This week was good, here’s the update.
Tarantul(it)a
We were going shopping and our taxi driver Juan took us back to our apartment from the store. I was sitting in shotgun, and noticed that the three elders in the back were getting kinda squirmy. Then I looked back and saw that there was a big tarantula of some kind in the cup holder of the car. Looked like the same kind of one I murdered by fire when I was in Navarrete. I was in a safe spot in the car but was kinda freaking out too. He looked deadly. We didn’t move much during the car ride in fear of provoking him to attack. At the end of the car ride after we all got out, I told Juan that he had a deadly spider in his car. So he went in the back of the car and just grabbed it with his fist and threw it out. I felt kinda like a loser after. I was expecting him to be as freaked out as we were but he wasn’t scared. Anyways.
Rip my watch
As I was shopping before I started the MTC I bought a casio watch that I have had since day 1. Since being here in the DR though it’s been through a lot. When I ran into a car door in the US part of it broke but it was still managable. But just in this area two more spots broke and have been holding together with colmado super glue and some duct tape. Last P-day I finally got it figued out so it wouldn’t break again. Then I unfortunatley put it through the wash haha. I remember hearing loud smacking noises and I kept opening it up to see what it was but didn’t see anything. But after I drained the water out I saw my poor little watch in there, broken. I felt like Harry Potter when his wand broke. So I took a picture of it before I threw it away in memorium. But one of the new elders that got transferred here to our apartment had another broken watch that I was able to attach to my w.w.j.d. bracelet so that’s going to last me the next five weeks before I can come home and buy a new one.
Uno
We had transfers last week. My companion (Elder Woods) left to my same old ward in Puerto Plata which was exciting. We also lost Elder Maddox who got transferred to San Francisco with one of my last companions. It was sad to have them leave because we’ve all gotten really used to each other.
We’ve had a lot of stuff going on in the apartment that I haven’t told you about so I’m gonna hurry and give you a quick run down of the stuff we’ve been doing when we’re not in the streets. These next couple paragraphs by the way aren’t going to be very spiritually uplifting but it’s important for me to remember it haha. You don't have to read it though.
Most nights before we go to bed last transfer we’d play a quick game of uno except we added a bunch of rules to it throughout the transfer. I’m gonna tell you all because I want it documented for me in the future when I want to play it again. Here’s what happens to each card if you play it.
0 - you can have everyone pass their deck one person to the right or one to the left.
1 - you get to pick a card you have and trade it with one of someone else’s cards.
2 - you have to yell “tuki tuki” before someone else does and if you don’t you have to take two cards. If we put down four 2’s in a row that are all different colors everyone yells “tuki tuki” and whoever says it with the most enthusiasm get’s to put two cards back into the pile.
3 - everyone has to slap the three and the last person to slap it has to take three cards
4 - if someone has less than four cards you yell “four” at them and they have to take a card.
5 - for example, if someone puts a “take 4 cards” down and says the color is red, and you have a red 5, you can play the five and don’t have to take any cards. Basically the 5 is like ultimate protection. If someone gives you a green plus 2 but you have a green 5, you put it down and are safe, etc.
6 - if you put down a 6 then everyone has to take a card
7 - a feel good card. If you put down a 7, any hard feelings at the table have to go away, and you put your hands in the air and say “seven” in a really chill way. And then everybody picks a card they have to put at the bottom of the deck. Also if four 7’s, each a different color get put down in a row, the game ends and everyone feels good and get’s ice cream haha.
8 - They are called crazy 8’s, and if one is played then everyone no matter who’s turn it is can put down any color 8 as you say “get crazy with it”
9 - We call them nuke nines. If you put down the 9 and press it, like it’s a button, it means you have declared war, and we go around the table with everybody drawing cards until someone gets the same color as the 9 that was put down.
Power Cards - So for example if I put down a plus four and say that the color is blue, and the person who I tried to get to take four has a blue reverse, skip, or plus two, he can add onto that so the next person has to take 6, skip it to the next person, or reverse it back to the person who originally put the plus four down. And of course if he has a blue 5 he can put it down and cancel everything out.
Those are just some of the rules. But it’s been a good way to wind down at the end of the day. Basically if you win a game you get to add another rule or take another rule away. Anyways, after playing uno a lot and getting two new elders in the apartment who I don’t know how we play was kind of an adjustment.
Khaki Friday
One of the most important things about being in a four elder apartment though is khaki Friday. I don’t remember where I had the revelation about it but it’s been a thing for a while. I think I always did it on my own but then in Puerto Plata when we got put with four elders I officially announced it to everyone and they were all converted. So every Friday we all wear khakis. I have had to lend pants to elders at times just so they can respect the occasion. Anyways me and my last companion Elder Woods got along great, except for last friday he didn’t wear khakis. He didn’t have any that were clean, but he did wear a pair of khakis on monday AND tuesday which wasn’t a good move since I was pretty sure he only hadd two pairs and I told him that earlier in the week that he was going to regret it.
So Friday came around and not only did he not wear khakis, but he wore black pants. Me and the other elders were pretty upset about it. I told him he needed to change his pants and I think I might have even offered him a pair of khakis but he flat out said he “didn’t care” which really was frustrating haha.
