#2!

My dearest friends and family,

This past week was pretty awesome, but felt like a lifetime because of all the things that happened. 

My week started off right after I sent the email last week. Monday afternoon we had a baptismal interview with one Karin Tezen, maybe some of you remember that name. The interview was with the President in the mission office, so we went to pick up Karin from where she was at her meeting in one of the churches in Chiclayo. But as we got to the chapel, we realized that there was nobody home, and all the doors and fence was locked. Oh great, I thought, the chapel where she said she had a meeting for work was empty, and it was 20 minutes before her interview with the Mission President. 

But luckily, in this advanced day and age that we live in everyone has their cell phone with them, so we called her to ask her where she was. Turned off... classic.

 So there we were, outside a locked church looking for an investigator with a very, very important interview in 15 minutes, but said person had no idea where the mission office was, and we had no idea where said person was, and to top it all off her cell phone was off. 

So we made a very advanced and analytical decision, and plopped down and began to wait. Time rolled by, 15 minutes until the interview, 10, now 5! Ok--now I was starting to lose it. During this time we had been calling the turned off cell like crazy, but we were only able to talk to her the number of times that looks like a goose egg. 

So we began to walk a bit up and down the street to try and see more, maybe we were actually in Utah where there is a Mormon church every block and she was in the one next door? Blast, no cigar. 

As we hit the last 5 minutes before we had to be in the office for the interview, I really started to panic. This investigator needed to be interviewed by the President, and she was already in Chiclayo for work. 

Earlier that morning we had studied in Preach My Gospel about a few Christ-like attributes, hope being one of them. So safe to say you could have named me "Hope" in those 5 minutes and it still wouldn't have sufficed. Then boom, like Cinderella, or better yet, like in Shrek 2, the clock struck 6 pm and Mrs. Karin Tezen was no where to be seen or heard of. 

As hopeful as Tiana was about her restaurant ( see Princess and the Frog) we waited for another 10 minutes. Squat. Well flip Elder... 

At this point I was speaking English to my Peruvian companion because of how mad I was. So we called the President and told him that we would have to reschedule another time, probably the next week. As we began to walk the sorry walk back to the office, the longest 10 seconds passed. Then, I heard something faint behind me that sounded something like, "Elders!"

 Because I was still wearing my hope tie, I turned expecting to see some kids who had figured out how to get our attention by saying our name. But then BAM! There Karin was getting out of a taxi, a little bit behind us, between us and the chapel. 

Holy crud, I thought. "Call the president" I commanded of my companion! 

So there we went, like Luke Skywalker after he destroyed the Death Star before it exploded, to the office for the interview. The interview went well, the President told us we could baptize, and so we began to plan. Wednesday we went to the house of Karin to plan the service, and she told us she wanted to be baptized tomorrow (Thursday) because Friday she was going to visit family in Lima. Oh Shoot! 

So for the next 22 hours, we went a bit crazy preparing everything for the service. Then on Thursday, at around 5:30, Karin Tezen was baptized! Haha oh yes we finally got a baptism! Now I know you are all thinking, I told you so Tanner, or, you should of been a little more patient. But before you flood me with those emails, know that I learned my lesson, so you can flood me with emails about other things. 

So there we go, I finally had my 2nd baptism after a bit of work and disappointment. But I learned a ton of patience, and how the Lord prepares people to be ready to be baptized in his own time, but when they are prepared, they are much better off. After about 2.5 months of teaching her with 2 different companions, 2 baptismal dates, 2 interviews with 2 different people, Karin had her one baptism! 

So yeah, that was pretty much my week. I hope you are all doing great, and will have a great week! Enjoy the snow, stay safe, have fun, and share the Gospel!

Love Elder Lewis

THE ADVENTURE--This is Going to Be Good

One of my zone leaders that I know pretty well.

Hello everyone! How was your past week? Here we had a pretty normal week. We had good days, and a few really bad days, but what else is new?

 We also went on an adventure this past P-day that was pretty exciting, painful, and cool. 

Last week on Monday, my companion, and our two zone leaders went and visited a museum that is a little outside our area, or at least we thought so. A member who does our laundry told us that it is really close, and that he could take us there in his moto taxi one day and it wouldn't take any time at all. 

So last week we took him up on the offer, and headed to Huaca Rajada, a museum near the pueblo of Sipan in his moto taxi with us four missionaries (the moto holds 3). All was well as we were crusing down the road towards Sipan, as we passed Calupe and neared Riconazo. However we hit a problem when we  got to Riconazo because the road turned into dirt, (no suprise), and one of the tires popped on the moto. 

So we rolled into the amazingly tiny village of Riconazo, and began to look for someone to help us. Of course there wasn't anyone in that villiage, but the member told us that we should just take the next bus that passed by up to the museum and that he would meet us there. Since it was painfully hot and we were bored, and didn't want to sacrifice our coveted p-day, we took him up and went off. 

Waiting at the bus stop after the moto taxi tire blew

We went to the museum, and it was actually really cool. The museum is about some old kings that lived in that valley, and they found their tombs. So the museum was all about the things they found and how the ancient people (pre and during the Incas) buried their dead. They had a ton of artifacts, mostly a ton of pots, and a fair amount of gold cloaks and things that the king would wear. 

After we walked through the museum, and saw the stuff (I couldn't read what it really was because my extensive knowledge of Spanish doesn't cover ancient civilizations and burial ceremonies), we went to the actual site where they found the tombs. It was a bit of a let down-- pretty much just a really big mound of dirt in the middle of sugar cane fields that was badly erroded.  But they showed where they found the tombs and it was really cool to see how they buried one king on top of the other. 

Overall the museum was actually pretty cool, definitely exceeded my expectations for where I am in Peru. 

But to continue with the adventure:  afrter we had seen everything, it was about 1 pm, and of course, the member was no where to be seen. We tried calling him but because we are in Peru, there was really spotty service so we  couldn't get a hold of him. After waiting in what felt like an oven for about 45 minutes, we finally got a call from him saying that he had to push his moto taxi, with one flat wheel all the way back to the villiage of Calupe, but that it was all fixed and that we should take the bus back to good old Riconazo and he would meet us there. 

Sounded like a perfect plan, so we rode down to Riconazo and plopped back down on the same old bus stop from the morning. But, as you all can guess, the member was no where to be seen and didn't show up for a good 30 minutes after. 

By this time it was 3 in the afternoon, and all four of us were tired, hot, and crazy hungry! So when we saw the outline of his moto on the horizon we were filled with much relief! So he pulled up, told us to hop in, and as we were turning around we realized that the same stupid wheel had popped.... So there we were, in the same tiny town as before with the same problem, in a town that we knew didn't have the solution. 

But the member went into the grand city (like 5 streets) and found somebody with a bike pump, and began to inflate the tire. With the tire all pumped up, we headed off as fast as we could back to Tuman. And amazingly all was well! Untill we hit about 1 km away from our home, when the tire pretty much blew up and was all over the wheel. 

My shoes after one day of walking around 

But never fear! We are in Peru, so he told us four to pile onto the side with the air and like 2 nephi 31 we endured to the end! In the end, we got back at about 4:15, having seen everything but having the strong desire to never have another pday again... 

 In case you were wondering, there was nothing about Thanksgiving here and that night I learned the most important lesson of my mission (more or less). We had the interview with Karin for her baptism, and before it I asked her every question a few days before to prepare her, except for one because I felt awkward asking it, so I skipped it. 

Well, it turns out that was the question she's still struggling with so she couldn't be baptized this past week. That was Thanksgiving Day, so I spent that night feeling like the biggest idiot in the entire world.  At least I now know to ask ALL the questions. 

Luckily she has her interview with the mission president this afternoon, and hopefully all will go well. Whenever anyone has problems with that question, they need to have an interview with the mission president. So I have been praying really, really hard that she would have the confidence and desire to keep going through.

 She is really making us work for it, for her baptism. I really hope we get it, and I am expecting a massive feeling of relief! I also got both the big letter mailer and package this past week! I actually got the letter last week, and the package today. I opened the letter, but think I willl wait for the package untill Christmas. Thank you so much for everything!!!!!I am really excited to read the talks from Bro Engstrom, Demeter, and Nana. You only included those 3 right?   (I have been spreading everyone's conference talks out in each package I send him these next few months.) Also I know Jackson and have emailed him a few times.  That is crazy he is in the same area as the bishop was in! Have an awesome week, stay patient, have fun, maybe talk to Christina about the church. 

But other than that things went well this past week! Taught well, spoke Spanish, and some exciting news, one of our investigators has her interview for baptism tonight and we are hoping to baptize her either this Thursday or next Saturday(13th) depending on when she takes her vacation to Lima. I hope everyone is doing great, starting to decorate for Christmas, and enjoying the cold!

One p-day

 Sandra Jessica and Jhoselyn

The family who does our laundry, and the man is the one who took us on our adventure

One of our favortie families on the last night with Elder Damian

Love Elder Lewis