what a time to be alive!: QUILLABAMBA

Hola Hermana Clark, comin' atcha from Quillabamba Peru. WHAAAAT: Crazy.

On Tuesday morning, I caught a plane to Cusco from Lima. I'll sure love Lima for the rest of my life, because there I found some pretty awesome lifelong pals that I will NEVER forget.

We arrived in the morning and president Harbertson and Hermana Harbertson picked us up. We traveled with them to Cristo Blanco to take pics, and HOLY WOW Cusco is BONITA. We went to the Plaza de Armas, a most beutiful square filled with lots of cool shops, and all I could think was, "Wow, I can't wait to explore here with my Dad 16 months, and be able to translate for him." Woah. SO RAD.

We found out our comps on Wednesday. and we walked into the church, and President had all the new missionaries sit on the front row, and the trainers were behind us (the missionaries who will teach us to be the bomb out here in the field) and then one by one we stood up and found out our assignment. "Hermana Clark will be serving in Quillabamba" I can hear it now. My companion, Hermana Celan then rushed up and gave me hug. I loved her from the very start, she is so so sweet! And she speaks 0 English. No really, the only phrase she knows is Hello, my name is Hermana Celan.

So we arrived to Quillabamba on thursday. The drive here was awful, Mom would have gotten sick 27 times, the road was so windy, the worst. But, we made it, and I didn't throw up. YES. We live on the 5th floor in a one room apartment, a bunk bed with a wood rod to hang our dresses, and a bathroom. The shower has no warm water, so I'm pro at the 2 minute shower now. But, its really hot here too, so that helps.

We have a pension family, we go to their house for every meal, but this week our pension was in cusco, so we cooked for ourselves using whatever we could find in her house for a few days. One morming, I ate quinoa and a tomato for breakfast. I liked neither of those before the mish. But, you know what? I'll eat anything. Now our pension is back, and she is the BEST. One of my fave things she makes is fried plantain, i'm obsessed with it, it's just so good!

We visited a lot of people this week, and a lot of people have nothing. So many dirt floors, so many nasty stray dogs, yet so many hearts that are open. We visit a lot of less-active members, because I'd say like 75% of the branch doesn't attend church, maybe 80%. President Sanchez is the Branch President, and I can understand about 1 of every 1000 words that he says. Which reminds me, I am the only person in this town who can speak English. Well, me and one other Elder, but he has 3 weeks left, and so he's basically Latino.

I have cried every day since I arrived in Quillabamba. Every day without fail. The mission is hard. Every night when I go to bed, I am so happy that I can't stop smiling, and every morning, I just cry my eyes out, because it's just so hard sometimes, and my heart aches, and my spanish is MUY MAL. The mish is a rollercoaster that makes you a little nauseous, but get in line again and again to ride it, because it's just so darned fun. If that makes sense.

One evening we were walking down the middle of a vacant road, the air was just a little smokey smelling, and the sun was just starting to go down. A mototaxi had just passed, and we had just walked out of a dirt house of sweet N, a woman who wants to be baptized. The mountains surrounding Quillabamba look fake. No really, is a big backdrop? They are so beautiful. And I kicked a rock and watched it down the road, with the biggest smile on my face, and said to my comp, "Mi vida es muy chevere", or "my life is really cool". Really, it is. I have so much to be grateful for. Like for example, The kids in my pension family taught me all the cuss words in spanish. They''re looking out for the people of Peru, and preventing future humiliating experiences for me. Thank you pension family. Or those mountains every day, WOWAZOWA: Or the fact that I have the best shoes, and my feet never hurt, thanks to my Momma (and shoutout to Sole-Solutions, hehe). Or how my companion says to me every day, "Hermana Clark, jeew ahhr dee buhm" (I taught her how to say "You are the bomb", and that's the only other phrase she knows.) It's the best, haha :) Or how I have the opportunity to play piano, because I am in actuality the ONLY piano player in Quillabamba. Pretty cool, eh? And how I have met so many cute people already, and this Sunday as I accompanied the congregation on the piano, while we were singing, "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy" in spanish, little 2 year old E came up and kissed my hand as I played, it made my heart melt.

I have so much to be grateful for, even when I feel pretty crummy.

I am grateful for my family every day, they are mi fuerza.

I LOVE PERU, and I love you all.

La iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimas Dias es verdadera. Yo se que con todo mi corazon.

Lotsa love all the way from Quillabamba!