Dear family,

Thanks for your emails and letters. I got both the card and the other letter, and I think I am the only Northamerican who has gotten any mail here.

First I'll answer your questions. The laundry facilities are fine except that the Latina hermanas are always using them to wash one thing at a time. There are four washers and four dryers, plus the CCM has a laundry facility where you can change out sheets and towels. I haven´t met the mission president yet, but we see the MTC president almost every day. President Groberg-He is from Idaho Falls and knows Scoresbys, in fact he told me I came from a good family. He is the brother of John Groberg from The Eye of the Storm and Other side of Heaven.

Today we got to go to the temple again, and it was good. I am doing really well at understanding things in Spanish. Today the workers were worried about my dress being too short, so they provided me with a size 2XL dress, which was plenty big seeing that in Provo they told me I should get a small or extra small.

Last Saturday jovenes from the stake came and we practiced teaching them. It was fine except that they were trying to ask really hard questions to stump us. It was a little annoying because we were just trying to speak so they could understand. Also this past week we got to go on a little walk outside just to see a little of the outside world.

I am super excited because Saturday we have a big activity where all the missionaries go out into Lima and proselyte. My zone is visiting menos activos in a city in the Lima Sur mission. My teacher said that it was an upperclass neighborhood so our experience would be a lot different than the other group's. We are going to have native companions so that we can communicate a little better. The President said it kind of ends up being a benchmark activity for the English speakers to see how they are doing. We practice teaching Latinos every day, so it won't be a total shock, and I think I'll be fine.

Also, on Tuesday the group of Latinos that came in with us is leaving, and the new missionaries don't come in until Thursday, so we have Marvilloso Miercoles, where the presdient and wife take us out into the city. We get to see some of the ruins and some of the sites in Lima and we get to buy stuff. Also we heard that the president buys us real pizza, so we are all looking forward to that.

I got to try octopus for the first time last week. I honestly thought it was chicken until after I had finished someone told me it wasn't. I wondered why they served it with tartar sauce.

I'm glad to hear everything is going well back home. I sent a letter last week, so let me know when you get it. I said it in the letter, but I'll tell you now the sad news: we are supposed to discourage you from sending packages because the custom fees and taxes are so expensive.

We had some great spiritual experiences this past week. Elder Nash, the area 70 gave a great devotional about bearing testimony and how it gives the investigator hope. Also, there were some miracles with a missionary here who is really sick. He was able to fly home the day after a big surgery with his dad and see his family, but he will probably pass away soon because of the disease. They are not releasing him because it is his wish to remain a missionary. I know the church is true, and I am excited to teach it to the people in Peru. I love you all.

Sarah