NOW I have 11 months in the mission! It’s official!
Anyway, this week I killed my companion, Elder Ushiñahua! Well, technically he’s not dead because he’s going home tomorrow, but today he’s going to have lunch with our president, have his final interview, and get ready to leave. Then he comes back until tomorrow morning and before he leaves in a plane and goes to his house. It’s made this week very interesting because we kept having to do stuff to prepare him to leave — Once he leaves, he can’t come back very easily, and if he forgets something it’s mine! He’s been really good by leaving me his radio and a few sweaters (And no, it’s not that he forgot them! He’s just a really awesome guy!)
This week we also went to the templo, which was a really nice spiritual experience up until life attacked a few hours later. We had to buy a bunch of stuff for our district and we both ran out of money! I got it all back because they all paid me for it, but now I have to pay for my companion’s taxi, so I’m back to zero! But it’s all good, because my companion that’s coming owes me 150 soles for the wedding I paid for!
But anyway, here we are at the temple!
Then, because my companion and a few other people from my district are leaving, we made sweaters as a district! I’m pretty happy with them (I just wish they had a zipper in the front!):
If you’re wondering about the symbols, we chose the symbols from “Avatar: The Last Airbender” for the elements (fire, water, and air). Kind of nerdy, I guess, but you have to admit that they’re cool symbols! The sisters say that they chose water for baptism, the other elders chose air for agency or the freedom to choose, and my companion and I chose fire for the Holy Ghost (I just chose fire ’cause it looks cool, but I guess you could take it that way too!)
But… man! I’m kind of bummed this week because of the changes this time! I really like my district as it is because everyone is really awesome — they work hard, they’re funny, they put up with me and help me out a LOT, and Elder Ushiñahua is an awesome companion. And then I’m also going to be losing Elder Rodriguez, my previous companion. I started my mission with him as my zone leader, then he came here to Villa Hermosa, then I came here, and then he left when Elder Ushiñahua came! But we still kept in touch up until now, because now he’s going back to his house! I’m happy for him and all, but he’s the best friend I have in the mission and I didn’t get a chance to say good-bye because he already left! Hopefully my district, Elder Ushiñahua, and Elder Rodriguez will keep writing me, but I’m still a little bummed. It would be a little easier if all of them were from the U.S. and not from little cities in freaking SOUTH AMERICA so I could visit them or something after the mission! But I’ll just keep marching on and content myself with email…
Well, I guess I’ll finish this up with an awesome picture that we took before my companion left:
— Elder Schroeder