The Mother's Day Call

Mother's Day and Christmas. Those are the 2 highlights every year for every missionary family. Sean called from Peru at 5:00 P.M. tonight and we were able to speak with him for about one hour. It seemed more like 10 minutes. Here are some of the highlights.

Mom - Why did you get an emergency change from Iquitos?

Elder Layton - I got dengue 4 weeks into Iquitos. I was in the hospital for 4 days -I was really sick, had a fever and was throwing up. I won't be going back to the jungle. Sister Perez (Mission President's wife) feels pretty strongly about that kind of stuff. It's all right though. It's all the same work. That's all that matters, it doesn't matter where. (Mom kind of speechless at this point. Dengue is a potentially fatal disease spread by mosquitoes.)

Mom - The explosion - was it a bomb or a propane tank that blew up?

Elder Layton - It was like a bomb, but it was a propane tank.

Mom - Do you like your new area?

Elder Layton - Yes, I love it.

Mom - You have a little bit of a Spanish accent.

Elder Layton - Do I?

Mom - Are you doing really well with the language?

Elder Layton - Yes, they compliment me on my language. Everyone understands me now.

Elder Layton - The mission's great. I'm doing really well. Me and my companion came here together, we didn't really know anybody. We didn't have any investigators. We've found several now. Today we sacamos una fecha (set a date or appointment) with one young man and he's going to get baptized on the 30th. Lot's of others are progressing.

Dad - You're pretty close to the mission home now, right?

Elder Layton - Yeah, we're really close. About the jungle, everyone says "you're not coming back", but that's not what my mission's all about (referring to the fact that it is pretty unlikely that he will be heading back into the jungle as a missionary).

Mom - Was Iquitos the same or different than Pucallpa?

Elder Layton - Iquitos is like Pucallpa.

Mom - Do you like your companion?

Elder Layton - Yeah, he's awesome. We call him Jackie Chan. He's a good teacher, always gets up on time.

Mom - What's your apartment like?

Elder Layton - Our apartment is great. There's only 2 things. We have a cement floor and there's no hot water. In the jungle that doesn't matter, but in Lima, it's cold in the mornings. There is no hot or cold water. There's only water. You have to buy it.

Dad - What's the culture like there? I mean, what is the food like, what are the people like...

Elder Layton - In Puente this lady told us we were eating seal, but it was dolphin. It's illegal to fish for dolphin - that's why she told us we were eating seal.

Mom - Are you having a hard time speaking English?

Elder Layton - Yes

Mom - Did you really eat slugs?

Elder Layton - Yes, I didn't really like them - it took me almost an hour to eat 6 of them. They were pretty gross. I chewed on them a lot.

Dad - How do you think you've changed the most?

Elder Layton - Like right now, I really miss you guys. In college I didn't really care (laugh). I miss you guys a lot. It's not like I think about it a lot. I just feel different.

Curtis (Sean's 9 year old brother) - What has been the best experience on your mission?

Elder Layton - Your voice has changed. When we married 6 couples, baptized 1 and set dates with the others...in Pucallpa. Everyone wants to get married but it costs money - it's part of repentance so when we help them get married , it helps them progress. If we find families with those desires, we just teach them like normal.

Curtis - What is your favorite food?

Elder Layton French Fries - they're just fried potatoes in grease. They bring me closer to home. We eat rice every day. It's what people have.

Curtis - What have you learned on your mission?

Elder Layton - (Laugh) Tons of things. Mostly about the attributes of Jesus Christ. You can't be a good missionary and not live all of them. I try to live them all, but I don't live always. You have to have patience, charity, be obedient and diligent. All those attributes I've learned.

Curtis - Are you fluent in Spanish?

Elder Layton - Yes. I want to learn more languages when I get back. Maybe do an exchange program when I get back for 6 months. I'd like to learn Italian and go see my cousins in Italy.

Elder Layton (someone told him that Eric was getting pretty tall - maybe it was Eric) - I was looking at a picture of our family. He didn't look as tall as me. You're taller than me now?

Eric - Yes

Elder Layton - I have to beat you up when I get back then. Are you getting straight A's?

Eric - Yes, I got straight A's last quarter.

Elder Layton - What about this quarter?

Eric - Yeah, I think I'm getting straight A's this quarter too. I'm trying.

