Elder Ryan Farmer - Peru Piura Mission: April 22

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER FARMER - April 16th

April 22, 2013
This week went really well. It was a little hectic with lots of baptismal interviews and travels, etc. which didn`t leave too much time for tracting, but it was fun. On Tuesday it was my birthday. We didn’t have anything special planned, just a few appointments. When we were visiting Henry I told him it was my birthday and he immediately starting giving us all sorts of stuff. Chicha morada (a drink here) and popcorn, then soda and a big bowl of masamora morada (a weird but delicious dessert here. Then we went to an appointment that we had with Jany in our pensionista´s house. She had set up a mini surprise party and had invited a few members that we know. When I walked in they just threw flour at me, no eggs this year, but I avoided most of it. She made me a super delicious chocolate cake. They sang me Happy Birthday and then started chanting ¨take a bite, take a bite¨ so that they could push my face into the cake. – it’s another one of their traditional tricks on birthdays. So I took a bite and boom, five different hands pushed my face into the cake. Pretty hilarious because I tried faking them out and doing it fast but they got me. It was a great birthday and I felt as if I were amongst my own family.

In other news, the zone baptized like crazy this week. We had SEVEN, which is a really high number for what we are used to seeing here in Puyango. A few investigators got baptized earlier than expected and a few that didn`t get baptized last week got baptized this week, so we beat our original goal of just 3. When I reported to president Rowley and the assistants last night they couldn’t believe it, haha. It was great to see.

Our ward baptized two. We had one and the sisters had another and their investigator asked me to baptize him. We baptized Jany, a 17 year old from the Jungle of Peru, a place called Terrapoto. She is all by herself out here and converted quickly with the help of my pensionista and her daughter. So, it was a good week. The transfer ended and me and elder Muralles are staying another 6 weeks here together. I’m really looking forward to see all the progress in our investigators and finding even more.

April 29, 2013

Can you believe how time is flying? Honestly, I still feel like I have a ton of time left until I go home, but at the same time 4 months is nothing. It is weird to think that this point in the mission has arrived. I feel like I`ve been in Peru forever! But at the same time, it has all gone by too fast. am getting excited for my last call home in two weeks for Mother`s day.

This week went well. We had a super awesome lesson with Henry and his wife. The lesson that I love teaching the most is the plan of salvation. It all makes so much sense and I love seeing their eyes open when we explain that Adam and Eve fell because it was part of Gods plan and therefore helping them understand why we are here in this fallen state. In other news, our landlord told us last Tuesday that he needed our room by the end of the month because his son was moving to town and needs a place to stay. So, we have been frantically looking for rooms and still don’t have a sure place to live. In an hour we will be traveling to Piura for another zone leader council. 5.5 hours in a cramped bus after not sleeping very much last night. Woooo! But a lot of friends from my group recently got subed and it`ll be fun seeing them. I love you all. Thanks for the support.

Transfer Day - Saying goodbye to great friends:

Elder Perero - from Guayaquil. He was a zone Leader in Lopez Albujaar