Earthquake!

 ¡Hola Familia Y Amigos!

Hope all is well with you guys! Things are great down here, but for some reason this was a relatively uneventful week. Oh well I suppose some weeks are like that.

I was super sick for some reason last Monday, so that was no fun. But Hermana Norma gave me some plant drink that is supposed to heal an upset stomach, and it worked like magic! So guess what my first real meal was after being throw-up sick for a day? A whole bunch of no name chicken parts! Not exactly sure what they were, but they were all connected, and I think one of them was a heart and I have no idea what the others were. Probably pancreas or something....but anyway that was exciting.

I have officially experienced two earthquakes in Peru! Pretty strange. One of them was strong enough to clatter the windows a little bit, and then EVERY SINGLE DOG in Lima just went CRAZY! Haha.

So, to get to lunch the other day we had to hike up like a gazillion stairs. It was incredible, and I will send a picture! 

Everyone´s gearing up for Christmas already, and eating lots of Panetón, which is basically, like spiced fruit cake. Super popular around Christmas time.  I'ts getting colder and colder in Utah and hotter and hotter here!  But yeah that’s about all that is new down here in Carabayllo.

On the more spiritual side of things, I found a really cool scripture in my personal study time this morning. Alma 5:48. Look it up!:) It talks all about the Savior, and I thought it was really neat. One thing I noticed this week is that I think my knowledge of the scriptures is really starting to increase, so that’s exciting. We did a work split Friday night, and I went with the Zone Leader from Chile. Turns out he knows Matt Cowden because Matt served his mission in this Elder´s home Ward. Small world! 

But, we met this guy that I think just wanted to bible bash. He turned to me, and said, "alright, tell me what you guys believe" and the gift of tongues totally kicked in, and I basically told him all about the Joseph Smith story. It was really neat, and I have no idea if he is going to act on what we told him, but at least we planted some seeds in his heart and perhaps he will listen to the missionaries five or ten years down the road. 

We had a giant Family Home Evening with the whole Ward and watched the “Together Forever” video from the 1980s. That was fun. 

We are gearing up for the baptism of Hermano Augusto this Saturday. Teaching him has been absolutely amazing, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone more ready for baptism than he is! The Church is true, and I know that with all my heart. I am honored to be a part of the work of the Lord. Thank you so much for your prayers, and I hope you all have a good week.

Con Amor,
 Elder Reschke 

P.S. Elder Martinez and I are planning a photo shoot for our Christmas card:) If you have any ideas for the background of our picture, just pass the voice this way!

Questions Elder Reschke answered this week:

Did you get the Turtle Cookies I sent you?

 So I got the package this week. Thank you SOOO much. The Turtle Cookies were absolutely fresh, and for some reason tasted even better than I remember them ever tasting, and I have always loved them!  They were great. I gave one to Elder Aoki, he took half a bite, and then said "OH MY GOODNESS THESE ARE HEAVENLY" and wrapped up the other half to save for later. I warned him that it’s a secret recipe but he insists on soliciting you! Haha he loves them.

You are heading into Summer in Peru.  What is the weather like?

It usually gets pretty hot in the day! And we hike straight up the sides of these HUGE piles of dirt and mountainside. It’s definetly a challenge that I never expected! But I love it, it’s so much fun, but exhausting! And it usually cools off quite nicely for the evening. The weather in the evening is quite pleasant. 

How are your shoes holding up?

 My shoes get POUNDED on a daily basis, but they are Eccos so they are holding up perfectly. Oh and remember that Little People guy that sold us the shoes at Dillards? We should have listened to him about the shoe shining. A sponge doesn’t do a whole lot against all the dust and grime. So I bought a can of black shoe cream and a brush. That’s what everyone down here does, and it works a lot better!

What is the milk like in Peru?

Most of the milk comes in bags. It’s pasteurized like a gazillion times so they don’t refrigerate it really. They also don’t refrigerate eggs or yogurt. But, this bakery on the corner sells chocolate milk in a bag that’s not bad!

Is there Fast Food there?

 In Plaza Norte (the mall) which is kind of by the mission office they have KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, etc. In Metro fifteen minutes away from us they have Pizza Hut and a mini McDonald’s that sells ice cream. In our area there are a TON of street venders that sell all sorts of fun food. We basically trust all of them except some certain things. There are a ton of Pollos ala Brasa (grilled chicken) restaurants, and a ton of Chifa restaurants which is like Chinese food with a Peruvian fling. 

What are the clothes like that the Peruvians wear?

They wear colorful clothes, but the older people wear them more often. The mom’s have these colorful wraps that they use to carry their kids like a backpack. The older ladies wear the Peruvian black hats. And for some reason all the old people know Quechua. 

What is the country side like?

The mountains and hills are pretty barren, but our area is apparently more green than other areas. Banana, lime, papaya, trees, and some pretty flowers too. 

                                                   The foot path along the cerros (hills):

                                  Jake loves hiking through the hills and teaching people there:

                                                                      Peruvian flag:

                                                        Up in the hills above the city:

                                               Jake loves going up in the hills to teach:

                                         Six flights of stairs to climb for a lunch appointment:

                                                  Ward Family Home Evening:

                                       Food picture of the week: Straight from home,
                         Mom's homemade turtle cookies which arrived this week in Peru via Vanessa: