Chinkgongunya!!!

Would you like to hear what exoctic carribean virus I have? ;) it's called the chinkgongunya and it's hitting everyone here, the day that my companion got better, I contracted it. . . . the Quest Bars saved me this week, we haven't been able to go to shopping for a while because my companion has been sick so I haven't had anything to eat!

But now that I'm sick instead, I dont have much of an appetite so even though we're in town right now I dont think we'll pass by the market.........

 dont know if I have time to write the blog update, we went to the beach today and it was nice to see the ocean again but we can't go in the water so I'm still a little confused to as why we went....

But I did get to play soccer on the beach and I'm still just as horrible jajja. 

P-Day at the beach

Pools where baptism was held 

Beach

Emily included this in her email:  FYI

Chikungunya is a viral disease that is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. The disease is not contagious and cannot be spread through human contact.

Similar to its tropical counterpart Dengue Fever, another mosquito-borne illness, the early symptoms of chikungunya are extremely high fever accompanied by severe joint pains, making it almost unbearable to walk. Other symptoms include a rash, muscle pain, headache, and fatigue.

Acute symptoms usually disappear within a week, though some patients have persistent joint pain that continues for months or years afterward. Death is unlikely, but can occur.

First diagnosed in Tasmania in the 1950s, the disease has since spread to Asia and Africa; an outbreak was reported in Europe in 2007.

Chikungunya was first diagnosed in the Americas last December, when the World Health Organization found a case in the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. Since then, a total of 729,178 suspected and 9,537 confirmed chikungunya cases had been reported in the hemisphere (see map below), according to most recent numbers from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Some 113 people have died in the Caribbean after contracting the virus, according to PAHO’s most recent numbers.

Puppies for Everyone!

Lunes en la noche: We went to a partial member family's house for a birthday celebration. I schooled the guys in Uno twice in a row, while talking on the phone so they all decided that uno wasnt that fun anymore. oops. 

Martes: We had a meeting for the trainers and trainees. But I just barely got the text notifying me of this meeting the day before so I was working and studying trying to get ready and I was remembering how much I studied and prepared the times before when I was a trainee and I look over and all my companion is doing is laying on her bed looking at pictures on her camera haha. She's definitely a lot more chill than I am about everything in the mission. 

But if I dont feel totally prepared, I don't feel comfortable.

But yeah we survived the meeting of course but she obviously should have studied more based on the tests that they did in the meeting. She needs to be more prepared the next time and I need to help her more than I thought I would need to. If you dont have self motivation, I gues you need an outside force to help you?

Miércoles: Taught S and L about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and showed them their records of their lessons and what they still need to be taught to prepare them for their baptisms, they thought it was interesting so that was cool.

I kinda feel like the elders and I are ganging up on them teaching them like every day this week but I want these two to be more prepared than my last baptisms were. 

Jueves: ¨For grace are we saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God¨

Even our faith is a gift from God....

Hno C and Hna C's Husky had puppies! I want one. They're so cute. I made tamales for the first time today. Turns out you have to heat up the banana leaves first. So that they don't break when you're wrapping them. 

In a lesson, I told S and L that I do cocaine ever so often but I'm not addicted, as an example for the word of wisdom lesson because they asked me if they could drink coffee if they aren't addicted to it. My comp and errbody freaked out ha. 

Viernes: Phililppians 2:15 ¨That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom ye shine as lights in the world. Holding forth the word of life. That I may rejoice in the day of Christ, 

That I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.¨

Helped out Hna C with her baby shower and I got to play with the puppies again. 

We did a ¨super contactar¨ but our list of less active members to visit was only two people and one of them, instead of a name, said ¨no recuerde el nombre¨  and the address was the name of the neighborhood. so yeah. 

I directed the english class that the elders give every friday but I think I scared some of the girls. 

There was a lot of girls and I'm not sure if they just come for the elders hahah.....

Sábado: 1 Thessalonians 5:19 ¨Quench not the Spirit¨

¨However frightening it may be to contemplate a just God, it is infinitely more frightening to me to contemplate an unjust God¨ Jeffrey R. Holland

C.S. Lewis ¨I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue consists in being put back on the right road. A mathematical sum incorrectly worked can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and then working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on.

Evil can be undone, but it can not 'develop' into good

Time does not heal it.

The spell must be unwound

I did a lot of reading because my companion has the chinkongunya and is basically dying.

No not really haha. Actually I didnt even know that anything was wrong at first because she always sleeps a lot hahha. 

