Dear Family,

WE had a good week, but it was pretty busy. We had our multi zone conference, and it was really good. I think I was starting to get trunky, but the conference helped me refocus, so don't worry, we are working hard. We also had interviews. Pres. Leyva said that he and Hna Leyva were talking about me and said that I looked good physically and spiritually, which I thought was kind of weird, but I'll take the compliment. Hna Garrison and I are happy because we met our goal of 7 baptisms this month, ending with 2, Chela y her daughter Gabi. They don't really live in our area, they live in some pueblo in the middle of nowhere that nobody knows. But Chela is the sister of an active family in the ward, so no one said anything. They come to town twice a week to do business. The elders didn't tell us, but three other wards planned their baptisms in our chapel with our baptisms, so we had a night in white. There was a big to-do because of some turn off the lights campaign. The bishop was afraid the city would turn off the electricity, and we wouldn't be able to have the baptisms, but nothing happened. I am really sad though because just in case I brought my wind up LED flashlight, but I found out it was broken. Hna Alfredo is trying to fix it, and when I took it apart to look at it, he was amazed at my fix it ability. But it didn't get fixed. We got caught in more really strong rain storms, but people keep saying that it is about to end. I don't believe them. A sister in the ward had her adobe wall fall over due to the rain, and we are going to have a zone service project to help her clean it up. We are excited today because in Plaza Real, the last spot opened up in the food court, and it's Burger King! We are planning to go today, but it's the end of the month, so we don't have any money. We decided earlier that if we met our goal this month, we were going to have root beer floats, so I'm excited for that, except that there is no root beer in Peru. We'll have to use Inca Cola, but it will probably wait until next month too. One day there was a special ice cream promotion, and it was supposedly, everything for one sol (it wasn't really, it was more like buy an ice cream bar and get a popsicle for free, but you can get away with all types of false advertising here). Anyway, we spent all day trying to buy ice cream, but evertime we got close, there was a big line or the ice cream person was going to other direction. After awhile we got discouraged and didn't end up buying any.

My roommates sent me a (hilarious) newsletter about where we are going to live next fall. I don't know how they found it, because it sounds unreal. Note to Liz and Jenae-where is the house? I saw in the picture that it has a 673 on it, but 673 what? I'm glad Janet found a place to live. And I think it's a decent place. And by the way, the Peruvian mail is forwarding the mail to the new address. I wouldn't put it past them to steal a few of the letters though. I also got a letter from Janet (she voted), and the wedding announcement of Morgan. Hey, guess what we figured out? I know Hna Garrison's roommates. They were both science majors, so they were in some of my classes. Small world.

I have a question that no one answered, will I have a car to use in the fall? And if you are by chance planning to send me a package fo easter, I would enjoy a bottle of maple flavoring, and if it's not too heavy, poptarts. I am having strange American food cravings.

Thanks for your love and support and mail.
Love,
Sarah

Dear family,

This week was like a rollercoaster. We had 4 baptisms-David and Elizabeth, and Sheyla and Olenka. The baptism of David and Elizabeth was the best servicio bautismal that I've had yet in the mission. I wish I could send the pictures, but my companion keeps using the computer with the USB drive. But maybe today I can print some off and send them to you tomorrow snail mail.

So, last week...on Tuesday we went to the church for district meeting like usual. After waiting forever, the ZLs came without the keys. So all the elders went to the apartment of the ZLs, and they just dismissed us to go home. So we went to centro to pay the telephone.

Wednesday was David and Elizabeth's baptism. It was great. But walking home afterwards I started feeling sick again. Wednesday night and Thursday and some of Friday and Saturday I felt gross, but not as bad as the last week. But now I feel fine again. We made no bake cookies, and they turned out exactly how they should. So that was happy.

Saturday we had the other baptism. Sheyla is a teenager with whom we have been working since December. She went her Grandma's house for vacations, and when she got back she wanted to get baptized. And then last Sunday we went to talk to her about her baptism, and she goes "oh, there is something I want to tell you about my baptism." We gasped and held our breath and she said, "My little sister wants to get baptized too." So we baptized both of them. And their nonmember Mom came to the baptism. But even though we were happy for the baptisms, we were sad because there was another girl who was going to get baptized, but chickened out in the end because of her family. She had her interview and everything, even came the night of the baptism but refused to get baptized.

