December 22, 2011

Week before Christmas, December 19, 2011

Wow!  Okay,  So I got the other package with the decorations, and then 2 boxes without a name or return address or anything that identified who it was from.  but after opening a few of the goodies (so good), I knew it had to be from the fam.    But we put up the decorations, and it was nice to have a Christmas tree to put up, even if it was paper.  By the way, the chocolate calendar thing I wouldn´t suggest sending again.... it was really really really bad chocolate.  But I appreciate the thought :)  So far I´ve opened gingerbread house (we'll make it today), FRANGOs (oh yes), the bell ornament, beef jerky, cookie mix and the tie.  Our oven is really bad and completely burns everything but leaves the top raw, so i´ll give the mix to the hermanas in our zone... their oven works, and they bring goodies to district meetings.  yep yep.

While on the topic of goodies to eat, let me tell you about 2 lunch pancake inventions we enjoyed this week.  Lasagna made with crepes instead of the pasta noodle stuff.  Crepes layered with meat sauce in between.  It was actually really really good, and it was the first time the hermana had made it!  I would suggest attempting it.  The other one, don´t attempt. I tell you this so you don´t try it.  crepe/pancake-thing-wrapped hotdog with pure mayo on top.  Don´t try it.  Not that great.  ps, Chileans put mayo on everything!!!  Sometimes it's good, sometimes not.  They put it on plain rice, bread (plain or with tomatoes), hotdogs-- I think I´ve even seen it on french fries. They looooove their mayo here.

Sorry to here you´re sick, Luke! I am all better now, btw.  But Hayden's CSO went well, I hear!  Congrats! and Spencer, once you´re done with the school project and stuff, the movie of The Count of Monte Cristo is really good!  I watched it last year at BYU with some friends one night.  If it´s rated R, we watched an edited version.  But it was really good!  And as for the wedding anniversary, I´d imagine that sometimes its nice to just do something simple and low key, not too much and thanks for that AWESOME quote, mom. 

So this week, I had a few divisions. Elder Tialavea came with Elder Fuhriman and I for a day, and I think he goes home today or tomorrow.  He had the most time in the mission, and was a hard working, great missionary with lots of experience.  So that was nice to have him with us for a day. He was captain of BYU football before he came on the mission, too.  Just a great guy.  Elder Rodriguez, the Argentine who has been here for only a few weeks, came to my sector and we worked. He´s pretty cool, and because he speaks 0 English, I spoke 100% Spanish for a full 24 hours.  I´m telling you. I can see my Spanish improving drastically when I´m with a Latin on divisions.  And the way it´ll work out, I´ll be with him again tomorrow, too.

We found this new family!!!!  The parents were active, sealed in the temple and everything, both knew and know a lot, and went inactive. They just moved to our sector from Maipú like 2 weeks ago, and their 10 year old daughter Alín hasn´t been baptized or really taught anything about the church.  But the parents are very helpful and came to church on Sunday and everything, and I think they might start coming back and being active in the church again!  Alín, the daughter, seems super smart, and is really interested.  And she liked church!!!  Alllll good stuff.  the ward is still struggling a little, but progressing.  Please go to ward counsel and/or make sure it´s happening semi-consistently.  Ohhhh it was a breath of fresh air when we had it on Sunday.  Soo good.

THE STORY of the week.  I brought my journal, so I´ll pretty much copy what I wrote in there:

We left after our P-Day naps last Monday, and we cross Brasilia, the street right by our pension, at the end of our pasaje.  I was behind Elder Fuhriman a little bit.  He gets to the curb on the other side of the street, and I´m still in the middle of the calle.  And then I hear this yelling, "Noo NO NOO!!"  I look, and there's this guy on his bike coming pretty freaking fast, like 3 inches away from the curb.  I was a good 4, 5, 6 feet away from the curb, and so in the .2 seconds I had to think, I just stopped walking.  He, going really fast, had a nice big space in front of me that he could take.  He can steer-- straight. So of course, he starts heading straight for me.  I jump back just in time for him to hit my arm pretty hard with his handlebars, he starts to lose control, and goes flying.  I mean FLYING. He did this 360 flip with a twist, and landed on his shoulder/neck area, and when he came to a stop (finally), his head was on the curb.  Ohhhhh I thought I´d killed a man.  Turns out, when I ran over to him, he wreaked of alcohol.  Sooooo drunk.  Someone nearby went to call an ambulance, and when they came back and were like, we called, and the ambulance is on it´s way, he was like "no no no, i´m okay..." and starts to get up. When people were like " but your neck!" he really didn´t care and got up anyway.   so he got up with amazingly little blood, tried to ride his bike (the chain fell off), and ended up walking away with his bike.  So we asked the other people around there what we should do, and they were like, well, just go, I guess.  So we did.  Moral of the story: don´t drink and ride.  Also, we've seen him since then a few times, and so we know he didn´t die.

The end.

Love, Elder Cole Moffat