This week in Peru

So little to do and so much time. Stop. Scratch that. Reverse it. On we go! (I hope someone gets that reference)

Everyone wants to know what we did for General Conference. The answer is: nothing. There were elections in all of Peru yesterday, and it’s illegal or something to have public meetings on election day, so we couldn’t meet together to watch Conference. We will be watching it as a Stake next weekend, though.

There are supposedly a bunch of earthquakes here in Peru, but I haven’t felt one yet. I want one to happen sometime because I think they’re fun, but I hope it doesn’t like destroy a building or anything.

My birthday was great! The package was fine. Everything was intact. Based on the date stamps that were on it, it looks like it got here in only about a week, just for future reference. The balloons rubbed off a little, but I could read them. The traditions here are different… I got my head smashed into 3 different cakes and had eggs and flour squished into my head… I have some pictures of it below. One of the Sisters in the ward made delicious chicken wings for us. The man in the last picture is the husband of our pensionista. He works in a funeral home and was telling us a bunch of scary stories last night about working there. Hearing footsteps upstairs when there is nobody there, children giggling in the next room, seeing things, etc. Crazy.

Last week there weren’t many pictures because the resolution was too high on my camera, and I can only email so many, but now the resolution is lower, so I can send more. Please send me photo requests, because I have no idea what to take pictures of.

As far as life in Peru goes, it’s great. The weather is about 70-75 all day everyday, which is great. It is a little bit warm sometimes because we walk around so much, but sitting in the shade of a member’s/investigator’s tin roof is enough to cool us down. The “cambis” are a lot of fun. They are basically taxis that are vans. I am always suprised by how many people we can fit in them. I always laugh at myself when we get on them. They aren’t very tall, because Peruvians aren’t very tall, so I get on and am standing with my head bent and shoulders touching the roof. Then we get to a stop and all the seats are full, there are a few people standing in the space available, and then like 6 or 7 more people get on. And somehow they always fit! Yes, you are being squished between 2 or 3 different people, but we all fit. And then someone from the back of the cambi needs to get off, so everyone squishes even tighter to make room for them to leave. It’s always an adventure. I’d take a picture one time, but I don’t have enough space to move my arms to take a good picture.

And the following is a miracle we had this week. We had an appointment with an investigator that lives a ways away. We wanted to take a taxi, but there were elections going on yesterday, so the streets were crazy. We could’ve walked, but we would’ve had to leave right when we got there because we had another appointment to go to. We had faith that we’d be able to find a car to take, and as soon as we turned the corner, lo and behold, our investigator and his wife are walking up the street towards us. What are the odds of that? Apparently 1/1! That was really neat. We were able to talk to them, and they were on their way somewhere else, but it saved us a long trip all the way over to their house, saved us worrying about how we were going to get there, and we made another appointment with them. I know that this is the Lord’s work, and He is watching over us and blessing us every day.

Thanks for all your wishes and prayers!

-Elder Kehoe

Birthday gifts 10-6-14

2014 10-06 Birthday cake and companion

2014 10-06 Birthday eggs

2014 10-06 Birthday eggs II

2014 10-06 Birthday cake and face

2014 10-06 Birthday zone

2014 10-06 Birthday chicken wing

2014 10-06 Pensionista husband