We had 2 baptisms
this week! And by “we,” I mean, the Branch. They were investigators
from the other 2 Elders here, but the Branch now has 2 new members. A
mom and her son were baptized in one of the natural hot spring pools
here in Colca Canyon. It’s called the Calera. We normally baptize in
the river, but they asked to do it in the hot springs instead. We had
a pool reserved for the baptisms, but it was being used when we got
there, so we asked to use a different pool and baptized with people
chilling in said pool. We baptized them on the other end, and everyone
was nice enough to stay reverent during the service. We ate cake,
drank juice, and yesterday, they were confirmed members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Also, yesterday, President Yglesias (my companion) asked me to direct
Sacrament Meeting. That was new. Plus, it was in Spanish, so it was
really new. We started the meeting with 3 or 4 people there. By the
end, there were a whole 23. The newly baptized members didn’t come
until almost the end, so that was a bit worrying, but they showed up
and we had the confirmation. And it was Fast and Testimony meeting.
Let’s just say there was a lot of silence…

After Sacrament Meeting, we had our Gospel Principles class.
Surprisingly, most of the people stayed! Normally, they come for
Sacrament Meeting then leave, but not this week. Elder Pulido taught
the class. Then we separated for Priesthood and Relief Society. The
Relief Society president didn’t come, so Elder Pulido tells me, “Hey,
Elder Kehoe, teach the class.” “Umm… okay.” So not only did I direct
a Sacrament Meeting for the first time yesterday, but I also taught
Relief Society for the first time, both, obviously, in Spanish.

During the week, we found a new investigator that wants to be baptized
as soon as possible. His sons are members, but less actives. He came
to the baptism Saturday and also Church on Sunday. His wife belongs to
another Church and said she wants to wait about a year to prepare for
baptism, but we’re going to talk to her.

I forgot to tell you guys this last week, but here it is now: We were
going to the Church to teach the Mission Preparation class to the
young men in the branch. While we were going there, we get a call from
the Relief Society president. She told us that her 8 bulls escaped,
and she needs help finding them in the darkness of the farms/fields.
We still had to teach the class, so Elder Pulido and I went to the
Church, and Elder Yglesias and Elder Diederich went cow hunting. The
class went fine. Latter, we found out how the cow hunting went. The
bulls escaped into the darkness, and only 1 flashlight/lantern was
available to look for them. They found 7 of the 8. The 1 missing was
black, so even harder to find. While looking around, Elder Diederich
climbed up onto one of the walls dividing the farms. He then fell, and
the wall fell with him. My companion runs over to him and digs him out
from the rubble. Luckily, only part of Elder Diederich’s leg was
injured. Unluckily, he had fallen into cow droppings… My companion
and him come back covered in dirt and “other stuff.” Eventually, the
8th bull was found and recovered. We always laugh that “only in
Chivay” would the missionaries be called to rescue escaped bulls at
night. End of Story.

I hope everyone has a great week! Things are going great here in
Chivay. We’re working hard and staying busy! Love you all!

-Elder Kehoe