Conference in Peru!

Can I just say that I love General Conference? It is the best two weekends of the year. Seriously though, it always seems to exceed my expectations. This conference definitely didn´t fall short. All the sessions were broadcasted at the chapel, but I decided to watch Saturday´s sessions live on a computer in an internet cafe. Sunday I watched them in the chapel. I was worried about it because there are so many church words that I haven´t learned yet and I wanted to get everything I could out of it. I knew that if I prayed to the Lord and asked Him to help me understand at least the underlying theme and one little treasure from each talk, that He would help me. So I went to the chapel pen and paper in hand, ready for some translating. It was hard, but I got exactly what I asked for and more. On Sunday afternoon one of the American elders asked me if I wanted to watch it in English, and I ecstatically said Yes! I met this family in another ward that are from San Diego and we watched it together on a computer in the clerk´s office. The family is here for about a year for business. They just opened up a hotel nearby. The family was really excited to meet me and was surprised because they had seen me before and thought I was a sister missionary. It was wonderful just to be with the saints here watching conference. When they would welcome everyone around the world, it was weird to think that it was me they were talking about. I sat there thinking about the saints here. They are an amazing group of people. They sacrifice so much and expect nothing in return. They long for a temple near, but wait patiently. I can´t tell you how excited I was to learn about the new temple fund for those who can´t pay to go to the temple! Finally my friends will be able to go to the temple! One of the questions I get asked most is how far I am from the temple. It´s sometimes hard for me to answer that I´m always close to a temple. They look at me with wide eyes when I tell them I can walk there. All I can say to them is that I know that I´m lucky and I promise not to take it for granted. It took me living in another country to realize how lucky I truly am. Do you realize how lucky we are? Here the people have to travel to Lima to go to the temple. It´s a 24 hour bus ride and since they can´t afford the 1 hour flight, the bus is their only mode of transportation. Most of them can´t afford the bus either. We are so lucky. Even though I couldn´t understand a lot of Sunday´s session of conference, I was touched by the choir. They sang Consider the Lilies on Sunday morning when I was watching it in the chapel. The song seemed to take on a new meaning for me since I have been here. I was watching this little girl next to her mother while the choir sang. The mother carried her on her back in a blanket like most of the very poor women here. I was thinking about what their life must be like when the choir sang these lyrics:

Consider the sweet, tender children
Who must suffer on this earth.
The pains of all of them He carried
From the day of His birth.

How I have seen the sweet, tender children suffer here. In the clinic I see newborn babies with mothers that can´t read or write, and I have to wonder if they even have a place to go home to. No matter the sadness of their situation, I know that the Lord carries Him in His arms. The people here have blessed me with their strength and kindness. They do not resent me for having more than they. They only love, and that is the Peruano way.