Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas morning

It was fun to see our lily bloom Christmas morning.  Thanks for the tulip bulbs in our Christmas package, Erin and Grandma Jones.  Hopefully, we'll be able to get a picture of those in a few months...there was only a little mildew!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Un regalo

Los misioneros surprised us with a gift to remember our time here in Peru.  Un regalo perfecto!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Santa's workshop

 
Little did Great Grandmother Thurston know her tradition of grab bag gifts on Christmas Eve would make it's way to the south of Peru.  We've also been busy with candy and cookie bags for our member and nonmember friends here, another tradition from back home!

Papa Noel is assisting at a chocolatada.  Store owners, neighbors, all of Peru, I think, drink hot chocolate and eat panetone for Christmas.  Elder Jones was Papa Noel for a branch activity and one of the merchants ask him to come visit the children at the chocolatada he was hosting for some of the less fortunate.

Porque Dios nos ama y quiere que nosotros seamos felices, El nos ha dado el evangelio y las familias, por las cuales estamos eternalmente agradecidos.  We are also grateful to be able to serve in the land of the Book of Mormon and teach the descendants of the people of the Book of Mormon. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas (Feliz Navidad).

Monday, December 6, 2010

The entertainment

Everybody got a turn on the pony, who was quite patient with us all.

The carne

A fire pit was built to cook the beef hearts and valves.  They are sliced and put on skewers.

No cook out is complete without hotdogs!  They cook or heat them on the grill, but I like mine a little more well done.....stick was a little short, though. 
Here they eat the hot dogs on the skewers without buns.

With the meat, corn, rice, of course... oh, and potatoes, of course,(you have rice and potatoes for every meal ), our plates were full and our stomachs, too.

Corn Feast

The bottom barrel was filled with sawdust and lit on fire.  There is a hole for a vent on the bottom side.  Then the corn pot is filled with water and put on to boil.

Everyone joined in to husk the corn.

The finished product!

The Campo

The Nazca Branch had an activity at the Bustinsa Farm.  Actually we were invited to eat corn and went to the corn field to eat.  Luckily, their well was handy to get water.

The well is about 60 feet deep with the motor down at the bottom.  You have to go down to turn it on.

Un choque

Well, the inevitable crash ocurred Saturday.  We survived and hope it is the only one!   A motorcycle came from a sidestreet right in front of our taxi. The motor cyclists(2) bounced off our windshield and Elder Jones was splattered with glass.  Luckliy no one was badly injured.  All those prayers don't go unanswered!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Every few months we have a knock at our door and the "ghost busters" come to spray our fruit trees.


We finally found the gardener who sold us the rose sticks.(They all died)He replaced them and we got 36 geranium sticks, which seem to grow without roots, and 2 more flower trees.  He's now our advisor of gardens.
The sun is so hot it's not good to use the curling iron too often, so we cut off the ends of our medicine bottles to make curlers.  We might go into a recylcling business!