Cuy

Transfers were this week. Should be a good transfer. I'm staying in Pomalca and recived two new comps. One is elder Rice from Alaska. We have about the same amount of time in the mission. We were together out in the jungle and did a bunch of exchanges out there so we knew each other well. We are also training an absolute stud named elder Martin from Idaho Falls. Hes an absolute unit and such a cool guy. Prodigy of the MPCH. He will be carrying my torch for 17 months after I leave, so thats kinda cool. I couldn't say enough good things about this guy. The bishop asked one of us to speak in sacrament meeting so we had him do it. He did it like an absolute champ. First sunday in peru and he absolutely nailed it. I think the Lord hears me every time I say I don't like trio training because he keeps having me do it. I am actually pretty excited this time though. Pretty cool oportunity to help a new guy learn and grow with two experienced missionaries. 

My trainer, my last companion, and the sisters that got here with me all went home this week. That one stung a bit. 

Ate cuy (guinea pig) this week. I hate that stuff. Its so nasty. We sat down to eat it and I really struggled to find any meat whatsoever on it. The whole family just went at it whole, crunching the bones super loud. Absolutely sick. People here kill for that stuff. You can get two whole chickens for the price of one tiny little meatless piece of garbage guinea pig. So nasty

I love christmas in the mission. Boy is it getting toasty though. We had an hour long car ride the other day to go help some sisters way out in the boonies move houses. The taxi driver would not role the windows down or turn on the ac because "mucho aire hace daño". It was probably 95 in that car for an hour straight. I had a headache the rest of the day. 

Some guy showed up at church on sunday saying he wants to get baptized asap. The problem is that his is currently living with some lady but she is legally married to another guy, so its a whole vaina trying to figure that out. The lady will have to find a way to divorce and then they will have to get married. 

Is it posible to be completely confident in spanish for over a year and then wake up one day and feel like you forgot it? Yeah. Still struggling with trying to figure out what happened there.

I have almost collected all of the coins in perú. I have a pretty cool looking set. I bought a book for them and I think its pretty cool. I'll throw a picture in. 

"Whats the best way to fulfill your missionary pourpose? Baptize people." -President Giuria. 

I think we often overlook the gift of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes as missionaries and miembers of the church we focus so much on baptism and not on this Gift. The Holy Ghost is truly whay purifies us and helps us to live better lives. It has been interesting to see how it works in me. I wish I had a bunch of crazy mission experiences when the Holy Ghost told me exactly what door to know or who to talk to, but in reality that almost never happens. In fact most of the time those miracles that come from him just feel like coincidences. But it is always cool to see how he influences us and the miracles that come from him. 

Darian/Brallim🌊

The heat has me drinking a lot of sprite (esprite) and pepsi (pecsi). There is a limited edition sugar free pecsi that has ancient incan and mochica figures on the little wrapper thing on the outside of the bottle and I got the Señor de Sipan one this week. He's some ancient figure that ruled this area of chiclayo. Pretty cool. I think the incan culture is really cool. Call me a nerd but I am going to collect every single special edition pecsi wrapper. 

The guy finally showed up to fix the moldy wall (4 weeks later). I was joking with Elder Quintero about how he would probably show up, slap some paint over it and call it a day. He showed up at 8:30, threw some paint on it, got paint all over the floor, and was out the door in 20 minutes. Put no thought into the fact that he had gotten paint all over the floor and not even kind of fixed the problem, and that it still looked and smelled rank. Par for the course. Sometimes all I can do is shake my head. I wonder if the ability to just take garbage situations and be like "ope ok well thats alright" that I have developed on my mission will help me in life or just make me complaicent and willing to settle for crappy situations. I truly love peruvians and peru, but things like this make me really really really miss the U.S and the general sense of do stuff right (or at all) that there is there. 

I am convinced there is nothing harder than convincing a peruvian that the elders have the same preisthood authority as the members and that us giving blessings doesn't bring more blessings than if the members do it. We have been having a ton of completely worthy, active, incredible members coming to us to have us give blessings to their wives and kids. Our mission president has encouraged all of us to discuss with the members how we are not superheroes and how we are more than willing to give blessings, but that the preisthood they have is the same as ours. Yesterday in the Elders Quorum class the EQ president actually brought this topic up, so it was a great opportunity to talk about it. It ended up with some guy bearing his testimony about how he gave his sick dog a preisthood blessing and the dog was healed immediately and how he did it himself and not the elders so we need to trust in our own preisthood power and not just the elders. Everyone was super hyped about that. No comment. I wish I was kidding.

