So week one was great! Monday night I arrived in Lima where my parents were waiting for me in Miraflores. Miraflores is a beautiful part of Lima that is right along the coast. I have never seen such a beautiful part of Lima ever before. We stayed right next to Parque de Amor. That means park of lovers. Near where we were staying was a mall, cute shops, and tennis courts. We probably could have stayed a week in Lima. Tuesday we went downtown to see the government palaces. In downtown Lima lives the President of Peru. There is a lot of history there because that is where the conquistador's set up camp. We enjoyed eating pollo a la brasa, lomo saltado and drinking Inca Cola (ok, my parents didn't like Inka Cola- but I loved it!). That afternoon we went to the airport to Pucallpa. You have to know how much I love Pucallpa- I don't think I love a group of people more than I love my fellow Pucallpians. As a missionary I lived there and served with the people there for 1 year. Normally as a missionary you don't get to spend that long in a city. When we landed in Pucallpa and got off the plane I could feel that wonderful humidity. It had just rained and it smelled great. You know how you remember scents? Well, Pucallpa is like that for me. We got in a car the hotel sent to pick us up and it was like walking into a dream. Pucallpa looks exactly like I left it.
Our hotel was awesome- it is called Ucayali River Hotel. I recommend it for anyone who will be visiting Pucallpa. It is really nice, great service, and the prettiest building I have seen in my entire time in Pucallpa. It was funny staying at such a nice hotel after living in places with bug nets, no air conditioning and cold showers. That first night there we ate fried yuka and yummy yuka stuffed with cheese and ham. Yuka is a really yummy jungle starch that is similar to a potato and I absolutely love it. That night I could hardly sleep in anticipation of seeing my friends in Pucallpa. Wednesday we started the day visiting my pensionista Leysi and her husband Hermano Melo. We painted their house green while we were in Pucallpa and it was still a wonderful neon green when we got there! It was fun to see them and hug and kiss them. We just sat in their living room and visited for a little while. Then they took us to their daughter's house and we got to see their new grand daughter! I showed my parents where I lived and where we used to go to church. It was all the same! I know it is only 1 year but I totally thought it would be a lot different. After visiting with them I took my parents out for an authentic jungle lunch! We went to a place that a wealthy family would take us on our mission- funny what you think is a really nice restaurant during your mission is just normal after you've lived in the states for a year. Anyways we ate Juanes (a tomale special to the jungle), fried yuka, and Majas! Majas is a rodent/pig kind of animal that is native to the jungle. My parents did NOT like it at all and really it is not the best meat but it was a fun adventure and was the joke of the week. After that my parents did not trust me enough to order lunch.
After eating lunch we decided to stop by the Munoz family's house. They are a family I spent a lot of time with during my mission. When I first met them Ernesto and Ermalinda were not married and were not interested in attending church. They have a lot of hard trials in their family. They have 5 children, and when we first met them two of their kids had been baptized by previous missionaries. During my time in Pucallpa Ernesto and Ermelinda got married and the weekend after I got transferred they got baptized. I knocked on their door and when Ermalinda opened the door and saw me she threw her arms around me and began to weep. It was so tender and she told me she never thought she would ever see me again. She was there with her daughters and granddaughter who was born after I left. We chatted and then she invited me and my parents over for lunch the next day with her and all her family. We promised we would and I was over the moon that they were still living there and had pictures of their wedding and baptism in their home. Then we went to visit a few other friends. One is a man named Pedro and his wife and four children. Pedro has suffered from constant infection because of a tracheotomy that he had a few years ago. He is a great man and has a wonderful family. He didn't know that I was coming. When we pulled up in our motorkar his son Ken saw me (me is 7 years old) and yelled "HERMANA!!!!!" and came running and threw his arms around me. I can't believe he remembered me! That was one of my favorite moments. Then the rest of their kids came and jumped on me, haha. It was great. My parents were super surprised to see Pedro's very humble home. Pedro lives in a small two bedroom home with dirt floors and it is sunk beneath the ground. This makes rainy season very difficult. We had a great time chatting and then his wife came home and when she saw it was me on her porch she started to run and threw her arms around me too. So sweet and tender!
After leaving Pedro's house we went out with a young couple to the zoo in Pucallpa. It was there we saw the wonderful animal we had for lunch. Again, my parents were less than amuzed. To get to the park my friend Carlos Bardales invited my Dad to ride on the back of his motorcycle while my Mom and I went on a motorkar (a little motorcycle taxi) to the zoo. Well, according to my Dad, Carlos took him on quite the adventure! He got to go get a hands on experience of Peruvian traffic! Then they met us at the park. The park manager let us stay after hours and we got an exclusive tour. It was great! Then we went by the house of one of my favorite people in the planet - Hermano Isaac. Isaac is a shoe peddler who lives in an 8 x 8 room. He is handicapped and rides around in a wheelchair made out of a plastic chair and bike wheels. We gave him this wheelchair when we found him first. It was really great to show my parents this place because I have told them so many stories. He told me how he is still active and has had the calling of Ward Mission leader for a year now. He has been a member of the church for 2 years now, and frequently goes out and visits the other men who were baptized the same time he was. It was great to see his smile, or "sonrisa de aguaje". He said he thought he would never see me again- it was so awesome to see him and encourage him. But he doesn't need me anymore- he is so good! He just shared his thoughts and feelings about Christ and how his life has changed since he has started to follow God's commandments. He shared how life is just better when you follow God and keep all of his commandments. So true!
The next day we spent visiting a few other members that I knew and then were invited to a special mothers day activity for Tito, who is the son of Ernesto and Ermalinda. He is going to police school in Pucallpa and had a big ceremony with everyone in their uniforms and it was a great honor to go and attend this acitivty. Afterwards Ermalinda had prepared a big lunch for us. It was so fantastic! It was juanes (again the jungle tomales). The whole family was there- 8 of them and the three of us, so 11 all together. We exchanged stories. Dad had a great time telling his parents conversion stories. The family loved it. They decided they couldn't say goodbye yet so they would come and send us off at the airport later that night.
From there we went to Yarina Cocha. There we drank coconut milk, ate guavana and went on a boat ride to an island in the middle of the Yarina Lake. It was wonderful! On the island there was a little zoo with exotic animals. From there we got ready to go on the plane back to Lima. Waiting for us at the airport was a friend of mine named Rode. She was so sweet to come! Then we had to check in before the family we ate lunch with came to meet us. Luckily there was a clear glass window that separates the passangers from family members who are sending them off. They got there late and we talked through a crack in the window/wall. It was great to exchange notes through the glass and I reminded them the importance of centering their life around Christ and made them promise to always go to church and get ready to go to the temple. They said yes! And tears were spilt on both sides. Ermalinda could not stop weeping. It was the sweetest thing. I of course was pretty emotional. They said they would see me off and watch us until our plane was gone into the night. I love these people so much and I am grateful to have met them.
Then the next day we met up in Lima with my friend Fatima. We met each other with tears again (just assume that every person I met with shared tears with me- because it was pretty much that way, haha). She got off work and school for 3 hours to show us around Lima. It was AWESOME. She was a wonderful tour guide. After that we got to go to the Lima Temple. It is beautiful and reminds me of the great peace that the temple brought me during my mission. No matter what trials I was facing on my mission, the temple was my home. It has always been my "home". I always feel like when I go to the temple the Lord throws his hands on my shoulders and reminds me of how much he loves me and knows me. That's how I felt as I walked around the temple with my parents. Then we ran back home to get to spend time with the Mission President and my parents.
Dinner with President Blunck and his wife was wonderful! Just imagine the 4 people in your life who love you the most in one room together... it was epic! Seriously, I never imagined this moment would come at all. It was great to share moments on the mission, talk about old companions, and see how the mision is currently doing. I got to report to my president what I'm doing now and how I plan to implement important lessons learned on my mission. It was a great moment for me to thank my parents and my president and his wife for teaching me about the gospel. My parents taught me first and my mission presidents taught me second how to teach others. Both taught me about the importance of a family and how that is the greatest thing I can accomplish in my life. Tears were shed and great pictures were shed. Also, Sister Blunck made a GREAT dinner. It was wonderful to spend time with them. We didn't want to leave and it was obvious that they wanted us to stick around too. I can't wait to see them again in the fall at our mission reunion!
Friday we flew to Cuzco, where I will be spending the rest of the summer! We stayed in this little hotel that was darling! It was a cute little boutique hotel that overlooked the whole city of Cuzco. They brought in hot bottles of water and did turn down service with cute chocolates! Every night me and my parents laughed so hard about our fun tour guides and funny stories that we had shared. My parents are hilarious and party harder than anyone I know! I just try to keep up with them :) Hopefully someday I can be as cool as they are.... probably will never happen- but it's worth a try, right?
This morning I took them to the airport and just as they were getting on their plane my classmates and professors were literally stepping off their plane. It couldn't have been better timing! We went on a great hike, had yummy pizza, and met with the Medical director of the clinic, two doctors, and all of our team. My supervisor reccomends that I take some salsa classes while I'm here- I think I will do it! I've got to work on my latin hip shaking skills! That's all for now- more later!! Chao
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ReplyDeleteI need to see you Sister Yost in Peru!!!...
ReplyDeleteawww love you allie have a fun in cusco !!!
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