August 10, 2015

Well, so having one year feels a lot like having 0 years. Nothing really changed. 

 

Big news--it´s a boy! Rosa had her son this week. He is really really small. He weighs like 5 lbs I think. His name is Naithan. He doesn´t talk much, hardly at all actually. Basically he just sits there with his eyes closed and doesn´t move. It's kind of creepy. But, now that his mother successfully gave birth (it wasn´t a C-section, which is basically the normal for everyone here), she is going to school in Matamoros, which means she is not here in Reynosa. And her mother (Gloria) is accompanying her due to her weakened condition. So she didn´t come to church. 

 

To celebrate our one-year mark, we told a sister that we had one year in the mission and she hopped next door to the pastelería, which is a store that only sells cake, and bought us some. Mom, you asked about Mexicans and eating cake all of the time and why they aren't all fat. The reason not all Mexicans are horribly fat due to eating cake all the time is generally (not always, but generally) because 1) they are in fact horribly fat, 2) they do not have sufficient means to buy other food, so they remain skinny, 3) they are rich and their trainer keeps them fit, and 4) those are basically the reasons, actually.

Dania is actually Thania. Th sounds like d here. That baptism is still on for the 28th. 

 

The 2 large families we contacted, two of the young men of one of those families went to church yesterday. When we came to visit them, they asked us the following--What do I have to do to get the priesthood? What do I have to do to pass the sacrament? Can I bless it? If I talk to the bishop (which they did) can he work things out? Can I be baptized right now? At what age can I leave on my mission? Will I get sent out of the country? What do I have to do to be called as Quorum President? Can I give a talk?--and a bunch of similair questions that every missionary dreams of being asked. The problem is that we had no idea how to answer all of them. Each answer just brought up more questions. These two young men are named Saíd and Carlos. And they are the best. 

 

They bought a board game this week. It surprised us a lot because, I have never met anyone, not in all my life, who has had the actual board game of Othello. Elder Robertshaw and I know how to play (his father taught him), so we explained it to him. As of now, I am beating Carlos 2-0, Elder Robertshaw is beating me 1-0, and Carlos is beating Elder Robertshaw 1-0. Every time we come and visit them they bring us food. Their mother Fransisca makes us chamoyadas every time we come (which is a sweet and spicy icee they fill with bitter flavoring and then stick gummies and fruit on). I used to think they were nasty. Now that I have one almost every day, I am starting to like the flavor. We come visit them almost every day of the week now, because we asked when they would like us to come back and teach them more, and Saíd said; ¨A mi me gustaría si venían cada día a visitarnos¨, which means "I would like it if you came and visited us every day." The mom is super nice but she is conflicted because she isn´t sure what to believe. She is unwilling to pray and ask god. We are working with her.

We helped the ward clerk move Saturday. While we were unloading his stuff at his new home, out hopped a mouse, which began to run. Everyone was just standing yelling, so I chased it. And kicked the mouse out of the garage. (It was trying to go hide.) After the 3rd time I kicked it, it stopped moving. Then Elder Brogan hit it with a broomstick until it died. 

 

It was the continuation of a very strange day. I started the day of with lots of stomach issues, and that happened. Then, we ate twice. Following which we went and visited Saíd and Carlos, had a conversation where an old investigator we had dropped explained to us that the JWs are wrong and believe in science (you can imagine that conversation, we were just standing there thinking, wow--that is a cohesive argument.) She wanted us to give her an answer to confuse them the next time they came and prove them wrong about the 144000 people who get to be saved thing. As a rule, we do not spend time tearing other churches down. I would much rather have my investigators gain a testimony of the book of mormon than give an investigator the tools to bible bash. But we could not get her to stop raving about the JWs. We eventually just left. 

 

And then the next thing happened. We figured out that this group of 4 teenage girls always takes the same route every day to go do something. We do not know what, but they do not wear modest clothing, so we figure it can´t be a good thing. But, the point of that random comment is that we were late getting home one night, so we ended up passing them walking really quickly. And they started doing catcalls at us and making kissing noises. They made comments about my rear. And said some things that would make you blush to hear. Basically something good missionaries do not want to hear. But they follow us home every night on their way to whatever it is they go to do. We have taken to walking much faster close to home due to them.

But, basically another crazy week here in Mexico. It really is great to be here.
Love you all.

Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott

 

Here's my new visa picture: