Our First Transfer Week
On Sunday we attended two different wards. We enjoy meeting the members. They are thrilled to have a couple serving here. This mission has never had a couple before.
On Monday evening, we went with a driver to pick up a missionary from a town near Barranquilla, Colombia. She arrived alone from Bogotá. She is beautiful, very sweet and seems to have her act together.
On Tuesday we experienced transfers. We had been asked to provide food for the twenty or so who would arrive early and have to wait. We cut up fruit for a good half hour and took sandwich fixings to the office. They had asked us to come “early” (7:30am), thinking this would be a hardship…We had a wonderful time getting to know so many of these remarkable young people.
The office elders had neglected to check the supplies of sheet sets and pillows. Each newly arrived missionary is supposed to get new sheets and a pillow. We had to hustle to Sodimac, a sort of Home Depot, and bought sheet sets and pillows to get out to the newly arrived missionaries. These were distributed later in the evening by an Uber service. By the end, we spent a good 14 hours… we were tired!
We attended the Magdalena district council on Wednesday morning. They asked us to introduce ourselves. It is so fulfilling to meet with them.
The Uber driver who took us was fascinated by us. He couldn’t believe we were 68 years old. We told him about a living prophet. He said, “Just imagine, I’m 30 years old and nobody ever told me that Jesus Christ visited America!” Rich sent him an electronic copy of the Book of Mormon.
We have found a very good cevícheria near our apartment. It is called La Concha Nostra. We are very happy that ceviche is no longer on the naughty list!!! We love Peruvian food!
The next day we went back to Sodimac and bought out their pillows and sheets plus we found yoga mats. Sister Plumb, our mission leader’s wife, likes to give each missionary a yoga mat to encourage them to exercise. They have been in the hen's teeth category but we found a bunch!
Our dear friends, the Agüeros picked us up one night and took us to get Julie set up with the seamstress. Then on Saturday they took us to Gamarra, the most insane "shopping center" in the heart of the district called La Victoria. This place is absolutely the most intense open air/apartment complex shopping place imaginable. It is city blocks long and wide with mobs of people that mimic the hordes of Genghis Khan at the gates of Vienna! They are either, selling, shopping or looking for someone to rob. I doubt that there is anything legal or otherwise that you can't get there. I also doubt I would go there without a guide.
Fernando asked Rich to take off his tie so as not to draw attention. Rich said, "I am not sure that taking off my tie will serve to camouflage an impossibly bald white guy in this place…"
Julie got her material that the Agüeros will deliver to the seamstress. She hopes this will make the heat more bearable. It is very hot and humid here. Even the Peruvians complain calling it "bochorno!" Even if you don't know the translation, it just feels like the right word…
Rich is helping evaluate the status of the mission real estate. We have rented houses that no one lives in. Some are anything but acceptable, full of rats, cockroaches and mildew. We are evaluating to see which ones need to be returned to their landlords. We also helped find an apartment to get a few of the hermanas out of a pesthole! The new place is very nice.
We mentioned that we were being trained to make medical appointments that are recommended by the health specialist in Salt Lake. The way this is supposed to go is that the missionaries call him with their problem. If it is something they can do on a first aid or home remedy sort of basis, he gives them what to do and then re-evaluates if it doesn't get better.
If they need medical attention, he directs us through Sister Plumb to have us call the clinic here in Lima and set up an appointment. We put it on the president's calendar and let the missionary know what she/he needs to do.
Then we email the insurance company for a Letter of Guarantee the day before the appointment and they are supposed to generate said letter in two hours or less… Can you hear the "BUT!" coming?
Our Elder who had the appendectomy had his follow-up on Friday. We requested the letter, twenty hours before the appointment. After sending two additional reminders and getting one letter for an elder in Florida, we got the required letter an hour after the appointment. Needless to say, we are going to revise our procedure for when we request the letter.
When I got back, the elders carried a refrigerator to us from the office. These are such great guys. Julie is so happy to have a bigger fridge!
We took one of the sisters to the north end of the mission to get a package her grandmother sent her through regular mail! We considered it a miracle. It came through in perfect shape! It had not been opened and was completely intact.
Just after informing about everyone we know, telling them that it never rains in Lima… It positively poured down rain last night!
We ended the week attending two baptisms and at one of them, we got to FaceTime with Sister Wilkes, a missionary we just got to meet and love before she went home. We love serving with these remarkable young missionaries and we feel so welcomed and loved by the many members we have met. What a blessing it is to be here.
Pouring rain in Lima!!!
Es una experiencia tan satisfactoria de servicio a los misioneros lo que ustedes están realizando en Lima. Entiendo que debe ser muy cansado pero de gran ayuda para ellos. Deben quererlos mucho. Los aprecio mucho. Saludos de Arequipa. - G. Lupo.
ReplyDeletePhew😅! Reading your blog made us tired already and we aren’t the ones serving this mission. You really hit the road running, didn’t you? So glad you were medically checked out and are in good shape. However, it does look like you are having a good time serving the Lord and these young missionaries💕
ReplyDeleteenjoyed your blog! i am so glad, you are finally there! ❤️love Sister Thomas
ReplyDeleteHola Elder & Sister Hasler! You're living the life - again. Each photo reminds us of the wonderful times we had with you in Cusco and Lima.
ReplyDeleteNice. Very nice and meaningful work
ReplyDeleteSaw your post and glad to hear you finally made it to the mission field. We will be there soon to join you. Hoping the temps will cool down a bit before then. Wow! Sister Jacobsen and I were looking at the mission boundaries recently and it seemed that the area of the mission is extremely small. We calculate only 5 miles from east to west and north to south (25 square miles). Is that right or did we make an error with the map legend? Just curious! We are excited and nervous at the same time - mostly about our ability to communicate, but we trust the Lord will bless us as we become immersed with the Peruvian people. God bless you as you continue to have new and exciting experiences.
ReplyDeleteElder Jacobsen