40 people on a bus from Huanchaco

Dear Family,

If you've heard the Weird Al parody of "Another One Bites the Dust" (his is titled "Another One Rides the Bus"), it was kinda like that. The small diesel-fueled bus seemed to be struggling under the weight of so many passengers. The bus seated about 20 - that's 5 rows of 2-seat benches on either side. And the rest of us were standing, holding onto the ceiling rails for dear life (and that ceiling is about six feet high, mind you). It rivaled some roller coaster rides I've been on. We were coming back from Huanchaco, the popular tourist beach about 30 minutes away from our area. We aren't allowed to go to the beach from December to April (that's summer here), so almost every zone in the city of Trujillo came to the beach to enjoy the last opportunity. Even in the middle of spring there began to appear sunbathers (with sunbathing attire, naturally), so I understand why we're not allowed to come when the sun actually shines. Volleyball (without nets - somewhat difficult), soccer, frisbee and basketball were the main activities for us missionaries. I took part in the frisbee and basketball today. I got a little sun and a little more sand.

This week was bittersweet. One of the investigators we're teaching - Sandra Benites - has started telling everybody she knows about the mighty changes she has experienced since she started hearing the missionaries. She's a single mother with two children, and she cuts hair and sells juice and chicken sandwiches to feed her little family. We got haircuts from her last week. She and her 9-year-old are planning to be baptized on the 15th of December.

The hard part is still getting our investigators to come to church. I had high hopes this week. I expected 5 or 6 of them to come. It was a little discouraging when the meeting was about to start and there was no sign of them. But there's always next week!

We had some awesome experiences this week as well as some rotten ones. Yesterday we ran into an Israelite (don't ask) woman who had left the church after 3 years of being a member. That wasn't pleasant. After leaving there, we taught a man who expressed a desire to find the truth. He said he had been searching for years for something that would touch his heart and make him want to change. We left him with the information and commitments that he's been waiting for. Then we found another father who willingly listened to the message of the Restoration and wanted to know if it was true. I always get a little excited when we teach families who are really prepared to receive us.

The mission goals have changed. President Mora wants us to go proselyting each day, twice accompanied by a member of the church. The goal is 4 lessons each day with a member present. It's a big challenge for us, so we're working hard to get the members excited about missionary work. We're starting with a ward mission plan and frequent family home evenings. It's going to take a lot of effort, but we're determined to make it happen.

If I can, I'm going to attach some pictures of the latest events: Huanchaco (the boat things we're standing in front of are called "caballitos de totora" - they function like a small canoe that you kneel in and go fishing with - it's kind of a Huanchaco trademark), a beautiful sunset, the sunrise this morning (there's a mountain in the background), and the baptism we had last Monday.

Love,
Elder Withers

miracles

Dear Family,

I don't have much time to write. And there are so many things I want to say! So I'll do my best to omit all the intermediate details and allow you to interpret the naturally occuring emotions that would accompany the following events.

It rained this week. There was a big, ominous cloud that wet the streets on Wednesday or Thursday night. Luckily we found a young man to teach just when the rain started to fall. The weather forecasts online are relatively unhelpful. It may range anywhere between 60 and 70, but the wind blows, the clouds pass in front of the sun, and it gets chilly at night.

There was an earthquake Thursday night. I think it happened in Chile. And there was a "temblor" here. That's different than a "terremoto," which is what happened a couple months ago in Pisco. The apartment rattled for about 10 seconds. I didn't even believe my companion when he said it was an earthquake until it was over. I was a little disappointed at the lack of intensity, but it's better to be safe.

