August 20, 2012 D&C 68:33-34

Dear family,
This week was fantabulous. The scripture of the week is doctrine and convenants 68:33-34. Well this week was really great. last wednesday did a companion exchange with elder cottle who is from utah. a member took us to a little town that is in my area called jinua. we didn´t know about this place but there are quite a few members that are inactive there. the mostly speak quechua and not spanish so it was kinda hard, but the member that was with us did a little translated. My pensionista is always teaching us quechua but I don´t know it enough to have a conversation. mostly just to say  "im full" cuz i am never hungry with my pensionista haha. We also did a service project with our was at an orphanage that is called aldea. We played games with the kids there and taught them all a missionary lesson. We also did service for them shoveling and picaxing so that the ground was more level and so they could paint. we have been working a lot more with the members which is helping all of our other fases of the work. especially finding new investigators and having more people in church. We also have been working with our 2nd counselor of the bishopric in our ward who is inactive. he attended church yesterday with all his family for the first time in probably a year. Overall I am happy and hoping to see a miracle this week. two quotes I wanted to share with you all is something dad told me in the letter he wrote me my first day in the MTC. "The only regrets in this life are when we don´t do our best." and " It is easy to accept our failures if we know we worked our hardest" Dads council is amazing and I love the support of all of you guys. Have a great week!!!
Elder Hurley

President's visit to Huaraz and Caraz August 12, 2012

The President and Mama Yuyu

 At the base of the Huascaran Mountain lies a little town named Caraz.

It is about an hour and a half drive from Huaraz.

This city has about 20,000 people living there,

and two of them are our missionaries...

Elder Cottle and Elder Mendoza.

It is a very traditional mountain town in Perú...

with the traditional clothing and way of life.

But the most famous resident in Caraz is Mama Yuyu.

She is one of our pensionistas

to our missionaries.

And she is known all over the Church here in Perú.

She has been feeding missionaries for 30 years in October...

that was when she was baptized.

That is as long as President Turk and I have been married.

The most amazing thing is that she remembers all of the missionaries

and where they are from and everything about them.

She is not married and her children live in Lima.

The missionaries are her life.

President Turk had the opportunity while we were in Huaraz

to drive to Caraz and meet her.

She was so surprised and excited to see him.

She is so interesting to talk to.  She has great stories.

She knows all about Yungay, the city right next to Caraz

that was destroyed by the earthquake in 1970.

A huge mudslide covered the whole town of Yungay

and killed about 20,000 people.

There were only 99 that survived.

And she was there at that time and knows the survivors and the stories.

I need to do a whole blogpost on Yungay.

It is an interesting place. We have Elders there too

One of Mama Yuyu's favorite Elders was the one that she called King Baby

"Rey Bebé"

And that was Elder Retamal that has just returned home to Chile

She has sweet nicknames for all her Elders.

She loves and adores each one.

She really treats them as her own children.

All of our missionaries want to be transferred to Caraz 

to be with Mama Yuyu.

We are forever grateful for Mama Yuyu and her dedication

and love for the missionaries and the missionary work.

Thank you is just not enough... We love you Mama Yuyu!

PS - While I was reading up on Caraz on the internet, I found out that

her Sister City Internationally is Mesa, Arizona,

 where I am from...  Now I have even more of a love

for Caraz Perú!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

Road Trip to Huaraz...

We are on the road to Huaraz...

and this truck is the first thing I see.

It reminded me of home.

 I had to put this picture up because my daughter Molly 

told me that the name 'Molly' is the number one 

dog name in the nation...

Well, maybe it is in the world!

Molly, this is a beautiful dog though... right?

Speak Molly,  Speak!

Huaraz is up in the beautiful mountains 

where many of the people still wear tradition 

Peruvian mountain clothing.

It is made of bright colors and big hats

and always a bundle of something on your back...  

But the best thing about Huaraz are the missionaries.

I love to see them.

We had two interview sessions, one with each District.

We also had a Zone Conference.

There were some fantastic special musical numbers.

Elder Vera is a fixture on the piano... He is talented. 

Here are a few photos of one of the districts doing some practices

with each other in companionships.

More music...

 Zone Leaders had them bring their mirrors from their rooms

so that they could practice looking at themselves as they were teaching.

The missionaries said that this was eye opening.

They are going to work on being a little more animated

and happy as they teach.

They are also going to clean their mirrors -  I hope.

The trip is always fast and furious.... and a little difficult for me 

because right when I finally get acclimated

it's time to go home.

I was dizzy for most the time I was there.

 This Zone Includes:

Elders: Fernandez, Shaw, Cruz, Fackrell, Ureta, Cottle, Mendoza,

Ramirez,  Beazer and Hoyos   Hermanas: Bell and Pillco

Zone Leaders below are 

Elder Yat and Elder Hurley

Huaraz Zone is under great leadership.

 We are always so happy to be with the Stake President and his wife

President and Hermana Zavaleta.

Thank you for your time and love with our missionaries.

We are out of here... Goodbye Huaraz!

