It's a Wonder...

We never dreamed we would be at Machu Picchu Peru, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  It was off to Cusco and Machu Picchu.  Once again we were traveling with the Clarks to returning missionary seminars.  These are always a treat because we get to work with the missionaries and talk to the mission president and his wife. We met a young man who had just taken the English test and passed.  He's from Lima.  We also took time to go to church in a local ward.  I always feel blessed to be somewhere that feels so familiar.  The church is wonderful.

Saints Day Parade

Cusco is a beautiful old colonial city whose downtown surrounds a grand plaza complete with two large cathedrals.

The streets of Cusco 
(no, we are not the old stones)

 Many of downtown Cusco's cathedrals and houses are built upon the ancient stones of Inca temples.  It is the jumping off point for a visit to Machu Picchu.  To get to Machu Picchu we hired a guide who showed us around the Cusco and then drove us to the Sacred Valley that is home to many Inca ruins. We stopped at a small village and watched these women spin, dye, and weave the Alpaca yarn.  They are singing a song for us here.

Using natural dyes to color the llama yarn

We spent the night in a small town called Ollantaytambo.  There is also a large Inca temple ruin here and the streets remain much the same as in Inca times.  They are narrow with the original cobblestones. We met two young children as we walked through the streets.  They sang to us in Quechua which is the language of the native people.  Often you hear them called Incas, but the Inca was the King of the Quechua people.  So there were really only 11 Incas.  

Machu Picchu with Huana Picchu in the back 

The next morning, we boarded a Vista Liner train to make the 1.5 hour trip to Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu.  I had to take a picture of the stewards as they looked and acted much like airline stewards and stewardesses.  It was beautiful country with tall mountains and green (don't see much of that in Lima).  It was a delightful train ride.  When we got to Aguas Calientes, we were greeted by our Machu Picchu guide who led us quickly through the market stalls to where we needed to be to get on the bus to go up the mountain.  There are 27 tour buses that make 2 or 3 round trips each up the mountain per day.  With over 2-3 thousand visitors per day, they are non stop.  There were some places on the mountain road that made me wonder how two buses could possibly pass each other.  There just didn't seem to be enough room. When we got to the top of the mountain, we went through a checkpoint where they checked our tickets and passports.  Then it was time to hike.  I still remember my first reaction to being there.  I just couldn't believe that I was actually seeing something that I thought I would only ever see in pictures.  It is amazing to think that people were able to get those huge stones to the top of the mountain.  And...I just kept thinking of how I would feel as a mom raising children in this city that has so many drop off points.  I would constantly be worried that the kids would just fall off of the mountain.  Even though there were tons of people there, it was amazing to see!  The guide took us around and explained the history, building techniques, and worship associated with the city.  It is surrounded by lushly covered mountains.  The guide spent two hours with us and then left us to explore on our own.
The Clarks decided to hike down to the bus stop, but we still had a few places we wanted to see before our scheduled departure.  We hiked up to where the old Inca Trail begins, found a large grassy terrace and a big rock and sat down and made ourselves comfortable so we could just soak in all that was around us.  I kept thinking of the people that lived there who gardened on the terraces and raised llamas and kids.  It was quiet up there.  Sometimes we felt like we were the only ones there.  We took some more pictures.

Machu Picchu

Val tired to get some without people in them.
 That's difficult, but he managed to do it.  It was too soon time to start hiking back down to meet the Clarks and catch our bus.  Back on the bus, down the hill, off the bus, through the market to find the train station, then wait in the dark since the power went out.  While there, we saw the super fancy Hiram Bingham train with its chef, tables with cloths and lamps, and luxury.  It would have been fun to take that train, but it was much too expensive.  We arrived in Ollantaytambo after dark and had dinner at the train station.

 It was a delightful meal.  The next day it was more visits to Inca ruins and back to our hotel in Cusco.  Our hotel there had a delightful restaurant on the top floor that overlooked Cusco.  The next day we transferred back to our first hotel in downtown Cusco.

