Okay, I´m not going to do the same thing I did last week and make you figure out what to blog from what I sent you.... I guess here is the blog email-y thing? I´m not 100% sure how this will go.
First things first.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL SISTER KALI. I´m only like 6 days late, but.... I JUST LOVE HER. I'D BUY YOU SOME CRAZY SOCKS IF I THOUGHT THEY´D ACTUALLY MAKE IT TO THE STATES.
Okay, now to the real stuff.... I debated telling my mom about this all week because everyone is like "Don't tell your mom bad things, she´ll worry!" But she raised my brothers and they're crazy, so at this point I don't think I could freak her out too much if I tried. This past Saturday we got to go proselyting (or as all the missionaries here call it proselytizing) and they switched up the companionships so that all of the principios (people who have been here for 2 weeks or less) were with avansados (people who have been here 4-6 weeks) or latinas. I got paired up with a latina who spoke very limited English, and I speak very limited Spanish, so communication was difficult to say the least. But latinas are SO CUTE and affectionate, and we became friends very quickly.... Anyway, we went out into the streets of Peru and honestly, it was pretty crazy to see. There were stray dogs everywhere, the roads were very rarely paved, and the women kiss you on the cheeks when they see you. It was such a cool experience. I got to testify a couple of times and we taught a lesson in someone's home (okay, maybe Hermana Obando taught a lesson and I sat around and tried to understand what everyone was saying). We were only out for an hour or two tops when a dog attacked Hermana Obando. It was the craziest thing ever because we were walking away from the dog arm in arm and the dog just ran up, bit her leg, and ran away.... Later, one of the members we were with was like "I´m so surprised the dog didn´t bite the North American." Honestly, I am too... Anyway, it was bleeding and Hermana Obando and I had to sit in the chapel the rest of the time... then she had to go to the clinic and get a rabies shot... Poor thing. But on the way to the chapel she started tearing up and said "I´m just afraid that this will deter me from serving in Chiclayo the best I can." Holy cow, she´s freaking tough. And she was just upset that we couldn´t get through our list of less actives. Seriously, SUCH a trooper. The next day we had a health class and the Medical Supervisor guy for like 5 countries (including Bolivia) down here was talking about dogs. I was way paranoid and so I asked him how often missionaries get bitten by dogs and he said "We actually had three in Bolivia last week!" Talk about scary.... But Hermana Obando got to leave the CCM on time along with a group of Latinas and a group of NorteAmericanas who had been here fro 6 weeks. We actually got a whole group of new missionaries over the past couple days which means I´m an intermedio (2-4 weeks)
Okay... Well... South America is cray. Onto less terrifying topics.
So the first counselor in our branch presidency is named Elder Hill and he is the most adorable little old guy I have EVER seen. He actually was the mission president in Bolivia for a while! Not my mission, but still way cool. He told me that he´s convinced that "Bolivians are as pure Lamanite as it can get." Gah. I just love Elder Hill. Anyway, we have a fountain in our courtyard and it´s way cool looking and I love it.... And the other day Elder Hill told me and my companion that it is literally 400 years old. When the church bought the property from the previous owners they requested that they keep the fountain. So they fixed it up, and slapped it right in the middle of the gorgeous courtyard in the MTC. Look up the Peru MTC on lds.org, you can see it! It´s older than my country!
Okay, funny story. I bought this way cute watch before I left and then definitely forgot to put it on the morning I left. So I go to buy a new one at the Metro (the giant, 3-story, Peruvian Walmart, basically). I ask the lady in the jewelry department if they have any watches and she just says "Here" and points down at a stack of like two men´s watches. So I bought a men´s watch, made some Elders (that I met that day, btw. Perks of being a sister missionary) take like 8 links out, and now I have this sweet-looking men´s watch. I'm seriously so attatched to it. I´ll send a picture when I leave the CCM (you can´t send pictures here).
Alright, I think that may be it for me this week. I love it here. Peru is great, the CCM is great... I feel like I´ve been here for two months, not two weeks, but that´s okay. It´s not even in a bad way, but I think about the fact that I arrived here two weeks ago at like 2 AM and that doesn´t even make any sense at all... But at the same time, I could stay here forever. Another 4 weeks does NOT feel like enough time.
But hey, I love you all! Have a great week!
-Hermana Hall
