So, I have been in Lima, Peru for the past 10 hours now and I already love the location. Besides being 20 degrees cooler than home, the location is just wonderful. Lima is a dirty, congested, and foggy city, but at the same time humble and simple. It is like New York City mixed with Mexico. I absolutely love the location, even with the crazy J-walkers, 30 person minivans, and pizza stores no bigger than my kitchen. I am already sure I will love my time out here in Peru, and I am excited to share my adventures with everyone back home!
So back to yesterday, my flights were pretty nice, even though I never sat next to anyone who spoke English on any flights, except the first where the man was asleep literally the entire time. When I got to Miami, I was expecting to see many elders and sisters waiting to fly on my flight with me, but by the time I got on the plane and landed, I learned that I only had two sisters on the same flight. The other 31 missionaries were on a later flight that landed at 3 a.m. this morning. Counting my blessings there. I also discovered that all of my clocks were an hour fast so my companion and I have been early to everything this morning.
Oh, and onto my companion. I have a picture of him, but I don´t have the time to post pictures right now, which is sad because I have lots of lovely shots of the Peru MTC. Anyways, my companion is an 18-year old fresh out of high school who has three years of Spanish under his belt, so he is helping me out a lot. I have only met one other person who has no Spanish experience, so I certainly feel very foreign and awkward amongst so many natives and Spanish smarties. Nonetheless, I am sure all will work out. I also ran into a guy from my hall at BYU this past year who has been in the Peru MTC for 3 weeks now. I had no idea he was even coming here so that was rather cool, even if he didn´t remember my name hahaha.
I exchanged my money today for the Peruvian currency and got 800+ in whatever this currency is. I know, I should know what it is called by now, buuut I guess that´s just something else I need to learn. Anyways, I felt rich so it was a good day for Elder Rich (yohoho).
Besides enjoying the night life of Lima, there hasn´t been any truly inspiring story to share with everyone yet, so I will just keep this first post small. I will hopefully post pictures next time around so you all can enjoy my new camera´s capabilities and be inspired by the wonders of Peru. I am certain this will be a wonderful experience, and I know I will change a lot by the time I get back.
Peru is a wonderful, humble, and genuine place. The people are kind, confident, and give off a feeling of loving life. I cannot wait to serve them, and I am sure they will teach me a thing or two before I leave.
I pray for everyone back home, and hope all is well with everyone. I am excited to share my stories as a missionary for God with everyone, and I appreciate everyone´s love and support for me. Letters, notes, and cards have been uplifting and encouraging to me and I thank everyone who sent them. May God be with everyone until we meet again, and may He bless you as well.
Sincerely,
Elder Dax Rich
I'm so glad that Dax made it safe and sound and is loving his first few hours there!
ReplyDelete