Hey Family!!
Things here are moving along. Its picking up a little. The language is starting to fly.. I have been blessed so much to be able to pick it up as fast as i have. I study hard every day and have a long way to go but its good to see some success. I understand a lot when people talk.. Not quite everything. But at times very close.. Its
crazy how fast it comes when you live in the culture.. Speaking of the culture im adjusting just fine.. Its crazy how much different it is.. All the houses here in my area are old brick houses, some dirt floors, old and run down.. Its pretty poor here.. Humbling for sure.. I had to come to another continent to realize how much i really have..
Anyway my comp is pretty good. He is a hard worker which i love.. Because i may not know a lot but there is one thing i do know how to do and that is work! I had my first baptism this last saturday! It was a good first experience.. He was 84 and loves the church and studying the scriptures.. When we would teach him and visit him he could talk for days if you didn´t stop him.. Its hilarious.. And when he got confirmed Sunday he went up and had to shake everyone's hand on the stand and say with a loud voice oh gracias hermano, gracias!! It was hilarious.. Then he went to the stand and was aobut to procced to give a talk when the bishop grabbed him and pulled him over to the chair where he sat to be confirmed.. haha good guy!! He is a very loving man though and loves the gospel.. We also have two baptisms this week and 2 the week after, our goal is 5 this month. Its good to have some success. But most of all the most important thing that i have learned over these two weeks is that baptisms are awesome and very important. But more importantly is to watch peoples lives change as we teach them and they apply the gospel to their lives and problems they may be having.. Of course its good to have baptisms, and here its a lot about numbers, how many baptisms, how many lessons, how many contacts, how many new investigadors, how many challenges and more.. But what
really counts is watching their lives change! Thats one thing that i have promised myself i will stay focused on, cause if i do that the baptisms and numbers will come! I have a lot to learn in the lessons and scriptures too, but i will put in the time and pray alot.. altogether its getting better.. Its a little struggle right now..If it
weren´t hard at first i wouldnt really know the joy that it will bring later on, and at times these past few weeks.
Anyway, the food is so much better. Still tons of rice but i am adjusting just fine. much better than the mtc.. When you guys go eat at a peruvian restaurant you have to have rice and some sort of meat and a crazy juice. Cause thats every meal for me. haha!! I am running every couple days with my comp and trying to exercise.., ha i thought i was out of shape but when i run with him i feel in pretty good shape.. Its good to get to walk around all the time too..
In this mission there are about 170 missionarys, of which about 20 percent are North Americans.. I didn't know there were that few.. But yeah. So i will never have an American companion.. its ok though, i pick the language up much faster.. My comp and I work pretty well together most the time.. I am so independent though.. ha after you spend a lot of time with your comp you just want to be alone sometimes. But its good to get different comps so i can learn how to get along with everyone.. I can't complain though, as long as he works thats all that matters to me!
I hope the holidays are rocking for you.. Anyway gotta go! Love you! Bye
Elder Riggs
Monday, December 13, 2010
Excerpts from November 29 Letter
Hey everyone!!
A lot has happened in the last week, its been one crazy week! Leaving the MTC was weird cause I basically said bye to all these people that i had become really good friends with. But i was stoked to get out into the area. Anyway we arrived at the mission office, where we meet the mission president and his wife. They are awesome! President Leyva is a funny guy. After we got a bunch of instruction we went to the mission home, and man is it nice! ha there was even a christmas tree up and everything! While we were there we got to known the president and his wife and the assistants to the president. We also got to eat Which was the best meal easily i have had since i have been in peru! Lasagna with garlic bread, brownie and ice cream.. Oh I thought I was in heaven.. Afterwords president Leyva assigned us our areas and took us to meet our new companions, then we were off.
My companion's name was Elder Ascue, he is from peru and I got assigned to the area Carapongo. It's on the outer part of Lime, and it reminded me of Africa, because there were all sorts of green fields and dirt roads and old run down houses. Crazy buses and taxis which I have been ridding quite a bit. Anyway it was a huge change. Ha there is no carpet in our apartment. The bathroom is tiny, the showers were cold. Everything was dirty or was about to get dirty cause everything is dirty out here. Ha you walk around the streets for an hour and my shoes are all dusty and dirty.. Its cool with me though. But here comes the crazy part..
