Meet Emily Raquel

This is the new born daughter of a family I lived with in my last area in Peru. I only lived with them for 6 weeks, but we got really close. This is the family that helped us when Brady and I were mugged in Peru last year. Well, they recently had another daughter and named her Emily Raquel. Emily is after the sister missionary that was in the area before me, Raquel is after me!!! Isn't that so crazy? I have a little Peruvian girl named after me!

Joy in the Journey

Thank you for all those who donated that helped make a difference to so many people in Peru, and brought us so much Joy in the Journey.

Peru

Hello Everyone! We are back from Peru! I know I promised to update my blog while I was in Peru, but it was pretty busy and it didn't go quite as we planned.

We went to Lima and toured the city sites, which was awesome! We got to see some great friends, members, converts, etc. Brady loved the people just like I do. Brady did great with the food, and he loved Inca Kola (the "famous" Peruvian soda pop). We visited tons of families and gave them clothes and money that we collected from friends, family, ward members, and work people. It was such an awesome experience.

But, our awesome trip came to an abrupt and disappointing end. The last day in Lima, we were robbed at gunpoint. We were in an area that I considered safe, it was in the middle of the day, and there were even kids playing in the street. We were right across the street from the family's house where I used to live. We stopped to put the map away, and two guys came up on us. They hit Brady in the head with a gun and got away with our video camera. It was a terrifying experience! Luckily Brady only had to get two stitches. We are so thankful that we are both okay and that it wasn't worse. But, after that, we were too scared to keep traveling and we got the first flight home that we could. I have never been so grateful to be in the US again. And so grateful that Brady is okay. I can't stop looking at him and hugging him! I love him so much!

Even though it ended horribly, we really did have a wonderful time. Words just can't describe the joy I felt to see my converts again...still strong and faithful in the church! I was so incredibly grateful to see them again!

Peru or Bust... or should I say Barf?

Incase you haven't heard, Brady and I are going to PERU!!! I'm so excited I can't even stand it!It's been over two years since I've been home and I'm so excited to go back and visit. So I thought it would be a good idea to give Brady a little taste of Peruvian food, so he knew what to expect. So last night we went to eat at a Peruvian restaurant. Brady ordered Tallerines Saltado- which is sauteed chicken, tomatoes, and onions over pasta- pretty normal. And he liked it. When we were ordering he jokingly said, "I'm going to get this one" and pointed to something that looked like this.....

But, he had no idea that I was going to order that dish. It's called aji de gallina- and is one of my favorite Peruvian dishes. It's shredded chicken in a creamy garlic and peanut sauce. It's really not as bad as it looks.

Brady really liked his meal, but the more he watched me eating my meal, the more he got grossed out. I talked him into trying it, hoping that he would see that it's really not as bad as it looks. Boy, what a mistake! He was totally sicked out once he tasted it, he said it just looked so much like puke, that it didn't matter what it tasted like. The more he talked about puke, the more I wanted to puke. So we both got sicked out. We both really enjoyed our meals, but we left completely discusted and grossed out. And the two gay guys that sat across from us and were checking out Brady the whole time didn't help settle our stomaches either!But, at least Brady knows what he's in for when we go to Peru.