We had a baptism today. The family contacted us (knocked our door) Saturday afternoon and left a phone number (because we were at lunch). We called them and found out that it was a couple who had taken the discussions for years past, but when they were ready to be baptized, the missionaries realized they weren't married. Their 3 children were baptized, but they hadn't fixed their situation. When we called, they said that they had gotten it taken care of and wanted to be baptized as soon as possible. They also informed us that the wife was leaving for Spain for 1 to 2 years on a work trip (this Tuesday night) and therefore wanted to get baptized with her husband. We worked out the kinks and interviews with the zone leaders and the assistants and the Mission President and just barely came from the baptismal service. I'll have to wait to next week to send pictures. It was possibly the most humbling experience of my mission. I had little (or no) involvement in the conversion of this family, and I'm realizing even more how the Lord is in charge of this work. It's His work! And His glory and His success. I know I'll never forget that the first 2 baptisms of my mission were truly blessings from God. I hope I can keep that in mind as I go forward from here on out, knowing that every person converted to the Gospel does so by His power.

We had a work visit with the Assistants yesterday. One Elder accompanied us for the whole afternoon and gave us some suggestions. It was a great learning experience. My companion keeps threatening me that they're going to stick me in the office for an indefinite period of time. I'd rather not. I know the leadership positions encourage a lot of growth, but I want to be out here. I love working with the people. Marvelous things happen every day. Miracles are truly occuring.

Happy Thanksgiving! I don't know if they celebrate that here. I haven't heard anything about it. But I'll keep my gratitude in mind! Thank you for your love and prayers.

Love,
Elder Withers

"stand tall in suffering, in working, in crying"

Dear Family,

I only got sick once more since my last letter, and it wasn't as bad. My new (American) zone leader suggested that we get sick more because of the extraordinary quantities of oil used in Peruvian cooking. I had a theory along those lines, but I'm not sure how to avoid eating so much of it. I've been avoiding any kind of drinkable chocolate - there's an unsettling trend with my getting sick and drinking hot chocolate. (And no matter the season, hot chocolate is basically a staple for both breakfast and dinner here.)

Despite the occasional illness, we had an extraordinary week. We have 10 or so new investigators who are sincerely interested in the Gospel, and last night we fulfilled (for the first time, I think) the "mejor manera" (the better way) spoken of by President Hinckley in Preach My Gospel. That is, teaching an investigator family in the home of a member family. We had a family home evening, directed by the 16-year-old in their family, and we watched "Our Heavenly Father's Plan" and talked about families and the purpose of life. It seems like that's the way missionary work is supposed to function. I'm very glad to have the support of that member family in our missionary efforts.

Yesterday, 3 or 4 less active families attended sacrament meeting - one of them was a family we have visited several times, encouraging them to remember the covenants they have made as members of the church. I was happy to see that our efforts were having a positive effect. But it seems that one of our biggest challenges is getting our progressing investigators to come to church.

The weather was nicer this week, and one evening, the sun was setting as we were walking on a street parallel to the beach. We took a moment to watch as the sun streaked orange across the Pacific Ocean, its glare turning the water purple and giving the clouds a pink and blue hue. It was picture perfect (and both Elder Gonzales del Valle and I lamented not having a camera), so we drank it up for a few minutes. As we turned away, opposite the sunset was a nearly-full rainbow amid the pink clouds.

Cultural item: breastfeeding in front of the missionaries. I'm not sure how unique this one is, given the stories I've heard from missionaries in other missions - but it's a new one for me.

Cultural item: avocados. A common breakfast is a few bread rolls and half an avocado - avocado sandwiches is what it turns out to be. I'd be content with cold cereal every morning (and afternoon and evening, as anybody who knows me could attest), but the variety is probably a little more nutritious.

If I'm ever tired, sick, or otherwise impaired, I often read my notes from a time we watched the talk given by Elder Holland, "The Miracle of a Mission". I'm pretty sure Justin has it on his iPod. Nothing helps more than to read what Elder Holland said about missionary work being hard. It has to be hard. We're participating in the most important work in the world: the salvation of a human soul. In any setting, worth is directly proportional to difficulty.

Thank you all for your prayers and letters. I know why I'm healthy today.

Love,
Elder Withers

p.s. The photos are 1) last p-day's sunset from the roof of our house and 2) me after helping to fill a roof/cieling with cement (bucket by bucket, carrying cement from the street to the second floor of the house) for our service this week.

pictures

That's Elder Ramos and me, and a picture from our most recent service activity with some members of our zone.

