Week 30 - Historia Familiar Feria and followup in Puerto Maldonado

Well, we finally get to what we came here for, the Puerto Maldonado district Historia Familiar Feria.  The meeting was well planned by Presidente Garcia of the district, and Presidente Chiang of the Puerto Maldonado Branch.  About 46 people were in attendance at the evening meeting.  Since FamilySearch personnel were in short supply, Hermana Johnson and I got asked to speak, impromptu.  Luckily for us, Hermana Miceli was available to translate, and all the technology worked.  The Presidentes wanted us to demonstrate how a FamilySearch account is created, how family trees are entered, and how to check on status or ordinances.  I was sweating it (OK, it was hot and humid anyway), but I've never been so lucky (or helped) when it comes to running through a quick demonstration in front of an eager audience.  We were very grateful, and happy to participate.  Here, Hna J describes the Mi Familia folleto, which is our mainstay in getting family information gathered into one place.

The following day (Monday) was actually the 2nd day of the Feria.  The Peruvian independence day is Tuesday, but they take an extra day to celebrate, so everybody's off work, and a good day for FH meetings, which were scheduled all day - beginning at 8am.  Hermano Santos was a good participant the night before, and he was "volunteered" to be the one for whom we created a new FamilySearch account.  As a reward, he got the first appointment the next day, and we spent about 2 hours creating his family tree.  The payoff was 2 sheets of temple-ready family for him and his lovely esposa Isabel.  Hna. J has secured a supply of "Templos" magazines, and gives them to special families who are getting ready to go to the temple.  For the members in Puerto Maldonado, about the remotest place in the mission, it's 2 days on a bus just to get to Cochabamba, Bolivia, the closest temple:  One day to Cusco, and then another 16 hours to Cochabamba.  The members are really dedicated, but because of the logistics and cost, they are very lucky if they can make it once in every 2 or 3 years. 

Hermano Raul was next up.  He was all excited, because he was leaving for the Cochabamba temple later that day, and was anxious to get his family names approved.  He had a lot of information, and we were able to get a page full.  With us is Presidente Chiang (yes, his family is Chinese, and includes Chiang Kai Shek in its branches).  Pdte Chiang was the mainstay in the whole Feria and the days of follow-up.  He took his independence holidays and spent 2 days with us, plus an extra day, and then he arranged for his counselors and friends to be there with us the rest of the days.  Such dedication, especially since his wife is having a difficult pregnancy.  We can't say enough about Pdte Chiang, he is completely wonderful and supportive.  And he's a good hand at FamilySearch as well, we usually had 2 computers going, almost all the time, which doubled our effectiveness.

While we're glued to the computers with parents, the kids sometimes get a little bored - until Elder Johnson pulls out his iPad with games on it.  "Buttons" is a favorite of little kids (and Elders).  That and the other games keeps the kids entertained for a couple of hours.  Lest you think that only American kids are computer savvy, just show these kids a new game and pretty soon they are up to level 37.

Elmer and Olivia and their family pose with us after a couple hours hard work, and they've got a temple page to take with them.  Their youngest son wasn't even born on our last trip to Puerto in March.  How quickly time passes!

Hermana Glady clicks the mouse button and off go family names to the temple.  She's pretty happy about it, and so are we.  We've been blessed to learn so much about Family History:  First, the Peruvians love it because they love their families so much.  Second, it doesn't cost anything, even the Mi Familia folletos are free, and this is important work that can be done with the information they already have on hand, their family has, or we can find online (Thank YOU - everybody who does indexing!!).  Third, the rewards of the work are priceless - it's seen in the smiles and excitement of the people when they know they've given a wonderful gift to their family.  And we've learned so much more and had so many marvelous experiences that we'd be writing blogs all day long to record them all.  This is really the perfect assignment for us, and we have been so blessed to serve.

Well, one day we did get a few minutes break, so Hermana Salas logged on (the missionaries are allowed 1 hour per week on FamilySearch), and with Hna J's help, and Hna Miceli translating, she was able to get her account updated, and fill in some branches of her family tree that she hadn't been able to before.  Hna J is becoming quite the efficient little expert on negotiating the twists and turns of FamilySearch.org, ad well as some of the convoluted family relationships we find.

Presidente Chiang made sure we didn't faint for lack of nourishment (though even with the fan going, it was still very hot).  He brought in a loaf of "Pannetone", which is a sweet bread that's eaten on holidays.  Hnos. Elmer and Carlos are part of his crew that helped us, and scheduled the families to see us.  

