September 2, 3009

Hola!

So...hopefully you aren't missing me too much...I'd feel bad. There isn't much time to miss ya'll, but I try to miss you once a week at least so you don't feel bad. ;)

Luckily, I keep a sticky note in my planner each week so I can write down all the things I want to tell ya'll in the email. :D

(notice the ya'll...its working! ;)

Ok...first off, I need my memory card for my camera if you will. :D Thank you kindly!

Happy Birthday Grandma Lizzie! Woo! 100 is pretty fantastic, and I must say, that blue shirt is one of my favorites on Grandma....

So I learned something new this week. Sister Missionaries, for their 18 month mark, it is in the middle of a transfer, so I am actually out for 18 months and three weeks....so really, it is like I have only been out 2 weeks. I only have 76 left to go. Hopefully I use them wisely!

Our district consists of 2 spanish speaking elders, a senior couple, and us. It is rather a strange district (apparently) but I love it! The spanish elders are super funny and we are going to the park today. The senior couple, from Soda Springs, ID are my favorite! They are the Curtis Couple. They served in the Cove Fort mission a few years back....it was when I was in high school, so sister curtis may have given me that little wooden button that is on the string. (Hopefully you know what I'm talking about). Anyway...They are amazing! I love living close to them and we visit them and see them all around. I love it! They are like a third set of grandparents. We would do anything for them and they would do anything for us.

Sister Shull and I went down to the lower Port Arthur this week. She prefaced the trip with, "As long as we aren't doing anything stupid, the Lord will protect us." I was a little worried at that preface, but I could see why the warning. We went because we had a set appointment and a set place to be so we walked with purpose and we didn't go tracting. It isn't a place we are allowed to go tracting (don't worry, I was totally safe the whole time. I just thought it was funny).
In Port Arthur, we visited the Foreman family. They are super funny! Sister Foreman has a louder voice and personality. We went in, sat on the couch and said, "Oh honey, why you look so scared?" Apparently I looked afraid, but I have seen black people before....I wanted to explain that...;) We had a good visit and she came to stake conference on Sunday with 3 of her sons. We are going to go back before her son goes back to Baltimore (where he plays basketball for a college there). They are super nice...anyway...

The food here is amazing! I really like it. They put a lot of spices in everything. Its mostly cajun stuff. They have a whole section of Walmart dedicated to spices that I'd never seen before in Utah (and probably won't ever see in Utah). I should take a picture for ya'll. Oh, and chicken and dumplings...you cook the dumplings in with the chicken broth! Who knew? It is good. Oh, and instead of putting gravy over potatoes and such, they put stuff over rice. Its a new concept for me, but luckily Pam fed me for a while, and they used rice, so I knew that it is used for things.... (if that makes sense).

So...we have a baptismal date! Things were going real rough for the first two weeks. We didn't have anyone to teach. Well, we caught this lady that they've been working with for a couple of months (but never taught a lesson to) and we taught her the first lesson and she asked us when she could be baptized. The only catch: her husband is a jerkface and we don't know if he will consent to her being baptized. We'll have to see what comes of it, but she is set to be baptized on October 1st. We are stoked. Last week, I wanted to set a goal of having a family of 4 come to church. Well, Joanne's family has 3 kids of age to be baptized and her, making it a family of 4....so if she brings them to church, then we are golden and reached the goal that seemed so unfathomable. :D I love goal setting....and positive thinking and such. It is great!

So....I can't relate to a lot of people we've been talking to. There are a lot of people with rough home lifes, and my companion talks to them and they talk about how to grow up righteously and live beyond what is going on, but I just sit there and smile. So thank you for making it so I don't relate, because I am so glad and grateful for the life I enjoyed! It was amazing and I am blessed for it. Thanks Parentals!

So here, when you don't hear what someone is saying to you, instead of saying, "excuse me?," or "what?" You say, "ma'am?" It is the weirdest thing and I didn't understand what they were saying for a while, but I got it now. Well, I get what they are saying, but I haven't started saying 'ma'am' yet. That is just too much for me at this time. But yes, I would say something, they would say "ma'am" and I would say, "what?" and they would say "ma'am" again. It would last until Sister Shull would say what I had said again. It was confusing! haha.
Something else that confused me was when they would say "ya'll." Apparently, "ya'll" can mean just you, instead of a group of yous!
A lot of the dinner appointments we go to, they ask, "have ya'll had this before? (or something similar), and I would answer that Sister Shull may have, but I haven't...or something to that effect. But even when they are clearly only talking to me, or someone else, they will say "ya'll." I don't get it, but I, again, am working on it.

There are some thick accents I can't understand yet, but I am definitely getting better....Plus, there are some that will speak without hardly moving their mouths. I didn't realize that one could talk without barely moving, but it is possible! I am one that is very animated in my speech, so yes....difficult times! :D
I say "they" like it encompasses the whole of Texas, but it doesn't....but it does cover most of the people that I have been in contact with....(that is my disclaimer)

So I lost my clothes in the MTC, not at the mission home....but that is just a trivia side note.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to Jaiden Face! Man, he isn't old enough....but now at least he gets chocolate....and does he get ice cream now? hm....its too much to keep track of.

Speaking of ice cream....Texas has the best kind of ice cream ever! It is called Blue Bell. I've NEVER tasted anything so good! (And I don't think that is because it is so darn hot here that ice cream tastes better). I think Kelly would be in Heaven. They have many different flavors....You could probably google it....I can't though.

I had to try and fix a computer myself...without the support of my tech support. I wanted to call Jeff F. at least 10 times! but I couldn't. I put on the virus software, then had to disable it all to get on the internet, then I couldn't get the printer to work for this sweetest lady (named Maggie...newman knows her)...but alas, it is going to be another day project we decided, and Maggie will call Jeff and will talk through the phone as I am fixing the computer....;) How about it Jeff? ;)

Anyway, I think that is all that I have to say. Oh, did I tell you how I almost died last week? It might be in the letter... And I got to see the largest firehydrant in the world. It is in Beaumont and Sister Jolly took us there. You'll see pictures. I enjoyed it. My favorite sign was one that said, "smoking in bed is stupid." Then it went on, but I can't remember the fine print.

So....let me know how life is. It sounds like you are all having a rip roaring good time. I am too....teaching, talking, and soon I'll go crabbing! :D

Love you all! Hasta la pasta until next time!

Jack

P.S. I just wanted to add a little side note....

Don't worry about me. I'm safe. The lord is protecting us. As long as we don't do anything stupid, we will be safe....and I don't like doing stupid things....

　

P.P.S. I forgot to mention the mosquitoes. They are the worst creatures ever! I have 26 bites on my left ANKLe alone.... All the skito spray in the world won't keep them away....and yes, being allergic is having its moments, but luckily only a few have swelled up to a big size, and even those aren't as bad as Kelly and Haylee get them, so don't worry, I just thought I would let you know they are the devils!

And they have these locusts down here that sit in the trees and make so much noise. I don't know how they do it. Apparently, one day, they will all just die....so one day, there is noise, the next day...silence! I think that will be weird....haha...

Just thought I would add that! Love you!