Nighttime in Cusco' Plaza de Armas

 Saturday night, there was a beautiful fireworks show which we decided was just for our send off so we got on our coats and headed for the Plaza de Armas.  We found a nice bench and settled in.  Of course, sitting there we were sitting ducks for all of the vendors.  Elder Clark was the first one to cave by buying a pair of gloves.  Soon all of us had gloves, hats, and scarves and all of the vendors had pass along cards.  We looked like a bunch of minions sitting there in our funny little Inca hats. It was so fun.  At one point we saw a delightful young family which Val was sure must be members of the Church.  So he took off after them, tapped the woman on the shoulder and asked if she spoke English.  Lucky for him she did.  So he was able to give them a Restoration pamphlet.  It's our way of doing missionary work.  Church again on Sunday and then dinner at our guide's house who is a member of the church and was kind enough to invite us to dinner at his house.  What a treat!  Then it was off to the airport.  We feel so blessed to be able to mix missionary work with a little travel.  It is the best of both worlds.

On the road again...

Don't know if you have noticed, but today we are playing blog catch up.  It is a holiday here, and we are at home.  We have been busy doing mission visits.  We have been asked to go with the Clarks to attend some returning missionary training seminars.  The area presidency felt that the missionaries who were returning home needed some training in staying spiritual, finding jobs, continuing to study English, and the opportunities that they can take advantage of.  Missionaries spend one day at the end of their mission getting this additional training. Our part of the training deals with the Pathway program.  Pathway is a one year program in conjunction with BYU Idaho where students can study at institutes and on line.  It is a great way to get a college education for a little less cost and from your home town.  Our trip to Iquitos was in conjunction with the returning missionary program.  We also got to travel to Arequipa and Chiclayo. Interestingly, the three cities they asked us to visit were the three cities we felt we needed to go to.  Tender Mercy!  In addition to missionary training, we also take time to visit with the mission presidents to see how the Companionship Language Study program is going, specifically what we can do to be of help to them as they try to encourage missionaries to study English on their missions.  We were able to do our Power Point presentation in Iquitos and Arequipa. In Iquitos we met with zone leaders and in Arequipa with three zones. What fun to interact with the missionaries and the presidents and their wives.  It is always the highlight of our mission.

President Zobrist

President Gomez

Temple lot

Arequipa, is the second largest city in Peru and has a European feel to it with narrow streets and a large square surrounded by a large cathedral and colonial style buildings.  One of its claims to fame is a mummy of a young girl recently found when ice melted revealing her.  Our hotel was beautiful and just a block away from the mission home.  Arequipa is also scheduled to get a temple.  They had just finished acquiring the last of the land needed for the temple site, so President Zobrist (who just happened to be a neighbor of our friends the Van Wagoners when they lived in Las Vegas) and his wife took us to see the temple site and presented us with our very own little bottles of temple dirt. How fun is that.


The day after, we took a tour of the downtown cathedral.  They took us to the top and we could look out over the entire city.  Amazingly enough, you can see the temple site from there.  Won't it be fun when it is done and people look out and ask "What is that beautiful building over there?" We also got this fun picture of a little girl and her goat there at the Plaza de Armas waiting for people who pay for pictures. Notice her colorful, traditional dress.

We also visited a convent.  It was the tradition that the second daughter of the cities wealthy would be sent to the convent when they were about 13.  Each had her own room complete with space for a servant.  From that time forward, they could only see their families through a grated hole.  At 16, they had to decide whether or not they were going to be nuns.  If they decided not to, the family was embarrassed and often the girls were shunned.  At the time it housed over 200 young women and their servants. So not only did the girls live a life of solitude, but so did their servants.  It was a city within a city complete with streets, a communal bath and laundry area and a dinning area.  Now it is a museum with only a small section dedicated to the nuns who still live there.  I think there are only about 20 now.

Chiclayo is a smaller city and we were only there for two and a half days.  Since most of our time was spent with missionaries, we didn't see much of the city  But on the way there we met an amazing young woman on the plane.  She spoke beautiful English and we had a delightful conversation.  At the end, she asked if we were going to have time to see the city and offered to be our guide.
So, Tuesday morning she and her brother met us at our hotel and took us to tour a museum that housed artifacts from El Señor de Sipan.

With Candy at the Lord of Sipan Museum

This was a tomb that was only recently discovered in 1987.  They found many mummies (the wives, servants and children were buried with the "King"), artifacts of gold and silver and clay pots.  Afterwards, we were able to talk to Candy and Josémaria a little about the church and give them a Restoration video and a pamphlet.  They are our new Facebook friends. We also got to see our friends Sister Moore and Sister Arana.  They are now serving in Trujillo which is about a three hour bus trip.  It was fun to see them again and catch up on what they are doing.

Up the River numero dos...

Cinthia

Monday, it was downriver to the Ceiba Tops Lodge for a three day, two night stay in a rain forest lodge.  The boat ride took about an hour and a half.  Our room was air-conditioned (thank goodness) and in a beautiful setting on the edge of the Amazon in the middle of the rainforest.  You take a short walk to get the the main lodge where meals are served.  Next to the main lodge was a beautiful pool and hot tub and large "gazebo" with hammocks for enjoying the outdoors and a view of the river. Our first day there we were greeted by the resident tapir (all 500 lbs. of her).
While the Clarks rested, we took a short boat ride to another native village and then went to search for dolphins.  We found them and they put on a delightful show for us. Tuesday morning they got us up early, 5 AM, for a trip into the rainforest to enjoy a walk on the Canopy Walkway, the longest in the world.

Canopy Walkway

Didn't get away, but should have

It is a series of walkways that when you are finally at the top, you are looking at the rainforest from the canopy of the rainforest trees.  What a sight!


Wednesday morning,  it was another short boat ride to go piranha fishing (Success - I caught the smallest which got thrown back).






 Luckily, we ate them for lunch before they were able to eat us.  Check out those teeth!!!

Just before the small one on the back pulled my hair!

 Next it was a visit to the Isla de Monos.  I was lucky enough to find a couple of friends who decided they wanted to climb up and give me a hug. That was okay until one decided to start pulling my hair.  Not fun!  This picture is just before the hair pulling.  Wednesday afternoon, it was back to the airport and saying goodbye to our new friend and guide,
Armando.

Thanks, Armando, for a delightful stay.

While waiting for the airplane, we met up with a young missionary who was on his way to renew his visa in Lima.  Another tender mercy since we got to spend time with him talking about his experience with the CLS program.  Thank you Father for watching out for us.

Up the river - Amazon that is - without a paddle.

Never in our wildest dreams would we have imagined that we would be spending our 48th wedding anniversary on the Amazon River near Iquitos, Peru.  But tender mercies are never planned. They just happen.  Sunday, August 31st, we were wondering what we wanted to do for our anniversary in seven days.  No clues!  Monday, we went into the area office and discovered that we would be flying to Iquitos, Peru to observe some training and do a presentation to a group of missionaries there.  By Tuesday, we had our flight plans and had planned an extra few days to take a trip down the Amazon to stay at a jungle lodge in the middle of the rain forest. A few trips to the cash machine, that was interesting adventure in itself, to get the money to make a down payment on the lodge stay and were ready.  All we needed to do was hurry and pack. Our flight took off on Thursday afternoon. It was a bit scary flying during a lightening storm, but it was also amazing to see.  Unfortunately, no pictures. By the time I got the camera out, it was over.  We landed in Iquitos in the middle of a rain storm, which happen quite frequently there.


We got settled in our nice hotel. Friday morning, we got brave and hopped in a Motor Taxi for the short ride to the chapel where the training was to be held.

Minutes before the downpour

The weather looked beautiful, but halfway there, it started to pour.  Our taxi driver stopped, got out his nifty plastic cover for the front of the taxi and then took off.  Unfortunately, Elder and Sister Clark were behind us and thought we had reached our destination.  So when their taxi driver stopped to cover up, they got out, paid him and then wondered where we had gone.  They had to hail another taxi, wade through the water to get to it and then try to find the chapel.  By the time they found us, they were soaked.

Our morning training with the zone leaders of the Iquitos mission was great.  Even the mission president and his wife participated.  What fun! We love doing these presentations as we watch our North American missionaries teach the Spanish speakers and then cheer them on when it is their turn to say the scripture in English all by themselves.  They are always the highlight of our mission. We had lunch with President and Sister Gomez at a fun little restaurant down the street.  We decided to try the alligator.  Of course, it tastes like chicken.  Friday afternoon and evening was spent observing the training for the missionaries who are ready to go home.  Dinner with them was delightful.  We opted for fried rice (?) instead of more chicken and potatoes which is the national meal of Peru.

Saturday we took a short ride up the Amazon to visit the Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm (a Nature and Wildlife Conservation Park).  Along with some rescued animals - monkeys, a jaguar, and an anteater, there were beautiful butterflies.  The monkeys were illusive, though.

