4 July 2010

To make it a little bit clearer, I'm staying in the the Peru Lima Central Mission as the assistant to President Tyler. My new sector is Las Brisas in the Magdalena stake. But to answer dad's question, no, we hardly ever go out to out sector to work. We just do training sessions, interviews, zone conferences, and work visits. Its pretty rough, and for the last week I've only been in my own sector (area) for about 5 hours to teach. We just have too much to do opening the new zones in the mission. We asked for two missionaries to extend their missions for two weeks to help us out doing work visits so they are here trying to help integrate the other two zones. Its a little weird because the other missions have different goals, different rules, and even different words they use to refer to stuff. I know they'll feel a little out of place for a while, but we'll be working pretty hard to help they get used to they way we work here in the Lima Central Mission.

I told you guys a long time ago that i thought and felt i was gonna stay in Lima right? And what i thought would happen is exactly what did happen. My first companion in the MTC, Elder Griffith was called to be assistant here in Lima last change, then he went to Cusco to be assistant there and help open up the mission, and I got pulled back here to Lima to be assistant for President Tyler. I'm really excited to find out about what i have to do in this position, but kinda sad that I'm probably not gonna have many baptisms at all while I'm assistant, which will likely be till i go home.

I'll just tell you about what I've been doing for the last few days. President decided to open up a new sector called Miraflores, which is one of the richest places in all of Peru, and we had to go find them a room to live in. Every single room we found costs about 500 dollars, which is just ridiculous for how small they were. I paid about 70 dollars in Urubamba for a huge room with everything included, so i was really frustrated looking for the room, but finally we found one that is way small, but fits enough for a few months for only 550 soles (about $200-ED). So we spent two days just looking for the room, and then after finding it i had to do a few electrical repairs cause we are too cheap to pay for an electrician. So i just took at it with a kitchen knife and a pair of rusted pliers and prayed for protection.

Worked out pretty well too, i just hope that scotch tape holds up to 220 volts of electricity. I would like to consider myself a real Peruvian electrician now.

Oh, but i went and took out an MRI on my left knee too (He hurt his knee early on playing soccer on P-day - ED), I'll talk to the mission doc pretty soon so see what he says about it and I'll let you guys know next week, but its not anything urgent.

Love you guys, thanks for all the updates. oh, and I'll send photos soon too.

Coulson is AP and in Lima again!

Ya, i would have told you before if I'd known, but my p-day totally changed on me and now I'll be having it on Saturdays, so that means you'll have to start writing me on Fridays. I was kinda sad to leave the Sacred Valley, but it is sooo awesome cause I'm here in the office in Lima with Justin (Hales, Glade and Ferris Hales grandson from Las Vegas-ED) now!!!

Coulson and Justin


How awesome is that? So I'll be seeing him every single day for this next month. We even live in the same room, and check this out, the room we're in has such amazing showers. IT HAS TWO KNOBS!!! I've never seen that in all of Peru, so I'm just so excited that i can turn on the hot water separately from the cold. I know that probably sounds so stupid for you guys, but it is soo awesome to me. And for the last few days I've actually been eating some good food. Papa Johns, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts and all that healthy stuff. I know it sounds unhealthy to you guys too, but you just don't understand until you try eating chicken feet in your chuño soup.
Oh, and i think i might be ending my mission in this next sector i get cause they moved me up to be assistant to open up the new mission, and they generally like to keep the assistants in that position for a while. Which means I'll probably be seeing President Dorius a bit too (the ex-stake president for Uncle Kris). I'm kinda confused with all the stuff I'll need to do, but the first thing is a training for all the new elders that will be getting here on Monday. Kinda sad though, cause being assistant basically means the baptisms are gonna slow to a stop.
So ya, I'll see how that goes. These last six months are gonna be hard, but it'll go by fast. Anyways, it was pretty special to leave Urubamba and say goodbye to the converts and the investigators. The last baptism i had, Bryan, even though he's only 8 years old, promised me that he was gonna go on the mission too. But not only that, but his mom, our investigator promised me the same thing. Then he gave me a handmade beanie and gave me a hug and walked away. I really think that finding the less active or inactive people is the best way to get baptisms. They always want their family members to get baptized too, and now that Brian is a member his aunt is more active and his cousin always goes. And now that we've started doing a lot more activities, they always have a reason to be there in the church and inviting more people to come. I really feel good leaving the sector like i did.

So i hope to hear a lot from you guys next Saturday, love you guys a bunch. Do me a favor a pray for me so i can step up to the new position. Give me any advice on being assistant or what you know about it.

June 2010

Alrighty, so because we're probably gonna be stuck in that protest, we planned out to have a theater night in the church where we just watch family movies there, we got permission and everything so it'll be pretty good to have something to do that day. Hopefully we'll get a few families there to teach and reactivate. I feel really good about how this branch is progressing, and even though the other branches aren't too strong, i really feel that this district will be a stake. And i really don't think it'll take as long as i did when i started here. Now that we have better leadership and we're starting to have activities, a lot more people are gonna come to church.
Well i would be great if you guys could pray for Karla Ormachea, she's already decided to get baptized, but pray for her family so that they can support her and that she can have the strength she needs to be a good and pacient mother.

Well this week was really quite slow, but we have found some good people to teach. We finally started teaching our neighbor Mayra and her son. The only problem there is that she isn't married and her boyfriend lives in Italy and only comes every once in a while. I really don't understand why people try to make things so hard with the long-distance relationship. I don't think its a very smart move, but she's trying it out. She just moved here to Urubamba about 5 months ago, which means I've been here more time than she has, which is just weird to think, but its also a great time to help her find friends in the church and feel the support that she needs. But what I've seen here is that there isn't much support from the members. They are mostly all converts and they don't feel the need to do much to befriend other members or investigators. They basically feel that if they didn't have that support then they don't need to give it. There is definitely a lack of service here. It makes me miss the times when we helped move, put up Christmas lights, clean houses, do yard work and all that stuff just as a priests quorum.

But we're really striving to get this branch more united. We're having activities every week know, seminary once a week, English classes, sports nights, and movie nights. Now we just need to have the leaders follow our example and have quorum activities. We need a ward mission leader and have Noche Misionales. Too bad i think I'm gonna have a change pretty soon...

Anyways, I love you guys and I'll send off that small package this week. It has a letter for Gram, a present for Calder, Mom, Dad, and Piper. Hope it doesn't cost too much.

Pictures from Machu Picchu

Here are some fantastic pictures from a trip with other Elders to Machu Picchu - Enjoy

3 May 2010

Well as to which mission i would prefer, i have no idea. (Coulson's mission is to be divided-ED) Really i would love any of the missions, but if i go to Lima, i would like to stay with Pres. Tyler. I like Cusco, and i would love to go to Puno to work there, but with only 8 months left, it doesn't really matter that much to me. Especially now that i've been to Machu Picchu, my dreams here in Cusco are completed. :)

And yes, that means today, i just went to Machu Picchu, and don't worry, i did take a bunch of fotos, but i forgot my cable so i can't send them yet, but i took around 300 or so. And i have to say, wow. I wasn't all that excited to go there, but it was fantastic. And because i'm technically Peruvian, i didn't have to pay too much. It was about 30 dollars for everything.

As to the call, i think i'll just call you Thursday in the morning, and because we have a couple missionary, they have the magic jack that makes it so we can call free to landlines. So i'll probably just call you on Sunday too, you just have to tell me when to call on Thursday.

And about signing up for the BYU classes, it will depend on my new mission president, and even if i stay here in Lima Central, i think it would be hard to get that permission. So if Calder could do that for me it would be great.
Help me out thinking about the best classes to take when i get off the mission, and keep in mind that i haven't taken almost any of my generals yet. And what happened with the room i'll be in? Did you talk with Uncle Kevin about that? (Just found out he will be rooming with his cousin Robert Hyer who returned recently from his mission in Argentina-ED)

Anyways, we'll be talking soon, and i'll send fotos next week. I love you guys and thanks for your support.