Sunday, none of our investigators came to church, which is super disappointing because we've had around 10 for the last month. But in the evening, Richard, a 21 year kid finally accepted a baptsimal date. 15 mintues before we had to go home, it started thundering and pouring. Hna Clariza told us to take a taxi, but it is only a 10 minute walk, and we aren't going to pay for a taxi when it's so close, so we walked. Actually we ran. It was raining so hard that even the taxi's weren't moving. And we were a little afraid that we were going to get struck by lightning because we were in the middle of nowhere with our umbrellas. The lightning was right over our head. But we made it home, drenched. Water was leaking in our bathroom, it was dripping from the light bulb, but we cleaned it all up in the morning. Apart from the rain, we are a little annoyed because the seventh day adventist church behind our house has had all night vigils for two nights in a row. They include someone haranguing, people yelling, and singing. We don't enjoy that at 4:00 in the morning, and we are glad that we know the true church.

This week we have zone conference and interviews, and then we have two more baptisms, a mom and her daughter. The grandparents were going to get baptized too, but we found out that the grandpa is married to his first wife still and conviente with his second wife. So we need to work that out before they can get baptized.

That's about it. I hope Shannon had a good birthday, and Afton too. And I hope Janet finds a place to live. But it doesn't matter that much where you live, as long as you can afford it and the ward is alright. But I'm happy that my friends have found me a place to live.

Wow, this is probably the longest letter I've ever written. And Mom, you were afraid I wouldn't write very much. I love you all. Thanks for your love and support.
Sarah

Dear Mom,
Thanks for writing to me. Tell Jenae and Liz that whatever they find is fine. But I would like to know the address to know sort of where it is.

This week was exciting. I celebrated my year mark by getting really sick, but don't worry, Mom, I'm better. It was a stomach infection. We had important appointments so we kept working, but when I almost passed out we went home and I slept until the next day. I did lose more weight, and my clothes were starting to fall off, but since I started eating again, I gained a little back. It didn't help that the next day it was really cold and rainy all day, and most of our appointment fell through. So we were outside wet and cold. Wow, I never thought you would tell me to eat up. But don't worry, I usually eat a lot, and I have a feeling that when I get home, I'll gain a lot of weight back.

Saturday David and Elizabeth got married. The elders set up the place where the wedding was going to be, and when we went in, we regretted trusting them. It was in the back of a seafood restaurant owned by members. they had set up a multi-colored canopy in case it rained, and there were plastic lawn chairs for the invitees. It smelled like fish, and you could hear them cooking throughout the ceremony. Elizabeth was crying. She said it was because her mom couldn't get there because of the mudslides over the road to Hunacayo, but I don't think the location helped. But the important thing is that they got married. After we went to the church for a little reception, and after that, they went to their house for a reception with more of the family. They are going to get baptized Wednesday.

This week is going to be really full. We have 5 baptisms planned, 2 Miercoles and 3 Saturday. And we need to start looking for people that are going to get baptized in April.
The mission office changed. Now it's actually in the misison. It's close to the temple and the CCM. Here´s the new address:
Mision Peru Lima Este
Los Agrologos 368
Urb Las Acacias de Monterrico
La Molina
Lima 12
PERU

I have some good pictures to send, so some time soon I'll get them to you somehow. They include the wedding, me with Janet the chicken, and me wearing the miner suit that Hna Clariza's husband used when he worked in the mine. I decided a miner's life is not for me.

I love you guys lots,
Sarah

Commentaries on Jo's letter.
WE didn't meet the 308 goal- only 294. But we did our part.
Is there a car for me when I get home?
And I forgot to tell you this. I got stoned the other day. The persecution here is not the type I was expecting. But really, a kid threw rocks at me, and didn't miss.

Dear Family,

Everything is going well here in Los Andes. P.S. That's the name of my area, but we are in the Andes. We had a baptism Saturday of Samira, a 13 year old girl. Her brother got baptized last June. I'm not quite sure why she didn't get baptized at the same time, but I haven't asked because I don't want to take skeletons out of the closet. Is that a real phrase, or did I make it up? Anyway, Hna Garrison and I are super excited for the marriage and baptisms this week of David and Elizabeth. I am saving up my money (which consists of my allowance from Grandma) to be able to come to Peru when they go to the temple in a year. I'm not sure if 10 dollars a month for six more months will do it, but it's all I can do for the moment.

Other than that, not much is going on. Harold, the pensionista's six year old, got a chicken, a brown one with a bunch of feathers on its head. He was upset because Janet the chicken kept pecking it and stealing it's food. Janet has been really annoying lately, she bothers dogs and the other chicken and won't let anyone pick her up when it's time to go in her chicken house. And, in other news, it keeps raining. After two days without rain, Hna Clariza declared that the rainy seaon was ending and we are going into the dry season. But it's raining again as I am writing.

