Hey Everyone!
I'm not dead! Yay! I thought I was
going to be able to email before I left to my mission. Okay. I have a
lot to write, not a lot of time, and this keyboard is freaking weird.
Lets start!
So, after 3 hours of sleep last Sunday
night, we woke up at 2:30 to leave for the airport. It was weird
driving through Provo/Utah for the last time. Anyways, we got to the
airport, and my bags were 2 lbs over... which means I was supposed to
pay 150 dollars per bag. So I was like, cringing, reaching for my
wallet, and the lady just said, "Don't worry about it. You'll just be
known as the disobedient missionary who can't keep his bags under
50lbs." So grateful. So, I called home for a bit, then we flew to LA. In
LA, we had a 5 1/2 hour layover haha. Way long. So, I called home, but I
also had the opportunity to talk to a guy from New York. We talked for a
while, taught him a short lesson, and then gave him a Book of Mormon to
read on his flight. He seemed interested, but probably not haha.
Anyways, we got on our plane to go to Peru. Oh. My. Gosh. Nicest plane ever. I have pictures, but I forgot my card reader today...
sorry. I have a lot of awesome pictures too.. haha. Anyways, it was
like, 9 seats across, huge seats, TV's, and like this crazy color
changing ambient light thing, and the windows tinted themselves. Crazy.
Haha. So, it was at least comfy. But we couldn't watch TV or anything,
so we played games, and watched our progress on a mini map. AND, our
flight was 8 hours! So, we get to Lima at midnight, right? So we're all
exhausted and ready for bed. We get out of customs (funny story, while
in customs, one of the people asked one of the missionaries how long
they were planning to stay, and he said, "2 years" and the guy said,
"Ha. 6 months. Max." stamped his passport, and told him to go. Haha) So
we get out of customs, and are greeted by some MTC staff who say, "Yeah,
you're flying to Cusco at 8". Ugh. So then we waited in line for 2
hours to check our luggage again, then went to a sketchy hotel. Lima is
kinda weird, but I liked it. It was super humid and a little chilly. And
still bustling at 3 in the morning... haha. So, we get to the hotel,
and lay in our beds, and they were like ROCKS. Elder Brown and I just
started laughing. So, we got another 3 hours of sleep, and then woke up
to fly to Cusco. So we flew to Cusco! It was way different. (Sorry, I
have very little time to elaborate). Basically, it was high. Haha. The
houses are small, the people are poor, and it's kinda dirty. But it's
still a beautiful place! So we went to the mission home, which I am
convinced is the nicest house in Cusco, and ate, did interviews, and
talked. Then we went to our Reunion de Cambios, to get our companions
and areas. It was sad, because after 6 weeks together, Elder Brown and I
got split up! Sad. (He's going to Puno)
Anyways, I was assigned to the Quillabamba zone, Echarati sector! (Roger served in Quilla, right?
) Anyways, so I found out that was ANOTHER 6 hour drive. Which we were
going to commence at 3 in the morning. So, I have gotten about 6 hours
of sleep in 2 days... So my companion wasn't at the meeting since Quilla
is so far away, so I hung out with the Assistants to the President. So,
Cusco is at like, 13000 feet, AND it's winter. It is FREEZING there.
And we got locked out! So there we are, standing outside this building
at midnight, me knowing I have to be up AGAIN in 3 hours, freezing my
butt off, not knowing what these people are saying because they're
speaking Spanish, and in a new place. I was like, "What did I sign up
for?" So, we finally got in, and I took a shower and went to bed. So we
woke up the next day at 2:30 to catch our Combi (big bus van thing) and I
was like in a daze. I was just so frustrated because I was so tired, I
couldn't understand what was happening... yeah. So we got on the bus,
and I PASSED OUT. Whole time, I was completely gone.
So, we got to Quilla. Again, crazy different... but I
love it. It's so beautiful! And it's actually warm here. It's like,
right at the edge of the Amazon basin, so, we still have mountains, it's
warm but not too humid, and like the rainforest... yeah. Basically,
everyone wants this area. Pretty bomb! So, I met my new
compy/trainer/papa, Elder Gallego. He is from Lima, and speaks like, no
English. (Rob, he is from the Lima Norte Mission.
