Invitation to Baptism

Hello Familia!

 

 

For your first question, the investigator we invited to be baptized last week didn't come to church and then didn't answer her phone so we couldn't visit her :(

 

BUT THEN! Our other investigator Gloria did accept the invitation to be baptized! For December 6th! Wahoo! She is so excited about it too. She told us that she wants a certificate to go along with it.

 

The funny and awkward part is though... Well when we invite people to be baptized we invite them, and then we say "We will be having a baptismal service on this day (date) will you prepare to be baptized this day?' Well, she said yes to the day and then asked who else was being baptized that day and assumed that there were a couple of other people....

 

 

So she kept on asking about that again on Sunday and we explained that there might not be other people prepared for that day and she said she didn't want to be baptized alone (she doesn't want people to go to trouble for her alone). Then we told her that lots of people are baptized alone and then she seemed much better about that!

It was just funny because she would say, "How many other people are being baptized??' and ahehehehehehe.... *you're the only one progressing... cough cough* :D

 

We wave to EVERYONE! People love us now, it feels like a parade. One night we actually did have people clap at us from inside their car... that was new! It is fun to see people's facial expressions when they see us.

 

So most of the time I eat an eggo or oatmeal or cereal with a banana every morning. Lunch varies, we eat a lot of salad and Tuesdays a woman brings us all food and we can usually make that last for 2-3+ days because she brings so much. Lots and lots of rice. Some beans. Meat (usually chicken). We very rarely cook and when we do it is usually noodles for me:) We bake cake a lot. And cookies, to share with people we visit. We eat at a member's house every Sunday for lunch, and at other people's houses during the week (maybe once or twice a week.)

The other day I tried tostones for the first time, tostones de pana to be exact. Just fried squished pieces of the pana fruit. Super starchy fruit, so it is like an extra thick potato chip. Around Christmas they have pasteles and I have tried them once and not the very tastiest thing I've had.

This week I ate the gizzard and liver of a chicken. Also, I had fried eggplant. I'd rather not talk about it, but it took us the longest time to find someone to tell us what they were in English (because the words for gizzard and liver were not in our dictionaries) I also found out that there is a delicacy that is essentially the intestinal part of a chicken and they keep the blood and everything when they cook it. I am not excited to try that...

My favorite place to eat is with Hna. Acosta. Her food is sooooo good (Her lasagna is to die for) and she tries to not cook us rice and beans because she understands how much we eat it.

My other favorite place to eat is Taco Maker (wednesday night is 1/2 off night)

Usually we do not take our dinner hour but we do on Wednesdays, haha. (or if someone feeds us dinner we count that as dinner hour)

Our favorite snack in between visits are limbers! People make them in their home and sell them out their front door. They are like popsicles in a little plastic cup with all sorts of different flavors. I will take a picture and send it to you. Lots of people offer us food when we visit though so we get a lot of snacks during the day usually.

 

My favorite thing about Puerto Rico?? It is so beautiful here!!!

What would I like for Christmas? mmm, I don't know! I definitely left my warm up rice bag at home that Grandma made for me because I thought I wouldn't need it... and now I wish I did!

I cannot think of anything else because I think what I will miss most is the Christmas tree with the family, snow, watching Christmas movies and Nutcracker music and Molly Mouse! I also miss Fall smells.

 

Today for P-day we had a nature hike and went into a cave and saw the beach and some old ruins. We went to Playa Baye. Do not worry, I did not get in :) but it was lots of fun! I will send pictures.

 

 

Jonny asked if I have dreamed in Spanish. I don't think so. But for a few weeks in the MTC I would dream of myself saying something in English like "God is our loving Heavenly Father." And then I would actually wake up halfway and translate it into Spanish, "Dios es nuestro Padre Celestial" I didn't sleep for the longest time because of that, translating in my sleep haha.

Way to go Hannah for making Jemima (I knew you would) and Jonny on passing his huge test!! Wahoo!!

I love you lots!

Hermana Hardy