Dogs, cats, rats and homeless people

Dear Family, Friends, and all others who are reading,

Dogs are everywhere in this area. And homeless people. And homeless dogs and cats. And dogs and cats that act like they are homeless. It's almost impossible to go a day visiting people without seeing an excess of 10 or more random animals. It was actually pretty funny, because the other day while on exchanges in Las Palmas B with Elder Hart, Elder Olsen's companion and trainee, there was a pack of dogs that started following us. Then they began chasing us, but just as they approached, one of the dogs in the back veered into the front, and completely mows down the first dog with a direct tackle, causing the other dogs to trip and lose interest in us. That was hilarious. Elder Olsen says that when a harmless dog starts following you, all other dogs will ignore you. This is called a proselyting dog, or a pros dog. We must have had a proselyting mercenary dog. 

We're beginning to teach a lot of new people, who I really hope will progress, but some inevitably won't. We contacted this one referral who requested a bible, gave it to her along with a Book of Mormon. She seemed pretty prepared. But, unfortunately, when we came to follow up and teach more, the circumstances where weird. This is basically how the conversation went:

"Hello."

"Please take these back. The pastor of my church gave me a bible, and I don't need yours anymore."

"Are you sure? You're welcome to keep the bible and BoM, they don't cost anything."

"Yes, I am take them back."

"Is there a better time we could come back and-"

"No thank you. Don't ever come back."

It was unfortunate, but understandable. Her pastor probably felt threatened by our meeting with her, and gave her some miss-information about the church, which scared her. Give it time, and she might become interested again. One day. But that isn't to distract from everybody else we met. One couple was Juan and Kathy. Juan is a disabled military veteran who loves to talk, and will welcome anyone who knows on his door. Kathy is his hardworking wife. Elder Drennan and Elder Scott found them before we came, and we had another visit with them this Saturday. Juan was deeply touched by the idea of the resurrection, and Kathy understood what she read from the Book of Mormon in between our last visit very well. It was hard to keep the lesson short because of Juan's tangents, but Kathy seems to have genuine real intent.

Other people that we met, that should progress, but I'd rather not mention in-until we teach them, seemed to show real intent. We found a few huge families that I'm excited to go by again. I see exactly why President Slaughter separated this area into two companionships -- there is so much going on, and this is only half of the ward boundaries.

We had a lesson with a referral from the Las Palmas B Elders who was awesome. We taught her, Gracie, and her brother Jesse, and the interesting this is that neither of them smoke, drink, do drugs, and as far as we know, drink coffee or tea. That was crazy. Jesse is funny, but he's also really stubborn. We complimented him for keeping a law that many people we teach have a hard time with. But that didn't really help him to accept the invitation to read. I am still grateful for him even being there, because he made a point to come visit his sister early because the Las Palmas Elders said we need to have another responsible adult male in the home to come visit. Even though his sister was infinitely more interested than he was, I was grateful for his coming to visit earlier.

I gave training during district meeting, which I felt went very well. I only had a few days to prepare, and I felt proud that I could share something that benefited the district. We're set to have an exchange with Elder Goodman once again, which should be fun.

Chris and Darian are healthy and well, but they didn't make it to church, and they weren't home when we came for our appointment on Thursday. I was a little sad. We'll visit them tonight, and check Chris' progress in the Book of Mormon. It's such a little task, but it's the difference between someone we taught progressing, and losing their testimony of the things they've learned. Robert, another non-member living with a member, Monica, wasn't reading either, so we had to impress the importance of reading every day. We'll be sending daily reminders to both Chris and Robert, hoping that'll prompt them to read. Still their choice however. Another non-member boyfriend is Jonathan, who I haven't even met since I've gotten here. Around the time I came was the time that his girlfriend, Sandra, started working again. He's really tired taking care of their baby. I can't talk from experience, but I'd imagine he is only worn out because this is his first child. He'll gain strength in the future.

A kind of fun childhood dream fulfillment happened. Elder Drennan and I got to tour two different ice cream trucks. Brother Martinez, a less active member of our ward, supposedly, requested a bible from us, and we brought it to him. He let us tour his ice cream trucks, which he was quite proud of. I can't imagine what a five year old would do with that same opportunity. After sharing a visit with them, they didn't seem half as less-active as they let on, but it was a good visit. Brother Martinez is funny. He made "Mangonadas" for us, which Mexicans seem to really love. It is really more of a acquired taste, with this type of powder that Mexicans will sprinkle on ANYTHING. The first few bites were so sour, my eyes wanted to pop out. Not bad, but Elder Drennan did not have the same response. Though he covered his initial discomfort after tasting it, he said he wouldn't ever eat it again unless offered by someone, to show respect. Maybe my tongue is just a little more Mexican or something.

On the 25th, I'll have been in the mission for a total for nine months. I'll celebrate by yelling in the middle of the night or something. Just kidding, of course. I'll find something else to do. Wow, time goes quicker on the mission. How long has it been back home, five years or ten?

Questions and Answers

How is the Fernandez family and Chris & Darian?   

The Fernandez family is well. Because of Bro Fernandez's work schedule, they haven't been to church since they were confirmed, which is lamentable. Keep them in y'all's prayers. Chris and Darian, well, are doing just like I said. Chris needs to act if he wants to be baptized. I wonder if he has fears about acting.

Have you heard anything about Sister Rubio, and Tony and Staniel  and the people in Uvalde?

No news about Sister Rubio. I'm praying that she get's baptized soon, so their family can be sealed. Tony and Staniel, as far as I know, have been coming to church consistently now, which is a step up. No marriage plans yet.  

How is the sewing going?

I haven't started yet, we were a little busy. I'm trying to catch up on my journal writing first, and then I'll get to repairing my hand bag thingy mabobber.

What encouraging experiences have you and Elder Drennan had this week?    

There are a bunch of prepared people in this area. We're contacting a bunch of referrals, and trying to work with the less active members of the ward. It's encouraging to see people progress.

And how has the Lord's Spirit guided you this week? 

During exchanges with Elder Hart, we taught one of their choicest families, the Diaz family. They are from Colombia, and Brother Diaz is getting training on one of the bases here. We read from the Book of Mormon, because they hadn't read between visits, and answered questions. Their questions were quite intense, and after talking about it with Elder Hart, the lessons with them have been fairly docile. I certainly had a bunch of spiritual guidance occur then, and I felt blessed by being able to recognize my progress in the language of Spanish, especially since the MTC. I couldn't have responded half as well without that divine help. They did feel as if their questions were answered.

Are you sure that spring doesn't happen in San Antonio?

No evidence of it thus far.

Is it too far south for bluebonnets and Indian paint brushes (those are flowers from my youth)?    

I think so. If it wasn't, I'm not sure I'd be able to recognize those flowers.

Have you caught any of your rats singing hymns?

Thankfully, no. The pigeon outside our balcony does the singing; he just has early morning shows, which aren't appreciated half as much as they would be, say, at lunch time.

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission