One transfer down in Puno

Hi guys! So we had another fairly decent week.  My companion spent some time traveling and in Cusco for immigration paperwork.  My plans were changed at the last minute and I actually worked with an Elder named Elder Cubillas (who also went home this transfer).

He was pretty dang trunky, but I couldn't really blame him, I mean when you have 2 days to go!?

I did get the package, everything is good! Actually great!

Yeah. Puno is a BIG city (especially for Peru).  I took that picture of the city from the Puma statute that is like RIGHT behind our house.

I bought a Calzone this week.  We went out to eat with Elder Hogan, Elder Hatfield, me, and Elder Cubillas (all our companions had left to Cusco ).  It was pretty good!  Forgot what those tasted like, and it was only 16 soles.

We also were bored, so I just bought some 10 soles glasses. Don't ask me why, I just thought it was funny and was tired of all the dust storms getting in my eyes.  All the members ended up saying: "ELDER, YOU USE GLASSES"?

hahahahaha

So we had changes today, but neither my companion or I got moved.  So for sure at least 1 more change together, until March 20. Pretty crazy, as I will turn 20 this change! -_-
I still feel basically the same that I was when I was 18. Pretty strange.

We got on very late today.  ALL DAY we were stuck in the church building playing soccer and ping pong.  Evidently there is a HUGE party today in Puno (sort of like Marde Gras I guess).  It is evidently a special festival for the Catholic Church. Apparently down here in Puno they throw a HUGE festival for the virgin of Puno called the Virgin of the Candelaria. So they have dances and get crazy drunk to celebrate. So this happened to fall on our p-day and they had a HUGE parade and celebration and it’s pretty dangerous. So the Mission President has told our whole Zone we have to spend P-day locked in the Church building because it’s dangerous due to all the drunks and the girl dancers don’t wear a lot of clothes so we were locked up during all of that today. Haha! So they just decide to lock us missionaries up in a chapel!  :)

Would you say I look any different from I did at home? Or around the same.

A lot of people tell me I look different.

Is pretty crazy that I basically ALMOST have just 4 months left here in the mission.  I can't even think of it. Like my entire mission I have always been the "youngling" and now people look at me, my missionary plaque all old (starting to fade the letters), and a hole in my shoe, and one just asked me, "you have less than 6 months left don't you"

So this week we were able to find a cool new investigator.  He is seriously like 75 or 80 years old!

We started teaching him (he was a referral from a member how actually lives in the same house - he is the Grandpa of one of the Bishopric members).  

We were asking how long he is going to stay, and he just said, "until I get better".  After talking with the family though, it turns out he has cancer, in its terminal stages.  The member practically told us, "hes going to stay here.....till he.....dies".  

We left him a "Plan of Salvation" pamphlet and are going to visit him tomorrow and keep teaching him.

The people we live with are really nice and yes they do serve us all the meals we eat.  They really don't like it when we ask for "little" amounts of food though, they think its because "we don't like it" even though we are just extremely full. And they just refuse to believe it.

We made an agreement though, we eat breakfast and lunch normal, and for dinner only something really light.

So a sad story this week:

There was a dog that randomly started following us.

Was a medium sized dog, but I think a puppy. Was a weird husky mix. Had one clear eye, the other brown. So he was following us, and we were petting it, all good.  

It becomes time to go home, we try to shoo him off, but doesn't scram. We try to like throw little tiny rocks to try to get the idea across, he just insists on following us.

So we are walking, on the huge avenue we live on with tons of cars flying by. When we get close to home, the owners dog (hes mean to other dogs) comes out, and starts trying to attack him. We try to defend him, but this other dog is just huge.  So the other dog runs away in a panic and just runs into the street ... BAM. A huge car hit him. Instantly dead. The car doesn't even stop.

Me and my companion just look at each other. Go inside. Then we came outside 30 min later, and had to try and just get the poor thing off the road just tried to put it down into a little ditch on the side of the road. Way sad.... but can't say it is the first time that I have seen stuff like that in Peru.

Well sorry for the downer way to end our emails.  I will talk to you guys next week.

Love yah!

-Elder Connor Barry