No one wants the Gringo on their team....

February 3, 2014

Not a lot exciting happened this week except Monday where we finally found the taco hut! A little old man from Mexico made them... They are not tortillas but they are actually like a crepe and well... It’s as good as it’s going to get for 2 years! So I had an elder from Guatemala talking bad about America (Ecuador and a lot of people are getting up armies and have posters to kill Americans they don’t like us a whole lot) but anyway so I grabbed two spoons and challenged him to an aji contest. It’s a type of hot sauce equal to tobacco. 1 and a half spoonfuls later he cried “uncle”. Who would’ve thought that in just 6 months I’ve become and invincible hot sauce machine!

Anyway, so Tuesday was changes. 8 people came here with me in this change and 8 people left this last change. I now have the most time here in Huarez. Wednesday our converts yhudusi and alexandra passed an interview to go to the temple. Thursday we had night of sports no one wanted the gringo on their team. Everyone… these twelve year old kids I could have eaten…. I’m so much bigger! They were fighting not to have me. So I, being picked last, had a grudge ha-ha so they tossed the ball in and I booted that ball across the field so hard it went over the goal outside the fence of the church crossed the street and over the roof of 3 houses. All this walking you can kick pretty hard! Even that didn’t change the opinion of the twelve year olds about the “gringo futbol player” but anyway…. Viernes they took away our cena. We’re the only mission in this area who even had pinchanistas. My companion is so mad he defiantly proclaimed he would never follow this rule and still eats down stairs. Me however…. After he is done we go up and I put a can of baked beans in the microwave and I’m a happy boy. Saturday I walked all day in the rain. Sunday no one came to church. This week has been a really rough one but I’m doing great. The experience this week is this:

A family of the relief society presidency called us in tears they wanted a divorce and didn’t know how to fix it so they called the elders to come and help. So we went Sunday in the night and read the proclamation. Turns out they weren’t praying reading or holding noche de hogars, so we taught them a little. Then we asked the parents to bear their testimony and their love which is a little strange cause couples here never kiss, never go out, and never really do anything. They just work and take care of the kids. There is no outward expression of love. The dad started to cry, the mom confessed she’d never seen her husband cry. It was an emotional experience for everyone. For now, no more talk of separation.


God loves us, that’s why he sent us here in families.

Love, Elder Grow