Guinea Pig!

Hola Famila Y Amigos. 

     How goes everything? We get to email on Saturday this week because Monday is the Mundial. AKA WORLD CUP! Mission President thinks that our team is one of the favorites:) haha.

      But I have officially tried Inka Kola, and it is pretty good. We had Chinese food on P. Day, so that was yummy. Elder Aoki and his companion eat lunch with us everyday. 

     They have these hustling and bustling market places on some of the streets, which are just madness. People all over just selling stuff. I got a Peruvian team jersey for 13 Soles, which is about as much as a hamburger back in the U.S. They sell name brand stuff that isn’t really that brand. For example, they will get a no name pair of cleats and just slap the Nike logo on and sell them as Nike’s. 

     We went to this Ward party, and they had food and stuff so that was fun. We also went to a birthday party and had some really good cake.

      I am finally getting accustomed to life in Peru, and it is SO different than the U.S. But the people are awesome. I tried this stuff yesterday called Tokosh, that is basically potato soup. 

     Wednesday we convinced an Investigator to make Cui for us, which is Guinea Pig! We had it for dinner last night. It was right. Kinda tasted like a mix of chicken and pork, except there wasn’t a ton of meat on it. When I got to the little tiny ribs I was reminded that I am eating guinea pig, ha ha! The sad part is, I held him on Wednesday, LIVE. Actually I think I held his amigo. The lady had a whole family of Cui. And it is a whole lot harder to eat your food when you have given it a name! 

     We taught our awesome investigators last night, and they are getting really pumped for their baptism date. It is cool because they are the first people getting baptized that I have taught all the way through. They gave us dinner too, after we had the Cui with the other lady. We went to the Pensionistas house, and whatdya know, more dinner. So I had three dinners last night. But that's okay cause the food is good! 

     I am teaching some of the little Peruvian kids American phrases, like "Laters" and "Sick". Ha ha. They are so intrigued with my blue eyes, and my ability to speak English. 

     We went on splits, and I spent the night with Elder Aoki’s companion. Its pretty cool cause people will just give us free food and ice cream from the little tiendas. We went to a house and the people had a pet monkey! 

     So anyway, life is good here in Peru. The Spirit is so strong when we teach our Investigators. We went to church with the ones that have a baptism date, and they were super impressed with it and stayed all three hours. It is so amazing just being able to look these people in the eyes and bear testimony to them. I am reminded that each and every one of them is a Child of God, and I am soo happy to have the opportunity to share a message about Eternal Families with them.

      And I just know the Lord has been preparing their hearts to hear our message. I am so happy and grateful to be here in Peru and Serve the Lord.   This really will be the Best Two Years.

With Much Love, 
Elder Reschke 

Questions Elder Reschke answered this week:

Do you like playing soccer?

Ha ha, yeah soccer is way fun. I have gotten a lot better at soccer ever since the first time we played in the CCM. But, the Latinos are amazing. Even older ward members come and play with us. They are all so good because down here, Soccer is Life. They have been playing ever since they could walk.

Is it city or country there?   

It’s interesting because its like kinda city, with traffic and garbage, but like only near the roads. As soon as you get away from the roads and go into to residential areas it kinda turns into village. Also the higher you go up into the hills the more poor and village like it gets. But its nice because there are little stores on every corner. There is tons of little dirt and cement soccer fields but whenever we play as a zone which is twice a week, we pay to use this really nice field that has nice artificial turf and a bathroom and stuff. 

What is the landscape like?

There are trees and stuff, like some funky looking tropical trees. But,

 most of them are covered in dust, and there is not a lot of grass or vegetation. The mountains are brown and dusty   But it definitely looks like National Geographic!

What is your companion like?

Companion is great. He is really spiritual. Been out 8 months.

Are you enjoying life and having fun?

Definitely taking time for fun. Soccer is always fun, and we go to Ward parties and birthday parties and stuff. The food rocks. Even just walking through the busy marketplace and seeing all the pig heads and WHOLE chickens hanging there is fun. And the Pensionistas family is way nice. We talk to them a lot while we eat.

What is the weather like?

It gets a tad chilly at night, but usually not enough for a coat. Sometimes in the mornings it is super misty and cloudy and steamy. But in the afternoons, it gets hotter and sunnier.

Are you getting our letters? Do you need anything?

I haven’t gotten any mail yet, so we will just keep waiting! Haha, there was one thing I needed but I cant remember what it was. I will email you if I remember.

How is the language coming?

The language is coming along. I can speak it pretty well, but a lot of times I have trouble understanding people when they speak. I will have to give it time.

Chinese food on P. Day:

                                                               The famous Inka Kola:

                                                                       Eating again:

                                                                   Guinea Pig alive:

                                                                Guinea Pig for dinner:

                                                                      Mural in Peru:

                                                                 Birthday celebration: