Proud of little brother - Bryce

hey everyone

so ya this week was a very interesting week. sorta started out on a bad note though. this last Monday after pday, while playing soccer, i sorta slid into a wall and messed up my foot. just a little bit. but ya so they put me in a resting mode sorta. they said go to the citas that you have but outside of that don't walk too much. so i tried that but it got boring. long story short it still hurts to walk and today I'm seeing the doctor and I'm sure that will get things fixed. so ya that was fun

another fun thing... something missionaries love is a cambio with the assistants. my fourth that I've done in my mission. they keep coming to me. but ya so that day was really good. we found some new people and had some great lessons. we walked a lot and it hurt but it was worth it. but what i found out was more valuable. he said that every missionary from Bolivia will be going back, they just don't know when. the plan they were given is to send between five and seven back every cambio. so they know who's going this cambio but not the next ones. so basically i could be returning in ten weeks or in 6 months. but if all goes like they plan i will be in Bolivia to finish my mission. which is fine with me. I'm excited to see a new country and whatever.

so ya, also this week another sorta strange thing that happened was that i baptized someone. what was strange was that the baptism wasn't mine. it was someone from an area in my district. i had taught the girl once and then in the interview she asked me to baptize her. kinda funny. i had no idea what to say. i said that either one of the elders there could baptize her or anyone in her ward with the priesthood, a friend or bishop.... and she said... well can you do it? i didn't know what to say... it was weird. but ya she said she wanted me to do it and so whatever. so ya. it was nice to get in the water again. i tell ya when i get back gotta go swimming a lot more. it'll be on my list of things to do when i get back.

and ya so this week also Bryce goes into the mtc. this Wednesday. I'm more proud of him than I've been of anyone else in a long time. way to go buddy and i know you'll be a great missionary. i love you and I'll miss you. but know that when i finish and i work with you for a day or two in Argentina I'm gonna show you how good of a missionary i am... so you better work... i expect a good challenge like always. be safe and just keep going.

ok so outside of that i don't have much to say. it was kinda a boring week. just know that I'm ok. my foot will get better and I'll just keep going. like i tell Bryce. so ya that's the plan.

bye for now

A slingshot keeps the dogs away (and also a truck)

hey everyone

so this week was absolutely amazingly awesome. we found another family to teach. which is great bc one that we were teaching for two months sorta fell through. but this family is a family of 5 and really cool. a reference from a member and were excited to be visiting them. as we are with all our investigators. so ya.

yesterday, Sunday, was really kinda interesting. we got to church and our mission leader says .... elders you guys are gonna give the talks today. 15 min. great we say.... so we did whatever we do and gave two very good talks considering we had ten min to prepare it. i normally speak very good now, but i don't know why yesterday i just couldn't speak. i was fine until i hit prosperaria ..... which just threw me back to the mtc days spanish. fun fun. but i got through and it turned out good. then the more fun begins. they didn't have a teacher for the Sunday school adult class and asked me to give it. i said great. and didn't even have a min. to prepare it. just had to give a lesson about Doctrine and Covenant and i think that one turned out ok too. and then more fun... the third our primary class teacher wasn't there and the primary leader.... my tia cosa asked me to help. well, actually the kids asked her to ask me , but she did and i taught my third impromptu lesson of the day. three hours and three lessons that i didn't have time to plan. i loved it. i was not a good speaker before but the mission has helped me to teach and talk publicly. so benefits.

ok Bryce Happy birthday and farewell party thing. i asked papi fierro if i could call you before u go since it'll be three years till we might see each other, he said he'd get back to me. so maybe.

in other news... well i can't think of any other news actually. but i bought a slingshot and have been attacking the dogs that have been trying to eat me. my revenge... sorry Amanda and mommy number two but a dog who tries to eat me is no friend of mine. but on one of my sling shot bonanzas i hit a car. well, a truck. kinda funny. luckily the guy didn't care or anything, he just wanted to try out my slingshot.

o in terms of food, for breakfast now I'm drinking oatmeal. it sounded weird to me but that's how they take oatmeal apparently. it's like a drink so ya... i haven't eaten anything too strange but they say they are gonna try to buy alligator and turtle for me to eat.

which reminds me we have two new pets. a dog that they call leon... i call cow... and a turtle that has a quechuan name whose translation i don't know if i can say. so our pets are cool but the dog tries to bite me unless i have food. the turtle is super turtle i call him .. the amazingness of the ninja turtles combined in one super special oober cool turtle... kinda a long name but it suits him.

ok so i think that's about all. happy birthday everyone whose birthday it is.

