Plant your Roots in Heaven

I'm not quite even sure where to begin with my week. Lessons continue, but it's difficult to say how things are progressing. At times a lesson seems to go well, but then the next time they don't seem to be as great. We have a family we're focusing on, and the husband sounded interested and said he wanted to get baptized! ...In the Evangelical church. We were not quite sure what to say to that. More like my companion didn't know what to say, because I didn't understand what was happening.

Another investigator showed up for the Noche Mormona Saturday and said she would come to church, but then didn't. One family seems to be shunning us a little bit. The wife practically flees when she sees us.

But, there's strength where problems appear to be. Our recent converts are so great. You can see, in their faces the light that the gospel brings them. Yeimi told Hermana Sanchez that she loves everything about the church. It was a comment that made my companion's day.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that you can not hide your talents, no matter how imperfect. My companera told the Stake President that I could play piano. Right away, out of some secret hiding place, they pulled out a keyboard! I was assigned to practice and prepare hymns for Sacrament. Yikes! I was really nervous this week to play. It's a lot harder to hide mistakes with a keyboard. But, the deed was done and I survived. Also got called on for my first Sacrament talk this week. Found out the night before. Such is the life of a missionary.

Then today, we had to come to the capitol for a picture for our Visas. In order to make it in time, my companera and I left at 3:30am from Leguna Seca. My companera fell asleep on the bus and I wasn't sure where we were supposed to get off. I knew it was in the city. We were passing through the city, so I nudged her awake. She woke and mumbled that we were `falta mucha tiempo`...had a ways to go. I trusted her because she'd done this before. But then she really woke up. We'd missed it! We had to walk in search of our location. Found it! But we got there early, so we waited in the stairwell of the building.

We have officially hit winter. This means tons of rain...for 5 months. our streets are mud sludge and we get soaked instantly if we're not ready. It's still relatively warm, but a little bit cooler than it had been initially. Bugs have died down in activity lately in our house except for the occasional monster spider we find hiding behind a suitcase or something. Oh, and the unexpected guest I found in my bed one morning. Apparently a cucaracha had spent part of the night with me until I apparently killed it in my sleep. My companera found my shreiking reaction to this discovery amusing.

The pictures:

Two our of our brand spanking new mosquito nets...notice the remarkable resemblance to bed canopies? Yep, that's what they are. But, you use what you can!

 

   Another is the roses (in a blender for a vase) that my companera bought for my cumple dos meses.

And one is us in the stairwell....

Oh yes, the last photo. This is a quote and my own interpretation that I drew out and stuck a phrase to. I think it's a good theme. Plant your roots in Heaven and See what will grow.

These hang above my desk. I often need a little additional encouragement. Some days I just think a lot about home, and about family and friends. I miss everyone so much! But I am excited to be here and I want to see what grows.

Love you all,

Hermana Schultz