Pioneer Day Celebration in Peru

The church members here in Tarma usually don't celebrate Pioneer Day. In fact, they know very little about the pioneer trek of the early Mormon Saints. (Our branch president actually asked us from where and to where the Mormons traveled.)

So Beverly volunteered to host a Pioneer Day celebration at our regular Missionary Night. We invited our branch and many other members. Beverly spent three afternoons preparing the food, a typical (Utah) Mormon menu of "funeral potatoes," emerald salad, barbecued hot dogs, and chocolate chip cookies.

The logistics of the entire process was a challenge: (1) finding ingredients for the recipes, (2) estimating how many would attend, (3) determining how to prepare, refrigerate, and transport all the food, (4) planning the games, video, and program, and (5) managing the entire activity. Somehow, everything worked out.

We began the night by showing the Westward trek section of "Legacy":


Scott then explained about the Mormon pioneers and why their history is important to us. He told about his pioneer ancestor, George Gotlieb Zimmerman, and he also told the touching story of Beverly's ancestor Elizabeth Fox (who was lost on the plains). He explained the significance of "Come, Come Ye Saints" ("Oh, Está Todo Bien"), which we sang as a congregation.

Our traditional Missionary Night activity involves games, so we played two games that the members had never played, "Hot and Cold," and "Drop the Hankerchief":


We finished the evening with the food. Here's a tray of potatoes and 250 (small) chocolate chip cookies:


Some of the members helped Beverly dish up the plates. We served over 75 people:


Each plate had a sample of each type of food.


Everyone loved the food and several asked for the recipes:


Unfortunately, many of the ingredients aren't available in Tarma (we bought them in Lima); others aren't available in Peru (we had to use substitutes).

We enjoyed our Pioneer Day celebration. We had the opportunity to teach the Church members here about their Church heritage, and that they are pioneers too---as they have joined the church, met tremendous obstacles, and forged new traditions for their families.