Misión Perú Trujillo
Free resources about the Peru Trujillo Mission:
Aquí están algunos recursos gratuitos sobre la Misión Perú Trujillo:
- Mission address and phone number
- Mission map
- Video interviews with returned missionaries
- Missionary blogs
- Facebook groups
- LDS Mission t-shirts and gifts
- List of past mission presidents
- Cultural articles written by returned missionaries
- Survey with RMs
*Other Mission Pages: Peru LDS Missions.
Peru Trujillo Mission Address
Here’s a recent address for the Peru Trujillo Mission. We try to keep this information up to date, but it’s a good idea to check the address with several sources, including your mission packet or the mission office.
This mission no longer exists.
Phone Number: N/A
Mission President: N/A
Peru Trujillo Mission Map
Here’s a link to the mission map for the Peru Trujillo Mission (LDS). To access the official, up-to-date LDS.org map for the Trujillo Mission:
Videos with Trujillo RMs
Here are in-depth YouTube video interviews with returned missionaries from the Trujillo Mission. We interview hundreds of returned missionaries each year, so check back regularly to see new RM interviews. Coming soon..
LDS-Friendly Videos about Peru
Here are LDS-friendly educational videos about Peru. We scoured YouTube to find the best quality videos about Peru, that are free from inappropriate music, immodesty and profanity.
Peru Trujillo Missionary Blogs
Here’s a list of LDS missionary blogs for the Trujillo Mission. This list includes the missionary’s name, URL and when their blog was updated.
Peru Trujillo Mission Groups
Here are Trujillo Mission Groups- for LDS missionary moms, returned missionaries, mission presidents and other alumni of the Trujillo Mission.
- Mision Peru Trujillo Padres e Hijos Group (865 members)
- Mision Trujillo Pres. Alejandro Mora Group (802 members)
- Trujillo, Peru LDS Mission Facebook Group (704 members)
- Mision Peru Trujillo Presidente Rose Group (98 members)
- La Mision Peru Trujillo Facebook Group (37 members)
- Mision Peru Trujillo 2005-2008 Group (31 members)
- Peru Trujillo Mission Moms (LDS) Group (9 members)
Peru Trujillo Mission T-Shirts
Here are T-shirts for the Peru Trujillo Mission!
Shirt designs include Trujillo Mission logo/emblem shirts and Called to Serve shirts. The shirts make great gifts for pre-missionaries, returned missionaries and missionaries currently serving. LDS Mission shirts come in all sizes: Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, up to 4XL. The mission designs are printed on white shirts and are shipped to you.
*Simply click on a shirt design to view the details and submit an order. The designs on mission t-shirts may also be printed on other LDS mission gifts, including: Trujillo missionary aprons, Christmas stockings, ties, pillow cases, teddy bears and Christmas ornaments.
*Click here to browse Trujillo Mission gifts
Peru Trujillo Mission Presidents
Here’s a list of current and past Mission Presidents of the Trujillo Mission.
- 2013-2016, D. Kurt Marler
- 2010-2013, Terry D. Turk
- 2004-2007, Lane D. Ward
- 2001-2004, Luis G. Duarte
- 1998-2001, Stephen L. Jensen
- 1995-1998, Theron D. Rose
- 1992-1995, Rafael Pasquel
- 1988-1991, Oscar H. Aguayo
- 1985-1988, Manuel Y. Rodriguez
Peru LDS Statistics (2015)
- Church Membership: 557,328
- Missions: 12
- Temples: 2
- Congregations: 774
- Family History Centers: 125
Helpful Articles about Peru
Peru Trujillo Missionary Survey
Here are survey responses from Peru Trujillo RMs, to give you a snapshot into what it’s like to live in the mission.
*Click here to take a survey to help pre-missionaries going to your mission.
When did you serve?
- 2013-2014 (Hannah)
- February 2010-February 2012 (David)
- 2008-2010 (Steve)
- 1996-1998 (Matt)
- 2000-2001 (Jonathan)
- 2005-2007 (Robby)
What areas did you serve in?
