The Problems We Have With Water And Electricity In Mexico.

Dear All,

Holy this week seems like it has flown by. I don't know why, but I feel like I was literally just here writing to you guys. Oh well, mission life I guess.

First things first. I like to call this story The Problems We Have With Water And Electricity In Mexico. So last week I told y'all how sometimes our water or our power goes out randomly. But the good thing about that was that if we didn't have it in the morning, we would have it at night, or vice versa. But starting Monday night we had nothing.  Then Tuesday morning nothing. Then Tuesday night nothing. And then on Tuesday night, as we were sitting there planning with our flashlights so we could see, Elder Vega had an epiphany. He looks at me and says "holy crap I havent seen a bill for the lights yet and its already November!" So we went outside and looked everywhere, but couldnt find anything. So we called the Ward Mission Leader and he told us where to go to pay, so we made plans to go on Wednesday morning. That would take care of the lights.  But we still didn't have water. But whatever. We figured that would be back by morning. Funny thing is that it wasn't. So we put on sweats, packed some soap, and ran to the chapel (which is actually just a giant house) and climbed the fence, went inside and showered. It was so cold. But so worth it. So then we headed to the light commission, and we had to copy the number of the box outside our house so that we could look it up and pay it. But we live in an apartment, so naturally we had to guess which box was ours. So we take the 30 minute bus ride to the commission, to find out that we copied THE WRONG FREAKING NUMBER. So we had to go back, copy the right number, and then go pay. And guess how much it was. 200 pesos. Like $20. Seriously. That's with a late fee tacked on. So so so worth it.

Also some fun things that happened this week. We did exchanges on Saturday, and I stayed in this area with an elder who has the same amount of time as me. He's from Bolivia and hes super cool, but since it was my area I was technically Senior Companion, so I had to plan and direct the area for the day. In a language in which I am barely proficient. So that was a solid opportunity to turn to the Lord and rely on His help with the gift of tongues and the guidance of the Spirit. Overall, super super good experience.

One of the lessons we taught that day I will never forget. Elder Vega is a great missionary, but he sometimes has a hard time being direct with people. And there's a lady we've been teaching for a long time who just isn't going anywhere. So Elder Peralta (the dude from Bolivia) and I passed by her little store and we both felt like going in. Now a little preface. There's a word here: planchar. Literally means "to iron" but when you use it for a person it's like "straighten out" or "call to repentance". So we decided to planchar this lady with amor. We started talking, got into some gospel stuff, and asked her if she had a chance to pray and find out if what we have been saying is true. She said she had, but wouldn't say what happened. So we both got really direct like "look Hermana, all we can do is invite. If you dont do your part we cant do anything. It's on you now." She told us that she liked what we said and that it made sense but she wouldn't ever get baptized because she had already been baptized into another church. All of the sudden Elder Peralta (kind of a quiet dude) burts out "frankly your baptisms arent worth anything in the eyes of God." and then went on to bear one of the most powerful testimonies of the authority of this Church that I have ever witnessed. Crazy powerful.  We all kind of sat there. I finished with a "I add my testimony to that of my companion's" and we left. Idk what's gonna happen. but holy did we planchar that lady.

Also, Sunday morning. I was sitting on my bed reading Jesus the Christ, and Elder Vega left the room to go shower, and kid you not as soon as he got in the shower the phone rang. So I answered it, and wouldn't you know it was a member of the bishopric, We all know what that means. One of the speakers had called in sick and now it was time for the brand new missionary to save the day. So I whipped out my dictionary and started to write a talk. Now this was at like 8:20, we have to leave for church at 9:30, and it's in a language that I'm still learning. So yeah. Then we get to church, and after the sacrament the little 2 year old son of this member of the bishopric comes waddling up to me with a note in his hand. It says "Elder, Gracias, pero ahora tenemos discursantes completos. Ya no es necesario su discurso." Like what the heck. It's like getting to the top of a roller coaster and then going slowly backwards down to where you started. I was so fired up to give my first talk in Spanish, and then just no. Oh well. I saved the talk, it's freaking good if I do say so myself, all things considered.

In terms of food, we have a scheduled lunch every day, since lunch is the main meal here. And it's all good, usually some kind of chicken, rice, beans, and a monstrous stack of tortillas. I've gotten pretty good at rolling up tortillas to use kind of like an extra fork, but one that I can eat.

De Mexico con amor,

Elder Rawlings