The Field

The Mission Group-Peru North

SO FINALLY, I can say that I'm here in the field. And boy oh boy has it opened my eyes. P-days are now Mondays, and I can finally get letters in a more secure fashion. So please send letters to the address on my blog and I'll get them :) My first area is Las Violetas and me and my companion are both new to the area. She has been out for four months and I am her first daughter\ person she has trained. She doesn't speak any English, so I'm kinda like a kid thrown into the deep end of the pool with spanish. Do or Die. My trianer so far is great though. Shes a spunky little hermana from Honduras and honestly I feel so sorry for her. She's trying her best to explain what it is we need to do, but understand maybe every other 5 words. Pray for her.

There wasn't much to go off when we got to area (aka nothing in the area book) SOOO were opening Las Violetas. Its kinda a lot to take in the first week in the field, but its time to roll up dem sleeves and get to work! We live with another pair of hermanas in our house, Hermana Luna and Cruz, and niether of them speak English either... so I get to be a teacher as well as a student.

Missionary work is a lot different than I had imagined I'll admit. A lot more wandering around and well, invading upon people that I had imagined. Contacting is bascially all we've done this week and its terrifying for me. My spanish is rocky, but I have to use it. I was so thankful for Sunday though when we were finally able to meet members in the area and see the bishop and what not. When we were contacting on the street, we had no idea who is or isn't a member so we actually contacted into a couple and well it was like christmas.

A wierd kinda fruit here in Peru-tastes good!

Its really brown here in Peru, and there are no jungles in my mission. Haha I wasn't sure what to expect and it's kinda relief to know I wont have to worry too much about bug bites and snakes crawling up my legs. however there are cockroaches everywhere. We taught this one boy in a kinda sketchy alley way (we just plopped down on the ground and taught him) and I was trying not to freak out too much. Imagine China town in LA or wherever it is, now imagine it covered in polvo (dust) with no Chinese people but Latinos, and that is how I can best accurately describe my mission.

The houses are really different here too. Its like an apartment that you need a key to get into to go up the starits to get to the different doors that lead to the apartments. However, nobody has a doorbell, so we literally just bang on the first outer door as hard as we can, yell at the top of our lungs, and wait till someone pokes their head out and ask them to get a certain person for us. (We had a member with us at one point and he did it to, so I guess its normal here.)

Please keep me in your prayers-- I'm trying my best to adjust but its difficult. Much love to all of you!!!!!!

Hermana Bowers

A Picture of the dorms at the CCM