Weird occurrence + All you need to work is a black guy

Good day, good day to all,

I assume that the title of this week´s blog sounds a lot more racist there in the States than here in Peru where it´s a lot more acceptable. :D But fear not, I shall explain all in due time...

First off, on Tuesday we went and picked up Elder Gutierrez from the airport. He was supposed to have come all the way back in June, but he being from Nicaragua, they didn´t want to give him his visa. So he served for 5 months in Nicaragua until he finally got his visa and came here last week. He´s not so black, but he´s blacker than most other Latinos, so here he´s black. And as we (Elder Lewis, he and I) were walking somewhere the other day I asked if he was offended if someone said that he was black, he said no, so I said that everyone was looking at us weird asking the question in their heads, "What are 2 white guys and a black guy doing together? In white shirts and ties even..." So yeah. Normal here.

Wednesday was tramites with Elder Jensen and Clancy, then afterwards they went somewhere with Elder Lewis and they came back a while later with the mail.

Now, you might think that the sentence found above ↑ is normal, but it´s not. Now the question, what´s not normal about it???

Wait another minute and examine it. ↑↑

And another 30 seconds. ↑↑↑

Now just 10 seconds more trying to find out what´s not normal with the above sentence. ↑↑↑↑

Okay, now I´ll tell you, trusting that you at least put in the ten seconds to guess what´s wrong. The thing that´s not normal is that a while ago, shortly after getting to the office Elder Lewis either had his keys stolen or lost them. We replaced all of them we knew of besides the one to the mailbox. So, for a good 3-4 months now there has been no way to get the mail out of the ever filling mailbox. Until the point where nothing else could be put in and possibly things were being stolen from how full it was.

So, that´s what´s not normal with the above sentence. ↑↑↑↑↑↑ There should not have been mail to bring in! But they did!!! From my suggestion they had gone to a hardware store and bought a new lock to put on in place of the old one. (padlock style) but not to my suggestion, rather I´d just said we´ll figure this part out later after we have the lock. They also bought a hacksaw! And then the next time I saw them they had their arms full of letters, bills and other papers. (see photo)

And that´s when I finally got the Christmas card from my bishop from last year. Pretty nice. And there were lots of phone and light bills, (power bills) and letters for Elder Clobes, Elder Fackrell, Sister Johnson and Elder Clancy. Not many other peeps. (so if you´re reading this, and you know someone in a mission, send them a card! Because those 4 people are only 2.5% of the missionaries in the mission, and I´d say less than 25% receive letters regularly and less than half receive letters. (guessing, but just send a letter! :D C´mon, please?)

Then Thursday was a multizone conference, really good I´d say. And then Friday, some of Saturday and Sunday we got to work! Elder Gutierrez really inspired us to leave since there was nothing else for him to do all day but study.

We had a couple really great citas. One with Franco whom we met this week, he seemed super interested and we´re hoping that he´ll progress a lot and quickly. We also visited with Raul, he´s been coming to church for a few weeks now, but we haven´t been able to visit with him yet, and last night we had a great cita and Elder Gutierrez invited him to baptism which he readily accepted, and then a little bit further along we put a date for the 24 of November. We´re really excited to help him come unto Christ like he´s wanting to. And also Irina, who we´ve taught a couple different times came to church yesterday! We were super happy with that since she´s been studying Sunday mornings and now she was able to come!

So in conclusion, all you need to work is a black Elder from Nicaragua called Elder Gutierrez to come and be put in a trio with you (because President still hasn´t assigned him a sector...so he´s stuck with us) to be motivated to get out into the field and do the work of the Lord. It´s pretty great I´d say.

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Changes, The Census and The Book of Mormon

HOWDY!!!

I scratched my arm this morning as I passed by a bush coming back from the Balcon del Diablo. Still human...

This week, where to start? Well, Monday is a good option. What happened on Monday? I can´t remember, that was a long time ago. But it was something along the lines of finishing the ending packets for those ending the mission and other things I´m sure.

Tuesday, I was in a bad mood, I don´t know why anymore, people were expecting me to do things how I didn´t want to, (expecting more than I felt I could give) so I gave up for a couple minutes and then finally came out of the storeroom and faced the day, but I was still not great because I let people get on my nerves. But once I got over that it was a lot better. (AKA, don´t let people get you down, just roll with it)

I took the dying missionaries to the airport and we said goodbye to some good Elders there, including Elder Westbrook. Other things happened too including with the news.

