We went to Juli this weekend. We passed through Puno so I got a couple of pictures of the cathedral in the main plaza and a tourist street. After driving through Juliaca this place looks like the garden of eden.

This is the Mission presidency on the main plaza in Juli. It was so good to see the aymara people again. It was a sad visit in a way though. It will probably be the last trip there. The church has closed the district there and have combined them with the Puno stake. I think it will be a good thing once they get used to it but I am so worried that the poor Aymara people will just get pushed aside. The poor district president was so close to tears I could barely look at him. The stake leaders were there in mass and seemed to overwhelm everybody. They will get better help and service than they were from the mission because it is so far.

Two of the sweetest sister missionaries ever to serve a mission. They are both going home today. Hermana Albruqueque and Hermana Chavez. We love them both so much. Hermana Chavez was in our district and we spent quite a bit of time with her. She has really grown to love Susan. She just hung onto her and cried today. If we can work it we may go to cochabamba to the temple and if we do we will be able to go with her. She is a Bolivian Missionary.

Sicuani

I have to explain the first picture. This is an electric motorcycle with an electric dump bed. they sell them down the road from our house. I'm trying to figure out how to get one home with me. They are really cool. I'm we need one now. I could drive and Susan could ride in the back.

The next selfie is in Sicuani. On our way back from Juliaca we stopped off for a stake conference there. We love Sicuani. Everybody treated us so well and were so friendly. Susan went back this week with Hermana Webster and Hermana Baldeon to do a Family history demonstration during a baptism. They had sixteen baptisms. They had eighteen but a grandmother locked two kids in so they couldn't get baptized. Yes this tree is real branches and leaves with a lot of pictures on it. It is all taped to the wall with packaging tape. Heart attack in Utah. The internet was down so it wasn't quite as effective as it could have been. It was kind of funny because someone changed the password for the church and then couldn't remember it. Best to stick with Pioneer 47.

I didn't get pictures but Thursday I got put in the Mission Presidency. Friday I was setting in the church in Puerto Maldonado doing recommends and priesthood advancement interviews. When I saw that line I was ready to cross the border and run for it. A few things go over my head so I hope I didn't tell some folks to keep  it up if they were confessing something really bad. We had zone conference and district conference and I ended speaking four times. People really love it when I speak because they love to hear me mess up in Spanish. Sometimes I get some real puzzled looks. The President really wants to make a stake there but they are not quite there. He is hoping in the next year.

Rosa

Susan friend Rosa who lives in the apartment one floor below. They cook and speak english and spanish together.

Mannequins

In case anyone has forgotten of or didn't know about the mannequin situation here we included some nice pictures here. Check out the nice family.

Juliaca

Our first trip to Juliaca. Don't let the pictures fool you, it is much worse than it shows. There is a garbage situation right now so there are mountains of garbage. The ex mayor got his throat slit in jail last week and things just aren't going to well. But in the food court in the mall we met a nice dog that was very friendly. In spite of all that the church is doing very well there. There is a good stake there and lots of good members. It is colder there so I kept my coat on most of the time. It is pretty close to 14,000 feet there.

These are the Bolivian Missionaries that I have found. Another group of new missionaries will come next week and eight of them are from Bolivia. It makes me feel like we did something all those years ago.