So Erin and Casey arrived about two weeks after I did in Lima. When Erin first got here, she spoke hardly any Spanish, and still doesn't speak that much. Hence, you can imagine what it was like for her to come to church for three hours and not understand a word of it. She said Casey and her were "debating" going to the "English Ward" as it's known here.
Apparently the English Ward is all the way on the other side of Lima, about a 1/2 hour drive. From what Erin found out, Sacrament meeting is held in Spanish, but you can get headphones to have it translated. After that, there's two groups of Sunday School and Relief Society, a Spanish group and an English group.
You need to know here though that anyone from the Embassy who has a family lives in La Molina. That is where you will have an actual "house" versus here in Miraflores that is near impossible. I actually spoke with a missionary who says his mission president lives in La Molina because he has kids, even though he lives outside his mission. La Molina is also where the temple and MTC are.
I told Erin from the beginning I didn't care where she went and to do what is best for her. And they just might have gone, if not for the fact that people in the Santa Cruz Barrio (our ward) were begging them not to and asking them to stay.
This is where I get annoyed. My first month here in Lima hardly anyone in the ward spoke to me at all because they all thought I didn't know Spanish. Erin and Casey really don't know a lot of Spanish and here they are begging them to stay. I told Erin it wasn't fair and people just like them more. Erin said I should have threatened to go to the English Ward and they might have started groveling.
I should make note here, we are not alone. I think I have mentioned before, there is a British guy in the branch, Lloyd, who has been here on and off for 10 years. His Spanish tops any of ours.
Anyway, Johel sent me out as his little spy to find out what was going on with Erin and Casey. Erin and I get together once a week regardless so of course I know what is happening. I reported back to Lloyd and him and long story short, the ward is being invaded by the English.
Johel is going to start a Sunday School class in English, and guess who gets to teach it? (not me) Erin. He's also going to start having Sacrament meeting being translated into English also. People can wear headsets to find out what's being said.
It's not just the four of us. We do get a lot of tourists that come through, and there is a retired couple that are snowbirds that are to be coming south for the winter that I guess don't speak Spanish very well. I pointed out to Johel (as he discussed this with Lloyd and I) that there are most likely some members in our ward who would like to practice speaking English and Erin is the perfect person for that. Since she doesn't know much Spanish she won't revert to speaking it in class.
Let me put it this way, when they announced it in Sacrament meeting last week, the counselor said, "We'll be starting a Sunday School class in English. Let all your friends in other wards know." So between tourists, what few native speakers there are, and also Peruvians who want to learn, who knows what she'll get week to week.
I told her not to count on me being there. I actually understand the lesson in regular Sunday School and learn lots of vocab there.
That's not to say though I got off the hook. I saw Johel briefly in the hallway and was speaking to him about it. He then told me I guess there's a family that lives close by he wants to start having them come to Miraflores instead of La Molina. But they have "niños." I looked at him and said, "Niños?" He got a sly smile on his face, gave me a deep stare and nodded slowly and said, "Si, niños." Sigh. I thought leaving the country would get me out of primary, but noooooooooooo. It finds me again. So much for me thinking I'd end up with the youth.
Beats being ward pianist.
What I'm trying to figure out it, why do they want to keep us around so badly? Us english speakers don't speak Spanish that well, so how are we an advantage?
This is what I'm thinking, and I could be totally wrong. In Hungary, since the church was so new, having foreign members was a strength because they understood how the church was supposed to function and were usually pretty active and dependable. I'm not sure if that's what Johel is thinking, because it seems like this branch runs just fine on it's own, but then I've been here less than two months and can't make a fair statement.
Oh well, we shall see how it all pans out. In the mean time, Casey seems to be off the hook and enjoying having nothing to do. Then I had a random thought cross my mind today.
Casey is staying for 5-6 years, and they are down a counselor in the bishopric.
He's toast.
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