MTC Week 3: My First Real Look at Lima

First week out of quarantine! A lot of things improved, although it wasn't until my companions and I were out of quarantine that we realized we had a few blessings being down there anyway. I get to enjoy warm food, which is something I think everyone would miss. I'm pretty sure I've had almost all meals at least twice, but it's pretty hard to tell since half of them have been a different style of chicken or steak with rice. Being able to drink milk again has also been a real blessing since I felt like a part of me was missing, and because I need my protein. Attending classes physically is so much better than learning through a zoom call that cut out every 3 minutes because of the spotty internet. I actually felt like I learned something this week and my Spanish is improving, although slowly. I also liked being able to attend the devotionals on Sunday since we learned a lot about doctrine, being a missionary, and a lot about the church. It was also fun to look down my row on Sunday afternoon and see almost the entire row sleeping, including Elder Graham, who's infamous for falling asleep during every devotional.

However, some things during quarantine were actually a lot nicer. The biggest of all was sleeping in a different room. Elder Brough and Elder Figueroa stayed in the quarantine room with me, but Elder Lopez moved some (not all) of his stuff back up to be with his original district, although nos he wishes he'd have stayed. His district is really cool and we all like the people who weren't in quarantine, but it is just so crazy up there. The rooms are messy while our room was always kept clean. And according to Elder Lopez, it's very crazy up there and everyone stays up super late. We still talked with the Latino elders who were on our floor, but we were still pretty good at getting to bed on time and having some personal study time. That's why Elder Lopez would come down every night after he moved up to play Uno with us and the Latino elders, since it was so much more calm. We also had a lot of great conversations in the bathroom with the Latinos. we'd all huddle around the sinks and talk about all sorts of things. We talked with Elder Villena, who's fluent in English, about US state quarters, insects, and dangerous American animals. It was so much fun being able to clasp the hand and give bro hugs to most of them whenever I saw them, because they are just the nicest people. When Elder Figueroa moved out, Elder Brough and I were the only two in the room. It was very pleasant and we had a lot of great conversations. Just this morning we were officially kicked out in order to make room for the future elders who will be arriving later this week, so we'll see how it is sleeping up in the crazy hall again. I'll also have to sleep on a top bunk again, which I'm not looking forward to, since the only available bottom bunk has been turned into a hammock because the boards in the middle gave way when one of the Elders laid down on it. It's fun to sit in, but I don't know if I want to sleep on it. We gave Elder Ramos a blessing on Sunday because he was feeling very anxious, nervous, and sad. It was another powerful moment when Elder Brough gave the blessing in Spanish because even though I only understood a little about what was being said, I could really feel the spirit. 

All the Latino elders and hermanas who came in with us finished up their time at the mtc just yesterday and shipped out to their missions. I didn't really know how I would feel when the time for them to leave came, since I had come to really like them but I'm not much of a crier. But when Elder Ramos came in and gave Elder Brough and I personalized letters he translated into English with Google translate that he personally wrote and started tearing up, I couldn't help but shed a few tears as we embraced. He also gave us each a scripture on the back of the note. He also looks very tough since he has a few chipped teeth and a scar on his lip, but he is a very emotional person and I'm really going to miss the, "Jenseeeeeeeen! Wazzzaaaaaah!" that we did everytime we saw each other. I'm going to miss them all, even though I couldn't really understand them all the time. But their energy and friendliness really made me feel welcome.

One of the American elders, Elder Nickel, actually got a kidney stone while I was in quarantine. He finally passed it late last week. I can't imagine having that happen to someone at this age on their mission. I'm not looking forward to the possible worms and parasites I could get when I'm in the field, since being in this walled off compound honestly makes it feel like I'm not in a different country, other than the majority of people speaking Spanish. I was actually able to leave the MTC for the first time yesterday when we went to the international police to get our fingerprints done. We loaded onto a bus and drove off. Some of the missionaries on my bus had real culture shock, even though we were still driving through the rich part of Lima with nice houses and private property. We drove up a small hill and could see the vast city behind us. But when we came around the mountain, the sheer size of Lima blasted us all. It's by far the largest city I've ever been in, and I went to New York this past summer. Close to the road there were a lot of poorer looking houses with clotheslines on top, but in the distance we could see tall buildings and skyscrapers. I won't be serving in Lima, but it was truly an amazing experience to see the city during the day for the first time. Many of the cars parked outside the police station were old with deflated tires and messages written on the windshields. Who knows how long they've been there. Drivers in Lima are also pretty crazy. We were told by Morris, (pronounced Maurice), the transportation director, that we need to be very careful when crossing the street because the drivers will speed up to get around you rather than wait for you. It's also common to just turn around in the middle of the street. My heart only jumped a couple times when I thought we were going to get in a wreck. It's also Peruvian law to where masks at all times, although our MTC President is pretty chill about it. When we went outside the MTC, however, we had to wear two masks, which only added to the heat we were feeling. Hopefully this all ends soon because wearing two masks in the Peruvian heat for two years will be pretty hard, especially since we've really stopped caring in the US, at least in Idaho. We're also going to the Lima temple tomorrow, which I'm really excited for. I was told it is very similar to the Boise temple, so maybe it'll make me feel more at home.

I'm starting to understand Spanish a little better. It's still really hard to understand people when they talk to me, but I can read many phrases in English and translate them into Spanish, although my grammar isn't perfect. It turns out I'm really good at memorizing though. I memorized the first vision in Spanish in three days and am the only one in my district who has all the assigned phrases memorized by the time we're supposed to. Because I was the only one who got the first vision, my teacher challenged me to a competition to see who could memorize Moroni 10:4-5 better, me in Spanish, her in English. It's coming along, but I have hope and know that I'll be able to learn the language.

Last week I came to the realization that I needed to improve my relationship with Jesus Christ, so this week I decided to begin by reading a story about Jesus from the New Testament everyday, which is something I'm going to continue doing. I'll try to read them all in depth and record some thoughts or impressions I have in my journal about Jesus Christ. The second story I read was in Matthew 4, which was the temptation of Christ. I had always thought that it was obvious that Satan wouldn't be able to convince Christ to turn stones into bread because He was Jesus Christ. Upon reading it this time, however, I remembered that since Christ had been fasting for forty days and nights, and because he was born of Mary, he was in extreme pain. We don't tend to think of Jesus or see any paintings of Him in a vulnerable state. He could have wanted to turn the stones into bread, but as I said before, He loves us too much to be able to submit to physical pain. Thinking of Jesus in a vulnerable state during this story, and especially during the Atonement, has helped me come to love Him even more and realize how great His sacrifice actually was because it caused me to see His suffering in a new light. He truly loves me, and would have done everything even if it was just to save me. The same goes for you too. He loves you too much to be able to submit to the pains of the flesh that were far greater than any person on Earth has experienced. His love is infinite.

That's my week! It definitely saw some improvement in my learning, although I'm going to miss the Latino elders. I know they're going out to do great things and I know that I will too. I hope you stay safe and have a great day!

Elder Jensen

1. Elder Jensen

2. A plantain tree. I think.

3. Sunset in Peru

4. At interpol in Lima

5. Elder Ramos' blessing group: Elders Brough, Graham, Jensen, Zaitzeff, Ramos, Maraza, y Lopez

6. Lima

7. The desert in Lima