Posts From Perú

It is official, we have been in the mission one year now. When we arrvied we had no idea what we were getting into. The learning curve has been huge. Time has literally flown by. We can honestly say with 200 missionaires to take care of there has never been a dull moment. Our mission has a lot of diversity. We have 100 missionaries in Lima and a little over one hundred missionaries serving in in the jungle cities of Peru. Sometimes we feel like we live in two worlds. We are grateful for the opportunity we have to travel out of Lima as Lima is a huge city. Driving in Lima is quite the experience. Larry drives and Karen closes her eyes on many occasions. The goal when you drive here is to look for the street least traveled to avoid traffic. Karen descibes some intersections as being in a big knot. Cars are everywhere and nobody is getting anywhere. Going to the jungle is refreshing as it gives us a little tropical landscape. Over this past year Karen has flown to jungle cities 35 times and Larry has flown at least fifty times. Most people only dream of flying to the Amazon jungle regions once in their life time but we have flown there many times over this past year. Jungle cities are a real adventure and we never tire of riding in moto taxis. Each trip is a national geographic moment. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in these cities that is why the Lord has sent missionaires there.

This past year we have seen many miracles unfold in the lives of new church members and in the missionary lives as well. The gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to change peoples lives for the better. Our goal is to help each missionary become a man or women of God. We want them to return home with a desire to serve God, their fellow man and to raise a righteous family.

With every new experience in life there are always challenges. It is during these challenging times that we grow and learn the most. The defining moment is deciding if you will just give up or not. One principle we have taught the missionaries this past year is to look for solutions to the problems they face. If you have hope there are always solutions. When we lose hope that is when we give up.

Working with the missionaries is a fabulous experience and we never tire of being with them. They are great young people and it is a privilege for us to serve with them. We are humbled that we have been given this opportunity.

We want to thank our family and friends for your love and support. None of this would be possible without your help. We love you and miss all of you.

Presidente and Hermana Blunck