Eating Du-Du
Okay, I know this is the 2nd or 3rd poop reference, but I swear I’m not immature; there’s just so much of it all around, so it legitimately comes up a lot. Fortunately, for me, this time wasn’t another experience with poop, or so I thought. Here, the snacks and treats are a tad strange. On an abnormally cool afternoon after lunch, a group of Brazilians led us to a strange-looking house and knocked on the door (yes, this house had a door). Out came an older-looking lady, and she gave them a sack. When I asked what it was, I heard the words “Du-Du”. At first, I thought it was a joke, but when I looked in the sack, wrapped in sausage-like casing, were what looked to be frozen poop. One of these frozen poop sausages was given to me, and I watched in horror as everyone started biting the whole thing, casing and all, and eating it. While I was contemplating life, holding the frozen slimey ish Du-Du, I was pressured into taking a bite. They said, “Just bite it and eat it.” Fortunately, when I did, I realized it was just some form of ice cream or something; not sure exactly, but it wasn’t poop. It legitimately is called Du-Du, though.
Dumb and Dumber
This week we had a split, which means that my companion and the other native Brazilian living in my house would be companions for the day, and I would be with Elder Pingree. We both have a combined 2.5 months in the field. This meant that two allegedly “fluent” missionaries would be teaching all day alone. Fortunately, the gift of tongues was strong; I don’t recall not understanding or being unable to speak the words I wanted to at all. This is not normal; most times I have to say things in a roundabout way, almost like playing UNO, just using the cards (words) I have in my hand, not necessarily the exact cards I want.
Lebron James
During this split, we were walking down the road and saw a guy who looked like LeBron James riding his bike down the street. So, of course, the two Americans called out to him, giddy with excitement, because it’s the Walmart version of LeBron in the flesh, and to our surprise, he hit a U-turn and talked to us. During our conversation, a testament to the gift of tongues, he couldn’t understand my companion, and he would look at me to “translate” and would understand everything I would say.
Blessed Bathrooms
As if Jesus heard my complaints about the bathrooms from last week, all the bathrooms I’ve used have been amazing. Maybe my selectivity is coming from the Vietnam of bathroom selection I had last week, but this week the bathrooms have been spectacular, even better at times than a US bathroom (2/10x). I think they all had running water and were at least partially clean. Bless up.
Master Chef
As quickly as my position as MTC barber was ripped away from me, in the miraculous event of the salvation of my hand, a new position was given: House Chef. For all the people who knew me from college, I never cooked. Whether it was a time thing or a lack of a kitchen or both, I didn’t cook a single thing. I picked up the role as House Chef for two reasons: 1. When I arrived, I was the new guy, and I was making demands to clean the house. Although it was much needed, I’ve since learned/realized that when you invite people to change without showing compassion, people react with defensiveness. This principle was shared with me by President Smith and his wife when I arrived, along with the other missionaries. (The term “president” is just a title for the “parents” of the mission, a couple that takes care of all the missionaries.)
A gift and a curse is I’m not very open to showing unearned compassion or sometimes grace at all, in traditional ways, like compliments or other ways, but the one way I can is to give up my time and energy. This is why I began to cook for everyone. (Also, my mom always said if you’re making something, make some for everyone in the house.) The food has been amazing; not to toot my own horn, but the mantle of Gordon Ramsay has fallen on my shoulder. (Thanks to my family for some recipes and years of watching cooking shows.)
I recently made buttermilk syrup to go with some French toast, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. If you guys have any recipes you would like to share, send them my way, and I’ll even send you some pictures of the food I made with it!
Do you want to hear… No
Jam-packed in a 9-passenger 1990 Volkswagen van (the taxis here), I was attempting to talk to the people (unsuccessfully) when I attempted to talk to the last person around me. I said, “Have you seen the missionaries before?” And she said yes, but she seemed excited to be talking to one. And so I asked if she’d ever talked to one before. And she said no, (at this point, she seemed like she was overjoyed to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ), so I asked, “Do you want to?” And to my surprise, a switch flipped, and she said no, turned around, and didn’t say a word the rest of the ride. I was stunned. This lady seemed so interested, just to not care at all. What happened?
As I sat there in defeat and stunned silence, packed in with 12 other people in the 9-person van, I began to think of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His earthly ministry. All those people were excited to see a “political savior” but not a savior of souls. All those people who were once with Him but chose to leave once it became difficult. And after seeing this, Jesus said to His disciples, “Will ye also go away?” Then Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”
Although these people and this lady were probably well-meaning, the question is the same for us: Will we too go away?
Notable Events
-I have around 100 bug bites I counted and 25 on one arm
-I’m the animal whisperer
-I bought a guitar 🎸
-im still 200-205 lbs but I think im on a slow decline