Dear Lenovo Thinkpad T450s

[The first writing assignment in the Pathway course is a love letter to an inanimate object. Some in the Area legal office were familiar with Pathway and that assignment in particular, having been students or gathering hosts.  In fact, Karina had written such a love letter to a car that she was selling in order to get a larger one needed for her growing family.  With that in mind, I wrote this letter, which I shared with our group at our farewell lunch.]

Dear Lenovo Thinkpad T450s,

I know this may be hard for you to understand, after all we’ve done together over the past 18 months, but the time has come for us to separate, to go our different ways. In short, I’m leaving you. I’m going to the United States, and no, I’m not taking you with me. But please let´s not dwell on this sad parting, but think about all the things we, you and I, have done together.

I remember the first day I arrived in the Area office and you were there waiting for me. I was in a very strange country with a language I did not understand, and the Area office was so confusing. A president and two counselors, just like my stake back home, but also Purchasing, HR, IT, Finance, and Real Property departments. Why? My stake didn't need them. And why does the Church need a legal department anyway? It was a confusing time, and then I met you. You were not some left-wing glitzy Apple MacBook for airheads, but a rock solid, black PC laptop with Windows, a ThinkPad with its deep IBM ancestry, a serious computer for serious business, just like the corporate world I come from. I felt a connection. I know your type and, while everything else was strange, I knew we would get along just fine. Then I realized you worked in both English and Spanish and that, once you figured out what I was trying to do, you could autocorrect in either language. Yes, I had a very clever computer companion.

We should not, however, brush over some issues. For example, when the great Mr. Qwerty invented the qwerty computer keypad he put the quotations mark key on the second row next to the Enter key, the question mark and back slash on the first row next to the shift on the right side and the ever so useful @ on the top row, shift 2. This is where they were intended to be. And what is that Alt Gr anyway? To be frank, for me your keyboard layout is so wrong.  And you have no HDMI output. Hello, this is the 21^st century – no HDMI? Seriously, what happened? Did you offend someone in IT? You also have this annoying practice of blocking me out, without notice and often when I need you the most, while you update yourself, often for a very long time. Really, this is very rude.

Then there are your apps. I’ll skip Interwoven because, as you have reminded me many times, it was not your idea, it is not on your hard drive and you refuse to take the blame. As for Infoguide, it is a very useful program that we both love to hate. Yes, I know you hate it too. Every time we logon my fingers feel you grumbling “clunky, clunky, clunky.”  But, of course, as you have reminded me many times, you've had better companions in the past and are hoping to upgrade in the future. But let’s not dwell on the negative.

I want to say how much I appreciate you never complaining about being asked to help out on matters outside your job description. You never complained about finding and printing out the Pathway lead student lesson plans and evaluations and student essays for the gathering on Thursday evenings or late on Saturday evening printing out copies of coloring pages for Sister Hyer for her primary lesson on Sunday morning. And that night the printer ran out of paper and we had to “borrow” from the Welfare department´s printer, remember we agreed that that was a secret best kept to ourselves.

Consider all the emails from Karina, Felix, Gordon, Elder and Sister Pratt and, of course, the Garfields, Dic Johnson and Mike Wood. As clever as you and Outlook are, your little electronic signals are wholly insufficient to communicate the love, professional respect and gratitude we have for each of them.  How can we show our appreciation? How about inviting them to lunch at Bistecca?

Think, dear friend, of all the emails we've sent and received about temples, Venezuela, contracts and leases, religious freedom, temples, Venezuela, missionaries and visas, Medical brigades, entity by-laws and organizations, government relations, temples, Venezuela, tax exemptions, land purchases for chapels and institutes and permits to build chapels and institutes, property embargoes, temples, Venezuela, benefit plans and government audits, temples, Venezuela,  the unfortunate employee who has to be terminated, audits, defalcations, title defects, expropriation, refugees, temples, Venezuela, legal implications of transgressions by missionaries and members, visas for visitors and employees, customs, and, of course, temples and Venezuela.

What a privilege it has been for you and me to receive such emails and help solve these problems. Now, don´t get all puffed up about it. Frankly, any laptop, even a lame Google Chrome book could have done just as well, and some, such as a new Dell, could have done it even better. But that isn't the point is it? Fate put, not them, but you and me on the receiving end of those emails and gave us the chance to help these faithful Saints in their efforts to build the Kingdom of God on the earth. What a blessing that has been.

