We made a quick 1-day trip to Juliaca in March, and have been trying to get back there ever since.
We made another attempt a couple of months ago, but were thwarted by technical difficulties (WiFi phone malfunction). To get to Juliaca, it's either a 6-hour bus ride, or a 45 min flight. Hna J has been such a trooper and endured so much that we opted for the flight. With our carnets and the right advance purchase, the flight was cheap. Instead of arriving exhausted at the end of the day, we arrived about noon, and were ready to go to work.
The Zone Leaders have the responsibility to set up and coordinate our appointments. Elders Ramirez (here with Elder Kline) and Heslop did an outstanding job, as expected, and brought Hna. Marcela to start us off. We really appreciate the effort and diligence of the missionary leaders, it would be impossible for us to do our work without them. These young men and women are actually closer to our grandkid's age than the ages of our own children. Makes us feel like "ancianos", or ancient ones.
As always, the diligent missionaries have appointments all set for us, and we continue with Hna. Susy while Elders Vance and Osinaga assist.
There were baptisms scheduled at the Stake Center, and there was a window of opportunity before the scheduled start, so we gathered up those who had arrived earlier, and gave them an Historia Familiar preview (in our less-than-perfect) Espanol, no less. Just as the baptism service started, we were able to make follow-up appointments with several of the attendees.
Our new friend Maria Estela came all prepared with her folletto completed, and with the help of Hnas. Borja, Stickle, and Firth, she's going to the temple with her parents.
Hna. Feliza is one of the "pensions" who provides meals for the missionaries, and she has a reputation for being one of the very best. She was delightful, funny, and has great stories about her family. And as wonderful and faithful as she is, she's functionally illiterate. For anyone employed by Family Search who may see this photo: Yes, 76% of the people in Peru do have cell phones. That would be basic, old-tech cell phones like the one she's holding, not smartphones. She can afford to purchase saldos or minutes 1 to 3 soles at a time. And having a cell phone doesn't mean that you have the savvy or the technology and savvy to receive and respond to texts and engage Family Search in a dialogue, and it likely means that in the unlikely event you actually do have an email account, it won't be sent to your phone anyway, and you probably don't own a computer. So Family Search: wake up and realize that the developing areas of the world don't have access to and proficiency with all the technology that you do, and if you'd listen to what we've been trying to say to you (all of our previous attempts have been ignored), we could show you how to make it easier for Hna Feliza to communicate with you on new accounts, cases and approvals. Or continue to ignore your frontline troops out in the far reaches of the earth.
We do get a break for lunch one day, and make a quick dash to Rustica in the mall. Yes, Juliaca is a bustling city, and does have a mall. BBQ skewers and papas fritas arrive our table on a mini-grill.
Between meetings, we take time for a quick photo with Hnas Stickle, J, Firt Borja, and Wattles.
Returning to the capilla for afternoon appointments, we find an impromptu market set up right on the corner. We were attracted by the "whack, whack" of a cleaver, and found out they're running a daily special on sheep's heads.
Not hard to get around in Juliaca, it is mostly flat rather than the steep hills of many cities. Your choice of taxi, mototaxi, or pedal cart.
Or another alternate method of family transportation, use your motorcycle cargo carrier to deliver your family before you start to work. Clever and ingenious, the Peruvians figure out how to get it done.
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