August 13, 2012 Romans 8:28

hello family!!
This week was great. good hearing from yall. The scripture of the week is Romans 8 verse 28. This past was great, sounds like it was good for grandpa hurley also. air conditioning I don´t think exists here. But it is really cold in the night time here cuz im in the mountains. like you know president came to Huaraz this week which was awesome. Lots of work that we had to do so that everything turned out well. We had to teach in the three meetings that there were. It turned out well. President invited us to eat breakfast with him in the hotel on friday which was cool also. sister turk always brings lots of games to play for prizes which is fun. My packet hasn´t arrived yet. Well it probably has arrived but serpost is not giving it to us yet. haha. maybe this week. we taught about being animated and having more energy as you teach. We thought of the idea of teaching in front of a mirror to see yourself how you are really teaching. It was cool and president loved it. Today we went to a lagoon llanganuco. that was one of the first places we went to when I got here but we can do a trip like that every month. I sent some pics. This time we went in this small little van thing to save money haha so it was not too comfortable. But it was fun with the zone. one of our really ancient investigators maria came to church this week. Her husband got baptized a while back before I got here and she has been investigating the church for like over 10 years. she seems more animated and we are going to have a family home evening with them tonight. Overall the time is flying in my mission. its really sad to me. I don´t ever want to leave. especially as zone leader im always so busy packed with all sorts of things that the time really just flys. thanks for sending me pictures!!!! I always love to see pictures of you guys. thanks for making me laugh papa. sounds like mama is the traveling lady now haha. But thats cool she can visit so many places. I love you guys a ton and hope you are happy!!  Have the best week of your life!

Elder Hurley

August 6, 2012 1 Thesolonians 4:2

Dear Family,
This week was pretty good. good hearing from you. The postal services of peru are still on strike so i haven`t got the package yet but maybe this week. Dad made me laugh so much this week haha. The scripture of the week is 1 theselonians chapter 4 verses 2 through 5. Went to Trujillo which is always fun to change things up a bit. It is always a pleasure being with president and sister turk. We played soccer which was way fun. each team had jerseys from different real teams which was cool. The President and assistants are coming up to huaraz this week to do interviews and a conference here which is lots of work for us haha cuz we have to prepare everything the refreshments all the meals we will eat and stuff like that. But i did it once before so its pretty easy now. I was thinking about you guys and telling my investigators that you completed 28 years being married. Thanks for updating me about the people I know besides family! wish erika the best for me. Im going to write dayton. I think his address is 9 16 Hirao Josuimachi chuo ku fukuoka shi, fukuoka 810 0029 japan. Elder richards the personal secretary looked it up for me while I was there in the office this week. But if you could check with his parents or someone to make sure it is that and let me know the next week that would be great. Our two possible baptisms for this week seberiano and pedro 2 older men didn`t make it to church yesterday which is going to make it really hard for them to be baptized now. but we are going to keep animating and praying and visiting them. Our most recent convert Elida bore her testimony yesterday which was awesome. I Really felt the spirit and it feels good making a difference in the lives of other people.I got a letter from grandma and grandpa holt this week. They are so good to write me. I wrote them a letter today. Thanks so much papa for sending a picture of my baptism. I have been wanting that. I am going to print it out. I love you guys so much, have a great week! 
Elder Hurley

Sister Turks Blog Zone Conference August 1, 2012

Zoned In....

 President Turk gets pretty animated with his training to his Zone Leaders...

Watch out... He's on a roll!

I have to bring a ton of Lucy's Chocolate Chip cookies 

with me to these meetings

so that I keep them a little pumped up on sugar.

Nothing goes better together than a missionary and a chocolate chip cookie.

Our newest Zone Leaders at their first Concilio are ...

Elder Castillo, Elder Armstrong and Elder Davila.

They are already awesome leaders.

When it's time for the group photo...

I just send President Turk out to the backyard

and he stands in his spot.

Pretty soon a few see what is going on...

and then...  here come some more that are paying attention...

And soon they are all in place with their arms folded

and their heads looking up at me...

I don't have to say a word any more.

These are my favorite pictures...

They are a small but mighty army

of foreordained men who hold the Priesthood of God.

They are just starting to get a glimpse of 

the strength and honor of the Priesthood.

 I want them to know that they truly 

are created for Great... Great things.

They can't even comprehend them yet.

 Please note that Elder Mieles, front row second on the left

was back with us all day

after getting his appendix removed last night at 7:30.

We can't keep him down.

He was just a spectator... and he is laying low.

We had a little olympic soccer play today.

They were put into five teams according to the shirt

they were given by the field we were at.

We had Italy, Spain, Britain, Argentina and Brazil represented.

They play five minutes or until a team scores...

It is fast and fun and not heated at all.

They all need some cardio and some fresh air.

We are all Team Trujillo and we are Winners!

I should be a motivational speaker.