But nevertheless we traveled to Progresso for a stake conference (two hours) and I got to see my dad for like two secconds and I told him my spanish is improving but whenever I talk to other gringos in spanish I get real nervous and don't pronunciate well because I feel like they hardcore judge more than the Latinos do. hahah idk.,,,

Domingo: S and L went to the session of stake conference and right after, they got baptized. Woooooohooooooo! L bore his testimony afterwards and he said that he's changed so much just in the past month that we've been teaching him and can'

t wait to see what the future brings. awww. they're really good boys. And the members are being really good about helping them feel welcome. I only have pictures of after the baptism and we're not a very photogenic group but oh well! 

love you mom love you dad 

¨Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you.¨ 1 peter 3:15 

4th Type of Tamale: Ticuko

Fourth type of tamale: ticuko. They usually make them during semana santa. They're made out of masa de maiz and filled with frijoles liquado. nothing too special. But they're alright with hot sauce. only 16 to go!

 

So I wanna talk more about General Conference on 

Sábado 4 de Abril:

I was so stoked first of all because I was able to watch three of the five sessions in English! I was able to understand (mostly) everything in the sessions in Spanish but it was a little harder to get message because I was focusing so much on the words. 

I was watching the first session on Saturday with two elders and they left for a little bit and then Boyd K Packer started his talk and when they came back and were like ahhhhh what did we miss??? because I was all teared up with his story about him and his wife when they were young and courting and she would slip out of her class with a cookie and a kiss ¨and the rest is history¨ I couldnt handle how cute it was and the fact that they stayed in love all of those years.

Domingo 5 de Abril: I got to watch conference with my mission president and his wife and it was great! She brought sandwiches for us to eat inbetween and I couldn't remember the last time I had a sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes and ham like that it was great! President gave me advice for my companion and told me that I should hug her every now and again. So we'll work on that I guess.

W
hen we finally got back to morazan and to the casa my companion wanted to reheat a tamale for dinner so I got to help her use the microwave because she's never used one before :)

Lunes 6 de Abril: 

Ïf God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?¨

¨For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.¨  

¨For I am persuaded that neither death nor life...nor height nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.¨Romans 8

Frustrating day haha

Martes: I bought spaghetti sauce (Ragu) and my companion asked me what it was and if it was ketchup. I gave her some of my hot sauce packets for her tamale and she asked me what it was and if it was ketchup. Confirmed: there is ketchup in Bolivia but not much else.

But yeah I made pasta for lunch for the missionaries and the household of Hna I. She made me put mantequilla and mayonaise in the pasta sauce. I didn't want to do that. 

After spending most of the day contacting, we went to an investigators house and made another Bolivian dish: Tranca Pecho. Basically you take a hamburger bun, put cooked rice at the bottom, a patty (hamburger meat mixed with egg, flour, tomatoes, onions and garlic and spices) diced cooked carrots with tomatoes and cilantro and onions, a slice of cooked potato, and a fried egg on top. 

So it's not a weird hamburger though. My companion was very offended when I tried to call it a hambuger like how could anyone even think of such a thing. But yeah it was pretty tasty and I was happy to use my burger eating skills on this tranca pecho. The rice and the chimol proved to be a bit of a problem but it was all good. 

And the señora of the house told me that she and her husband prayed together once since our last visit when we challenged them to do so. It's a start!

Miércoles: So I made egg salad to make egg salad sandwiches with those easter eggs, it turned out pretty good...

Our investigator texted us a half hour before his lesson ¨Hi sister Nelson! I´m L..I´m waiting my classes!!!¨ He doesn't know much english but it's funny when he tries to use it all the time so that I can help with his pronunciation. But he helps me with mine too so it all evens out. He also told us during his lesson that he wants to serve a mission since there´s nothing to do here anyway why not hahah not the best reason but it's something to work with! 

Afterwards we did divisions with the sister training leaders and I was little nervous because this time I was the senior companion so they would be evaluating me more. So my Spanish wasn´t exactly on point but what I learned most from divisions this transfer is that I need to bear my testimony more in the lessons, and let the spirit work with the people. 

Jueves: ¨Ahora vemos por espejo, oscuramente; mas entonces veremos cara a cara. Ahora conozco en parte; pero entonces conoceré como fui conocido¨ To me, this means that after this life we will come face to face with our potential. We will learn who we had the capacity to become. 

So my comp said that she had a headache and slept almost all day. But I wasnt sure if she was just tired because we worked really hard in the divisions the day before. But yeah I'm almost finished with the New Testament now because all I did was bum around the house study and eat. But I think she feels better now. 

We left the house around five and helped this lady carry all her firewood up this steep path because she basically lives on a little cliff. 

Later we made baleadas but none of my tortillas turned out so that was a tad depressing. 

Viernes: We went to Fam A´s house and they told me that after our last lesson with them, that night they all prayed together as a family. I about died right there on the sofa. We were just talking about how this family isn't progressing and that maybe we should drop them. But how impatient are we with these changes.

Sábado: ¨Still loving you¨ by Sonata Arctica was playing outside our window in the morning...We taught S and L again and L gave us a pep talk because I said that the elders have more investigators than us and he was like but that doesnt mean that they're better than you guys, you should never under or overestimate anyone. haha. he's a good kid. Oh and they made me read in different accents, I´m losing my touch. 

