This past week was all about the wonderful missionaries who are serving in the Peru Lima North Mission.  What a fun and inspirational Christmas party they had.  First, a prayer and then they played lots of basketball, dodge ball, volleyball, ping pong, etc.

After several hours of playing, sweating and lots of competition, they were served a scrumptious lunch of steak, potatoes, salad and tasty desserts in a beautifully decorated cultural hall.

Our missionaries are so, so talented.  They all sang like angels, which they are.

After playing, eating, and performing they all went out into the neighborhoods around the Mission Offices and sang Christmas carols and gave away fruit baskets.  At 5:00 pm they returned to their proselyting areas and taught discussions, invited others to Christ and did what all missionaries do: love the Peruvian people. God bless our missionaries!

President Godfrey wanted to get every missionary a nice, soft, light blanket.  All they have are big, thick, wool ones that weigh a ton!  We found some really nice ones in the Mercado Central and we bought 240 of them.  They came in three big bundles that weighed over 300 pounds each.  Here we are standing next to the bags when they arrived at the mission office. 

President Godfrey asked us to attend the Deseret Ward up on the mountain side in an area called Tahuantisuyo.  We love the ward and its members.  We feel at home and are learning so much from the faithful saints in that area.  This is where we go to church each Sunday.

In spite of the dry, dusty and arid conditions in Lima, Peru (it hasn't rained there for years), there is always to be found beautiful, elegant flowers and plants right next the church.

We live in a really nice and comfortable apartment at street level.  Thank goodness we don't have to climb up or come down any stairs.  Apartments here don't have any elevators.

To get to our kitchen we have to walk out the back door of our apartment onto our patio where the kitchen is located.  It's a really nice kitchen inside.  Pretty cool!

Ruth has made some wonderful meals.  Here she is eating speghetti.

Last week we went to a water park in downtown Lima.  It was a beautiful, relaxing place.

Merry Christmas from our next door neighbors.  Each layer is made from a different brand of licor.  It's really pretty at night.

Tomorrow we will have been in Lima, Peru for two weeks.  It seems like we have been here longer.  Boy, has it ever been hectic and busy since we arrived.  I'm the Executive Secretary to our mission president (President Matthew Godfrey), the finance secretary of the Peru Lima North Mission and the office manager of the Mission Home.  Ruth works with all the new missionaries coming in and those going home.  She also distributes and maintains all the cell phones for the Elders and Sisters and helps Sister Godfrey with all the medical needs, concerns, etc. of the missionaries, and lots of other stuff.  Here are the offices where we work in the Mission Home. The last one is my office in the corner of one of the rooms.