Beder's Baptism

Dearest Famila,

We baptized a boy named Beder (8 years old) on Saturday. Awesome!!! It could have gone better. We started late because we didn´t have another witness....but other than that it was great. We sang and I bore my testimony at the end to Beder´s parents, both non-members, that the Church was true and that Beder´s decision would change his life. We´re going to baptize his parents now.

Elders Layton and Hoton. I lifted the pictures from this post from Elder Rhoton's family site. Hopefully, they won't want them back. They fit right in here.

A Beautiful Peruvian sunset in Pucallpa.
This week has been crazy. The Zone Leaders are preparing a wedding for the 31st now because they missed a appt. With the municipalidad. Yeah.....so people not married here is a problem so my comp and I are working right now to marry 9 people.

It´s crazy how the Lord´s helping us too. A couple days ago the stake president told us we can get financial help for the people to get married, which has always been the main problem for the people. They need to get a physical from a doctor and go to a notary. The great thing is our stake president told us members in the stake can help us out with those two things too. !!!!!!!

Btw, Those boots aren´t boots here because they´re not up to my knees. Yesterday....funny story, we were running between appointments, and it was dark out, dogs were chasing us, and I didn´t see a mud hole. The first step from foot came out of my shoe, the second step the other, so I was standing there in the mud in my socks...... people were laughing, but we got two great contacts out of it.

One of the streets of Pucallpa.

We randomly contacted an older couple the other day, bore our testimony´s and they came to church!!!! Oh man, I was so excited. That almost never happens. The Lord is really helping us.

LOVE,

Elder Layton

It Was Great and a Very Spiritual Experience For Me

This week has been the best! I'm grateful for my new comp. He's Columbiano, se llama Elder Rojas, and he's great. He's an awesome missionary. Before the mission he had long hair and played in a metal band. He's a hard worker and teaches well too.

(Above - The City of Pucallpa from the air, a city of about 250,000)

So before I tell you about all my investigators I'll talk about the Peru experience yeah? Well, I ate another fish which is HUGE called Doncella. Two dogs bit me this week... they just came out of nowhere. The river by Pucallpa is called the Ucayali. It's big. We have some investigators by the river so we'll be going back. We also went down there the other day and found some less active members we never knew existed. Haha, then we had an appointment with an hermana called Leyla but we couldn't get to her house. It took us forever to get into the area, climbing on whatever floats, but they haven't built bridges yet and the water's not deep enough for canoes. I don´t know if we'll be able to go in the canoes but there's always the puentes.

(The Ucayali River at Pucallpa)

One thing that I've found out that's key for the mission is that you have to love the people, yeah. But you have to take that love and turn it into diligence. It talks about diligence all over the Book of Mormon. I still haven't totally figured it out but I know I can work harder.

So my new Zone is cool. Elder Nathan Stewart is in my Zone. Ha. I was stoked for that. We were friends at BYU and he's from the Bolivia misison. My District leader's Elder Garnica, and it just so happens that his brother, Elder Garnica, is in our district. Haha, weird huh?

When Elder Stewart came he brought my letters from Lima, bless his soul. I want to thank the following: Mis Padres, Grandpadres, the Rau's, Elder Rau, and the Greene girls for great letters!!! Everyone else, I would love to hear from you. Oh and yes i got Bryan´s letter, I still haven't written back. I'll work on that today...

Okay I had the oportunity to baptize Cesar Jr. on Saturday and be part of the confirmation yesterday . He's a great kid, and he want to become a missionary just like me. When we were changing on Saturday I told him a lot of the same stuff Dad told me when I was about to be baptized. It was great and a very spiritual experience for me. His parents want to be married now for sure so we're going to get 'em married and baptized. One big Mormon family.

Also we have the best families. Gonzalo y Luz are getting married. Luz was a little discouraged yesterday because they don't have enough to be able to get married. We explained that they needed to pray with all their faith, and do everything possible. Of course they will. They always pray and always read their scriptures. We talked to Bishop and the ward is going to have an activity to raise some funds for them this week, so they can get married, and get wet on the 24th. We're hoping and praying everything can work out. Please pray for the investigators that need marriages here. It's a huge sacrifice for them, and prayers do make a difference. (Mosiah 27!!!)

I love all of you.

Elder Layton

The Mission is Easy When You Stop Caring About How Hard It Is

Buenos Dias!

Oh man this week was full of a lot of ups and downs.... I was able to baptize another lady on Saturday. She was golden. Just like Ibis, she flew through the lessons and everything. She has a personality that reminds me of Sister Rau, and she has two little kids (she doesn't have a husband) so of course everyone in the ward loves her. We had a good turnout at the baptism which was really good to see. At the baptism she bore her testimony and said that when we started teaching the lessons she felt so good inside, and that was the Lord telling her that this was right. That´s why we didn't have to do anything.

We had some baptism dates drop this week again which was sad to see. The biggest problem still is people needing to get married. We have so many people that believe what we say but aren't willing to change that part of their life. We´re hoping that we can help them get married on the sixth.

