Stake Conference & Monday Lunch

This Sunday was a Stake/Regional Conference for all of Peru and Bolivia.  Each Stake had 30 minutes for it's own Stake business, talk and special musical numbers before the video transmission from Salt Lake City, just like they do in the states. We attended the building for the Palermo Stake which was the first building built by the church in Trujillo. There was a big turnout for the meeting and we ran into so many people we know from the temple or have met in the four months we have been here. We sat by the Luperdi family.  I did not get a new picture of them but there is one in an earlier post. 

Two of the speakers were from the Seventy, one of the counselors in the Primary spoke as well as Elder Neil L. Andersen from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The Palermo Stake Choir
They also had piano and flute for accompaniment.

President and Sister Coacalla also attended at this Stake Building.  It was a good meeting and I am starting to understand more Spanish all the time.

The sister with me is Jacqueline Gilbert.  She was born in Trujillo but has lived in
South Jordan, Utah for 10 years.  She is visiting family here.  Her nephew is in the
white shirt and that would be cute Elder Cook behind us.  Jacqueline will be back in
February and we will have a lunch date then.  She is leaving on Tuesday.

Franco Figgini (next to me) was so excited to see us there.  He is a returned
missionary from Bolivia.  He works in the temple with us and speaks good English.
He is standing next to his mother, father and brother. Bill is trying to help him get into
the Perpetual Education Program with the church.  He has a lot of potential but does not
have the resources to make it happen.  We wish him much success.

Two cute Elders.  Elder Riddle from Orem & Elder Cook from Moab.

This is the Stake Patriarch & his wife, Hermano & Hermana Mesa.
Patriarch Mesa grew up in La Esperanza, Bill's old stomping ground.

Paulo's family.  He and his wife work in the temple.  She was also
a Mesa and grew up in La Esperanza.

President & Sister Coacalla

The Stake President Josua Valdivia with his wife and son.

For P-day today we went the Real Plaza mall.  It is further away from the temple than Mall Aventura, where we go most of the time.  Real Plaza is a smaller mall but was the first one built in Trujillo 10 years ago. It is closer to the mission offices and we wanted to take some of the office missionaries to lunch.  Elder Heward was one of the first elders we met when we arrived in Peru.  He has been the Secretary to the Mission President for 8 1/2 months and is being transferred to Guadalupe, 2 1/2 hours north of here to be a Zone Leader. We will miss seeing him in Trujillo but hope to catch up with him again when we return home. 

These are such great & fun missionaries.  We took them to one of our favorite places to eat, Pardo's Chicken.  From left to right: Elder Talbot from Cornfield, AZ, Elder Romero from Arequipa, Peru, Elder Heward from Ogden, UT, Bill, Sandy, Elder Olsen from Smithfield, UT and Elder Caldwell from Mesa, AZ. Elder Olsen is taking over for Elder Heward in the office and will be Elder Romero's companion.
Elder Talbot & Elder Caldwell are companions and are actually in the Trujillo South Mission.  It was all one mission when we got here. They all work in the offices and do the same things.

We went shopping at Plazavea, another knock off of Walmart Supercenter.  Each of the Supermarkets in Trujillo seem to carry some different items so we always pick up things we need when we are near one.

Some cute little palm trees and flowers inside Real Plaza mall.

Double Decker Bus Tour

On Monday we went on a Double Decker Bus Tour of Trujillo.  It was a hot, sunny day, but we had a great time.  I doused myself with sunscreen and carried my "parasol" (for sun - Bill says it is just an umbrella), but I still got a little red.  The sun is really intense here and plays havoc with my skin.  Bill has even had a little problem with the sun.  I guess that is why Peruvians were blessed with darker skin.  They don't seem to be bothered by the sun. We went with the Hawses, the Nields and the Coacallas.

We started and ended at the Plaza de Armas.  We love this square.  It is pretty and green.  This is the center of the city and the downtown area which used to be enclosed by a large wall or fortress in the 1800's.

Catholic Cathedral 

This is a very busy city with lots of cars and people.  It was fun to see from the top of the double decker bus.

We came home to find the hard working grounds keepers tending to cleaning the temple and grounds.

We don't see lots of clouds in Trujillo and haven't had a drop of rain since we got here. So I had to snap a picture of the clouds behind the temple this week.

Heather sent this cute picture of our little Max.  He just got his hair cut and is getting ready for Halloween.  He and Ellie are going to dress up as little devils and go trick or treating.  I am sure Ellie will enjoy it more than Max.

Porvenir

We had a good day today attending church in Porvenir at the la Merced Ward. It was a little further away than La Esperanza or Florencia, so we had our faithful taxi driver, Edder, pick us up so we wouldn't be late for church. 

Coming in to Porvenir.

Houses on the hill.

The House across the street from the church.  I was impressed
with their landscaping.  Very few houses have anything growing around them.
It was also fun to see sunflowers growing in Peru.

The people in the ward were so warm and welcoming.  Many wanted to take our picture and have their picture taken with us.  This group huddled around each other with Bill for a photo op.  I don't even think they were related to each other.

Of course we found missionaries.  Elder Connelly from Gilbert, Arizona and
Elder Choquevillca from Bolivia. Bill was proud to see Elder Choquvillca sporting his BYU tie.
 He had attended BYU before his mission and spoke good English

Another mixed group from the ward.

Bill standing next to Bishop Telmos and his counselor, Hermano Munsibay.  
They both work at the temple.
We don't know the man in the white shirt.

The chorister on the left (I played the piano) with three pretty girls and a ward Hermana.

Hermano & Hermana Jesus.  He works in the temple and is
the Peruvian version of our friend in Missouri, Jim Burch.  He has
a similar personality and mannerisms. I guess we all have a double, even
in foreign countries. 

Another picture of Hermano Jesus.
He also teaches the Investigator class which we attended.

This is Juan and Betty.  They were in the Investigator class.
They have been members for a year and plan to go to the temple next month.
We feel like such giants down here. 

This young man is Miller Zarate.  He is the Young Men's President.
He video taped us speaking on his phone so he could play it for his Young Men,
Bill in Spanish and me in English.  I'm sure it was noteworthy!!

After the meetings, I heard this beautiful piano music coming from the chapel.  I went in to find this young man playing the piano.  He is from a different ward and was practicing a Janice Kapp Perry song for an upcoming special musical number.  

More cute children.

 Primary children and their leaders in the chapel.

                                             
                   Scenes from the drive back home. All in all, it was a very good day.