We celebrated El Dia de Los Reyes this week, which is definitely not a holiday in the United States. I think that they make up a lot of excuses to celebrate anything and everything here. They commemorate the day that the Wise Men came to find Christ — a sentiment that I have come to love and also look forward to, and not just because there is a giant bread cake with cream cheese involved. We ended up eating about three of those (the cake things: is there really not another word for bread in English that has the same connotation as "pan"?). They have little hidden, plastic baby Jesuses and the person that finds it in their slice of bread has the promise of good luck all year, and then they also have to buy tamales for everyone the 2nd of February. I don't really get it, either. But I love it.
We did a lot of visiting and walking this week. We are now master fast walkers and have the shoes to prove it (i.e. we both have perfect holes in our shoes and socks). We visited Maria de Socorro, an eighty-something year old that is the great grandma of two boys that we are teaching. She is hilarious. She makes us spaghetti and sits with us outside on a wooden bench because she likes how we sing. On Friday she found out that we are leaving in March, and she promptly told us that she would not be accepting "ningun mormon" after we left because she liked us too much and didn't want to have to learn to like other ones. She also knows everyone and calls out, "buenas noches, gordito" whenever anyone passes in the calle (which, roughly translated, means "good night, fatty." I thought Daniel would appreciate that one). We love her. We also contacted some really promising investigators, who immediately told us their whole life story. I had forgotten that that is not normal in real life, because everyone seems to tell us everything they have ever felt or thought or gone through within the first few minutes. I think that has been the greatest and most daily miracle — the miracle of knowing people without even asking. It has become one of my most favorite things of the mission, being able to sit in a stranger's home and just listen to them and come to know them.
Love you and miss you and can't wait to see youuuuuuu.
love love
Hermana Rhondeau
No comments:
Post a Comment