La Ronda Campesina

Last pday after I wrote we went on a hike to a super cool lookout and some pre-incan ruins. Super cool. Man I love the mountains. It was rainy and cold and we were standing on the top of a huge cliff. It made me miss the mountains back home. 

We also went and ate the trout that we caught. The restaurant de-boned them and fried them for us with ají 🔥 chicharrón de trucha. Catch and cook trout in south america ✔️ probably one of the best days of my mission. 

Chota is a super traditional town. The people are mostly farm workers that are very well mannered people. The town is also extremely clean. The whole throw your bag of trash out on the street and let the dogs eat it thing doesn't exist up there. I was asking people why the town is so much as they would say "menos malcriado" and found out about one of the coolest organizations I have ever heard of. "La Ronda Campesina". Basically the police up there take the back seat. There is a group of people called La Ronda. They basically regulate all crime in the city. They wear these super cool hats that are traditional to Chota. Almost all of the old timers there are "Ronderos" (part of this organization). If someone steals a cow, La Ronda takes them, strips them down, and whips them. If someone steals from a tienda, they write the crime they did on their chest, put them in the town center and beat the snot out of them. I found it super interesting. The first 3 guys we contacted up there were Ronderos, so I got super intrigued. We went to a museam about it that was super awesome. I'll throw a picture in. I also bought a book called "así nació La Ronda". I don't know why it is so interesting to me, but I think these people are the coolest people ever. Basically just peruvian cowboys that wear sick hats and ponchos and keep the city in check. I asked a guy if he was a Rondero and he said, "claro amigo ando con el cohete en el bolsillo" (of course my friend, I roll with the rocket in the pocket). That's something cool I learned, rocket in the pocket is a term here too. If anyone would like to research "La Ronda Campesina" of Chota Perú and send me some cool info I would apreciate it. 

One of my very favorite things about the sierra (mountains) of northern perú is how the people talk. They speak the clearest most beautiful spanish I have ever heard. They pronounce every single letter extremely precisely if not over exagerated. It is so cool to listen to them. It is so incredibly easy to understand. 

Another one of my favorite things about the mountains is that the panaderías (bread shops) all use wood ovens to cook their bread. The huge industrial electric ovens haven't gotten up there yet so its all "a la leña". It is so good. 10x better. We got some cemita, bizcochos serranos, alfajores de chocolate, pan integral, etc and it was all so dang good. I wish I could take it all home. 

On the ride back to Pomalca the tire on the combi popped. Luckily right when we gotten to a little town called called Cochabamba. There was a little shop that was able to fix it up in about an hour. The rest of the drive was through the straight fog. Like thick thick. The driver was absolutely ripping though. He was going like 40 around sharp corners on a two lane road on the edge of cliffs with semis coming the other way in fog that I kid you not made it impossible to see 20 feet in front. I wish I was exagerating. It was absolutely unreal

Some member stood up in sacrament and said that the elders need to stop baptizing because they've done it too much. Great member.

This week marks 6 months until I am home. Somehow I feel better and more motivated than ever. Man. I wish this would never end. 

I think with almost 18 months in the mission I have finally understood the importance of baptism. I have always wanted to baptize, but lately it has been a burning desire. It drives me throughout the day. My companions have probably gotten sick of me saying "yeah he"s probably getting baptized" after first contacts. Sometimes I ask myself if being obsessed with baptizing people is a bad thing. I think this letter is the perfect answer. 

Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ. Loor al profeta.