Wednesday we trained the new missionaries and they´re all super pumped! It´s awesome! I was busy the whole day with this that and the other. Legalizing passport copies, setting up lunch, sending out pictures to their parents, etc...

Also, small note, we´ve gone to this Chinese restaurant with the new missionaries and their trainers, and they have really good food, but 4 out of 5 times that we´ve gone they haven´t given me chopsticks. I´ve asked each and every time, but only the first time did they give me chopsticks. So this time I came prepared with my own chopsticks. (see picture with pens and my face) Next time I´ll bring actual palitos chinos though. Great food. No chopsicks anymore (they must have all burned.. :P)

Thursday, a normal day. Other than I had to do everything to get ready for Friday. So I was busy yet again, updating info for all the news and everything. Also, I went to Migraciones with some new missionaries to do their legal fegal to get their carnés de extranjería. Good stuff, but long lines.

Friday, Consejo! Where all the zone leaders and sister training leaders from the whole mission come to Cusco to talk about the mission. I announced a couple things, for example: If you want to change your ending date, do it! Normal, but talk to President first. BUT! Once I have sent you the email to ask where you need to travel and all, this is your last chance to change it. Unless you want to fork over $300-400 for changing your plane ticket. I don´t know why, but people just willy-nilly this last transfer have asked me to do that. I tell them that and there was one who was like, "but it´s not my fault" uh huh, right buster. C´mon! Be smart. So I announced that. And other things, like Machu Picchu, and then I had 3 people that heard me announce what I did come and ask if they could go specifically against what I had announced... Good gravy!! I think it´s funny, but really folks. Pay attention! Be smart, as Jacob says in the Book of Mormon: "Oh be wise, what can I say more?" (I don´t remember the reference right now...)

Saturday, also busy, finishing up everything from the week including tasks that can appear at whatever time.

Sunday, I was in my scrubs all day long. (please see picture with me in my bed in scrubs with the Book of Mormon) Why? Because it was the Peruvian Census! I am now so officially Peruvian! I was in the Census! Yeah! But anyway, we couldn´t leave the house from 8 until 5. And then we didn´t even leave at 5 because Elder Lewis was sick. So I was in the house all day long. And I got a decent start on my goal to read the whole Book of Mormon this week. I read 30 chapters yesterday, the most I´ve ever read in a single day. It was good, but it was also long, I´ve got a lot more ahead of me this week, but I´m excited. I also invite anyone else who wants to participate with me. Read the Book of Mormon in a single week. I´m actually learning more than I thought I would, things that make sense on a large picture basis. (I wanted to read it in a day, but that didn´t happen)

Anyway, I hope that you all have a great week and I´ll be seeing you later!

Take care!

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Fortified Nephite Cities

Sumaj p´unchay!

I hope that you are all doing well. I am currently sick, proving that even those with a divine mandate from God can suffer illnesses.

This week, first, last week. Because it rained at Condor Picchu, (Machu Picchu) there were no bugs. So it was a tender mercy in disguise, but, also because it didn´t look like it would rain, I decided to leave my rain jacket in the car that brought us to the train. So I got wet. But I had brought more shirts, so I did a wardrobe change at a Wonder of the World. Right there in the middle of everyone, all the tourists I changed my shirt. Though differently than you might think, for you see, I´m ingenious.

I put my black long-sleeve on first, then my green t-shirt, on top of my white shirt which got rained on. Then, I unbuttoned my white shirt and carefully took it off from under my two other shirts. Then I put it on top of everything because it was cold and I had no other layers. So, quite ingeniously I did a wardrobe change at a touristic location without hardly anyone noticing because I was never shirtless! Haha! The only thing is I might be sick from getting wet, but lesson learned. If not going to bring a jacket, bring a plastic poncho.

Now, this week went like lightning. There was a lot of things that happened, but it´s all over now. Changes meeting so we can plan for everyone to move and all. Half p-day, work then half p-day. And a couple citas for teaching too. The Spirit was strong in the one we had yesterday. With Irina we taught the Restoration and really drove home the importance of the Book of Mormon which we´d shared with her earlier.

Ahora, lo que es el titulo del correo: I visited Pikillakta again, but this time it was with Elder Lewis and the Johnsons. So we actually looked at what is was, not the pictures we can pose.

This time, as evidenced by the videos I filmed, I´m now convinced that it was a Nephite city that was fortified personally by Captain Moroni. I could be wrong, but I also could be right... So...... Yeah.

