Aug 30th

Hola familia!

Did you get my last e-mail?  I hope so!  I didn´t get any e-mails from yáll, so I will just tell you how I am doing!  I don´t exactly remember what I wrote in my last e-mai, so sorry if I repeat anything.

Today was our first day out into the city.  It was really fun.  I got to escort my latino companion through the temple for her first time today.  I think she thought it was kinda weird :)  But it was an amaziing experience for me. The temple here is right in the middle of the city, and it is beautiful on the inside.

The first day me and my companion met a week ago, I didn't understand a word she said.  Nada.  No entiendo.  But, it is getting easier to understand.  Communication is really rough sometimes, but I am working on it. I understand her most of the time now.  It feels so cool to be in Peru.  The elders in my district are so funny, and they were so great out on the street today they were very protective of all the hermanas.  It was cute.  The elders contacted someone on the street, and the hermanas got to talk to a lady on the bus aboiut the gospel.  She thought mormons are all from Utah.  And I think I only understood two other words she said.  And I thought my companion spoke fast. :)  Oh yeah, and driving here is really crazy.  I think people here honk just for the heck of it too.  Red lights and white lines on the road don't really mean much here :)

So I heard some really cool story from my teacher here in the MTC about cusco.  Oh but first, I need to tell you that somehow when I get to cusco I need to buy warmer clothes.  I have heard from the natives here that cusco is pretty cold, and it is pretty cold here in Lima right now, but winter is almost over here.  And mom, I thought I brought my coat (not my rain coat but the other one) down here but I can't find it anywhere in my bags.  I think I might have left it.  But because I can't get packages down here, I guess I will just have to wait for another month or so.  So back to the story.  I guess when Spencer W. Kimball was president, they were thinking of closing the cusco mission because there was absolutely no baptisms in the mission.  But one night Spencer W. Kimball had a vision, and Lehi appeared to him and told him to not close the mission yet because the people there are his children and he wanted them to recieve the gospel.  Cool, huh?  I don't know how true it is, but it sounds pretty cool.

Though hardly know much Spanish at all, teaching experiences here are really neat because I don't need to know much to get the message accross.  The Spirit is the one who does that.  But I would really like to know how to talk in past tense, becasue telling the Joseph Smith story is quite difficult without that.  But I love teaching.  My companion likes to talk most of the time, so I am working on helping her understand that I need to be able to testify and talk too.  It is amazing the sacrifices the latinos here make to be here on a mission.  I didn't sacrifice anything compared to them. My friends companion got her call a week before her arrival date to the MTC here, and so all of her friends donated all their church clothes to here because she didn't have enough time or money to get all she needed.  She only has 4 outfits.  She was a convert 5 years ago, and she left her family who are not members and her dad who is very sick to come and be here to preach the gospel.  Amazing.  She is an angel.

Well family, I love you all very much and I hope you are doing well and are happy.  I am!  Write me I would love to hear from you next week!

Lots of love!!


Hermana Lindsey