On Tuesday, we heard a party going on in the concrete soccer area (think outdoor basketball court, only for futbol, that's part of every chapel here).  When we got a break, we went outside, and one of the branches was having an Independence Day party, complete with the national seal and flag.  Colorful enough for Hna J. to pose for a picture.

If it looks like we spent 4 solid days in the capilla (church) Family History room, it's because we did.  Due to some logistics and flight considerations (1 hour flight, no 13 hour bus ride for us), we had extended our stay for a day, and we were worried we may have some lags or downtime.  We shouldn't have worried with Pdte Chiang on the job.  He and the other branch presidents (5 branches in the district) kept our appointment schedule full - and I mean full.  We'd start as early as 8am, work into the afternoon, then would get a late lunch and a break, and back at 5pm with families lined up, and we'd work sometimes til 8:30pm.  Hey, as long as we're here we might as well make the most of it.  Hermano Sergio became our self-appointed bodyguard (he actually is one).  He would escort us from the church to a well-lighted corner where we could catch a mototaxi home.  When I asked if he really needed to do this, he replied "ladron" or thief, pointing to my bag.  He actually did confront one sketchy looking guy who had wandered through the church gate one night as we were leaving late, and after a couple of words from Sergio, the dude turned and left quickly.  We haven't really felt in danger, but it was good to have someone looking out for us.

One night we caught a mototaxi, and it was take-your-kids-to-work-day, meaning that Mama was at work late so Papa just trundled the kids along with him.  One on the gas tank, and the other in the back seat with us.  The days here are nearly unbearable with heat and humidity, much too uncomfortable to take a walk around just for enjoyment, the the evenings are very pleasant, and we'd usually take a welk about 4 blocks to the Plaza de Arms for milkshakes after we dropped our bags off at the hotel.  I can tell you that a cold milkshake will noticeably take your body core temp down a few degrees, in addition to being delicious.

President Chiang's wife is having a difficult pregnancy, so their daughter frequently accompanied him to the chapel during the times she's not in school.  Alexa is a whiz at the piano game on Hna's iPad, as well as the other games.  Kids everywhere pick up on the electronics so quickly it really amazes us.

Presidente Roque of the La Joya branch made it in with his family from way out of town on their motorcycle, with his Mi Familla folleto in hand and filled out.  In Puerto, the standard family transportation is motorcycle, and it's common to see 3, 4, 5 on a small 150cc moto (the record is 7, but that was in the Philippines).  And there are thousands of motos here, I'd like to have the Honda dealership in Puerto.  Elder Denham smiles as Pdte Roque "clicks", and send family names to the temple.

We arrived one afternoon just a few minutes early, just in time for a short break in the shade of Hermano Hilberto's mototaxi, just before Elders Denham and Cedeño walked up.  Mototaxis are our standard transportation around Puerto Maldonado, and despite the lack of plush suspension, they are quite fun - and much cooler than a combi (van), and cheaper than a taxi.  They are great with a climate like this, but unfortunately, they are also standard in some of the higher and colder cities, like Puno and Sicuani, and we've had some really cold rides there.

Elder Denham uses part of his his weekly hour during one of our short breaks, and was amazed to find several of his family lines extending waaaay back.  We followed one through English and Scottish kings back to 28AD.  He never realize he is part of such a large family.  As much as he'd like, he'll still be Elder Denham, not King Denham.

Our rather small but comfortable air-conditioned hotel room, had a TV, which we really haven't seen since we've been here.  I'll have to say that the Spanish channels don't hold much interest for us - they're either futbol or knockoff game shows.  But there was one channel of nonstop, non-commercial interrupted old Westerns - Fort Apache, Cheyenne, Gunsmoke - and they were in English.  Hna J. got all comfortable, propped up with pillows, opened a small bag of chifas (locally made fried banana chips), and settled in.  Haven't seen her this glued to the TV since the last season of Downton Abbey.

We finished out a late Thursday evening with Hermana Leduvina and Hermano Ulises.  We had 2 computers going for nearly 2 hours to enter all their family information.  Their Mi Familia folletos are really works of art with all the information, pictures, and stories they have in there. 

After 4 solid days in the chapel, glued to the computers, we decided to take a break on Friday morning, and go with Elders Zare and Olsen to visit a few families who were not able to make it into town and the chapel.  It wasn't any cooler out on the edge of town, on the dirt streets, but Hna J takes it like the true trooper she is.  It was hot - and a sweatfest, but we just couldn't pass on this opportunity.