I'll talk to y'all next week.

bye

Cambios (transfers), new room and a Pillow!

hi everyone

so this week was good.... like them all. but this week was also cambio week. and the results of this cambio are....... for me nothing. which is cool. i like my area and like my comp so I'm 100 percent ok with that. three people from our zone got changed. not very many which leads us all to believe that for the next one there will be a lot of changes. also bc that will be the last change b4 our new pres. shows up. so everyone thinks that the next change will be how things will be when the new president shows up.... if that makes any sense.

on other interesting news.... rumor has it that today or tomorrow they are gonna return all the Bolivia missionaries to their mission, if they had already been there. they are going to the interpol or Bolivian embassy to get things figured out for today and this Wednesday should be back in their mission. interesting stuff. another rumor says that they will return all the Bolivian missionaries when this next cambio ends. meaning the missionaries that never got to Bolivia.... so that's cool too. they say the only reason they don't send everyone together is to not hurt the mission that we're in, bc by now there are over 50 Bolivian missionaries, and bc they say it'll be easier to send the ones who've already had the visa to go there. so it'll take longer for us to get ours. but who knows ..... the rumors come from elder vickery, my old zone leader and now assistant to the president. but rumors from anyone are just rumors

so ya.. something else kinda cool. mommy Fierro, the wife of the pres. inspected rooms a little while back.. she said our room was way too small. it is but the hna. gave us another room to put a lot of our stuff, but mommy Fierro still wasn't happy. she told us to change rooms, we looked couldn't find anything. talk to the our pench and she said that she'll build us another room right next to the one we have and bigger. so we're gonna get a new room and stay in the same pench. so it's kinda cool. and we get to help build it. so in surco i put up roofs, and tore down roofs. and here I'm gonna learn to put up walls from bricks and wood.. so it'll be cool.... and they sent us a new bed. and pillows which helps a lot bc for my whole mission I've used my clothes as my pillow. it's not very comfortable but now i have one. yay me.

so as far as all else goes.... same old same old. we're working with our families but we have to teach very simply and repeat lessons a lot. but they're starting to go to church and other activities so we're excited. we have some amazing people. some great friends but they just progress so slowly but I'm practicing my patience and we have faith that all will turn out how it should.

OK i think that's about all. maybe...... yup. thanks to everyone for all the help and support and for being there to help me and my families. oooo and happy Easter. they totally don't do anything for that either so i had no idea it was Easter until this morning. Peruvians don't celebrate holidays it seems, or at least not very well. OK bye everyone

I just love general conference

hey everyone

i just love general conference. what a cool opportunity to hear the prophet and apostles talk. and what powerful messages they gave this year. just made me shiver like a peruvian bum sleeping on the floor in ayacucho.

so ya i loved the general conference but unfortunately we only had two investigators go to it. the thing is that the stake center is so far away from my area that it's hard for our people to go. it costs a lot of money and time. but we tried to get them there, didn't really work. but they are great people. we are teaching some families. some big ones. hopefully we can help them out and they can get baptised. that would be great, to have another family united in the gospel.

this week in my consilio or district reunion I'm making cookies. my lesson will be something about if we follow the recipe God gives us in "preach my gospel", as missionaries we will feast on the rewards which are sweet to our taste. something like that. just a smart way of making and eating cookies if u ask me. but it'll work.

Peru is finally starting to cool down again. still some days are horribly hot but it's getting better. i just think about how lucky i am to have gotten the hill part of san juan for the summer. lucky me but its helped me a lot. stay in shape and not get to fat. cause I've been eating a lot of junk food. every weekend we're supposed to eat with the members but our bishop hasn't done the list so we've been eating out four times a week. kinda funny actually. but he'll have a list this week and it's back to members. which helps a lot. also my mom number three or my pench here just makes food that we like. she hasn't made fish since i got here and gives us a ton. she's really i think one of the best penches in the mission. but i'd be fat because of it if it weren't for the hills. so I'm ok. I'm even excersising. and i forgot how to spell excercise in english.... how do u spell it.... that's just bugging me but whatever. so ya doing push ups and jump rope for like 30 min a day. i try everyday but i don't cause i get lazy.

ya, so were doing good. cambios is this week and everyone in our zone is scared. nobody knows who might be going. most in the zone have only 3 months here or less so it'll be interesting. and ya i'll let y'all know as soon as i know.

o ya about Bolivia. i hear that they will start by sending five missionaries from every mission there. don't know who or when. but they say that five from north and central have already gone back. the info comes from a good source. it's from a hna who works in the ccm. she was in charge of the visas and travel info for all the missions here in lima. so she sorta knows i would assume. so I'm sorta scared but not really. i would love to go to Bolivia and be in my mission. what i wouldn't like are the bugs, humidity, heat, food and other stuff like that. which i would get used to anyways so I'm cool. really,,, i just wanna know if I'm going or staying. i wish they would just say. go or stay and i'll be happy either way. but what can u do.

Bryce I'm so stoked ur gonna have ur farewell this week.. that's great buddy. I've sent some letters to u, but they're in a card to mom. so ask her. u'll be a great missionary i have no doubt. and the best part is that i'll get to see u probably when i finish my mission. so that'll be cool. well I'm looking forward to it.

ok everyone. time is probably close so I'm gonna let y'all. go.. .. thanks for everything u all do. for ur prayers and faith and everything. i miss u all but I'm doing good and I'm happy here. I'm doing good work and i can't come down. my new sorta pep phrase for my district. we are doing good work and we cannot come down. so ya. talk to ya next week

Looking forward to General Conference

hey everyone

what's up. this week was kinda fun but ended not so good so i'll let y'all know what happened.

this week we did a cambio with the zone leaders, one of them. the one that was with me, elder crisanto, his trainer is here in san juan and was getting married to a girl here. his trainer is from the states but he met this girl while visiting the country after he finished his mission and fell in love. how sweet but ya. so since it was his trainer he invited elder crisanto to his wedding. well he invited the missionaries from my district to this wedding and so we decided to go. it was really cool. all of us had a good time and we got some good pics.