We also visited a native village and met the Bora tribe.  They danced for us and explained their culture and the boa constrictor dance. Very interesting.  Elder Clark explained that they came from the tribe of Joseph.  He said he was from the tribe of Levi, since that's what his hat said.  Not sure they understood that one.

Sunday, Sept. 7th, was our 48th wedding anniversary.  We attended church at one of the local wards where we were treated like royalty.  It was all in Spanish, so we had to stretch to understand.  But the ward members were so welcoming.  I think they hoped we were there to stay.  It was sad to disappoint them.  After church, we had dinner at a floating restaurant in the middle of the Amazon River.  It was sooo fun to take a boat out the the restaurant which also has a swimming pool, so after dinner you can take a dip in the pool.  It was a beautiful setting complete with a rainbow in the background. It doesn't get much better than that.

How's this for romantic!

We're the pilot grandparents!

Note: Wrote this blog a while ago, but didn't publish.  So here is some old, news.
Saturday morning, August 30th,  we got to watch Max, our grandson, get baptized by his dad (our youngest's oldest).  We figure we are the pilot for watching a baptism through FaceTime.   We needed to prove that grandparents could be trusted to watch and be quiet.  It was so wonderful to "be there" to watch him get baptized and confirmed.  What a group with all of his brothers and sisters there (except Codi & Zach and their family) and most, if not all of Melissa's family there, too. Max is such an amazingly spiritual young man.  His parents are doing such a great job of raising him and his brothers and sister. I have been a little down thinking that I was going to miss four baptisms while on our mission, but this gives me hope.  Now we will just be missing our oldest granddaughter's high school graduation.  Who knows, with FaceTime we might get to be there, too.

Our missionary work is moving forward.  This month we met with the DTA of the area office about our plan for English for the Area office staff.  Val and I had a very spiritual experience as we prayed about how to teach English to the Area staff.  We have gone through about four different versions of the plan and just didn't feel right.  One Thursday when we were home together we were talking about what to do and inspiration hit us.  It was as if all of the answers where placed there for us to see.  The most important feeling was that we needed a plan that helped the office to embrace and be responsible for English.  That plan required that the departments each choose a language coach (someone in their department that could already speak English) and dedicate part of the work day to speaking and learning English.  That was a very big commitment on their part and some of them, including us, were not too sure about it.  We have never done a program exactly like this before. We can't promise that it will work, we have just felt inspired that this is what we needed to do.  The plan has two parts: Basic English and Workplace English.  For Basic English we are asking the employees to spend time at home doing online programs to get most of the basic English they need.  For Workplace English, the departments will choose phrases and vocabulary to practice daily that they need and use to interact with each other and with Salt Lake.  We will coach the coaches in vocabulary, interactive activities to do with the staff and ways to practice English.  We would appreciate the prayers of all of our family and friends that we might have inspiration to do the work the Lord would want us to do.

New Digs...

We've Moved!  Yes, this is new for us to not be in one place for a very long time.  We assumed we would come to Lima, get settled and be in one apartment for the rest of our mission.  Well, when the doctor mentioned that the reason that we seem to be taking awhile to bounce back from illness might be due in part to noise pollution, which results in an inability to get good rest, we got permission to move.  That was a Tender Mercy for us.  But if you know anything about Tender Mercies you know that often they follow a string of events.
So here we go---
*I got sick with a very bad case of bronchitis (Val has since followed my lead with his own bad cough)
*Dr. Bart said you really ought to move
*Our office mates Elder and Sister Dorius requested a transfer to another assignment and they got assigned to a mission in Colombia
*We agreed and were given permission to move into their apartment for more moola
*Our apartment only had a 6-month lease (rare for here) so the church didn't get stuck with an empty apartment
*They moved out on Sunday evening at about 9:00 PM
*We called Graciela Monday at about 8:30 AM  to see if she could help us move sometime this week. (She has a van)
*The plans she had for the van that morning got cancelled
*Two of our amazing senior sisters came over in their skirts and nice jackets to help
*We were all moved in by 11:00.

