Last Day in Arequipa

Monday 

Last Day in Arequipa

3/16/2020

Monday morning, the mission couples had a breakfast at 8:00 am.  We had some interesting things.  I made chocolate chip cookies I wanted to get the ingredients used up.  Picaronies, potato casserole, empinadas, chicha morada.  It was good.  It was nice because it was kind of a going away event.  We are loved here and they appreciate us being here.  It's sad to go home, but we thought going was the best thing to do right now.  With no temple work to be doing, we are having a hard time trying to keep ourselves busy.

Pictures of the Saturday morning breakfast

   

Breakfast

Brother and Sister Doxey cooking picaronies

Picronies didn't last as soon as they were cooked, they got eaten.

President and Sister Garnica

Brother and Sister Garcia

Brother and Sister Doxey

Sister Antelo

I cleaned the apartment, washed all the clothes, washed the sheets, and threw away some stuff.  We packed everything up and relaxed as we waited for 4:00 to go to the airport.

I like the Peruvian decor in bedroom

The stainless steel sink --- 

I've tried hard to keep it from getting scratched.

Wayne and I walked around the temple grounds 

It was cool and windy

There were women out in the field,  harvesting something.  The people in Peru are stocking up on stuff too, because of the Covid stuff.  Whatever they are harvesting will soon be consumed.  

The View

As we walked, the weather was starting to look like it might rain.

The pretty temple

We brought our bag downstairs getting ready to go.

The waiting area by the distribution center. 

I love these pictures of Christ with the children.

President and Sister Antelo with Wayne

President and Sister Antelo

Our Apartment

Wayne walking down the hall

Saying Goodbye!!

Guard - Doxey - Redwood - Antelo

Brother and Sister Marino are a couple that have been very good to us missionaries.  They are always help and doing things with and for us.  Their son drove us to the airport.  We left at 4:00 pm.  It was cloudy and looked like it might rain, but we were finally on our way to the airport.

As we drove up to enter the airport, the fog started rolling in.  By the time we got out of the car, it was foggy.  We decided to wait and we thought the fog would just go by quickly,  The Marino kid helped us get into the airport, he left us, we were on our own.  We waited in the check in line, and before we got to the front of the line, maybe 10 minutes, they had stopped taking luggage because of the fog.  We waited with everyone else for several hours and they cancelled the two flights before ours and then they finally cancelled our flight.  WOW!  That means we wouldn't make out of Peru!!!

 Peru would be closed, not just for the night, but for 2 weeks because of the Corona Virus.  We needed to be on our plane leaving Lima by 121:59 pm and it wasn't going to happen. 

 

In the airport

The airport

Waiting

The fog as we got to the airport

We were so disappointed.  We did not want this to happen.  We needed to be on our way to Utah.  Now we were on our way back to the temple and to our apartment.   Not what we wanted to have happen.  We decided it would be better to be stuck 2 weeks in our apartment that in Lima in a hotel or staying with Oscar. We were together and that was what was important. 

Wayne got two taxis to take us back to the temple.  I was in one and Wayne was in the other with all our luggage.  When we pulled in the temple parking lot, It was a relief to be back on the Temple grounds.  Pres. Antelo came out to meet us,  We got our luggage back up the stairs and as we opened the door to go down the hall, Wayne saw the missionaries scurrying like cock roaches in and out of our apartment putting back all the stuff they'd taken thinking we were gone.  We left toilet paper, scales, hangers, 3m hooks, dish soap, Tide laundry soap, Bounce sheets, little cups, and who knows what else. 

We had a problem.  We had no food!  I had given it all away and because of the Corona issues, we couldn't go to a store, get a taxi to take us to get food or to a restaurant to eat.  We were in our apartment without food.  While cleaning out the cupboards and fridge, I threw away a couple of bananas and a package of Ramen Noodles and I knew we could eat them, so Wayne got our garbage bag out of the dumpster.  We found the Ramens and bananas. We also ate the Ritz crackers and huancaina sauce I packed to take home.   We were able to eat.  We also got the salt, butter which was in a covered plastic container, some chocolate chip cookies, huancaina sauce, tomato sauce, two slices of cheese, mustard, vanilla, baking powder, a few zip lock bags, some elastics out of our garbage bag and some soap.  I felt bad when I threw all of that away, but now I'm really glad we were able to get it back.  We dumpster dived our own garbage.   We also had two Milky Ways, and some Big Hunks and Milk Duds we'd packed to take back home with us.

After we'd eaten, Sister Doxey brought us back some of the food we gave her.  Flour, sugar, our containers to store the flour and sugar in, bread, hamburger, two Ramen Noodles,  bread, 3 eggs, vegetables, Jell-O instant pudding, gravy mixes, spaghetti sauce mixes, yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, and peanut butter.  We would be okay until we could MAYBE go to the store. 

It was a long day, with a lot of emotions.

Wayne got on the compute looking for flights again and was able to get us a flight out on the 31st of March.  We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope that happens. It was nice to get in our bed with clean sheets.  We really do have a beautiful apartment and we feel safe here. 

Until Tomorrow!