Dear Family,
I´m here in Peru safely. I didn't know that anyone called to tell you that I got here, but I did. The trip was long, and not many of us slept much. On the flight to Peru, I sat by a member, probably the only one on the plane other than the missionaries. On the other flight I sat by a guy who had been in Idaho, and we chatted about the church and missionary work. He told me it would be hard work, but it was good.

The bus ride from the airport to the CCM was wild. I loved seeing all the people and stores and the land. I kept waiting to see the nice part of the city, but I really couldn´t tell a difference. There are falling apart buildings everywhere. I guess they don't need roofs though. The CCM is a really nice building, esecially compared. It's much nicer than the MTC. They have a lot of workers, probably to give people work. I thought we were going to get in an accident a million times, but we never did. The drivers just drive with their horns. In two weeks all the missionaries get to go proselyting in the city, and that´s going to be really exciting.

The CCM is great. There are about 25 norteamericanos, and 60 latinos. My companion and I are the only North American sisters, and everyone is always really nice to us. My comps name is Hermana Lucas, and she is from Texas. She also went to BYU. We share a room with Latinas, and even though it's hard to communicate, we like them a lot. My Spanish is coming along. We practice giving lessons every day to the Latinos. It's hard but good practice to hear and talk. My Spanish is a lot better than a lot of the North American's. I can understand a lot when they talk slowly, especially if they are using church words. The food is good, but different. We always have rice, potatoes, bread, and a variation of chicken or carne. They give us so much food, and they expect you to eat it all. I didn't gain weight in Provo, but I probably will here. My favorite dessert is flan. I miss all the North American candy I'm so used to eating. The food here is not very sweet, but it is rich. We did get to have soft serve ice cream once, cinnamon flavor.

I've gotten sunburned almost every time I stepped outside. By the time I come home, I'll look like a Latina. It's really humid, and during the day it is hot. At night it cools down. There is air conditioning in all the buildings, and it works well.

We got to go to the temple today, and it was a sweet experience. We did it all in Spanish. There were quite a few Latinos who went for the first time. We did get to hear general conference in English. It was really good, plus we met all the senior missionaries serving in Lima who wanted to hear conference in English.

I have an address for here, but I don't have it with me. it takes three weeks to get a letter anyway. Dear Elder gets here faster, so maybe use that instead. We only have 30 minutes to read and write emails, so I'm sorry for the mistakes. Thanks for your love and support.

I'm going to love it here in Lima. I'm the only missionary in the CCM going to the Lima East mission. I learned that the CCM is actually in the mission. The mission is half in Lima, half out in the country. We had a health meeting with the area medical missionaries. We are never allowed to eat anywhere but in our pensions, the home of a person who cooks for us. The street vendors look good though.

Love you lots,
Sarah