Celebrating My Birthday--Jungle Style!!

My comp kicked off my birthday this morning with a bang. While I was in the shower he made me a birthday cake. But not just any kind of cake, this cake was made with resources that are very common to missionaries. It was made of toilet paper and peanut butter! He made a three layers toilet paper cake and used peanut butter as the frosting. I didn’t want to waste the peanut butter so he filmed me while I ate the “frosting” and he sang happy birthday. Tonight we have like 5 families that want us to stop by to celebrate my birthday and have a family home evening, so it looks like we are going to have a busy night.

Baptisms and Bruins!!

This past week Elder Quiroga and I had two baptisms. We baptized a girl by the name of Fressilla (18 years old) and a young man named Jorge (13 years old) We kind of had a panic because we told our Ward Mission Leader that he needed to organize the service and prepare the font and everything and he agreed to do it. Come Friday morning we decided to check in on him to make sure everything was going to be ready for that night and he told us that he had forgotten everything and that he didn’t have time. We rushed to the chapel and cleaned the font and got it filled. The Baptismal service went great and my favorite part of a baptismal service is when we invite our converts to come to the front at share their testimonies. Jorge has such a strong testimony, it was great listening to it. He is the only member in his family but we are working really hard with his dad so that he can be baptized as well. Oh and get this Jorge’s dad was wearing a pair of shorts the last time we talked to him but guess where these shorts came from.



They were Twin Falls High School Football Shorts, like from their spirit pack! They said Twin Falls Bruins Football. I was like what the heck! and told him that those shorts came from my town!!! It was really funny, small world huh!

We Have To Just Keep Working and Staying Positive!

Well I am getting my first experiences with the Peruvian Jungle Gangs here in Iquitos. We are teaching a few potential priesthood holders with the ages of 18-22. They are great guys and really fun to talk too. They all know of the importance of baptism and know that the Book of Mormon is true but there is a problem we are running into. They are scared to attend church or leave their block because they would be crossing turfs of neighboring gangs. Even though they aren’t gang members themselves, the gangs have a lot of power. It’s a really tough challenge to try to find a solution too. And also we aren’t able to allow non members play on the churches soccer field any more because a gang decided to paint it with their signs and the stake presidency said that only members are allowed to play there. This was a huge side shot for us because the best way we have found to find potential priesthood holders to teach was at the soccer field but now that option is no longer an option. It’s tough, but its just Satan trying to fuel the fire but in the end we are going to win. We have to just keep working and staying positive!

The Church is Really Growing!

I received some very exciting news this past week about a couple of my old areas. First off the area of Miramar (Ancon) is going to have a chapel built! The land is bought and from what I heard they have already broken ground. They have finally out-grown their little ¨house chapel¨(casa capilla) and are finally getting a chapel of their own. The next bit of news that I received was about my area in Paramonga. Paramonga was actually a small branch and part of the district of Barranca. Their were 5 branches that made up the district of Barranca but by the end of the year it will no longer be the District of Barranca. By next year is will be the Peru Barranca Stake! How cool is that!!! Its great thinking that I had a small part in their becoming a ward and a stake. So keep your eyes open in the Church News for the notice about new stakes. Can you cut out the notice for me? That would be great.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!!

Hey Dad,

I just wanted to let you know how lucky I am to have had a father figure like you. Everyday I have to apply something you have taught me out here in the field. From hard work, to just Cowboy-ing Up and making the most of the little things. You have prepared me so well for my work here in Peru. I am forever grateful for your example to me and love for me. I pray everyday to be the missionary my parents want me to be so that I can make them proud. Even though I don’t get to call home for Fathers Day, remember that I am thinking of you and think the world of you. Thank you so much for being my dad and being someone I can look up to. I love you so much, Dad. Thanks for everything.

Your Son
Elder Schofield

Blue Skys, Big Bugs, and Rain!

Never have I seen sky so blue, mosquitoes so big, or been rained on so hard! Every single day is an adventure here in the jungle. I love mission life, especially in the jungle, because you just don’t ever know what is going to get thrown at you. From bugs to weather I am loving my time here. This was the kind of place I wanted to serve my mission and I feel so lucky to have been sent here. The culture, the ruggedness, the adventures are all so amazing and I feel really lucky and blessed to be trusted with the work here in Mi Peru and Versalles.

This past week Elder Quiroga and I really have been focusing our work on finding families and strengthening the ward. The Lord knows who is ready and it is our responsibility to be worthy to receive the promptings to find those people. My testimony of the Lord putting people in the paths of the missionaries really grew this week. Tues night we were making a contact in the street when out of no where it started to rain like crazy. We quickly wrote down this mans address and ran for cover. We saw a family sitting under their woven grass patio and they shouted to us to come under for cover. We thankfully ran over and began talking. The entire family was there (mom, dad, kids, and grandma) and they were extremely friendly. They wanted to know what we were doing in shirts and ties and why I had left the states to come to Iquitos. We gave them a little background about ourselves and also the calling of missionaries. They were extremely interested so we began with the lesson of the Restoration of the Gospel. We gave them a Book of Mormon and once we finished teaching them and answering their questions the rain let up and we were able to go on our way. We have since taught them two more lessons and the entire family is reading the Book of Mormon. We are anxious to get a baptismal date with them this week. It’s the little things about this great work that just make me smile and know that this is truly the work of the Lord.

The past Saturday we did an activity with the stake and the Future Missionaries. Each companionship was assigned a Future Elder (with name badge and everything) to accompany us during the day. We were assigned Future Elder Aspajo and we went right to work. He is actually from a small river village about 2 hours by canoe north of Iquitos. He told us all kinds of stores about anacondas, boas, tigers, and stuff like that. His brother and him live in Iquitos right now and have only been members for 3 months. He family is working hard to save the money to come to Iquitos to be baptized and live near a chapel. It was great working with Brother Aspajo, his testimony was so strong and he loved sharing it.

Anyway I hope all is well at home. Don’t worry about me I am loving the Jungle and for some reason I feel as though I have been well prepared to work here. From my scouting experiences to hiking I feel right at home here, ITS GREAT! I love you guys and appreciate all of the love and support you give me. Thanks

Elder Schofield

Soccer and Address Fun

I´m sure you already knew that soccer is a HUGE thing here and it is even bigger in Iquitos. We are never able to get a member to come on visits with us Saturdays because it is Saturday Night Soccer. Everyone one shuts down and goes to the nearest television set and watches soccer. We love Saturday nights because everyone is home and it is a really good way to see which members we can count on for support. For the most part the Priesthood of the ward won´t leave the TV set but they send their wives to talk with us. It’s funny how people think but its just one of those little quirks that we have to learn to deal with and make the most of it. Oh by the way Peru usually gets beat so I’m not real sure what the big deal is with watching them, lol.

Another really fun challenge that we have here is trying to navigate the roads and paths. There is no organization and most of the addresses we have are in correct. We make a ton of contacts with people who we thought lived at the address we are trying to search. We will walk down a street and the address will go something like this: 112, 358A, Mz. B Lt. 97, AB56. Yeah it’s great, hopefully by the end of the change I will know how to get around and then with my luck I will get transferred.

Sounds Like a Great Place!

My new comp is Elder Quiroga and he is from Bolivia. He and I both entered the field together and were together in the CCM. So we are a couple of young guns tearing it up in the Jungle. We are assigned to two areas, a ward and a branch. The area of the branch (Versalles) has actually been closed for about 8 months and the ward (Mi Peru) is in need of some serious help. When we arrived in our apartment and opened up the area book to see our investigators it was pretty much empty. We have a lot of work to do but we are both excited for the challenge. The members are slowly but surely warming up to us but it is taking some time. They haven’t had elders in their chapel for quite some time so they aren’t really sure what to do with us, lol. Elder Quiroga and I are really focusing our work with the members and trying to include them is as much as we can.

They have changed our eating routine a little bit for us, now every lunch we are eating with members. It is really great and it’s so much fun getting to know the members. They seriously bend over backwards to make sure that we are taking care of. We still have a pensionista but she only cooks breakfast and dinner. Our apartment is small and we have to sleep in a bug net. It’s also a rule that we have to wear bug repellant and sunscreen every day, so it reminds me a lot of camping. With the constant aroma of bug spray and sunscreen, yeah I’m loving it!

As for that everything is really great. We have a ton of work to do but we are definitely excited and thankful for the challenge. I love you guys and thanks for everything. The church is still true, even here in IQUITOS!!!

Landon of the Jungle!

Well I’m pretty sure you were all looking forward to an email being sent from Iquitos, but there were some more crazy transfers……………..just kidding, but it came close. Wed morning we woke up at 2 in the morning to catch our plane that left at 4. It’s about a two hour flight from Lima to Iquitos and once we got right over Iquitos, they informed us that we weren’t able to land and that we were returning to Lima. They were having some unexpected thunderstorms and we weren’t able to land. So we went back to Lima and didn’t arrive in Iquitos until 9 o’clock that night. But I AM IN THE JUNGLE!

