So, just what you guys have been waiting for, all my whining and crying is over. Hah! But what's it like in hundreds? Green. Everything is green and really pretty. Animals everywhere running around: horses, cows, pigs, chickens just walk around in the streets. Even in the houses. It's getting normal for a chicken or parent chilling in our lessons. Haha! The people are super nice, especially the people in our ward. They take really good care of us and love all the elders. All the people laugh at me because I am the new gringo. I don't know any Spanish but they always offer and like to help. So that's great. Also, the food is also really great when we get a solid meal. Most of the time it's just rice and beans. A lot of rice and beans. Haha! But we do have a bomb lunch every day. We pay for a cocinera to cook us lunch and do our laundry once a week which is nice, because her meals are always super hot fire boiii.
How the money works? We get 2000 limpunos every 15 days, which is US$100 (20 lipuros = 1 dollar). So after we pay for our Cocinera and electricity and crap, we have 83 lamps a day which is $4.15 to pay for breakfast, dinner if we don't have any, and everything else we need. Haha! So it's been a little bit of a struggle. But I don't have a problem with it at all. I actually kind of like living like this. It makes things simple and puts things into perspective.
That humidity… Oh my goodness, as soon as I stepped out of the shower, I am instantly sweaty again. So this is definitely the craziest roller coaster ride I think I would have ever imagined. It has already had some amazing high highs that I am so grateful for, and at the same time, there has been some extremely low lows, but I am also very grateful for as well. This mission is going to shape me into the man I want to become. While we were contacting today, we saw in the middle of the street a soccer game going on, which is pretty normal. But it just never gets old to watch them! I love it! They are playing on rocks and dirt, most of them don't have shoes, they used to bigger rocks as goals and they are just having the time of their life. So, we hadn't gotten any contacts for an hour or so, so I asked to play with them. The kids love when I play for two reasons: they like to speak English with me and they like to kick my butt in soccer! Haha! It started to rain hard and that's when it got super fun! It was just an amazing scene that I won't forget. And we even got three different appointments from that. So, win/win situation.
I want to share two quick little stories with you guys that aren't much but help me remember why I am here! First – we were walking down the street and saw a mom and son walking carrying groceries, so we helped them and shared a quick message with them when we got to their house about our Heavenly Father. I pulled out a pamphlet and asked if she would read it. She said very embarrassed, I can't read. But her eight-year-old son grabbed it and started to read. It was the most precious thing ever and I felt the spirit so strong! She is a single mom who works to pay for her son to go to school because she never could. I know this may seem like nothing, but the look in her eyes in the spirit we all felt when her son read the Scriptures was amazing. Second little story – the same day we were walking and it was raining super hard and we saw this old man getting drenched. So I ran over to him and put my umbrella over him. He looked up and had the biggest smile on his face. He was crippled and mute and we couldn't communicate with him for the whole time we traveled to his house but he just walked with his arm around me, and every once in a while he would look up and smile :-) Elder Gusman and I were drenched, because the umbrella would only cover him, but I could care less. It was an awesome moment! It's nothing huge, but for those reasons I am here! I love you all, think and pray about you guys every day!
Elder Lessard
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