And we were richly rewarded.  We got to meet a wonderful family, in their home that is being constructed.  I found a spot for my WiFi phone outside on an orange plastic bucket, and zing - we were in business.  

Time for a photo with the family as we finished.  A Mi Familia folleto, a family tree, and new friends made in the jungle of Peru.  What could be finer?  Hermano Martin and Hermana Sadith are faithful members, who live literally on the edge of the Amazon jungle (banana palms grow in their front yard).  Each Sunday they walk about 2km with their family to a "house" chapel (a house that is dedicated as a chapel, this is done in small branches before an actual chapel is built), and are fully involved in learning and service.

 The walk back from La Joya was hot, humid, dusty,and sweaty.  Not  many combis or mototaxis go out this far, and we had to walk back quite a ways.  Along the way, there was a small store, where I walked in, woke up the proprietor, and bought 4 aguas (warm, the refrigerator was busted), they really saved us from overheating.  We got passed up by a few mototaxis, and work motos (heavy duty trikes for hauling loads), we even missed a ride on a work moto hauling crates of chickens.  Finally a small mototaxi came along, with an enclosed cab.  He was willing to take the 4 of us, so we crowded in, with Hna. J on my lap and the 2 elders squeezed alongside (Elder Zare backwards), and made it back to town.

Our last stop that morning was at the "pension" of Elders Zare and Olsen.  The pensions provide 2 or 3 meals per day to the missionaries, who don't have kitchens in their apartments.  They are paid the cost of the food, but the being a pension for the missionaries is really a calling of service.  They love the elders, and are loved right back.  More new friends for us.  Hna J says there is another trip to Puerto for us, even if its only to visit these 2 families and continue the work we started with them.  And I have to say that Hermana Melany makes the best pollo plancha and mashed potatoes with gravy that I've had here.  Hermano Luis looked at his Mi Familia folleto for quite a while, then remembered the names of his abuelos (grandparents), where they lived, and where they died.  With this information, they were added to his family tree and their names sent to the temple.  It was quite a spiritual and emotional moment for all, especially him.  He was so happy to be able to give his abuelos this gran regalo (great gift).

After a short break in the late afternoon, we finished up with more citas at the main chapel, ending at 7:30pm.  A quick calculation, and we counted citas (meetings) with 41 families in 5 days, with over 431 individual temple ordiances approved, reserved and/or sent to the temple.  We were very happy to have these experiences with the wonder people of Puerto Maldonado, and look forward to coming back to see them again.


Our last morning in Puerto, we started, as we always do, with the "best breakfast buffet in PM", at our hotel.  Pitchers of fresh-squeezed juice get us started.  These are all locally grown tropical varieties, and none except limon (which is really lime) are seen back in the states.  Too bad, as they are really refreshing and delicious.  When we go out to eat, we usually order a "jarra" or liter of juice in any of these varieties or others.

The rest of the buffet is spread with jamon (ham), cheese, cakes, pan (breads in several varieties), fried plaintains, fried and boiled eggs, hot cereal, toast, teas, fresh fruits, yogurts, cookies, and several other delicious choices.  A good breakfast gets us off to a good start every day, and sometimes has to last until late in the afternoon, if we're loaded with appointments and can't get away.  All part of the adventures we have here every day - sometimes from a nice hotel to primitive conditions in the jungle.  Where else could we have such experiences and be able to serve such wonderful people.

After finishing up our 8-day trip to Puerto Maldonado, the choices to return to Cusco are a 13-hour bus ride (think of riding in a chicken bus up and down from Farmington to the radar towers nonstop for 13 hours) or a 1-hour plane ride.  Not hard to guess our choice, is it?  We're off to the airport!

Into the jungle - again

A Historia Familiar event was scheduled in Puerto Maldonado, in the Amazon jungle, and we were invited to attend.  It's a mining and logging town, located at the "Y" where the Tambopata river joins the Madre de Dios, a tributary of the Amazon.  It's 600ft above sea level, and 2400mi downriver to the delta.  Puerto has its own pace, much different than Cusco, and the climate during all seasons is quite tropical.  We're here in the "dry" season, which is only about 3 deg cooler than the hot season, but it doesn't rain, and the level of the river drops significantly.  When we were here in March, the river was quite a bit higher. 