) I really like him though! It's kinda difficult communicating
sometimes, but he's very patient with me haha. So, we drove to Echarati,
and I slept again. But Echarati is not a city, it's a pueblo...
basically, it's a little town. Really small. It's good though. Just
wayyyyy different. The members here don't have a ward, it's just called a
groupo. Basically, it's too small to be a branch, but in the next few
months they will change to a branch because there are enough members. A
lot of the people here are inactive though, so we do a lot of
reactivation. There is no chapel, it's just a little house that we use
as a church. We hold sacrament meeting outside haha. Our little room is
behind the casa capilla (house church). Our bathroom is in front of
that! Haha. There's no toiletseat, but I should be grateful that we have
a toilet. Our shower water is shipped here directly from Santa's
Workshop. I feel like that is something that I will not get used to
soon. Basically every day, I spend 10 minutes working up the courage,
and like, .5 seconds actually in the water. It's pretty funny haha.
Um... yeah.
So, it is like, crazy different. Already though, it
seems kinda normal. If anyone has specific questions, write to me and
I'll try to answer. Anyways, the people here are really nice, but I just
feel bad because I literally cannot communicate. The people in Echarati
have kind of thick accents, so it's sometimes hard to figure out what
they are try to say haha. Um... we had our first baptism yesterday!
His name is Abel. His family is members, and he wasn't, so it was a
really cool experience. We have 2 others, Joselin and Rony who are going
to be baptized in August, after they are married.
So I'll just share a few stories. On Saturday,
we found a Spider that was dead serious as big as the palm of my hand.
It's fangs were like, a centimeter long. I did the heebie jeebie dance,
and we cut it in half. But that night, Elder Gallego and I put on head
lamps, and I found out that spiders eyes glow. So we looked out around
our little courtyard... wow. Hahaha. It was like someone tossed diamond
shards all over. Freaked me out. And there are cockroaches everywhere at
night. So, at night, I will go in the bathroom with my flip flop in
hand, and just go to town. What weirds me out is there aren't bodies in
the morning...
So, our area covers a few pueblos, but after a
certain point, we can't go farther because there is a lot of terrismo I
guess. So, we were walking to one, called Mira Flores the other day.
Basically, we walk down a huge hill through the rainforest, come to a
river, cross a sketchy bridge, and keep walking. But while we were
going, Elder Gallego gave me cacao. It is the stuff that Chocolate is
made of. It's super weird. It's red outside, and the inside is white
haha. So, he gave me one, and you just like take the seed in your mouth,
suck on it, and spit it out. I have pictures. I'll try to remember
haha. But that was cool. Speaking of the food... it's... interesting. I
won't say it's bad, but it's not my favorite. And it only took 3 days
til I was feeling kinda ill... but everyone says that just the way it is
for the next 2 years. Oh well. But they feed you a TON. My plan of
getting thin here is flying out the door. I swear, every house we go to,
they give you 6 pounds of rice.
Ummmm... yeah! It's SUPER hard. Seriously. I was
struggling the first couple days. And I still can't understand anything
haha. But it's coming. I can feel it coming. And I can feel the Lord
helping me, and when I turn to him, I really can feel the blessings and
the love and comfort. It's good. I love it. I'm excited to be here! And
I'm excited to start to understand Spanish so I can help teach these
people, cuz they seriously rock. Vale la pena.
So... don't be mad. I forgot my paper with the mission address on it,
and no one here knows it... I am SO sorry. I'll let you know as soon as
humanly possible though. It's just the mission home address,, but I
think it's a different one than you have. Email me I guess! although I
don't have a ton of time to email, and this internet is kinda slow, I'll
do my best, and I love hearing from all of you!!! Thanks for your love
and support. The work is moving forward, even if I don't understand what
is happening all of the time. I'll try to talk about more stuff next
week, when I don't have so much to report about. I only covered a
fraction this week too haha.
Love and miss you all. Until next week!!
-Elder Richman
I
can do pictures! Let me know if these work... The first one is of the
casa capilla, the second is at Abel's baptism, and the third one is of
the mountain that looms over Echarati (can't remember it's name but its
awesome.). I will try to send more next week haha. But yeah. If they
don't work, let me know.
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