Monday, July 21, 2014

Back to the Dust Bowl - Elder Jake Avery

 Written by Elder Jacob Avery, serving in the Peru Lima West Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaking Spanish.

I'm not the kind of person to swear, but I think I nearly cursed eight times this week trying to cross the street. I'm back in Lima, and that means you must run across the street or you will be made into a pancake by a 20-year-old refitted school bus. The city is surely a lot busier, which is pretty nice because in Ancosh there was just a stunning lack of people.

I'm in a ward called Huandoy. It's shared between the district San Martin de Pores and Los Olivos. It's the nicest area I've been in my entire mission. The streets are paved, the houses are painted and I haven't been attacked by a single dog. The people are a little tougher but they're soft and gooey underneath.... I hope! We only had one new investigator this week :( No bueno. But we also had a baptism.

My new companion is a Bolivian and was trained by my MTC companion, Elder Larsen. He's really cool but I will give him a whollop if he forgets where we are or where someone lives one more time, haha! Just kidding. I'm lost enough, as it is. He's a perfect example of a Jared crossed with a T** D**. I like him a lot.

So my experience of the week has to do with my traumatizing event. We visited a part member family last night, and the dad (who's not a member) was a little drunk. He was a big scary black guy, the second big scary black guy I've met on my mission. Luckily my experience in the mountain lands taught me how to deal with drunk people and win their approval. It worked too well, and he ended up kissing me three times on the cheek telling us how much he loves missionaries and calling us his little children... We're excited to go back when he's sober :)

So this week I've felt super blessed to be in this area. I feel like this area will really test and refine my finding and teaching skills. It could also be my second to last area, depending on  how long I spend out here.

Well, have a great week. I love you all and will be praying for you!

Elder Avery

Visit from the Mission President (July 14, 2014)

The Holy Matrix  (July 28, 2014)