Dear family,

I don't know when you are going to check your email because you are traveling. I hope the trip is uneventful. Your trip sounds really long, but fun. I have an assignment for Janet. I want her to check and see if the WRI is still in existence at 1063 JFSB. I had a dream that the WRI sent me a package, and I felt bad because I haven't written to them and I said I would. It was definitely a dream though because there is no money in the WRI budget for sending packages to missionaries who turned down extra work time when they offered it.

I haven't gotten the package yet, but they didn't hand out mail yet today, so I still have hope. Last week I bought two pairs anyway because it was so bad. They don't go all the way up to my knee, and they are orange, but I'll make do with them until the package comes. The mail has been taking a long time to get here lately. I hope Casie starts liking Utah State. Hopefully her bishop in her singles ward will help her. The letter I got from her last week was great.

What is going on here? Not much. Edelmira, one of our investigators that we have been working with for a while is going to be baptized this week. It was a challenge teaching her because she is from a tiny village in the jungle, and doesn't remember hardly anything we teach. Plus, she had terrible dreams of a man strangling her and telling her not to get baptized among other fears. We did everything we could think of to work through her doubts and fears, and when we were about to give up, she accepted a baptismal date.

I was asked to play for and teach the stake choir for stake conference in November. The choir is a youth choir, mostly 12 and 13 year olds. We had our first practice yesterday, and it was harder than any other choir I've been a part of. They don't know anything about music, and they are 12 and 13 year olds. I've been trying to think of games or something primary style to teach them, but I can't remember any.

President Leyva has been changing some of the rules, and I like them. We used to have district meeting p'days, but now we have it Tuesdays. In place of the meeting Monday we have a time to clean our rooms and bathrooms. We have to send keys to our rooms to the office, and the president is going to come unannounced to check our rooms someday. I don't mind because I keep everything neat and clean. The 70 who came for zone conference sent a list of words that the missionaries aren't allowed to say anymore, mostly slang, and said that we shouldn't have pictures of boys or boyfriends in our rooms. Most of the new rules made me laugh.

That's about all that is going on here. I realized that if I go home on time to go to school in the fall, I have less than a year left in the mission. Crazy, huh? I love you all!

Love, Sarah

Dear Mom,

Thanks for your letter. I have been feeling better, but I still haven't got the package that you sent. I am in desperate need of knee highs. I got Jo's letter and sent her one, and today I got a letter from Emily and Preston, written two months ago and sent one month ago.

We had zone conference this past week with President Leyva. A 70 came, Elder Tavarret, with his wife, and Hermana Leyva came also. It was really good, and Elder Tavarret taught us some principles from Preach my Gospel to help us, especially how to work with the members. President Leyva told us that in the last training meeting for new mission presidents, President Monson spoke and said that missionaries should stay in one area for at least 7 or 8 months. That means that I'll only have 2 areas my entire mission. So, I am settling in for a long stay here in Huanuco. The purpose is mostly to gain the confidence of the members. Since the prophet said it, yeah, I won't complain, but it's hard to stay a long time in one area with the same companion. We didn't have interviews because the 70 came, and we are going to have them this week or the next week.

The kids here had their winter vacation the past couple of weeks, and now things are back to normal. The anniversary of Huanuco was last week, but we didn't get to see any of it because our area doesn't include any of the actual town. That's pretty much all the excitement around here. Our investigators are not progressing very well, but we are working with them and trying different things.

This week we have been fulfilling the prophecy of Jer 16:16. We have hiked way up to the last houses to teach people. To get to one house we had to climb up a gully. It was fun though because we found a monkey (a pet, not wild) on the way to the house. The scripture says that the hunters will hunt in all the cracks and crannies, and they will find. I have faith that there are people to be found even up on the mountains.

Yesterday the high counselor in charge of choir asked me to play the piano and teach choir until they can find a director to teach. I get to choose the songs and everything.

Thanks for the update on the Olympics. Nobody here cares about who wins because Peru doesn't win at anything, but they like to watch. In the letter from Em and Preston, Emily told me that the Wimbledon final was really exciting.

Thanks for you love and support. I know you are being blessed for supporting two missionaries.

Love,
Sarah

My pensionista, her daughter Ximena, and us

Dear Family,

Thanks for your letters Mom. I am sad that I didn't get my package of knee highs this week, nor anything from Jennifer. I'll have to save my one pair of knee highs without runs for zone conference Thursday. I did get a very nice letter from Casie. Can you have Janet send me her address at Utah State? Wow, I finally found the question mark key.

Not much has changed in our area or in the zone. We found out that the mission president didn't transfer any of the sister missionaries this last transfer. It gets a little tiresome to work in the same area with the same companion, but we keep working. I read Jo's tirade, and I am thankful that at least my companion is willing to work and is mostly obedient. Our investigators are progressing, but we can't get them to take the last step and get baptized. We got a new district leader, and he suggested some things to try with them, so we'll do that. I really want to see them get baptized this month. We have 2 who can be baptized any moment as soon as they accept a baptismal date (one with 3 kids older than 8), and two that want to be baptized but falta matrimonio.

I realized that the Olympics are going on. One day our pensionista left the television on while we were eating, so we saw a little of men's gymnastics. It made me think of the times we watched the Olympics together and followed all the events and also how we played gymnastics all the time in the backyard. Let me know if anything exciting happens in the Olympics.

I felt good almost the whole week, so that's encouraging. Today my stomach has been hurting some. Maybe I feel worse Mondays because we eat late Sundays. Don't worry Mom, if things don't get better, Thursday when Hermana Leyva comes, I'll talk to her about it.

This letter is kind of short, but I don't have that much to write. I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing well, and that Janet is working. I'll write to her one of these days, probably at her BYU address. Thanks for your love and support.
Love,
Sarah

The baptisms of Emanuel and Sergio, with refreshments, and the baptism of Clorinda. The boys, Emanuel and Sergio are hilarious. Emanuel told me that he didn't get a good grade in his English class. When I ased him why, he said his friend told him that English was Spanish backwards, so on the final, he put perro is orrep and gato is otag.

Here are pictures of me with my cui (if you look closely, you can see the foot and claw), the wedding of Freddy and Alicia, and at Kotosh.

Dear Family,

Thanks for your love and support.

Today is cambios, but my companion and I are both staying. I was looking forward to having a new companion, but I guess I get to learn more from her. I never thought I would have trouble getting along with my companion, but it is one of the hardest parts of the mission. I am excited to stay though, because we are going to have a lot of good baptisms this month.

We had the baptism of Clorinda Saturday. It felt good to have a baptism of an adult. Medaly, the investigator who has a brother on a mission wants to get baptized, and her husband is willing to get married. We are going to work for the end of the month for their wedding and her baptism. Guillermo is an investigator that we have had since I came. He has wanted to be baptized, but finally this month he can get married and baptized. His wife, Soraida is now interested in the church, and we want to have them get baptized together. Yolanda is an investigator that we contacted in the street. Her husband is not interested, but Yolanda has a testimony, and brings her 4 kids to church with her every Sunday. Three are older than 8 years old. She wants to get baptized next year, so we are trying to help her accept a baptismal date sooner.

Last Monday for p'day we went to Kotosh, which is an ancient Incan temple. It was fun. It wasn't like tourist sites in the US where everything is guarded. We couldn't enter all the way into the temple, but the other ruins we got to climb all over. I guess they think that if it lasted 4000 years already, why bother taking especial care of it.

Congratulations to Preston for his triathlon. I miss running a lot. I'm happy that Jennifer called you. I sent have sent her two letters, and I'm excited to get something from her.

Love,
Sarah