WEEK 76: Lambayeque

March 20, 2020 

This last Sunday went really well, we brought Walter to the house of a member who lives close, and we had the sacrament there, and it was an awesome experience. We had big cups, we drank a lot of water, but it really showed the simplicity of the sacrament and how important it really is. 

But now things are getting pretty crazy, or things got crazy since the last time I wrote. We're in quarantine and we're already on day 5 of the quarantine, but we've been teaching our people over the phone, and we're calling so many people and we're actually staying really busy. We have to be in proselyting clothes all day, and we have the same schedule, we just call people instead of walk around. But we've found some really amazing people over the phone that we would  have never found if it wasn't for the quarantine, because some are old investigators, and others are random contacts on the phone from the elders before us. 

But Elder Lugo and I are chilling here, we were chilling for the first couple of days in shorts and soccer jerseys, but the Assistants called and burned us. Being inside all of the time is actually really terrible, we're already starting to go a little crazy. Every once in a while, Elder Lugo will make really loud bird sounds and other stuff like that, but we try to call the Zone a lot. It's always nice to call somebody and talk and joke around. We heard that in Utah there was a little earthquake and that the trumpet of Moroni fell or something like that, but it also sounds like the virus keep spreading. The cases of coronavirus here keep growing, but we're in the house happy that we have food and water. We have a lot of scriptures to read, and we're just trying to stay focused on our purpose here in the mission. We figured out how to do conference calls on our little flip phones, so we were calling, having a good time, but Elder Lugo wants me to kill a cockroach in the dormitorio, so I got to go. 

March 20, 2020

(Letter from the Mission Office)

Email to Missionary Parents

Sent by each mission president to the parents of their missionaries

Dear parents,

How grateful we are to serve with your sons and daughters in the Lord’s cause. We love these young women and young men as our own. Please know that with the coronavirus, or COVID-19, affecting people here and around the world, our highest priority right now continues to be your missionary’s personal health and safety.

To help ensure the missionaries’ continued physical and spiritual well-being, we are following the inspired and well-informed direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, our Area Presidency, and the Missionary Department. We also are instructing the missionaries in following local and national government guidelines and precautions, reminding them to:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay in their apartment whenever they themselves are sick. Avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces with household cleaning spray or wipes.
• Wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (which should always be done if their hands are visibly dirty), and, if soap and water are not readily available, to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

We are asking your missionary to contact us immediately if they feel sick so that we can involve health care professionals and our area medical advisers. If your missionary has chronic or critical health issues that we need to be aware of, we also invite you to reply to this email to make sure that we address any concerns. We understand very well that the current situation may be stressful and cause concerns for some of our missionaries and their families, but we will watch over your missionary carefully and will communicate with them often.

If it becomes necessary for our missionaries to only work from their apartments, we will provide additional funds for them to purchase food and supplies. We will help the missionaries prepare and make sure their needs are met.

These are challenging times and circumstances, but to us this also is an opportunity to continue sharing the gospel. If our missionaries are required to work primarily from their apartments, they will continue to focus on their missionary purpose by teaching using technology, studying the scriptures and Preach My Gospel, language learning, family history, online community service and other activities as needed. This is also a significant opportunity for missionaries to work closely with local Church leaders to reach out to new and returning members, families where some individuals are not yet members, and members with special ministering needs. Our missionaries will continue exercising in their rooms, to avoid contact from de outside. All of these activities will help them continue the Lord’s work, grow spiritually, and bless those in the communities they serve.

Going forward, we will continue to send updates to you as mission circumstances evolve. If your missionary is working from their apartment, they may communicate with you twice a week to share their status and experiences.

Please be assured that we are completely dedicated to keeping your missionary healthy and safe. And we are most grateful for our loving Heavenly Father’s supporting hand in caring for them. May he continue to abundantly bless you and your family, each and every missionary, and the people we have been called to serve.

With our greatest love and appreciation,

President and Sister Balderrama

March 22, 2020
(Letter from the Mission Office)

Dear parents of the missionaries in the Peru Chiclayo Mission,

It’s difficult to describe the feelings that I have due to what has been announced to us recently, in the next few days all foreign missionaries, that is, not from Peru, will have to return home in order to then be assigned to a mission within their own country to finish their mission. All this will happen in the next days, and possibly weeks, I have no way of explaining how Sister Balderrama and I feel knowing that our service, along with all of your children, will change dramatically. We can only tell you how much we love you and the missionaries and how privileged we have been to serve with each of them. Please stay calm for now, in the next few days we will notify you of the procedures and details. Tomorrow, we will ensure that your children have a way to contact you, if they do not, don’t worry because access to an international communication device is somewhat limited. Thank you.

Presidente y Hermana Balderrama