We scheduled an extra day for a trip down the river, to see some of the sights we didn't get a chance to on our earlier trip.  There is quite a bit of traffic on the river, mostly in the long, narrow river boats seen here.  Most of the motors are the "mud buddy" homemade type, but a few do have real outboard motors.  They tie up and launch from the makeshift docks here, it's pretty much a free-for-all.  Several tour companies also operate out of here, and we selected one so that we didn't end up with an "African Queen" type of experience.

At our first stop, we tied up on a mud bank.  A few months ago, this was all under water, and the mud oozes down from the runoff.  The mud is quite unstable, and we saw a lot of it falling off into the river, hence the brown color of the water.

Lots of fauna and flora to see.  Many trees are entwined with the "strangler" vines as shown here.  Today there was a light overcast, and it took the edge off the heat, and made it a very nice day - but there's no escaping the humidity - it's like Mississippi in the summer.

Our first stop was a "canopy tour", with narrow cable bridges strung between big trees.  We got a good look at the forest from up high - about 60ft off the ground, and it really gives a different perspective.  I took a good look at the cables and bridge before Hna. J was allowed to cross.

Here's the 2 adventurers making their way across another section.

 Part of the adventure was a zipline through the trees.  Again, after a good inspection, Hna. J harnessed up and was the first one across.

There she goes -  -  -

 And here she comes again.  Never hesitated for a second.

All that adventuring earns a good rest and a little time in the shade before lunch.

The experiences never stop.  Fearless and intrepid Amazon explorer "Buckshot" heads downriver in search of new adventures.

 Narrowly escaping the fearsome denizen of the river, like this gigantic caiman.  Actually it was only about 5ft long, a baby.

 Fighting off the hordes of man-eating monkeys.  Actually these little critters are pretty cheeky, and are "protected", so if they approach you, you're supposed to stand still and let them poke and snoop around you.  The guide put some bananas in his pockets, and they come right up and take them out.  Luckily no defensive action was required.

After a day of adventuring, a beautiful sunset.

After discovering the long-lost "Orb of Light", fearless adventurer Buckshot instantly reverse-transforms into mild-mannered senior missionary Elder Johnson, and we make our way to our scheduled Family History appointments.

We've scheduled a week in Puerto Maldonado, actually extending our trip for an extra day of meetings at the end.  Puerto is one of Hna J's favorite places in the mission, but it's so far away that we may not be able to make it here again, and we want to take advantage of our time here.  Stay tuned!

Weeks #28, 29: Work, Followup, - and Conferences

One thing that always keeps our work interesting - no two days are ever the same.  Our work is focused toward pushing our Historia Familiar calling ahead, but there's always a new twist, new people to meet, new places to visit and work.  Here, Hna J is waiting in front of the Santiago capilla for a meet with the elders.  If we're a little early, it's a treat to just stand on the sidewalk and watch the city.  You never know what's going to come by.  Just down the block there were a couple of guys taking a shower in the street from a hose after spending all day in hard labor mixing and hauling cement up a building they were constructing.  We've started to put some focus on this area of town.  The leaders and the members are very warm and welcoming, and love to see us.

 If you've got a motorcycle and a wagon, you just weld them together and you have a motorized cart to tote your goods (or family) all over town.  Even better when you have an assistant to ride along.  The Peruvians are nothing but clever and enterprising, and can use anything they can get their hands on to to help their business, and give them a little break from manual toting and lifting, of which much is still done here.

On a detour through one of the local markets on the way home, we were looking for some nuts and fruit to make a mixed snack bag for our next trip.  Came across this dried, self-aborted llama fetus for sale right next to the raisins and cashews, and stuck in a bag of small potatoes.  It's supposed to have some mystical medical properties, but I'll pass, and just stick to stuff that we know won't make us sick.            

The missionaries are some of the biggest fans of Historia Familiar.  They are allowed 1 hour per week to work on their family history, after they have 1 hour to send and receive emails to their family.  Some of them need a little help to get started, get oriented, and figure out how it works. Elder Salas just had an exciting experience - he got an email from home with some clues and ID numbers for his ancestors that were missing from his family tree.  With a little work, we located them, and printed them on his fan chart - some out to 6 generations.  In case you're wondering where the Angel Moroni is, he's a missionary in Peru, with the last name of Salas.  Some of the members here give their children names that relate to Bible, Book of Mormon, or Church History names - gives them quite a legacy to live up to - especially for Alvin Joseph Hyrum Sanchez Quispe.  Elder Salas' companion is Elder Mann, a descendant of Anson Call, whom we found out several great pioneer stories about, he was a contemporary and friend of the early church leaders, including Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, and John Taylor.  Quite a surprise to Elder Mann to find he is the legacy of so much heritage.

We get to meet so many wonder people wherever we go!  They quickly become our "favorites".  During a Sunday family history meeting (2nd hour, during Sunday School) at Barrio (ward) Santiago, we got to meet Neyssy and her daughter Brunella.  We were so busy during that our that we didn't get all of their family history information - and pictures - entered, so we made an appointment at their casa (home), way up on the side of one of the Cusco hills.  As we started to enter the family information from Neyssy's Mi Familia, I was sure I recognized the names, but I couldn't place them.  After a while, I realized they were the same as we had seen in a family from Urubamba.  Then I realized they were from her mother, Luz Marina.  Turns out that Neyssy had more information that we were able to update both accounts - and - her sister lives upstairs, who had even more information and pictures - what a treasure trove.  Neyssy was especially close to her bisabuela (great-grandmother), who died when she was 12, and has always felt a special connection to her. 

Old photos are always our favorites, and we're always happy to take digital photos of these precious memories and upload them to familysearch.org, as well as provide a new print for their albums.  Here's a photo of Neyssy's great-grandmother (as a young woman in traditional dress).  She just had her bis-abuela's temple ordinances approved this week, and sent them to the temple to be completed.

An important part of the follow-up from the Huancaro Feria a few months ago is processing and distributing the referrals we received.  Quite a job to quickly get 1151 referrals out to the missionaries.  The Church has a new software program that is linked to a global map system, so with the address (and it is surprisingly good at locating them, even with the convoluted address system here), name, and cell phone number, we are able to "drop" them right into the missionary sectors where they live.  The program then sends an email to the individual missionary's LDS mail account with that information, and we can then monitor the progress.  President Harbertson authorized us to use the young missionaries for data entry in shifts, and with the help of about 30 of the missionaries in Cusco, this information was entered and distributed quickly.  Hermanas Arroyo and Vitola are some of the most proficient, and got a lot accomplished during their shift.

Hermano Valentin finds his grandfather!  He's one of the liveliest and funniest of the old men we have met here.  He's always got a joke or a quick comment.  He and his lovely esposa are among the stalwarts in Barrio Santiago, and it's a delight to visit with him.  We were able to find some information about his bisabuelos, and change the yellow box (visible on the right) to green, and have temple ordinances approved.

Hermana Liliana is the specialista de Historia Familiar in Barrio Santiago, and the daughter of Valentin.  She's just as quick and lively as her father, and sometimes its a little challenging to keep her on topic, but she is very helpful to the members of the Barrio, and always recruits a room full of people for us to meet with.

Two sets of elders are assigned to the sectors in Barrio Santiago.  Our plan is to "cycle" through the Barrios in Cusco, so we spend about 3 Sundays in a row in a Barrio, so we have a chance to meet with those who are interested, and then fill up the weeks with additional appointments.  After a Sunday meeting block, we took a minute for a photo with these fine elders:  Pena, Mann, Zerillo, and Salas. 

The Peruvians love to parade and march, and there always seems to be an event for which they gather in the Plaza de Armas and parade around - singing, chanting, and shouting.  This event was for a protest/commemoration for 2 local politicians who were shot - except that event happened 35 years ago, the perpetrators were never caught, and they have become martyrs of a type.  Any excuse to get off work and march around is a good one.

This picture shows that you're never too old to do Family History work.  In fact, some of the older people are the best source of family information, since the records here are so sketchy and sparse.  Hermano Rigoberto is proof of that.  He's really old (at least older than us), but is very sharp and intelligent, and he had a notebook full of family information that - with the help of Elders Mann and Zerillo, was able to help us understand it to complete 4 generations of his family's ancestry - going back to the early 1800's.

Elder Juan Uceda of the 1st Quorum of Seventy made a multi-zone tour through all the Mission.  He and his lovely wife were delightful, and we were able to attend several meetings with them.  Each of the missionary zones posed for a picture with the Ucedas and Presidente and Hermana Harbertson.  I did't include all of the pictures, but here is one of "our" zone - Inti Raymi.  We know and work with all of these missionaries frequently.  This is one of 4 zones in the Cusco area. For this meeting, the zones came from as far away as Puerto Maldonado, Abancay, Andahuaylas, and Sicuani.