and then this week pday was personal so me and elder medina decided to go to the parque de las leyendas again. so we did. but since we didn't have as many people and weren't so rushed we got a lot of good pics and stuff. so be happy mommy.

so now the good work. the two bad parts of the week were that: one, we were supposed to have a baptism of Aurelia, the isrealita and investigator for like 2 years, she got the interview and passed but the sec. didn't give us the key to his room by mistake and we couldn't fill up the fount. cause the keys to that are in his room. long story short she got mad that things didn't work out and said that she didn't wanna get baptised later. that if we couldn't do it at the planned time she didn't wanna do it. so, it was impossible to do it at the time she said and she left. so obviously we felt pretty bad bout that. i left out a lot of details but it was impossible under the circumstances to do it, but it still means a lack of preparation on our part. so that's stinks but we learn and live and move on.

the second bad thing that happened was that alexis the young man who we just baptised, probably stole my mp3 player from me. i can't say it was him or not but everyone else says it is obvious. i lent it to him and then he says some people robbed him. and took it. fun fun. i couldn't get angry though. it's just a thing, a mp3 player isn't gonna upset me. but he seems to have distanced himself from us a little. but ya once again. you live, you learn and you move on.

so to answer some questions people had. no, still have no hermanas in my district or zone. the fotos i have with them are from surco. they say having hermanas in ur district, while nice, is hard for leaders. to plan the activities and everything just makes things more difficult. would i like some. don't really care.

ok, my comp elder medina is really cool. nice guy, we get along really well. he teaches great and doesn't really like to contact like me. if i had a twin on the mission it would probably be him. haven't had a problem to this point. and obviously don't expect one. we work good together.

i dont eat cat and cuy too much. I've eaten cat twice and cuy only that one time. cause i like cat and cuy doesn't have much meat. and i think I'm gaining weight now. i lost a lot of weight in surco and then i got here and didn't gain weight bc i was climbing hills a ton and not eating too great. well, at least not eating breakfast. now the hna makes me a whole bunch of food and I'm positive I'm gaining weight again. not that I'm happy about it. but I'm sure mom is, so ok.

I'm excited this week for general conference. it'll be great. my second and i think it means i only have two more sessions. they say that we will have it in english cause the people who translate sound like the people from the movies and it's just weird.

outside of that i don't remember what questions people had. if i forgot some, sorry. i miss you all. thanks for everything. I'm sending a lot a cards out this week and one packet we'll see if they get anywhere. and more importantly, how much it costs to send the stuff. i love y'all, talk to ya

I'm still waiting to hear about Bolivia.

hey everyone, how's it going?

I'm oober excited to be writing this week... don't know y in fact I'm probably kidding but whatever. so this week was good but not great. we were hopping to have aurelia baptized but she pushed it back another week. shes had four fecha for her baptism and just keeps pushing it back. we'll see what we can do... she said i would baptise her before i leave so I'm gonna tell her I'm going to Bolivia this week and if she wants me to she needs to get baptized this week. we'll see if it works.

my district is good though. were working hard and teaching a lot of people. the zone is really close, i think. closer than a lot of other zones I've had. but that all depends on the missionaries here. so basically were all happy

I'm still waiting on any news if were going to Bolivia or not. I've heard two things. one says all the missionaries with less than a year are going out and the other that nobody who had their mission changed is going back. but officially i never got my mission changed so. in the end. i end up the same: confused. but whatever. i asked pres in the card i wrote him we'll see what he says.

it's starting to get a little cooler or so it seems. maybe I'm just getting used to the heat and humidity. but either way I'm glad for that. we haven't eaten anything too weird since the last time. I'm waiting for the next time the hna gonna make cat. i love cat. it's delicious. like steak style meat but with flavor of amazingness. all u cat lovers, sorry.

ok so I'm gonna hi tail, it talk to y'all later.

We might be going to Bolivia

hey everyone. so i don't know if y'all have heard but they say they opened up Bolivia again. well that they sent greengos there again. try to see if its true or not. elder vickery the assistant said they were just waiting on the call to send us back. sounds scary to me. it's kinda funny when they originally changed my call i was mad to come here and now that i might go to my mission i don't wanna. Bolivia is hotter, more humid, more bugs and more fruit. all things I'm not too fond of. but I've learned it's not where u serve it's how u serve and anywhere i am i'll get by. I'm not gonna let something like that get in the way of my service. so that's that

now this week was interesting. not too much happened. we had stake conference and so that kinda messed up some numbers but that's part of it. i had to buy some new shoes, but let me tell u finding my size in Peru is not easy. i actually couldn't find any that weren't my size for less than 300 soles so i bought some that were just a little bit smaller and a third of the price. i figure my feet will shrink if they have to. the shoes actually seem to be getting more normal. so ya. no worries.

outside of that its been kinda boring. but since i still have time i'll tell y'all bout Peru. this week i got to know a lot more of Peru than i knew b4. we went to other zones and I've basically been in every zone of my mission that is in Lima. so when i say the mission is filled with poverty i know it's true. but there are some nice parts. parts that are great to visit. surco, limatambo, san borja, san isidro are all really nice places. and it has a lot of beach front so it makes it that much nicer.