- La Rinconada, Villa del Mar, California. (Hannah)
- Trujillo (Buenos Aires, Central & El Porvenir), Cajamarca, Chimbote Norte, and Otuzco. (Matt)
- Chimbote (El Acero), Trujillo (Las Quintanas), Chocope, La Esperanza. (Jonathan)
- Chimbote, Esperanza, Huaraz, Trujillo. (Robby)
What were some favorite foods?
- Arroz Chaoufa, Papa La Huancaina, Papa Relleno, Alfajores, Aji de Gallina, Sudado de pescado, Arroz a la cubano, Pollo a la brasa, Arroz con pollo, Ceviche. (Hannah)
- Aji de Gallina. Pollo a la Brasa. Lomo Saltado. (David)
- Aji de Gallina, Lomo Saltado, Pollo a la Brasa, Tallarines Verdes. (Steve)
- Papa a la Huancaina, lomo saltado, tallerin verde, huevos con platano y aji, and fruit! (Matt)
- Ceviche de Pollo, Arroz con Pollo, Tallarin, Pollo a la brasa, bistek a la pobre. PICARONES! YUM! (Jonathan)
- Lomo saltado, Aji de gallina, Pollo a la brasa. (Robby)
What was a funny experience?
- Watching people riding bikes dragging 25 foot long construction rebar behind them in the road and watching the sparks flying off. Getting in a super junky taxi where the floor was completely missing and I had to put my feet on a random bar. Seeing moss growing on power lines. And the fact that the power lines are in a giant knot. Cutting the patch of grass in front of the house with a meat cleaver or a machete. (Hannah)
- One time Elder Reas and Elder Anderson scheduled two lunches for themselves when we were in Huaraz and so they asked Elder Rodriguez and I to help them eat them at lunch time. However, we had just finished our own lunch and then we had to go help them eat their lunch. I was pretty stuffed as lunches there can be pretty filling. I had just barely finished what I could and told Elder Reas that I was full. The sister that made the lunch asked what I said and before I could respond (it was my second change and my Spanish wasn’t amazing) Elder Reas told her I loved it so much that I wanted more. She gave me more. I about died trying to finish it. (David)
- We always had family home evening with members or investigators and we would play games. They like to have what they call castigos which are punishments for those who lose. One of my favorites was the loser would have to go out in the street and yell “my pig just died! my pig is dead!” (in Spanish obviously) and the best time was when a guy went out and all his neighbors were outside. He was so embarrassed he hurried and yelled it, and came running inside as fast as he could. (Steve)
- A native companion taught me a fun response that I could appropriately use when drunks yelled at us. It occasionally initiated a few street contacts. (Matt)
- Several, probably “urban legend” status by this point. 1) One time we were helping an anciently elderly woman build on to her house and had a chain-gang of missionaries passing bricks from one to another in order to get them up to the roof. I was near the top of the chain-gang and so a lot of brick dust was flying around by the time it got to me. I had a tiny speck of brick dust fly into my eye and, for the life of me, I just couldn’t get it out. I tried crying it out, washing it out, flapping my eyelids, etc. I resigned myself to needing to call the office and see what they wanted me to do. We went down to the main house area and luckily this lady had a phone so my companion called the office while I sat on the couch still messing around with my eye. The withered old lady came over and asked if she could look at it. Figuring there was nothing she could do that I hadn’t already done, I let her. She grabbed the top and bottom eyelid with each of her hands and forced my eye open and then, to my absolute horror, stuck her tongue into my eye and licked it. My companion was giving a play-by-play to the Assistant to the President on the other end of the line. To her credit… she removed the dust from my eye… along with what dignity I had left. My companion didn’t want to leave things alone so he asked her how she learned how to do that; her answer: “when you get to be my age you learn a thing or two.” I think she just wanted to lick an American’s eye personally. 2) There is an older video game called Monkey Island and in one of the games in the series they have a story about a giant devil chicken that terrorizes the islanders. In my third area, I met such a chicken at my pensionista’s home. I’d never before seen such a massive chicken and I needed to get a picture of it and send home to my older brother. I made a small sign on a piece of paper, handed my camera to my companion, and proceeded to chase the chicken around the backyard. To tell it from my companion’s point of view: there I was chasing this chicken around as he watched through the viewfinder on the camera when all of a sudden I disappeared. He put the camera down to find me up to my shoulders in a hole, dazed. As I sat there I realized what had happened… the chicken ran across a piece of wood covering a hole and, because I was significantly heavier than the chicken, I fell through into the SEPTIC TANK. Luckily I caught myself with my arms… I couldn’t feel the bottom of the hole and I was up to my knees in human excrement. I climbed out of the hole and the chicken just stood there (secretly laughing, I’m sure). I was able to pose with the chicken and have my picture taken. We went home and I showered off fully clothed, then took my soiled clothing to the laundry lady and paid her extra to clean it all for me. 3) At my “last testimony” (zone conference), I closed with: “ya me voy a casa. Voy hacer un trueque, my placa por una flaca”. From what I understood… the Mission President quoted that every single zone conference until he went home. (Jonathan)
- My stomach was hurting while hiking up to Churup. I couldn’t hold it any longer and had to use the bathroom right off of the trail. I had to use the hard Andean grass. (Robby)
What was a crazy experience?
