Alex Ostler: Life of Adventure: I Met A Celebrity And He Tried To Kiss Me

Hermana Ostler’s Update – September 15, 2014

October is the month of the Mayor Elections here in Peru. As a citizen of the highly recognized city of Hood River, I can honestly say that I never knew Mayors were that important. Who IS the mayor in Hood River, anyways? I remember that about 6 years ago we got all progressive and elected a Mayoress and I think she dedicated a new baseball field or something....

But the point is, I had NO IDEA that Cusco would go completely APE for their mayor elections. Everyone is running around in the streets, bands are playing, people are fighting, candidates are buying votes with free beer and saltine crackers... it’s a nutcase. As a missionary I try to keep myself in a 3rd party perspective, neutral Switzerland status kind of thing. That is, until I met Mormontoy.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A MAN WHOSE NAME IS MORMONTOY? He is an architect and wants clean parks and paved roads and oh! Did I forget to mention that I met him? He is so much skinnier and younger and all around a dapper fellow. We met outside the church and he told me that he would actually LOVE to be a Mormon one day and gave me two calendars with his face on them and then tried to KISS ME. It was definitely love at first sight.

But really. What type of missionary gets all googley eyed for a Mayor candidate of the Wanchaq district in Cusco? Hermana Ostler, that’s who.

My vote is for Mormontoy. MORMONTOY MORMONTOY MORMONTOY!

This week were transfers again. I am pretty sure that President only puts in overly high energy people in this calling because WOW, if it wipes me out, someone who literally cannot stop moving, it would kill a normal person.

HERMANA CONDIE is living in my apartment now! I love that girl. This meant that I also had to put a bunkbed together for her... I can’t even fill a bike tire with air sometimes! It took 5 sisters and about two hours, but we FINALLY managed to put that bugger together. Congrats to me.

The miracle of the week was being able to see Hermana Sanchez and get the scoop on the people I love in Puerto. Norka and Pamela got baptized! It made me so happy to hear that sometimes we don’t get to see the reaping, but our sowing efforts really do help. Hermana Sanchez told me, “Thank you for teaching me how to be happy. Thank you for reminding me that it will always be hot in Puerto so we might as well accept it, love it, and move on.” I love Hermana Sanchez so much.

When we were in the bus station of Cusco... I SAW HERMANA ALICIA! She was my mamita in Puerto. She ran towards me with giant tears in her eyes. Her father had just died and she was praying for a miracle. She fell into my arms and began to say the most beautiful things to me in Spanish. “It’s a miracle. You are my little gringa daughter, my princess my queen.”

My love for the people here is so big. I feel like they have every little part of my heart and for this reason I don’t miss anything from home. I don’t miss skiing or windsurfing or boys or garlic bread... but I love these people. And sometimes I feel like that love is something that they will forget, that maybe they will never remember how much I wanted to be with them forever. But that little miracle of seeing Mama Alicia in the terminal taught me something. Love never goes away. It never forgets. It never fades. How grateful I am for the love of these people.

My new companion is the best. Hermana Valverde from Trujillo. She is so funny and crazy. We get along great. We love to work hard, walk fast, and get things done. She always puts her bangs in the classic 7th grade “bump.” She also is missing half of her front tooth from chewing on a glass bottle trying to open it two years ago. That kind of explains her personality right there.

I love you all!

Hermana Alex

This is my new companion, Hermana Valverde. I especially love her for her giant bump of hair on top of her head and for threatening to kill me our first 5 minutes together. (She is a major prankster and the best ever.)