I am doing excellently! not just surviving, but enjoying the things I can and I'm at the point where I don't just have to think about survival, but I can start to evaluate my performance and see areas of improvement. My stress is low. I had an awesome reassurance that I'm ahead of average in my language abilities at two weeks. This week I got to go on splits with our zone leader who only has a couple transfers left. We were doing language study and he said that I'm ahead of where most missionaries are at 2 weeks, and that I just need to work on writing down any word I don't know so I can start to build my vocabulary. And that's what I've noticed, I just need more words to work with, and I need more listening practice. This week I was able to participate in conversations and even joke around with the other missionaries in our district in Spanish. It's starting to feel more natural to speak and hear in Spanish which I'm really enjoying. So that Elder V can learn English our rule is to speak English in the house always, and I've had to remind myself to speak in English because it's so much easier for us to communicate when we speak Spanish, but he needs work, so we'll both work at speaking English.
Health
I am getting used to the walking, and hydration isn't really an issue. I get sunburnt easier, so i need to put on more sunscreen. It's weird, the sun is soo much hotter than in Washington. I can really tell that the angle of the sun really makes a different because I'm closer to the equator. I'm in good health, and if I'm not, I have plenty of medicine to make sure I am OK. Don't Worry! there are plenty of moms in the ward that could take care of me if I ever needed it!
Our Casa
The casa is an exciting place! sometimes we get water, sometimes we get power, but even during the glorious times when we have both, there is still broken glass and cockroaches on the bathroom floor. It fits our needs. when we have water in the shower we fill up two 5 gal. buckets with water for when we don't have water. bucket showers with cold water arn't that bad because who would want HOT water in a place like this. ANTS!! big ones on the walls, tiny ones on our desk, but you just kinda blow them away or brush them away. we keep all our food in either the fridge or the microwave because the ants can't get them. two thrids of the time we have water, and about nine tenths of the time we have power. Dirty dishes from I don't know how long ago, and theres a pile of garbage in a corner that we should probably take out soon. bathroom's pretty decent. not having water isn't too bad as long as it isn't for very long.
Food
don't worry at all about me being hungry. In fact, pray that I'll have enough room in my stomach for all the food I have to eat! Two nights in a row we ended up having to eat two meals an hour apart from each other. Because everyday we pay for almuerzo, so we have to go there sometime in the day and eat. so we were beyond stuffed after the second meal. The member was asking if I was sick because I wasn't eating my food like a hungry missionary after a full day of working, but of course we can't tell them that we just ate, so I just reassured him that I'm fine, and that the food is wonderful. It also doesn't help that Elder V eats particularly fast. It was a miracle that I finished. From this experience I have a testimony that God helps us through our trials. If God has done miracles with multiplying food and making it last for the people that are hungry, I'm sure He can help the vast amounts of food fit into the stomach of one missionary. Don't worry, I'm nowhere near hungry.
I am getting used to the walking, and hydration isn't really an issue. I get sunburnt easier, so i need to put on more sunscreen. It's weird, the sun is soo much hotter than in Washington. I can really tell that the angle of the sun really makes a different because I'm closer to the equator. I'm in good health, and if I'm not, I have plenty of medicine to make sure I am OK. Don't Worry! there are plenty of moms in the ward that could take care of me if I ever needed it!
Our Casa
The casa is an exciting place! sometimes we get water, sometimes we get power, but even during the glorious times when we have both, there is still broken glass and cockroaches on the bathroom floor. It fits our needs. when we have water in the shower we fill up two 5 gal. buckets with water for when we don't have water. bucket showers with cold water arn't that bad because who would want HOT water in a place like this. ANTS!! big ones on the walls, tiny ones on our desk, but you just kinda blow them away or brush them away. we keep all our food in either the fridge or the microwave because the ants can't get them. two thrids of the time we have water, and about nine tenths of the time we have power. Dirty dishes from I don't know how long ago, and theres a pile of garbage in a corner that we should probably take out soon. bathroom's pretty decent. not having water isn't too bad as long as it isn't for very long.
Food
don't worry at all about me being hungry. In fact, pray that I'll have enough room in my stomach for all the food I have to eat! Two nights in a row we ended up having to eat two meals an hour apart from each other. Because everyday we pay for almuerzo, so we have to go there sometime in the day and eat. so we were beyond stuffed after the second meal. The member was asking if I was sick because I wasn't eating my food like a hungry missionary after a full day of working, but of course we can't tell them that we just ate, so I just reassured him that I'm fine, and that the food is wonderful. It also doesn't help that Elder V eats particularly fast. It was a miracle that I finished. From this experience I have a testimony that God helps us through our trials. If God has done miracles with multiplying food and making it last for the people that are hungry, I'm sure He can help the vast amounts of food fit into the stomach of one missionary. Don't worry, I'm nowhere near hungry.
I've been learning patience this week because we haven't been having much progress with our investigators and we've had to drop a few from our focus, which means we've been doing more contacting. It's really frustrating for me to watch this because I'm used to thinking that if I work harder, we'll have success, but sometimes it's just the people saying no. | also need to remember that I won't be the perfect teacher or Spanish speaker in the near future, and God doesn't expect me to be that yet. I have 2 years to work at this! I need to give myself a break and be accepting with my effort now and remember that improvement takes time, not necessarily added effort.
Thank you for your prayers!! Don't worry! I'm safe! Pres. Klein shared a story of a couple sisters getting robbed. The robber had a gun and just wanted their cell phone. The sister asked if she could keep the chip with pictures and the address book, and he said that was OK. But the sister in her frightened state couldn't get her fingers to take out the chip, so she asked the robber for help. He put down the gun, took out the chip for her, and took the phone. The people here just rob when they need something, and I'm really safe in my area by the ocean. so don't worry!
I love you all sooo much!!
Elder Pollock
Thank you for your prayers!! Don't worry! I'm safe! Pres. Klein shared a story of a couple sisters getting robbed. The robber had a gun and just wanted their cell phone. The sister asked if she could keep the chip with pictures and the address book, and he said that was OK. But the sister in her frightened state couldn't get her fingers to take out the chip, so she asked the robber for help. He put down the gun, took out the chip for her, and took the phone. The people here just rob when they need something, and I'm really safe in my area by the ocean. so don't worry!
I love you all sooo much!!
Elder Pollock