Thanks for figuring out my school stuff for me. Pres. Leyva said he got the ecclesiatical endorsement and signed it, so BYU should get it soon. But he hasn't gotten back to me about the exact date of my end date. But don't worry, I will bother him about it in each carta al presidente until he tells me. He is kind of forgetful sometimes, so probably it just slipped his mind.

Here's the update on the American cooking lessons: we finally perfected the pancakes through a demonstration of how to cook them correctly. So we had good pancakes one day. However, Hna Clariza has a habit, as do all Peruvians, of pressing down on everything they cook. So the pancakes this morning weighed about a pound each. But I still managed down three. Grilled cheese sandwiches have had better success, but the same problem exists. Now I know why Dad always yelled at me for pressing down on pancakes, hamburgers, etc. I've been losing weight again, but I don't know why because I eat normally. Maybe it's because we walk like 10 miles every day. Or maybe because the stomach hasn't gotten used to Peruvian food, yet.

I received good mail today, and I will spend time this week trying to answer them all. But Mom, please tell Lizzy and Jenae that I would appreciate it a lot if they found me housing. I'm not too worried about what or where because I could probably live in a dump and it would be a step up from Peru housing. I did the math and figured that here our two rooms and a bathroom cost less than $50 a month. But there probably isn't that in Provo. Their letter made me miss BYU life a little bit.

Oh, I guess you've figured out that I'm still here in Huancayo. Only two sisters had cambios. But next month it is very possible that Hna Garrison or I get transfered. But I've really enjoyed being with an American, especially a BYUer.

By the way, I had a laugh in church too. A couple got married over the weekend, and the bishop announced it and then said, "The other piece of bad news is that..." He didn't realize it even though half the ward was laughing openly.

That's about it. We are going to go to a place to do souvenir shopping today. But don't worry, I have gotten pretty good at bargaining, so I won't get cheated by the sticky handed Peruvians. Hna Garrison and I are also planning on eating pizza. I was blessed to get here right when they were opening the Pizza Hut express in the new "mall." We are still hoping for a Wendy's, and there is one spot left in the food court, so we check every pday to see what is coming.

I'm glad eveyone is doing well. Thanks for your love and support.
Love,

Dear Mom,

Thanks for the letter. I'm sorry to hear that Janet didn't get into Belmont. I guess it's gotten better than the years I lived there. She could always live at Brittany, no I take it back. She could live at Nelson Apts. They are like the cheapest womens apartments south of campus. But seriuosly, Carolyn wrote to me and asked me where we are going to live, so I don't have housing either.

Today is cambios, but I don't think I'll get transfered. After getting transfered so much earlier, I have a feeling I'll be here a while. But you never know. I only have 4 transfers left.

This week we had Piero´s baptism. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing, because we were planning it for the next week, but the assistants called and said that we were close to our mission goal of 308 baptisms, so we should baptize everyone we can. So, we spent a lot of time getting him ready for his baptism. He got baptized Saturday, and Sunday he was confirmed. But after church we realized they only said his first name in te confirmation, and not his second name. So we had to go find him and take him to church in the evening. The bishop reconfirmed him. A conselor to the bishop did the confirmation the first time, but the second time, the bishop gave him the same blessings, just in different words. It was kind of neat.

We are now allowed to eat with members Sundays, and yesterday we did for the first time. The lady wanted us to cook an American dish, so we had to cook the meal ourselves. but it was good, so we didn't complain. We made chicken parmesan, and then in the evening, we had pancakes with maple syrup that I found in Plaza Vea. So we ate almost normal American food all day. But the syrup is expensive, so it's like a splurge.

I enjoyed church yesterday and I learned the following doctrinal points in Relief Society:
1. We are bad members of RS because we don't knit sweaters for kids who need them, and there are woman without hands who are knitting sweaters. I'm not quite sure how. I suppose with their feet or mouth or something.

2. Cancer comes from hating someone. I'll have to study that one when I get back to school.

3. We are all going to hell because we don't work hard enough in the church.

I was a little confused about the topic of the lesson, but it amused me. As for me and my companion, we are working darn hard in la obra misional, so I'm not that afraid that I'm going to hell. Although last week a little girl called us prisioneras instead of misioneras. I guess she was confused about whom we were working for.

I haven't heard anything about bones in Peru. Peruvians don't really care about such things. Plus all our news comes filtered through Hna Clariza, so we only hear what she feels like telling us.

Mom, could you start thinking about registering me for my classes? If you need help, ask Janet. But please don't load my schedule with a whole bunch of hard classes. The class I need to take soon is physiology, and there are strange lab time for that class, so try to sign me up in a good class and lab. PS, I prefer morning classes, and then I could work a 1-5 job.

Thanks for all your love and support.
Love,
Sarah