The crazy part is that i have been in the mission field 6 days and i have already changed companions. A couple days into the field i guess some big problem arose with my companion. I dont know the problem very well because i coulndt understand everything in spanish but i guess it had something to do with writing a letter to some girl that was an investigator. Anyway it was a pretty big problem. So after three days in the president told us we have to stay in our apartment for the whole day.. I thought i was going to die. It was hard enough trying to adjust. But then i got really bored just trying to study all day and whatnot.. But at the end of the day, we found out that he had to move areas, which meant i had to too, because i didnt´know Carapongo well. So i packed my stuff, haha again! and left at 6:30 in the morning for Chosica. That is where i am now with my new companion Elder Alvarez. He is from Boliva and has been in the mission for 6 months. He seems like a pretty nice guy and is pretty funny. My first sunday in the field was pretty good. I got to meet all the members.. We are the missionarys for two wards. One of the wards is pretty big, the other is small, but the members are awesome.. All very nice! ha it was tough to go to 2 sacraments though. The kids of the ward though put on the kids singing program though in one of them. So it was all good.
Our area is pretty big, with lots of mountains and hills and its also about an hour away from like the main city in Lima, La molina. But anyway its nice here. Anyway i should be here for 3 month for sure and i dont know after that..
As far as everything else. Its pretty good. Its a struggle for sure.. Ha i cant really express myself fully to people and i have trouble understanding a lot. Which is difficult cause once someone starts going off i get side tracted. ha not good. But the good part is all the members were pretty impressed with my spanish, they
couldn´t believe i just got out of the mtc and i could speak and understand as well as i could. i thought i was horrible, but that definitely helps to hear that. Anyway its a challenge but it will come over time.. Its also a huge change living out here. There are a lot of little things you come to miss and you are a lot more thankful for. Like carpet, fresh water, clean places, nice homes and whatnot. But overall its pretty good. I will adjust. I just gotta work hard and stay focused. My pinchonista, or however you spell it cooks pretty good food! I can't complain. Definitely bettter than the mtc. I still have a ton to learn in the lessons and scriptures and language and what not but im gonig to work hard and I have a comp that will help. I hear the first little while is a little tough but after you catch on to things everything starts to fly.. So I'm excited!! Anyway, the weather here is good. Warm and a little humid! Anyway my time is almost up. I miss you guys and love you very much.
Elder Riggs
A lot has happened in the last week, its been one crazy week! Leaving the MTC was weird cause I basically said bye to all these people that i had become really good friends with. But i was stoked to get out into the area. Anyway we arrived at the mission office, where we meet the mission president and his wife. They are awesome! President Leyva is a funny guy. After we got a bunch of instruction we went to the mission home, and man is it nice! ha there was even a christmas tree up and everything! While we were there we got to known the president and his wife and the assistants to the president. We also got to eat Which was the best meal easily i have had since i have been in peru! Lasagna with garlic bread, brownie and ice cream.. Oh I thought I was in heaven.. Afterwords president Leyva assigned us our areas and took us to meet our new companions, then we were off.
My companion's name was Elder Ascue, he is from peru and I got assigned to the area Carapongo. It's on the outer part of Lime, and it reminded me of Africa, because there were all sorts of green fields and dirt roads and old run down houses. Crazy buses and taxis which I have been ridding quite a bit. Anyway it was a huge change. Ha there is no carpet in our apartment. The bathroom is tiny, the showers were cold. Everything was dirty or was about to get dirty cause everything is dirty out here. Ha you walk around the streets for an hour and my shoes are all dusty and dirty.. Its cool with me though. But here comes the crazy part..
