So I got something that I will start using to help with my weekly emails. I
guess I should explain exactly what that is. I guess I´ll start with a
little story. So it all happened this Tuesday. It was going on like any
other Tuesday, We were putting up our numbers and the names and dates
and stuff of that sort, when all of the sudden I hear in a German
sounding Spanish, "Feliz Navidad" and packages appeared. I guess it´s one of
the blessings of being in Managua, the fact that I can get packages a
lot faster than those people in other cities. So I got this small yellow
package, and it was a tie, but Elder Lee (one of the senior missionaries)
said that they have another package for me. So I got that and inside
was this thing that I can write every day on and upload it to the
computer on P'day. So I guess these emails will be a bit longer. Anyways that´s
how this story went. As
for the rest of Tuesday, we got back to Reparto Schick and after a long
lunch break we went to work. What was really cool is today we found 9
new investigators. Which is a whole lot more than our usual 0-2
investigators every day, so I really enjoyed that. When we got back to
our apartment tonight, Elder Lopez was looking through some of his stuff
in a suitcase he left open on the ground, and found a litter of baby
rats! Not a very friendly surprise and I´m so glad it didn't happen to me!
Wednesday:
Today we had Divisiones (or exchanges for you cheles). Or when I have a
different companion for the day for those who don´t know. We did that
so the District Leader could do interviews for baptism, for I and
A (two investigators who will be baptized by the time you all read
this). I had a good time with Elder Menezes in his area, and had really
good chimichangas. Though they called them tacos. I held a pigeon and
worked hard. I learned from Elder Menezes that he walks a lot faster
with me than with Elder Najera, so I realized that I didn´t have to be
walking so fast, and just because he´s skinny doesn´t mean he like running everywhere. Also we found out that there will be a Hurricane on
Friday, so I hope that I am able to write to you all Monday after it
happens, and hope it doesn´t interfere with our baptisms. Our Mission President sent out a message for all of the missionaries that we need
to purchase a week supply of food on Friday, so yeah. I hope it doesn´t
feel too bad.
Thursday:
Today was my one month anniversary in Nicaragua! So that´s really
cool. We finished up the exchanges, and I had a good time with Elder
Menezes. I got cake today. I don´t know why they had it, but it said in
Spanish Congratulations, and then a word that if they are serious on
what it means...I don´t want to write it here. Children might read it.
We had a small earthquake around lunch time, so while sitting down I
felt the earth move, it wasn´t bad, and didn´t phase me but all the
natives asked about it and how scared I was.
Friday:
So this morning we went shopping for our week´s supply of food, because
of the Hurricane. So my
week´s supply consists of a large bag of cereal, 3 milk baggies (milk
comes in bags here) and 3 litres of Juice. So I´m prepared. If worse
comes to worse I have Elder Lopez and he has plenty of meat on his
bones. Anyways so today was cool because we got 3 people on date for
baptism, so I believe that puts our total up to around 11, but I want to
get that number up to at least 15 before Elder Lopez leaves. We did
more preparation for the baptisms, and the wedding tomorrow, and to my
great astonishment, I ate more beans and rice today.
Saturday -
Wedding Day! Okay so this morning bright and early we went to the church to
pick up pants big enough for Jimy el Guardo. Like honestly that´s what
he is called, he even calls himself that over the phone. I kinda like
it. It´s like saying Fat Mike or Robert the Fatty. Anyways after that
and giving the pants to him, we went back to the church and helped set
up more to finalize the decorations. I actually liked how it turned out.
Elder Lopez and I chilled a lot there. Then after that we had our
normal lunch, then the Church again. Spent some time with the
Bishop (Obispo for all of you Spanish speakers). Then went to get all of
our people and bring stuff to the boda. After yet even more preparation
and waiting (I don´t mind waiting, I really enjoy time to my thoughts,
or just relaxing and not having anything to do. I know some people it
drives them crazy, but I enjoy it). Then the wedding started, they got
married, then right afterward we had the baptisms. Okay so Jimmy got
married to his Wife, and then Baptized his wife and their son. Then we
had the baptism for our Investigator A also. After that was like a
2.5 hour party and celebration for the wedding, and then after most
everyone left another hour of cleaning up. It was all good and I had
fun. I showed the natives the Vogt "go to" dance move AKA The White
Man´s Overbite. All in all I really enjoyed today, it was both really
packed, but also laid back. I guess not laid back, but just different, a
change of pace, so I enjoyed it. On a side note....Elder Lopez´s and my
backpacks are locked in the bishop´s office. We left them in there
while getting people and doing everything, and the bishop left without
us getting them out...so there is always tomorrow. Oh and Elder Lopez is
kinda salty right now. More or less for this wedding we helped them out financially. We each gave them around 2000 cordobas, or in dollars,
around 75 dollars each. )We only get 2800 every 15 days, and that´s for
everything, but the rent. Food, anything we might need, paying for our
laundry, everything. So we each gave like 12 days of our entire living
expenses= Together we paid for over half of the wedding, I´m not
complaining here, it´s just what happened. Though I kinda wish I could
have given a little less...Since I can buy a nice tablet here for like
1800 cordobas at their version of Walmart. So if I save here and there.
