Bitter Sweet

November 10, 2014

¡Hola queridos!

Another fabulous week here in Sochiloa (insert hair flip here). Here's the good stuff.

Highlights:

-It rained early this week and I got COLD! Good thing I brought my sweater that day.

-While we were on the bus, a couple a few rows in front of us was making out hardcore. I really, really wanted a squirt gun. You have no idea. Moral of this tale: I am still very much myself. Also, don't make out in public transportation; it's icky.

-I saw my first Mexican fire truck! I dunno why but that made me really happy!

-I also ate my first churro here in Mexico! I can't believe it took me so long! I also just kept quoting Minion from the movie Megamind saying "Who wants churros?!"

-Sad things about being the only American missionary in the ward; when I jump down from the curb and say "Parkour, parkour!" no one thinks I'm funny, just weird. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up 'The Office parkour' on YouTube). [For your convenience I tried to insert the link here but was unsuccessful, so you're on your own. ed.]

-We have an investigator named Fidius (it's a Hebrew name, he tells us every time). Each time we see him, I just want to ask him where Ferb is. 

-We finally have hot water for showers! It wasn't a big deal during the summer but it's been progressively colder. Now it’s hot, though, and it's a beautiful thing. 

-We were with a member for lunch and her daughter and grandkids were over. After a while, one of her grandsons asked me, "Do you know English?" "Well, yeah," to which his immediate reply was "Say a bad word!" Ay … no.

-Today while doing our shopping, they were playing Christmas music. I was ok with it, because we've started to sing Christmas songs every once in a while during lessons. Sorry, Dad … I just can't help myself.

 

Well, aside from the highlights I'm not sure what to say about this week. There were some really wonderful moments, like when the wife in a couple we're teaching told us about how prayer has helped their relationship strengthen, how they hardly fight anymore and when they do it hardly lasts, how she's regaining affection that she'd been losing. But also there was the really awful moment when our "golden" investigator didn't 'pass' his baptismal interview because he wasn't honest with us about his struggles with the Word of Wisdom, and now he is unsure about his desire to be baptized. Or when I watched the Relief Society President cry because she's trying so hard to serve well in her calling but is receiving so little help from her councilors and nothing is turning out as she plans. That was really, really hard.

But, despite everything, I miraculously still find myself at peace. The blessings are real my friends; the blessings are real.

Read your scriptures, say your prayers, and tell your friends and family that you love them. 

Until next week!

Hermana Anderson