From Peru

Elder Hostetler Update

The following photos arrived yesterday. They were addressed to:

"Shauna Hotstuff"

Each of these photos is "So Andrew" You can almost hear what was being said at the time of each photo being taken.

Above is Elder Hostetler, President Mora, and Elder Giles. Andrew absolutely loves President Mora and we hope the feeling is mutual. On the back of this photo, he stated that he and Elder Giles were acting as the "President's Bodyguards"Written on the back..... "This is how we roll in the office"
Note the aviator sunglasses. I am certain these are in honor of Ron, aka Papa Smurf.
Andrew spent the last few months as an office Elder. While he was "rolling" in the office, he learned a lot and regained some of his strength and health. He is now "rolling" out in the field.
If this is not "So Andrew"...nothing is. He is always at the center of a good time. More importantly, he is always making sure everyone around him is having a good time.

On the back, he wrote, "During the riots, we have to stay in and enjoy ourselves. When there are riots it is not safe for us to go out." (Riots is not a word that a mother of a missionary cares to hear or read in association with her son's missionary service!!!)

This photo also reminded me of a night about 4 years ago....
Andrew was working at Albertsons and would bring home the meat that expired at midnight for his grilling adventures. (He concocted some mean marinades for those steaks.)

One night around 3 am, I woke up and thought I smelled someone grilling steaks...In a split second I knew the aroma was real! Andrew was out on the patio grilling steaks for the crowd of friends who were playing football in our pool...yes, I said 3 am.

The reality is, I miss this kid...even the middle of the night adventures (sometimes) I am also extremely proud of him.
This week, another reality hit..... Andrew returns in 3 MONTHS!!!! (Yes, Jeffrey, I know that means you and Alison get married in 3 MONTHS!!!!)

Packages In Peru

The Packages Are There!

Every day, the Care Packages are arriving. The mail to Peru is faster than the mail from FL to UT...seriously! As best I can tell, the packages arrive in less than 1 week.

This has been (is) an amazing project to coordinate. 41 Missionaries are receiving incredible Care Packages. For most of them, this is the first and only mail they will receive the entire time they serve as a Missionary.

For more details, read here

Andrew called last night to give us a report. Below are a few of the experiences he had this week.

Here are a few experiences Andrew reported last night:

1) Andrew Called an Elder to ask for his ID for Customs so he could pick up a package for him. The Elder told Andrew there must have been a mistake because he does not get mail. Andrew assured him there was a package there with his name on it and there was no mistake.

2) One of the Elders received a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. He went around sharing them saying these are from the very first package I have ever received in the mail.

Christmas Care Packages

On The Way To Peru....

The Christmas Service Project for 10 Missionaries in The Peru Trujillo LDS Mission turned in to a project for 41 Missionaries. It has been an incredible experience. Help and support from so many directions made this project a huge success. 41 Missionaries from South and Central America who normally recieve no mail the entire 2 years they serve will receive Christmas Care Packages prepared for and addressed specifically for them.

I was not the person you wanted to be behind in line at the Post Office last week....

My Post Office Experience....

Last Thursday afternoon, I stopped by the local Wellington Post Office to get Customs Forms for the 35 Packages I had ready to mail to Peru. The place was quiet with no one in line. The Postal Workers told me this was generally the slow time of day while people were picking up their children from school. I collected the customs forms and made a note to return the following day around the same time.

The next afternoon, after packing 3 large black trash bags with all the packages, I was ready to visit the Post Office. I had Megan come with me so she could stand in line while I went back and forth to the car to retrieve the bags. The bags were sooooo heavy, I dragged them along, barely able to lift them.

You can imagine the stares I was getting as I continued to return with more items for shipping. I was definitely not the one you wanted to be behind in line.

Unlike the previous day, the line was very long and there was only ONE line. The computers had been down all day and one computer had just come back on line. There was one line with two workers behind the counter doing the best they could under the circumstances. With about 20 people in front of me in line, I waited about 30 minutes, determined not to leave until this job was done.

As I waited in line, scooting the bags full of packages along, I did not dare look behind me or make eye contact with anyone in line. I knew they would all like for me to leave the line.

At one point, a man came to me and said, you know you can ship this all on-line? I said, yes, if the packages were domestic, I would. He yelled back to people in the long line.... her packages are all International....!!!!!!!

I was being murmured about in Chinese and Spanish along with who knows how many other languages and adjectives were used toward me. I am sure I was the topic of conversation at dinner that night.

Finally, I get to the counter, Boxes and customs forms ready. I told the Postal Workers (who are wonderful women with cheerful attitudes) that I did not want to look behind me for fear of the daggers being shot my way at that point.

Thirty Five packages..... Customs Forms...... all mailed in 12 minutes once I reached the counter. Hooray for being organized and ready when it was my turn at the counter.....

Hooray for The Wellington Post Office Branch.

So many people made this project possible, Preparing packages, Mailing Packages, Donating money for shipping ,asking what more they could do. It was simply amazing.

Thank you to so m any helping hands.

This was a Christmas Miracle at every stage!