we live right now i n a small room. like tiny. this thing wouldn't pass as a bathroom in the USA but it's great and for 30 dollars a month i don't complain. me and my comp have gotten in a habit of playing ping pong any time we find ourselves in the church. he's really good and I'm learning from him. he also plays basketball really good. i beat him but just barely. and he could beat me any day. so basically our companionship is really good. we get along great, finally.

as a district leader things are good. I'm getting a little better maybe at teaching and with my changes. still don't think I'm dl material but that's not gonna change anything so i keep going.

ok almost out of time.

thanks ma for the packet and for everyone for the bday cards and all that good stuff. and for the cards and stuff. i'll write next week

bye

Great week in Miraflores

Ok so what's up everyone. this week was a great week for me!

we had another baptism here. baptized a young man. 17 yrs old. Alexis. he wants to be a missionary. if there is such a thing as golden investigators he would be it. so i did the baptism and only had to dunk him once. we'll see how things go, but the 21st we should have another baptism.

o ya the results of the cambios were pretty cool. my new comp is elder Medina. from the same group as my papi utia. and utia came to my zone. not as zone leader, comp mayor but still here. not in my district either but we still see each other twice a week so that's really cool. my comp is an amazing teacher and a great guy. kinda quiet and it's possible that he had done some bad stuff earlier in his mission bc he's comp menor even though he has 20 months. but if that's the case he's not showing it. and i don't have any interest in what he's done just what he's doing now and he is the best teacher I've seen ever. it's ridiculous. so I'm learning a ton and loving it.

so that's that. this week i didn't eat anything really weird. finally although all the stuff I've eaten is really good. the hna says she's gonna make bunny, and turtle if she can find them. they say turtle is one of the best meats in the world. I'm willing to try anything now, except for my own cooking. to please u mommy i also am eating breakfast again. don't know if i told u but we don't pay the pench for breakfast anymore. but since i wasn't eating anything bc i was lazy, i started paying the hna to cook me breakfast and now I'm eating again. so be happy.

about my physical health I'm ok. the knee brace and orth pads help a ton. there always has to be something wrong though. but nothing bad and nothing to worry about.

ok and i still haven't gotten the packet that y'all sent to the office so i would recommend sending the stuff to the house. just make sure the stuff inside isn't more than 100 dollars or weighing more than 2.4 kilos i think. and ya u guys have the dirrecion right.

it's summer here so it's kinda hot. and it doesn't help that i have all the hills to climb but I'm getting used to it.

o and ma don't worry if anything happens to me like getting mugged or chased by people with machetes i'll let u know. but nothing like that has happened. my mission has been very normal. here, there are a lot of dogs but when u threaten them they don't do anything. so that's the worst.

i think that's all thanks for everything i'll talk to y'all next week.

YAY, we had a baptism!!!! (and also...I ate cat)

ok everyone

hi

so we had a baptism this week. yayayyayyay. teresa rodas huamani. good for her. we were very happy because she had been listening to the missionaries for 2 and a half years. but finally got baptized. this week we have another sure one too. even more excited. the one for this week is oro. or gold in English. he contacted us and in two weeks bam baptism. pure gold. but we have a lot that are hard and we are working oober hard to get everyone here in some water. but patience and long suffering is a trait we learn to have.

so outside of that mom and Amanda ur gonna love this...... guess what i ate? last week i ate cuye and this week ..........gato like real live cat. well, not live, but real. it was actually amazingly good. i was really surprised. i tell everyone my favorite food is cat now. it's really good. anyone with a cat u don't like, send it here and we'll eat it. or try it for yourself.

ok what else. today is cambios. and the results..........

elder santi has a cambio and i stay here in solidaridad.

he's kinda scared, his first cambio. but he's happy to go, i think. a lot of the members would joke around with him a lot. now they do it to me but since I'm a little more playful, its cool. he's really serious. good elder though. I'm sad he's leaving.

in our zone four people have cambio. our zone leader is finishing too. fun fun. so well see who'll be my new compie..

this week for pday we also got to go to the

PARQUE DE LAS LEYENDAS or PARK OF LEGENDS

which even though the name is kinda cool is just a zoo. i was kinda disappointed. i thought i'd be learning about legends and Peruvian history and all i got was monkeys and birds, and other ugly animals. but the day got a lot better when i found out they had penguins. let me tell u. penguins turn any bad day into a day of joy and peace for the soul. i took so many pics with them. yayayyaya penguins.

so ya that was basically the week. thanks Pam and kirk for the music. this week we're gonna play road to zanarkand from ffx but next week we'll use the songs for sure. and happy birhtday melia mabel collins taliercio. u turn 489 today. enjoy ur youth....or the little u have left.. hahhahah jk. but happy birthday..

and ya what else................................................................................i don't think anything.

o wait ....

mom i got the packet that u sent to the house and not the one that u sent to the office. the one to the house took 14 days. the one to the office will be at least one month b4 i get it. so the house is better. put the address of the house and the name of Ricardo and all that. but on the packet u spelt his second last name wrong i think. check the email and be sure. and i'll send his name again so u can know exactly what it is. but that system works a lot better. so tell everyone how, please. thank you. love ya

and ya. thanks to everyone for everything. bye till next week

Little girls clinging to my arm

ok, ten minutes left.

