November 29, 2010

Hey!!!!

Guess what!!! We baptized two familias (families) this Saturday!!! It was soo Awesome! Ha ha and oh yeah, we married both of the families right before we started the baptismal service too!

Ok, so to start, the families are Hermano Roberto and Hermana Yamileth and the other is Hermano José Noel and Hermana Martha. We did exchanges with the Zone Leaders on Tuesday after District Meeting so they could interview them. So I served in Juigalpa with Elder Salgado for a day.

The next day, we met up with Elder Coj and he said that they were ready but needed more time. I was pretty disappointed but then they started laughing and said we were going to baptize on Saturday!

So we spent a lot of time throughout the week working with an abogado (lawyer) to get all the papers and stuff we needed to marry them first. It took a lot of time but we finally got everything we needed.

Ha ha but it was really funny as we went to government buildings and stuff to try and get the right stuff. We didn't need anything to get the information we needed, only a little money. The government works a little differently here. Maybe it helps that we are missionaries too.

So Friday night, we decorated the meeting house for the marriages. We had to wake up super early Saturday to go pick up the Baptismal clothes at the Bus stop in Empalme (The Zone Leaders sent them in the bus early in the morning).

So we got back in Boaco about 8 and we were walking back to the house when we realized that we didn’t have the clothes! So we ran back to the bus terminal but the bus wasn’t there. There is another terminal above Boaco so we grabbed a Taxi to see if we could catch the bus before it left back to Juigalpa. We got to the terminal and it was still there so we grabbed the clothes real quick and rushed back to the house to get ready.

The marriages started at 9 in the morning. When Hermana Yamileht got there, she told us that for next time, plan the weddings later in the day. I feel bad. I think she was probably a little stressed out getting ready. But Hey! I think it is awesome that two 19-20 year old kids managed to plan two weddings.

We were a little preoccupied that morning with something else... The baptismal font in the church only had about 2-3 feet of dirty water in it and there was no water for the city. Usually, if the water doesn’t work in the morning when we wake up, it works an hour or so later. But on Saturday, they said there wouldn’t be water for the whole day!!!

I think somebody didn’t want them to get baptized.

The weddings went well. Right after, we started the Baptismal Service. So... while we started, Elder Coj went on splits with Beto (I stayed with the President) to try and find a truck that could drive us to a RIVER to do the Baptisms. They did, right as we finished, and we all hopped into the back of a truck. We found a perfect spot on the La Presa River and it was Beautiful. I baptized all four of them and after, we returned to the Church for pupusas. The Best Day Ever.

I suspect that I am staying in Boaco another change with Elder Coj! I am so happy we get to be together here for another month and a half. We can keep making each other better and help Boaco. I think two more missionaries are coming on Wednesday. I think beds and stuff are arriving today.

That’s great that Elder Coj wrote you and he said your email and Spanish were great, Dad. I have his family’s email and I am going to try and write them in Spanish today.

I am glad to hear Thanksgiving was good, I miss the mashed potatoes. I haven’t taken Elder Coj to a Thanksgiving dinner yet but I would like to. I need to figure out where first.

Happy Birthday again, Mom. I love you. I have to admit, though, that the package hasn’t been sent yet. We have figured where to go to send it to you and I have a gift for you. But there was a store that we found that was selling unique hand made things of Nicaragua but when we went to go get your gift the store was Gone!!! (It was kind off a big tent store on the street and turns out it’s portable)

The AP told me the first day, if I found something cool I wanted to get, buy it then because I might not ever get another chance. So hopefully it will come back. Boaco isn’t one of the cities with a lot of cool stuff but I am going to find some cool stuff for you. I might send Christmas presents with your birthday present next week so I hope that doesn’t make it less special.

I am going to miss not having Christmas with you and I am bummed I am going to miss the German Christmas Eve Dinner. I am excited to have Christmas here in Boaco this change. Of course, I will get to call home for Christmas and I can’t wait but I don’t know the details yet.

Well Hannah, for breakfast we usually have some eggs and beans or something like that. Today, we had these really good pancakes but they are really different. I am going to try to get the recipe from la Doña. I actually did have some cereal in Juigalpa for breakfast but it was just plain corn flakes. I would like some cereal but it is ok, you don’t have to send it, packages are expensive!

Thanks for the updates!!! That’s great the U won. I am sorry I can’t help shovel snow. Good luck with the Molly Mouse performances this week Emily and Hannah, I am soo proud of you two.

Rob, thanks for the tip with the spiders. But do you have one for geckos? There is always a gecko if you look for one. Most of the time, I notice them when we are in a house teaching and I see one scurry across the wall behind the person we are talking to. Also, they make a really loud chirping noise.

My first week, I thought that people had birds in their roofs. But turns out they are geckos. One even found its way back into our room. Elder Coj chased it with a broom while I was just trying to take pictures of it. (I have photos but I forgot my cord, we are going to run and get it and send some really fast.)

Most of them are really ugly, all white and pasty and my compa says really dirty too. I bought a sling shot on the street to get them (and dogs if I have to) but it reminded me of 1 Corinthians 13:11 so now I’m thinking about throwing it away.

But oh boy, what I miss the most? I am sorry but I am really not sure what to say right now. Maybe carpet. But you wouldn’t want carpet here with the humidity and it would get really dirty so I will have to live without. I am going to have to get back to you on that, Rob, I don’t have much time. But thank you.

Thank you for the spiritual thought. I always love them.

Oh! I just remembered, I gave a talk on Sunday! I gave it about Missionary Work (for the members). I was pretty nervous preparing it and going to the Church. But I found out once I got there, I was fine. Maybe it helped that the branch fits into the first floor of a house. I think I made sense (at least they told me I did) and I think I helped them think about what they should and what they can be doing to help strengthen and grow the branch.

Just remember, you don’t need to be a full-time missionary with a plaque to help your family and friends come to find the happiness of the fruit of the Gospel. Like Lehi in his vision of the tree of life, after he partook of the fruit, he desired his family to also. And we are all hermanos (brothers & sisters).

I Love You,

Elder Jonathan D. Hardy