Holy cow!!!! I have so much to say, but I am trying to
come to terms with the fact that it will be impossible for me to describe
everything.
Well, on Wednesday we
got up at 3 30 am and headed to the airport to fly out to Cusco. We encountered a little problem leaving the
CCM. There was a car in the way so our
bus couldn’t fit. The elders just jumped
out and picked up the car and moved it.
Haha no problem.
The flight to Cusco
was incredible. I really didn’t like
Lima all that much. It was always smoggy
and there was zero vegetation or mountains and we never saw the sun or moon or
stars. Anywho, the flight from Lima to
Cusco was literally straight up. It was
only an hour and a half flight and we went from 0 to 11,000 feet in
elevation. The mountains are HUGE!! It is so cool. When we first landed in Cusco I was worried
that it would be like Lima, but it is so much better. We got off the plane and President Harbertson
and his wife as well as a bunch of Elders were waiting for us. Hermana Harbertson went to Weber High!!
What? We immediately drove up to the
Cristo Blanco and looked out over the whole city. A native man told us about the history of
Cusco as we drove around the city. I
didn’t get altitude sickness very bad. I
just got out of breath a little bit quicker.
We then went to the
Mission Home. It is very very
beautiful. I was super surprised,
because everything here is pretty crappy.
Everyone is so poor. We spent the
night in a hotel…not sure why? Then the
next day we met at the chapel and were given our trainers. I am the only North American with a Latino
trainer. Her name is Hermana Eva
Lozano. She is from Columbia and she has
only been out 4 months. We are serving
in Andahuaylas (And-uh-WHY-lus). It is
about nine hours away from Cusco. The
bus ride was incredible. We wound
through the most majestic mountains I have ever seen. Like I’m sure Machu Picchu will not even
compare. We passed through little
villages where people were working in their fields on the hillsides in their
traditional clothing. It was so awesome!
I honestly don’t know
much about Andahuaylas. I have no idea
what the Altitude is here or the population.
I pretty much never have any idea what is going on, because, well, my
companion doesn’t speak English, and I don’t really speak Spanish. It is such a blessing to have a Latina
companion because all of the North American companionships speak English to
each other. If I don’t understand a word
in Spanish, my compi explains it in Spanish.
It is super helpful… But
basically I just feel lost all the time.
Raul just got called to be the branch president. (I think… it is rama in
Spanish and I am just assuming it is branch in English). Peruvians can NOT sing. Haha it is awesome! Also nobody here knows how to play the piano
so I am going to have to practice to be able to play for sacrament meetings.
We have some awesome
investigators! My very first lesson here
we invited Geidy to be baptized and she accepted. She is super great!
There is only one
other north American missionary in our Zone.
His name is Elder McKay and he is somehow related to the McKays in
Huntsville. He is from Arizona. I
kinda feel bad because every time I see him I talk my guts out in English
because he is the only other person in this whole city who speaks English and I
am pretty much mute all day everyday.
We are only given one hour to use the internet and we are required to
write our president for 15 minutes so I have even less time to write here than
I did in the CCM. Also, it costs a lot
to send letters from here. I just want
to explain every single detail, but it is impossible. I guess you’ll all just have to come to Peru.
The mission president and his wife are so different than I imagined but I really love them. His wife went to Weber and both of them know Huntsville pretty well.
I love Cusco! I hope that I will be able to serve there at some point in my mission. I want you guys to come here, because I just can't explain what everything is like. I will be in Andahuaylas for sure for the next two transfers, but probably more. I don't even know if I have an address. I think the safest way to send letters is through pouch mail then my zone leaders will give me letters every once in a while. I'm sorry I am always lost. I pretty much have no idea what is going on ever, because everyone speaks Spanish. haha
My companion is super loving and very much like a Latino. She calls me princessa. She is super sweet and wants to work hard which is awesome. She is a really good missionary which is why she is training after only being out for four months.
Our apartment is nicer than I expected. We have a living room, bedroom, laundry room and a bathroom. The shower has a nice head on it, but for some reason the water just trickles out of one little hole.. So it's like I am showering under a little sink. haha But the water is warm so I can't complain. We can't flush our toilet paper which is so disgusting to me, but whatever. We can't drink the water, but we have nice filtered water bottles and we are able to buy or boil water too. Randomly though, the water just shuts off and we can't shower or flush the toilet. It usually only lasts for a couple hours thought so it's all good. I'll try to take pictures of the apartment for next week.
I had a cool experience the other day.
We were going to teach a very poor family and my companion handed me
some cookies to bring to the kids. I was
starving and, honestly, I really wanted to eat the cookies myself. When we got to the house though, the kids
looked so hungry. They were so excited
when I pulled the cookies out of my pocket.
They just kept hugging my legs and saying “gracias Hermana.” I think my heart changed a little. I wanted to dig through my bad and give them
all the food I could find, even though I was super hungry. Serving means so much more when it requires
some sacrifice. I have already seen the
Lord changing me. I have so much to
learn! This is the hardest thing I have
ever done, but I am so grateful for this opportunity. I am learning more about my Savior and how
much he loves all of us.
Love to all! I hope things are
well in the grand US of A.
Con amor, Hermana Harris
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