I am doing wonderful. I love it here. My Spanish is coming along, slowly but surely.
Living conditions are all right, not bad at all. Actually, the pension that I am living in right now is supposedly one of the best in the mission. We don't have much of a kitchen, just a sink, fridge, microwave, and camping stove, but that is all right. We don't really have time to cook and the Church members feed us almuerzo, so it all works out.
The food is very, as my cousin Poly [who served a mission in Chile] said "bland." By that I don´t mean that it tastes bad (because it is delicious), but rather that it is not spicy like most North Americans think about South American food.
There are little "stands" (people just turn part of there house into a place to sell food "to go") everywhere. I love going and getting empanadas and papas fritas. The empanadas are delicious as are the french fries. The fries are always freshly cut potatoes and cost maybe a dollar for a huge plateful. But don't you worry, I'm eating healthy and taking my vitamins.
As for adjusting, still haven't done it. Why you may ask? Well, let me tell you. I just haven't felt the need to adjust. I mean it does not seem that foreign to me. That probably sounds wierd as I am half way around the world in another country speaking another language, but I think you know what I mean.
You asked me about singing and playing the piano. Singing--I do it all the time. When we walk in the streets, in the house, in the shower--EVERYWHERE. In fact, I write songs as I go. Here is one I have been singing/writing:
My Shepherd
He knows me more than I can understand
He knows me and has raised me from a lamb
He carries me when I am broken or afraid
He encircles me in love and says tenderly:
``Ye are my sheep, I am your shepherd´´
Safely we sleep for He watches over
In the morn´ His voice is heard
He calls my name and I will follow
He is my Shepherd
He is my Shepherd and I shall not want
He is my Shepher and watches o´er His flock
He leads to pools of water, sparkling and clean
He encircles me in warmth and says lovingly:
``Ye are my sheep, I am your shepherd´´
Safely we sleep for He watches over
In the morn´ His voice is heard
He calls my name and I will follow
He is my Shepherd
When I was lost in the wilderness
The other ninety-nine He left
To find and bring me to the place
Where His sheep can safely graze
He carries me there and in my ear He says
``Ye are my sheep, I am your shepherd´´
Safely we sleep for He watches over
In the morn´ His voice is heard
He calls my name and I will follow
He is my Shepherd
The work is moving along here in La Serena. Javiera will have her baby on this Wednesday, so we have had to push back her and Danny´s dates to the 12th of December with Raquel.
Elder Brady and I are working hard to be tools in the Lord´s hands. Not caring about what we want, but going and doing what the Lord wants.
I know that Jesus is my shepherd and that he has sent me here to find those lost sheep and bring them back to His waiting arms of mercy.
I love my mission!
Smile of the week: A lot of the houses here have patios with gates in the front of the house. I was on splits with Elder Roylance and we entered a patio with an open gate to knock the door. While I was knocking the door, Elder Roylance played with the gate and shut it. The gate could only be opened with a key. We ended up being stuck in the patio for 25 minutes before the owner of the house came and let us out.
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