Our Zone Leaders are:

Yat, Pillajo, Casanova, Gamboa, Davila, Escobar, Marquez, Cornejo, 

Gomez, Northcott, Berroteran, Armstrong, Brian, Hurley, Saldivia, 

Mamani, Contreras, Vera II, Johnson, Castillo, Olivares, Lopez, 

Mendoza, Prebe, Frietz, DelaFuente

Office Elders:

Assistants - Vera and Mecham

Personal Secretary - Richards

Finance Secretary - Cook

Records Secretary - Castillo

Physical Facilities - Mieles

August 6, 2012 1 Thessalonians 4:2-5

Dear Family,
This week was pretty good. good hearing from you. The postal services of peru are still on strike so i haven`t got the package yet but maybe this week. Dad made me laugh so much this week haha. The scripture of the week is 1 theselonians chapter 4 verses 2 through 5. Went to Trujillo which is always fun to change things up a bit. It is always a pleasure being with president and sister turk. We played soccer which was way fun. each team had jerseys from different real teams which was cool. The President and assistants are coming up to huaraz this week to do interviews and a conference here which is lots of work for us haha cuz we have to prepare everything the refreshments all the meals we will eat and stuff like that. But i did it once before so its pretty easy now. I was thinking about you guys and telling my investigators that you completed 28 years being married. Thanks for updating me about the people I know besides family! wish erika the best for me. Im going to write dayton. I think his address is 9 16 Hirao Josuimachi chuo ku fukuoka shi, fukuoka 810 0029 japan. Elder richards the personal secretary looked it up for me while I was there in the office this week. But if you could check with his parents or someone to make sure it is that and let me know the next week that would be great. Our two possible baptisms for this week seberiano and pedro 2 older men didn`t make it to church yesterday which is going to make it really hard for them to be baptized now. but we are going to keep animating and praying and visiting them. Our most recent convert Elida bore her testimony yesterday which was awesome. I Really felt the spirit and it feels good making a difference in the lives of other people.  I got a letter from grandma and grandpa holt this week. They are so good to write me. I wrote them a letter today. Thanks so much papa for sending a picture of my baptism. I have been wanting that. I am going to print it out. I love you guys so much, have a great week! 
Elder Hurley

July 30, 212 Santiago 4:17

Dear Family,
You are the best. I have such a supportive family I love you all so much. The scripture of the week is santiago 4:17. I loved your letters. sounds like every one is doing really good. I want some pics of skinny shawn. haha. and maxer. mom tells me how everyone looks which makes me want to see them!! dont worry mama I´ll bring the shirt back if you send it. :) thats cool about the Goldens. I did learn stairway to heaven haha. well the begining of it :) ill have to finish the rest, haha but its so long and changes to electric guitar in the middle. but yeah ill do it. This week was good. we ended up with 18 confirmations in the zone in this month of july. we are animating to have the same success this month. time really does fly. its been a year since I was starting in Otuzco. its so weird. but it motivates me to work harder. The 28th of July is independence day for peru so this week was pretty crazy. Ive never seen so many people here in Huaraz. It was good for contacting people though and we did something called alzad la voz. (raise the voice) where we went with one of the districts in our zone to one of the areas to work hard for a couple hours. sent some pics. Last monday we went to this fair thing that there was inside the militial training base which was cool. lots of shops. Mom whits and courts would go crazy if they were here in Huaraz. we taught this week to a lot of less actives about sacrifice. we have to be willing to sacrifice everything for God. yesterday elder yat and I taught the class of 5th sunday to the whole ward. we focused on sacrfice as well and watched a video of when heber c kimball was called to serve a mission in england and had to leave his wife and kids. its turned out really well. We have been working with an older man named pedro. he has a baptismal date for the 11th. hes really excited and attended church yesterday, he has attended various times but has a problem with alcohol so we are helping him leave it completely. Its amazing how many people drink here. its like you are not a man if you don´t drink. its pretty dumb watching drunks all over the street doing foolish things. Im glad our family has never had that problem. seberiano our eternal investigator seems to be more serious now about his baptism. he has also a goal for the 11th. Overall Im happy and love you guys lots. hope you have a great week! didn´t get the package yet, but probably cuz the postal service of peru is on strike right now. haha. but it will arrive this week probably. going to trujillo this week so there will probably pics on the blog.  Love you
Elder Hurley

July 30, 2012 Holy Pants!

Dear parents,

dad mostly just wanted to say thanks for how great you are and sharing your dream with me. Ill always been your son for eternity so don´t worry bout that. sounds like you are getting younger so anything is possible too. Thats cool that you listened to some of my old music. I was thinking about some of my old songs this week and I am worried to forget the lyrics that I wrote haha. But before I left I put them on a USB in the drawer in the kitchen that I claimed. its probably not there now, but if you could find that usb and put it in a safe place like in my guitar case that would be awesome so I can remember those songs when I return. also should be in a folder on the house computer under after mission chris or something. let me know is these things are still around or exist. haha another things, missionary mall said before if i need to replace my pants they can do it with a picture of my old pants. One of my pants is pretty holy so i sent some picture of that, maybe you could go there and try to get me some free pants. haha. luv u!
christopher