Week 22: Laughing All The Way
¡Hola! Once again this week seemed to go by very fast! I hope you had a great week and saw the hand of God in your life.
Last pday we were going to buy some things we needed, but lo and behold our cards didn't work so we couldn't pull money! I got down 30 cents and we were scrounging for money for taxis when the finance elder finally activated our cards. But then seeing that we've not had the best of luck with anything these past few weeks with water, getting locked out of our apartment, and cards, it should come as no surprise that the day we finally get our cards to work is the day the ATMs were closed! How awesome is that? But it's fine we made it through the day and were able to pull out money the next day after thinking we would have to walk home because of how low on money we were. So no we can do all we need to do! I just think it's hilarious how many small unfortunate things happen to us. This week we'll probably get a bird in our apartment or something of the like. But whenever these things happen that change up our day I can't help but laugh at the unfortunateness and be happy that I'm living the mission life! Maybe I'll get a slice of cake sometime because I have money now...
On Friday evening we went to a large stadium to practice the missionary number for a Trujillo multi-stake gathering. We were to march up to the front singing the first line of "Called to Serve," or in Spanish, "Somos hoy llamados," over and over until we reached the front. From there we were to sing all 4 verses. There's 2 more verses in the Spanish version than the English one. I was chosen as one of the better singers to help even out the crowd, because most latinos can't sing. After the practice the APs, Elder Richards and Elder Ewell, rode back with us and hung out for the night. We went to an appointment with someone Elder Ewell used to teach before heading back for more interviews! We finally got to eat our dinner at 10:30, panqueques con dulce, or pancakes with caramel.
On Saturday we arrived at the stadium an hour late, but it was still a long time before our part. We were late because we had an hour and were finally able to take out money! I don't have to live off 30 cents anymore! But then my comp decided to go get a haircut with 40 minutes left. That took 25 minutes and in the meantime I tried talking with a kid in there but it was so hard to hear with the buzz of the razors. My comp then wanted to take a shower with 15 minutes before we were supposed to be there. Ok, he can take a 5 minute shower and we'll be out the door in 10 minutes and only be 5 to 10 minutes late. Anyway I knock on the door 5 minutes after the hour and he acted all surprised that it was past the time. He still stayed in for another 15 minutes and we left 30 minutes late. I guess latinos just lose track of time very easily or know that when you're in a hurry you have to move faster. But honestly it might have been better this way so we didn't have to sit in that stadium for another hour, so thanks for being slow I guess
The bathroom was on the complete opposite side of the field so we made the long trek to it. We sat through some other performances by stakes in both Trujillo missions, but they separated it by tribe. In the US the tribe you're from is more of a private thing, you can share it, but it's not something we regularly talk about. Down here, however, your tribe is like your pride and glory. You wear it around like a badge of honor and always ask others what tribe they're from. There are people from all the tribes down here and they love to talk about their tribe. Anyway we all walked down to the field and got lined up, but this time our practice group was tripled because all the missionaries actually showed up to this one. I was in the front. We marched up and sang all 4 verses and it was so loud and out of tune that I couldn't hear myself or tell if even I was singing the right notes. I got to see Elder Beizaga again as well as Elder Villena and Hermana Villenueva, both of whom are in the Trujillo South mission. Elder Villena was a Latino who spoke really good English and was in quarantine with me my first full week in the CCM. So that was nice being able to reunite with them.
We communicated with one brother in our ward, Wilhelm, who has a los of inactive family members and a sister who accepted baptism a long time ago but had a fear of water. We're hoping to have lessons with his entire family soon and teach his sister too. At their house they always have the Backyardigans playing for the baby. It was nice getting to listen to the entire "Samurai Pie" episode in Spanish. I was still paying attention to the lesson too. A lot of the people we call, share a message with and give them an invitation end up living in a different area, so we have to refer them and don't get to teach them. Hopefully this week we can find more people in our own area.
It isn't often, but sometimes our taxi drivers will be listening to the radio and it'll actually play songs I know. This week I heard "Love's Theme" by Barry White and "Funkytown." Yesterday our pensionista gave us something different for breakfast rather than the usual sandwiches. We got yogurt with fruit and golden puffs in it. It was good, I just wish 90% of it wasn't canteloupe. It's like they just chopped up half a canteloupe and threw it into the tiny bowl of yogurt. I would've liked more banana in it. And our apartment smelled like golden puffs for the rest of the day.
Some random things I saw this week:
- A guy with a Star Wars Episode II baseball cap
- The local Police doing a march-jog outside our apartament while I was exercising
- The faded box of the old "Captain America vs Hydra" lego set
And on with the next week! I'm hoping to find more people to teach so we can actually get some progression! I hope you have a great week!
Elder Jensen
1. Photo with Presidente and Hermana Hinostroza
2. The plaza statue
3. The plaza and the Yellow Chapel
4. Selfie
5. Legooooos! Finding another use for that box I see
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