Life in Office

Hey folks,

First things are first. I am horribly sorry for not wishing you a happy birthday, Dad. Really though, I was in the thick of a bunch of movement because that Monday I arrived in San Isidro, the really rich part of Lima. Tuesday the new missionaries arrived, so I was booked until 10pm. I was so tired I couldn't remember even the small things. It was quite lame.

Other than that, life is good in the office. It's not so bad as everyone else makes it to be. Imprisoned and all that. We really hardly ever go out to proselyte, except on weekends. Even then, it's not that effective at all. It's nothing like being out in the field, because in the field, you're worried about your investigators. Here you're worried about everything else, and you kind of get rusty on your preaching skills. It's normal when you're in the office from 8am to 9pm. Us office elders planned to make rotations on leaving early during the week to proselyte. Us office elders are myself, my companion Elder Granados (who is from Chimbote), Elder Schofield from CA, and Elder Almonacid from Chile.

So now that we are in the money side of Peru, the preaching is like the USA. People don't see a need for the gospel as much now that they have dough in their pockets. We're gonna have to work through the members, which is ironic since we're almost never there in our area proselyting, and the members know that. I get all kinds of phonecalls, actually. From the MTC, the church missionary department, and other missions. I'm waiting for a phonecall from the General Offices of the church. Just so you know, President Manning has some crazy ties with the First Presidency. I think it's for all mission presidents. Here's an example; we had a missionary become very ill to the point where he was hospitalized for a couple of weeks. President Manning called the First Presidency, and the whole Quroum of the Twelve Apostles, and the First Presidency prayed for the missionary in the temple. He's alright now and doing perfectly fine. I'm sure anyone who would have those men praying for you would feel secure. Another fun fact, President Manning interviewed a man for baptism who shot someone and left him for dead, and doesn't know if he is alive or dead. This baptism requires the approval of the First Presidency. It just amazes me how many people are living on the earth today without the light in their eyes and don't know where to turn for peace.

Anyway, I got to help Elder Souza with his package. I got my third package. Office phone number is the same: 222-4445. Our schedule is basically being cooped up inside all day managing the mission. Can you imagine a mission of 217 missionaries being ran by 4 twenty year-old kids? Didn't think so. My companion and I contacted a Jewish lady, so that was cool. She was interested, but didn't accept a folleto or Book of Mormon because she's real faithful to her ancestors and their faith. If I were just two seconds quicker, I would have given her a family history pamphlet or tell her how the Book of Mormon talks about the tribe of Joseph. But we'll have to wait another day.

Well my time is up and I gotta run. Don't get freaked if my letters come late, because I have almost no time now for anything, believe it or not. Love you both and wish the best. Say hi to all my family, and work on that family history! Please!

Elder Emiliano León

Miraflores

Hey Mom and Dad,

Sorry about the late reply, but ironically, although I am in front of the computer every day, I had no time to write you both an email. I was able to squeeze in one hour for today.

So you both went to Quickwok? That's cool. I didn't think Liz, AJ, or Abe would still be there. Tell them that I miss real chinese food, because over here in Peru, it's basically many different combinations of fried rice. It's really good, but it gets old when you don't have that much variety. I will definately send you recent photos of the mission, so don't worry about that. The time just does not give me space.


So we have a new Stake President? What's his name? I can't believe that I'll be reporting back to a different face. Although I am here in the office a lot, President Manning only comes in Mondays. Speaking of President Manning, us office bums and the assistants went bowling with him... in a ridiculously beautiful rich place called the Larcomar in Miraflores. Holy Moses that was a beautiful shopping mall / restaurant look out over the ocean on a cliff. After walking in relatively poor areas, I felt unworthy to set foot in such a gorgeous location... much less as a missionary.


The office elders are cool. I get along with them just fine. We started a new schedule where we rotate days to go proselyte. On Sunday we ate dinner with, I kid you not, a neurosurgeon. He showed us X-Rays of a recent patient he had to operate on, who was a 2 year old boy with a tumor a third of the size of his head... only it was inside. It turns out it was an intestine. You might be wondering what is an intestine doing inside of the head of a 2 year-old boy? When someone has cancer, the cells divide and multiply uncontrollably. So normally the cells that would be brain tissue, suddenly decide they want to be intestine tissue, and worse is that they would be in the wrong place. Crazy stuff that really you don't see every day.


I do have a favor to ask of you both. I've had quite a few families that I've met on the mission add me on Facebook, but it turns out I need to accept their "Friend Invitation" in order for them to see my photos and contact info. I was hoping that you both could enter my facebook account and accept the many friend invites that I may have received. Just go to www.facebook.com and look for "friend invites" or something similar.


Well my time is shrinking, and I must get going. Thanks for emailing me. Tell everyone (family, friends, ward members) that I said hello and that I still remember them. Oh, and Mom, Happy Birthday. I'm sorry I couldn't send you a birthday card, but I just want you to know that I do love you a lot. Even though I might forget some things, like birthdays, it doesn't change the fact that I have a great mother, and that I love you. Take care and we'll talk next week.


