I think I mentioned a week or 2 ago that we had an investigator that lives on crutches.… But, if not, we have an investigator who lives on crutches because he had a steel rod put in his leg after an accident. He is a really cool guy. His name is E*. We had gone with him twice to church in a motokar, but we weren’t all that sure how he was going to be able to to go to church on his own. He doesn't have a lot of money because he can't really work very much with his limited mobility.
So, when we talked to him about going to church yesterday, he told us that he was going on his own and that we shouldn’t pass by for him. We asked if our mission leader should pass by for him (The one in the wheelchair) and he said no, he was going to walk. The church is about 2 km away (or for those of you more used to miles its a little more than a mile) which is pretty far. Especially when you’re on crutches. We were both pretty surprised that he was going to do that. Then, that night it started to rain really hard and it got really cold--colder than I have felt in my whole time here in Peru. When it gets cold here, people do not leave their houses because they are sure that they are going to get sick and die.
So, it was wet and really cold and we were somewhat worried about if he was going to be able to really walk that far. We were going to church with a different investigator and as we were on our way to church in the motokar, we passed by E* about 3/4 of the way. He was just going nice and steady on his way to church with a little bit of time still left before church was supposed to start and a lot of time before it would actually start (8:00=8:20 here). So he got there on time in the cold, water and mud all on his own. It was really one of the coolest things that I have seen.
Here, nobody even considers it an option to walk to church when they have two legs that work perfectly fine. A lot of people will use that as an excuse to say that they cannot go to church because they don’t have a moto or money to pay for one. E* didn’t have money either, but he still managed to get to church on time walking on his crutches for an hour. I think that is just an amazing thing. He has so much telling him that it is not possible—even his his culture saying that walking is not even an option, but he just did what he had to do to get there. Someone who really understands what the most important thing is and isn’t about to put up some excuses for not going or not being able to because simply that was his desire and he was willing to give a whole lot to be able to make it a reality.
After the 3rd hour [a typical church service lasts three hours, split into three meetings: Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School and Priesthood for men or Relief Society for women. Children and youth also have their own classes but everyone is together for Sacrament Meeting], he just walked on home. It's a great example for all of us. What is the most important thing for us? Are we really willing to sacrifice to get it done? Or, are we just going to give excuses? Sometimes I think we are more capable than we think and we don't achieve what we really can all because we are too willing to just throw in the towel instead of finding solutions and just making things work. It was really cool and I just thought that I would share that experience with you.
Other than that I'm all good and I'm happy to be here. Elder Limon only has 3 weeks from tomorrow--when he will be in his house eating cheesecake and Mexican food (beans and tortillas are constantly available in his house at all hours). Were working really hard and all is well. I love you guys and thanks for all that you do!!
Elder Peacock
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