I Got Mugged

Haha jk I didn’t get mugged. Sorry to disappoint. I just thought that would get your attention. But if (when) I get mugged I will for sure let you guys know.

Weight Loss

I’m not totally sure and I’m a little scared to check but I think I’ve lost 10-15 pounds since getting here. Pretty fun! I saw a missionary that I hadn’t seen for a while and he was like “woah elder you’ve lost a lot of weight”. Since then I’ve paid a little more attention to my gut and yea I’m losing weight. But it’s okay that I’m losing some because I put on 40 since I came out. But just thought I’d let y’all know. 

Cemetario

While we were street contacting we had some people to respond to on the phone but we didn’t want to get mugged with our phone out so we walked inside a cemetery that was nearby where it was more quiet and where nobody would bother us. We were there for probably 20 minutes but then when we came back to the gate to leave we saw that it was locked. So we got locked in the cemetery. We were gonna climb the wall but there were spikes everywhere. We had an appointment with a member who lived nearby so we called him and we’re like “hey were locked in the cemetery”. He laughed for a minute but then called a guy in Navarrette with a key and after a little while he came and let us out. But it was just really funny to stand there at the gate of the cemetery with people driving and walking by looking in at a gringo and dominican missionary locked inside. But it was fun!

¡Contactos en La Calle!

This week we got permission to street contact which was insane. So we’ve been going crazy with it. I kinda made a personal goal to stop literally everybody in the street and it’s been really fun. And the dominicans are super natural so it’s never awkward at all. You just walk up to them with a fist bump and say “que lo que!?” and you’re friends!

"I’m Still Learning Spanish"

Since we can now street contact we are put in more awkward situations where people ask for money. We talk for a bit and they are super nice and then start talking about all their problems and how they really need some pesos from us. They are usually talking to me when they ask haha. They think I’m loaded but really I’m barely surviving. But I’m a gringo so when they ask me for money I don’t want to be rude and say “NO” (because giving money is against mission rules) so instead I just stand there quietly for a second, look at my companion, look at the person and say, in english, “I’m sorry I’m still learning spanish”. Then they look confused and instead of bothering me they bother my companion who they know speaks spanish and ask him for money. That little trick has gotten me out of a couple situations. 

There’s this one kid in the area that every time he sees us he’s like “dame cinco” (give me five). But 5 pesos only comes in coins so basically he’s asking us to give him change. The last time he was like “dame cinco” I responded with “ah, lo siento mi hermano. Solo tengo billetes.” (I’m sorry, I only have cash)

I felt kinda bad afterwards. It just came out. My dad had told me about one of his companions that did that and I couldn’t help it. But we’re gonna teach his family later tonight so I’ll make up for it.

Spanish VS English

There’s some people here who speak some english and they want to practice it, so when they see me they start talking in english. But I want to practice spanish, so I respond to them in spanish. It’s just been kinda funny to have these recurring conversations where they are speaking in english and me in spanish. 

Elder Lugo

My comp is pretty great. He wears a wool vest almost every day which Is really weird because of how hot it is outside. I’m barely surviving without a wool vest. But yea he’s a great comp. I asked him to correct my spanish when I mess up so I could improve. Then a few days later after a companionship inventory I think he was kinda annoyed with me haha and he wrote a list of things I pronounce incorrectly on a napkin and handed it to me. Idk it was just really funny. But he’s great and a hard worker. It’s been a lot of fun!

Hace Calor

I’ve gotten used to the heat pretty well and now it’s not so bad. But the other day I went into an air conditioned room for one of the first times since being here which was at a regular temperature, and then leaving the room and feeling the insane wave of heat crash over me I realized how hot it actually is all the time. Poor Elder Lugo and his vest. I don’t know how he does it. 

Si Dios Quiere

In the one month I have here in the DR, I have heard this phrase hundreds of times. It’s so annoying! Every time we invite someone to do something, especially come to church, they respond with, “ehhh si Dios quiere”. (if that’s what God wants). In other words, “ehhhhhhh I know I could and probably should, but I don’t feel like commiting right now because that would mean I would have to put forth more effort than I’m willing, but I also don’t want to hurt your feelings, so if it’s really that important I’ll just trust that God will go out of his way and make me be there”.

It’s just kinda frustrating sometimes. Of course God wants you to be there! But Satan doesn’t and if you’re not willing to put forth some effort to be there it’s gonna be hard for God to help you go. But yea there’s that.

Nuestros Quieridos Amigos

Navarrette is a great area. Other than the heat and lack of walmart, it’s great. I like how there’s no division in wealth. Like there isn’t a poor or rich area anywhere. You just find a piece of land and build on it. One thing that is still annoying though is the music haha. Everybody is constantly blasting music from their houses and cars. Normally it wouldn’t bother me but I am not kidding when I say that they play the same three songs on repeat. 

But the people here are so amazing! We have some really really great friends we’re working with that are pretty elect. I wish I could write about everyone, but I don’t have time or the memory to do it. We talk to TONS of people every day. Plus those that we’re teaching already. I think the most lessons we’ve had in one day thus far was 11 or 12, all in person. So there’s a lot going on. That’s been one of the biggest challenges here is knowing who to spend your time with, because everybody is happy to talk to you. A big change from the US. No offense America.