As Val says, he feels like he died and went to Provo. No, Provo is not heaven but our neighborhood is very quiet. I feel like I died and went to the Ritz.  Our other apartment was nice, but small. This one is even nicer and much bigger.  Three bedrooms, two baths (one is definitely kid sized), laundry room, kitchen and living and dining room.  The floors throughout are beautiful inlaid wood (our dancing friends David and Carol VanWagoner would be so jealous) and there is floor to ceiling tile in the bathrooms.


                                        

                                                                                                               

It's a jaunt just going from the living room to the bathroom!  It is also about twice as long a walk to the office so we will get extra exercise there too. So, to quote Stephen Covey it's a Win/Win.  We live above another senior couple so that is nice.  And we have the best ever dueña (owner).  She will be a delight!



We will miss our amazing Sister Moore who lived in our other building and the three wonderful women we got to know at the other place. In fact, when our downstairs neighbor heard we were leaving she came up, knocked on the door and said, "Please don't move!"  How sweet is that.  In a few short days we have come to love our new place and feel so very blessed to be here.  The Lord does love us and he watches over us!

                                 You can see by the look on her face just how unhappy she was!     


Well, it's getting to be winter here.  No snow, but the cold is setting in.  The days can be nice, but then the cold comes in the evenings.  And since the apartments are all concrete with no central heating, the cold goes right to the bones.  I am sitting on the couch with the warm computer on my lap, a blanket and a heated rice pack on my feet.  Still cold!!!!  The open air laundry room probably adds to the chill.  When I looked at the average temperatures I couldn't believe that I would be feeling cold since it gets much colder in Provo, but then I haven't lived in a humid climate.  Love that dry heat and cold.  I can't imagine how much worse it will be in August since that is the really cold month.  Need some warmer clothes.  Thank you Lewis' for leaving us a light weight but warm and comfy blanket to wrap up in.

We are still enjoying our bi-monthly visits at the MTC.  This past Sunday Val stayed home because he was sick, so I was by myself.  Well, I neglected to ask which of the multiple copies of our PowerPoint presentation was the one we have finally perfected.  So when I got there, I had to just guess.  Well, I guessed wrong and got the one that didn't have the audio and video pieces.  So, it was not one of my best presentations.  Plus, it was a really small group this time, only about 30 missionaries and three fourths of those were English-speakers.  That changes things a little.  It was okay, but not stellar.  Maybe that's why four of the Spanish-speaking sisters got to Arequipa without all of their CLS manuals even though I told them not to loose their books.  Not sure how that happens when there are only two days from the time of the presentation to the time they leave and their books have their names on them.  Oh well!

Speaking of being sick, it looks like we are playing catch here. First I caught the cold, then Sister Dorius caught it from me, then Elder Dorius took his turn and caught it from her. Val was next and made a great catch, and last night I stepped up to the plate and caught it again, UGH!!! I"d call that a home run. Now I just need some mega doses of vitamin C to make the save. It's clear I can't get out, so, it's held at home base for me today and probably tomorrow. (Living in South America and with the World Cup in full swing, I know this should have been a soccer analogy, but the words just didn't fit because this is definitely not a goal. Hmm, that one wasn't bad.) It's obvious that all my resolve about refusing to get sick again is shot.

Done for now.  More later.  Going to be couch potatoes for awhile and see if we can get better so we don't have to keep writing about being sick.  That's boring and depressing. 

Tender Mercies

We were just looking over our blogs and realized that it has been awhile since we noted the blessings we are receiving on our mission.   Just wanted to share one of our most recent.  Our apartment complex has a "Directiva".  It is her job to represent the tenants, take care of problems, and just be a manager.  She will often leave messages for the residents.  She loves to underline with red.  Since our command of the language is not very good, all the red makes us feel that some things are really important for us to know and whatever the problem is it must be your fault.  The problem is we just don't understand and Google translate is of moderate help.  The most recent message indicated that the water bill for the apartments had doubled. There is one bill that is divided among the tenants, so she was very concerned.  In her latest message, she indicated there would be a meeting we must attend.  We were worried, because that meant we could go to the meeting but not contribute or understand.  We asked around the office to see if there was anyone that would have time to go to the 8 pm meeting with us.  Unfortunately, it was a very busy night. 