Elder Layton - Don't talk about it, be about it. That's the thing. Always do your very best in whatever you're doing.

Eric - What's the funniest thing that's happened to you?

Elder Layton - Well, it's probably not appropriate but one time there was a drunk guy walking naked down the street. Lots of funny things...I don't know. One time we were teaching a lesson and a monkey jumped on my arm.

Dad - Are you able to use your music very much?

Elder Layton - "Yeah, I played piano today for Church. They were happy. They don't usually get an Elder who plays."

Mom - Does it seem like you've been out for nearly one year?

Elder Layton - Time isn't the same. You just work really hard.

Elder Layton - (responding to another question about the food) Rice...they do it. I'll do it. For breakfast we just usually have this really hard bread - like rocks. That and Hace (pronounced ah-say) Tuna. We had this tamale and it had this really hot olive in the middle. They put olives in the middle of things. They hide them there.

Elder Layton - There's dogs everywhere. A lot of them have diseases and stuff. The cats here have personalities. If you scratch a cats head, they'll go crazy. Nobody pets them here.

Dad - What advice would you give Eric, Curtis and Briana as they prepare to serve missions?

Elder Layton - Honestly I should have done better. I knew the scriptures but not as well as I should have. You guys should be kind to your parents, be obedient, be grateful for what you have. People here have a really hard time. I want to help them out a lot of times, but I can't. My pension in Iquitos and her husband really ran the ward. The Bishop went inactive, the ward started late...it was supposed to start at 8:00 but we never started until 9:00. A lot of things they say aren't really right or they start late. You do your best. Lima's a little more how it's supposed to be. You have to have a lot of patience though. You want to just take over but you can't do that. You have to help them on the side. You should learn to love the scriptures. I've learned you don't need to read an entire book every time you sit down to read. But read every day. Pray morning and night.

Elder Layton - The family we stayed with in Iquitos (the Pension)...he didn't have a job. He was always doing paperwork and was at home. He just couldn't find anything. Lots of men just leave their families for 6-12 months at a time and go somewhere where they can find work. He wouldn't do that. He didn't want to leave them alone. Sometimes he would just say, "Elders, we don't have food to give to you today.

Elder Layton to Briana - I'm working really hard and trying to be a good example to you guys.

Dad - Gabe West got called on a 2 year temple mission today. He'll be working in the Portland, Oregon temple with his parents." (Gabe is a good friend of Sean's - 20 years old - confined to a wheelchair. He has spina bifida.)

Elder Layton - That's so great. I'm going to write him a letter tomorrow.

Mom - Is there anything you need?

Elder Layton - No, not really. We can buy pretty much anything we need here. Well, maybe some kind of anti-bacterial or anti-fungal spray. I have some mold or bacteria or something growing on me." (Mom semi-speechless again) I'm going to be in Lima forever. That's good though. There's some really cool things about being in Lima. Like now, I get to go to the temple every month. When I was here before, I couldn't go. I was sick then too. I was sick a lot at the beginning of my mission. I'm healthy now (except for the mold).

Dad - As you look forward to the second half of your mission, what would you like to accomplish that you haven't in the first half?

Elder Layton - Yeah, I want to memorize one scripture every day. I did it for awhile, but stopped. I started again yesterday. Really there's nothing new. I just want to continue to progress and do better in everything.

(At this point, he gave us a part of his first lesson in Spanish. He speaks it pretty well and fast. He said that they challenge people to baptism early, and let them set their own dates. They use their own agency.)

Dad - What are some of your favorite scriptures?

Elder Layton - I love the D&C and the Book of Mormon, especially where Christ appears to the Nephites. I love D&C 121.

Elder Layton - The hardest thing is to get people to come to Church.

Mom - How are the kids? Are the kids neat?

Elder Layton - Yeah

Mom - Do you ever play in primary anymore (early in his mission he played the piano in primary)?

Elder Layton - No

Mom - Is there any more bad stuff that you haven't told us?

Elder Layton - Like mold growing on your skin? No. I talk to hundreds of people every day. A lot of them shout "Gringo!" It's funny. I'm the only white person here. Everyone just stares at me like I'm some kind of freak.

We all had some personal moments, expressions of love were shared, feelings of appreciation and thanks were offered. He then said this to the kids primarily but to all of us.

Elder Layton - Work really, really hard in everything. If you're going to do something, do it all the way. Don't do it halfway.

A Christmas Day Highlight

Elders Layton and Little. Elder Little was a Zone Leader in Puente Piedra.

On Christmas day, missionaries all over the world are busy calling their families. We got to speak with Elder Layton for nearly one hour, although we were disconnected three times...but we got to have a good chat anyway. We asked a lot of questions. I don't remember who asked which questions, so I just show most of them as "family". Here are some of the highlights...

Elder Layton; "It's hard to talk English (He kept slipping back into Spanish throughout the call. He didn't have much of an accent though.). I don't think I've ever been happier. We have a ton of really good families to visit. It's hard because so many people aren't married - it's different from Lima. Most people don't have the papers they need to get married. We have to wait on papers from other areas. Right now we are waiting on papers for a guy who's from Iquitos. So we have to contact the other missionaries and wait.

The mission is probably the hardest thing I've ever done but it's so much fun. I think I'll be in Pucallpa for a long time. My companion's already been here for 4 months - everyone says they will just leave us here for a while. If I'm here in February and March, I'll be here for the rainy season. Everything floods. All the homes are built up on stilts. Every house has a boat and people just use their boats to get around. The missionaries have to use the bridges.

Our apartment is really nice. It's one of the nicest buildings in Pucallpa." Above is a picture of Avenida Saenz Pena, very close to where the Elder's apartment is.

Don: "What's been the hardest part of your mission so far?"

Elder Layton: "Finding the right people to teach. Lots of people will listen, but only a few will follow through with commitments. They'll listen, but they won't always come to Church or read. Also, I miss my family."

Don: "What's been the best part of your mission?"

Elder Layton: "That's hard, but the best part is when we're able to teach someone from the very start and watching them grow, keep commitments and gain testimonies...like Rosalina Pizarro, Liliana and Ibis Alessandra Moron Troncos. Liliana was the best investigator so far."

Elders Zepeda and Layton with Hermana Angelica & Friends While in Puente Piedra

Don: "What are your favorite parts of the culture?"

Elder Layton: "I don't know - everyone has parties all the time...they have lots of fireworks every weekend, like way more than the fourth of July. The parties go really late sometimes. Last weekend they had one from about 11:00 until 2:00. Our apartment has openings for windows with curtains on it...it keeps us up sometimes. Dancing...everyone's really good at dancing."

Don: "Do you ever run into people who don't speak Spanish - who only speak Quechua or Aymara?"

Elder Layton: "Yeah, no one really understands them, they're usually really old people. Lots of times their own families don't even understand them. It's hard to learn - it's not a written language."

Curtis: "That's so cool about your monkey".

Elder Layton: "Yeah, the monkey lives with the pension. He's still a baby. He's so cute. There's a girl - a daughter of the pension - about 23. She makes it clothes and it has it's own little hammock to sleep in. I always play with it when we come to eat. As soon as I get there, it knows me and comes and sits on my arm when I eat. It knows me. The girl reminds me of how Briana would treat the monkey."

Curtis: "Are you going to take it with you when you leave?"

Elder Layton: "No, it will stay here - it will bring joy for some other missionaries."

Family: "Do you think your mission will make their goal of 500 baptisms in December?"

Elder Layton: "No, I don't think we're going to make it. President kind of wrote us a letter - kind of called us to repentance."

Brenda: "Do you like your Mission President? What's he like?"

Elder Layton: "Our Mission President is the best, he's a great guy - the "best ever". He even lets us watch a movie once in a while. The last movie we saw was "Night At the Museum". They show it in Spanish, sometimes with English subtitles."

Briana: "Is the Church the same in Peru as it is here?"

Elder Layton: "Yes. It's the same. Our buildings are a little different, but really nice."

Family: "What's the strangest thing you've seen so far?"

Elder Layton: "Every day there are naked people (Curtis at this point said, "okay, I do NOT want to go to Peru on my mission!!" Briana said, "Gross"). I saw a guy kill like 20 chickens. He held them upside down by the feet and just kind of pulled on their necks until they popped. There are all kinds of weird bugs, parrots all over in the trees, all kinds of weird noises. The people wear a lot of the same clothes we do, but sometimes they just wear loin cloths". A loin cloth is at least better than going completely naked."

Family: "What do you normally do on your p-days?"

Elder Layton: "We plan weird things. We have to be with the zone until about 1:00 or 2:00. We play soccer all the time. Our pension does the laundry. We eat breakfasts and dinners with the pension. We have lunch with members and we get referrals."

Family: "What's your favorite food so far and what's the weirdest things you've eaten?

Elder Layton: "I love a lot of the food but in Ventanilla and Puente Piedra we ate a lot of Arroz con Pollo (chicken and rice). We had it all the time but there's some really good food. We have all kinds of fresh fruit and drinks made from fruit. There's a lady in our ward who let's us get fresh coconuts whenever we want.

We were supposed to have turtle day-before-yesterday, but she wasn't there and so we had fish instead. We've eaten a lot of alligator - it tastes kind of like chicken. We eat a lot of venison - there are a lot of deer in the jungle. The weirdest was pig stomach. It's so gross. Oh, and they always put chicken feet in soup. They're mostly cartilage - nasty."

Don: "What advice would you give Eric, Curtis and maybe Briana as they prepare for their missions?"

Elder Layton: "Study the scriptures."

Don: "That sounds good - anything else?"

Elder Layton: "Yeah, study the scriptures - memorize scriptures. Have good experiences you can share with other people - become good teachers."

Brenda: "Do you play the piano for your ward?"

Elder Layton: "I play all the hymns now. I played in Puente Piedra and Ventanilla, but they don't have a piano here. They have a keyboard, but it's broken. Two nights ago, we went to the Plaza and sang with the choir. It's funny...all the Churches had time to sing or whatever. The Catholic Church took about an hour right before us and just banged and whistled. We sang hymns. Everyone loved it. Most of the Churches just blasted rock music and rap. Christmas is different here. Everyone works."

Brenda: "Is it hot there?"

Elder Layton: "Yeah, it's hot every day. We take cold showers - we don't have hot water. It's really, really cold water."

Don: "What are some of the best things you've learned so far?"

Elder Layton: "Before I didn't really know how to learn. I learn a lot here."

Family: "Is there anything you need?"

Elder Layton: "Not really - I had to leave one of my suitcases in Lima when I came to the jungle - they only allow one suitcase on the plane. I'm going to have to leave a couple of things here when I leave. My suitcase is already overweight.

People send me letters and I really feel bad. I can't write back. It's really expensive here to send letters. We only get about 90 soles per month (Peru currency) and it costs about 10 soles just to send out one letter. Tell everyone that I love them. We have to take mototaxis to church - it's pretty far away. That costs money too."

Brenda: "Grandma and Grandpa told me to tell you that they love you."

Elder Layton: "I love them too. I love all of my family and friends."

Family: We love you, we miss you, we pray for you all the time and are very proud of you.

Elder Layton: "I miss you guys too.

Growing, Waiting, Joking and Even a Threat of Letter WithHolding

The Provo MTC is so great! They cram so many things into my head. I never actually thought that reading the scriptures would be exciting, but for some reason they are now. I'm almost through the Book of Mormon, and I want to read the New Testament after that.

During more than one of our family scripture studies, I knew this day would finally come. Hallelujah!

I think that I'm going to write a lot less after I'm in the field. Missionaries here have so many things to do and so little time. I barely can fit writing this into my schedule. Now I see why Jesse hasn't written anybody forever. It only means that he's working harder than I am right now. Jesse, Jacob, Logan, and Nate are all working hard. And I'm sure when Bryan gets our there he will be too ;).

Hmmmm...he thinks he's going to start writing "a lot less" after he arrives in Peru? So, naturally the question is this...are you allowed to un-hallelujah (threat of diminishing letters) after you've already hallelujahed (learning to love all things spiritual)? I'm not sure about that, but I bet a single letter from his mother will help set him straight.

So because of some regulation change that's why the visa process started so late. Elder Ridge and I will be here for 9 weeks for sure, and then we'll see from there. We may be reasigned* for a while until we get our visa's.

Whatever, It'll be an adventure. I'm hoping for Mesa Arizona a month or two ;) jk.

Elder Layton always has had more patience than I have had. It's no different now. I'm just chomping at the bit, ready for him to go. He's the one who's affected and is able to take it all in stride. This is definitley one of those times where the father needs to learn from the son.

Wherever he goes and whenever that is, we're just grateful that he has chosen to serve the Lord.