And I thought eastern Oregon was a desert. At least sage brush grows there and wild flowers bloom. Truly this photo is a desert landscape. This coastal desert region is one of the driest places on this earth. Snakes do not even live here. This was the sight of our mission president's seminar this year, Paraches Peru. Every 6 months we receive training from the area presidency that precides over 5 countries. (Peru, Columbia, Equador, Bolivia, and Venezuela). They receive their training from our church leaders in Salt Lake City. Luckily they found a hotel on the bay of Parachas for us to hold the seminar. We enjoyed palm trees and a beautiful bay. With a little water you can grow anything here.

The wind always blows here. Most days it blows at 40 mph. You can tell by my hair the wind is blowing. The other interesting thing is; there is cell service here, amazing!!!!

I had to laugh at this group of mission presidents taking pictures, they look just like a group of elders, just a bit older. Each day of the seminar we were instructed by Elder Pino, Elder Uceda and Elder Waddel. Each is a member of the first quorum of the seventy of the leadership of our church. Each has served as a mission president. Each day started at 8:30 am and finished at 7:00 pm with dinner and some entertainment.
These are all the wives that attended the seminar. We love to chat and share ideas when we get together.

One day was set aside for sight seeing around the area. This desert scape is called the candlelabra or some call it the tree of life. It has been here for centuries.

One evening we were treated to traditional dancing from Peru. Each province has a different type of dance. These youth are from a local church. The costumes from each region are always bright and beautiful. In the back row you will notice Elder Pino, Elder Waddel and Elder Uceda.

This dance originates from the Trujillo region of Peru.
These five mission presidents serve in differents parts of Lima. It is amazing that one city can have 5 different missions in it.

Here we are with Lynette's mission president. Presidente Calderon and his wife. We are so thankful he is Lynette's mission president. He and his wife are fabulous people and we know they keep an eye on Lynette. With a daughter serving a mission we understand a little better how parents feel about mission presidents and their wives.

Here are all the mission presidents serving from Peru. There are ten of us. In all there were twenty five mission presidents at the conference. They serve along side and with 3914 elders and sisters. What a sacred responsibility it is to teach, train, serve and love these young people.

Here is one parting photo of all who attended the conference.
We have met many wonderful people serving a mission. We learn from each other, share ideas and love and appreciate each other. Each one of them blesses our lives and makes our lives fuller. What a privilege it is to serve a mission for the Lord. Now it is back to our missionaries and helping them become the kind of person God wants them to become on their mission. We love these young people!

The first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, solemly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan.

One of the struggles missionaries face while serving in Peru is many couples are not married. Getting married here is a very expensive and complicated process. One way to reduce the cost of a marriage is for people to participate in community marriages.

This is a group of six couples that were recently married in Pucallpa Peru.

These elders were excited to attend this marriage ceremony because many of these couples will be baptized. God's plan of happiness is all about families. Every child needs the opportunity to be raised by both a mother and a father.After the marriages a special dinner was provided for all those who were married. Each couple was presented with a picture of the Lima Peru Temple. It is in the temple that families are sealed together for time and all eternity. These missionaries shared a special song with all who attended.
This couple has four children ages 19, 15, 10 and 1, they have never been married. This community wedding allowed them the opportunity to get married. These missionaries are serving in Pucallpa, Peru, Elder Hughes and Elder Uribe. After he completes his mission Elder Hughes would like to play football for Oregon State University. Elder Uribe is new to the mission from Columbia.

Hermana Lubomirsky is from Argentina and Hermana Miranda is from Columbia.

Hermana Grow is new to the mission, she is from the US. She is working hard to learn Spanish. Hermana Arias is her trainer. Each new missionary is put with an experienced missionary. The light of Christ radiates from Hermana Arias

This little guy attended the dinner with his mom and dad.

When we arrived at the airport the next morning for an 8:30 am flight. At the counter we were told our flight would not be departing until 3:00pm. The president loosened his tie took it off and told the assistents the weather was just right for a preparation day. So off we went to a village outside of Pucallpa called San Fransisco. The people there are known for their pottery and bead work. All these necklaces are made from seeds they have gathered. Some are hand painted and others are the natural color.

The tradition of making jewelry from seeds is pasted down from generation to generation.

The tool of choice in the jungle is the machette. Using a machette this man hand carved a canoe oar in one hour. He was so proud of his work when we asked if we could buy one.