Enter our knight in shining armor.  Brother Fernandez is our boss in the office.  He volunteered to come.  When we agreed, we didn't realize that he would have to take a taxi to be with us.  We tried to tell him not to worry about coming, but he would not hear of it.  He arrived and off we went to meet with her and the other tenants.  Unfortunately, there were only two other women who came to the meeting.  (We felt this meeting  would be a great way for us to get better acquainted with many of our neighbors.)  Well, the Lord knew who was supposed to go with us to the meeting.  Carlos was masterful as he joined in the discussion,  interpreted both sides, and added just the right amount of humor to have all of us smiling and feeling like we had been best friends, forever.  He even invited them to come to church with us on Sunday.  He did it so smoothly.  We need to take lessons.  We are learning that so often missionary work involves developing friendships first.  We hope this is a great first step. 

We wondered how the water bill could have been so high since one of our problems with the apartment was the lack of water pressure.  It had gotten so bad, that we literally just had a drip coming from the shower and also going into the washer.  We had already tried cleaning the shower head, cleaning the little filter we found in the back of the washer and cleaning the tap filters, without much success.  The Directiva, Carmen, asked if they might come to our apartment to see the problem. We had already shown her a video we took when we were in her apartment.  So everyone ended up at our house eating chocolates and continuing the discussion.  Well, amazingly enough,  we actually had water pressure.  Something changed. 

So, what exactly were the Tender Mercies:  The Lord sent us Carlos,  through him we were able to do a little missionary work,  we were able to develop a beautiful relationship with three very special women,  and not as important, but certainly very nice, we have water pressure.  

Speaking of missionary work, being in the office all day, we have to find other ways to share the gospel.  One of those ways is when we are in taxis.  Elder Cardon, one of the other senior missionaries, is a master at taxi approaches.  We are trying to be good students and learn from him.  He so naturally moves from "Where are you from?", "Tell me about your family", "Have you seen the Temple" to "We are missionaries with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints", "Families can be together forever" and any other subject he can squeeze in before we get to our destination.  We hope to be able to do as well as we improve our Spanish skills.  

Will this coughing ever cease?

You can forget about any pictures with this post because it is all about being sick in Lima, and no one, trust me, wants to see a picture of me being sick.  Last Friday, I joined a "special" group - the number of area office senior missionaries who are home sick.  For some reason, winter colds and bronchitis are making missionaries drop like flies.  I first started feeling a little bit of a scratchy throat on Friday morning, so I decided that rather than share the wealth I would stay home.  It is now Wednesday and I still haven't been out of the house.  I have the worst case of bronchitis I can ever remember.  The last time I was sick here, it was with stomach problems and that lasted for more than a week.  I think I am in for the long haul again.  I don't know if the constant air and noise pollution add to the problem,  but you know when you have been used to being able to go to bed for a couple of days and have it over with, a week seems like an awfully long time.  Last night I did have a brief respite from all of the constant coughing that doesn't produce anything but a sore throat and aching ribs.  While lying in bed at 12:30 desperately trying to go to sleep and wishing I just had something simple like a cough drop, it dawned on me that I should take a look in my purse on the off chance that I might have one there.  Whoopi, Tender Mercy, there was one.  Ricola lemon and honey how I love you.  It was a little soft because that's what Lima humidity does to everything, but that was okay because it worked and I was able to sleep until about four when I was rudely awakened by another coughing fit and had to get up.  Speaking of the cough drop, that is one of the frustrating things about being here.  You just can't find the things you are used to.  Part of the problem is not having the language to even be able to ask most of the time.  I am getting better but not good enough.  Plus,  I hate to admit that it also just might be that I am not as young as I used to be.  Whatever, I am just so tired of being sick and having to stay home.  It's times like this that help you to realize that a life of leisure really isn't all that fun.  There's just so much reading and so many Netflix movies one can do.

Last night, I saw the doctor and he says I just need to rest and drink plenty of fluids (does that sound familiar).  I am sure he is right, but I really wanted the magic "get well" button or pill.  I did get Elder Bart and Val to give me a blessing so I am sure that will be the most helpful.  But again, I have to rely on the Lord's timing, not mine – and in this respect I am not always very patient.

Val has been staying home with me and is doing such a great job of getting things done even though he is not in the office. As for me, well I am a waste.  All of what I have been working on is on the office PC (yes, we are having to learn how to use PCs).  So all I can do from home is look at email messages.

