So, back in Soyapango everything was good. When I tell people I was there, they just always have wide open eyes and say, "Ooooh." One lady said, "Ah, Soya-panic-o." Haha. I just thought it was amusing because I really really enjoyed it there and thought
it was pretty calm. It was a cool place. We visited one older lady there and my companion said something like, "Do you have any questions for us? Like why there are two super white guys here?" And she said, "Oh yeah, you guys are just like peeled yucca." Yucca
is a sort of potato-like substance and looks the same as a potato inside, so that was flattering. We laughed a lot. In my area we also had not one, but TWO stop lights. So that was crazy. I also saw some big old iguanas running around of late. The members
we ate lunch with have a whole bunch of instruments and had a violin, so I played them a little Devil's Dream. It might be a horrible sin to play a song with that title during the mission, but it was fun. I miss playing the violin.
Things were all good with Elder Bowman. We just got along super super well and had lots of fun. For one companionship study we played a game where one of us would just open up the Book of Mormon and start reading in a random spot, and the other would have
to find where they were reading in their own Book of Mormon. We had a timer and played several rounds to see who knew their scriptures the best. It was a lot of fun. Anyways, it was just a blast being with him and working super hard.
So, we came home normal after a day's work and went to bed. Just after we prayed, turned off the light, and were nice and comfortable, Elder Bowman's phone goes off with the sound that means he got a text from President. He got up to see and said, "Uh-oh,
elder, I think you're going to have to wake up." Turns out one of the elders needed some special doctoring help and was going to be staying with my comp so he could keep an eye on him. This meant that I was ejected from my area after just two weeks in "emergency
transfers!" How exciting. And just when I finally got the house clean.
I stayed up and packed and in the morning caught the bus with my new companion for Usulután! It is a city back east in Oriente about an hour from my first area, Jucuapa. And it is hot. Really hot. February and March are the hottest and driest months in
El Salvador, and I got to one of the hottest parts just in time to catch it! We spend our time walking down dirt streets with dust on the ground as thick as light snow, and the sun beating down without a cloud in the sky. After about an hour every day, my
shoes are a nice light brown no matter what color they were when I started. Even at night when the sun has set or in the early morning we are just sweating and sweating and the heat never leaves. So this will be a little crazy, but I am super excited to try
a little piece of everything. I actually enjoy it a lot here and it is amazingly pretty even though it is so hot.
My new companion is Elder Padilla, from Guatemala. He is just a very pleasant guy. He plays the guitar really well and loves nothing more than his taser flashlight. We get along well. We went and visited some less active members and they taught us how
to make pupusas, so I made my first. It was fun and everyone was very impressed that a gringo could make some. I also had to make a phone call to someone from the mission offices and just give them a phone number, but it was in english, and it was the hardest
thing ever. I was stumbling over all my words and random spanish was coming out every second. This is not promising for my future dating life.
Sometimes it is easy to shrug off the effort to share the gospel and just think, "Nah, they probably aren't really interested." We asked one lady for directions and she didn't seem super open, but we went the extra mile and tried to put an appointment.
Then we visited her and she was super positive! She had lots of questions and didn't like it when churches paid their pastors, so we were super excited. I think you just never really know if someone will accept the gospel until you invite them.
This week I found out that Stiven and Miriam got baptized. They were two investigators I taught and have mentioned before. I was there when we started teaching them and invited them to be baptized, so that made me super happy that it all worked out.
Here in the pictures we have me and Elder Bowman with my suitcases and our planning board, a day in the office, and me and Elder Padilla in the streets of Usulután.
See you all around,
Abe
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