Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Fantastic

This last week has been fantastic! I've been having a great time doing some service, having Spanish training with the President, and all sorts of other things! Just now, (2 or 3 minutes ago) this guy came over and kept trying to Bible bash with us, WHILE WE WERE EMAILING. Oh my goodness, the apostasy is so REAL. I can't BELIEVE the things he kept saying. "Is there a scripture for that?" "No. We have prophets today that reveal the will of God." "NO. JESUS WAS THE LAST. AFTER HIM IT WAS FINISHED." And then my face was that of (-_-).

I still have 4 baptisms, but they're all after the transfer day, so I'm hoping and praying that I get to stay here one more transfer. And what's interesting, is that as far as members coming out and teaching with us, the best we have is 2 or 3 brethren that come out with us on Wednesday nights to do splits going to less active families. And that's it. We're trying to get the ward excited about missionary work, but it's hard when the culture is one of laziness. It's true. Mexicans find excuses to get out of doing something. I'm not pointing fingers, I'm just stating facts. But, the funny thing is that they are quick to give us name referrals, so we always have something to do.

Today, I'm DEFINITELY going to Balboa Park. We planned it, got the approval from the AP's to go out of our zone, and so we have successfully coordinated a district visit to Balboa. From what I know, there are several museums that are free on Tuesdays, so I'll be able to go to a couple. Also, the San Diego Zoo is there, but it costs $40 to go for one day to the Zoo, so I think I'll either save that one for later, or I'll just save it for after my mission.

And as for me, I am doing just fine. And I honestly and truly am happy to be here, even though the world is calling to me with a really loud, and obnoxious voice.

With the Missionary library and what we're allowed to read, I have been told that all we need is the canonical scriptures, talks by General Authorities, and the Missionary Library (Jesus the Christ, Our Search for Happiness, and 2 other books that escape my memory that I have). I would like to have the History of the Church books to read because there are some footnote references to those books, as well as several references to them in talks that I've read. But oh well. I'll just stick with what I have, I guess.

How does $137 dollars a month last here? The cost of living is CRAZY. Our apartment alone costs $1000 a month. One bathroom, one bedroom, a main room, and a tiny kitchen. And the food is no exception. *sigh* Oh well. The members feed us great food. For instance, we had some fish the other day, and I had a conversation with that member about how we as a family love to fish, and just yesterday, I had senale, which is a drink consisting of milk, barley, and sugar. Non-fermented, of course, but it still tasted good. Oh, and there were ants in it. Those were my favorite part. :)

I have yet to try authentic mole. It sounds good. I mean, seviche was good. And for the most part, people just feed us carne asada and stuff like that. Haven't really had many crazy foods here.

The other day, we went to this investigator's house, named M. Her mother has been in and out of the hospital with this virus that has caused her to have a stroke, and at the moment, her mother has trouble speaking. Right before we left, I felt we should give her mother a blessing. And so we did. While we gave her the blessing, I felt this strong sense of peace come over me when Elder W pronounced the blessing to be sealed upon her head. After we finished, they both were quite emotional, and we gave them some Plan of Salvation pamphlets to read. And after that, we met this referral, named M, (every other woman here is named M), and she couldn't get enough of us. She just kept talking and talking and making jokes, and after D, a member, gave the prayer before we left, she began to cry just when the prayer finished and said that we had been sent to her from the Lord. Eh? EH? Pretty awesome, right? So we're going to stop by and visit again next Monday.

I miss peaches. That's pretty much the only fruit that they have to import, and they are...meh peaches. The ones we grow are SOOOO good compared to the ones here. But I'll admit. The watermelon, grapes, oranges, lemons, and every other tropical/sub-tropical fruit is really good.

Thank you all so much for your letters and emails! Have a great week!

-Elder Crook

No comments:

Post a Comment