The crazy part is that i have been in the mission field 6 days and i have already changed companions. A couple days into the field i guess some big problem arose with my companion. I dont know the problem very well because i coulndt understand everything in spanish but i guess it had something to do with writing a letter to some girl that was an investigator. Anyway it was a pretty big problem. So after three days in the president told us we have to stay in our apartment for the whole day.. I thought i was going to die. It was hard enough trying to adjust. But then i got really bored just trying to study all day and whatnot.. But at the end of the day, we found out that he had to move areas, which meant i had to too, because i didnt´know Carapongo well. So i packed my stuff, haha again! and left at 6:30 in the morning for Chosica. That is where i am now with my new companion Elder Alvarez. He is from Boliva and has been in the mission for 6 months. He seems like a pretty nice guy and is pretty funny. My first sunday in the field was pretty good. I got to meet all the members.. We are the missionarys for two wards. One of the wards is pretty big, the other is small, but the members are awesome.. All very nice! ha it was tough to go to 2 sacraments though. The kids of the ward though put on the kids singing program though in one of them. So it was all good.
Our area is pretty big, with lots of mountains and hills and its also about an hour away from like the main city in Lima, La molina. But anyway its nice here. Anyway i should be here for 3 month for sure and i dont know after that..
As far as everything else. Its pretty good. Its a struggle for sure.. Ha i cant really express myself fully to people and i have trouble understanding a lot. Which is difficult cause once someone starts going off i get side tracted. ha not good. But the good part is all the members were pretty impressed with my spanish, they
couldn´t believe i just got out of the mtc and i could speak and understand as well as i could. i thought i was horrible, but that definitely helps to hear that. Anyway its a challenge but it will come over time.. Its also a huge change living out here. There are a lot of little things you come to miss and you are a lot more thankful for. Like carpet, fresh water, clean places, nice homes and whatnot. But overall its pretty good. I will adjust. I just gotta work hard and stay focused. My pinchonista, or however you spell it cooks pretty good food! I can't complain. Definitely bettter than the mtc. I still have a ton to learn in the lessons and scriptures and language and what not but im gonig to work hard and I have a comp that will help. I hear the first little while is a little tough but after you catch on to things everything starts to fly.. So I'm excited!! Anyway, the weather here is good. Warm and a little humid! Anyway my time is almost up. I miss you guys and love you very much.
Elder Riggs
Monday, November 15, 2010
A Day in the City
Last week Skylar got to tour the city. He said it was nice to get out of the MTC and explore a little. This looks like some very colorful and crowded housing.
Creepy...... nuff said.
He said it was fun to go to the beach, but weird since they weren't allowed to touch the water. He wanted to jump right in.
This is a pic of his first set of roommates in the Peru MTC.
This is his first Peruvian companion. Wow! Is it an optical illusion or is Skylar really taller than this kid?
The thing Skylar keeps mentioning that he misses is American food. Well good news... looks like they have doritos and plenty of oreos to go around.
At the Peru, Lima Temple
This is the soccer field at the MTC. Skylar says the natives are impressed that a gringo (white American) has soccer skills.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Skylar's Letter: Peru Day One!!
Hola Everyone!! HOLY SMOKES!!!! I can´t believe everything that has happened since i got on the plane yesterday. The flights were really good! I talked to some people and handed out both an english book of mormon and a spanish book of mormon! It was awesome! But when i got here it was crazy! I was so excited when we landed and when i got out of the airport it hit me! It is so crazy and so awesome here.
We drove through the city for a while to get to the MTC, the city wasn´t as poor as i thought, and there were lots of american fast food places! But it still had a different look to it. Most of the cars looked a lot different, and they were all driving like crazy and honking all the time.... Apparently there are no traffic rules here or something. But anyway when we got to the MTC it was awesome. They had to open the gate for us to come in because the entire MTC is surrounded by cement walls and guards! but don´t worry, its safe!....
Now comes the really good stuff:) I got my companion, and he is a Peruvian native! So he speaks absolutely no english. haha so it might be a little difficult, but he is a way nice funny guy! I have to tell him to slow down when he talks pretty often. ha poor guy! But all the natives here are so nice! Its awesome!! I am in a room with 3 americans and 3 native´s! so its pretty crazy, but the language is going to come so fast now!! I also got my haircut again today! Yes i did say again:) Everyone in the MTC here has to have a buzzed head, believe it or not. So for the first time in my life my head is buzzed! i look a little goofy, but i actually kind of like it!! ha mom i know you probably don´t like the sound of that but just wait till you see it!