We ate a bunch of sting ray this week. I don't mind it, not my first choice though. The skin is soft and they kinda just eat it, but its kinda a nasty texture. Its like eating a soft banana peel. 

Something I find hillarious (and often times extremely irritating) is that the concept of waiting in line does not exist here. People just kinda pull up and hop right in front. Just about any time we go to the panadería (or any store really), someone will come hauling in, yell "a ver!!!", walk right up in front of everyone, throw coins on the counter and start yelling at the workers what kind of bread they want. Ok, maybe not every single time, but I would say more often than not. Its just another one of those things that all we can do is laugh about. 

I realized this week that being an eagle scout isn't going to garuntee me billions of dollars, free school, and whatever job I want like I was told it would. Hard to come to grips with that one. Still thankful to be apart of the eagles nest though. One of the most elite groups out there. 

We had a few baptisms this week. One was an 11 year old kid that a couple weeks ago a family coming back to church brought to us and said "elders we want him to be baptized asap". The other one is a 27 year old stud. Exactly what the church needs. His brother is currently serving a mission in Lima so we have been teaching him with his brother on facetime. He is an absolute champion. The BOM played a huge role in his decision to be baptized. I stand almost 17 months into my mission and am yet to see someone read the Book of Mormon consistently, pray about it and not end up getting baptized. It makes missionary work so much easier. 

Transfers are this week. It was definately one of my favorite transfers of my mission. Elder Quintero is a lifelong friend. With the baptisms this week we were officially able to complete our goal and baptize at least one person every week this transfer. Hard to complain about a transfer in which we have a baptism every single week. 

The sisters that I started my mission with are going home this week. Crazy 

I promise this talk will strengthen your testimony! 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2011/10/the-book-of-mormon-a-book-from-god?lang=spa

Camila

Went to the big mall in chiclayo last pday. They have a mcdonalds there. They have Maracuya sundaes. Turns out the icecream is exactly the same as mcdonalds in the states. Probably one of the best things I have ever eaten in my entire mission. 

Had some cow heart this week. I wont lie, it was pretty dang good. I genuinly enjoyed. I don't know why i have avoided it my whole mission.

We had a baptism yesterday. It was really good. Super sweet 13 year old girl named Camila. 

I have been facing a weird challenge lately. I have felt the last few weeks that I cant speak spanish. Or express myself how I want to. It is really weird considering I have felt almost 100 percent comfortable for about a year now. I am trying to figure out what my problem is. I feel like I am forgetting words and grammer rules. Really weird. I think its a mental slump that i am letting get to my head. 

I am so sick of rice. Like seriously so sick of it. I think I am being traumatized by it. I dont think i will voluntarily eat it for at least 5 years after getting home. I would be lying if i said I love eating an absolute mountain of rice and then knocking doors in the heat. 

Yesterday was stake conference in our stake here. The stake is actually huge. It includes a bunch of wards scattered throughout the sugar cane as well as a few branches. It is a huge deal here. The chapel was absolutely packed as well as the overflows. I'd say there were about as many people there as at stake conference back home. I always love the stake conferences on the mission. I think its a blast to get to go to sacrament meeting with a bunch of other missionaries. The 70 that was there was the last speaker. He got about 10 minutes into his talk and then stopped. He said how he was going to do something he had never done before at a stake conference. He turned around and said to president Giuria (mission president) that he wanted him to pick two of the missionaries to come and talk about anything they wanted. The 70 went back and had president tell him who, walked back up to the stand and says "ok elder pohlman y su compañero, su tiempo". I was pretty dang nervous honestly. I dont consider myself someone who likes to speak so to be thrown on the spot like that by a 70 with 0 preperation 0 topic or anything in front of a ton of people was kinda scary. I walked on up to the pulpit with no idea what to talk about. I honestly still dont even remember what I said. But hopefully someone was touched. 

I was reading Luke 4 this week about how Satan tempted Jesus. I think it is very interesting. In verse 3 he tempts him with hunger. In verse 6 he tempts him with power and glory. In verse 7 he tempts him with material wealth. In verse 9 he tests his pride. All of these ways that Satan tempted him were attacking or tempting his natural man. Satan loves attacking and using our natural man to make us fall. I believe it was President Nelson that talked a couple conferences ago about how we need to "despojarnos del hombre natural" (strip ourselves of the natural man). When we learn to control our natural man, we become stronger, more converted people. 