Christopher

Christopher is a guy we met street contacting. It was late at night and the power was out in the whole city (a recurring problem) so it was really dark and we decided to head home. Then of course as I was walking I felt an impression to go visit a spot we had visited a couple days ago and invite whoever we met to come to church. I was annoyed and wanted to go home thinking that it probably wasn’t safe to be out right then anyways, so I said a quick prayer for God to let me know if I should go and try to share the gospel with those people. Of course anytime you ask God a question like “should I share the gospel”, he’s gonna say yes. I realized that I should do it so we sprinted a couple streets over and ended up meeting Christopher. 

He’s super elect! After our first lesson on the restoration, Elder Lugo asked him to explain what we had taught in his own words to make sure he was paying attention. And he was totally on the same page which was great. And when we came back a few days later, we found him WITH his Book of Mormon! He didn’t even know we were coming by and he had his Book of Mormon on him. He had even marked a bunch of stuff and instead of reading the last chapter of Moroni, he read the entire book of Moroni. It was great! 

He came to church yesterday too which was just awesome. I had never been so happy to see anyone walk into a church building. Because we meet a lot of great people, but coming to church is where most of them falter. But here he was at 7:45 in the morning ready to feel the spirit. It was awesome. 

Marcus and Naylis

Marcus and his wife Nayelis we also found while street contacting. Our last lesson we taught the plan of salvation and you could see the wheels turning in their heads and could feel that they knew what we were teaching was true. They are both coming to church too! And they have two kids. So we’re gonna keep working with them and si Dios quiere, they’ll hopefully be baptized here soon. 

La Iglesia es Verdadera

We had just finished a lesson with two of our other young friends, (Jonas y Antonio) that are working towards baptism, and they wanted to introduce us to their other friend that they want to get baptized with them. So we walked over and met their friend, and asked if we could talk to his parents. So the kid took us to his house. The mom seemed really pretty triggered that we were there. She asked what we wanted and then Jonas was like “can they baptize your kids?” or something like that and it was really awkward. She didn’t look too happy. We asked the mom if we could share a message with her and she looked even more upset and basically said “fine”. So she pulled out some chairs and we sat to talk with her. 

We asked her if she had talked to missionaries in the past and she said “I know everything about you guys”. In my head I was like “pfft yee okey” because people say that a lot and then tell us how we pray to Joseph Smith or believe in three hour church (which isn’t true don’t worry) or something like that. But then she said “I was baptized when I was younger, my ex-husband was a missionary, I got sealed in the temple, I served as relief society president, primary president, etc…” and started to talk about her history in the church. 

She didn’t make it totally clear why she left, but you could tell there was a lot of pain there. We sat quietly and would ask occasional questions. As time went by, her countenance started to change, and she started to talk about her past in the church fondly. She talked about the Book of Mormon, and looked at us smiling and said, “my favorite prophet is Nephi”. She talked about President Gordan B. Hinckley, and how much she loved him and everything he taught. She talked about how much she cried when he died too.

By the end of our visit, she was smiling from ear to ear, recounting stories of when she was in the church and how much she loved it. From what I could tell, this was a great elect daughter of God who still knows the gospel is true, but had been hurt in some way and has wandered off the path a little bit. We gave her a new copy of the Book of Mormon (it’s been like 15 years since she’s had one) and testified to her that it was true. She then was like “no Elderes, let me tell you about this book” and bore her testimony of it to us. It was really cool. We also talked to her about President Nelson and how he is a living prophet. It was actually kinda funny because when we introduced President Nelson I accidentally said that he is “una profeta” (female prophet) instead of “un profeta” (male prophet). She kinda jumped up in her chair and was like “wow things have really changed since I left!”. But Elder Lugo saved me and explained it.

But to sum up, it was a great faith building experience of the truthfulness of the gospel and the power of the Book of Mormon. She told us we can start teaching her son and that she is not against him getting baptized if that’s what he wants. Hopefully if he gets baptized we can help reactivate her!

Al Final

So in conclusion, things are good here in the DR. I’ve finally passed the big learning curve I think and now I’m able to work without not wanting to be there haha. We also took two mattresses we found in our apartment and made a couch! So that’s helped a lot too. 

The hardest part lately is how long this whole mission is. I feel a little anxious to think that I have so much time left and so much work to do. But like the great Abe Lincoln said, “the best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time”. So I will just keep taking everything day by day and soon enough I’ll be back home with Elder Pugsley bowling higher than him and wishing I could be back on my mission.

Also whenever the mission feels like it’s too long, I like to read Ether 10:31-

“And he begat Heth, and Heth lived in captivity all his days. And Heth begat Aaron, and Aaron dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Amnigaddah, and Amnigaddah also dwelt in captivity all his days, and he begat Coriantum, and Coriantum dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Com.”

Love you all, nos vemos

- Elder Wride