[Email dated 4.7.14]
Hey everyone!
So the title of this translated is "Strikes and Rumors of Strikes". So here in Perú every once in a while everyone decides to go on strike but it always varies in degree and sometimes it's not for real. On Monday night, we were with the Stake President in an FHE [Family Home Evening] and he told us that there was going to be a strike for the next 2 days and that it was going to be really dangerous and we wouldn’t be able to go out and a whole bunch of other stuff that got us pretty worried. Elder Limon and I had built it up in our minds to be (joking) that there would be a mob of people running through the town wielding machetes and throwing molotov cocktails all over the place.
In the morning we went out to check it out by going for a run. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. We talked to some people about it that day and they said it would be way worse the next day (Wednesday). That worried us because that's the day that we were going to Iquitos for our council. But, yet again, we woke up and went out for a run to check it out and it was all normal.
Later, when we got to the airport, our plane wasn't there. It showed up an hour later but during the time we were waiting we had gotten a couple of calls from President and the Assistant. They were a little worried and told us that they would have transportation waiting for us at the airport in Iquitos. We thought that was a little weird but figured that it was probably a time saving thing because we were not going to land in Iquitos until an hour after the council started.
We finally got to Iquitos and the gate to the airport was closed with a line of police officers in riot gear standing at the gate in a preventative way. When we got out there, it wasn't that crazy but the night before it must have been because there were broken bottles everywhere, with some burned tires in the streets with even more garbage than usual. Other than that, it was just that the motokaristas were charging 10x the usual rate. So that's basically all that it was, increased price for transport and some trash....
So we showed up to the council about an hour and a half late and just walked into the giant room with everyone just sitting there and talking already--it was kinda awkward. So since then, everyone keeps telling us that tomorrow the strike is going to be terrible but really that moment never comes and it probably never will. In all reality it's exactly what everyone always tells us here, if they don’t work that day they don't eat. So, their need to eat overpowers their desire to participate in a truly pointless strike against what I would suppose is the gas companies. Nobody really knows why there is supposed to be a strike but supposedly there like always should be one. There really is nothing to worry about as far as all of this goes. There is nothing that has happened and there is nothing that is going to happen so don’t worry mom. Also there is an attached picture of a moto and just know that I am right behind the one sitting backwards, just use your imagination... [I’m glad he clarified. I kept looking at the picture thinking, “I don’t think any of those young men are my son…”]
This weekend we had General Conference [see HERE] and I don't know if it was just me being in a different state of mind but it seemed like the best conference that I had ever seen [General Conference is every six months]. Especially the Saturday morning session (probably the least seen session too). Everything was so powerful and I think it helps that now when Seventies get up to speak I really keep paying more attention because now that I've met a Seventy, those guys are also on just on a whole other spiritual level. I really did love conference. I almost wish we hadn’t watched all of it because with the trip to Iquitos, conference and the "huelga" we almost didn’t get any time to just do missionary work. That's definitely the part that I don't like about being a Zone Leader, but I definitely love being here, I love exactly where I am and I know that this is exactly where I should be.
Love you guys and have a great week!!!!
Elder Peacock
No comments:
Post a Comment