Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Happy Birthday to me!

It's October. And it still looks like summer here. Depending on where I go after this transfer, I may end up in a hot place. The Imperial Valley is a place where it is always above 80 degrees in the winter. And in the summer, it's always above 90, even at night. And during the day, it usually hits 115 or 120.
 
We got to eat with a Chilean couple last night, the L's. We ate what I term "The Cuatro Carnes", but I have no idea what the name is. It had some polish sausage, chicken, beef, and shrimp all cooked together with basil, bay leaf, tomatoes, and onions. It was DELICIOUS. I really wish I could get some recipes to bring home, but for some reason Spanish people don't want to give their recipes to other people.
 
The other day, we went to contact this potential investigator on our list, and ended up talking to this guy named E. He's about 82, and looks like Fred Flintstone. He sat there and cracked jokes at us for a bit, which we enjoyed, and then as we were about to leave, he told us that if we ever needed a place to stay, that we were always welcome. We talked to him a bit about our purpose as missionaries, and taught a bit about the restoration. We're hoping to send the English elders over to him. He did seem quite lonely.
 
And the other day, we had exchanges with the Zone leaders. I got to go to Imperial Beach, which is a quarter mile from the border, and spent my day with Elder B. DANG Tijuana looks dirty. Even from a quarter mile it just looked...filthy. But at night it's really pretty. They have a lot more lights on than we do at night. Anywho, we started out our day with a couple of teenagers that are learning about the gospel, read the scriptures with them, and went on our way. We then tried contacting some investigators, to no avail, and then we ran into C and M. M was moving to a new house, and C, her brother, was there as well. They both recognized us and waved us over. I assumed they were members, but apparently not. They were former investigators that the missionaries stopped visiting a while back. We offered our services, and spent about two hours helping them move. When the work was done, we successfully snagged a return appointment with dinner included. After that we went and met with G W. He's from Utah, he's a redhead, and he's got a mullet. He just sat there and talked with us for a bit about his work, his grandson, his family, and missionaries that visited him in Utah. He said to come back in a week or so. And THEN...we went to meet Elder T's and Elder B's investigators...from Haiti. They speak only French and Spanish, so we taught a lesson about Prophets with them. Another couple of their investigators were there, so we had a big lesson. We talked a little bit, and F, the Haitian guy, pretty much taught the lesson. He's a painter. And he's painted the temple. And the baptism of Jesus. Full-size canvas. He's INSANE. We just said a little bit about how important prophets are, and then F took over. They are SO BLACK, I LOVE IT. He's got the black attitude with the French accent while speaking Spanish. I really enjoyed that lesson. And then when I mentioned it to Bishop C, he said,"Oh. So it's a "Haitian-ing" of the work." And he started cracking up about that.
 
So. This week is senior week. This week, I have to plan everything, set all the appointments, and plan all the lessons. I'm planning on taking us into the eastern part of our area to try contacting more investigators.
 
And I'll be sure to hum a little happy birthday song to myself on Sunday. :-)
 
Have a great week!
-Love, Elder Crook

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