Hey fam!
Changes have come and gone, and the results are... interesting. I am staying with Elder Fajardo here. I have been hearing a lot from dad about learning from adversity... And this is just another opportunity to do so. We have some problems... but here's another opportunity to grow.
That's the way I'm looking at it. As far as other changes, the Pte surprised everybody. Elder Belleau is leaving, even though he has less time in the area than Elder Wally. Both of the Hermanas from my district are leaving (*sad face*) and getting replaced by Elders. Two other sisters from the zone are also leaving. One of the Elders from my district stays in the zone, but gets bumped to ZL with an area change/whitewash. That means there are two whitewashes in the zone. That's really intense.
Let's see... The other changes were pretty normal.
This was a pretty quiet week. We had a wedding (EQ Pres w/ YW Pres), that was pretty fun. We are working really hard with Eugenia's dad, because he isn't going to church. We had a really powerful lesson about temples and he committed to going to church on Sunday to have an interview with the Bishop. Eugenia has been asking a lot about the temple, and Eugenia's mom is taking the temple prep classes. Now's the time to get him active. I thought that him not being able to baptize his daughter would hit him hard enough, but we've found another way in.
Anyways, he came, and I guess his interview went well. Oh, also, a guy named Hugo got his call Sunday too... He's headed to Paraguay Asunción Norte. I think that's where the other Elder Reed is, but I don't remember how long he has been out.
Christmas here is such a downer. I have yet to sing a Christmas song in Church, and I've seen so few decorations. But the plaza here in Trinidad has a tree, so that's cool
Let's see... There are some unresolved questions to answer. Our communist president, José "Pepe" Mujica takes office in March. But he is already buddying up with Chavez, who visited and promised Uruguay all the oil it needs for "100 years and more." Referring to the revolutionary militant group that Pepe commanded (which later landed him in prison, from which he escaped with a spoon and later granted amnesty) Chavez said "I would have liked to be part of the group you commanded."
Crazy, eh? We're in for an interesting 5 years.
As for the one year mark, it feels like it went pretty quick for me. I hope that means I'm working hard. But yes, the second year flies, according to the majority of other missionaries.
In the American School, we are mostly there just to talk with them so they can get some native interaction. We just talk, and if we hear something that doesn't make sense, we correct it. Some times we talk about specific things, like Thanksgiving, but usually it is like movies and girlfriends and the differences between Uruguay and the USA.
Recently we have been working really hard on grammar, because they have been preparing for the written test, which they took yesterday. They're a cool group of kids. But now we're done because school is out. Sadness extreme.
As far as the issues with the members, we're still struggling. But we're getting better. I, for one, am trying to learn from these experiences.
Like Dad said, they say things for a reason, even if they have a weird way of saying them. So vamos arriba.
So funny story... Last Thursday I lost my keys (they had fallen out of my pocket in an investigator's house). So we were locked out of the house. But the other Elders came and opened it up when they came for their study time. Then after study, they left before we did, but upon leaving locked the door - locking us in. Ridiculous! The landlady is out of town, and nobody else had keys. We called the investigator that we were visiting that morning, but she was working and hadn't noticed the keys. But we saw miracles, and the other Elders showed up like an hour and a half later, because Elder Belleau had forgotten something. So everything worked out.
PRAYER ALERT! I've told you that Hermana Alejo has been sick... last week she got some test results back and she shows TB-positive. So she's on a terrible treatment that makes her pains feel a little better, but makes her too nauseous to stand up. I'm not even sure if it is a treatment or just a preventative thing... but we are all pretty worried about her. Prayers would be appreciated.
So I'm not exactly sure what is coming in my Xmas packages, but here's a list of stuff I'd love for you to send with the next package, if it isn't in an incoming package. No hurry. :D I'd love: a Real Salt Lake jersey (soccer, in case you didn't know. Lol), a thing of Black Kiwi shoe polish, lovely Febreze, some taco seasoning, and boots. If you haven't by chance hunted down a CAP guy to take that bag of CAP supplies, there should be a pair of all leather boots (not the part leather part gortex) that are about my size. My boots are getting torn up, and I need something waterproof. Also, just FYI in case you get any weird ideas to send me stuff, be informed that my neck size had decreased to a comfortable 15 1/2, 16 if you want to be sure. But I've been losing some serious weight.
Well, I love you all. Elder Fajardo is going to get his face cleaned (for his zits) so I'm headed out. Merry christmas!
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