- Seeing people get robbed. It happened a lot. But never to me. Hearing gunshots in an adjacent street. Dogs. Sometimes dogs would be really vicious and the only way to stop them from attacking us was to bend over and pick up a rock (or pretend to if there were no rocks available) and throw it at them (or pretend to) and then run for your life. (Hannah)
- My companion Elder Castro and I were on our way to a baptismal service when a guy on the side of the road asked what time it was. We slowed down to tell him when he grabbed Elder Castro’s arm and pulled out a sharpened piece of rebar and told us to give him all our money. At first I didn’t realize what was happening, but it all caught up and I realized that we were being mugged. We gave him all that we had and he started to rummage through our backpacks and asking for cell phones. We told him we didn’t have any cell phones and by then the man we were teaching that was going to be baptized saw what was happening and came down and scared the guy off. Then we went to his baptism. (David)
- There are parts of the city that are dangerous and I was in an area where shootings occurred regularly. I can honestly say though that we were protected. Sometimes we would get a feeling not to go down a certain street that we usually would g0 and even though things happened near us at times, we were always safe. (Steve)
- Getting robbed walking through an bad area of town (I lost about $3). Trujillo experienced a flood that washed out the grave yard. Because the grave yard was in sand the flood washed a number of caskets/bodies through Trujillo. We spent a full day helping people “bail” water out of garages/homes that were below street level. (Matt)
- Other than everything involved with being an American in Peru? 🙂 My first day (and subsequent week) in the mission was insane by my reckoning. As we arrived to the mission office, we were told that everybody in my group would be close to the main offices except for one; one of us would be sent to Chimbote — roughly 2 hours away by bus. I knew that was me and I was right. I boarded the bus with one other American on his first transfer and a Peruvian. Since my ability to process the language was spotty at best, I pretty much stuck to the American guy. He told me that we’d know we were getting close to Chimbote when we could start smelling it. I thought he was joking but about 15 minutes before we got there I could start to smell the most foul thing ever. The bus dropped us off in the middle of the busiest street. The other two elders grabbed their bags and just started walking across the street in between all the traffic. I just stood there dumbfounded as the bus drove away and traffic was zipping around me honking at the stupid American. Finally, I followed. We wandered around for nearly an hour. The Zone Leader was supposed to have met us but it took him a while to find us. The other American and I went with the Zone Leader and the other elder went off with his companion. Apparently my companion was “deathly ill” and the other American’s companion was hanging out with him until we arrived. Upon arriving to my new home, the elder staying with my trainer stuck his head out of the window and said “oh man, your companion is sooooo sick. He’s been puking his guts out!” Welcome to the mission, I thought. I spent the next week only leaving the house twice; once to go with my companion to the clinic whereupon he received a shot in his bum from the gay clinic doctor, and once to pick up his medicine. Our pensionista would bring meals at all the appropriate times; I’d answer the door unable to communicate with them except basic “hola” and “gracias”. I heavily questioned what the heck I had gotten myself into. By the time I left the area 6 months later, I was able to communicate quite well. Everybody always had a good laugh at my expense, how everything started there. We are all good friends now. (Jonathan)
- My companion and I knocked on the door of the compound in Huaraz where the Sport Ancash professional soccer team lived. We thought they would tell us to go away but they opened the gate and told us to come on in. We were able to teach almost the entire team on the spot. They were kind to us and even invited us to come back anytime during soccer season. (Robby)
What was a spiritual experience?
- I love visiting less active members. I found a name on one of the lists that stuck out to me and determined we should go to visit the family. It was a mother and her adult son. They welcomed us into their home and we determined that they had been offended by some members 25 years ago and had never gone back to church. They had had very few visitors from the church come to see them and had forgotten many things. We helped bring back their testimonies and get them reactivated in The Church. It was an experience that I will not easily forget. I watched them change and saw their hearts soften. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing the Atonement work in a life. (Hannah)
- I remember one time we were teaching someone about our age whose grandparents and aunts and uncles were members but whose parents were not. He loved what we were teaching, came to church, and wanted to learn more and more but didn’t want to get baptized until he knew more of the gospel and had read the Book of Mormon completely. We kept teaching all that we could because we just loved him, but eventually we hit a point where there wasn’t really more we could teach him and he would just need to get a testimony himself and decide whether or not he wanted to be baptized. We expressed our love for him and that we understood his concerns. We explained that there wasn’t more we could teach him and he would have to get a testimony for himself and act on the testimony he received. We bore our testimonies and then just waited to hear what he had to say. After what seemed like forever and after letting the Spirit do the teaching for a while, he simply asked when he could get baptized. I cried. He said he knew it was true and that he just needed to take the step of faith and be baptized. He was baptized and is still doing well today. (David)
- Having all of our appointments fall through one after the other all morning with nothing else planned and no ideas for what to do next, we decided to visit an elderly sister who lived in a shack made of poles and woven mats. I had no idea why but we went and found that part of her roof had collapsed and she was unable to fix it. When we arrived, she was crying and said “my angels are here!” We were able to dig a hole and put in a new wooden pole and get the roof fixed. A couple months later, the whole branch got together to get new mats on her whole house. I didn’t realize it at the time, but all those failed appointments led us to her in the worst moment of her life. (Steve)
- After opening Otuzco as a new area, we taught the adult children in a family and their children. In one case the mother and children wanted to be baptized and the father asked to talk with us. Over the course of about 35 minutes my companion and I talked about why membership was important. I talked about how beneficial being a member of the church was while I was primary age. The Spirit testified to that father of the blessings to come and his family was baptized the following Sunday. (Matt)
- The mission, of course, was full of them. One of the strongest ones for me though was in my first area. We were walking down the street and some chick kept calling out to us. We were far enough away we couldn’t hear what she was saying so we figured she was just cat-calling us and we kept moving. She hurried to catch up and when she yelled “Elderes!” we realized she at least had an inkling of who we were. We turned and closed the gap to talk to her. It turns out she had received all of the discussions in Piura but had moved to Chimbote right before being able to be baptized. She really wanted to be baptized. We were still a bit leery but went ahead and made an appointment and quizzed her about the charlas. She was able to intelligently answer everything so we figured she really did have a desire beyond speaking with a couple of gringos. Since we weren’t present for the original discussions we decided we’d probably better go back through them before moving on to baptism. Her uncle joined one day after we were 3-4 charlas in, so we gave him a condensed first discussion and a Book Of Mormon along with a reading assignment and a follow-up appointment. He seemed pretty much a vato so we didn’t expect much out of him. A few days later as all of our appointments were falling through, I mentioned to my companion that we should go check up on this girl’s uncle and see if he read his assignment and wanted to continue the discussions. I suppose I was young enough and not cynical enough yet to have the same thoughts as my companion; he was ready to write him off. We visited him. To our utter surprise, not only had he read the assignment we gave him, but he read the entire book of 3rd Nephi and memorized about half of it. He told us he wanted to be baptized. We spent the next couple months teaching him and working through some challenges he had but ultimately he was baptized and actually asked and went proselyting with us after he had the third discussion. He entered the mission field shortly after I came home and continues to be a strong member of the Church (as does his niece). (Jonathan)
- Having fasted and prayed to know where to go, my companion and I remembered a trail we had seen. We decided to go find the trail and when we started up the trail we found a man that accepted our message and was baptized 2 weeks later. That man has since gone to the temple and completed baptisms for the dead and has been an amazing missionary in his village. (Robby)
What are some interesting facts about the Trujillo Mission?