Elder Emiliano León

Whoa! Lima, Peru Downtown Missionary Office !

Whoooaa !,

Hey guess what? I got an exchange. Can you believe it? I can't believe it either. I didn't want to leave Pamplona because the people there are amazingly cool. I was sad to leave, but fortunately, this time I got to say goodbye to everyone I wanted. I didn't leave Pisco unstatisfied. Oh, by the way, Tessy got baptized, and was confirmed on Sunday. I am very happy for her, because now when she smiles, it isn't fake like it was the first time we met her. There's true happiness in her eyes now, and it was worth every minute of it. It was sad though to leave her, but no worries, she is in good hands with Elder Hesselgesser, and the rest of barrio Pamplona.

So you might be asking, where in the heck did Elder León get changed to? I got changed to the freakin office. I'm now working as the Secretario de Registros. Basically I'm in charge of Baptism records, Immigration, and Medicine ( the guy you call when you're sick). I'm going to be in here getting super bored, as what I've been told... and not be leaving to go proselyte as much. My companion is Elder Granados, who is the Finance Secretary. It's funny because all I've heard about the office is "Oh no! So boring! Wasting time blah!"

Well, at least we eat super good, super nice rooms, and a super nice rich area, so I won't be going up cerros all day. The mission has flown by so quickly. On New Year's Eve, in barrio Pamplona, la familia Cajahuaman lost their son, George, of 28 years. The parents are old, and their 7 children are all active in the church, but they lost their second son in an accident at work, so all of the New Year's activities were canceled, and the funeral service was held Saturday night, and they buried him on Sunday after church. It was quite sad, and alas, I must be going. Finally got to send you both a message, and I want to tell you both to take care. Love you both and I hope the best for you.Tell everyone I said hi.

Elder Emiliano León

After Christmas

Hey Mom and Dad,

Like I said the night of Christmas, Merry Christmas. It's hot over here in Peru and people are afraid of using fans because supposedly you'll die from pneumonia. It's pretty weak.

Anyway, I got an email from Elder Souza who is in the Lima Central Mission. He said he got an extension of two months to serve a mission, and is doing well. He asked me to send him a luggage because his broke down, and doesn't have the means to secure a new one. It was cool hearing from him finally.

Well, I don't have much to add for this week except for the fact that our 5 baptisms programmed for this month are starting to get shaky, but we aren't giving up on them just yet. Tessy is for sure going to be baptized this Saturday. Aldair the 8 year old boy wants to get baptized, but his mom doesn't want him to get baptized in any church (much less ours) because she thinks that like a boy he'll forget about it as he grows up like a toy. She's hanging out in Rome right now for her job. Thankfully, her 24 year old sister Leissy is helping him along going to church. Katya and Melissa told us they think January 15 is too soon for their baptism because they don't know as much. Cesar (22 years old) wants to get baptized to feel the Holy Ghost more in his life, but is having trouble going to church on Sundays.

Anyway, that's the scoop on what's been going down for Peru. Thanks for writing, and I'll get back to you both next week. Love you both, and see you later.

Elder Emiliano León

Fasting and Prayers

Hey Mother and Father,

I got the package you both sent. Cupcakes, candies, and baseball caps. I haven't opened it yet because we're going to go bowling right after the internet machine. Things are going well on the mission too. This Saturday we have a baptism programmed for a 17 year old girl named Tessy. She's really cool, and to make her story short, if there was anyone who needed a family and friends because her world was a bit ignorant of her needs, it would be Tessy, and I'm happy that she has taken a step of faith to follow Jesus Christ.

Well, I'll share a personal experience with you both. Elder Hesselgesser and I fasted for God to help us find those who can really be baptized. We fasted to give us guidance on what we can do to find His elect and bring them into the fold, and I kid you not, but 10 investigators came to church, and we didn't even go to pass by their homes to pick them up.

Yeah about the photos, I made a DVD disc of all of the photos that I have on my camera, the only problem is that the disc somehow went wack, and it doesn't read. I'll think of another way to get those photos. My comp and I learned that when one demonstrates more faith in keeping the commandments, their prayers are answered more quickly. We found that out in the Book of Mormon when the Lord was slow to answer prayers because of the wickedness of the people.

Well my time is up. Another fun story, my comp and I were teaching a family, and the baby boy of 1.5 years walks to my comp and hands him a butcher knife by the blade, and then later brings matches. His name is Leo, and he is the funniest kid in the world. He'll brake people's things, slap your face if you're sleeping, loves to be annoyed, but if you bring him a plant he starts crying becuase he's afraid of plants. Also, he's got a mullet because his Mom never cut his hair since he was born, because Leo goes crazy when they want to cut his hair. Anyway, I hope you both are doing fine. Work on losing that weight, it'll be good for you. I'll talk to you both next week.

