Lima, Peru: First Impressions

Photos:
*View from our rooftop to the street in front and a nice park nearby
*Spires of the Lima temple visible from our rooftop
*Lima, Peru temple--we walk by it on our way to/from the Area Office
*South America Northwest Area Office--our home base
*Park in the median of Calle Melgarejo--one of the ways we can walk
*Alligator berm with plants in Calle Melgarejo
*A couple of parks near our apartment
*Beautiful (and interesting) flowers along the sidewalk near home

The ride to our apartment from the airport was about an hour. Our senior missionary hosts, the Cheneys, had purchased a little bread and fruit and cereal so we'd have something to eat if hungry, gave us their number and left us to unpack a little, and said they'd be back about 2:30 which is when we said we'd like them to take us to the Area Office where we will be based.

Our apartment is ground level with a small patio in the back with a few flowers, some shrubs and a small patch of grass. There are geraniums, petunias, marigolds, roses, snapdragons, bougainvillea and some plants I don't know. I think this will be a comfortable place for us. The neighborhood is quiet and there is a small park across the street. We were there about 30 minutes when our neighbor from upstairs came down to meet us. Narda is an amiable woman and wanted to welcome us and told us that if we need to know anything to please ask her. She is a few years older than we are, but we were very happy to have a Peruvian friend so quickly.

We unpacked a bit, had a snack, then napped for a couple hours. Then went to explore the Area Office and a little bit of La Molina, the part of Lima where we live. The Cheneys took us shopping for groceries and out to dinner with a few of the other senior missionary couples who are also serving here in Lima. I'm sure we will learn everyone's names eventually, but with sleep deprivation, travel fatigue, geographic confusion, and general overall newness (not to mention innate forgetfulness) it may take a bit to get all the names straight of the all the people in the Area Office.


We have been told that it is frequently overcast and foggy here in Lima. A couple that has been here about a year said they've seen the sun a handful of times this winter, but we've seen it three times in the first week! Lima is a beautiful city, at least the handful of places where we have been. It seems like the honking of vehicle horns never ceases, but thankfully even though we are only a block from a major road, a taller building between us and the road mostly deadens the noise.

Thursday, we decided to try to walk home from the Area Office and see how our navigation skills were. It is one thing to tell a taxi where to take us and another to find our own way there. We passed by the Lima LDS temple on our walk and will enjoy being near this beautiful House of the Lord.

As we have been oriented to our responsibilities here we are now aware that we have signed up for a very busy experience. I think there are about 30 months worth of work that we've got to do in the 18 allotted to us. The major focus of the area initiatives (community projects) are in child education and health. There are 44 projects that we need to do follow-up with and another 22 new ones for this year that are in some stage of implementation or planning. Next year will bring more. I don't think we are going to be bored, if that was ever a concern.

Saturday is our scheduled preparation day (P-day) and we finally had a chance to walk around the neighborhood to see what is available in the various shops and stores nearby. We also got to stroll through three parks in our neighborhood. Rob saw lots of flowers and is excited to see them grow and bloom further. This is the winter here, but we have found it quite comfortable. We can say it sure beats shoveling snow back home in the winter!