A couple days earlier, Elder Maddox had gotten annoyed with the 2 card rule in uno (which was my idea by the way) so he went through and took all of the 2 cards out and hid them. It only took me a day to realize that they were missing haha, and after doing some investigating we found out that he was the culprit. So as punishment me and Elder Woods decided that for the next 8 games of uno (a game for each of the 2’s that he disrespected, which there are 8 8’s in the deck), any time anyone played a two, including himself, he would have to take 2 cards. After four games though we felt bad because of how many cards he was getting and ended his punishment.
So since Elder Woods was disrespecting Khaki Friday, me and Elder Maddox had a discussion about a punishment. We decided that since Friday is the 6th day of the week, any time anybody played a 6 in uno, Elder Woods would have to apologize to all of us for not doing khaki friday and take a card.
Well he also rejected our punishment haha. I don’t think I talked to him for the rest of the day. But other than that, me and Elder Woods got along great haha. I love and miss him. But it’s fun to have little games like that and feel like a kid again and just have fun.
Cool…? Guy
All day every day there seems to be music playing here and on Sundays they go really crazy. Yesterday while walking through a crazy party (they call them ‘teteos’ here. they are the worst), a white guy called us over and said we were absolutely crazy for being here but in a more inappropriate way. As we walked away and I looked around, I realized how crazy this really is. This country is insane and we are two American kids just running around all day every day trying to teach people about Jesus Christ. The guy told us that God must really be with us and I’d have to second that. I’m kind of scared to come back here not as a missionary.
Marisol
I forgot to tell you guys last week, but someone me and Elder Opheikens found and taught in Puerto Plata got baptized last week. Her name is Marisol and she’s so awesome. She got sick a couple of years ago and is kind of paralized. She is always in a wheel chair but is such a sweet lady. After our first lesson with her me and Elder Opheikens both knew that she would get baptized eventually. I got teary eyed when I saw that she finally did it! Here’s a quote from Elder Opheikens about it that he put on his facebook.
“Today one of our good friends named Marisol De La Cruz was able to be baptized in the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. As we were talking to her after she said that the path to be baptized was not an easy one but she was able to put her faith in God and see miracles pass in her life. I can testify that anyone who is willing to put their faith in God and his son Jesus Christ can see miracles for themselves as well. Baptism is how we open the door to eternal life and is an essential ordnance to receive salvation. If you want to see change in your life and receive the blessings God has prepared for you click the link below
or send me a message
https://www.
I second that by the way. Anyways I was super happy about that and I am excited to see Marisol again when I visit in the coming years. I know that she will be blessed for the choice she made.
Ashley!
Quick update on Ashley (who got baptized a few weeks ago), she went to the temple on Saturday and did baptisms for the dead! And she really enjoyed it. I love her a lot and I am so happy that she is going strong in the gospel. She is going to do amazing things.
Kaira, Albert, and Scarlin
One of my favorite families here in La Vega is Kaira and her two kids Albert and Scarlin. I think I have mentioned them before. They’ve been coming to church every week since we found them but still haven’t been baptized. We’ve been waiting for Kaira to be on board with the kids about getting baptized but she has been hesitant. But yesterday we had a lesson with them and a member where we retaught the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Kaira decided to get baptized with her kids on June 4th! I’m super excited for them! The Lord is being really nice to us right now.
Wrapping it up
Coming to the end of a mission is weird. I am working super hard right now. I don’t understand getting trunky this close to the end of it. All that I’m thinking about is that I only have 5 weeks left to make the most of the moments that will change my life. I don’t want to miss a second of it.
It’s been a long two years though. Me and the elders in the apartment were looking at old photos and I showed them a photo of me right before I got set apart and they said I look old and tired now.
In my personal study this week I’ve been studying a lot in the New Testament. I’ve loved reading in Corinthians where Paul is talking about the sacrament. I love the sacrament.
When I was doing summer sales with my brother Joseph, I remember one Sunday I was up really late talking to a good friend over the phone. I hadn’t taken the sacrament yet. Joseph wanted to take it with me that night but I was out too late. I assumed when I got back that he would be in bed. But he had waited for me, and there he had the sacrament ready to be blessed. We blessed it and partook of it. Then he told me how taking the sacrament was the most important thing I could do all week. That experience really impacted me.
So last Sunday Ashley and her friend got up to use the restroom right as the sacrament was starting. As the tray came around to me I took an extra piece of pan y agua to give to Ashley when she came back. After the sacrament when she came back and I gave her the sacrament she freaked out a little bit. She said “no lo quiero (I don’t want it)”, and I said “pero lo necesitas (but you need it)”. I talked to her after and she said she didn’t want to take it because she feels weird when she does it and I tried to give her the same kind of talk that Joseph gave me all those many moons ago. The speaker that Sunday also talked a ton about the sacrament so it was good for her.
The last thought I wanted to share was that I love how the Celestial Kingdom of God isn’t for those that are perfect, but for those who did sin but repented of their sins. We all have the potential to go there. That’s the whole point of the atonement, is because we aren’t good enough on our own. When Paul is teaching the Corinthians he says “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our Lord.”
Reminds me a little bit of Noely from Puerto Plata. I am still in touch with him and his now wife, Loren. She reminded me the other day that I have to come back in a year for their temple sealing. I am excited for that. I remember when we were going over the baptismal interview questions with her and Noely while I was there. We asked Noely if he felt like he had repented of all his sins, and Loren immediately cried out “Si!” and then gave us an idea of who he was before haha. Which I don’t think he was ever a bad guy before, but he wasn’t really a man of God. Now, from what I have heard, is passing the sacrament at church. That is just amazing.
Have a great week!
Elder Wride
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