Nov. 22, 2010

Hello everybody!

Well things are improving this week for sure.  We are starting to get some people that actually want to listen to us!  HAHA but yeah its going good.  Nothing too crazyor out of the ordinary happened this week.  We went on exchanges for half the week because my comp had to go to a meeting on the other side of lima for a few days.  So i got to hang out with the Zone leader for a while.  It was nice to have a change of scenery.  

The housing situation here is like the opposite as in the united states.  There are a bunch of hills that surround Lima and the closer you are to the city the nicer the houses.  The further up into the hills you get the more poor the housing.  Some of them are litereally four sticks and a tarp over top and nothing else.  Its unbelievable what people live in and deal with here.  The weather is finally warming up.  It is actually bordering hot.  I cant believe that its almost december.  To me it still feels like august.  This whole southern hemisphere thing is messing with my mind haha.  

Im not sure if thanksgiving was this last thursday or this coming but my comp and i celebrated it last thursday.  We bought hamburgers and ate them.  And that was it.  We had a busy day so didnt have time to do much else.  I miss the loads of pumpkin pie and delicous foods at home.
But from what i hear ill be eating good at christmas here.  Though maybe a little strangely as well.  I have newarly eaten every part of a chicken now and i can add beaf heart to the list this week.  It was actually pretty good!  

Exchanges were this last week.  Since training lasts 2 changes im staying as well as my companion.  So we will get to be here for chirstmas.  The language is improving little by little. Sometimes i find myself speaking without thinking but rarely.  It is improving though and im learning alot faster out here in the field then i did in the MTC.  

I cant believe how cold it is back home tahts crazy that is down to single digits.  I cant even comprehend that right now.  Its getting hotter and hotter here every day.  I have been enjoying good health ever since i arrived.  I owe that to spending all summer and all the time in the MTC being sick i think.  Blessings in disguise.  Yeah not too much new to report on this week but im sure ill have some more crazy stories next week.  Feel free to write at any time

Love Elder Hesselgesser

Nov. 15, 2010

Hey Hey these are a few of the photos i have taken in Peru i hope they tide you over for a little while feel free to put them on the blog.  I have a lot more but the computer im using is a liittle slow so yeah anyways its taking a while to load them and these are all i had time
to load. I have pictures of my last two companions as well as my current companion.  Nothing too crazy i dont get much of a chance to take photos but i will try to do so at my pensionistas house and all that so you can see where im eating every day and stuff.

Also i got my package of ohenries today.  Only im so stuffed with rice beans and fried fish that i cant even think about eating it right now haha.  But im really really really excited to eat them soon.  Thanks tons.  The package thing does work.  But ive heard that packages that have the most success have virgin mary and jesus stickers on them. Its a little strategy i heard about haha so you can try it if you want.  Feel free to send whatever whenever

Nov. 8, 2010

Hola!

Welp another week in the mission has passed and it is time to write you again.  This past saturday One of our investigators got baptized! His name is Jorghino and he is a way cool kid.  13 years old.  My companion baptized him and i got to confirm him the next day in sacrament meeting.  So that was the climax of this week for sure.  

On Wednsday we were teaching an eternal investigator.  Which is to say they love the missionaries but never keep commitments.  She was a super nice lady and offered us some food.  So of course we said yes. I knew i had made the wrong decision when I saw her bringing a bowl of
soup with a chicken foot sticking out of it.  Yeah anyways that was interesting.  The next day we sanded and painted an entire house.  It wasnt very big so it didnt take too terribly long.  Then later that night we taught a lesson up in one of the hills.  The house didnt have electricity so we taught by candle light.  It was pretty cool.  

Other than that the language is improving.  A little bit every day.  Its going to take time but i know it will come sooner or later.  I cant wait for the day when i can understand everything and be able to properly express myself.  But i suppose the Lord is helping me develop patience. 

 The food here generally is actually delicous.  Im pretty sure im gaining weight because im eating a lot of food.  Walking down the streets here is like walking through the fairgrounds in Yakima with all the delicous smelling food.  So yeah I do eat a lot.  And its really good.  They sell churros on like every street corner but i try not to eat those too often.  Other than that not too much new news. Im sure there will be more next week.  

Miss you all and Love you.

Nov 1, 2010

Hola!

Well this week was a little crazy.  A lot of stuff happened so ill try and paint an accurate picture of what happened.  First of all on thrusday mornings we do service for three hours.  This thursday we helped dig a new out house for a family because theirs was full.  Yeah a lot of the houses here dont have running water.  Anyways it was aobut three feet deep and 8 feet deep when it collapsed on elder bearnson and burrined him up to his waist.  So next week we have to go back and dig a new one.  We also filled in the old one which was a real stinky process.

Anyways,  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  Haloween in peru is wierd.  There was a lot of parties.  But almost none of them had anything to do with halloween.  WHen people here have parties they build a giant tent in the middle of the road blocking the entire road.  Then they playm music loud enough to hear throughout the entire city of Lima,  And they dont stop until exactly 6 in the morning.  So two nights ago theyhad one right outside of my apartment so we didnt really sleep much that night. 

Two nights ago we were walking to an appointment when a disabled lady in a wheelchair asked us to push her home.  Of course as missionaries we agreed.  What she didnt tell us was that she lived at the top of a super steep hill with no real road leading to it about three miles away.  It too me and my companion together to be able to pull her up the dirt hill backwards in her
wheel chair.  I was extremely scared because i about lost my footing a couple of times and had i of done so she probably wold have gone rolling right on down to her death or extremely seriouse energy because she would not have been able to do anything.  Yeah crazy stuff.  

My health is great I was blessed to be sick in the CCM so i havent got sick in the field yet its been really really nice.  The funny thing is that this place has got a ton of Jehovas witness missionaries.  So we kind of have a silent battle with them. Yesterday we saw some talking with one of our investigators so we just waved at our investigator as we walked by and she smiled and waved back it was kind of funny but yeah.  

The language is a processs. Little by little its improving i jus to be patient and dilligent.  I just feel really akward when somebody is talking to me and i have no idea what they are saying.  Its really easy to get a little discouraged out here but its also easy to be happy if im focused and doing what i need to be doing.  Thanks for all the prayers I appreceate it!  

We have a boy of 13 years old that should be baptized this saturday im really excited for that he is a great young man and ready to take the steps in his life to follow Jesus Christ. Yesterday my companion baptized a lady that adopted her son away to the united states when he was barely a couple months old.  Her son knew nothing of her except that she lived Peru.  He was called to the Peru Lima South mission and one week before he went home he found her. So we got to see the end of a pretty awsome story yesterday. She is a way cool lady.  Super nice.  But it was a crazy story to hear.

Anyways thats about it.  We are working hard and are hoping for a few baptisms in November we have to with a date right now and hopefully more to come.  There are a lot of flakes here.  When we set a time to teach they dont show or are gone.  But thats an easy way to weed out who is ready to hear the word and who is not i suppose.  There are a lot of crazy religous demonstrations in the streets here its wierd. They carry around giant statues and stuff with bands playing and like pray to them.  I dont wanna judge but its a little wierd.  Anyways miss everybody hope everything back home is going well

Love
Elder Hesselgesser