First of all, we did move. Its a bit expensive, but the house is huge and supposedly has hot showers (we have to figure out how to use the sophisticated thingy that`s attached to the shower). Its nice to have the change from almost no space, to extra space, I feel like I slept better last night because my bed had no clothes or other stuff on it. For any would be missionaries that were worried by my last letter, realize that the President of your mission understands that comfort is important to study well and feel the spirit, and will accommodate (to a point) you living the best option in your area (you cannot rent a mansion, sorry).
The only sad thing is that we found out yesterday that the Stake President wants to change the boundaries of our area so its actually mas arriba (farther up) the mountain that we thought. So because right now our House is at the end of the old border, we might be house hunting again, but the President approved for us to live there until we can find something similar mas arriba. But we will enjoy the house while we have it.
The new house even includes lemon and orange trees (which are really common here), and the oranges are fresh right now, so I`m looking forward to an orange or 2 (or 5) a day, plus fresh lemonade. I plan to use them while we have them, though I promise I won`t eat more than is healthy.
Because it also has a nicer oven than we had in our last house, I`m also thinking of cooking more. Also, because we actually have a cheaper store closer to our house. Its called Paiz, but based on the bags and everything, its WalMart. (the bags say WalMart in small lettering on the bottom). Like I said last week we also have other big American Stores, like Office Depot, Cinemark (which we can`t use), and PriceMart, which I think is Costco. It has the same layout, and you need a membership to enter (one of the Assistants to the President has one you can borrow).
This means it is easy for me to find and eat Peanut Butter, which is a nice little treat I got myself. Its a bit expensive here, but the little bit of Peanut Butter is a good pickup when I need it. (its my Tub of Happiness, if anyone gets the reference).
Meanwhile this week we spent a lot of time getting to know the members and the area. Most of the recent baptisms in our area have come from an area called La Montana, which is a 40 minute Mototaxi ride from our house. Everyone there has farms, and the missionaries have learned the best way to have a person listen to you is to serve them in that area, so we will be doing a lot of weeding, and other gardening. I also helped gather fresh cilantro, which was a sweet smelling experience. We usually take a mototaxi up, and we walk down, because there is a path down that is pretty fast. It means that we have been doing a lot of walking, and yesterday we were both pretty sore. Its also really built my testimony of member missionary work, because we have a couple of fiel (faithful) members who come with us to serve. One, Sandy Salgado, knows the investigators better than we do (because we`re new), and knows who to visit and when.
Everyone here is really nice, and there is almost 0 danger of anything bad happening. I don`t know quite how to explain it, but everyone here is kind of laid back and is content to just say hello as you pass. We`re still careful, but I feel really safe here.
Because our area looks and feels a lot like snowbird, or Utah in general, I feel really comfortable here. All that hiking was actually great practice for this area, which is Hiking every day. But its beautiful and interesting, which is a plus.
Halloween was good. We had dinner with a member, it was good, but we didn't do any specific Halloween stuff.
Halloween was good. We had dinner with a member, it was good, but we didn't do any specific Halloween stuff.
Know I`m safe, comfortable, and working. There is de masiado (more than enough) work here, so we depend on the Lord to direct us where we need to go.
Please send this to National Geographic, I'm sure they'll want it!
My first MotoTaxi with my companion
A look at our area from one of its highest points in {La Montana}.
All this is our area, its huge! There is more than this as well
Moving day. The Guy on the truck is Hmo M., a recently returned missionary of 11 months that is always eager to go out with us. He speaks English almost perfectly, with only a hint of an accent on certain words. He went to San Pedro Sula (Honduras).