the time passes by fast here in the mission even faster in the 30 min of Internet.

but ya thanks to everyone for everything. letters and prayers.

and so ya. our baptism this week fell through. we'll see if we can work with her more and get her ready but the work goes on and we are teaching a bunch of people.

this week i had to play a special number on the piano in the church. i spent all week, every spare minute i had, practicing it. and i got it ok, but after playing it in church the members thought i could play all good and whatever. and asked me to play a special number every week. so yaya me. that just complicated my mission. when i go to a new area I'm not gonna say i know how. but this gift of tongues is applied in the piano too i think. i don't know how i learned the song but i did. faster than i did b4. who knows. but that's kinda a fun story.

o mom ur gonna love this. i got a new little card reader thing so that i can get all the fotos that chafloque and the other one, erased back. i don't quite know how it works but today were gonna get them all back. so be happy. u'll have a ton more pics again. hopefully.

and ya so my ward is an amazing cute little ward. the people are really cool and chill. we are teaching 3 families and all have little like 8 year old girls. and i don't know what it is about me that's appealing to 8 year olds but all these girls have to be clinging on to my arm or holding my hand or resting on my shoulder when we teach them. since they're 8 i don't mind and it's not breaking rules. but it's just kinda funny because one of the girls has a 16 year old sister. and she was making fun of her sister saying that elder taliercio like me more than u because i can hug him and u can't. darn 8 year olds. very cool tho. that's my life here

and so only 1 min left.

thanks again for everything everyone for all ur help and support. means a ton to me.

o and oober happy birthday to gdog aka regina this mes hgtlws cipriano.

bye

Eating guinea pig - cuyes

Proud and happy for younger brother

Bahia Blanca Argentina.... and i have to stay here in Peru. u lucky person. well even though this is my letter to everyone, the best thing that coulda happened just did. Bryce leaving for a mission to Argentina April 29th, i think the 29th. how dope is that. I'm oober excited for him. it's the best new i can give this week.

but outside of that, nothing else would seem important but since some people asked questions i'll answer those too.

this week i have a baptism, next week should be another. finally the work is starting to show. we have two families that we're teaching but they haven't gone to church. we are working hard and teaching a ton of lessons, and finding a ton of people. i don't quite understand y the baptisms are taking so long, but i figure after the trial of my faith and work, will come the blessings. I'm sure Bryce wont have to wait as long as i do to see the baptisms. i wont lie, i tell everyone about him having his papers. they're gonna be so excited and are gonna make fun of me. because i always said he would go to the states and he goes to Argentina. that's cool. Bryce study pmg because ur gonna need it. learn it, live it and love it. I'm so excited

and ya outside of that me and my comp are having some minor problems. nothing like with chafloque, but just some pride issues. I've come to realize that being my comp is probably the hardest part for my comps. I'm getting better though. poco a poco. im trying. me and santi work really good together. our numbers are the second best in the zone, outside of the zone leaders and we teach a lot. we are working and gonna be having success finally.

and so ya what else. it's summer here which absolutely stinks cause now it's hot, humid and still hills. fun fun. my pench is still amazing. and still racist and gives me the best of the best and santi whatever. but she really helps me feel at home.

what else. this week I've been missing everyone a lot. don't know why. feb. was always my favorite month. but I'm more than halfway done with it and then there is only one left without everyone. the time really passes by fast. i can't believe we're almost two months done with this year. it's crazy.

so ya. thanks to all my family and friends for the cards, letters, packets and help, support and everything. i appreciate it. and Bryce I'm so excited still. it's amazing. my younger brother on a mission. how cool is that. i can't tell you how happy i am.

bye

Working really hard and helping people progress

ok so yesterday they took away our pday so i couldn't write sorry, never know when the office will do it.

anyways thanks everyone for the birthday stuff. thanks for ur cards and packets and all sorts of good stuff. i felt really good here for it. the family I'm with treats me well. like a son. and since they're a bit racist and like Americans more than Latinos it was kinda funny. but ya.

so anyways the work here goes good. we have two with fecha for this 21 of feb and we'll see how it goes. we found a family of 8 this week and are working really hard to help them progress. i like solidaridad, its a fun area. the members are also helping us out a lot more than before. it's one thing I've learned how to do. work with members.

so this week i did my first exchange as a dl. it was ok. i think i coulda done better but for my first it was chill. the changes have to be for 24 hours so that's not cool but I'm sorta getting used to it. my district is absolutely amazing. like the best ever. no we don't have sisters 6 guys. but we work hard and get a ton of numbers and whatever. we are excited. here in solidaridad we are having people in the capilla and progressando. a ton of lessons and all sorts of good stuff.

outside of that not to much going on. Bryce I'm oober excited about ur papers. the second u get the call write an email and tell me that ur getting called to Boise Idaho or st Monica Kentucky. i don't know if there is a st Monica Kentucky or not. but let me know.

and ya so i don't have like any time cause i got 14 letters and spent it all reading them. sorry guys . i miss y'all a ton

Celebrating my birthday in the mission field

Birthday and Carnival in Peru

sorry it took so long.