Poof, After Mission regalo. But anyways back on track, elder Lopez is
salty. He is salty because Jimmy had 6 3 liter bottles of Coke left, and
Lopez wanted one. He doesn´t have one right now. So he used some choice
words when talking about it to me in our casa.
Sunday:
It is Sunday today. So in other words another pretty lazy day with
elder Lopez. I like but don´t like days like this at the same time. But
most of the day was with Pidul (our lunch guy) and then a bit at the church again later.
There are certain things from today that I wrote in my journal, but it
can wait for 2 years to be known. Anyways just chilling with Elder Lopez
right now before bed.
Now
it´s time for random things. Since most of the natives have a hard time
with the V sound in Vogt, I get called a lot of different things. Mostly
Bo,But I get some different ones, like Bosh, or Bogt, sometimes Vogt,
but I think my favorite one sounds pretty similar to Bones. The guys who says this also
knows my other names, so he calls me Seth Bones. Kinda weird, but It´s
easier to tell he´s talking to me than Bo.
I am
finally able to feel cold!!!!! After one month is what I have come to
know as ¨Normal Temperature¨ (I got a picture of snow at our house from
my Parents...so yeah...normal) I can finally feel cold. So every night I
sleep with a fan on me, and the past 2 nights I´ve felt like actually
cold while I sleep, even with the thin sheet that covers me. It is one
of the best feelings out there. I love it so much. But then again it
sucks. Because in the Morning with our bucket showers, the water always
feels too cold! So some days I´m all like "I wish I could skip this
today, I don´t want to be startled awake by the cold" or "Maybe if I do a
little at a time it won´t be so bad"....Others I´m all for it. I just
pour it on. This reminds me, while on Divisiones the apartment of elder
Menezes and Najera the times they have running water are the times we
are awake in their apartment whereas here (in my regular apartment) it´s always an hour before we
get up, and an hour before we return to our casa. So with them I was
able to take an actual shower. It felt so good. Man I miss running
water!
I
usually don´t have breakfast here, just because I don´t feel hungry, so
we´ll see if this changes anything. On the bright side, If we are able
to have other meals with members still, I have like a month´s supply of
cereal at the rate I´d eat it! It can last me to Christmas, I could be
eating cereal while skyping my family on Christmas, What could go wrong?
So
on Saturday with the wedding, we didn´t have a key to the baptismal
font, but there is a glass divider in another room with space at the
top, so we were standing on chairs trying to unlock the door with mops (the handle part) by turning the little nub that unlocks it. So we
tried for like 15 minutes and couldn´t so we pushed a stack of 5 chairs
to the glass and jumped in. It´s a good 10 feet from the top of the
glass divider to the bottom of the font. But let´s just say, no one
died, so it all worked out in the end.
So
one thing I was thinking before coming on my Mission was "I hope I don´t
have too many companions who are slobs" but after being here for a month
it´s strange how much different things are just culturally, like here you
just throw trash on the ground. Back in the states if someone gave me
something with a wrapper I wouldn´t dream of just throwing the wrapper
on the ground right in front of their face, but here it´s totally cool,
and your trash can go pretty much wherever. Like in our appartment we
have a corner just full of trash that we need to sweep out of here. So
talking with other missionaries who are about to go home, they´ve all
said it´s a habit they´re gonna have to break and get used to using
trash cans again. (don´t worry we have a trash can, our pile is more of
like bottles and chip bags). And everything is so dirty here in the
sense that there is dirt everywhere, like I don´t know how it gets where
it does, we have to wipe down the church pews every week wiping just
dirt off of them, and the church is a closed building. So cleanliness is
a whole different thing here.
- Elder Vogt
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