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!
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.