All of the remaining mission couples are based in Cusco, so we got an opportunity for this group photo:  Richard and Julie Hasler, ourselves, Presidente y Hermana Harberson, the Ucedas, and David and Cindy Rhoades.  These couples have become our close friends and mentors, and we love our association and work with them.

This wraps up a couple of weeks.  Next week we're off on another adventure, this time a return trip to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon jungle.  Puerto is one of Hna J's favorite places, as it's warm and humid, a real contrast to the high/dry/warm-cold of Cusco.

Week #27 Cusco, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo, Huyabamba and Quoricancha

After recovering from the Feria, we're ready to get back to our "regular" work.  The follow-up continues, and the office Elders are implementing a new program that will locate the addresses of the referrals to the individual missionary sectors.  So far, it works pretty well, but it takes time to do all the input.  All of the referrals should be distributed by the end of this week.

Well, changes happen - and missionaries come and go.  This time, its the Sandbergs, who have finished their 18 month service (they served their entire time in Abancay, about 80KM northwest of Cusco) are on their way home to California.  We were able to intercept them on their way through, and have them at our guests for dinner.  The Hermanas are enjoying a nice meal on their side of the table at our favorite restaurant in Cusco, named "UCHU".  It really is good food there, and would be considered outstanding cuisine anywhere in the world.  Elder Sandberg and I had our own conversation going on on our side.  We will miss the Sandbergs, and unfortunately, there is no incoming mission couple to replace them.  So if you're wondering what to do for the next year or 18 months, there's an opening in Abancay.

We enjoy the time we spend with the other mission couples, and if it looks like we spend all of our time together eating, you're only about half right.  Here's Hermanas Rhoades and Johnson in front of our favorite seafood restaurant in Cusco.  They do a good job of preparing that comes from the water - but you can keep the cerviche - all sushi lovers should know what this is - raw fish that's soaked in lemon juice until it gets lemony, don't call it cooked.  The leftover brine is called "leche de tigre" or tiger's milk.  I pass on that also, though Hermana J will try a little bit of it on occasion.

Here's the Hermanas on their way to an appointment.  These are Hermanas Guzman and Wight, with Hna J, who are watching the oncoming traffic closely for a chance to dart across.  In Cusco, pedestrians definitely do NOT have the right of way, and you better be careful, especially if there's a bus coming.  We're headed towards the main square, Plaza de Armas, to visit a family who lives a couple blocks up the street to the left.

 The Elders spend so much time working hard that they take every break they can for a nap.  Elders Lundell and Solano, along with 4 others, have just carried all the furnishings from the Sandberg's apartment in Abancay from the moving truck outside, up to our spare bedroom.  Since we have an extra, the mission is storing the furniture there instead of a warehouse.  Unfortunately -- their nice sofas and recliner were so big that they wouldn't fit down our narrow hallway on the other side of our living room, so we had to exchange our rather small items, for their big items.  And I sure do enjoy that recliner!

 Hermana Avelina is quite a musician and singer.  She and her esposo live about 5KM down the main street from us, and we are able to visit them to help with their Historia Familiar.  Not only do they both play several instruments, but they sing in Spanish and Chechua.  During the recent visit of Pres. Uchdorf to Cusco, they were part of the Chechua choir that sang during his fireside.  Hna Avelina is nearly blind, but that doesn't seem to hinder her musical abilities.  We get serenaded every time we come to visit, and that's always a highlight.  Her voice is extraordinary.  So many of the people here are talented in many ways.

Since the Hasler's have been on their well-deserved break back to New Mexico (after extending their mission twice - for a total of 3 years), we volunteered to travel to Urubamba to "chaperone" the district meeting, so it doesn't look like a double date.  The district meeting starts at 6pm on Mondays, after the missionaries "P-day", for preparation.  This is the only time during the week that they get to read and send emails home, wash their clothes, clean their apartment, and have a partial day for recreation and diversion, before getting back to work that evening.  The district meetings are well planned and conducted by Elder Jensen, the district leader, and we enjoy participating.  There's prayers, a spiritual thought, instruction - this week on referral follow-up from the Feria, reporting and accountability.  After this meeting, we took them to a Polleria (chicken restaurant) for "pollo abraso" or spit-roasted chicken.  It's very tasty, and you can order either a whole, 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8, and you get fries with it.  Can you tell that Elder's favorite vegetable is ketchup?

We stayed 2 nights in Urubamba, at a nice hotel that's right next to the church.  That enables us to work for the next 2 days in this area.  Tuesday morning we got an early combi (van) to Ollantaytambo, for a meeting with Hermano Hernan or "Cunyaki" in his jewelry and craft shop.  He makes very lovely jewelry from local stones and metals, Hna J has a nice necklace that he made.  He also sells locally made crafts, and we bought some dolls for the granddaughters.  I put my WiFi phone against the window to get a good signal, open up the laptop, and we're connected to FamilySearch.org (espanol version) and in business.  He's just pushed the button, and sent names of his grandparents to the temple system for ordinances.  The cable from the computer goes to my battery-powered printer on the floor.  He was so delighted that he took us next door to the Chocolate Museum (every town should have one) where his wife works, and treated us to locally brewed chocolate caliente, and delicious chocolate croissants.  Then we had to come back to his store and pick out a few macrame bracelets and another handmade necklace!  Hermanas Crump and Hinostroza are our guides and translators for the day, and we had a delightful time with them.

At the other end of the Sacred Valley is Huayabamba, and Hno. Policarpo and his family.  The afternoon was so perfect and warm that he just pulled out some chairs into his courtyard, I put the WiFi phone on top of a nearby adobe wall, and we had an enjoyable and very productive 2 hour Historia Familiar meeting.  It was the perfect setting for a family photo, which we printed in 8.5x11, and presented them with it.   This town is in a narrow valley between mountains on either side.  The shaded side has ancient terraces all the way up that used to be farmed by the Incas, but are not used these days.  You can see some of the high Andes peaks in the background - some of which have snow year round, and even glaciers.  We're at 9,400 ft here, the peaks are 14,000+.

 

We heard some chirping around the corner, and thought it was some chicks, but when we looked, it was their guinea pigs.  They are raised like chickens, and eat mostly greens, grow quite fast, and are quite profitable, as "cui" is a delicacy here, and is eaten at celebrations and special occasions.  Hard to believe this cute little guy will be lunch someday.

When I say that there's an adventure every day here, its no exaggeration:  First on this trip, I left my hat in the taxi when we got out at the hotel in Urubamba, and in a minute it was gone.  We looked in several spots where the taxis and combis wait for passengers, but couldn't find that taxi, so the driver got a nice hat as a tip.  I'm pretty bummed about it, because it was by "signature" hat here, and a good OR gore-tex that I bought in Jackson Hole just for this mission.  Bought another one the next day in Ollantaytambo, locally made, about the same look (wide brim to keep the sun off my face and neck), same color, and less than $7, so I won't care if I lose that one.

Next, I left my iPhone on the combi when we got off in Huayabamba, discovered that about 5 minutes after we got off.  I usually do a self pat-down whenever we leave or move, just to check and verify that all my hardware is accounted for, and this time it paid off.  Ran back and he wasn't there, so I was totally bummed.  When I'd given it up as lost, I remembered I have the "find my iPhone" app on my iPad, and was able to get that up.  I found that the iPhone was still in town, a little ways away, so we started toward it.  Then I saw that the phone was moving, and was sure I'd lost it for good.  I heard a vehicle around the corner and started running to catch it, and it was the combi, the driver had heard the buzz when I pinged it, and was looking for me.  I gave him a nice tip and was really glad to get it back. 

 Speaking of lunch someday, we heard some real squawking the next morning walking over to meet the Elders at the church, and found a bag of chickens headed to the market.  A couple of cockfights were going on inside the bag. 

At the other end of town, after a ride in moto taxis (3-wheeled motorcycles with a canopy) we had a delightful morning meeting with Raul and Maria.  They both have a great love for their families, as evidenced by the volume of Historia Familiar work they had prepared and waiting for us to input.  Not only are they musicians as well (Hna J bought a couple of their CD's of traditional Andean pipe and string music - very relaxing and pleasant), but Raul also makes the instruments he plays, as well as sells them.  Unfortunately, I have no musical talent, so the 10-string charango wasn't of interest to me, but the pipes could be pretty simple to play.  But I'd much rather listen to someone who has real talent play them.

Want to know why the buildings and temples built by the Incas are still standing after 500+ years?  Well, first they were marvelous engineers and builders, and they built out of stone, not wood.  Here's a lintel over the door of an adobe building, built about 1960, and you can see what the termites have done to the wood.  In order of durability:  wood, adobe (above the wood), brick, then the ultimate:  fitted Inca stones.

Anywhere there's a street is a good place for a market.  They set up about anywhere, some are there just for a day, others are permanent, and there is always a good selection of local produce and vegetables available - very inexpensive as well.  Which you can consider good in that it doesn't cost very much to buy food, but on the other hand, the growers and sellers don't make very much.  Anyway, farming is an ancient tradition and livelihood, and they seem to make a living doing it.  The farmland here is quite fertile, but due to the terrain, it's not in very big plots, and thus almost all the farm labor is by hand, with minimal mechanization.  Here, labor is cheap and undervalued, and that cycle keeps a majority of the people at the lower end of the economic scale.  But they are happy, and love their traditions and their families. 

Lower down the valley about 100KM, is Quillabamba, where they grow cocoa, coffee, bananas, plantanos (plantains) and avacados (paltas). That's on our list to visit in August when still relativel cool for the hot areas (now we know the lay of the land, we shedule to the hot areas when its cold in Cusco.  The Heramanas who get assigned to the hot areas in the bug  seasons get pretty bitten up, but we have some heavy-duty repellent that works quite well when applied strategially sand in liberal amounts 

Wednesday night after we finished our appointments, we tried to get a taxi back to Cusco at 8pm.  No luck, as the drivers can't make the 1.5 hour drive and find passengers who want to go to Urubamba that late at night.  One guy offered to drive us for 100 Soles, but that was way too much.  So the Elders helped me haul our luggage about 4 blocks to the combi stands, and we found one going to Cusco, but he didn't have a roof rack for our suitcases, so he was going to charge us for 2 extra seats for the bags.  After about a half-hour he decided he didn't have enough passengers to make the trip, so he found us another combi who actually was going to Cusco, and we moved our bags and after about 15 minutes got under way.  I'm pretty sure I got overcharged by that guy when we got into Cusco late at night.  When I asked "quanto" - how much - he replied in some words that I didn't understand, probably Chechua, but by that time we were just glad to be close to home.  One more taxi ride with us and our bags squeezed into a little car, and we were finally at our apartment about 10:30pm. 

Also:  earlier that day, Hna J counted a new record for squeezing people in a combi:  28 in a 15 passenger van.  Say goodbye to any personal space you think you might have.

Back in Cusco, on Saturday we made a 1-hour walk from our apartment to the Plaza de Armas, dodging cars and buses all the way, and met up with the Rhoades for lunch.  Afterwards, Elder Rhoades suggested a visit to Quoricancha, just a couple of blocks away, and we were excited to go, as we had walked past it many times, but hadn't taken the time go go in and look around.   This was the most sacred temple of the Incas, and at the time that the Spaniards arrived, it was layered in gold.  As you might imagine, the first thing they did was strip all the gold off, melt it down, and send it back to Spain.  Then using the Incas that they had basically enslaved, the Spaniards forced them to tear down their temple, and build a cathedral over its foundation.  There's very little of the original structure visible, but you can see some in the gray stone on the right. This was made out of the fitted stones, with their very best workmanship.  That part of it has survived for at least 5 centuries, and many earthquakes.  There was a big earthquake in 1950 that knocked a significant portion of the cathedral down, but the Inca foundation held with almost no visible effect.  The cathedral has been since rebuilt, and not very well, but there are some lovely artifacts, paintings, and history inside.  No photos allowed inside, which I observed, but most people didn't.

Some of the outer Inca walls still remain.  This was taken from the opposite side, and a small portion of the rounded dark gray Inca wall can barely be seen on the left.  The grounds and building are fairly well maintained (since they do charge admission, at least some of the money goes for upkeep) and its quite interesting to see the contrast between ancient and old.

Hna. J always takes time to smell the roses.  She really enjoys the local plants and flowers, many of which we don't get to see back home.

We close this week with another adventure:  We were in a taxi, bumping along the rough streets, when the ride got extra bumpy.  It didn't take the driver too long to figure out that he had a flat tire, so we got out, paid a partial fare, and walked the rest of the way to our meeting.  It was a beautiful warm day, so we were glad to walk together.  Along the way, we got a phone call that our meeting had been delayed, so we had some extra time, got to our meeting place, found a bus bench with some shade, and bought a helado (ice cream) from a local vendor, and had a few minutes to relax and enjoy the day. 

Our love and best wishes to all of you.