September 22, 2013

Good week for us.  Although we are back in foggy Lima, the sunshine from Nazca still is warming our blood.  We have had a busy week preparing for cambia which is transfers in english.  Every six weeks new missionaries come in and some missionaries finish their mission.  In addition, some missionaries have been serving in an area for quite a while and get the opportunity to go somewhere else.  Elder Durfey who has been the Mission Secretary is being transferred to Pachacamac which is on the very south end of Lima about a 30 minute drive from us.  He is very happy to get back out into the field.  He will be a loss to Carolyn and I.  He has been our trainer.  Oh well we will just have to do everything in our own.  We are going with the Mission President to a ward where there are going to be two families baptized.  We are looking forward to seeing that.  We did make it to another Huaca, the one close to our Mission Office.  It wasn't nearly as impressive as the others.  It was used as a burial ground both by the Limas and the Incas.  In the 1800's much of it was destroyed by people excavating the clay and the rocks.  More recently it has been resorted to look somewhat like it did.  We also visited Larcomar which is a shopping area built into the cliff above the Pacific Ocean.  Great views of the ocean.   Also some good restaurants.  We ate at the Mango.  We had Lina Saltada, a good Peruvian dish cooked in a wok.  It consists of tender beef, with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and spices.  It is very good but we had the same dish in ICA cooked for the Missionaries by a cook who is a member of the church and owns a restaurant across the street from the church.  His Saltada was better.  Carolyn also was able to see some of the local handicraft.  Sister Douglas had a lady from the Nazca area who weaves all kinds of figures with reeds or other similar materials.  I will try and attach a photo.  Still surviving and learning.  Our Spanish needs a lot more practice.  Love you all Ken and Carolyn, mom and dad, grandma and grandpa.