Accepting the Call and Applying for a Visa

Besides meeting with the language training people at the MTC, we did the following this past week:

• On Thursday (April 10, 2008), we wrote our acceptance message to the First Presidency, signed our acceptance sheet, had our bishop sign it, and mailed it off. I guess that means that we are officially going!
• On Friday (April 11, 2008), we mailed off our visa application (for a permit to live in Peru, not to get another credit card!). The application goes through the Missionary Department and then onto the Peruvian consulate. We had to buy an ink pad to put our thumbprint on the application, round up our passports to send along with the application, and attach photos that we had taken earlier at the MTC.
• Tonight (April 13, 2008), I got a call from Rodrigo, my MTC language tutor. He and I will start to meet three times per week starting on Wednesday, April 23.

In sacrament meeting today, the bishop invited me to the stand to announce to the ward about our mission call. Everyone is happy for us--although some seem to be more aware than others of the challenges of living and working in Peru.

On my way home from church today, I was listening to the Travel Show on KSL radio. Coincidentally, the topic was Peru. The travel agents said that Peru is the major tourist destination in South America--and not just because of Machu Picchu. They said that most tourists end up wishing they had spent more time in Lima and other parts of the country because of the many fabulous attractions outside of the Cusco-Machu Picchu area. I agree.