This week was really cool! I’ve been having a lot of success lately and it seems like I just keep getting more! I can’t believe I ever thought this area was hard!
Part of what’s hard is my new companion, Elder Pastenes; I’m going to kill him! (In missionary talk, that means he’s going to die as my companion (As in he’s going to leave the mission field after these 6 weeks with me)). He’s really awesome, but he doesn’t know the area (Obviously — he’s new!) so I have to try and remember all the places we need to go and when. It’s really hard when we use a mototaxi, because if I act too much like I don’t know the area they charge me more because they think I’m some dumb rich American tourist. But other than that he’s great! I was worried that he would be really lazy because he’s about to finish his mission, but if anything he’s even MORE hard-working because he wants 15 more baptisms before he finishes his mission! That’s really cool, and we’ve been working hard to get that; hopefully I have the motivation to be like him when I’m about done!
He’s also a little crazy, which explains his desire for 15 baptisms. He’s very Type 3, as Mom would say, because when he has a goal he’s like, “Alright, let’s do this. Boom boom boom. Go!” But he’s even more Type 3 than anyone else I’ve ever met, and he’s also a little OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), so everything has it’s place and he’s organized. It’s better than Elder Terrones, but I think it’s going to kill me; for example, I twisted my ankle pretty badly on Monday (It miraculously healed overnight, so I’m all good now!) but he STILL RAN up the 217 steps to get to one of our investigators! All in all, he’s really awesome, but it’s a pretty drastic change from Elder Terrones!
I’ve included a picture of him planning (Notice the Cheeto cigar).
Not a whole lot happened this week to report besides the change of companion (And pace!). This week’s highlights:
The cat struck again! Last week it ate my pizza, and this week it peed on my birthday package (the one full of gifts from my parents) out of spite! It couldn’t eat the food, so it just peed on it! It was nasty, but at least everything was pre-packaged in plastic so ‘tsallgud
I think I’ve developed something like the Gift of Tongues 1.0, because I can’t really speak fluently or correctly but sometimes when I want to talk I think of the idea I want to get across and it’s like a little voice in my head tells me the phrase I should use with the conjugation and everything. Sometimes I don’t listen because I’m not sure if it’s the Spirit (Sometimes the “translation” doesn’t sound right) but I guess if it is I should listen anyway!
I spent 30 minutes on Sunday trying to get one of our recent converts to go to church. He didn’t have any formal clothing to wear, so we searched in our cuarto to find stuff he could use (He didn’t want to show up in street clothes — ¡Qué vergüenza!. Since we couldn’t find anything that would fit him (I’m too tall and skinny!), he refused to go! (*sigh*) It’s always a continual struggle with the people here to get them to stay active!
I think my stomach is trying to save me, but it’s a miserable way to do it. See, I’ve managed to gain weight here (SOMEHOW! I still don’t understand how I can walk almost all day, eat basically rice, chicken, and bread, and STILL gain weight! I’m naturally skinny to begin with!) and a few days ago I ate something bad and now I can’t eat very much (As Peruvians say, “¡Yo como como un gato!”). So I feel bad whenever I can’t finish the food they give me, but in my defense I physically CAN’T!
I got a pedometer in my birthday package (Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!) and I counted my steps on Sunday. The total: 8,194. That’s a lot of walking! And that’s on the Day of Rest!
Well, I’ll keep you all updated on how it goes here in Peru! We’re supposed to have a baptism this Saturday, and if all goes well I’ll include that and some info about her in my next email! ¡Nos vemos!
— Elder Schroeder