In a few days I will return to Park City, Utah, to do what retired corporate attorneys do, but you will stay here, receiving such emails and trying to figure out how to best solve the problem. Don´t forget that behind each of those emails and its problems are the heartfelt prayers of faithful saints and you may be part of the Lord´s answers to those prayers. Enjoy the work, estimado amigo, it is what you were meant to do.

Elder Hyer

October 2018

Despedia (Goodbye)

Felix Gil, Legal Coordinator, Karina Moscoso, Legal Coordinator, Elder and Sister Pratt, us and Gordon Foote, Areal Legal Counsel.

Saying good bye and going home is not an easy thing to do. This is the legal department at a going home lunch in our honor at a very nice restaurant with great Peruvian food.

Another picture of the legal group following a reception for us with the area office employees. We were grateful to those who put these events together!

There were some other tender good byes with friends from Pathway and the temple (of which we failed to get pictures, but people we care for dearly and will never forget).

As a parting gift Felix Gil, the legal coordinator, and Gordon Foote, the Area Legal Counsel,  on behalf of the department, gave me the original title document for the temple property in Quito, Ecuador, a project I had worked since the day I arrived in Peru and which was finally completed the month before we went home. It was a very nice and much appreciated gift. It meant a lot to me. (While it is the actual, original title, not a copy, don't worry, there are more than one original and what is important is what is shown in the title records).

Back home (photo and sign courtesy of Daniel and Syndee).  Leaving our mission in Peru was hard.  There were just lots of details to take care of -- like packing and getting rid of the stuff we didn't want to bring back.  But more than that it was hard to say good bye and to leave a life we were so intensely involved in with so many people we were so closely connected to.

Special Guests

Carlos A. Godoy

In the Church, visits by General Authorities are a big deal. Here in Lima in the Area Office we have the blessing of frequent contact with the Area Presidency. When we arrived Elder Godoy was the president with Elders Falabella and Montoya as counselors. When Elder Godoy was called to the presidency of the Seventy, Elder Falabella was called as Area President with Elders Montoya and Held as counselors. They spoke frequently at devotionals in the Area Office, the MTC, La Molina stake conferences and other events we were able to attend.

When they are not out on Church business on Sundays (forming Stakes, etc.), they attend the La Molina ward, which we also attend. It is common for one or more of them and their spouses to attend our Sunday meetings. They frequently offer brief remarks and testimonies at the end of sacrament meetings. They usually also attend Sunday School and Priesthood meetings, where they participate as casually and naturally as any other member, offering comments and sharing experiences related to the lesson, but never really dominating the class or overshadowing the teacher. 

In particular, I remember a very powerful and encouraging talk by Elder Godoy at a Pathway devotional with Clark G. Gilbert, President of Pathway Worldwide. Elder Godoy spoke, in English at this time to these Pathway students, of his efforts to gain admission to graduate school at BYU. He is a very inspiring and engaging speaker. 

He's Brazilian, from Porto Alegre, and speaks Spanish with Portuguese accent and occasionally mixes up the Spanish and Portuguese languages (what some would call "portunol"). With his wry sense of humor and modesty, however, I think the Saints found his accent and occasional errors more endearing than annoying. In any event, his thoughts, and those of his wife Monica, were especially inspiring.

Evie greeting Elder Stevenson at the MTC

Mike greeting Elder Renlund following a devotional in the Area Office.

General authority tours always include visits to the Area Presidency and the Area Office and their itinerary almost always includes a devotional with the employees in the Area Office.  So, in addition to the Area Presidency, we were fortunate to be visited by then Elder Dallin H.Oaks, Bishop Gerald Causee of the Presiding Bishopric, Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, Elders Lynn G. Robbins  and Jose A. Teixeira of the Presidency of the Seventy, and apostles Elder Gary E. Stevenson (see  the"Brasilia 350, etc." post) and Elder Dale G. Renlund. (To help with visas and other questions, we sometimes learned of their trips before they were generally known. To avoid a premature disclosure, we referred to them in our  emails, agendas, etc. as unnamed "Special Guests.") 

Elder Stevenson, President Nelson and Elder Falabella in Lima

Of course, the big event was President Nelson's visit to South America in October just after General Conference.

Peru was the first leg of the South America tour. Just after meeting with Peru's President Martin Vizcarra, President Nelson spoke to all the missionaries. He spoke to all the missionaries from the  five Lima missions assembled in the Limatambo Stake Center in central Lima. It was broadcast live to the other missions in Peru and to  the MTC, where we were able to view it. In addition to President Nelson and Wendy Nelson, Elder Falabella and his wife Blanca and Elder Stevenson and his wife Lesa also spoke.

In his talk to the missionaries, President Nelson simply opened the Book of Mormon, which he referred to as his favorite book, to the middle of Third Nephi and chapter by chapter walked the missionaries through Christ's teachings about perfection, faith, repentance and, using these words of the Savior, carefully explained to them their role in the gathering of Israel in South America prior to the second coming of the Savior.  It was an unforgettable moment for missionaries.

Missionaries listening to President Nelson at the special Missionary Devotional.

The main event, however, was the devotional on Saturday, October 20, held in the Coliseo Mariscal Caceres, an Army-owned arena in the Chorillos area of Lima. Actually, this venue was not the Area's first choice. Another somewhat larger and nicer facility was selected but later abandoned after the Area Legal Counsel (our office) raised some concerns about the owners, who were then the subject of an on-going corruption investigation by the Government, and the unorthodox manner in which they were requesting payment of the rental. It was a good decision, as in the end the Coliseo Mariscal Caceres worked out fine.

Tickets to the event at the Coliseum were limited, but Gordon Foote, the Area Legal Counsel (who we work for) was given a couple of tickets. However, he wanted to attend the broadcast in the La Molina chapel where his family could be together. Subsequently, he gave us his tickets. Only seating areas, not seats, were noted on the the tickets and so we just kept following the directions of the ushers, who eventually seated us in the front row on the floor level. Yes, the ground ground, first row. I'm really not sure why, but that's where they put us. This is Evie standing in front of her seat. You can see how close we were to the podium.

Interestingly, President and Sister Nelson did not sit in the center on the stand, but in the first row to the far right of the podium, putting them right in front of us! Our speculation is that he sat there so that the podium would not block his view of the audience, nor their view of him.

Elder Falabella and his wife Blanca and Elder Stevenson and his wife Lesa also spoke, as well as Wendy Nelson. (Special Note: The translator for Sister Stevenson was Cyndi, a young woman from a small town in the Sierra, returned missionary and good friend of ours from the ward, the area office, the Institute and Pathway. She is a Pathway graduate and, notwithstanding the nature of event, was poised and confident and spot-on perfect as a translator.)

But it was the words of President Nelson, the Prophet, that everyone came to hear. Through a translator he expressed appreciation to various individuals, for the choir (which was pretty good, notwithstanding the terrible acoustics of the arena) and the members and made some introductory comments. He then paused and said:

“Now, I’d like to speak to you from my heart in a language not my own. Con su permiso, quisiera hablar en español.” (With your permission I would like to speak in Spanish.) 

He then politely dismissed his translator and proceeded to give about a fifteen minute talk in Spanish. With the audience so used to the speakers speaking through translators, and the fact that his pronunciation was pretty good, it took a moment for the audience to register what had happened. They were first surprised, a little stunned and then thrilled. It was an unforgettable moment.

His counsel was simple: the importance of keeping the commandments, the blessings of temple marriage, the Atonement of Christ as the foundation of the Church and the need for parents to teach their children of Jesus Christ, all delivered clearly and correctly in Spanish. 

Of course, he was reading this talk and I have some doubts about his conversational Spanish, but his pronunciation, while not perfect, was very good. No Spanish speaker would have had any trouble understanding him.

President Nelson is an especially warm and gracious person. He spent a lot of time greeting the choir and those on the stand and acknowledging the members in the audience.

This is a picture of President Nelson greeting those seated behind the stand. This was also the lead photo on the lds.org website the day following the event.  If you look closely,you may recognize the sister standing in the front row just to the right of Sister Nelson. You may have also recognized the person behind Sister Nelson's left arm, but her arm is in the way.

Religious Liberty

From left to right: Dr. Moises Arata, Guillermo Estrugo,  Elder José A. Teixeira, Elder Enrique Falabella, Ruth Renlund, Denise Posse-Blanco Lindberg, translator for Elder Renlund, Elder Dale G. Renlund.

In connection with Elder Renlund’s visit in September 2018, the Area held a Religious Freedom Symposium in Lima at the Limatambo Stake Center in central Lima. In addition, the event was broadcast to all the Stake Centers in Peru. Several of these events have been held in the United States, but this was the first in South America and something of a pilot for more that are planned. A number of important non-member religious and governmental leaders also attended. We were able to attend with Elder and Sister Pratt at the Limatambo building.

Elder Falabella conducted the meeting and Elder Renlund spoke about religious liberty, drawing on the Book of Mormon story of Captain Moroni and the title of liberty. It was an excellent address and, although based on text from the Book of Mormon, resonated with the non-members as well.  Elder Falabella and Elder José A. Teixeira,of the Presidency of the Seventy, also offered brief remarks.

The core of the event, however, was a panel discussion moderated by Ruth Renlund with Denise Lindberg, Guillermo Estrugo and Dr. Moises Arata as panelists. Sister Renlund, Elder Renlund’s wife, is a former practicing attorney and was very interested in the theme of the symposium, was involved in its planning and was very engaged in the  panel discussion. Denise Posse-Blanco Lindberg is a BYU Law School graduate, former clerk for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the US Supreme Court, and a former practicing attorney and district court judge in Utah. She is also a member of the Young Women General Board and has written and spoken about religious liberty, including an earlier address in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  Sister Lindberg was born in Cuba and lived in Puerto Rico and New York. Guillermo Estrugo is the Area Director of Public Affairs. I know him well and worked with him a lot. He is pleasant to work with and is very, very good at what he does.  Apart from his insightful comments as a panelist, Guillermo managed to secure the attendance of some key Peruvian religious and government leaders. Several represented organizations that Guillermo had invited to join in sponsoring the event. Dr. Moises Arata is a partner in the Lima law firm De la Flor, Garcia Montufar Arata and Associates. Dr. Arata has represented the Church on a number of matters, is an expert on religious and constitutional law and is a law professor at a local university. He is not a member of the Church.

All in all, the event turned out very well, which was a great relief to everyone in the area legal office. We had been involved in its planning along with Salt Lake and the Area Office, which frankly had not always gone smoothly.

This is a picture of the Limatambo Stake Center. It was one of the first stake centers in Lima and, therefore, has the benefit of preceding the standardized designs now used. It is difficult to get a good view of the building, because it is now surrounded by other, taller buildings and it was dark when we were there. However, it is a beautiful building. Note in the photo the exterior wall is not exactly perpendicular, but slanted slightly inward, and is constructed with large, cut stones, sort of an Inca motif. Also, some of the doorways inside are slightly wider at the base than the top, Inca style. I understand the Church plans to remodel the building (and so it will probably soon look like all the rest).

Bolivia - Cochabamba: Let your light so shine

While we were in Bolivia, we were able to go to the temple in Cochabamba. (It was a close call, as we arrived on Friday afternoon and the temple closed for maintenance the next night). The temple sits on the side of hill.  It is truly a beautiful setting for the temple. At night, the temple lights create dueling points of light with the lights from the Christ statue (below), which is on a hillside across from the temple.

This is the Cristo de la Concordia (Christ of Peace) on a hill to the east of Cochabamba, Bolivia. It is accessible by cable car, or by climbing 2,000 steps. We went by cable car. The statue is 112 feet tall and is modeled after the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.  Construction was started in 1987 and completed in 1994. Incidentally, the temple was announced a few months later in 1995 and was completed in 2000.

View of Cochabamba from the Christ statue.

Another view from the Christ statue, with Evie and these striking trees with purple blossoms.

At the base of the statue is this sculpture of a bible open to John 14: 6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” and John 15:12, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

Simon Patino was a small-time, struggling silver miner in Potosi.  He was not doing all that well, because silver prices were down.  But his claim also had tin and a very clever Simon switched to tin mining just as that metal boomed. By the early 1900s, tin baron Simon Patino was among the five most wealthy men in the world. He and his wife and family moved to Europe, but Simon, wanting to retire in the tranquil countryside outside Cochabama, commissioned a French architect to build a nice house there. The European-style palace, known as the Palacio Portales, was completed in 1927.  It was constructed with some of the finest imported materials available at the time – Carrara marble, French wood, Italian tapestries and delicate silks. The gardens and exterior were inspired by the palace at Versailles, the games room is an imitation of Granada’s Alhambra and the main hall takes its design inspiration from Vatican City.

We took the tour. It's an impressive place. The mansion could be the setting for a classic romantic or crime movie set in a mansion with a ball room dance floor, a balcony above, and a veranda just out the doors, in addition to all the ornate bedrooms, parlors and hidden doors and passage ways.

However, when the palace was completed, Patino's family was comfortably living in Europe, and he was still busy traveling between New York, Europe and Argentina. No one ever moved in. It was completed and then shuttered for about 50 years. While a few quests have stayed overnight, no one has ever lived there.

Eventually, long after Patino had died in 1947, the family decided to turn the house into an art and cultural complex and teaching center. When we were there, the palace was hosting a Latin America design exhibition in the basement. It was interesting and varied, including this dress design.

The gardens were beautiful and very European, but this, of course, was our favorite. (To be clear, the Saint Bernard is saving the girl in accordance with legend, not celebrating a kill).

Bolivia - Sucre: Colonial Bolivia

While Potosi had the silver, it also had a cold climate. Not surprisingly, once some Spaniards became rich and didn’t really need to be at the mine, they moved to a more temperate place, namely Sucre.  Sucre is now a lovely, peaceful old colonial town (and a favorite place for tourists and Spanish language schools). It is also the birthplace of Bolivian independence from Spain.  The Casa de Libertad, where the document declaring independence was signed, is just off the main square.

One of our most delightful experiences in Sucre was our hotel, the Parador de Santa Maria Real. Sucre was the seat of government in the area during the Spanish colonial period. The hotel is where the colonial administrative offices were located as well as the residential quarters for the Spanish government officials. Walking around the hotel was like stepping back into the 17^th century imperial Spain, but with electric lights, wifi, etc. and without the foul smells and other inconveniences of that era.

 The hotel has several courtyards. Above is the blue courtyard, just off the lobby.

Our room was off this courtyard (we walked through the blue one to get to it).

Yet another courtyard

The basement (wine cellar in a earlier time) included a museum with 17th and 18th century clothing, guns and other accessories of the colonial era.

This was the dining room in the basement all set up for the period (we never ate there). However, we did have the breakfast in dining room off the lobby where we ran into a mother from Utah, her son and his friend who were visiting their friend who was a temple worker at the Cochabamba temple.  Their friend was from Shreveport, Louisiana and had worked in the Dallas Temple!  We enjoyed talking with them. It is a small world.

Sucre (as well as other South American towns) like to clown around. This day for reasons we did not understand these zebras were out around the plaza helping people cross the street. One decided to help Sister Hyer and to be her friend.

Sucre is the "constitutional" capital of Bolivia, although La Paz is the administrative and functional capital. No one ever provided a logical explanation for this; it is just the way it worked out. As the constitutional capital, the Supreme Court of Bolivia, officially know as the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, is here. Above is the Supreme Court building (a neoclassical structure that looks like a supreme court building).

Inside the main courtyard of the building. The statute is of Dr. Pantaleon Dalence, an 19th century judge credited with creating the justice system in Bolivia.

The is the "Salon de Debates," where the hearings are actually held. Unfortunately, none were scheduled the day we were there.

The building includes the official library, which much like those in courthouses in the US is used by local attorneys and students, as well as the judges. In Bolivia, like other Latin American countries, the text of new laws and court orders are published in a gazette. This is a copy of the first edition of such gazette in 1858.

Evie and our tour guide in the room known as the Salon de los Espejos (hall of mirrors), which is used largely for official receptions.

Just outside Sucre is a national park where you can see thousands of dinosaurs tracks. We weren't able to go, but near the supreme court building is a really nice park and playground with a dinosaur theme  (we visualized our grand kids playing on all the cool stuff). 

Walking back looking for a place for lunch we saw a sign at this church, La Iglesia de San Miguel, for the "cafe de torre." Being hungry, we went in and found two young men really excited to have some customers. They had opened this cafe in the bell tower of this old church as a way to help fund its restoration.

This is the concept: A table and interesting furnishings at each landing on the stairway up the bell tower.

We, like everyone else, struggled up to the top where you get stunning views of the city. Despite the climb, it is a great place for a light lunch (I'm not sure how well it works out for the waiters).

While we were waiting for our orders (and we did wait a long time), a British couple came up, and since the only other table was taken, accepted our offer to join us. They were a nice couple, and we had very interesting conversations. They were part of a group touring Brazil and Bolivia.

Sucre sits in a bowl and at the top of one the side of the bowl is the Church and Convent of the Recoleta. It is an operating convent and runs a school to the right of this picture. But the real importance of the Recoleta is this:

The mirador de la Recoleta - the overlook that is the best place to get pictures of Sucre. There are also merchants selling here and we bought a few things.

Sunset from the mirador, on our way back to the hotel.

Sucre has developed a reputation for great chocolates with several  "artisan" chocolate makers here. The most well known is "Chocolate Para Ti." They offered tours of the chocolate factory along with a museum and presentation about chocolate making. It was fun and we got some free cocoa beans (although, after seeing all that goes into making chocolate, I have no idea what we'll do with them).

Of course, we bought some chocolates at the factory store for gifts. Sorry, we ate them instead.