25/7/16

Where has this week gone? It seems like just yesterday I was trying to figure out something to write about, and once again here I am. That might be a sign that this week was either really busy and exciting, or I didn't do anything all week. Not too sure which one is more accurate...

So, if this letter doesn't reach the minimum approval rating, it's not my fault. Anyway, after cranking out last week's letter, we all went down as a zone to try to play another game of kickball. And I have to say that it went a lot better this time. It might be because we eliminated some of the rules, but whatever. As the day rolled on, I found a little extra time to kill. So I decided to try to peal a coconut using only a steak knife. After a very long time, I succeeded and arrived at the conclusion that the matchete is MUCH better at opening coconuts. Who would have thought.

Something that we have been trying this week is to focus more on contacted references we receive from different sources. So we spent much of the week walking around and getting to know better the area. It also feels like an adventure some times, as the addresses here are not always the most accurate. It gets even harder when the streets don't have names and the houses don't have numbers. That said, Tuesday and Wednesday passed by fairly calmly with plenty of tanning time.

Also of interesting note, almost all the people we were visiting with before have slowly lost interest in our message. Even though it's sad, we have also been constantly finding new people that are interested. Funny how this things work. Thursday night we had again our weekly activity night sponsered by the missionaries. It looks like the fame is growing, as a very good number of people showed up. We hope it keeps going strong and many people will get to know the gospel this way. (If anyone is interested, we start the activity with a scripture, a small video, and then play games. Very entertaining.)

In this past week, we had 2 birthdays in our house. And they just happened to be companions. Not that we did too much, just eat cake and sing. Also, since I'm told that the independence day of Peru is this week (don't remember the date; 28th I think) the 2 peruanos made sure to buy a big flag to show their patriotism. And then they hanged it up on our balcony. Since it doesn't have the symbol of Peru, it looks like the Canadian flag without the leaf. My companion and I make sure that the people know that we are not peruanos.

When asked if it was safe to hang the Peruvian flag in Bolivia he responded:
Well, we're still alive and nothing has been stolen; it's not quite the same level as having a chileno flag. I'm told that Peru and Bolivia were actually one country many years ago, so maybe there is some old family ties.

We still make sure that others know that we are (proudly) not peruanos.

We had a very adverage Friday and Saturday. The only things of notice are the things that we do every week. Friday we play and Saturday we go and play futbol. We might be stuck in a rut. Not that there is too much we can do, except wait 7 more weeks (not that we're counting...). The good news is that, even though everyone always tells us that a cold front is coming, the sun keeps on coming out. Hurray for then sun! It does make Sunday afternoon a little uncomfortable, since we only sit around in the Church building with nothing but a few cieling fans. It looks like the people still arn't quite used to the afternoon church time. Not that I blame them; 9 o'clock church is the best. Since most of our proselyting time is in the afternoon, it also makes it feel like we don't do much on Sunday. Oh well.

If the letter didn't satisfy, some of the pictures that are coming should (hopefully) do the trick.

Con Amor,

Elder Yates

A part of our area, if anyone wanted to know how the outskirts of Trinidad are.

Pirañas that out pensionista fished, one amarilla and one roja. I didn't even know that they came in types. They are quite tastey, but with a lot of little bones to pick out.

A turtle that we found as we were walking along. Not sure where it came from or where it was going, but it wasn't making very good time.

As we visited a family, I let them borrow a Book of Mormon I carry around just for the ocasion. When we told them to go to a certain page, they told me that said page didn't exist. And, would you look at that, it didn't. The book replaces the chapters of Jacob-Mosiah 10 instead of the rest of Mosiah. I think this is how the apostasy started...

A little request fron Gran about how we wash clothes.

This is were I do my meditations and reflect on my life.