Today i tried the first real peruvian food in my life! Wow, it was definietly a little different, I had chicken, rice and beans, and some desert. Suprisingly it was all way good! Except i did get this one thing that had egg and who knows what else in it, that was pretty nasty. oh and the drink i had was some sort of canulope juice.. It tasted crazy.. I am definitely going to have to get used to all of the food!
But the MTC is soooooo awesome!!! It looks like the garden of eden, no joke! Flowers and green grass everywhere.. Pretty much everything is in spanish... They have a huge turf soccer field, basketball courts, ping pong, fusbol, and some game that i played with the natives today. it was way fun.. Im really starting to fit in with the natives too. My companion invited me to sit with him at lunch, and it was me and 10 other natives that spoke no english... That was a good time! Then we went outside and played that game.. I was jokin around with the natives! haha it was a good time:) They are all way funny! Their humor is good! Me gusta!! Today is a very chill day. They are giving us time to relax and do whatever pretty much.. Later today i get 3 hours to play soccer!! how crazy awesome is that!! this mtc is 100 times better than the Provo mtc, and i liked the provo mtc, so you can probably imagine! I guess we stay pretty busy though, and they basically plan our whole day for us, which is good though... There are only about 125 missionaries at this mtc too, so you get to know people a lot better and it makes for a definite good time!
I am a little concerned about the food though, cause i guess for the first week or two its really suppose to mess you up! haha not again!! The temperature is awesome here! Its in the 60´s, the humidity isnt bad at all either! The sky looks crazy, its basically completely gray, but not like it is in cache valley during the winter... Its a lot better! ha apparently peru only sees the sun like 20 days out of the year or something liek that, i don´t know if thats true but so far he has been right! Other than that its been crazy!! I love it sooo much! Its hard to explain how cool this really is! And i have only been here one day! But yeah everything here is going wonderful!! It was good to talk to you guys yesterday! Hope all is going well.. Im pretty sure my p day is on wednesday, so thats probably when i will be emailing, but im not positive! And we don´t have the dumb timing like we did in provo, so i will probably have an hour or so to email and let you know all that is going on! I wish you guys could see how awesome it is here!! Seriously!! I am going to go, its about time to go play some soccer!!! ha who knew it would be that cool!!! and get in with all the natives!!! or at least try:) I miss you all and love you all!! Hope all is well and i will talk to you soon! Adios from Peru!!
Skylar's Letter: Peru Week One!!!
Hey Everyone!! Wow do i got a lot to tell you guys.. Ha i just got back from going into the city for the first time because we had to fill out some information, but wow!! if you think driving is bad anywhere in the US, you have absolutely no idea.. I remember Nelli telling me about how bad the driving was down here but you cant explain it in words.. For the first time of my life i was actually pretty scared to ride in a car. People do what they want, when they want.. everyone is honking all the time, and they will pull in front of you and cut you off whenever they want. No one cares. Its so crazy! but definitely a good experience, haha now that i am back safe.
Later today i get to go to the temple, and after we get to go through the city and shop around and take pictures. Which i am stoked for because i am pretty dang hungry most of the time.. We are planning on hittin up the McDonalds if we get the chance! Speaking of food, the food here is pretty good. I have learned to not waste anything. I eat everything on my plate whether i like it or not, because thats just the culture here, and you only get to go through the line once, so it´s a little different. But the food is actually been really good, a few things i have had to force down. But overall really good! We eat rice just about everymeal, and tons of chicken and meat. They also have lots of potatoes and different kinds of sauces they put on the chicken, meat, and rice, which are extremely good! The only problem is it doesn´t feel me up to much. Most of the american companions feel the same way. The other night a few of us were joking around because we had food we had to leave in Provo cause we didn´t have enough room to pack in, but now that we are here, we wish we would have let clothes and brought the food instead.. But its really not as bad as it sounds, and today when we get to shop around i am going to stock up for sure. I feel so much healthier eating this food though, and i am not having the same gas and bathroom problems i was having in provo.. Believe it or not.. So that is definitely a plus.....
