Week 2 February 3, 2014

¡Hola!

I didn't get robbed this week!!! Improvement!!

Everyday we have a goal to talk to 15 people in the streets about the gospel. It's a lot different here because they willingly give you their full name and address. That would NEVER happen in America. I'm the first white girl to ever serve in this area...which explains why everyone stares at me like they have never seen a white girl in person before, because they haven't. We get a lot of creepy guys that approach us wondering what a white skinned, blue eyed girl is doing here. Most of them are pretty drunk and it's actually pretty funny. Don't worry...we don't teach them...we leave the creepy ones for the Elders. Today, a homeless naked man approached us....ya we sprinted away from that one... pray I don't see that one again. They always ask me where I'm from and I've started telling them that I'm from Chihuahua Mexico...they're drunk enough to believe me most of the time.

The language is pretty hard..but it's mostly hard to speak. Understanding what everyone is saying isn't too hard. My companion doesn't speak any English at all but it's good because it forces me to speak more Spanish.

Every Thursday we gather as a district at one of the churches and have "planeamiento semanal" or weekly planning. This week's was a lot of fun because one of the Elders brought ingredients to make pancakes and chocolate milk. It was a great way to get to know them all a little better.

Tuesday we taught a lady who LITERALLY lives in a cardboard box. Everything she owned was packed into the tiniest room made of cardboard boxes. This room was her kitchen, her bedroom, her closet, her bathroom, her office, her everything. We sat on little buckets while we taught her. She's an amazing lady!

There are a billion dogs here! Every family has at least one dog..not to mention the other million stray dogs that roam the streets. Some of them are actually pretty cute but the majority are really mangy. The long-haired dogs are the worst because they end up completely covered in dreads.

The 'pan' (bread) shops are my absolute favorite to walk by because they smell so good. Every morning the streets smell like freshly baked bread. They make it all from scratch and sell it to you right outside of the shop. The tortilla shops are also the best! They make corn tortillas from scratch by the 100s!

I had my first experience with doing laundry here! Luckily we have a really awesome member that lives below us that lets us use their washing machine. It's still a little different though because the machine isn't hooked up to a water line so you have to fill up the washing machine with a hose. After the machine goes for about 20 minutes, we take our clothes to the roof and hang them up with clothes pins on lines to dry. I've never been so grateful for a washer and dryer!!!

Every Saturday is the Tianguis. The streets are completely filled with little shops and tarps are strung across the streets from apartment to apartment. Hermana Benson and I were walking together and I have never heard so many cat calls in my life. There were literally 20 + men cat calling and shouting at us all at once. It is so hard to keep a straight face when that happens. Let's just say that we don't lolly gag through the Tianguis..we speed walk. This Saturday I saw 2 Books of Mormon for sale...THAT'S where they all go! They sell anything and everything...you name it and it's at the Tianguis.

Here in Mexico it's completely normal to call someone fat straight to their face. A lot of the time men will introduce their wives as "mi esposa gordita" (my fat wife). They always call me the flaca Americana (skinny American) and practically force me to eat extra food to try and fatten me up.

Today we went to the capilla and met with the entire zone. There are only four Hermanas out of 50 Elders. It was a lot of fun today because we got to play sports...FINALLY!!!!! We played volleyball, soccer, and basketball for hours! I was the only sister who really played..the rest of the Hermanas sat in the shade. We had a big picnic with all of them too. Towards the end, the Elders brought out a huge garbage bin full of water balloons and we had a ginormous water fight. What a blast!

My Zone. There are only 4 Hermanas

Hermana Benson, her companion, and me

The work here is definitely progressing! We only have 4 investigators right now...we will probably baptize a little 9 year old girl within the next few weeks..I hope. Her family are all members which helps a lot. I haven't been back to visit the little 3 year old girl yet..but a lot of kids have soccer balls and are pretty impressed that a girl knows how to play haha.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! I love you all forever!

Hermana Ingram