Monday November 28, 2011

No email this week...

Monday November 14, 2011

hola familia!!!!
this week has been a rollercoaster ride for my emotions and in this moment i am a little procupied. let me explain. i have this great fear. and it all started with a dream i had during my first week in the MTC. my first week was rough and i wanted to give up many many times but after this dream it was sertain what i needed to do.
in my dream i was sitting in a room all the lights were turned out i could hardly see anything. then one by one people began to appear. and they all said the same thing, "you promised me", "You promised me" i could never see their face but what they said has stuck with me to this moment and i am sure it will haunt me forever. my greatest fear is one day to be standing in front of christ and someone will approach me and say "you promised me, why didnt you fulfill?"
this past month we have been trying to teach a family, in particular on of their daughters, Gabriela. one day we went to visit her and her aunt told us not to come back, that gabby didnt want to listen to us and that we were wasting our time. well we listened to her we didnt go back until yesterday. she is moving to italy tomorrow to be with her mom and we went to visit her and say goodbye and good luck. i felt like i should give her a book of mormon as a last effort before she left. i was in the middle of explaining it and she cut me off and asked. "why did you stop visiting me?" to me that question sounded alot like my fear. and it cut deep. we explained what happened with her aunt and she told us that her aunt was speaking out of anger. that she had been waiting almost 4 weeks for us to visit and we never did. she told us that she has read the pamphlets over and over and over again, that she has prayed, and that she wants to be baptised, but we never visited her. and now it is too late. . . what have i done? did i fail? did i break one of my promises? is she one of those people from my dream? did i fail to listen to the spirit prompting me to go back and visit her? and the answer is . . . i dont know. i will never know. the only thing i do know is i am scared.
we entered her house and talked for almost a hour more and we are also going to visit her tonight but i know that it wont be sufficient.
i got back to my appartment last night and after planning went straight to the book of mormon. i opened it randomly to Jacob 1:19 looking for comfort and for the first time i think my heavenly father was trying to make me feel guilty not comfort me, because it reads, And we did magnify our office unto the lord taking upon us the responsibility, answering th sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of god with all diligence; wherefroe, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day. the answer is YES i did fail. i failed her, i failed myself, but worse than that failed my dad who always tells me to work work work and i always tell you a am working as hard as i can. well in moments like these i wonder if i am lying. and worst of all i failed him who i represent, the name i have on my badge. i dont know what i am doing anymore.
i recieved the package with the terkey jerky and cookies but the camara not yet. still waiting.
i love you all and know that i am trying.
Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday November 7, 2011

Hola Familia!!
how has your week been? mine has just been dandy working hard and enjoying every minute of it. it still amazes me to think you are all getting ready for snow where as i am having to store a extra white shirt at my pension so i can let the other one dry from how much i have been sweating. it is hot and very very humid. and it is killing me. i sweat alot as is but now i have the humidity factor too.
supposedly i have recieved my package but i havent recieved it yet. the way the mail works here is all the letters, packages ETC. gets sent to the mission office and from there a man (named Pedro), or the Zone Leaders take all of it to district meeting and give them too us. well last week while at the temple Pedro told me that he had a package for me but that it was currently in his car and that he would bring it to me the next day. well he didnt come. so i asked the zone leaders and they know nothing about it eather. so they called pedro and he told them that he DIDNT have a package for me. so 1 of 2 things has just happened. #1 he lied to me at the temple about have a package in his car. or #2 he lost it. i am kinda worried because even though he works for the mission he is still a person so i just hope he is a honest person.
i dont have too much new news other than Elder Quintero is going to the clinic tomorrow to have his arm operated on. he has a little bump on his arm and they figure better safe than sorry so they are going to take it out so please remember my awesome companion in your prayers for the next week, it isnt a dangerous sergery but at least help him to recuperate faster.
we all remember my good friend Ramos Romero (the man with the problem with sunday as the sabath) well we had tried everything and come to find out he has been studying with Jehovah witnesses too and has chosen to be baptised in their church and not ours. well all i can say is i am sorry i couldnt change his mind. he really is a great man, i just hope one day he will see for himself that what we were teaching him IS true and that it always will be. talking with my comp after the lesson he said "i just hope i can be there in the day of judgement to say "I told you so." that made me think and i have decided i hope i am there too but not to say i told you so but to hear his amazing story about his eventual conversion. i know he has started to build a testimony i am just kinda sad i wont be able to help him grow it.
well it is off for another grand adventure of a p day . . . not it is p day by ourselves and elder quintero want to go and wash his ties . . . . . . are you serious?!?!?! you want to wash your ties? but hey i guess if that is his idea of a free p day i guess i will play soitare. oh which reminds me, if you have time i would love some american card games, like the ones we always used to play on sunday, phase 10, uno skipbo, golf and any other fun ones you can find. i am in no rush to have them so when you have time.
i love you all and remember i am working as hard as i can.
Elder Landon R. Welch
p.s. i tried to send pictures from the last few weeks but looks like it is going to take more time than i thought. but these are pictures of some of my good friends from trapiche at my goodbye party. and from the last baptism we had. and it was a awesome baptism 4 from us and one from the Hermanas!! woo hoo. and the amazing sunset is Oscar (our ward mission leader) and Lucero (one of our future baptisms) but i have honestly never seen a sky more beautiful.
p.s.s. tell brad dopp that i havent forgot about him and that i am writing his letter as fast as i can. and i think next week i will have time to email it to you. love ya chao

