(Emailed the night he got into Lima, Peru)
Alight, so I rolled in at about 11pm last night, tired and exhausted but excited to approach a completely new world that I have never before seen. The excitement when we touched down went up and down my spine like a static shock. It was almost overwhelming. Quickly we exited the plane grabbing our belongings, then stepping out into an all Spanish country with foreign writing on the wall! haha I didnt know what to expect. The airport was nice, and the bathrooms contained within them granite countertops! I had the opportunity to explain to some people last night what my purpose was. They were on a church mission, going to repair a school for their church. They said they were here 3 months and expected us to say about the same. When I said two years, their jaws dropped, and they immediately became enthralled in every word that came from my mouth. They knew something was different about us from that point forward. Immediately we were highly respected and admired for our beliefs.
I will say i was officially the tallest person in the airport, of thousands. haha truly a standout champ! Walking out the the airport made me feel famous, surounded by literally thousands of people lined up (although they weren't looking for me) it was cool. I felt famous! We grabbed our bags and headed for the bus. As we ventured across the street, foolishly, I walked onto the crosswalk thinking all would be well. I was wrong. The cars in front of me kept going with horns blaring and yelling foul words. I knew I was not in America! haha As we boarded the bus, the feeling of being in Peru was finally setting in. The dim lights lit the poor yet entrancing city. I felt an odd comfort, similar to that of doing well on a test. After loading our goods onto the bus, I was immediatly spoken to by a little man from Peru. He was in charge, being the age of 26 and speaking rapidly and confusing me. I walked into the room where my roomates were, being quiet as not to wake them. It was a 6-bed room, tightly spaced. I looked out the window and in the dark, misted night, I saw a beautiful fountain gracefully spewing water. I was entranced. I laid my weary head to rest on the lumpy bed that was oddly comfortable. It must have been from the long flight that I had just finished. Laying there, nearly asleep I was rudely awoken by a monkey screaming outside haha This place is awesome!!!! I am going to love it!! I tried to be descriptive!! All i have to say is that it's new, poor and AWESOME. Basically culture shock. It's very nice here. There are about 100 people that are in the CCM (MTC in Peru). Across the streets are shacks. This is somewhat humbling. All of the people I knew before were exited to see us again. More fellow Americans! haha Anyway, I think we get to go tracting on Saturday, but I'm still not sure, because I haven't gotten a schedule yet. We had to get up in the early morning but it's all good because I got to sleep. I can upload pics here, so I'll be doing that next week. Watch for them! ahha Anyway, my companion doesn´t speak a lick of English. It's hard to communicate, but I try!! haha
Love your guys!
Elder Pinegar
Elder Alexander Cato Pinegar
