Events of the Past Week

Bill and I were out and about several times this week.  We took a lot of pictures so I thought they needed a separate blog entry.

On one of our outings we ended up at an art studio.  It was not where we thought we were going but we took a few minutes to look around and talk to the artists.

It's always fun to run into the missionaries.  We found these four at Wong's one afternoon when we went to buy groceries.

We found over 30 missionaries in the food court at the mall.  Many speak very good English so it is fun to talk to them and find out where they are from.  We bought all of them ice cream. They were very grateful.

We saw this little girl in the mall drooling over the gum ball machines.  She was with her grandparents who didn't seem to have the money to give her.  So Bill went over and gave her a Sol (about 31 cents). You never stop being a grandparent in any language or country.

We were without electricity twice this week.  Once because the City of Trujillo turned it off and once because the Temple Engineers had to replace part of a pipe in the pump.  All of the water for the temple and our apartments comes from a well. They are good to warn us and even offer extension cords so we can use the one plug that stays on the generator, keeping our refrigerator running.

This is a funeral procession in the Cemetery next to the temple.  It is hard to see but I didn't want to forget this experience.  They do not drive in, but walk in large numbers to the gravesite, carrying the casket to funeral dirge music played by a brass band.  This was the closest picture I could get. You can see people walking along the pathway.

This is one of the entrances to the National University in Trujillo.  It is a pretty large campus and they have mosaic pictures on the whole wall that goes around the campus.  These pictures don't do it justice.  It really is incredible. It starts with the creation and goes to modern day.

Halloween and Christmas are coming to Trujillo.  We found these displays in the Metro store which is kind of like a Super Walmart. I had to refrain from buying stuff.  I am a real sucker for Christmas decorations.

I couldn't resist, however, buying this cute little Nativity set at the Apiat.

Nor could I resist buying three more Alpacas to add to my herd.  I have even started to name them after friends and acquaintances we have made here. Crazy, huh?  They are Freddy, Miguel, Oscar, Diego, Pedro, Carlos, Nelly, Carmen & Katty. Bill is afraid they are going to run us out of our apartment.

I love taking pictures from the Taxi.  It seems we see the most interesting things.  Here are some from this week.

There are more optical shops in this city than I can count.  The shops are all pretty small but the
prices are great.  I may have to indulge in a new pair of glasses before I go home.

This guy is riding his bike carrying at least 4 dozen eggs in his left hand.

Some youth in their school uniforms.

This is one of our Taxi drivers, Christian.  He is from La Esperanza and is a member of the church.
He is married with two young children.  He & his wife both served missions for the church.
When he was on his mission in Lima, he baptized over 120 people.  One was a Jehovah's
Witness and another was a Catholic priest.  He drove us around one day and even played
church music in his taxi.  

And last but not least, Bill took this picture of a pretty little bird on the temple grounds.

And I had to share this picture drawn by our oldest granddaughter, Sadie.  She is 17 and a very good artist.  She wants to go into Graphic Arts and I think she will do well with that.  She drew this picture on her iPad.

Conference Weekend

We were so excited to be able to watch General Conference this weekend in the comfort of our humble apartment. All the talks were so good and we were thrilled to be able to witness three new apostles being called. The last time three were called at the same time was in 1906.

Our new Apostles
Ronald A Rasband, Gary E Stevenson & Dale G Renlund

Our grandson, Micah, wearing his Trujillo Temple tie to the Priesthood Session 
in Logan, Utah

Sunday evening we went back to the Chan Chan building downtown for choir practice.  It is such a strange building. When the church wanted to build a chapel there the city said it had to conform with the rest of the architecture in that area.  It is located in the historical area of Trujillo, one block from the Plaza de Armas.

The only way you would know there was a church here is this sign on the wall
which is at least 15 to 20 feet high.

This is what it looks like across the street from the church.

Waiting outside the large door for the Bishop (Obispo)
to come let us in.

You have to step over a threshold to get into the church courtyard.

Entrance to the church from the courtyard. The chapel is upstairs.
Below is the back of the church complex, all still enclosed within a huge wall.

This is a picture of me with the choir director, Armin Tolentino. 

Bill caught me with my eyes shut. We are singing "Be Still My Soul" and "If You Could Hie to Kolob", in Spanish, of course. He has a degree in music and arranged the hymns.  He also plays several instruments. It really takes a toll on my brain when I don't speak the language very well but he is very patient with me.

This one is for our fellow BYU fans.