Another week in Cusco / Some Videos of Connor

First off, a big apology to Addison, our neighbor didn't have their wifi working this week, it gets fixed today, so I couldn't send the video.

I will be sending the birthday video I made for her in a bit.  It is uploading now.

So, we have a baptism on the 15th of October, Brady. He is 13, but has permission from his Mom. She doesn't really have any desire to hear the lessons, but she does love the principles the church teaches. The baptismal date has been placed and accepted and his mom gave permission for that day.

Here is a picture of my companion and our two zone leaders (Elders that room with us).

Elder Arias is on the very left, he finishes in November, and Elder Zare in the middle, he finishes with me, and then my companion on the far right.  This is at the bottom of the hill that we climb, EVERY DAY, 3 TIMES A DAY. Our pension lives up there, it is terrible, one time this week I have to video the walk, it is seriously like 10 min of climbing!

The coolest thing that happened this week was that we found two "new" investigators.  They actually had been taught before by other Elders, but they are SO prepared for the gospel.  The BAD news is that they are moving in 3 weeks to Los Alamos, my first ward in Cusco. They REALLY like our ward though and have tons of friends there so we are in a huge pickle, just praying for the best.

So this week it has been raining a ton.  It is getting rough to hike around in sometimes.  It rains practically every day for at least a few hours though, but honestly I sort of like it.

Sorry for such a short time today, but we are going to play soccer, its something I really like to do.
The problem is I don't feel like I am good enough to play in any sort of team back home, but guess we will see.

Anyways love you guys so much, hope you guys have a great week!

Love you guys so much.

Elder Barry

P.S.  Here are a couple of Videos.

A great week!

Hey guys. GOOD and a little bad news

So, bad news first, I don't have pics because they are all on my comps camera and he is at Machu Picchu today (he decided to go way early in his mission while he was in Cusco). So I am with Elder Zare for the day (he is from Peru).  It is great to be with him though, he is an awesome Elder.

Good news. Jeff answered my email re: rooming together after our missions at the U of U, so we are all set and should plan on rooming together! [Connor's friend is on his mission as well and they had been talking about rooming together, but Connor wanted to confirm just so he could be ready for making plans re: school attendance once he gets home.  Connor's friend Jeff was called to the Bangkok Thailand mission but was asked to switch to Myanmar mission about 1/2 way through so is learning Burmese language AFTER learning Thai.]

That is exciting right?

Right now I don't have my camera with me so can't really make a video for Addie's birthday.  But in the night I will have it and could do a video and send it via wifi.

Anyways this week was great!  I baptized another person, but it is on the camera of the other elder.
It was a 16 year old guy asked me to baptize him (even though I wasn't teaching him). Not too sure why, was a little weird, but he was just like "No, I want HIM to do it" Lol.

This week me and my companion invited 3 different people to baptism and they all accepted.

1. Christian Quispe: 24, Investigator, wife is less active, not married
2. Brady Trigoso: 13
3. Kasumi 16: A member referred us

We also talked with some new people that came to church, apparently they were RIGHT ABOUT to get baptized but then didn't get permission from their parents (they were under age of 18 at the time), but now they are living alone and 19 years old and want to come to church.

This week I did divisions with Elder Walker (new gringo in my district). He came to my sector.  It was a good experience and really funny, he just sorta followed me around and was trying to understand what I was saying (I guess that is how I was when I started).

My package got here, the pants fit me really well! (Maybe even a little big), but a LOT better. Thanks! The scarves are really nice :) I use them a ton.

This week was truly awesome. There is some serious potential for this next change here in our area.

Training has gotten pretty normal. Companionship study for 2 hours is sorta hard though.  I don't really know what to do sometimes to fill the entire time period!  Being a District Leader is still a little weird. People are always calling me now. Like Zone Leaders, other elders in the district, etc.. Leading and providing training in the district meetings is a little weird too, but they are pretty easy.

Elder Walker in my district (the greenie) is very cool and we like going on splits.  He is in his first change, in Villa Maria (here in Cusco).  He is still not really used to a lot of stuff. (All the dogs and stuff like that), so is funny to hear his reactions as we work in Cusco.

He is from the class of 2015. Pleasant Grove Utah. He pitched a year at BYU before coming on the mission.

It is SO WEIRD to see how we are from the same high school class but he has a year in college already done, while I am still on my mission. Was weird comparing stuff.

My clothes I came into the mission with are all pretty much altered and fit well now, I still have 2 pairs of pants left over at the house of the bishop that I am gonna pick up, but its all good.

I will definitely try to take some videos this week and share them.

I am just very happy right now.

We are having success as a companionship and as a district and my plans for after the mission are all going great! :)

I feel like my Spanish is so awesome. I really like learning more every day though.

I feel like I read (alright) (maybe equally) but I don't write as well as I speak. I don't know, I guess just less practice writing really, as like I don't know where the accents go on all the words that I know how to say because I haven't had to write them so much.

When people talk, I understand 95% of what they say. Sometimes they use like slang or something that I haven't learned yet.

I would really like to keep up my Spanish after my mission. Elder Kline still writes me once in a while (he is in BYU right now). He is in a Spanish class. He says there are a TON of ex gringo elders that served in the states (Spanish speaking) that know a lot of Spanish but don't have an accent. He says he just can talk circles around them though having served in Peru lol.

I would really like to keep it up, and maybe use it in my job if it were possible.