but ya this week has been a good week. my first lesson to my district, my first baptismal interview, and my first something else that I'm forgetting. but I'm sorta getting the hang of this dl thing. I'm not that happy about it still. I'm sorta just let me work sorta missionary. don't want to be a leader, don't wanna climb any sorta ladder. let me work hard and that's that. but i'll do whatever they ask of me.

and ya my district is amazing. the numbers are really high and we have a bunch of people who'll be ready for baptism and willing to listen to us. we're excited about the progress we're making.

the assistants did a change with us this week. since the two district leaders are my old zl and my comps old zl it was a good change. elder vickery came here to solidaridad, and his comp with our zls. it was great. didn't burn us like all the other assistants did. he was nice and is gonna show me how to get all the erased fotos back. so mom u can be happy.

we here have four people really chill. the people here do progress a little better than in surco. a ton of lessons, and enough in the capilla to make us happy. but the most important thing is that they are getting the chance to hear about the gospel.

I'm sorry to hear bout the cardinals. I'm not gonna say that i was watching the game, cause i wasn't. the cable went out. so i couldn't. i wasn't too happy. but with what i hear I'm sorta glad cause i woulda been an unhappy little missionary if i was.

on that note. yesterday was a very important day for me here in the mission. my first day of carnivals here in peru. everyone in the street trying to shower u with buckets of water, great. i learned really fast not to take my book of Mormon with me. but ya we'll see how the rest of the month goes. they say it's all of feb. fun fun

and tomorrow also is sorta an important day for me. sorta but not really. we have citas all day so my birthday will be spent with investigators. what else could a missionary ask for.

ya today i had to go to Interpol and that was fun. four hours of fingerprinting. yay Interpol.

and mom the address for u to send that packet to is

Mz J Lt. 12 Asociacion 27 de Julio
San Juan de Miraflores
Lima, Peru

but in the name of Ricardo Fernandez Santisteban. because he will be the one picking it up and they will need to see his id.

ok so thank u everyone for ur letters and support. thanks to the nelsons and two other people who sent me a packet. i don't know who it is till tomorrow but thank u still. i miss y'all but i know what I'm doing is right and is helping me more than i had ever imagined

bye

New area, new comp and new position...

ok so a whole lot to go through and so little time still.

my new area ........

solidalidad, zona san juan de miraflores

my new position.........

freaking district leader

my new comp ...........

elder santi

ok so that being said i have no idea y I'm a district leader but I'm learning a lot and I'm excited for the new responsibility.

but now for the important stuff

my new comp is totally chill. elder santi is from Lima and works oober hard. I'm excited to finally have a comp a lot more regla than me. but he is always serious and kinda a joke to a lot of people here. but now with me he has a smile and we are working a lot better with everyone. it's a great area too. the area is solidalidad and it's a dope area. really poor and humble but bc of that everyone listens. so I'm a happy person. we can actually do contacts and find new people. who knows. but ya.... the problem with my area is

its a freaking mountain. it's like if we had 3 camelback mountains and put all three together, u get solidalidad. so ya that's fun. everyday climbing a mountain two or three times. if i wasn't loosing weight b4 just wait. I'm gonna be a twig. but the pench is totally awesome here. we live and pench with the same person and she is great. I'm excited to be here. really happy and glad that i have this opportunity.

so the work this week has been good. despite how good the area was i got here and the other elder left only one investigator. so santi and i have been looking and found 9 nuevos of which 4 went to the church yesterday. i swear I'm in heaven. the only other problem is that I'm the dl. the pres says everything is for revelation, but i don't know now. I'm excited but scared. the work is the same, but now i have to give lessons, baptism interviews, and informes, and a hole bunch of good stuff. but i am trying to get the hang of it.

so the pench gave me an idea something i wanna try. the packet that I've gotten have been inconsistently coming to me. some in two weeks others two months. they said that some elders had their family mail it to their house and they would go and pick it up. i wanna try it and see how it goes. the address is ....

Mz. J Lt. 12
Asociacion 27 de Julio
San Juan De Miraflores
Lima Peru

or so they tell me. but the trick is that u have to send it in the name of Ricardo Fernandez Santisteban. Because he will be the one to pick it up and they need to see an id to give the packets. i wanna see how long it takes. ma if u could i don't know if u have a packet or anything to send me but when u do let me know and i wanna try it. anybody else that might possibly wanna send a package send it to the office for now. and thanks to everyone for the packages and letters.

now there was something else but i fo, never mind i remember now. my birthday is like one week away or something like that. i don't really care to much about it, never have. but my pench says that if i don't take the afternoon off for the surprise birthday party that they are planning, she's gonna feed me spinach soup for the rest of the time I'm there. she treats us good and we'll see how it goes. it'll be fun I'm sure so no worries bout that. 20 years old. i can't believe it.

what else. i do miss surco. just soes y'all know. i love it here in solidalidad but surco was great too. i wanna go back but the work will go smoother here. hopefully more fruits of my labors, and definitely more sweat.

so ya. thanks to everyone for all the help, prayers, letters and info on the cardinals. brother nelson at least will understand my pain if the cardinals go on to win the superbowl. why do they have to wait till i left tho. but that's life. like you said.... taking one for the team. enjoy it for me.

I'll talk to y'all next week and try to send some fotos.

GO CARDINALS! and a new assignment

ok everybody.

first of all and most importantly...........