Just look at the outline that the city is from the high vantage point that I took the picture from. There were strong walls, they could have had trenches on the outside for all we know, the whole city has been filled in by dirt almost. They´re excavating it for crying out loud. But it could have been a fortified Nephite city...

Now, analogy: We should make our lives like a fortified Nephite city. We should make it hard for our enemies to enter. And we should make it easy to kill our enemies when they come and try to invade. That way we can come out victorious by defeating all our enemies. But the key to remember is that the Nephites were strengthened by the Lord, and we need to be as well. The Lord strengthens us as we pray, read the scriptures, go to church and keep the commandments. So, I recommend that you all do those things, because I´ve seen when I do them, I´m better off than when I don´t. Because the Lord strengthens me when I do those things.

Have a great one!

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Machu Picchu... NOT!!!

Hello everyone!

I went to Machu Picchu this week!

Actually I didn´t!!!

I went to Condor Picchu!

Because Machu Picchu is the name of a mountain behind Condor Picchu.

The real name of the city is: Illkyllantyamachuwakcha

Actually it´s not that either, it´s some other unpronounceable Quechua name.

But the Machu Picchu part is right, it´s a big mountain behind the city and Wayna Picchu is the mountain in the middle of the all the postcard pictures.

But yeah, it was quite wondrous the trip.

I don´t actually have much to say about it without pictures for reference, and how that takes a long time... Plus you just need to be there to understand, but I hope that my dad puts a bunch of the cool pictures I took on here so that you can see a little bit what it looks like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the week was pretty good.

Now that I proofread a little, you don´t know why it´s Condor Picchu. It´s because our tour guide kept pointing out how the Incas made everything in the city look like a condor. And that´s also the name that I don´t remember in Quechua.

I probably don´t make it sound too special, but that´s just because it´s indescribable. You have to go and see it for yourself. And after the mission I´ll be happy to help you out with a bunch of tips and pointers. But that´s a ways off still.

I actually just want to delete this message, but you guys need something to read. Machu Picchu is cool, it´s actually Condor Picchu and it rained on us.

Christ may or may not have gone to Machu Picchu itself, but He did come down and visit the Nephites here in America. (please see video I filmed at Machu Picchu.)

Love you all, take care!

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Conference and rumors

Howdy!

I´m not normal right now, that´s because I just had an all-day training at the hands of Hermano Yeremy Herrera. (pronounced with a J and not necessarily related to President Herrera.) It was good, but it was long.

Anyway, I really don´t have anything to say about the training, because otherwise I´d just bore you with the details of my office job and all the legalities. But I happily report that in the Mission Perú Cuzco we are as legal as possible at this point in time. I am very happy to report that God did a good one with me when we put stubborn tenacity in me.

Everyone dance with me to this awesome banjo/violin song! Oh, wait, you can´t hear it... weird...

Conference! The news we received Friday night at 7:30PM (6:30 Utah time) is that our prophet had passed away.

The rest of conference was good, even without President Monson being at the different sessions for his health. And in case anyone else is like the rumoring Peruvians that are here, President Monson is still alive, and while I can´t say that he´s healthy. I can say that he´s still the prophet of God on the Earth today, although what did actually happen is that Elder Hales passed on to the next life. And he willed be missed. But the work of the Lord goes on as well as in Heaven as in Earth. Now Elder Hales is preaching much more energetically and vibrantly. So that´s happy.

The messages in conference were all really good. I saw that God was weaving a tapestry of testimony of His Son and His Plan for all of us that was made even more beautiful by the final touch of making everything else really shiny and brilliant by saying that no topics are assigned. 

Think about that! The testimonies of Jesus Christ being our Savior and healer, of His ministry and love for each and every one of us. Of the Book of Mormon being the word of God, (really loved Elder Callister´s talk! burn all them critics!!  and that we really can live with God again because of all His miracles and promises for us.

It was really awesome!

Also, you all may not know, but the best someone who is not a member of the Church gets without the Book of Mormon is either overemphasizing a principle of the Gospel or a very general, yet incorrect idea of God, possibly idolatry in the name of worshiping the Savior or other similar things, without the Book of Mormon people simply don´t know God. Even Bible scholars don´t have the full picture, they usually don´t believe in the afterlife or eternal families or other key Gospel principles. Go and read the Book of Mormon and benefit from the eternal truths that it teaches us.

I hope that you were all able to watch, be inspired and uplifted and that we can all apply what we´ve learned to ourselves.

--

Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher