Trujillo Peru Mission

Trujillo

Temple * Plaza de Armas * Old town Trujillo * Dinner with Saldana Family

It was a long journey to Trujillo for Lara and Sydney; SLC - LA - Lima - Trujillo. Gratefully the flights were running on time and all the layovers were reasonable. We didn’t get lost or miss a connection so all in all the travel was a success. 

Eric had arranged a taxi driver to pick us up from the airport and it was comforting seeing a piece of paper with “Lara Maxfield” on it as we excited the very small airport. As we drove into town Lara had flashes of visiting Trujillo 25 years ago. What was noticeably different was the Temple that lined the main road from the airport to the center of town. It is beautiful and certainly the best building in town.

With perfect timing Eric and Charlie showed up to the hotel after having been in the temple doing baptisms at precisely the same time Sydney and Lara were checking in. It felt good to be reunited - even though it had only been a week apart, it felt much longer, certainly because of the distances. Our hotel is lovely. It sits right on the main square that is lined with colonial buildings and a big yellow church. It’s simple and elegant and probably the nicest hotel in town.

After a very short, unproductive nap (too many horns from cars outside on the street) we went out for rotisserie chicken and French fries - a Peruvian staple. It was perfect comfort food. We made arrangements with a local guiding company for an afternoon walking tour of Trujillo. We had our private guide - Judith - point out all the colonial facades throughout the historic center of town. Before its independence from Spain, Trujillo was a filled with colonial homes that reflected European architecture. Huge wooden doors with interesting door knockers, ornate metal balconies and window decorations. Colorful stucco exteriors of yellow, blue, green, and so forth. Lots of these homes have been converted into offices, social clubs, and interesting store.

Another highlight from our walking tour was a visit to a local indoor market. We especially liked looking at the interesting fruits and vegetables. There were avocados as big cantaloupes and dark purple corn. Also, on our journey around town we ran into several brides, a few right in the middle of their weddings in the churches.

The highlight of our day however was connecting with a family Eric knew from his mission - the Saldena family. Lara and Eric visited this humble family in Paijan 25 years ago in their simple 1 room home. They have since moved to Trujillo and appear to have improved their standard of living. Their daughters, son-in-law, and 2 grandchildren joined us for dinner. There was SO much meat! We were surprised to learn that on the platter of meat for us to enjoy was cow heart and chicken intestine. Sydney and Charlie were brave and tried both - cow heart definitely better than chicken intestine. The Saldena family was so excited to see Eric. They brought their picture book from 1989 compete with a picture of Eric visiting in their home.

Dinner was enjoyable as we talked and ate, but the best part was after dinner when we returned to their home for inca cola and a quiet place to listen to Brother Saldena play his guitar.  At one point brother Saldena played a song he had written himself about the gospel. His daughter was visibly moved. When he finished, she recounted that during her mission when it was difficult, she would remember this song her dad had written and sing it to herself to lift her sprits. We were struck by the humility and faith of this family and again reminded of the goodness of God and his love for ALL of his children on this earth.