Elder Pohlman

Eliseo

 Eliseo got baptized yesterday. His buddy baptized him. That was really cool. A bunch of preisthood has gotten baptized lately, which is an absolute blessing for the ward. 

This week I felt very grateful to be in perú. I love these people so much. A couple nights ago we were out in a little town called San Antonio. We had just had a bunch of successful lessons with some super humble awesome people. I felt super grateful. As we were walking back to Pomalca the sun was setting behind the sugar cane. I felt super glad to be in Perú and be having this experience I am having. 

It still baffles me how slow these people move. Bless their hearts

I hit 16 months in the mission this week. Time is absolutely flying. 

We met a buhdist lady this week. She had some sort of alter with some crazy looking scrolls with some sort of chinese or japanese or something on them. She shared a bunch of stories with us. We were both very confused. It was the first time I have ever taught someone that doesnt believe in Jesus Christ. We didnt really know what to teach. I have a lot of respect for people that have to teach from ground zero. 

It's starting to cook again down here. I forgot how hot it gets. We still aren't in the worst of it, but it is starting to get really hot. Realistically it isn't insanely hot, it is just the fact that there is no relief. It is just as hot inside as outside. 

The family that got baptized in my old area got sealed in the temple on saturday. They seem super excited. 

"When He arrived on the Western Hemisphere following His Resurrection, Christ said to the Nephites: “Behold, I am Jesus Christ. … I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, … in the which I have suffered the will of the Father … from the beginning.” Of the myriad ways He could have introduced Himself, Jesus did so by declaring His obedience to the will of the Father—never mind that not long before in His hour of greatest need, this Only Begotten Son of God had felt totally abandoned by His Father. Christ’s charity—evident in complete loyalty to divine will—persisted and continues to persist, not just through the easy and comfortable days but especially through the darkest and most difficult ones." -Holland 

I probably get asked 5+ times a week, "why do bad things happen to good people?" I love this explanation. It is pretty easy to feel alone sometimes and feel like Christ has abandoned us. I know that, as Holland says, we will stand before him one day, see the wounds in his hands and feet, and realize that we were never truly alone.

Elder Cpohl

Elder Villar

Elder Villar from the 70 came. I will be honest, he did not come to give the mission ear candy. He absolutely ripped into everyone including President Giuria. He was incredibly intense. He shared some stuff though that was really cool. 

He shared how faith produces miracles. Miracles don't produce faith. I liked that a lot. 

He also talked about the parable of the talents from Matthew 25. I absolutely loved this part. He talked about how to one servant were given five talents, to one two, and to the other just one. The three servents went out and did everything they could with their talents. They came back with 10 and 4 talents respectively. The Lords response to these two was EXACTLY the same (verses 21 and 23). He was not upset with the one that brought back only four, because he was only given two in the first place. Elder Villar talked about how as missionaries (and just in life in general) it is the same. Some of us are more or less capable than others. But all the Lord asks of us is that we use our capability that we have been given to the best of our ability. If we do so, as shown by verses 21 and 23, the Lord will veiw our efforts exactly the same. 

He then went on to talk about the servant that just brought back one talent because he hid the one that was given to him in the dirt. We see in verse 26 what the Lords response was for him (not too pretty). He then took us the footnotes in D and C 60 verses 2,3 and 13 which say... 

2 But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them. 

3 And it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have.

13 Behold, they have been sent to preach my gospel among the congregations of the wicked; wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, thus: Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known.

I really liked this. He told us how as missionaries and as preople we are just asked to do the best of our abilities and use what we are given. That was really cool to me. The conference was full of eyebrow singers like this. I left feeling pretty motivated.

It is mango season again. Kinda crazy, I was here for last mango season. But anyways, I am in heaven. Out of nowhere this week it seemed like mangos were falling out of the sky. There are carts full of them on every single corner. They cost 1.25 soles a kilo so I have eaten just about 2 kilos a day for a week. If I'm not mistaken that means about 7 ish pounds for 1 US dollar. You might need to check me on that. They are so dang good. Best mangos I have ever had. They are legitamately the size of a youth football. I will be full on them for the next few months. 

Sorry if I rant about fruit in every email. It is just so good here. 

Hermano Estuart (stewart) got baptized yesterday. He's a 20 year old kid, so exactly what the church needs down here. He's really cool. He walks about 2 miles to church. He also quit drinking coffee in order to be baptized. Just a small experience with him this week because I don't really have anything else to write about. On thursday we went to his house to do his baptismal interveiw. He wasnt there and his dad told us he was at his moms house for the night. He doesnt have a phone so we had no idea what to do. We had to get the interveiw done in order for him to be baptized on sunday. His dad gave us a very vague reference of where he lived. An urbanization of probably 200 houses. Luckily we had just left a conference in which Elder Villar ripped on everyone for not having faith 🤣 so we figured we'd put our faith to the test. We walked all the way out there and didn't know where to start. We picked a road and started walking down it. On the way down that road there came estuart right towards us. I was honestly shocked and although it seemed like a small coincidence I thought it was pretty cool and litterally proved what we had been taught. 

We got the baptismal font all nice and ready and a dog got in there and swam around. Perú I guess. 

I had a great week. Could be one of the best transfers of my mission for sure. 

Segundo

1 kilo (about 2 pounds) of blueberrys costs 5 soles (about 1 dollar) in this town. There must be blueberry fields here or something because in chiclayo they were 20 times as expensive. I have been aprovecharing heavily. 

I watched a dude sell a 9 year old kid two beers. Teaching them young. 

We got a blender and I have been whipping up all sorts of smoothies. Papaya+banana+water is such a good combination. 

I have also found myself chewing on sugar cane a lot. It has worn on me a ton. I'm not sure if it's just because it feels cool and because thats just what you do in this town or if it is actually good.  

Go bengals. I heard they made it to turf. 

Hermano Segundo was baptized this week. He is a really cool guy. He quite drinking coffee and tea and it has been a process that has taken over a year. But he has successfully dropped it and was baptized yesterday. It was a beautiful baptism. 

We got water back to the shower this week. So that is great. But water doesnt make it to the toilet yet, so we made a hose that carries the shower water to the toilet. It is pretty genius and works well. 

I finished the D and C this week. I think for some reason sometimes we as members are almost scared of the d and c. Reading it was one of the best things I have ever done for my personal testimony. I encourage all to truly do come follow me this next year and find the gems that are scattered throughout it. 

This week I started the New Testiment. There are three things that are really interesting to me in chapter 26 of matthew. All three are examples of people taking for insignificance who Christ was and what he is. 

Verse 4-5: "4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. 5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people" 

Verse 15-16: "15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him." 

Verse 40/43: "40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy."

I think it is easy for us to look at these three examples of people betraying or taking the Lord for not and almost laugh at the fact that these people dumbed down the supreme being that was Christ in such a manner. But I also think that we are all just as guilty, in our own way, of having our Lord for naught sometimes. Maybe our ways of having him for naught are different, but I know for me personally, there are tons of little things that I can work on.

POMALCA 🌾

Had transfers this week and probably got the single best transfer I could have asked for. Im in a little town down the road from Chiclayo called Pomalca's a little down that is 100% dedicated to sugar production. The town is surrounded by sugar cane. If you look out our back window there is just miles of sugar cane. It is actually really pretty and smells really good. There is a big factory so it almost always smells like sugar cane factory outside. It feels like one of the towns we went to in ecy. It pumps out this black ash that covers the whole town. Kinda crazy. I absolutely love it here. I missed the pueblos. I love being back in the small towns. It is nice only having to know 4 or 5 last names because everyone is from one of 5 families. Small towns in south america are so cool. 

Still don't know how senior boys sleep at night 

The whole town hasn't had water for a week so we have been showering with 3 liter water bottles that we buy every day. At first it was really annoying but I would say I've gotten used to it.

The wall in the room we sleep in is absolutely crawling with mold. I hate to be the guy that complains about the house to the secretaries but I figured sleeping in a room full of mold is not a good call. So we said something and they are gonna get it fixed soon. 

I got way stomach sick this week. My stomach swole up so bad I literally thought I was about to die. It was the single most painful thing that has ever happened to me. I kept throwing up the pills that help it so it took like 3 hours to get the swelling down. But then I was good the rest of the day

 

My companion is Elder Quintero. He's from Arizona but his parents are from Sinaloa. He's one of the single coolest elders in the mission. We were in the same district for 2 transfers so we were already good buddies before transfers. Should be a good time. 

We had two baptisms yesterday. Pretty good start to the transfer. 

Joseph Smith History: Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind

Link to see pictures. There is hardly any internet in this town so hopefully stuff goes through