Sourcing a New Prosthetic Leg, Thanksgiving, New Missionaries, and a Few Dog Bites...

One of the sisters who just arrived was injured in a car accident when she was 9 and requires a prosthetic leg. The one she has is from when she was 14 and so,  has outgrown it. Our president received money from a kind member in Utah to use for a case such as this. The president asked us to source a new, higher quality leg for the sister. We were pretty thrilled to participate in this and found a place that will make her a titanium limb with a carbon fiber foot. She is very excited. We were thrilled and felt blessed to have the opportunity to help her.

We met with a group of the other senior missionaries serving here for Thanksgiving. Not being a national holiday, some were unable to make it. We contracted a turkey and then all pitched in with something. We met in the big conference hall in the Church Area office building. A bunch of Utah cooks, it was all pretty good! It lacked the warmth of hearth and home but was fun to get together.

We received another group of 24 new missionaries. They mostly came from the US but some from Peru, Bolivia, and one from Guatemala and Philippines each! What amazing times we are experiencing.

We had one of the P-days for just the sisters in our mission and it is always delightful to spend time with them.

Dear friends from far away have come to town to pass through the Los Olivos Temple. We loved our time participating there. While we were there, one of our sweet sisters came through with her family who had come from Dallas, TX to pick her up.

Rich took a young missionary home to Huarmey, six hours north of Lima. It was a fascinating trip across some of the most incredibly empty desert imaginable. In its own right, it is pretty beautiful. Huarmey is a port, so the side bonus was awesome cebiche for lunch before making the return trip.

Some of the people who are getting baptized require a special interview. Rich gets to do a lot of these and he loves these most of the time. Because of the years of social upheaval in Peru, some people have truly been through a lot. Rich gets to help them understand the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. These are special experiences.

We are up to twelve dog bites that have prompted a series of five anti-rabies vaccines for each one. Once vaccinated, they can get bitten as often as they like… Anyway, while in the clinic, helping with one of our missionaries who had been bitten, Rich heard someone call his name. He turned towards the voice and looked at a man who looked vaguely familiar. He said, "don't you know me?" Then he said he was Oswaldo, our wonderful friend from Espinar. He has suffered from pancreatic cancer and is a bare shadow of himself but is in remission. It was such a wonderful reunion!

We said goodbye to our friends the Venturas. Peter and Rich received their missionary training together in the Provo LTM(Language Training Mission) before it was the MTC(Missionary Training Center) back in 1974. Both went to Milano, Italy but never crossed paths again, until we were in Peru with the Venturas. They served in the area office. Another amazing link was that their children attended a BYU ward where Glenn, our son served in the bishopric over that ward. Small world syndrome on a bunch of levels.

Newly arrived missionaries from the US and Bolivia

My counselor from my days as branch president in Espinar, Grimaldo Lupo and his family came to see the temple.

Another dear friend, Oswaldo Gaona whom I ran into in the hospital here in San Isidro.

One of our sister missionaries on her way home with her family caught up to us on our last day working in the open house.

This little girl was so enamored of Julie at the Los Olivos temple open house that she had to have her photo with her...

Two of our sisters with whom we met.

The Sister's P-day gang.

Sister Plumb (our mission leader) and Sister Solano our Visa missionary

Maricielo's baptism

Our dear friend's son who is off to Venezuela soon

My first missionary companion from 1974, Together again as missionaries after 48 years 

A missionary we met going to  different mission. He is from the US, but his uncle is from Lima

Roadtrip to Huarmey to take a missionary home to his family

Nothing like cebiche in Huarmey

Mototaxi advertising the temple open house

A random vulture at the beach

Mall Christmas trees

Not all our favorites but there is an impressive amount of mural art in Lima