*For over two weeks all the tiendas have been selling pinatas representing the satanas, the bodies are all red, the mustaches and beards are black, and they are plastered with the digits 666. The tiendas were preparing for the flood of costumers that come on the 7th and buy the devil pinatas and later stuff them with fire works. I still don't understand why it's held on the 7th, but on that night they set them all on fire along with pieces of paper describing their sins. During the hour they lit them up we were unfortunately in the chapel listening to the Christmas program, it was like being in a London blitz with all the fire works banging and coincidentally with accompanying earth trembles shaking the building. I felt left out, not that it wasn't great I loved the Christmas program, but it sucked that the advents were simultaneous. I wanted to see devils burn! not hear stories of baby Jesus. For that I probably need to repent; I will buy a devil pinata today write that sin and set it off a day late.
*Your quotes aren´t as bad as mine are this week. the only thing that's been running through my head is about reincarnation. An investigator asked us if it was possible, my comp answered that no and we left it at that. After that lesson I told my comp ¨I hope reincarnation is true; I want to be a dolphin.¨ He appropriately just looked at me like I was crazy and just sighed, shaking his head. But yeah, that is my deep thought for the week.
*yesterday My comp and I did a full 24 hour fast, at the end of the fast 8 in the afternoon we met a member in the street we greeted him and started to talk to him we told our situation that we had been fasting the whole day and had no food in the house and couldn't buy anything on the sabbath maybe we could leave a breif message with you? hinting, we are starving, feed us!! He said, ¨oh que lastima, its a good thing tomorrow is p_day you will feast at taco bell tomorrow and also you can visit me that night.¨ in tears we returned home ):
*Last Tuesday a non-Mormon organization gave free medical service to this town and held it at our church, it was pretty cool Ill share my journal entry-
50 Texan doctors held a jornada in the church today they represent the organization la fe en practica. I learned that it has been their third time to do so in Sanarate. As the elders of the barrio we have the opportunity to help them. How embarrassing, I accept to be their translator. My job is to describe the symptoms and problems of the patients writing them down in English so that the doctors, who cant speak Spanish, understand. I'm really not proud of them, these are two that I remember "his bellybutton hurts." "Her right boob hurts." At this moment I{m really feeling like Mr Bean. I spend all my energy in trying to understand the new medical Spanish terminology that it isn't tell later I remember more sophisticated English descriptions like "naval infection" or "R breast pain." One lady points to her shoulder/back and starts to complain, but from what I can translate she is talking of her lungs. I write down that both have problems, later on a man does the same. I guess its a culture thing that they point there to signal their lungs...
*Some days I wonder when things can just level out and not have so many ups and downs in the mission. There are many days that feel like I am on a roller coaster ride with many highs and lows in the same day. I thought about these sentiments and it reminded me of almost year ago when I was hooked up to a heart monitor. I know at that time I didn’t want to see a straight line appear on the screen. That would have been very bad news. The up and down lines on the monitor let me know I was alive.
* Lunes: I really like teaching the BOM the people are caught super interested every time we explain it, and I love to see their wide eyes in reaction to them having heard that Christ visited their ancestors and continent. It is probably my favorite lesson to teach for that reason, though I have learned to improve it. First you have to explain with detail and show a map to help them understand that they live on a different continent to where the bible was written but after that it makes perfect sense that Christ would have come and their testimony of the book comes easily. It then is a matter of to get that knowledge to motivate them to go to church.
Martes: During personal study a man knocks on our door. We go out to look. Hes selling chicks at the quet. ¡Que Oferta! breaking the rules of the mission handbook I buy two; a present to myself for a missed Easter. They are so cute and fill the room with happy chirps.
Miercoles: All the chapins or Guatemalans have dark brown eyes, mine stand in bright blue contrast to theirs. I had actually never noticed that until lately when I weighed up all the comments I have been receiving. But its true, I have the only blue eyes and almost no one I get to know fails to compliment them. The weirdest remarks have been accusations that I have glass eyes or threatening that they will steal them when I´m not looking.
Jueves: Today my comp and I contact a really old lady, we help her move a bunch of sticks then sit down with her to share a message. We ask if she wants something more in her life. She answers positive. "yes, I want something more in life. I want to die." the bluntness and irony of the answer. We assure her that she doesn't want that and repeat the question. "well I guess I would want god to send me a deadly disease or something." she is 100% serious in her remark and our laughter fades. She reminds me of the Russian lady on Saturday night live only wishing to be eaten by a polar bear but in the opposite climate. How sad, There really are people like that.
Viernes: During personal study I notice I hear no chirping chicks. WE go out to look, they are no where to be found ¡que tristeza! breaking into the night a damn cat gulped them up; my present to myself. They were so cute and now there are no loving chirps to fill the room. Job 1;21. God gives and takes away. easy come easy go.
Sabado: After having taught the restoration we ask the guy to end in a prayer, he does nothing extraordinary and declines. His dad who is a member insists asking him to just give thanks to god like one does in a private prayer in the morning. His sons reply is precious, he says "well, I only wake up in the morning then do this[he looks to the atmosphere and makes a thumbs up sign] then I say, buena onda" which in slang means something like- you are a good guy, or good man.