Sorry I can't write that much today. I love you all. I'll try to send letters as soon as I can. Eric I'm proud of you, that you're keeping busy with band. Tell Judd I say hi and work harder. Briana I love you. What college are you aplying for? Curtis... your fort sounds cool. Yeah, every Peruvian here came up to me and told me the next president was Barack Obama. I asked them why everyone was concerned about that, and it´s cause USA is powerful and stuff. It was just an eyeopener because I never worried about who would be the next Peruvian president. The United States is a big deal.

The mission is easy when you stop caring about how hard it is, and how much you have to give. I love it. The mission means everything to me....I'll probably say that a thousand times. I love you guys!

Love,

Elder Layton

PS I found if you just pretend like you're picking up a rock, all the dogs will run away. It´s the best strategy.

Peru Lima North Mission

This was sent to us through an independent and nameless source (thanks Andrea). We're fairly sure it is the Puente Piedra zone.

And this one is of two of the Elders in Elder Layton's zone who did not get the memo to NOT LOOK THE DOGS IN THE EYES (see previous post of October 14th)! Read the memo Elders, read the memo!

Finally, those of you who know Ricky Pullan probably already know this, but he will be receiving his call anyday. It's customary for friends and family to take wild stabs at where missionaries are going to go to, so here's my guess. It's either going to be to the Southern US (or some other place in the States - or Canada), Asia somewhere, Europe or South America. I'm also leaving open the possibility of either Africa or somewhere else. I will definitely go on the record that he will NOT be going to Antarctica, Communist China, Iran or the moon. I'm willing to go out on the limb like this. That's just how I am. Feel free to leave your guesses here in the comments section, but you cannot take any of the areas I have already covered.

Transferred to a sandy, "Small Window" (Ventanilla)

We didn't receive our regular Monday email, and suspected that Elder Layton had been transferred. This morning we did have one, confirming our suspicions. However, I checked "Google Earth" and it appears he's only a few miles from Puente Piedra. He's also only a few miles North of the mission home (which can also be seen in this image, about 2/3 the way down).

I guess I'll start about talking about my new area. Its called Ventanilla and it´s different than Puente Piedra. It´s full of enormous sandy hills... sortve like sand dunes but buttes and the houses are built up to the tops. The only way i can describe it is San Fransisco with sandy roads ( that are impossible to walk up by the way). A few days in we hiked to the top to find some refrences, and I turned around to see the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean! Nobody told me I was going to the beach. I think were going to check it out in an upcoming pday.

In Ventanilla I got my first real taste of open meat markets. I know what the insides of animals look like now.

Something missionaries might want to know before coming to Peru is that you shouldn´t look into the dogs eyes. I don´t know. Maybe that´s crazy but I´ve learned from personal experience if you just ignore them they leave you alone, but when your eyes meet theirs they start growling and get all territorial on you.... and you might have to end up kicking a dog in the face.

What else.... there´s english music everywhere and nobody but me knows what it´s saying! Most of the time they´re songs i know so it helps with homesickness. I´m not that homesick.

Okay enough about the area... it takes about 1 to 2 weeks for me to get a Dear Elder, 3 to 4 to get most letters. And 2 and a half months to get some letters, like I found out with a letter from Andrea that she wrote on July 23rd. I just got my first bunch of letters on Saturday. I got a few before but that´s when I got most of them. I feel so bad for not being able to write everyone. I will try to write everyone back eventually...but it might take a long time. It´s really expensive. If i wrote everyone back today it would take half my personal money for the month sooo.... I'll say a few words for the extended family:

Grandparents... I love you. I'm sorry I haven´t written, I hope you understand. But you guys rock.

I hope Luke and Kara are okay!!! I prayed for them...even though i already knew they made it out of the crash safely.

Christie... good for you, holding in there during those storms i love the sticky notes. I haven´t eaten little pigs not yet anyway.

Ricky... You´ll be the best missionary. I sent a letter for you in one of Andrea´s letters, so yeah.

Kelsey.... you rock.

To the rest of my awesome cousins – uncles – aunts ... I love you all and I loved everything you´ve sent me. Check my blog to see what´s going on and I´ll try to write you when I can.

It´s so busy here.

If I forgot anyone, lo siento (I'm sorry)!!!!

My companions are the best! I´m in another trio again but I´m kind´ve a papa cause my Companion Elder Zepeda is a district leader. We help him out a lot. He´s amazing because he knows how to listen to the Spirit. If there´s one thing I've learned from being here its that you shouldn't have a strategy of exactly how things need to be done. The most powerful thing is your testimony. Everything else comes after that. If anything, i would say just have a strategy of learning the gospel.

Okay I'm running out of time. I love you all and hope to hear from you. I´m working harder and learning more here than ever before. We taught a family last night that had 7 kids. The mom was a member but she´s been living with a boyfriend and hasn´t been to church in years. We don´t even know if they have the records in the ward. We´ll see. They were very receptive. The kids knew the gospel already, and knew more than the adults. I absolutely love the kids here. They pretty much just laugh at me because i´m white. Anyway... chao!

(Thanks to Andrea for sending this picture of Elder Layton, taken in our home just before he left for the MTC.)

By the way, if anyone wants to be notified of these posts as they are made, if you don't subsribe to the posts, simply let me know (include name and email address), and I'll add you to the mailing list.