Justin, I did get Tori's letter - just a week ago, in fact. Tell her thanks for me (and if I got her e-mail address I could tell her myself).

I'm staying here in Buenos Aires for this change. And Elder Gonzales del Valle is still my companion.

Love,
Elder Withers

Sudokus aren't much harder in Spanish

Dear Family,

It was a colder week. I though Spring was just around the corner, but it seems to be taking a detour before arriving at the appropriate destination. It rained the morning of Halloween. I didn't see or hear it, but the streets were all wet when we got up. The sun came out Saturday and Sunday, so the week ended a little warmer.

Our three baptismal dates for this week fell through - they were the teenage children of an inactive couple in our ward. We're trying to talk to the parents and get them to come back to church (especially because their children are awesome) so that their children can have a reason to go, too. My companion suspects a lot of factors that keep them away from the church, but I'm not so good at suspecting, so I couldn't say.

It went downhill from there - we had a day or two when all of our appointments fell through. We dejectedly walked back to our pension and took a moment to plan out the rest of our day and figure out how we'd get out of the slump. I pulled out our ward mission plan (which we created two weeks ago with the mission leader but still haven't had a meeting in which we could present it to the ward) and gave it a good looking-over. It needed some work. On the opposite side, I summed up the help we need from the members and leaders in our ward, and on a separate piece of paper, I listed all of the resources we have in the ward. It's going to take some work, but I see some awesome things coming from our ward. (The hard part is that we don't have enough active members to fill an EQ Presidency.)

I got a little sick this weekend (and a little more sick this morning), but I felt pretty good yesterday. Saturday, however, was hard. I was determined to ignore my stomach ache and give a little more of myself for the people we taught. I read through the notes I have from a talk by Elder Holland (The Miracle of a Mission; I believe Justin has it on his ipod), and knowing that this work is supposed to be hard - because salvation is not a cheap experience - gave me a lot of strength to make it through that day.

Last night, we had a goodbye dinner for one of our Zone Leaders, Elder Ramos, and another missionary, Elder Rivera, who are both finishing their missions tomorrow. It was fun to see all the traditions that accompany outbound missionaries here (such as burning clothes, telling stories, etc.). The company of all the missionaries boosted my spirits.

I keep seeing cultural facts that I plan to write home, but I forget them all when I'm here on the computer. Here's a few that I can remember:

Dogs on the roof - you just have to get used to it. They bark at you and sometimes drool on you. Others just leer: it's kinda creepy. Apparently that works on potential thieves as well.

No traffic lanes, lights, signs, or crosswalks, even at large intersections. Okay, so downtown Trujillo has them. But in our area there aren't any. A taxi ride rivals some roller coaster rides I've been on. It's a little disconcerting when we're easily going about 60mph and the speedometer is sitting idly at 0.

Image parades. They come around at least once a week, dancing and playing various musical instruments, lighting off fireworks, with Senor de los Milagros, Virgen de la Puerta, or some other representation highly decorated in the midst.

Colectivos. Kinda like a taxi in that it's a sedan. But it follows a certain route like a bus (however, both buses and colectivos will pick you up and drop you off anywhere along the route - I don't think they actually have designated "stops"). A colectivo is cheaper than a taxi, but more expensive than a bus. I've seen (and been in) colectivos with 8 people crammed into a 5-seat car. That has some fun potential.

Low doorways. I've hit my head more times than I can count. In our pension, there's a door I have to duck and turn sideways to get through. I don't fit very well in taxis, either. Peru was not designed for taller people.

Our water heater broke this week. Instead of the option of cold or blazing hot, we now simply have cold. Cold, nonpotable water. Luckily, there's another shower in our same house and we had the key for a little while to get into that part. The water was perfect. But the room belongs to the son of the woman we rent our room from, so we could only use it while he was gone. We have to buy a new water heater unit now.

Thank you for your love, letters and prayers!

Love,
Elder Withers