging can calm the storms of life and bring meaning amid uncertainly.  God will not forget us or forsake us.  In this we have peace - a peace that comes from knowing that the world and its affairs remains in the loving and all powerful hands of Him who created it in the beginning.”

Today to celebrate Memorial Day, the choir sang several patriotic songs.

I loved listening to

America The Beautiful

Shenandoah

God Bless America.

This photo taken by our son John seemed appropriate to include.

“In a way we are each writing our own epitaphs today.  Our remembered acts may include a few things we did in life, but our lives will in large part be remembered for how we did those things.  What we do matters, but how we do it matters even more.”

“He who suffered the most, Jesus Christ, always reached outward, relieving the suffering of those around Him.  His perfect character enables His perfect love to extend to each of us always.”

Our last ‘Music and the Spoken Word’ was memorable!

First, our son Scott surprised us with a visit.  I don’t have the words to explain how great it was to hug my ‘baby’.

Plus we happened to see our friends from Lake Oswego - Mary and Dave.  They recently moved from Oregon and are ‘grandparents jumping’ between Texas and Utah.  It was great to catch up with them.

The last ‘spoken words’ didn’t disappoint either and seemed appropriate for us as we start the next mission adventure.

“As we reach for the Savior with our whole soul, we find that ‘His arms are always open, extended, stretched out, and encircling. They are described as mighty and holy, arms of mercy, arms of safety, arms of love, ‘lengthened out all the day long’.  Indeed when we spiritually stretch towards Him with all the might we can muster, the Savior ‘reaches our reaching’”

Serving a mission in Peru will cause us to do a lot of ‘reaching’ for the Savior.  And I know that He will always be there reaching out for us with love, mercy, forgiveness and strength.