So a little bit about Jungle Life: The only way to get to Iquitos is by boat or by plane, so it’s really an island in the middle of the country. Yes the houses are made of wood or tin and the roofs are made of leaves. The people have a lot more trust in one another here because their houses are always open and never locked up. Unlike Lima where everyone locks up their houses with locks and chains and bars. They don’t really have a sewage system, so what they have done is dig a ditch down every street and from there people dump their waste and then when it rains is flushes everything down. So far it has rained every other day and I LOVE IT. It never rained in Lima so it’s great to get soaked. We still work in the rain and its so much fun. We are always drenched from either the rain or our sweat, because when it’s not raining it is freaking hot and humid. The people here are also very distinct. I don’t think I know of anyone as laid back as these people. It’s easy to make contacts because everyone allows us to talk to them and they are always sitting in lawn chairs in front of their houses. They also talk with a really funny accent. It’s like the south in the United States, but is really funny how they talk. I will try to mimic it on a tape or something.

My Thoughts In A Nutshell--

Well everything here in the Peru Lima North Mission is great and the work is going forward. I love this work and I love seeing the gospel change lives, especially the lives of those I have grown to love. I am doing great and everything is great. Thanks for all you love and support I love you guys!

Trompo!

Nearly every single kid that plays in the street plays with a toy called a Trompo. It’s a twist between and top and and yoyo. I bought one last week and am slowly getting the hang of it. One of our investigators has a little boy who is really good with it and he is teaching me some tricks. Once I get really good with it I will make a tape and send it home. I am going to try to send one home for Brians Birthday so he can play with it.

Building Homes and Families

This past week Elder Duran and I did some service and we helped one of the families we are teaching build their house. Now Peruvian arcitecture is very different from what I am use to. We began by drawing up the blue prints in the dirt with sticks. We then went to the local supply store and bought posts and the walls. The walls are made out of woven grasses and also we used that same stuff for the roof as well. We then went back and dug the holes for the posts. We fastened the walls with wire and we had their house built by the afternoon. They were so thankful for their new home and for our help. Yssenia actually gave them the lot to live in cuz it is right next to her house. The family we helped are working on getting their papers together to get married and then baptized. One of our families are going to get married this next week. We finalized all of their papers and documents last night and they are really excited about it. It really is sad leaving all of these people that I have grown to love. Yssenia told me that it was tough on her when the missionaries would transfer back in Guam because she had grown to love each and everyone one of them and has so much trust in them. She told me last night that she hopes I don’t get transferred because she dosen´t want me to leave.

Special People - Special Times

This past week has been one I won’t soon forget. We had the interview for our Pensionista (Angela) on Thursday and she was so excited about here baptism. She has really come along way and Friday night she told us that she feels as though a huge weight is going to be lifted off of her when she is baptized. As we were talking Friday night she asked me a question kind of quietly. She asked if I could be the one to baptize her. I was really surprised she asked me and really felt honored. So Saturday afternoon we had her baptism and it was so special. The water was chilly but it didn’t matter. She was so happy and when she shared her testimony and feelings to us, the spirit was so strong and we all knew that all of her doubts and past problems had been taken care of and she was a new person. Angela is really the person I am going to miss here in Palermo. She really has been like a mother to me and has taken such good care of us. She always thinks she isn´t doing enough for us but in realility she goes far beyond the call of duty.

When do we get the Church issued Machetes I've heard about?

Hey Family,
Welcome to the JUNGLE! The email telling us about our changes arrived this morning and I am headed to IQUITOS!!! I´m not real sure on who my new companion will be yet but I will be sure to write that next week. I will be flying out from Lima tomorrow night with Elder Ikerd. He is in my zone now and we are both going to Iquitos together, but he is going as District Leader. It will be about a 4 hour flight and I think we will leave around mid-night tomorrow. I am really really excited about heading to the Jungle and going to be able to see some green and get rained on. Iquitos is right next to the Amazon River so I will be sure to snap some shots of it from the plane. Elder Duran is staying here in Palermo and his new comp will be Elder Evans, (my old comp in the MTC) so that will be cool. I must admit when I read I was headed for the Jungle I didn’t really know what to think. It really is totally different there but I am way excited about it. 4 transfers and 4 Zones!!!