Here he is making sure there are no slivers.

Look how big these pots are! Each has been hand made and is drying in the sun. The technique and skill these native people have developed is amazing. Also notice the palms that are used as roofing material. Amazingly they shed water up to five years before having to be replaced. This hand made oven is what the pottery is fired in.

Freshly made pots drying in the sun before they are all hand painted. The clay for the pots is gathered from a nearby river bank. All the paint is from plant material and the final glaze is melted sap from a tree that when fired hardens.

These pottery making skills have been pasted down from generation to generation.
It was a great preparation day!

Missionaries walk a lot of miles. In the heat of the day or the cool of the night their purpose is to share with all who will listen the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only by coming unto Christ that people can find true peace and joy in their lives. Elder Heath and Elder Quijano walking to an appointment in Tarapoto Peru.

Sister Winkel, Sister Speroni and Sister Reyes finishing their missions.

When a missionary is finishing their mission we take the departing group to the Lima Temple one last time. They have a final interview with the president and a departing dinner and testimony meeting. All say serving a mission was the best decision they have made so far in their lives.

This has been the largest group to leave the mission at one time.

The most recently organized unit of the church in the mission is in a town an hour and half outside of Iquitos, Peru. It has been one year since missionaries were first sent there. Over 100 people attend church each Sunday in this newly organized branch of the church. Here are the group of Elders who serve there.

Larry or Presidente Blunck always has two missionaries that travel with him to help with the training of the other missionaries. The two missionaries on the left are his two assistants and the one of the right is returning to the field to train a new missionary. They work hard to lighten the president's load so he can spend more time with the missionaries.

Since Nauta is the newest branch to be organized in the mission they don't have a building to meet in yet so they meet in this open air school. They will meet here for about 6 months until a building is remodeled to accomodate the members.

This is a group of youth that attended a fireside held in Nauta. The president spoke about patriarcal blessings. These youth have all been members a year or less but you would never know it by the strong testimonies they share.

Primary (or junior sunday school) is just getting started in Nauta and these young boys just learned about the importance of prayer. They proudly display their colored handout.

All the primary songs are new for these children and primary leaders. It was a delight to hear them all sing. There is no piano to play the music so the CDs of the primary songs are used to help them learn the songs.

This is the first Primary organized in Nauta. Since all the members are new and don't have any idea what Primary is, the missionary Elder Orellana is in charge of Primary. As the adults learn their responsibilities they will take over directing Primary. Missionaries serve whereever there is a need.

Here Elder Orellana welcomes everyone to primary and directs the singing time.

Our newest group of missionaries to enter the mission.

Missionaries find themselves by losing themselves in the work of the Lord. "Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family."

Elder Heath and Elder Quijana share a joyful moment with a family they were able to baptize. "The message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. Because of the restoration we understand God's purpose for families."

We have missionaries serving in a jungle city called Moyobama Peru. Moyobamba is the capital of the San Martin Region. It was the first city founded by the Spanish in the Peruvian Amazon Region. It is known as the orchid captial with over 3500 different varieties of orchids that grow there. Here are a few pictures of some of the plants found in this region. The climate is tropical so many of these plants are found in peoples yards.

This orchid is called a slipper orchid. Notice the shape.

Moyobamba is located in the mountains so the temperatures are milder than most jungle cities. Thus this climate is ideal to grow orchids. All the missionaries that serve here say it is the best place in the jungle to serve. The people are very friendly and climate is ideal. To get to this location the missionaries fly from Lima to Tarapoto and take a two hour taxi drive up into the mountains.

These next photos are for the benefit of our grandsons. We can never pass up taking a few pictures of the local wildlife to to capture their attention.

This boa snake is on the small size. We have seen skins that are over twenty feet long. There are two types of large snakes in Peru, boas and anacondas.

Luckily the missionaries are not allowed to go into the wilds of the jungle.

The big question is; are these crocodiles or are these alligators. You decide? Crocodiles have more pointed snouts. Alligators come with a flatter head and a rounded snout. The sign said alligators so we will take their word for it. These animals live in warm moist areas of the world like the amazon jungle and the everglades in the US.

This pair of macaw parrots were a beautiful sight.

Notice the star fruit this parrot is holding in it's claw. Star fruit grows in trees and is very acidic fruit. Parrots use their strong beaks and claws to help them climb and eat a variety of tropical fruits and nuts.