HELLO ALL!

FAMILIA! AMIGOS!

How are you all doing?! I am sorry that I wasn't able to write a proper email last week - I wish I could say that this week I can make up for it. 

The Zona Villa El Salvador!

Sometimes, with a 10 second timer on the camera, we don’t quite make it. The results afterwards are sometimes entertaining, like this one. 

The Elderes from Villa 1, the ward that shares a capilla with us. One of them (the one next to me) just was transferred to be zone leader! We will miss him.

Luicito. My favorite buddy in church :)

Hermana Calderon and I :)

A few other Hermanas of family history and us! We usually run into them in the temple on Thursdays when we take converts and rescues :) 

One of the converts we took this week!

This was in a little goodbye party for Elder Maldonado on Sunday night. Even though the family is from another ward, they invited us to come! Right after we took this picture, they brought out a cake and starting singing happy birthday. Sadly, also right after this picture, my camera died. So I don’t have a picture of the actual cake. Thankfully I charged my camera well for the next day :)

The family Escobar! They are the best. Hermano Segundo is our Elders Quorum President. 

His two sons picked the colors for the cake and drew my face on it. 

Birthday Cake Number 3.

This one was my favorite. Luzmila, our recent convert, invited us to a Noche de Hogar in her house. All in all, it was a surprise birthday party that she had been planning for weeks.

Her family testified that all she had been able to talk about for the last 2 weeks was my birthday. I sure love Luzmila – she is such a special daughter of God that means so much to my heart. I will remember her and her faith forever.

This cake was also the yummiest.

Right when we thought we couldn’t be more “caked out”, the Stake President and his family came down to our room with another beauty. 

We ate another round of birthday cake, even though it was 10:00pm and our sugar levels were already through the roof. I guess birthdays DO only come once a year, right? ;) No problem with gaining a solid 5 pounds worth of frosting and cream filling. 

Well, today we had to spend our whole Pday in San Isidro for a handful of doctors appointments. San Isidro is the richy-rich part of Lima – nada que ver con Villa El Salvador where we are…. Which is full of dirt, dogs, and palomas. While we were there, I enjoyed some very American things that I have not seen in a LONG long time. Namely….

Capt’n Crunch Berries. My favorite cereal. It cost about an arm and a leg, so I didn’t buy any.. but it was good to know that it still exists.

Starbucks. Since we had to wait almost 5 hours in between appointments, this was a given. Also cost an arm and a leg, but somehow my companion convinced me.

Grass. Grass. GRASS. Grass. It has been more than 16 months since I have seen GRASS. I was happier than a clam to lay down and enjoy that luxury for a few long minutes.

We found some cool Incan ruins right in the middle of San Isidro. We didn’t go in to check them out, because it cost a ton to get past the gate (richy-rich San Isidro), but we got to see a little from the outside :)

I hope the pictures were able to speak a lot for how my week has been :) My birthday was wonderful - thank you so much for all of the wishes, prayers, and psychological hugs that I received :) I love you all so much.

In other happy news - my companion and I do not have cambio :) We will be staying here together for this next cambio of 8 weeks! YIPPPEEEEE!!! 

There is a lot more, but it will have to wait until the next time :)

THE DOCTRINE IS TRUE. I know it, feel it, live it, and love it.

Hermana Sintay :)