March 22, 2010
Hey hey hey!
Alright what can I say about this past week? It was interesting, to say the least, with way too much to do and the time just went by incredibly fast. Transfers were pretty nuts. We had to take care of a lot of extra chores that day - including having to beg the workers at the bus station to let on two missionaries who didn’t have their identification because it was in their bag, which was already on the bus, which left to Piura without them. WOW. I didn’t have much of a voice this week, either. I lost it last Sunday night and that was kinda rough because I had to do way too much talking this week. But now it’s back. Anyway, so after talking with the people at the bus station for a while we got the missionaries on the next bus to Piura. But, I have to say, I was pretty frustrated with the missionaries for being without ID when they were traveling. Just really dumb.
Speaking of traveling, Elder Escobar (from the office) was kind enough to send me my flight itinerary, with our arrival into Las Vegas at 11:18 a.m. on July 30th. I am NOT trunky at all. That date will come whether I am trunky or not -and I prefer to be NOT as there is still a lot of work to be done.
After transfers, we had a surprise from the assistants, who told us that a new area is going to open here in La Victoria and we had just a few hours to find a room and all that good stuff for the elders newly assigned to work there - who, as it turns out, were scheduled to arrive from Piura in just a few hours. So, we went looking like crazy and miraculously enough were able to find everything. So now were are 22 missionaries in our zone, easily the biggest in the mission. But we have really awesome district leaders in our zone right now so I don’t feel like we will have to fret as much this transfer. We’ll see. So far things are going pretty well and it looks like we should end this transfer very well in the next five weeks. We were able to get a lot done in our area as well. Not as much as we would have liked, but we have people that are really coming along. Sandra (17) is doing great, coming to church, reading her lecturas and stuff like that, and I think she will get baptized very soon. We were finally able to teach this lady, Yolanda, and her two kids the other day, and they came to church on Sunday. I feel pretty positive about them as well and think they may be baptized soon. The big surprise right now is the Sarate family. They are coming along, not too slow, not too fast, but they are coming along. We had an FHE with them and some other members that turned out pretty well. We actually have a lot of members in our ward who are really excited and willing to help us, so that is great. Maribell, the mother of the family, came to church with her 12 year old daughter yesterday. Her husband was sick this weekend and unable to participate in the FHE and the church meetings - but we were able to teach the family last night and he is really enjoying reading the Book of Mormon. And they invited us to eat a little plate of cheese - always a good sign. So they are coming along great. The problem with them right now is that they are not married. So, it may be a while before they have a baptismal date. Elder Vasquez is a really great missionary, too. I sorely miss Elder Hanke, but I know Elder Vasquez and I are going to have great success together.
That’s about it for now. I’m gonna go get a haircut. Hooray. No, I haven’t received the package yet and have come to the sad conclusion that it was intercepted by hungry, evil trolls or something like that. No biggie. They probably needed it more than I did. Glad to hear Jordan’s volleyball team did well in La Jolla last weekend (but still not as great as my championship team - ha!). Go Skyhawks! Give my love to Cousin Cody in his grief over the loss of his friend in Romania - one of the missionaries who died there a couple months ago. That is very sad. I had no idea about the incident or Cody’s connection. Where would we be without the great Plan of Salvation? Things are going good down here and I really love being in the mission. I have really learned to love the people and Chiclayo is just a great place. Our pension’s family is awesome and they treat us like we their own sons. This is definitely a strong ward and an awesome area. Being a missionary is great and it’s so awesome to have other friends and family members that are serving with me right now. Thank you everyone for all your support. Have a great week! God is real. The Savior, His Son, lives. The fullness of His gospel, with all its priesthood power and saving ordinances have been restored to the earth. The Church is true!
Elder “Ping Pong” Royal
P.S. I’ve not actually played ping pong here in Peru, but that’s the middle name of the week that just came to mind!
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