Letter from Jon June 30 2008

June 30, 2008
Dear Family,
This is Jon Rog out in the middle of nowhere in Peru...this week as you know I got transferred to Huancayo a province up high in the mountains of Peru...is so cold and I wear everything I have everyday. The sun feels good in afternoon but is frigid at night and in morning. Well I left Huanuco and went 5 hour by bus to Tarma one of the biggest mining toxic disaster towns. It is in the top 10 I think in the world for a disaster area and freezing cold. It is the trading place for every province in eastern Lima. I then went 3 more hours by crazy taxi on four spare tires through the mountains 70 miles an hour to Huancayo, then I found out my area was 2 and half more hours away! woof ! I went by taxi (Toyota corona) with 7 people. Yea! It was a carsick nightmare! It was so intense winding through the mountains. My new area is Juaja. It is a small town in mountains 2 hours from Huancayo. It’s just me and my comp Elder Carpio. I have had these companions so far; Birdsall in MTC, Echecary in Bayovar, Mamoni in Huanuco and now Carpio in Juaja. We are only elders in this city and just commute to other small towns its so crazy! We are teaching people in mud house sitting on bags of potatoes. Its nuts! We are so high I can see mountains in distance with glaciers. The first couple of days I had nosebleeds and was chucking in middle of night and couldn’t breathe... but my lungs are going to be as strong as steal. Juaja is 2 or 3 more thousand feet than Huanuco. Well like I said we are the only Elders in town and our ward is so weak. We have 900 registered members and only 50 came to church on Sunday. There are 63 active members. We have no bishop he is currently assisting the Catholic Church and only one counselor. It is so sad! We are so blessed in St. George. Elder Carpio and I are really going to have to work like it all depends on us, dad! hehe. Huancayo is like Las Vegas and our zone covers all of southern Nevada and Utah. It is like my DL is in St.George (conception) and I am in Pine Valley (Juaja) and I cover Veyo, Enterprise, Grass Valley, Central, Pinto or (Panchuscho, Huaya,and Mancaha) it’s nuts! I’m in the Mantaro Zone in Huancayo!
The other day we taught family in a mud house with one light bulb and we were sitting on bags of potatoes. Juaja is all farmland and we walk through fields with the sheep dogs and contact. There are so many cows and its just such an adventure! Im the only white dude in hundreds of miles. Both of my ZL’s are Latino, The president is Latino, companion is Latino and only 3 out of 20 missionaries are white in my zone yeah.... Well my pensionista cooks alright and I can tolerate potatoes. It is what we have everyday, rice and potatoes and little sauce. My comp is tiny but I think we will get along. He wants to work. The people just laugh at the gringo cause I have real lama binnis scarves. I don’t care how I look. Everybody’s hands are just pink cause the wind is so cold. My apartment is made out of bricks--- thank heavens! It is like a big ice chest but at least we don’t have to go outside at night and patch the areas were wind is coming through with a big fresh cow pie like everyone else! hehe. Its such an adventure. I love it! I’m really doing better with Spanish even though I still get frustrated. The other day in church I said a prayer and just couldn’t think of a word so I just said it in English hehe.. It is so nuts! It is like I’m in a movie! I can’t believe I’m walking with cows telling little old ladies and men to come to church. It is way cool! I’m taking photos and you can try to look up Juaja on the internet its know for the oldest Catholic church in Peru so that’s kind of cool . They have big Catholic parades on Sunday. That makes it hard for church but its fun seeing all the action with dudes holding big gold crosses and hundreds of ladies dressed like Virgin Mary. I really am in the thick of things so if I want to eat, or buy something, I’ve got to talk. I am learning to talk. It’s such a blessing to still stay close to all of you.I’ll be the kid walking through the mountains teaching the people in their colorful clothes. I guess my companion says there have only been 3 baptisms since Christmas here! Yikes! and not to many white boys hehe. I still get made fun of daily but I love it. Thanks so much for all the wonderful emails last week and this week and for the 10 commandments, and thank you Clint, Lish, Bood, Rick, and everyone thanks so much! I’m going to try to just be the bomb at Spanish in this change. I have a new goal of a 500 page Spanish book! Yeah! I’m going to do it. This gringo is going to be Latino yet! It sounds like everything is good back with family. I’m glad you had fun on trip mom and dad at the Roger’s reunion, and mom in Ohio. I love you all. It was hard to leave my last area. I sent journals about it last week. I loved that family. I am enjoying the work and working hard. I love you all and Jon Rog is just what you’d see out of National Geographic! Hehe! with lamas and everything! Oh P.S. I my way here I saw some Latinos in my zone. They all said how you doing? I saw my first zone leader Elder Rowhars and the missionaries said we hear you had 15 baptisms! It is fun when you have time and history in the mission and not just the new-confused kid.Love your son ,Elder Rogers in Juaja! Good luck finding that on map!hehe!muah!