- This mission has the largest amount of ancient ruins in South America. They are usually from a civilization called the Moche. Trujillo and Arequipa Peru are always changing as to which has the second highest population in Peru. Lima is the first. The Trujillo temple was dedicated in 2015. (Hannah)
- There was no official training system or method of training when I started the mission (no booklets telling you what to do and when to do it). There weren’t specific points of Preach My Gospel that we focused on either when I started out. Those came while I was out on the mission (if they still do those). We weren’t allowed to email anyone except our immediate family. (David)
- Most of the mission is a desert. When I thought about Peru, I pictured green mountains and llamas but Trujillo is in the middle of a very dry, sandy desert. I didn’t know this and I was pretty surprised when I got there. (Steve)
- Our zones went from Cajamarca to Huaraz with most of areas on the coast. (Matt)
- Peru, in general, has some of the most heavy density of ruins per square mile than anywhere else in the world. It is amazing. Peru is an extremely culturally rich country and anybody that goes in with the right attitude will come back absolutely in love with their history and culture. Peru is proud of a few things but one of the funniest to me was the variety of potatoes they have. I’d always hear different quotes about it but it seemed they had around 50 different breeds of potatoes. (Jonathan)
- My mission just got a temple last year. I served my entire leadership under the direction of President Lane Ward. (Robby)
What was the weather like?
- The weather was mild all year round. It got up to about 90 and topped off and in the winter it didn’t get much below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. It was fairly humid, but not uncomfortably so. The coast stayed very dry in terms of precipitation. It rained maybe 3 times my whole mission for a total of 5 minutes each time. Nothing falls from the sky but mist, and those events are few and far in between. (Hannah)
- In Huaraz, it would get kind of cold sometimes but it wasn’t too bad. The rest of the places I served in were always pretty warm even in the winter. Summers would get pretty toasty when I was along the coast and around Trujillo. All in all, I loved the weather and how warm it always was. I didn’t see a lot of rain either except in Huaraz. (David)
- They call Trujillo the City of Eternal Spring because it has a pretty mild climate. In the summer, the sun can be pretty strong though, and in the winter it is overcast most of the time. It doesn’t get really cold, but there are no heaters in the homes so you might want a sweater. (Steve)
- Warm and humid on the coast, in Cajamarca (areas at elevation) the temperature would drop significantly at night making early mornings and later evenings quite cold. I don’t recall any real rainstorms, but there was “misting” during the wet season and a couple of lightning storms that were pretty spectacular. (Matt)
- I was on the coast the entire time so it never rained. Ever. It was humid all the time, however, so a seed left out on the ground would actually begin to sprout and grow all on its own. Temperature ranged from 50* to 110* depending on the time of year and where you were at along the coast. 50* high humidity was COLD. 110* high humidity was insanely hot. (Jonathan)
- In Trujillo, it was 75-80 degrees all year around. In Huaraz, most days were 70 degrees but some days were cold and rainy around 40 degrees. (Robby)
Any things you really like about the area/people?
- Everyone (generally) is religious in some form and are not openly opposed to speaking of religion. They easily will give their contact information even when they are not interested in the message of the Restoration. That disinterest can usually be changed by a little love and persistence from dedicated missionaries. People like to talk. It isn’t hard to start a conversation. The people are so generous and give unconditionally. They are a very passionate people and can love deeply. (Hannah)
- They were so giving! They didn’t have a lot but they wanted to give and share what they had. They were pretty willing to listen and ready to just let you into their house to teach them compared with a lot of places around the world. Very Catholic which was good because they knew about Christ. The people were pretty chill and fairly nice all things considered. They loved good food and sharing good food with us. (David)
- The people there are amazing. They are very humble and loving and I have never felt so welcomed anywhere else. I wish more Americans were like that. (Steve)
- The people were willing to talk with missionaries and service opportunities abounded. Life was pretty simple! (Matt)
- As you will hear about other missions around the world, the people of Peru are extremely humble and giving. Everybody is willing to talk to you (as an American), whether or not they have any interest in the message you bring. People are willing to give the shirt off their back, however, no matter the circumstance, in order to help another individual out. Family is everything to them. Coming from the sort of background I do… it was a beautiful thing to see. They truly believe in caring for their family members and they are all an integral part of each others lives. (Jonathan)
- The people are humble and faithful. Most everyone has faith in God and his commandments. The food is amazing. (Robby)
Any packing/clothing advice?
- A coat is a must, but it really does not need to be all that thick. Sweaters and cardigans are perfect for most of the year. Lightweight clothing is good for summers or in winter can be layered. Don’t be afraid to get a little colorful, the people love to implement lots of colors in their wardrobe. Speaking to the sisters, if you have a size 9 foot or larger, you will not be able to find any shoes available. They just do not exist. However, for you smaller-footed people, it is pretty simple to buy new pairs of shoes. They are cheap, so they don’t hold up for a really long time, but they are fun and beautiful. In this case you can buy many shoes over the course of your mission for the same cost as one pair of really nice shoes. I loved buying some of the shoes, they were so beautiful. They also have shoe repairmen who work in the streets. They are also pretty cheap if you have a nice pair of shoes that break or need a repair. Summers do get pretty warm, but it is definitely manageable. (Hannah)
- One suit jacket was great for me. Get some good shoes and make sure to alternate pairs so they last longer. If the soles wear out, see if you can get them fixed at a zapateria. Don’t buy cheap shoes from a market unless you are really sure they’re pretty good quality. I bought some once and they hurt and wore out in about two weeks. Buy the pants a little big because you might “grow” a little bit at the beginning of your mission. I did. I lost it at the end of my mission but I wasn’t used to eating so much at the start and gained some weight. I liked having pants that weren’t super slim and tight so that I could walk comfortably. I used short sleeve shirts a lot more than long sleeve although you will need long sleeve shirts for more formal occasions (baptisms, meetings with the President). Get some great socks. I invested in some great socks and some of them are still around (I got back almost four years ago). I got everything from Missionary Mall. I wish I had purchased a more tailored suit jacket though, although that’s not really important or not, just a preference. (David)
- Take a hoodie. I took mine out at the last second when I packed and I regretted it. It gets just cold enough that sometimes a hoodie is nice at night. (Steve)
- I was not told to take a jacket or sweaters. I only needed them while serving at elevation, but had to ask my family to send a rain jacket. (Matt)
- Have a variety of garments. It is hot in the summer and (feels) cold in the winter. You’ll want thicker garments for the colder time of year. It is funny to think that 50* is cold… but… it is. (Jonathan)
- A good rain coat is a must. I never saw rain in Trujillo but during the rainy season it rained a ton in Huaraz. (Robby)
What blessings did you receive from serving a mission?
- I learned to love the gospel. I came to know my Savior and my God very personally and teaching the gospel strengthened my own testimony a lot. I think every blessing I’ve received in my life I can trace back to the mission somehow. I know I wouldn’t have been ready to marry my wife if I hadn’t been prepared and molded in the mission. (David)
- I am fluent in Spanish and I use it often in my work. I have family and friends in another country. I learned how to be patient with others but especially myself. I learned to be organized and take care of myself. (Steve)
- I use my Spanish frequently, after earning a Spanish degree I was able to obtain work because of the fluency obtained while serving the Lord. I’ve also learned how to recognize when the Spirit is speaking to me, which has been exceptional important while making major life decisions (marriage, children, work, moves). (Matt)
- A greater love and understanding of God’s children. We are not all the same and we all have different backgrounds. It was great to share two years with people from all walks of life, not just the immediate culture and city I grew up in, but people from all over the United States and from different South American countries. Self-confidence. I grew up with a high lack of self-esteem. I grew to love myself in the service of other people and the ability to love myself grew into confidence in myself. (Jonathan)
- My entire life is better because of my mission. I have a wonderful wife and 2 kids. I have had a successful career and have even been able to use my Spanish. (Robby)
What are some skills you gained?
- I learn self-control and patience. I learned how to focus gospel lessons on the needs of those I’m teaching. I learned how to listen to the Spirit. My prayers have become more meaningful. I learned how to study. I learned how to use my time a lot more efficiently. I learned how to work really hard. I learned how to set a goal, identify obstacles, and then make specific plans to help me overcome obstacles and achieve goals. I learned how to talk to people and ask the right question. I learned how to love. A lot of these things helped a ton in school and work. The list could go on and on. (David)
- I learned how to talk to people. I wasn’t very good at that before. I also learned how to study well.
- Mud stomping to make adobe bricks. Spanish. The ability to laugh at myself. (Jonathan)
- Communication skills. Study skills. Hard work. Perseverance. (Robby)
What do you wish you knew/did at the beginning of your mission?
- Listen to people. Just listen. Don’t worry about talking so much or convincing people you’re right. Listen to them and learn who they are and what’s missing in their lives and then teach to their needs. Don’t let something you want to accomplish get in the way of loving someone. Have fun!! (David)
- I learned how to talk to people. I wasn’t very good at that before. I also learned how to study well. (Steve)
- I wish I’d studied the New Testament more before my mission. Understanding how the New Testament and Book of Mormon witness of the Savior was a particularly spiritual experience with investigators.
- I wish I’d studied the New Testament more before my mission. Understanding how the New Testament and Book of Mormon witness of the Savior was a particularly spiritual experience with investigators. (Matt)
- I wish I would have initially been more tolerant of our differences. I grew up in a bubble of a community; everybody was “the same”. I didn’t get to experience other cultures or ways of life so, when introduced to them as a missionary, it was a tough sell at first. (Jonathan)
- More spanish. (Robby)
Any advice/testimony for pre-missionaries going to Trujillo?
- Be obedient and work hard, but enjoy every day of it. If you’re not enjoying it and having fun then you’re doing it wrong. I was way too uptight and serious when I first started out. Don’t get so caught up about working hard that you overlook how to work efficiently. Pray for people by name. Be specific in your prayers. Let numbers serve as indicators as to how you can serve better and work more efficiently but don’t let numbers get in the way of loving. Know that Christ lives and that this is His work. He can do amazing things with you no matter how imperfect you are as long as you are humble and willing to try. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. (David)
- I think about my mission every day and I am grateful for the things I learned. It was not easy, and there were times I wanted to come home. That’s the honest truth. It doesn’t make you a bad missionary to want to come home, it makes you human. It goes by faster than you think and it will make you a better person. I honestly don’t think it was the best two years of my life (not being married and a father). However, those two years made these years the best and it wouldn’t be the same if I had not gone. (Steve)
- Know the Lord! It’s good to know scriptures and what leaders have said, but if it hasn’t been confirmed by personal revelation it will be difficult to share with those you’ve been called to serve. (Matt)
- Your testimony and love for the people will grow more than you would have ever thought. (Robby)
What was a funny language mistake?
- I once told the landlady of the apartment that I would pegar (Hit/Punch) her in the morning. I had meant to say pagar (Pay). Another time I was speaking to a member and said that I had hombre (man) when I’d meant to say hambre (hungry). (Hannah)
- I kept saying una profeta in one my lessons instead of un profeta and by the end of the lesson both my companion and the guy we were teaching were asking who this new girl prophet was. Another missionary said miembra to a woman (soon to be member of the church) instead of la miembro. Miembra is not the right thing to say. It sounds like mi hembra which kind of means “my woman” in a demeaning way. This lady was not super impressed. (Even more common is just to say miembro). (David)
- For most of my mission, I told people they would get a replacement (repuesta) instead of an answer (respuesta with the very important “s” included) to their prayers. I did this for about 16 months until my companion pointed it out. I don’t know where my companions were all the time before that, but obviously not listening to me! haha (Steve)
- Message = mensaje & massage = masaje, so funny watching a lady listen to a recently arrived North American! (Matt)
- The classic one; my companion said he was “embarrassed” about something. He tried to directly translate the word to Spanish. So… he said he was man-pregnant. Tee-hee! (Jonathan)
- One investigator thought I was saying that Joseph Smith looked like Jesus Christ and that was our whole message. I was trying to say that Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph smith. To appear and to look like sound a lot alike in Spanish. (Robby)