Week 19- Las Palmeras, Lima, Peru: Second Week in Peru

Hello everybody! 

This week has been great. One of our investigators, a 13 year old named Wilmer, passed the baptismal interview and if all goes well, he'll get baptised this week. We also had a lot of investigators and less actives at church this Sunday, it was awesome. This next week Elder Guerrero and I will do a lot of finding (door knocking) so that we can find more famillies and individuals into the church and we already have a couple lesson set, it should be great. Also, the food is still awesome; I've eaten Lomo Saltado twice this week and Aji de Pollo also. You should all try Peruvian food, it's DELICIOUS.

Last saturday, Elder Quentin L Cook visited our mission and gave a talk. It was also awesome because I got to see Elder Clarke, my first companion from the MTC. It was good to see he was still as happy as he always is. Elder Cook's talk directed at true conversion and the difficulty to acheive that lasting inseperable bond to the Lord. It reminded me of something Jeffrey R Holland said:

"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?

You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience.Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, 'Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.'"

I love you all!

Obedience brings blessings; exact obedience brings miracles.

Miracles are a result of faith; obedience is faith

True faith necessitates exact obedience and will bring miracles 

Elder Jeff Bromley II

   A pensionista cooking Lomo Saltado

Lima at night

Angels Trumpet flowers (for Mom)

The view out of a tiny window

With Elder Mitchell (from Oregon)

Week 18- Las Palmeras, Lima, Peru: Culture Shock

Perú is awesome. It is completely different here than from the U.S. but it's all great. Our apartment is above a small restaurant and is a lot different than the apartement I had just moved into in Eugene Oregon. The floor is all concrete and there's no hot water, which I forgot was a possibilty until my first shower here. There's a switch on the wall by the shower that raises the temperature from 55ish degrees to 65ish degrees; I'm very grateful for that switch. 

There are also a ton of dogs here. There are some that have their own spots as territory and some that walk around. The other day my companion and I saw a jauría of dogs, or a dog pack. They just walked down the street like it was no big deal in a group of 10. Also there are certain times of the day when all of the dogs are asleep. It's pretty funny though because the nicer and tamer dogs usually wear little sweaters or jackets. 

I figured out how authentic my mom's cooking actually is when I ate homemade Peruvian food here. The Aji de Gallina and Lomo Saltado tastes exactly the same and it's delicious. The rice here is even cooked the same.

The poeople here are all super nice and I'm getting used to their accents. Peruvians apparently have the British accent of the Spanish world. 

I'll let all of you know how things keep going. I love and miss you all! 

Helamán 5

Elder Jeff Bromley II

Elder Bromley y Elder Guerrero

"King Kong" cake

Elder Guerrero & Elder Bromley eating completos

Week 17- Lima, Peru: ¡Perú!

¡Perú!

So last friday during our zone training meeting my mission president pulled me aside and told me that I had gotten my visa and that I was leaving monday morning. I got up at 3:30 a.m. and flew from Eugene to Salt Lake City, to Atlanta, and then to Lima. By the time I got here it was already midnight, but it didn't seem that way because everyone was awake still and driving around. My mom always said how crazy the drivers are here but now I understand. I've never heard so many car horns in my life. 

I met my new companion, Eder Guerrero. He is a native Peruvian and doesn't speak much English at all. He's in charge of helping y Spansh and I'm in charge of helping his English. I feel bad because English is so dumb, it took a while to explain how to pronounce woman as opposed to women, it really doesn't make sense.

Anyways, Im getting used to the Peruvian accent now and I love it here. I'm serving in Las Palmeras, Lima right now and I will send pictures. I will keep you all posted on what goes on down here. 

On the plane ride down here I read a scripture that I think fits my situation.

"Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land."

I love and miss you all! 

Elder Jeff Bromley II

The view from Jeff's apartment

Elder Bromley y Elder Guerrero 

Lima

Week 17- Eugene, Oregon: Photos

Laura's Baptism

GO DUCKS!!!

UPDATE: VISA RECEIVED!! FINALLY HEADED TO PERU!!!

EXCITING NEWS!!!

Jeffrey's visa has finally been received! His travel has been booked- he will depart from Eugene for Lima, Peru via Los Angeles this coming Monday, August 12!!

We do not yet know what town Jeffrey will be serving in when he arrives or what his new address or P-Day will be. I will update this blog with new information as I receive it.

Can't wait to hear about his new adventures in PERU!!!

Week 16- Eugene, Oregon: We're All Here Cause We're Not All There...

Hello All!

So this week has been very long but enjoyable. I just remembered right now that I actually moved apartments again a couple days ago (my address is the same - it's the mission office's). But this is the first time since my mission started that I have lived in an apartment with just one other Elder. It's really quiet sometimes but it's definitely a good break from the usual ambience that comes along with a bunch of 19-20 year-olds. That being said, we aren't in the apartment all too often, and I will be in the apartment even less now that I'm about to finish my 12 weeks of training thus ending my hour of daily training. But that's ok with me, I like going out and talking with people. I have also taken it upon myself to find nice small rocks and then drawing on them to make prayer rocks for our investigators and recent converts. They like it and I like it so it's a good trade off. Once I figure out how to work these library computers I'll start sending pictures back home.

Anyways, in this past week I've just started to notice how awesome Nephi is. He really is a great example to us because of how relatable his story is to us. Like all people, he had to pray to gain faith that what his father was prophesying was true (1 Nephi 2:16) and then he connected the dots to do what God wanted him to do just from that small seed of faith. Paraphrasing what he said in 1 Nephi 11:17, we can recognize that "Nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things, but I know that God loves His children." That one small light that he had drove him to be one of the most diligent servants the Lord has ever had. And even then, he was very humble. While in the MTC, one of the Elders from my district gave me lyrics to a song, "I Love the Lord," which is based of off the psalm of Nephi (2 Nephi 4). It shows that even spiritual giants go through hardship and have their faults, what makes them different, however, is how the react and then act to these situations. Instead of slowing down Nephi shouts, "Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin! Rejoice, my heart! And let me praise again."

May we all try to have that perfect brightness of hope this week.

I love you all!