Monday, March 23, 2020

Week 84

Dear Parents, 

We hope you are doing well.  First and foremost we want to thank you for the blessing of serving with your amazing sons and daughters.  We are blessed with amazing missionaries and we are so grateful.

The purpose of this email is to bring you up to date on available information regarding the PerĂº, Arequipa mission.  We had a conference call with our area presidency today and here is the official word.  As most of you know, the missionary department is preparing to send all missionaries to their home countries to either be reassigned and continue serving as a full time missionary or be released, depending on timing and individual circumstances.  How does this affect our mission?  In order to send missionaries home, we need to have 1. church approval, 2. government approval and 3. transportation.  As of today, March 22, 2020 we have church approval.  On March 15, the President of Peru declared a mandatory 15 day quarantine of all persons residing in Peru.  The mandatory quarantine includes the closing of the borders, so there are no domestic or international flights in or out of Peru.  The announced quarantine ends on March 30.  At that time, all of the emergency measures will end; unless extended or modified.  We presume that at the end of the quarantine period, the Peruvian government will assess the progress of the coronavirus in Peru and then decide on next steps.  Whether to end, extend or otherwise modify the quarantine.  At this point there is much speculation of the government's next steps, but at this stage there has not been any official decrees so we will wait to see how we go forward with the remaining 2 steps to get the missionaries home and don’t anticipate anyone being able to return before March 31.  In the meantime, we are doing what we can to facilitate the missionaries returning to their home country.  For those from the United States, this includes registering each person with the U.S. Embassy in Lima, which we have done.  For those of you in other countries, if you are aware of anything your government is doing to facilitate the return home, please let us know.  

We love our missionaries!  We will go forward with faith knowing the Lord will watch over these amazing missionaries.  We have tried to stay in contact everyday with the missionaries during this quarantine. The mandatory quarantine requires that everyone is to stay at home, except for essential services, including those in the grocery, medical, pharmaceutical and banking industry.  Those activities remain open, and residents are permitted to leave their homes to go shopping for food, medicines, banking or medical care.  The reports we are receiving around the mission is that stores are being stocked, and restocked, so food and necessities are available.   As a further precaution, we have funded, and instructed the missionaries to purchase and have on hand a 14 day supply of water, medicine and food in case of emergency (frankly, this is more in case of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake).  So, everyone seems to be doing fine, maybe a little bored but definitely being blessed!  

In the meantime, we continue to be an obedient mission, obeying the laws of the land where we serve.  Supporting the government's efforts to stem the tide of the coronavirus.   We are working hard from our homes to reach out to investigators, recent converts, and members, and doing what we can while we patiently wait for the time when we may more fully return to our callings of inviting all to come unto Christ.

Thank you for your love, support and prayers.
Presidente and Hermana Marsh
Week 83

Normal week, not much happened just the same old.

We have two fechas for this Saturday so that should be cool. Hopefully it all works out, there's also these 2 kids whose parents want us to baptize them so that'll probs happen the week after.

Besides that nothing really.
the diet is going well, I lost a total of 11 pounds in the last 3 weeks so that's pretty good lol. I'm still fat though...give me another 6 weeks and I'll be fine lmao.

Here's the pics from the beach, they're not very cool. The beach is called Boca del Rio (only say that cause I know Trish wants to know)

Peace
elder mortenson
Week 82

Chill week. nothing new really haha just the same old stuff. Another week down is all.

Today we went to the beach against my will cause I was literally on the beach for 7 months, but ya it was boring. Wasted my pday is all lolol. I also don't have any pics rn.

10 week countdown starts today! so that's sick!

I have been running almost every day and dieting super hard.  I have already lost like at least 7 pounds. My suit pants FINALLY almost fit again lol. They used to be so fetching tight I could hardly button them, but now they are normal pants basically so I know I've made a good amount of progress hahaha. Hopefully, Blake is still on his diet???

Happy Marzo

Peace
elder mortenson


Week 80


Normal week basically

The couple we were teaching got married on Friday so that's cool. I say "were" cause I am no longer teaching them hahah. They are probs gonna get baptized this Saturday so I am counting it as my baptisms cause I taught them everything lol.

We had changes today and I just got sent even more south (didn't know it was possible) to another ward and stake here in Tacna. I'm now like a 45 min drive from Chile. My old area is like a 15 min drive away and my new comp is Elder Salinas, he's from Saratoga Springs. He has 16 months in the mish. I am pretty disappointed and surprised I got taken out of my last area. The area was cool and my comp was sick. But ya what can ya do? 

Not much else has happened. Got some more pics though lol

Peace
elder mortenson

Week 79

chill week.

Nothing new really. We had zone conference on Friday which was chill. First time in a while I didn't have to travel hours to get to it so that's dope.

The couple we are teaching gets married this Friday so that is cool. Hopefully they can get baptized on Saturday.

Today we played paintball which was sick. I only have a couple pics rn cause they haven't sent me the rest yet so I'll send them next week probs.

But ya anyways that's about it hahaha.

Peace
elder mortenson
Week 78

Chill week haha

Not a ton happened as per the usual for the most part

We are teaching a couple that has a date to get married on the 14th so it will be sick if they actually do get married. 

Today we went to this place thinking it was gonna be cool cause everyone said it had cool petroglyphs and stuff. We went and it didn't really have anything. It had petroglyphs but not that many hahaha and it had a rope bridge. That's about it.  I took some boring pics.

That's about it hahaha

Peace
elder mortenson


The last pic is with a burnt dog lmao
Week77

Chill week. A couple of things actually happened lol

On Friday we baptized a guy with one leg. Well, actually his brother-in-law did. He only had to dunk him twice hahaha. But ya it was chill.

Saturday I hit 18 months, so that's sick. I burned a pair of pants to celebrate. It was lit.

Besides that nothing else really happened hahahahaha. but ya here are pics

Peace
elder mortenson