23 April 2010

1) First off I'll answer the questions, as to the release date, I just talked to President Tyler about that and he say he would be able to do it, but the earliest possible he can send me home is December 27. (this will allow Coulson to register and attend BYU spring term-ED) I told him that date was fine and I'll just have to keep reminding him until he actually does it. The bad thing is that I'm doubting that you guys will be able to come down here cause of the release date and all of that. But we can talk more about that on Mother's Day.

2 & 3) I think i'll be the one calling you. Because we have a cell phone, i'll just call you two days before to set everything up (which he did-ED), and as to how long we have, the pre-call is 10 to 15 minutes and the actual call is 45 to 60 minutes. And tell Uncle Kevin that he's dead wrong. At least with the service we have, cause I can´t hardly use my cell phone in half of my sector (Uncle Kevin thinks cell service in Peru is better than Las Vegas-ED). Just Urubamba and Ollantaytambo. But its still a lot better than nothing.

Anyways, we'll talk soon. Love you guys and thanks for the basketball update :)

18 April 2010

So we had a baptism on Saturday that was really cool. Not many people came (which is usual) but Raymunda came with her grandson and after the baptism he came up to me and asked when he could get baptized like she did. I just had to say when we could finish giving him a few lessons and when he felt he was ready. Then he asked me, ¨Can it be next Saturday?¨ I just felt that the Lord was blessing us for the work we have been doing. On that Saturday of the baptism we put 5 more people with baptismal dates and had 10 lessons. I consider it a remarkably good day. Not all of them came the church, but we still ended up with quite a few people at church. As a branch, we’re getting up past a hundred in attendance which is really good. Before we had about 50 to 80 (eighty on a good day) and not were getting a lot more less actives coming too. I think its because the chapel is a lot easier to get to and see. And now we’ll have people who are just walking past hop in to see what´s going on. We really have an advantage being the only big chapel in Urubamba other than the Catholic parroquias.

Oh, and I got the package that you sent with Anne Marie (just this Wednesday), so I got the debit card without any problems, and the money and the bookmarks (Grandpa Huntington hand engraved them to give to Coulson's mission president-Ed) too, and this Friday we have interviews with President, so I’ll give them to him and tell him thanks for being my president, because it’s looking like there aren’t gonna be many changes and I’ll be staying here in the Cusco Mission. Its not a hundred percent sure, but it sure does look like it. And as to the Mother’s Day call, we should have a call a few days before to set everything up. Tell me if you want to call me or if you want me to call you. It’ll be a little bit different cause we don’t have a land line anymore, just the cell phone, but we’ll talk to President in interviews this week.

And about those scientists that insist that its just the subconscious mind that tells us stuff, they still can’t proof what subconscious even is, and they can’t even come close to explaining how it works. Personally, I really believe that it is a manifestation of the spirit. When the Spirit of the Lord speaks to our spirit. And recognizing the spirit is the most difficult to explain to our investigators, because they have a hard time understanding what it is. There is so much confusion about the spirit, between Baptists and pentecostes and catholics and evangalists,they just don’t know what to think anymore. Mostly we have to as simpler questions about how they feel, if the peace they’re feeling is a peace that they always feel or something deeper. If the happiness they feel while we speak with them is the same happiness they get from winning a soccer game and seeing their favorite tv show. And that’s generally when they realize that what they feel with us is something they can’t find in other places.
Anyways, because this might be my last change here in Urubamba, we're planning to go to MachuPicchu to see the ruins and everything and a few more cool things, like walk along the Inca Trail, and hike up a mountain called Pitusiray to see a few things up there. So these next 3 weeks should be pretty exciting.
I'll send you pictures :)

Love you guys and we'll talk soon!