If you remember, before the mission, my eyesight was not perfect.  I remember its not like really bad, but it would with better with glasses.

I was really thinking after the mission to use contacts, what do you think? Maybe a pair of glasses for when I am in the house, but I really prefer contacts. Was just thinking because Elder Sanchez uses contacts, and says they are great.

I don't think my vision has gotten any "worse" in the mission, was just thinking.

Elder Ludlow has 2 weeks left on his mission!  

I bet I will see him before he goes home. He might come to the room to sleep the night.

Yeah, he goes home the 3rd. CRAZY. He had 9 months out when he was with me! And it just keeps going by faster!

Anyways, I am going to get off now, everyone is ready to go.

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH

WILL SEND VIDEO TONIGHT

-CONNOR

TALK TO YOU GUYS NEXT WEEK!

Baptisms

Hey guys.

So, I have NOT gotten my package yet, not sure if it is in the office already, will check today, but its all good, will keep waiting :P

So this week I actually took part in a baptism. Elder Costa and Elder Walker had one, a family of 4 that got baptized. And anyways, I was one of the people that did the interview so one of them picked me to baptize them. I felt a little weird, because I don't know them that much, but apparently there wasn't any members, and it was "her choice"!  The water was also frozen, so that was sort of "shocking", the water heater was broken.

Also in the middle of the baptism a little kid pulled a fire alarm and somehow managed to break it, so we couldn't fix it.  So it was interesting with an alarm going off to continue with the baptismal services.

We called the stake president, and he says "hes going to come" to turn it off (he has a code that he can put in on the 2nd floor to turn it off).

So anyways, the next day, Sunday, we get to church, and the alarm is still going! LOL
They got it turned off about halfway through the sacrament meeting, how annoying lol :) but is definitely a picture perfect Peru story.

Well anyways, this week we got permission from the assistants to baptize a guy who is 13 years old, Brady.  He has been coming to church for 3 months already, but before they said we couldn't because he is younger than 14, so the rule is they have to come for 4 months. But anyways, he is super happy in the church, tons of friends, so he actually asked us to be baptized!  That was so awesome

It will be on the 24th or the 1st, we will see.

Our plans for p-day are to get our hair cut, and play soccer, nothing exciting lol.

Anyways, I am going to send a bunch of pics to u guys from baptism AND from when we made choc chip cookies with the pension (they are def a lot better in the states).

Last pday when we played soccer, then sister missionaries came and so we had to play volleyball because they really don't like to / want to play soccer.

Elder Zare just looked at me (we are in internet together) and held up 9 fingers!  LOL

He finishes mission on same day I do -- so 9 months left as of today! How crazy!

My district is doing great!  So last Saturday, there was a baptism; this Saturday there is a baptism (the other Tahuantinsuyo elders); and in 2 weeks (there is a baptism, one from the other Tahuantinsuyo Elders) and ALSO possibly ours that week, or it will prob just be in 3 weeks.

The new gringo in my district is really struggling with Spanish.  Is really weird because he is always asking me like how I learned and I don't really know what to say other than it just comes with time and working.

Apparently he is from Pleasant Grove Utah, from the class of 2015. He pitched a year at BYU before coming on the mission.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK!
We are heading out!

Hope you guys have a great week!
Thanks for all your help!
LOVE YOU!

More Peruivan sickness

Hey guys, well this was started off REALLY well but went DOWNHILL quick!

The early part of the week had us working hard and making great efforts to find contacts and teach people where ever we could find them.  The problems started toward the end of the week.

On Thursday I woke up just feeling TERRIBLE.  I was SUPER dizzy, I had like ..... bloody phlegm (sorry for the mental picture) up in my mouth and it was like stuck to my tongue and my mouth. It was really weird. I also had a fever and like..the "shakes". It REALLY sucked.
So we call the office elder in charge of the hospital, and he tells us that Sister Herrera was actually in Lima so he basically just told me to "Drink Water". OH thanks!

So I am in bed that entire day, not eating anything, and when the night comes, I can't sleep because I slept the whole day.

Friday I was also messed up, but I went to the doctor. He pretty much gave me a ton of pills, Gatorade type drink, and a shot..(in the rear :/)

I woke up Saturday a LOT better, so that is the good part!

This week I had to do baptismal interviews. The Elders who are in Villa Maria (COSTA AND WALKER) had a family of 4 who are going to get baptized. But first comes the interview :/
It was a weird experience, because I often feel like a little kid interviewing someone who is like twice my age, but....I mean it was a cool experience.
(I am just happy they didn't have any problems with question 4, if you know what that is, its super awkward to ask :/ ) :D

I am feeling a lot better now, but last week was just pretty rough.

I actually was going to make a voice recording for both of you guys, but I did Moms super sick, but when I tried to do yours I was even worse and just couldn't get out of bed lol.

Please give this to her.

P.S
My voice is totally not like that, I think I was just super sick because it sounds super weird.

Herman Portugal is in our zone. It was her birthday this week. She is 25 years old and the short one on the left.

I am not looking at the camera -- DOHH!

Sorry for the early morning email, but glad I caught you -- at least eating your breakfast!

My breakfast this week was:  bread with a fried egg, bread with a piece of ham, and one with hotdog lol.  I sometimes get tired of the food here, but I guess its okay.

Here are a few pics from Machu Picchu trip that my friends sent along.