Monday October 31, 2011

Hola Familia!!!
What a amazing week we have had this last week, we didnt have too much time to teach but for a good reason. i was finally able to go to the lima temple. after more than 6 months here in peru i finally got to see it, inside and out. it is a small temple, it looks much bigger from the outside but actually incredibly small. it has 4 rooms for endowments and the rooms themselves are small, it seemed to only fit our zone and no one else. but in the center of the temple was the baptismal font, it had windows on all side where you could watch them doing the ordinances from almost anywhere in the temple. amazing. as missionaries we cant be part of the baptisms which is kind of a disapointment, but none the less i hope one day to have the experience.
we also had a baptism this week, Henry Sergio Quispe Mendez was baptized at 10 saturday morning. i had alot of doubts about him, his desire, and his faith, as we were teaching him. but there is no doubt now in my mind how much he really loves and treasures the things we have taught him. we share with him some pictures from our temple adventure and all he could say is "wow, i cant wait for experiences like these on my mission." amazing young man with alot of desire to follow the spirit and to one day serve a mission. he recently turned 19 and was very disapointed that he had missed the mark to serve a mission. when we told him that the limit was 25 for men, his face lit up and said. "25?!?! well in that case when can i go?!" he will be quite the missionary.
but unfortunatly the week brought a little bit of sadness too. we were supposed to have 2 baptisms this week. but Miriam decided that she didnt want to be apart of this grand truth. she had a baptism date and hour set for saturday at 7, well we got to the church at 7 exactly and waited 30 minutes for her to get there. when she didnt show we went to the nearest phone to start looking for her. after calling 3 different places we finally found her. she told us that she didnt feel prepared, that there was still things in her life that she didnt feel good about. we told her that we understood and that we were there to help her over come any struggles or chalanges that she had. she then thanked us but told us that she didnt want to talk to us or anyone from the church anymore. i am not really sure what happened, why so suddenly she changed. in the morning we were calling her to find out what size of clothes she needed, and in the night we were calling to find out why she didnt show up. it is sad but it is her choice, we have taught everything, but she didnt want to accept it, and we just need to accept that. it is my hope and prayer that one day more will be guided to her door and she will open it to them. and that in this moment she will feel the need to change her life for the better.
i love this work the good times and the bad. i am so greatful for the oportunity i have to change other lives as well as my own.
i love you all and always remember i am working as hard as i can.
Elder Landon R. Welch
p.s. i was finally able to send pictures!!!

Monday October 24, 2011

Hola Familia!!!
well another week gone and i find my self counting up not down, this mission has gone by way to fast so far and sometime I dont think it is fair. who know what the next 15 months will bring but i hope it slows down a little bit.
Elder Quintero and i had a interesting week. we cooked for ourselves two days but for the rest, the husband of our pentionista cooked for us and for this week i really wish i could have cooked for myself, he isnt the best cook in the business. wednesday we had cow liver, thursday we had cow kidneys, friday we had "sweated fish" (which is basically a steamed fish) and saturday i did a forced fast because i was to scared to find out what the climax would be. the whole week i was thinking where is the normal food, and then i realized i am in peru and this is the normal food.
well i have a question for you all. as you know there are some religions that still believe that saturday is the sabath day. but we all know that changed when chirst was resurected. well these past few weeks i have been teaching a man named Ramos. and no matter how many scriptures i use to teach that Sunday (the Lords day) is now the sabath, he always uses the scripture in matthew 5 that says christ came not to change the law but to fulfill it, and the law that he fulfilled was the passover. (where they all had to kill a lamb in order to be forgiven) but that the law of moses is still the law. well my question is how would you respond to that? i have lost so much sleep trying to think of a way to prove it but no matter what scripture i use or words i say he always uses that same scripture, i have run out of ideas. so all you returned missionaries, mothers, fathers, and scripture masters can you help me and my companion out?
well i am off to . . . . do something, but i am not really sure what, the p day is as a zone today, so i guess i will just go and be suprised
i love you all and always remember i am working as hard as i can.
Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday October 17, 2011

Hola Familia!!

well i am back to a hard area, alot like lampa de oro all over again. it was nice in trapiche because baptisms just seemed to fall in to you lap well i am sorry to say i got used to it and now being here in Santo Domingo i have been slaped back to reality. but reguardless Elder Quintero and i have had a awesome week. we taught over 30 lessons to investigators and less actives and lets just say i love putting big numbers down on my weekly report, it is just nice to see that my efforts are actually bearing fruits.

but this coming week will be a adventure, our pentionista has a problem with her throat and has gone to the hospital to get it fixed, well she wont be back until friday!! she gave us each 100 soles (almost 40 dollars) to feed us for the week. . . . this will be the first time in my mission that i am actually going to be forced to cook my own meals, and what is going through my mind as i write this is . . . "didn´t i just get over being sick?" it will be a interesting week but a exciting one too. maybe i will finally be able to show Elder Quintero how to make a egg burrito, ohh wait tortillas dont exist in peru :)

i also got to have another adventure with food this week and lets just say it was one of the worst. we were offered a lunch by some members on wednesday and of course we can never turn down a invitation, so we get to the lunch and ask what we are having and the Hermana tells us soup and pollo saltado!! and pollo saltado is my favorite type of food here in peru, but as i have learned where there is really good there is really bad too. i ask what type of soup and she says "pata" which normally is chicken foot soup. . . but this time no, it was cow foot soup. well the first thing i noticed was that it still had hair.... alot. i had a hard time eating it but i kept my promise and ate it all. i dont know who decided that the feet of animals was a desirable part of the animal, but all i have to say to him is. . . you are crazy.

well it is off futbol and my usual fruit, i am so greatful for fruit, because unlike soup it comes without suprises. i love you all an always remember that i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday October 10, 2011

Hola Familia!!

another week gone!! i am really pressured for time this week so we will see how much i am able to write. i got changed to a new area, it is called Santo Domingo, in the Santa Isabel zone. it is kinda funny because it is on the other side of the road from my old area. the Santo Domingo ward and the Trapiche Branch go to the same chaple at the same time, so i got changed but at the same time not really.

i am with a Elder named Elder Quintero from Colombia, once again a new country. Guerrero from Costa Rica, Gonzales from Bolivia, Portillo from Guatemala, and Quintero from Colombia, i am smiling now because i can just imagine you sitting in family home evening trying to pronounce some of their names. Elder Quintero is a great missionary and so far seems to be my favorite companion, and i am not going to start looking for falts or bad habits so hopefully he will stay like that.

i have a question for you. i went to "Mercado" once again i cant remember how to say that word in english, to find out what i could about my camera. and i found out some bad news. the brand of my camera is Fugifilm and they dont have this brand in peru. so if i wanted to fix my screen they would have to order one from the US or Japan and as i am sure you can imagine it would be very expencive. so i was wondering if i could just buy a new camera? let me know what you think and if it is alright with you send me the pin for the credit card, so i can buy it. unless you have a better idea because i am all ears.

the days are getting hotter and i am getting skinnier from all the sweating. we go to our pention for lunch and we have to take off our shirt so that it can dry. man i love being a missionary. probably the only time in my life i will be able to say that sentance :)

well my time is spent and i am off to play vollyball with the zone. to answer your question dad normaly we play sports or we cook food for p-day as a zone and we have p-days as a zone everyother monday. so until next week i love you all and know i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

p.s. president made a new rule this last week, that we are not alowed to write anyone that isnt family via email. he said that it is ok if we recieve emails but we cant send them. so if you could pass the news around that would be great. and just know i love getting your emails so dont stop writing them it will just take me a little longer to respond. chao

HERE IS A PS THAT HE SENT TO ME...(if you others want to share emails you get on the blog just let me know) this is the abridged version...

it is so weird to think that you are all going in to winter while i am suffering more and more each day as the sun gets hotter and the humidity gets more. sometimes i miss shoveling snow, but dont tell mom that :)

i recently got changed to a new area and i am back in the city. all i can say is peru is a really pretty country just as long as you arent in the city. cars that try and run you over, people shouting "GRINGO GRINGO" "how are you mister" in their highly flawed latin accents. but still in a way even that is beautiful. get your passport out because i am going to try and convince mom and dad to come visit in 15 months because i think it is the only way they are going to get me home from this mission.

the days seem like weeks but the weeks are like days, time for me has flown by and it doesnt seem to be slowing down.

kiss the kids for me tell them that i love them too, and we will see you soon

love ya lots

Elder Welch

Monday October 3, 2011

Hola Familia!!

wow conference is so much better every year!! and the best part is that president let us go to all the sessions just as long as we had a investigator with us. well heavenly father being as amazing as he is, has blessed me with many many people who want to listen, and i was able to attend all the sessions. they also had a little room on the bottom floor of the church where all the gringo missionaries went to watch the conference in English. and i defiantly agree with crystal, one of the reasons i loved conference was because i actually got to hear something in English. it is kinda funny how you can even start missing the language of your home.

i tried to choose one talk to answer your question about which i liked most, and i know that later tonight you will probably have FHE with the Buckner's and you will all sit down and say what you liked about conference. so i will add in a little bit of mine. . . we got to the church early so that my companion could have a good seat and we were one of the first ones there. they had the tabernacle choir playing and so we just sat and listened for a little while. and before i knew it i was tearing up, because just like you told me last week, we would be watching the same thing at the same time. i remembered all those Sunday mornings that my mom would put on her favorite CD of the tabernacle choir and honestly just hearing them again was a great moment for me.

i really liked the talk of President Packer. he is a special man, and every time we get to hear him is a blessing, you could almost see how tired and weak he was, but spiritually he is as alive as ever. i especially liked the part where he said very straight forward and bluntly, "Lucifer will loose" it was powerful and full of truth. we just need to be on the right team.

i also really enjoyed the talk from President Uchtdorf, about our relationship with god. no matter where we are no matter who we are, we are important to him. "The lord Doesn't care where you are at all, whether it be in marble halls or stable stalls." or Peru :) "we are not invisible to our Heavenly Father."

and of course there is always something good about the priesthood session and this time it was Elder Hollands. and his main theme was "UNBIND YOUR TONGUE" he always speaks directly at me and sometime it is a little scary. one thing he said that i really enjoyed was "you cant walk down the crooked path and guide others to the straight and narrow." wow i am so grateful for Repentance!!!

it is always sad when conference ends and we know that it will be another 6 months until the next one, but what a amazing conference it was. it seems like yesterday i was in the MTC watching conference and now another has passed. they don't lie when they say missions don't last long.

i have yet to receive letters. i got your first package mom but haven't seen the second yet. i have no idea what i want for my birthday. i have lost all touch with what i used to like to do, Maybe a football, you know the American one :). what i could actually use is, the screen on my camera recently broke, the camera still takes pictures but i need to replace the screen.

today is transfers once again for Peru Lima west mission and once again you will be in the dark for a week. i am not sure why the zone leaders insist on waiting until after Internet to tell us, it just seems to be so much easier to just tell us, but they are the leaders and i will just salute smartly and . . . well you know the rest.

i love you all and always remember, in the busiest part of Lima to the deepest part of the amazons. from chicken foot soup or some kind of fish head soup. from dogs to more dogs, i am working as hard as i can

Chou

Elder Landon R. Welch

p.s. i didnt get a email from dad this week so you will have to tell me the fish story next week.

Monday September 26th, 2011

Que Tal Familia!!

it was a great week we were able to have 4 baptisms on saturday
Ingrid, Iris, and Alan Romero Velasquez is a family of 9 that we have
been teaching!! and these 3 decided that they wanted to be baptized
now and wait for their family to follow and they are. their mother has
a date for the 8th of october and her sister for the next week. and
the other is Susan Salas a woman who has been talking to the
missionaries for about 8 months and finally we were able to drown her
:) it was a very beautiful day and honestly the most stress free
baptism i have had in peru.

i have not heard anything about conference yet, i am guessing that we
will be watching it with our zone in the stake center. i am hoping
that we will be able to watch all of it but it is highly doubtful i am
guessing that we will be able to watch the sunday morning but that
will be all. but who knows. maybe??

i had no idea that brother nielson had was even close to finishing his
mission prep class!! i tried to make him promise that he would be
there teaching when i got back but all he did was smile and give me a
hug. what a great man. he has helped 100s of missionaries become
better just by that class. who is the next teacher? he has some giant
shoes to fill.

i am hopefully back to 100% but i am not sure i remember what 100%
should feel like but we are back working all day and i have stoped
taking the pills that i recieved for my stomach and it seems that what
ever i had has now left, hopefully for good.

it is officially spring time in peru and it is hot hot hot!! but at
least the world has a bit of color now. the animals are all having
their babies and to answer your question mom yes there are tons of
dogs here and they all want to have a little taste of the white meat,
my companion doesnt seem to have problems with them just the gringos.

i need a favor mom. daniel and kyle are both in the mission now and i
want to write them something but you know how the mail is here. so i
was hoping you could ask their mothers for their church email
addresses so i can email them. well my time is spent so until next
week know i love you and am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday September 19, 2011

Hola Familia!!!!
i am doing better, finally and i am trying to get back into the gruling life of a missionary. and it is kinda hard. but little by little we will get there. they still arnt sure what i had,I have a doctors appointment today with a orthopedic sergun so i hope he will be able to tell me a little more. The pain slowly went away so they set me free. but Nothing too exciting happened this week concerning the work but we did have a awesome suprise on sunday. it was stake conference and they were going to have a satalite transmition from salt lake. there were so many rumors about who was going to speak and what they would speak on but when the face of president thomas s monson showed up on the screen i dont think there was a single person in the entire audience that wasn`t in shock and amazement. he, D. Todd christofferson, Walter F. Gonzales, and Julie B. Beck all spoke and it was a experience to never forget. they all spoke in spanish with the exception of president monson. and they all had amazing words for us. president monson talked alot about the importance of a mother and father in the home. and well lets just say that my mother and father matched every description. i am so blessed to have you guys dont ever forget how much i love you.
we also had a zone conference this week and once again president dorius amazed me with how personal and focused his message was for every single on of his missionaries. he also gave us the anouncement that he will be opening a new area soon called "La Canta" which litteraly means "it sings" he showed us pictures of it and if i could guess what the garden of eden would look like my guess would be . . . Canta. it is the most beautiful place i have ever seen in my life. i hope i get a few weeks there :) keep your fingers crossed.
peru is going into spring and i now am realizing why it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. when i got here winter was almost here. the skys were always gray and i have to say that i was really disappointed. but now i can only describe in words (because i dont have internet to send pictures) just how pretty it is. there are birds of every color and flowers too. the rivers are filling and the trees are blooming. amazing to say the least.
i love you all and always remember i am working as hard as i can.
Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday September 12th, 2011

Hola familia!!!

i am not feeling too much better but yes i have already called the president and i went to the clinic where they aren´t too sure what i have. the did dozens of tests but they arent really sure what i have. i am actually in the hospital right now writing this email from the presidents laptop and they arent really sure how long i will be here, but they dont want to send me back out until they are sure what i have. so it could be hours or it could be days i am not really sure. all i can say is that being a patient in a peruvian hospital is really really boring. i have seen 3 different doctors and 2 of the 3 think it might be meningitis but that doesnt explain the stomach ache. who knows???

we to had a apostle come to our mission elder anderson came and talked to us about the things the first presidency expects of us as their missionaries. number 1 is to have a testimony of christ. number 2 is to have a testimony of the restaration. number 3 is to have a testimony of the bible. and number 4 is to have a love for the spirit life. the first three i have but when he told us number 4 i was a little confused i wasnt sure what he ment by that. i have been thinking about it alot (with all my free time) and i think i have a pretty good idea but i want to know what you guys think first.

What do you think is a love for the spiritual life??

the converts are doing really good. and one thing i really like about being in a branch is that it is really easy to find callings for your converts. Romina is a branch missionary and a very good one too. Jose is in the young mens and cinthya is in the relief society presidency. how cool is that. i have come to realize how important it is for them to have callings fast. they now have a little responsibilty and i really think they will be strong in the church for a long time. now i just have to wait a year to go with them to the Temple.

2 of the 5 are from UTAH. one from kaysville and the other form ephram. Hermanas Bailey, and Hess.

well the eggs and flower is something that they do for your birthday. first they smash a egg on your head then dump a bag of flower on you. and it turnes into a huge mess. i am not really sure why that is the tradicion but it is. and to answer the question about the clothes. you dont. it is stained for life. i got a little on my backpack and i have washed it 5 times but it still smells like rotten eggs.

ok now for my miracle story. one of the hermanos in our branch had a birthday party. his name is hermano palermo. well we go in sit down and we are eating papa de huancaina and his son comes in the room. his family tells me that he served in arequipa on mission. so i ask him what years and he says 1998 and i knew chad was about that same time too so i ask him if he knows a elder Welch. he stops looks at my name tag smiles a little bit and askes
"chad welch?"
i say yes and he starts to laugh. so tell me chad do you know a elder Jonny Morales because he was your companion in puno!!! and i met him!! how crazy is that out of the millions of people in peru one of them i know was the companion of my brother wow how small is this world???

well my hour is spent and i need to go so i will fill you in next week about my back.
i love you all and i will try to get back out to work as hard as i can.
Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday September 5th, 2011

Hola Familia!!!

well another week come and gone and sometimes it feels like they run together. i have hit the apex of my sickness and i am not really sure how much longer i can wait before i finally break down and call president. i just dont want to go back to the clinic and get stuck in my house again. but to make a long story short. i have a stomach ache that never seems to go away. my back is so tense (but i dont know what from) that i am almost unable to sleep. i woke up in the middle of the night with chills that shook my entire bed. and when i took my temperature i was at 103 degrees farenhite. i tried to wake my companion but he is a very heavy sleeper and once i finally did he just told me to pray and roled over and went back to bed. i love the guy but i am dying and he doesn´t want to help me. needless to say please pray for my health because i am about ready to give up.

but we keep on working. and i am alright with that. it seems like the only time i dont notice how sick i am is when we are in a lesson preaching the truth to people who really need it.

i am afraid to say . . . no monkeys yet, but i will keep my eyes open. i do recieve letters but i am not sure if i recieve all the letters. just email me a little sentence when you mail me a letter that way i can keep my eyes open for it. but one thing i am sure of is i have yet to recieve a letter via pouch. so i dont think that works.

i recieved my first egg and flower treatment and it wasnt even my birthday. i wish i had pictures to send you but i didnt have my camera that day. but basically my hair was solid as a rock and white as snow. and it took me about 25 minutes in a freezing cold shower to get it all out. but hey atleast i have a shower, and friends who show their love even if it is in a kinda cruel manner, but it is the custom here and i guess i better get used to it i am sure it is bound to happen again.

i love you all and i am trying with all my might to work as hard as i can.

chau

Elder Landon R. Welch

p.s. there are 18 missionaries in my zone and 5 of them are Hermanas. we have 2 p days every month that we spend as a zone. sometimes we play futbol and sometimes we go on different adventures. but the p days that aren´t spent with the zone we spend with the members and investigators playing and just passing moments together. . . i love my mission, because it is full of little moments that i will never forget. love ya.

Monday August 29, 2011

Hola familia!!!!

wow do i have a story for you. let me just start by saying that Jose Miguel Chapoñan Santisteban and Cinthya Mariluz Vador Iparraguirre, were baptised on saturday!!! but it was anything but stress free. Elder Portillo and i were put in charge of filling the font and getting the keys to open the church and that is where all the drama started. the baptism was scheduled for 2 30 in the afternoon so we figured we should go to the church around 1 that will give us enough time to fill the font, and clean up a little bit before everyone shows up. we get there and open the church, and one thing that is really weird is that this church (unlike anyother church in peru) has a alarm system . . . . that we didnt know about. i am sure you can see where this is going. the alarm went off and not only does it start a siren that is really anoying, but it also sends a signal to the police, and wouldn´t you know it just our luck, the nearest police station was 2 blocks away. within minutes there were three police cars in front of the church, and chad as my witness the last place you want to be in peru is infront of a peruvian police officer, they only have one rule shoot to wound, because if they are wounded you can still put them in jail. they begin screaming over the microphone that pretty much lie down on the ground or die. so of course we took the first option, they put us in handcuffs and almost got us in their cars, when who should come around the corner, (thankfully) the second counselor of our branch presidency. they get everything straightened out and the police leave. and then i notice all the people. there were probably 300 people watching it all.

i was so close to seeing my first peruvian jail..... and i never want to be that close agian.

that is awesome about carson, congradulate him for me, and find out what mission too. i had alot of elders in my distrcit in the mtc that are in mexico. the weather is cold and rainy. we are out of lima and yes we do see alot of wildlife, not just dogs. my area is kinda like a little oasis. there is a little bit of jungle, and even a few rivers.i can actually say (without lying) that this area is actually really pretty. i will try to send some pictures but once again slow internet. my stomach is still kinda sick but i am more or less used to it. the fruit is amazingly delicious, but the rules are the same, if you cant peal it you cant eat it. but for the majority, i eat oranges, mandarinas, bananas, mangos, pineapples, and jocute (it is a fruit kinda like a coconut, hard on the out side but soft on the inside, but has a much better taste). mom you will be happy to know that i have grown to like sweet potatoes, they eat them alot here and i think i am more accostomed to it rather than like it. but tomatoes is another story. i love tomatoes now!!!!! the vegtables are like the fruit, they all seem to have a better taste here. i have eaten vegetables that i am sure i would have never eaten before my mission and they are all pretty good. one thing that i have come to LOVE is a little pepper called rocoto. (chad will know what i am talking about) it is tiny but it is powerful. they put rocoto, onions and lemon juice together and eat it with almost everything, and i have fallen in love with it. we do have many storms but none to scary, and yes i have felt alot of earthquakes, some of them are quite strong too. in almost every building there is a sign that says that this building is earthquake safe. and yes there are flowers of every color shape and smell. i would take pictures of them but i am not ready to feel that gay yet. :)

well it is off to fruit then futbol i love you all, thank you for the prayers not only for me but for my investigators i know that they are helping. and always remember i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch

Monday August 22, 2011

hola familia!!!

Well it was a kinda stressful week, man i wish peru was a little more moderinzed. but hey i am just glad i am here :) unfortunatly the baptism that we had for this past saturday fell through. what happend is: last week after the baptism of Romina and Karen, we left the baptismal font filled because the other ward had a baptism the next day. well after their baptism they forgot to empty the font . . . and peru water is very very contaminated as is, just add about 6 weeks of sitting and you have a potion that could kill anything. you could see things swimming in the water on saturday when we showed up and so needless to say we needed to empty and fill it again. but that isn`t the end of the story. we empty it and we clean it out and we are ready to fill it again when the branch president tells us that the water meter was stolen and we cant fill it. great. so we post pone it for sunday. . . but the story goes on. sacrament is the last meeting of our block of meetings so normaly elder portillo and i will go and bring people to church for the first two hours. we get to church at 11 and are ready to start sacrament when cinthya (the woman that we are supposed to baptise) comes and tells us that Jose (her husband) doesnt want to get baptised anymore. . . . now what do we do??? we asked her why and she told us that he didnt feel prepared yet, that he still had things in his past that was holding him down. we go and find him talk to him and we are hoping that this next week we will be able to drown him. pray for him please, that he can feel the peace that only this gospel brings.

this last week i have been more sick than usual. but none the less we worked harder than ever. we have 17 new investigators that we have found this last week and honestly i have a good feeling about all of them.

today is transfers and i dont think i will be trasfered but you can never be to sure in this work i will let you know what happens. but being transfers my time has been cut again. and once again the internet is incredably slow, so no pictures today.

I love you all and always remember that i am working as hard as i can.

Elder Landon R. Welch