GO CARDINALS. gonna win a superbowl and only waited till the year i leave to do it. send my thanks to the coach. how many years have I rooted for them waiting for a year when they make the playoffs and now look as soon as i leave. it's almost as bad as the star wars movie coming out while i was gone. almost but not quite.

anyways. second most important. i have a change. don't know where or as what or with who. just a change. so I'm happy and sad. i don't wanna leave the members, because they have been absolutely the best for me. but that being said, to stay in surco for six months would be horrible. and the reason for that is because surco is really small. now just soes y'all know how small. we're talking, from pinnacle peak rd. to los gatos. that wide. and then up to the mountain. really it's like a little rectangle. from one corner to the other is 40 min walking. so I'm happy to be going to a new area. I've basically knocked every door here. people i don't even remember know me. walking down the street and random people shout elder talercio. nobody says the "i" here. but ya. some even know my first name. don't really understand how though.

so today at 130 I'm getting my new area and comp. today and a lot of this week has been saying goodbyes to people. i sorta figured it would be better safe than sorry and it turned out to be the right choice. so i leave my area in the hands of elder chafloque. I'm more confident in him than the members. almost everyone has asked, cant he leave instead of you. but i tell them that elder chafloque is twice the elder i am and really they should be happy he is staying and not me. most think that i say that just to be nice. but i honestly believe it. i look back at what I've done here and i feel like i coulda shoulda done more. like i had opportunities and let them slip. i did my best though so i leave happy . i think they'll send a lider here though. the prez said he wants a leader in surco so we'll see. it's a good area, one that i really wanna come back to after the mission. and the hna that we live with has already offered me a room for 100 dollars a month. she says for me shell kick out whatever elders are there. her and her family have been the best thing about surco for me. they are like a third family now. mom number 3, mas o menos. but she said that after me she never wants to talk to the missionaries again, bc she said that she oober sad, and doesn't wanna be sad. so she wont talk to the others. obviously it's sorta a joke. she probably won't talk as much, or invite to as many things and whatever, but shes a great person and the missionaries are lucky to be there. she was even planning my birthday party. kinda funny. but that's part of the mission.

lets see, o ya. i got more packets. thank u mom number two and melia, dan alana, ian, gdog, mike and of course the all powerful amanda. i loved everything. it's the greatest feeling in the world when u ask for something u need, like ties, and then now i have over 70. i had 5 for like 6 weeks and now i can go a different tie everyday, for a whole cambio. that's cool.....

what else, go cardinals. superbowl champions or superbowl losers either way it's history. and i do love history. that's a knee slapper. for me anyways. maybe an inside joke. i might actually be the only person in the world who thinks that's funny and now I'm talking a lot about it and for everyone else this is probably boring.

so ya a change of topic. so i think that's all

surco has been a great area for me. not a ton of success, if u count success by baptisms. 4 but i feel good about what I've done. i think that's the most important. thanks to everyone for all ur help, how do u spell support or sapport... I'm gonna go with support but nobody can make fun of me if I'm wrong. but ya support and prayers and everything. and ya tomorrow we start in a new area. i'll let y'all know how it is next week

pajarin cama... which is quechuan for hasta manana
i don't know how to say till next week. so that will be good enough i think

o and my name in quechuan is jasonki talierkanchis
or something like that

Seeing 600 yrs. into the future

The first part of this post was edited and all the extra "a" removed to make it easier on those who use the translator widget, at the end, I put this unedited email for those who like to see why we needed to edit it..

ok first of all i want to apologize for the random "a"s that will randomly appear in this letter. the keyboard I'm using is kinda messed up and puts them there randomly. but it'll make It a little funner for everyone to read it probably.

and ya so this week was a good week. a we're starting the last of this cambio and nobody thinks that i'll be getting changed except for me. i don't wanna get changed just that surco is a very small area and it's hard to be in one spot so small for 6 months. but come what ll come. i'll be happy no matter what. it's one attribute I've really been trying to improve. my attitude. and not letting anybody or anyone else get in the way of my happy and preppy self. the way i look at it, they really have no power over me if i don't give It to them. so when may comp is being special or our investigators don't progress i stay happy and just try my best to help.

and on that note, the work is OK here. better anyways. we found some golden people this week. like amazingly golden. a we're excited to have found them. and we have some others that are getting the lessons. but still a bunch that aren't progressing.

this Sunday i was a little sick, and by a little sick i mean stomach flu and was not very good. and so we couldn't go to church. well elder chalfloque wouldn't let me. i wanted to because we had planned on picking up 5 investigators and so it would have been great but we decided to have an elder throwing up in front of the members wouldn't be the best idea in the world. and so we stayed. and by 11 it had passed and i was feeling a lot better. we went and at lunch and dinner normal and i was fine. so no worries. i probably ate something that upset my stomach.

o I got two more packages so thank u. one from the steiner family, a special thanks, and one from some one else who I've never heard of. i don't know if it was for me or not. it didn't have a name on it or anything. but i paid for it, the office said it was mine. so ok. somebody makes amazing snickerdoodles. i don't know if anyone sent that, let me know. it had those cookies, candies and cheese in a can, which my comp couldn't believe. but all good stuff. i think it might have been a dear elder thing. or those packages that u send out by the church, i forgot the name. abut anyways thanks for everything everyone. i got some letters too, so i was a very content elder. and they came in less than one months too, so i was excited to see that. kinda cool

and just to answer some questions. me and my comp are fine just at ends sometimes. I'm a lot more strict than he is. and if i could see 600 years in the future i would like to see me and all my family in the celestial kingdom, or even cooler and more like me. me as a god with my first planet called tatooine. where a boy named anakin begins his lifelong struggle against the dark side of the force. that would be cool. a but who knows.

thanks for everything and i'll talk to y'all later

Now the unedited version:

ok first of all i want to apoaloagize for the random aaas athat will randomly appear in this letter. the keyboard im using is kinda messed up and puts them there randomlya. but itll make ait a laittle afunner for everyone to read it probably.

and ya so this week was a good week. a were starting the last of this cambio and nobody thinks that ill abe gettign changed except for me. i dont wanna aget changed just that surco is a very small area and its hard to be in one spot so small for 6 months. but come whatll come. ill be happy no matter what. its one atritbute ive reallly been trying to improve. my attitude. aand not letting anybody or anyone else aget in the way of my ahappy and apreppy self. the way i alook at it,a they really have no power over me if i dont give ait to them. so when may comp is abeing special or our investigators dont aprogress i stay happy and just try my best to help.

and on that anote, athe work is aok here. better anyways. we found some golden people this week. like amazingly golden. a were excited to have found them. and we have some others that are getting the lessons. but still a bunch htat arent aprogressing.

this sunday i was a little sicka, and aby a little sick i mean stomach flu and was not very good. and so we couldnt go to church. well aelder chalfloque wouldnt let me. i wanted to abecasue we had planned on apicking up 5 investigators and aso it would have been great but we decided to have an elder throwing up in front of the members awouldnt be the best idea in the world. and aso we stayed. and by 11 it had passed and i was feeling a lot better. we awent and at lunch and dinner normal and i was aafine. so no worries. i probably ate something that upset my stomach.

o ai got two more packages so thank u. aone from the steiner family, a special thanks, and one from some one else who ive never heard of. i dont know if it was for me or naot. it didnt have a name on it or anything. abut i paid for it, the office said it was mine. so ok. soamebody amakes amazing snickerdoodles. i dont know if anyone sent that let me know. it had those cookies, candies and cheese in a can, which my comp couldnt abelieve. but all good stuff. i think it might have been a dear elder thing. or those packages that u send out by the church, i forgot the name. abut anywyasa thanks for everyhting everyone. i agot some letters tooa, so i was a avery content elder. and they came ian less than one months too, so i was excited to see that. akinda coolaao

and just to answer some questions. me and my comp are fine just at ends sometiames. im a lot more strict than he is. and if i could see 600 years in the future i would like to see me and all mya family in the celestial kingdom, or even cooler and more like me. me as a god with my first planet called tatooine. where a boy named anakin begins his lifelong struggle against athe adark side of the force. that would be cool. a but who knowws.

thanks for everyathing and ill talk to yall later

Good but sweaty week in Surco

hi everyone.

this week was a good one for me. still as always some problems but for the most part the work is getting better here in surco. still nobody with fecha but we could get two before this cambio the 19th. so at the very least if i leave, the missionary coming in will be very happy. but with every passing day i think it's more likely i stay here in surco another cambio. the members say they are asking for me to stay. i don't know if it's because they like me that much or they're scared to leave the area in the hands of elder chafloque. and it's not that they're scared to leave it to him just that some members here have heard a lot of bad things about him. since he's kinda a special missionary he doesn't eat sometimes or just basically says he hates the food the pench makes, and because of that stuff the hna. was saying some things about him to some of the other members. and well, it got as far as our dl and so we'll see what happens.

all that mess aside, the members do help me a lot. they are always asking how they can help and making our investigators feel good. the thing is that when we teach i do most of the talking. sounds like me but believe me it's not what i want to do. elder chafloque doesn't talk too much. but we're working out the kinks and things seem to be getting a little better.

we had two investigators in the church yesterday. as many as the first three weeks of this cambio combined, so we were sorta happy. we split up and i went with one ym and chafloque with another so that we could get more. we took 7 people to the church. 3 recent converts, 2 investigators and 2 menos activos. so we were content. and ya, we'll see if we can get more investigators there. we're teaching a bunch of lessons. for 3 weeks in a row we've had 15 lessons. the most i ever got with elder utia, was 12 i think. so things are going good they just don't progress quickly here. but I'm practicing patience and learning a lot.

this Thursday we ate lunch with the pres. it was a lot better than i thought it would be. everyone laughing and joking around. it was actually fun. whoda thunk.

it's summer here in Peru and it shows in my shirts. I've never liked to sweat so with the humidity here i wanna die. i think that's why we have so many lessons so that i can get inside. however that doesn't help too much because i haven't entered a house that has air conditioning. but I'm sure i will.

this May the members in surco will have a new church building. everyone is really excited. i wanna be here for it but I'd have to stay 2 cambios more. not gonna happen most likely. but i keep my hopes up.

thanks to everyone for ur letters and all. i have two more packages coming to me this week so I'm as Happy as i was watching star wars before my mission. thanks and i'll talk to u in a week