Wuz up? Glad to hear everyone is
superb! Sounds like it was an awesome week for you guys! I had a pretty good
week muh-self! It seemed long (oh, and by the way, dad, as I’m writing this the
Heineken beer commercial with the Punjabi swing music is currently being
blasted in the cyber) but it was a good week.
Yes, we have a new Elder in our midst,
Elder ****. He is a very small, dainty man and he is pretty cool. He
knows absolutely no English except for the phrase "Yeah baby!" that
he loves to yell. He also loves to play “Sounds of the Sabbath” music (you
know, the ones with the lyrics that always seem to have something to do with
"the seed of Abraham"). As I’ve mentioned before, everyone
south of the equator seems to have no perception volume control so when they
play music, they really crank it up! If I get much more of this music at this
volume, I will personally find Ryan Shupe and hit him in the eye with that dang
Rubberband of his. Other than that, the kid is pretty chill.
We had divisions this week with both
the zone leaders and the hombres jovenes (or young men) and it went somewhat
smoothly. I got to lead out the lesson and it was surprising how much Spanish I
knew! And not surprising how much I didn’t know. But it was good, good stuff.
Yes, I did see Mo Jennings in a mall in
Centro and we met up and talked there. He is a way chill kid. Yes, my
hair is buzzed and, while I’m religiously putting on sunscreen, I’m still
getting tanned—who’da thunk! I’m also getting a bit skinnier lately as
well and I think when I get home I could look like Pearl’s boyfriends from
SpongeBob (the one who she said was “long, tall, and handsome” but, in fact,
was a nerdy sardine). With the buzzed hair, glasses, and a short-sleeved white
shirt I kind of feel like I should be working for Mission Control at NASA in
the 60´s but that’s great! I hope.
The ward is doing good: The
elders are still the only ones singing in sacrament meeting, everyone thinks we
are 25, and everyone thinks my last name is the most hilarious thing ever
because the Spanish translation of "the end" is "el fin".
Allphin also reminds our bishop of Alvin and the Chipmunks so every time he
sees me will say, in a tiny voice, "Alvin!" Personally, I wish he
would do it in Dave’s voice.
The drunken people are still
drunk. We have a park we call “drunken man” park where I saw a guy down a
whole bottle of rubbing alcohol. I could only applaud and yell "PARTY!” as
the paramedics got to work on him :(
People have really cool vineyards
around here. They have vineyards that are over head. It’s kind of hard to
explain but I’ll take a picture of one. Who knows? Maybe we've stumbled upon a
whole new way to make our grape juice....and booze. But well, that was my week.
I’m tired all the time but happy and if there is nothing else, I guess its
question time!
- Do we get the Ensign down here?
They have the Liahonna here (in Spanish
and English) but an Ensign would be very nice from time to time (:
- Do I get to teach much? Any cool experiences with teaching?
I put in my 2 cents with lessons and I
get to lead them sometimes. We are teaching this lady named Laura and we taught
her this great lesson where the spirit was incredibly strong and was just
undeniable it was there. We gave her commitments and everything but she
is kind of a tough nut to crack cause she’s been investigating for almost 2
years now. But we have had some nice lessons so far. Our progressing
investigators are super cool and they are really patient with me and my
learning the language.
- How are my clothes working out?
The clothes are working out *click*
“real nice”!
- What do we usually have for Sunday dinner?
Sunday lunches (and every other lunch) is
about the same kind and quantity of food. We usually have a Milanesa with
cheese or eggs or we could have empanadas (and pretty much just every tasty
thing).
- Do we eat the same things every day?
I do eat about the same things but my
eating clock is screwed up. We eat a MASSIVE lunch then like little snacks
throughout the day. So the days we stay home for lunch are grueling for my poor
stomach. But it’s all good, I have lots of snacks and what not...especially
these things called alfahores (dulce de leche cookies), they are soooo good.
- How am I getting on with the dogs?
Me and the mutts are getting along fine.
If I don't look at them weird, they won’t bark. But the cats! They are another
story...
- Where did I meet up with Mo Jennings?
Like I said in the letter, I ran into Mo at the mall. He is serving in Centro Jujuy so he’s not in my zone but
we’ve talked with him a couple of times, he’s way cool.
- Have we done any service projects?
We did one service project were we
shaved tree branches to make a roof (I got to use a legit machete) but other
than that, really nothing much. We moved some people’s furniture in their house
but a lot of the people around here like to do things themselves so we have to
work to find service projects here.
- How do I like my new roommate?
Other than the Ryan Shupe poop music
and the awkwardness of not knowing a ton of Spanish on my part, he’s a great,
funny kid!
- Is it still hot?
It’s supposed to be getting cold soon,
from what I hear, but it’s still a little bit hot as of now.
Well, well family. I best wrap it up
about now. I really love and miss you guys so much. I pray for you all the time
and I’m so grateful you always pray for me and go to the temple for me. What an
amazing family you are. Thank you for your letters and for everything you do.
Until next week! I love you sooo much! It’s all good!
Con Amor,
Russ
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