Elder Reschke Serving in Peru.: Baptism and Talent Show!

Hola Muchachos!

Hope all is well with you guys. It’s really weird that it’s all cold and stuff back home...it still feels like summer here! Hope you all have a good Thanksgiving. Here they go straight from Halloween to Navidad!

Ah let’s see, it was kind of a crazy week! Unfortunately a bunch of our appointments fell through, but some other fun stuff happened. The highlight of which was definitely the Baptism of Hermano Augusto, the dad and husband of Osvely and Elsa who we baptized last month. He is super excited to be a member, and he is really going to strengthen the Ward.

We had a multi Zone Conference with Presidente Erickson, which was really good. He is

SOOOO knowledgable about the gospel, it’s incredible.

So, funny story...the church has this really big wall surrounding it with a gate that’s locked. Well, the other night at about eight, we were walking past the church and this Hobo Dude had wandered in earlier in the day when the gate was open, but somehow he got locked in! So he was pounding on the door yelling. So we called up the High Priest Group leader and we´re like...”UM we don’t know how but there is this hobo guy locked in the church, you should probably come let him out!” Haha, random story of the day.

Saturday night we had a talent show to attract investigators. We had a TON of people there, and it was a lot of fun. The Ward Members all participated, and sung “Corazon Serrano” and stuff like that. Then the YM/YW did this Peruvian Dance and they were all decked out in their traditional Peruvian costume and everything...it was really neat!

So teaching our Pensionista how to make pancakes was probably like the best decision we ever made. It’s like one of her favorite things to make now...fine by me!

Last P-Day, we had a giant water balloon fight behind the church, and it was a blast. Then we ordered this really good pizza, Inca Kola, and watched the Disney Movie "Rio." It was a fun day!

I think my favorite part of the mission is seeing the lives of the people we baptize change. For example, Alex, the baptism we had my first week here, got a shirt and tie to wear to church, and yesterday he blessed the Sacrament for the first time!

We had a meeting with the J... Family, and gave them CTR rings. Hermano Augusto put the CTR ring on Elsa´s finger and said, "I promise to take you to the temple and we are going to be sealed to each other." Definitely the most adorable thing we saw all week. But, really they are so happy to be members. And, also, they are SOOO excited about family history work. They are so happy that they can do the temple work for their ancestors, parents, siblings, etc.

But really whenever I see things like this, I sit back, content, and think,"Man, this is the mission, and this is what happens when you go and preach the gospel for two years." Yeah it's frustrating when appointments fall through and things like that, but when I feel the Spirit of a family that is just so happy to know they can be an eternal family, every hard day we have is so worth it. And, the only way any of this is going to happen, is if we wake up every day, strap on our messenger bags, lace up the shoes, and walk miles and miles in Lima Peru. But, in all honesty, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because the Mission life is amazing.

I know this gospel is true with every fiber of my being. Hope you all have a good week, and since Thanksgiving is coming up, think of all the things you are grateful for. I know I will.

Con Amor,
Elder Reschke

P.S. Cultural Note: They have these sketchy vans called convees for public transportation. They just pull up, and they don’t mind if you hop in the front seat right next to the driver. They drive really fast, and weave in and out of traffic like none other. You have to hop in really fast too, because they will take off before the door shuts...if they decide to close the door!

Questions Elder Reschke answered this week:

Can you tell me about your meals?

It’s usually Hna Norma that cooks our meals, but if she is not there for some reason somebody else in the family whips something up for us. We ask for fried rice a lot. This week we are going to teach her to make french toast!

What are your favorite meals?

Favorite meals are probably:

Lomo Soltado (marinated strips of beef steak, with onions, tomatoes, and other ingredients, served with fried potato slices and rice).

Papa Rellena (potato dough into which a filling made of chopped beef and onions, whole olives, hard boiled eggs, cumin and other spices are stuffed. Once prepared, it is deep fried).

Papa Huancayina (Peruvian potatoes with spicy cream sauce).

Least favorite meals?

Meh, I don’t really know cause it’s all pretty good.

What is your apartment like?

The apartment is actually really nice...it’s on the corner of the building and we have a door that leads out to a nice little balcony just for us. I think we are probably one of the only rooms in the mission with a couch...we have two. A nice little family of cockroaches lives in the bathroom, but we will get rid of them soon. We don’t have a hot water heater, just an electric shower head that shocks you but it’s worth it to have hot water. We have a mini fridge but no other kitchen item. So if we had the desire to cook something we would just go two houses down the street to the Atencio's (Pensionista).

Do you make your bed each day?

I need to do better at making my bed.

What is your District like?

There are about twenty missionaries in the District. About half Gringo and half Latino. But EVERYTHING is in Spanish. Except President is making the Latino's learn English so sometimes they have to pray in English.

Where do yo email us from?

We email you from this little place that is just like a computer lab basically, it’s a couple of miles from our house. We email with the whole Zone, and we have a little more than an hour to email.

We pay 1.4 soles for internet use, so like fifty cents.

Baptism of Hermano Augusto: