I sure love you! Mom and I were bummed that we missed an opportunity to hear your voice (and pepper you with questions :-) in your call from the airport. Oh well, life goes on, right?
We were very happy to receive your short note from the mission home, as well a letter and photo from Pres. and Sis. Rowe, following your arrival in Piura. You look great! (No surprise there :-). We were a bit surprised that the letter didn't mention the name of your companion or any information about where you had been assigned to serve, etc. So, we are anxiously awaiting your next letter to get a few more details ... (It always seems like whenever we get a letter, we are always left wanting more info. Kind of insatiable in that regard. Oh well ... Learning to be patient and grateful for the news we do get ...)
The letter mentioned your companion is a native. Where is she from? How long has she been out? Hopefully, she doesn't know much English, or if she does, you still speak in all Spanish, as that's the best way to improve your language skills!
How do you get around? walk? taxi? rides from members?
How big is your area? Where are you living? What's your apt. like? Do you have a pensionista? How's the food so far? Eaten anything "interesting"? Any interesting cultural stuff you have observed so far (i.e., everyone greeting with hugs and kisses on the cheeks, etc.)?
Do you have anyone in your teaching pool? Have you had an opportunity to teach some lessons? I encourage you to jump in and contribute/take on as much responsibility in teaching/setting up appointments, etc. as possible. Even though you might be tempted to hold back and lean on your senior comp, the sooner you jump in with both feet, the sooner your comfort level will increase. I found on my mission that effective communication had a lot more to do with a missionary's love for people an desire to convey the message than it had to do with the missionary's knowledge of grammar, tenses, and vocabulary (though those things are important as well). In fact, one of the senior couples I worked with in Bulgaria barely knew a lick of Bulgarian but were instrumental in teaching/baptizing/
How was your first Sunday in your new ward/branch? How are the ward members? Where do you meet? I found a link on lds.org or somewhere that plots out all of the stakes and districts in the Piura mission, along with the locations of all of the ward/branch buildings. It says there are 6 stakes and 1 district in the mission.
Ok, enough with the questions, right? I'm sure I have a ton more, but I guess I'll devote at least some of my letter to what's been going on around here this week.
Yesterday, Mom, Amber, Kent, and I went on another hike (I know, 3 weeks in a row--I'm in heaven!). This time we took on a challenging one: Superstition Peak 5057. It is the peak on the opposite (i.e., east) end of the Superstitions from Flatiron. As you know from personal experience, Flatiron is known as one of, if not the most, challenging hike in the area. Well, others think 5057 is tougher. It's definitely longer (9 miles, instead of 5), and climbs more elevation (3500 ft, instead of 2900). That said, I personally still think Flatiron is more "intense" and unrelenting. In any event, peak 5057 is definitely a challenge. But a fun one. And, everyone did great! It took us about 3 hours and 20 minutes to make our way to the top of the peak, and another 3 to get back down. So, it was a solid day's work.
As you might expect, the views from the peak were amazing. It was a bit hazy, so I can only imagine how cool it would look on a clear day. It was fun to look across the range at Flatiron and Peak 5024, some 5 miles or so away. With the zoom on the camera, I could see hikers milling around on the Flatiron.
It was a great accomplishment to make it to the top. At the end, it took a little rock scrambling on the "hoodoos" (rock formations) to finally get to the actual high point. Apparently, the bugs are fond of being on top of the peak as well, as there were a ton of flies, gnats, and some strange bee-like bugs flying around. So, we didn't stay too long on top after taking some victory photos and signing the summit register (contained in an old ammo can). Instead, we climbed down from the peak a bit to a nice, shady spot among the hoodoos, and took a lunch break, and enjoyed the view. We all pulled off our shoes and socks and just hung out for a bit.
Our descent was again filled with beautiful vistas, but otherwise generally uneventful (except that Amber took a spill and earned a nice bruise on her bum ...). Surprisingly, despite our 6+ hours on the trail, over 9 miles, we only came across one other hiker! So, essentially, we had the trail to ourselves, which was kind of fun!
We came home and treated ourselves to concrete mixers and french fries at Culver's. Lindsay had her first soccer practice of the new season, so couldn't make it on the hike, and Paige had other plans.
We got home about 3:30 and the girls all got ready for the General Women's meeting. Lindsay wasn't exactly honored to be a part of history in being invited for the first time to go to the meeting. I'm not sure her idea of a good time is getting dressed up and spending another couple of hours at church on at Saturday :-) When she asked me if she "had to" go, I said, "No, You get to go!" Apparently, it wasn't as bad as she anticipated (Reagan being there, and Sweet Tomatoes afterwards, helped soften the blow), but she took with here a notebook, on which she had labeled: "For Long Boring Meeting and other events only," with the "boring" underlined three times. Yep, that's our budding spiritual giant!! Ha ha!
This morning, there was a stake youth morningside at the temple, to "bookend" the morningside that took place in the alfalfa field prior to the groundbreaking at the temple. Mom and I went and drove our girls and the Echols boys. We first met in the next-door chapel for a few messages from youth, Pres. Merrill, and Pres/Sis. Lesueur. Pres. L spoke on "endowments" and compared the temple endowments to the monetary "endowments" that people give to universities to fund various programs, and buildings, etc. He emphasized that just as the funds associated with monetary endowments must be used for the purposes for which they are given, or else they will be lost/revoked, so our temple endowment can be lost or rendered ineffective if we do not continue to live worthy of it by abiding the covenants associated with the receipt of that gift.
After the talks, all the adult leaders were excused and formed a two-line pathway to the temple grounds, through which all the youth silently walked for another temple picture. It was kind of cool to watch. After the photos, we returned to the chapel parking lot for cinnamon rolls and milk.
In other news of the week, we went to the high school musical on Friday night: Beauty and Beast. Amber couldn't come because she had a conflict with a b-day party, so we gave her ticket to Grandma G. We enjoyed the show, which was well cast. Brett C. played the roll of Gaston and did a great job. David W. was the "Beast," and as you probably know, as a beautiful voice. Tori B. was Mrs. Potts and did a great job as well. A fun evening.
On Thursday, I went home teaching. My first visit was to the S.s. Sis. S. was not home, so it was just me and Marty (my companion, Chase Echols ended being stuck taking care of his great grandmother). Marty had gotten a call from Bro. Q., an older gentleman who lives in the care center at the end of our street, indicating that Bro. Q. was sick and needed a blessing. So, we walked over and gave him one. It was nice to be of service.
After the S., I recruited Mom to be my companion in visiting Macki B. and the D.. We had a good talk (she is wanting to get into running, so as you know, Mom and I had lots to say about that!).
At work, I put on a "CLE" (continuing legal education) seminary at the firm on pre-litigation strategies and administrative proceedings. I presented with two other partners, one from our Colorado Springs office, and another from here in Phoenix. I think it went okay. Part of my presentation was about drafting/sending and responding to pre-lawsuit demand letters. For fun, I put up a slide entitled "The Ultimate Demand Letter," and pasted in a copy of the Declaration of Independence, preceded by a salutation: "Dear King George III ..." Everyone got a chuckle out of that, so I guess it wasn't completely boring.
On Tuesday night, we had a open house/reception at our new offices in the evening. Clients and prospective clients were invited. I had a few clients come, which was nice. Richard (my brother) also came, as his company has been a client of the firm over the years. We had hors d'oevres and toured folks around the office space. Mom hosted bunko at our home that night, so I guess it worked out well that I was out of her hair :-)
Speaking of hair, Mom got her hair cut and highlighted. It's hard to improve on beautiful, but I like the new do, and I think she does as well. She has found it funny to she which of her friend and family members notice (or at least mention) the change. Regardless, she looks good!
On Wednesday, for combined mutual, the YM/YW leaders put together a DVD highlighting all of the youth events from 2013 through the Cultural Celebration. We ate popcorn and other treats and had shaved ice from Bro. Crotts at the end. The DVD included a number of pictures with you in them. It made me miss you, and also seemed like some of the events were ages ago, given everything that's happened since you graduated--college and mission!
Well, this is getting a little long, so I'll sign off for the week. Know that we pray for you multiple times a day, and think of you more often than that. I am proud of all you are doing and continue to be honored to be your father.
Keep working hard and having fun!
Love you,
Dad
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