Scorpions and Garbage

A dog started following us this week. We named him Casper; tiny little adorable thing. Well, he followed us for about ten minutes and became my best friend. We past a house and two bigger bully dogs tried to eat him, and I on pure instinct lurched at them and shouted: NO! MI PERRO! I looked up and saw that I had scared several Mexican citizens in the street. They were looking at me..... We contacted them and acted as if nothing had happened. 

We found and trapped a scorpion in the house.  I looked up online what we should feed it.

The pointed stinger and body shape may have earned the scorpion a bad reputation, but in truth among the 2000 known scorpion species, only forty scorpions have venom strong enough to kill humans. Most of the poisonous scorpions are found South America, India, Middle East, Mexico and Africa. 

Comforting.

It also said that they can live for up to a year on eating just one insect. I told my comp that it will die before he gets home. haha

My area : San Luis 2 (in Torreón)

It’s been some interesting several weeks. My last comp and current have excelled in their lives. In sports, in school, socially and everything they have done.  It seems like the harder my companions have worked in life the more enjoyable the time is with them. They know more about the world; the conversation is better; they are funnier, more disciplined...   I have enjoyed knowing all of my comps, but some are definitely easier to develop a bond with.  

It’s hard and fun to charge areas. You get to meet a ton of new people...... but you have to meet a ton of new people; if you know what I mean.  But with one week we are already all buds here.   Last night we had a family night with two families that were recently baptized. We made banana pancakes and really just enjoyed the time joking around. But we also shared a message for a few minutes and they really opened up.  I have learned that people are converted by the way they feel and not just by fact or arguments. They want a friend; someone that will understand them.  It was a very enjoyable week.

This is the dumpster where we put the garbage.  Mexi garbage men took the day or month off.

Youd

Wow seems like life at home is really calm right now....pretty much nothing big happening..... glad I´m here.....haha

I had transfers today. E. Hernandez and I knew that we would only have two weeks together because he is finishing the mish off and will train. But it really fun to know that I was heading out before hand because we both gave it all we had to really enjoy the two week and last night I was able to say goodbye to all of the families. We never get to do that because they tell at 1030 at night and we are gone in the morning. There were some pretty tender moments, it actually surprised me how much loved they sent me off with.  But, I didn’t cry.... = )     

My new comp is Elder Youd from Oregon. Stud. I know him from earlier days on the mission - it will be a good time. 

This week we met a 20 year old kid that told us that he was a rapper. My comp dropped a beat and the kid dropped what was the equivalent of the song of buddy the elf. Sang what came to his mind in a rhyme. Nailed it! Then he was telling us how to spell something and said K as in .... queso.  We almost busted up. But he was a good kid.

We ate chili habaneras’ which are supposed to be the spiciest. They weren’t actually that hot. I think that because my mustache is growing so quickly now and I am becoming more Mexican and can handle the chili.

We have been visiting a family for several weeks and have seen great changes. When we first got there only the dad would listen to us. The next time the son started to listen and then the daughter. After listening for a short time they would normally leave the room. But the progress was visible every time we showed up. One night we got there and they were all very stressed for the economic problems they face. We talked about the purpose of life and the spirit had a definite presence.   My comp repeated a saying here – “Don’t tell God how large your problem is; tell your problem how large God is. I expounded on that and there was a moment when the mother, who was listening in, had that moment of understanding.  She said: “It seems like we have been drowning in a cup of water.”   Since then they have all listened in and even invited friends and family members to listen in. They walked several miles to get to church yesterday.

We talked to the wife of that family one day and she told us that her husband used to be a terrible alcoholic but since the day we showed up he has completely stopped. They all look so much happier now. 

Captain America

We have been teaching a family that lives in a small store near our house. It’s a weird environment because we teach them and people are always entering the store and one of the kids goes to attend to the customers. But we still feel the spirit and as we talk, the surrounding distractions melt away. The mom has cried several times during our discussions - which is kind of what we are looking for as missionaries. They cry and we shoot our hand in the air in a victory fist pump. The son is a fun little guy. This week he grabbed my sunscreen from my backpack and I don’t know if he didn’t know what it was or if he was just smelling it to see how it smelled, but I was talking to his dad and I heard the cream shoot out and we looked over and he had his face covered in globs of the creams, especially up his nose. He has this super shocked facial expression that said, "crap what just happened to me?" I was dying.

My comp and I super tight. We have been running every morning. That will be something I will be looking forward to when I am home and on the prowl looking for future wifey. She has to go running with me. The thing is I have only been able to run maybe 5 times in the last year, apart from running from dogs and trying to catch buses. Well the first day we ran together I was super excited and I was like Captain America when he turned from being a dweeb to mister muscles. I jumping over things and pushed myself super hard. And the next day...... I coudn´t walk. Yup one old lady told me "hey boy you got something wrong with your legs, you are walking like me."  =D

My comp offered to wash one of my shirts. Stud. He threw it into a bucket with his shirts than used the chuga chuga (wooden pole with half of a 2 liter bottle screwed to one end). It was late so went to bed leaving the clothes in the bucket, which we do a lot. Guess we used the wrong bucket or someone left a pen in the shirt because the shirts came out with a strong blue color. We just starred at them for a while. ha

Lobo - Out

I was dying laughing about the Jim Gaffigan stuff f that you put in my package about lobster. While I was reading it, crazily my comp said, without knowing what I was reading, "I’m hungry. I feel like sea food; maybe lobster."    haha  Actually maybe it was for spending too much time together but that would happen all the time between us. One would say something and it would be exactly what the other was thinking about.  

We went to Torreon once again to get my comps knee checked out. It’s about an hours’ journey. The last time we had gone to the wrong doctor and the detour cost us 2-3 hours. This time we got there on the first try. The doctor is a member and an awesome lady.  We were cracking jokes while she was checking E. Lobos knee about how they would need to amputate it.

During the testimony meeting one older lady apparently didn’t get to share her testimony, but luckiyl she said the closing prayer. She started talking about Joseph Smith and saying in the prayer how she was grateful for it then kind of went into detail about it and it turned into a full blown testimony about the church. Ha, a subliminal message to the investigators. She ended by saying  "this is my testimony and I share it in the name of .... amen.  =D   There is a part of the other side of heaven  that is very similar. My comps opened our eyes at the end and instantly looked at each other – haha.

We contacted an older gal of about 80 years old, and went back later to teach her and her "son" as we thought. Well turns out that this 32ish  guy is her husband. =O     They went to church on a moped. She straps herself in and loves riding. What a champ lady!   

My district

A family that lives really close to the Fonsecas sent me two big jars of peanut butter!

My comp told everyone at church yesterday that i was heading out. Sucker ha. After 3 months together, my bud Lobo is heading out. He is a super solid guy.Actually it is really cool. He worked through some stuff about a year ago of something and since has been jr comp. Now he is going to be district leader to finish the mish off.

My next comp is one of my best friends that I met months ago on the mish - sooo Im pretty excited. My new comp is from Guatemala. He is a stud. Prob going to byu or utah state after so you will probably meet him. 

Didnt know that your kid went to europe....did ya?

If you can see it, the part on the right is a huge sand storm that over took us 20 seconds after I took the photo. This week was crazy with weather. Right after the sand storm a huge rainstorm hit us. We have  a small  patio back yards it filled with six inches of water and started entering the house.  The houses and streets are definitely not built for such weather and everyone had water dripping gin the house.