As far as the mtc here it is still going really good. Man, spanish is gettin really hard, but i have improved so much. I can now comunicate with my companion pretty well, and we also get along way well! It´s funny cause he has the worst A.D.D.. haha i thought i had ADD, but not even close compared to him.. Ha me and Elder Rickenbach ( one of my buddies that is actually from smithfield) just sat back and watched him during a fireside we had and it was hilarious. He has to be doing something all the time, and he acts just like a little kid.. I seriously love it though! He has helped me so much with my spanish and i am so grateful for that! All the latino´s are way cool! Their humor is that of a 1st grader, so it can get old, but its funny to try and here them talk in english.. My companion now knows how to say quite a few phrases. Including Whats up, Hey your looking good! and I dont speak english! haha its way funny! My teachers here are way cool too, they don´t know hardly any english, but suprisingly we can understand pretty much all of their spanish! But they are way awesome!!
Gym here is awesome! soccer is the best!! Seriously, i love it! we get to play soccer everyday for about an hour.. Well except for sunday and monday, ha monday was an experience.. We went out to the soccer field for gym time and there was a gym there with a whistle. he took us through all these exercise drills and whatnot, but he was hilarious! He was yelling and blowing his whistle and getting way into it.. I felt just like i was in the army there for a little while! First they buzzed my head.. Now this!!! haha it was definitely a good time though.. Oh boy am i out of shape though.. Nothin like i was, but the good thing is the weight that i gained in Provo i have pretty much already lost here.. So i probably wont gain much if any weight on my mission here in Peru, which i am pretty stoked about.. Oh and i actually love having my hair buzzed!! its sweet!! except for the part that i am extremely worried that i am going bald! I seriously think i will go bald! Not that there is anything wrong with that.. But i just don´t wont to go bald!! haha..
Other than that we teach lessons everyday, all in spanish.. the first day i had absolutely no idea what was going on cause all the latinos talk so fast.. But it has gotten so much better.. I can actually understand them and respond... Some of the time that is!! But its crazy just to see how much i have learned and grown!!! I know i say that a lot but its so true!! I also Really really enjoy the hour of personal study we get during the day.. Thats like my new favorite part of the day.. I read the BOM, which i am over halfway now and i really get into now!! i love reading it and it helps me so much when i actually apply it to my life!! Not too much else is going on other than that.. In class most of the day, and thats about it.. But yeah everything is awesome!! I can{t wait to go into town here pretty soon and go through the LIma temple!! thats gonna be awesome!!
The weather here is good, its a little chilly sometimes.. but nothin too bad!! I still don't see the sun too much, but the sky does look pretty awesome!! oh and I have found a new best friend!!! The english to spanish dictionary! haha I use that thing all the time now... No joke.. But yeah its good to let you know all that is going on. Everyone have a good one and i will talk to you all soon.. I love and miss all of you!! Oh and by the way, it has pretty much already been a month.. Crazy huh!!! Well, Adios!!
-Elder Riggs
Later today i get to go to the temple, and after we get to go through the city and shop around and take pictures. Which i am stoked for because i am pretty dang hungry most of the time.. We are planning on hittin up the McDonalds if we get the chance! Speaking of food, the food here is pretty good. I have learned to not waste anything. I eat everything on my plate whether i like it or not, because thats just the culture here, and you only get to go through the line once, so it´s a little different. But the food is actually been really good, a few things i have had to force down. But overall really good! We eat rice just about everymeal, and tons of chicken and meat. They also have lots of potatoes and different kinds of sauces they put on the chicken, meat, and rice, which are extremely good! The only problem is it doesn´t feel me up to much. Most of the american companions feel the same way. The other night a few of us were joking around because we had food we had to leave in Provo cause we didn´t have enough room to pack in, but now that we are here, we wish we would have let clothes and brought the food instead.. But its really not as bad as it sounds, and today when we get to shop around i am going to stock up for sure. I feel so much healthier eating this food though, and i am not having the same gas and bathroom problems i was having in provo.. Believe it or not.. So that is definitely a plus.....