One thing being home has reminded me is just how much noise we have to put up with.  When you are gone all day,  it doesn't seem that bad.  The worst are the big trucks carrying dirt, bricks, etc.  They always seem to have to downshift in front of our apartment.  The buses are a close second as far as the noise is concerned.  I do love watching them, though.  It always amazes me just how many people you can crowd onto an already full bus.  I have tried to capture that when we have been on the sardine buses, but it just doesn't work trying to take a picture.  I am sure that riding the buses doesn't help when it comes to keeping the germs away, either.   About twice a week, we take the bus for about 20 cents to go to a very nice market.  The market has a deli with lots of yummy offerings.  Well, it took us a couple of months to realize that there was hand sanitizer next to the cashier.  Before that, we rode the bus with all of the other folks, got off, walked across the street, bought our lunch and ate.  Hmmm,  maybe this new sanitizer is making me sick.

Val just said that the only reason people read blogs is to see pictures.  They really don't care about all those words.  So....that said, I am closing this one.  Val will complete it ... with lots of pictures, so read on McDuff!

While the sickie rests ... I will continue this update!  (However, we can NOT figure out the creative tricks in inserting photos the sizes we want, so for the moment, we will start with them relatively small (so we have more than just one to a line).  Just increase your screen size to see the images much larger.  Sorry for our computer illiteracy!)

 

When Julene mentioned the dump trucks, I stepped to the window and took pictures of 6 trucks that came by - literally in one minute.  5 more came in the next 30 seconds.  They are non-stop – even through the night.  This is one of the major routes for trucks involved in construction or mining.  Oh well, it provides people jobs.




The taxis love their horns, and there 
are dozens of buses every day.  
Our bodies are feeling the effects.

 
There is TOO much to cover.
So, this month we'll show you the contrasts of the Lima area.  A few weeks go we went to two very different areas.  1st Gamara, which is one of the Lima's 17 Districts.  We live in La Molina District.  Gamara has dozens and dozens of small clothing shops in an area you wouldn't visit at night.

There were too many shops to show.   This gives you a feel.

I guess the most interesting was the one street lined with herb and food vendors and traditional Peruvian women and children.   Love the hat on this person just sitting on the curb eating. And, we also love the way they carry babies.  Who needs a stroller when you can just grab a blanket and strap them to your back.

But, the fascinating portion was the "farmers' market".  We walked along and saw huge snails for eating, frogs for fertility, snake meat, and a tree whose sap looks like blood.  Julene just had to buy a small bottle of that since it is good for cuts, etc.  The name of the tree is Sangre de Draco (Dragon's Blood).  You put a couple of drops on the affected area, then rub until it turns into a brown salve.  Julene had a spot on her arm that just didn't want to heal and it seems to be getting better. 

      

 Look at all the bees congregating around this sack of natural pollen.  It's a field day for them.  Easy collection.  Who needs flowers when you can go to the Peruvian market and drop in on a bag full of pollen.  Buyers beware:  you just might get stung.

There were lots of seeds, veggies, and fruits . . .

and herbs

This is just a small taste.  You'll have to see the videos when we return.

Next, we traveled on the train two short stops south of Gamara to the contrast.  We got off right beside the Performing Arts Center and walked over to another LARGE mall.

Now the theme 
changes to creativity!!

Two weeks earlier, we were truly humbled when we visited the National Museum of Anthropology, Archeology, and History of Peru.  It just emphasized how little we know.  We were impressed that no matter where in the world or what generation of time people have lived, there has always existed the desire within many to be creative ... to beautify their surroundings, and make themselves attractive.  The technology has progressed, but the people have always had the same needs and desires.

 We are in awe of people who have artistic talents, no matter what era they lived in.

I took over a hundred photos.  This will have to do.

Then out in front of the museum was a piano, for public use.  Note that the invitation is in  English (another great reason for our calling).

 

And, not to be overlooked is the work of another creative person . . . 

Sister Julene's new beautician, Waldo.  (I like his work too!)

Since creative has been a dominant theme of this blog, we have to end with Julene's very creative work - her monthly newsletter that goes to the wife of each mission president.

We found this creative photo of the Salt Lake Temple.  When we return, this will go on our wall to remind us of the beautiful Temple where Julene and I were sealed together as husband and wife, with our children, for all eternity.  What a blessing our kids have been.

Finally, we'll let Heavenly Father's living Prophet, Thomas S. Monson counsel us all: