Hermana Dangl - Missionary in Mexico: Semana 17

Hola friends and family,

Another week has passed and this week was my wonderful companion, Hermana Limon, turn to get Chikunguya. So on Monday we went to a member’s house and she stayed there for a bit and I went out with the members 11 year old daughter, Ruth, to Bodega to buy groceries for the week. We went to a doctor but my companion didn’t have a fever, just a lot of pain, so they wouldn’t see us because it wasn’t an emergency.

On Tuesday we couldn’t leave the house so I read A LOT of Liahona Magazines (Ensign, New Era, and Friend all in one in Spanish) that the church produces and watched The District. I also found out that our room gets really, really hot during the day and that actually there’s not that many things to do when you’re trapped in the house with your sick companion all day.

Wednesday was our last day of captivity. Hermana Lorena, an amazing member, came over with her two children, Ruth and Keneth, and she fed us and then cleaned our house for us. We have this back patio that is pretty small but apparently is the home and bathroom of a bat. Though I would probably say a horde of bats based on the amount of filth. But yeah Hermana Lorena and Keneth cleaned this nasty area because it’s producing more mosquitoes in our house. Then Ruth and I went out to the market for soap, trash bags, and whatnot. The market is in my opinion one of the most interesting things. When I say “market,” most of you probably think of Ralph’s or something this is not that. This is a street market. There’s about a million people and a million flies there and everyone is selling something, usually food, shoes, or other random goods. It’s crowded and really dirty. There’s a lot of people cutting up fish and waving away the flies but it’s also like a treasure trove of stuff because they sell literally everything and anything. I love it!

On Thursday we had a zone meeting and after the whole zone went to the park for Frapazol. Tonala is known for its Frapazol because it really doesn’t exist anywhere else. Pozol doesn’t exist outside of Chiapas (I just found this out) which is possibly the worst news ever. I don’t think I can survive in this life without chocolate corn water, seriously.

On Friday and Saturday we had intercambios! Hermana Connolly and I stayed in Tonala and Hermana Limon and Hermana Rubalcaba went to Arriaga. It was very interesting because since Hermana Connolly and I are both Americans there was an increased interest in us by those we talked with. It was all about where we were from and why we’re here instead of the message we’re trying to share. On Saturday we ate at the Cockteleria, owned by members, and I ordered a salad because that’s what you order when you eat at a seafood restaurant, but don’t like seafood. The waitress/daughter of the member/owner asked if I wanted it with “pulpo” and I didn’t know what that was so I asked Hermana Connolly. She has 9 months in the mission, so her Spanish is pretty good, but she didn’t know either. She said maybe it is a type of salsa so I ordered it. I dug my own grave when I didn’t know what “pulpo” meant but I buried myself in the grave when I said “yes” to ordering it in my salad. I am proud to say that I ate almost all of a huge plate of octopus and sea slugs/snail salad.

After this day we unsplit and Hermana Limon and I were together once again. This week our investigators didn’t pull what they did last week where they led us to believe they would go to church and then didn’t. They told us ahead of time that they wouldn’t be there. Honestly this is the biggest challenge for the work here. Even if they keep all their other commitments, if they don’t go to church they’re not progressing. It’s very frustrating, but that was my week. This transfer has flown, only 2 more weeks until transfers and I’m finished with training. Training is 12 weeks or 2 transfers. I don’t want to leave Tonala yet, I love that it’s kind of a small town and that life is simple here. Two months ago I wanted to leave so badly and now all I want is to stay! I think the wise words of Nelson Mandela apply here, “Siempre parece imposible hasta que esta hecho.” It always seems impossible until it’s done. I hope everyone has a good week. Go to church on Sunday!

Con mucho amor, Hermana Dangl