Elder Emiliano León

Incredible Story

Hello Mom and Dad,

I have an incredible story to tell you both. Well everything is riding
smoothly in Pamplona. We could use more help from the members to teach
families and find new investigators. I remember before I left for the
mission, I wasn't too excited about sharing the gospel with other
people. Well, irony is cruel because nearly all of my areas that I've
been in the church members don't really help us out with missionary
work. A few do help us out, but they're very limited to the help they
can present because of work and school. So, Mom and Dad, I urge you to
pray for opportunities to share the gospel with the missionaries to
family or friends. It will be a blessing for you, the church, and the
missionaries. It's something I learned in the temple about sacrifice.

Well, that's about all of what's going on in Pamplona. We're preparing
a 13 year old boy for baptism this Saturday. His name is Jorgino, and
he really wants to seguir aprendiendo mas acerca de la iglesia. He has
permission from his mother who really wants to help him out, but his
father is the one we need help with. He recently gave his son
permission, but he himself is like Abuelito Hector, catholic and a bit
hard hearted. We're going to see him and talk to him for the first
time tonight. Rock n roll.

I'll tell you about an icredible story that happened here in the
mission. It all happened before I got my change from Pisco to
Pamplona. It starts with a missionary who already finished his
mission. His name is Elder Jay. I was never in the same zone as he
was, but I did get to know him for only 5 hours during a zone
conference.

Well the story goes like this: He lives in California, but
he was an adopted child from Peru and never knew his biological
family. Well, he grew up in a family who are church members, and he
got his mission call to the Peru, Lima South mission, and he was
excited. He asked President Manning for permission to look for his
parents, and it was granted. Well, fast forward the scene, and 1 week
before he finishes his mission, he still hadn't found his family.
Elder Jay, while in Chorrillos, asked his pensionista for help, and
she was able to get the data for him, and found out that his family
lives somewhere in Pamplona Alta. With permission from President
Manning he went to our zone and asked for the missionaries to find his
family. Some 5 days left before his mission ends, Elder Bearnson and
Elder Xicay found his mother and told her that her adopted son is a
missionary from the church, and that he's here and wants to meet her.
Four or three days left, Elder Jay finally got the opportunity to meet
his biological mother who gave him up for adoption about some twenty
years ago. He entered the home and saw his family all waiting for him
and asked, "I heard that my mother is somewhere here, where is she?"
So they told him that Carmen was his mother, and Elder Jay finally got
to meet her, but only for two days.

He gave his testimony with tears
in his eyes that Sunday meeting, and said that he wanted her to know
the restored gospel, but that she would decide for herself to be
baptized.

Well, Elder Bearnson and Elder Huaman ended up teaching her family,
and they got baptized yesterday Sunday morning. I interviewed Jasmine,
Jesus, Elder Jay's siblings; and Carmen, his mother. In fact, his
mother asked me to baptize her. I don't know why she asked me, but I
think it's because I told her I'm from the same state as her son. I am
convinced that our Heavenly Father answers prayers.

So, there you have it. God exists. The odds of that happening are so
slim, it's just a testimony builder. My time is up, and I have to get
going. Hope you enjoy the story.

Elder Emiliano León

Lima , Peru Temple Visit

Hey Mom and Dad,

Thanks for the letter. Our whole zone went to the temple this last Thursday, and it was a good visit. I haven't been to the temple in about a year and a half, so it was a good refreshing taste. I actually could understand all of what was being said inside in Spanish, so I didn't need headphones for translating.

Well, this past week has been difficult. After we visited the temple and prayed for help on our mission, apparently God decided to have fun with us because every single appointment we had made failed. After we tried appointments, we visited some of the inactive members, and they weren't home. So after failed attempt after failed attempt, Elder Hesselgesser and I decided to go contacting and doorknocking to pump ourselves up. It just so happens that the first house we contacted were deaf people. We had to speak really slow, and think of ideas to show the Book of Mormon in ways we thought weren't possible. Luckily, there was someone who wasn't deaf to listen and translate. She wasn't interested, but I had fun with that experience even though her Catholic grandma busted out the rage.

One of our investigators ended up leaving for 2 weeks, so her date to be baptized was pretty much cancelled. Well, there's always the next 8 months to work things out. I did the best I could, we'll just have to be patient.

I'm happy to hear that your school is doing great and progressing. If Sebastian has an email, can you give it to me? oh dang, that reminds me that I haven't sent any new photos. You have to understand that I've been really busy. I promise that I will get those photos on CD. You will have new photos before this change ends.

Tell Jack I got his email that I appreciated it a lot. I was happy to know what has happened to our home teaching families. Mom, Dad, do your home teaching and visiting. Here in Pamplona, we have a problem with recent converts not going to church and going inactive because nobody visits them. I read Bruce R. McConkie's talk called "Just an Elder," and it really is an important part of the church. As a missionary it pains me to see recently baptized members lose that light they had in their eyes.

Well, my time is about up. Thanks for letting me know what's going down in Oceanside. I miss the Mexican food, let me tell you. Tell Abuelito Hector, Luis, and Abuelita Chole that I can't wait to return and speak to them in Spanish. Love you all, and please continue our geneaology. Hasta luego.

Elder Emiliano León