We also visited a part member family that I've known for a while and they fed us and we were talking about how I use to not speak very well. The mom said that I used to sit there just with my head cocked listening like a parrot. It was pretty funny and pretty true haha.

Domingo: S and L went to church today! And they're going to get baptized next week! It's all so sudden but I'm sooo surprised/happy/confused/nervous/errthang ahhhhh. We're traveling to Progreso for stake conference and after that, the baptisms. Also the attendance at the little backyard where we have church was 76! that is the highest it's ever been ever. And I was casually talking to the President of the mission on the phone and when I told him this he said that he's going to start pushing some buttons so that this extension can become a branch!

This would be so awesome because it's really all these members want, I hear it in their prayers and I've never seen church members work so hard with the missionaries, never. 

Lunes: Today is the 13th of April and I just put away the Christmas tree because it's been bothering me idk why....

Have a great week errbody and I love you mom  

Happy Pascua!

Martes: We traveled to Santa Rita for our district meeting and one of the Assistants to the President went back to Morazan with us, and though he had been to every other area in the mission, he'd never been to our little Morazan. 

Oh, and I decided to be real girly and do that thing where my comp and I lay on our beds and talk about boys and basura because she told me that she feels sad and wants to go home. I need to step up my 'mom' game. Well except I got to sit with my "son" Elder Tarqui on the bus ride home and he's already shaping up to be really good misisonary.

But yeah I treated my comp and let her rest but I believe that the only cure for homesickness is hard work.

Oh and Hna M fed us again last night and it was soooo good but my poor boliviana doesn't know how to eat with tortillas because really south americans don't eat with tortillas. I didn't know that before my mission. I've always liked tortillas. Poor south americans.

So this señora told me that she only uses eggs from her own chicken because store bought eggs have hormones in them. And I was like okay, that's highly possible, way to be all natural I guess. And then she tells me that the store bought egg hormones would make her son gay. not so sure about that one....

Miercoles: ¨These were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they recieved the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so¨The Acts 17:11. I would kill for some investigators like that.

This cute little girl Belky came up to us in the street and told us that she had a dream that we came to her house. So we went. And her mom had just been fighting with her ¨husband¨(almost nobody is married here) So I was glad that we could offer some words of comfort to her. But there's not much we can do. She said that going to church makes it worse, like it frustrates the demon in her husband, was basically what she said. He threatens to kill her often, and even in front of their little girls. He also often says that he's going to leave her. And Belky, the little 4 year old told him one time,
'then go! nobody's making you stay here, take your things and go!"

Later on we had a joint lesson with the elders so that our investigators that are preparing for baptism can get to know the elders. It was really good and reminded me that the elders are like 100X¨s better at teaching than I am. 

Hna M called us later on and told us to come over and try the food that she made. They were called nuegados and they're made out of yucca, cheese, and flour. Basically. And they were swimming in miel. It was sooooo sweet it actually made me sick hahah.

Jueves: I was still sick from the wednesday night and almost dying in the morning when everyone decided to call. I talked with my district leader twice, my zone leader, another elder in my district, one of the sister training leaders, this random stranger (on accident) and my mission president.

But really all I wanted to do was sleep. I felt bad because I had just talked to my companion about the importance of sticking to the missionary schedule but I didn't hardly sleep at all the night before and I know I'm dramatic but I was dyinngggg. 

We taught a couple and they've been having a lot of problems so I just asked them to start simple. I made them promise to pray together that night before they go to bed. And they both agree. Then when I finish the lesson and ask the husband to offer the prayer, he tells me that he doesnt know how to pray, so I had him repeat after me. It was kind of funny seeing this big honduran guy being guided like a little kid like that. 

Oh and I stepped on a nail and it went through my shoe and stabbed my foot #tetanus #imgonnadie #goodbyeworld

Viernes: The word of the day is Charity. Look it up. Good stuff. 

We went contacting today. Only 3 houses but it's a start. 

torta de pescado

We tried a traditional dish of semana santa ¨torta de pescado¨ They´re basically fish pancakes...in soup...with rice...and corn tortillas on the side. But yeah it was interesting. At least they only have it once a year. OH and the hermana that fed us informed me that drinking cold water makes you fat. and here I was thinking that it was the coca cola that they chug from infancy.

We went to fam R's house and we made pique macho again and I had some honduran guys ask me if I would come back after my mission and date them. I had to politely decline. But they preluded this with a thorough interrogation of my cooking skills #priorities.

watching conference with President & Wife

They also tried to explain to me their culture of ¨appreciating beauty¨ and that's why guys are always shouting at me in the street and that I shouldn't ignore them because that's rude. oops.

Sábado: I have so much to write about conference and I don't have time, maybe next week. But I did make easter eggs and I put up pictures! love you mom love you dad love you all and yea.