And just to give you a taste of what it is like here…
-The word permiso is said before EVERYTHING. It is like excuse me, but they say it a lot. If you walk into a house you should say it. If you are going to say the prayer you should say it. It is kind of a polite old world thing to do, and it is said without thinking about it.
-Mayo is king. If you have food that isn’t dessert, you put mayo on it.
-Most of the condiments, soaps, and other liquids are in plastic pouches, not bottles.
-Do you like salad dressing? Ranch doesn’t exist, and vegetable oil is the preferred salad dressing of choice.
-There are stores on every street--in people’s houses. I told my companion that such a thing doesn’t exist in the United States. He was surprised we could get along without that arrangement.
I love the differences. It is amazing how people can be so different and yet so similar. People may speak a different language and eat different food, but they have the same desires and needs in their hearts. The gospel truly is for everyone, whether they know it or not (yet).
Sad news for our family with the English class. The family liked our message, except for the dad. He just wants us to teach them English.
Good news though! The woman who saw us in the fair is super receptive and that dad wants to invite us over to lunch… ( What?!? That never happens, especially from the dads.) They really are a miracle from my prayers.
I said I would never talk about spiders again, but I have to. I got into the shower early this morning. Started to put soap on when, AHHHH a GIANT spider was crawling onto my foot. I jumped out of the shower not knowing what to do. It eventually drowned. I smashed it but I think it wasn’t alone. There is a hole in the shower where I think its family is plotting revenge. Pray for me haha.
Ok, now I am going to tie in Star Wars to the gospel in two ways. At my mamitas house there was a commercial for the new Stars Wars movie. I know I'm not supposed to watch TV, but when I heard the theme song I couldn’t stop myself. Looks epic. But while I was watching it, I bit into the rotten part of the apple I was eating. The fruits of my labor? Lol I think God was telling me, Austin stop it!
Focus. Lesson one.
But then I couldn’t focus so I do what I always do when I am thinking about something I shouldn’t be thinking about on the mission--tie it to the gospel!
So, lesson two: In Star Wars there is a definite evil and good. Everyone is on the good side or the dark side. There is no middle ground. And the good side is always in a battle with the evil or dark side. Many of the people we talk to tend to think that everything is good, and that God will save them just because. But that doesn’t make sense. Goodness always requires effort. Life should be hard sometimes because salvation is never easy. If it were, the purpose of life would be meaningless--since you would never become anything greater than you are now.
I love you all so much!! Thank you for your love and support. I couldn’t do this without your examples.
Everything is awesome,
Elder Austin Phillips :) :P PS CHRISTMAS MUSIC TIME IS NOW HERE!!!
 |
| My own personal Thanksgiving Feast. Yum! |
 |
| Pumpkin bars--they tasted better than they look--so glad I was mailed a pan! |
 |
| I am thankful for the supplies from home :) |
No comments :
Post a Comment