As far as the mtc here it is still going really good. Man, spanish is gettin really hard, but i have improved so much. I can now comunicate with my companion pretty well, and we also get along way well! It´s funny cause he has the worst A.D.D.. haha i thought i had ADD, but not even close compared to him.. Ha me and Elder Rickenbach ( one of my buddies that is actually from smithfield) just sat back and watched him during a fireside we had and it was hilarious. He has to be doing something all the time, and he acts just like a little kid.. I seriously love it though! He has helped me so much with my spanish and i am so grateful for that! All the latino´s are way cool! Their humor is that of a 1st grader, so it can get old, but its funny to try and here them talk in english.. My companion now knows how to say quite a few phrases. Including Whats up, Hey your looking good! and I dont speak english! haha its way funny! My teachers here are way cool too, they don´t know hardly any english, but suprisingly we can understand pretty much all of their spanish! But they are way awesome!!
Gym here is awesome! soccer is the best!! Seriously, i love it! we get to play soccer everyday for about an hour.. Well except for sunday and monday, ha monday was an experience.. We went out to the soccer field for gym time and there was a gym there with a whistle. he took us through all these exercise drills and whatnot, but he was hilarious! He was yelling and blowing his whistle and getting way into it.. I felt just like i was in the army there for a little while! First they buzzed my head.. Now this!!! haha it was definitely a good time though.. Oh boy am i out of shape though.. Nothin like i was, but the good thing is the weight that i gained in Provo i have pretty much already lost here.. So i probably wont gain much if any weight on my mission here in Peru, which i am pretty stoked about.. Oh and i actually love having my hair buzzed!! its sweet!! except for the part that i am extremely worried that i am going bald! I seriously think i will go bald! Not that there is anything wrong with that.. But i just don´t wont to go bald!! haha..
Other than that we teach lessons everyday, all in spanish.. the first day i had absolutely no idea what was going on cause all the latinos talk so fast.. But it has gotten so much better.. I can actually understand them and respond... Some of the time that is!! But its crazy just to see how much i have learned and grown!!! I know i say that a lot but its so true!! I also Really really enjoy the hour of personal study we get during the day.. Thats like my new favorite part of the day.. I read the BOM, which i am over halfway now and i really get into now!! i love reading it and it helps me so much when i actually apply it to my life!! Not too much else is going on other than that.. In class most of the day, and thats about it.. But yeah everything is awesome!! I can{t wait to go into town here pretty soon and go through the LIma temple!! thats gonna be awesome!!
The weather here is good, its a little chilly sometimes.. but nothin too bad!! I still don't see the sun too much, but the sky does look pretty awesome!! oh and I have found a new best friend!!! The english to spanish dictionary! haha I use that thing all the time now... No joke.. But yeah its good to let you know all that is going on. Everyone have a good one and i will talk to you all soon.. I love and miss all of you!! Oh and by the way, it has pretty much already been a month.. Crazy huh!!! Well, Adios!!
-Elder Riggs
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Skylar will be Skylar
Skylar just left the Provo MTC and headed to the Peru MTC where he will be for the next 6 weeks. Here are some photos he sent from Provo. There were so many good ones, I'll have to make another post. Here he is with his Spanish teacher... you'll notice he's the shortest one in all the pictures haha!
This is Elder Riggs' district. And the guy in the front sitting next to him is his first companion Elder Bean.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Week 1: MTC
Elder Riggs with his bags packed, ready for the MTC.
The family... we're gonna miss him so much but we're proud of the decision he's made to go on a mission.
Skylar just finished his first week in the MTC. His first companion is Elder Bean. He says that they have so much in common. They both like soccer, work in sales, miss their family and they're both going to Peru. He says the food at the MTC doesn't always look appetizing but is actually pretty good most of the time. He is thankful to his bro-in-law Pat for the Bean-o. Says he couldn't live without that stuff in the MTC. It's been an adjustment for him to start calling everyone Elder instead of man, dude, or bro. And he's already ran into some elders he knows.
Skylar has set a goal to read the entire Book of Mormon before he leaves the MTC (8 weeks). He already knows that the most difficult part of his mission is going to be missing everyone that's close to him. However, he's so excited to be there and knows that this is where he's supposed to be. Elder Riggs' Spanish is coming along quickly. He can already pray, bear his testimony, and knows a variety of greetings. He has 2 Spanish teachers and they teach the majority of their lessons in Spanish. In his district, there are 2 sisters and 10 elders. All of which are going to different Lima, Peru missions or Ecuador.
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