Getting the Open Chapel Program Started

Thursday, August 18th was a special day in our Area.  The "Area Review" took place in our office. That is where General Authorities from SLC come to bless the Area with their observations and suggestions.  We enjoyed a devotional presented by Elder Dale Renlund and Elder Whitney Clayton. They shook our hands and asked about our assignments here.  It was awesome!  They told us that no matter what our specific assignment was, we were first to remember that we are "Disciples of Christ."
Below is a picture of Elder Carlos Godoy, President of our Area and his wife, then the Claytons, then the Renlunds, and Elder Montoya, Counselor in our Area and his wife.  They are such kind, warm leaders.  Those in the Area Presidency met with us about our assignment and we really felt their love.

They finished preparing our apartment this week and we moved.  We now live at 162 Asuncion, in an area called La Molina.  It is a 2nd story apartment and our landlord lives just below us with his wife. They are such sweet, older people, Jorge and Teresa.  They have been kind and helpful.

We began some volunteer work at the MTC where we pose as investigators for an hour so that the missionaries here can practice their teaching.  The MTC is located right next to the Area Office and we go during the work day.  They have a beautiful facility with huge buildings for missionary apartments and study.  They have flags of all of the countries represented here.  They also have built some little homes "casitas" where we go to do our teaching.  They are fun and that is where the missionaries come to practice their teaching on us.

We received approval for the Open Chapel program to proceed in the Area last week when we met with Elders Godoy and Montoya.  They were actually quite excited to get things going.  So we attended a special training for all of the 18 Area Seventy fromVenezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia on Saturday.  We presented a Power Point explaining the Open Chapel program.  Mom organized the slides on the program and then we presented it both together.  They love it when mom speaks Spanish because there are so few Sisters that speak and none as well as she does.  Anyway, they were positive, asked lots of questions and asked us to come quickly to Bogota, Colombia and Guayaquil, Ecuador.  We will see if the Area Presidency decides to let us go!

We have also received permission to have our first Open Chapel event here in the Lima, East Mission.  We will train the members of the Santa Felicia Ward this next Sunday, and then on Saturday, September 17, we will have our first Open Chapel in the Area.  That should be an amazing event and we are excited to have all of our materials prepared and to get going.

We do a lot of walking including yesterday when we walked 12 blocks to the grocery store and then 12 more back with all our groceries.  There are taxis but we like to walk.  From our new apartment we have a 15 minute walk to the office and a 15 minute walk the other way to the temple.  And of course there are many fruit stands, bakeries, and shops along the way.  We see lots of beautiful vegetation as we are out an about.  Below you will some of it.

Another week passed and we are on our way!  We attended a baptism for a young lady, Rosa, who is 18 years old and a very sweet girl.  Janet sat by her in Relief Society and got to know her a bit more.  Today, Sunday August 28, we met in the Area Council with Elder Held, an Area Seventy, and presented the Open Chapel program to the stake presidents in his area here in Lima.  President Larsen of the Lima Central Mission wants to meet with us this next week to get the program going in his mission.  We will be busy trying to schedule and get handouts and information available. How blessed we feel to meet with so many of the great leaders of the Church!  What great men they are.  It is different for Janet to go to these meetings since they are usually attended only by priesthood brethren.