Monday was Christmas, sort of

July 22, 2012

Monday was Christmas – or at least that is what the FM manager told us when our things arrived.  The FM group that takes care of the church buildings in the area is responsible for the mission home and the grounds.  The movers came about 9am and there were several wonderful helpers from that FM group that hauled boxes around the house and upstairs.  Bruce said is really wasn’t Christmas because we weren’t getting anything new – just our old stuff.  However there were a couple of things that we couldn’t help saying, “I really missed that,” so I guess it was better than Christmas because it was stuff we really wanted.  Now I realize there were some things I did not need to pack and some things I really wish I had thought to bring along – oh well.

Here is how our things came from the movers.  They had been transported in this crate.

Things I have learned this week:

·         Trying to plan a menu for an important dinner here in Mexico is a hard thing to do -  ingredients for cooking  the things I am used to just cannot be found (I mean there is nothing even close to substitute). I have wanted to scream at the store a time or two or three or four (or multiple stores you have to go to because you can’t find everything in one, or even two places) as I have tried to plan and prepare food for a member of the Area Presidency and his wife who came to dinner today, as well as the newly arriving and the departing missionaries.  Friday I almost had a breakdown in Costco when I thought I was going to have to scrap my entire menu and start over, of course after I had purchased half of what I thought I needed at another store. The dinner turned out really good – all four courses – so I think I might pat myself on the back for making do with what I could find.  Bruce even said that it all tasted just like home – well not quite but I appreciate his encouragement.

·         The maps here are terrible.  Even worse is the fact that most of the streets are not marked and highway signs (not to mention any directional signs) simply don’t exist.  After being one hour late for interviews in Galeana because we were lost for 2 hours, I have vowed that I will never go anywhere without having used Google Maps first.  On Friday I Googled how to get to Costco (it is very complicated and we got lost once this week trying to get home) and I have started a file so I can keep directions I print off.  By the time we come home, we might need a dedicated room for all of the “how do I get there” files.

·         It doesn’t take much to make you a hero - One elder asked me if I could give him the recipe for French toast – at first I thought he was kidding.  He said how much he loved French toast and missed it so much.  He was so excited that I knew how to make it without looking at a recipe.

·         Some mothers do not prepare their sons for the mission field - .  A missionary told me he had joined the “brown spot club” (he only told this story after his companion goaded him into telling me) and had called the previous mission president’s wife to ask how to get, and I quote, “caca” out of his garments.  He said this in English and she told him she did not understand and to explain in Spanish.  He did, and this time she did understand and was horrified, handing the phone to her husband –where upon the missionary repeated his question.   Apparently here that word means something very vulgar (well it’s not so great in English either but you can imagine what it meant in Spanish) so the president told him not to ever use that phrase again instead use poo poo.  Okay he said – how do I get poo poo out of my garments?  The president said, “With soap Elder.”

·         It’s easy to almost kiss someone when you are trying to greet them - Another missionary told me that he almost kissed the previous mission president as he was trying to greet him the first time.  Here when the elders do the shake – hug – shake ritual it is on the opposite side from what we do in the U.S. so the elder went one way and the president went the other which meant they met almost lip to lip. 

·         When you hit your head on the wall it hurts -  One elder called me to say that he” accidently” hit his head on the wall that morning and thought he had a concussion.  I asked him what made him think he had a concussion (was he nauseous, did he have any blurred or double vision, was he sleepy etc) and he said he was sure he had a concussion because his head really hurt.  I asked him, “Elder do you think your head might hurt because you hit it on the wall?”  His response, “Oh ya that’s probably it.  I told him to take some Tylenol and call me if he got worse – guess what, he is fine.  I can’t make this stuff up!

·         Sometimes if you just ask how a missionary is, he takes his shoe off to shows you his toe – he did, to show me his ingrown toenail.  It was nasty and we talked about what he should do.  Another wanted to take his shoe off and show me the fungus on his foot – I just said that’s okay I believe you, and we talked about the treatment.

·         If you leave anything out on the counter, it means anyone can eat it.  I made some little corn cakes for an appetizer for the dinner with Elder and Hermana D’Hoyas today that I was going to top with some bean salsa.  I put them on the counter to cool before I wrapped them up.  We left for a little bit to do some site seeing in Cuernavaca Centro and while we gone some people from the FM Group came to do some minor repairs. While they were here they ate most of the corn cakes.  Imagine my surprise when I noticed most of the cakes were gone when we got back.  Fortunately I had enough.

·         Being stung by a certain kind of beetle can cost you your arm – One elder called to say that he had been bitten in the night.  After he described what his arm was looking like I told him to go to the doctor to see if he needed an antibiotic.  When he called me back after the appointment he told me that they had put him on two medicines and that if that didn’t work they were going to have to remove his arm.  What?  I have never prayed harder than I did for this missionary and I am glad to report he is responding to the treatment.

·         Sometimes you have to make hard phone calls – Bruce had to call one of our missionaries to tell him that his grandfather has passed away.  This elder knew it was a possibility that his grandfather would not be there when he got home, but it is still hard news to get.  His dad said to tell him that his grandfather was going to help him now from the other side.  We called him last night to make sure he was doing okay.

·         Missionaries understand how hard it is to learn the language and they will help me – one missionary told me about trying to call the president’s wife the first week he was in Mexico to tell her his companion was sick.  Here is the conversion: 

o   Hermana mi compañero está enfermo.

o   Does he have a fever?

o   (pause) Hermana mi compañero está enfermo

o   Is he vomiting?

o   (longer pause) Hermana mi compañero está enfermo

o   Does he have chills?

o   (longer pause) Hermana mi compañero está enfermo

o   Can you give the phone to your companion so he can tell me what he has?

We survived 50 plus hours of interviews and our first transfers.  The Assistants are coming over this afternoon to make the changes on the big board in Bruce’s office.  They had mentioned that they plan to be very nice while they are here in the hopes I will make some treats for them.  I think that can be arranged.  We took some time yesterday to see one of the big cathedrals in the center part of Cuernavaca and the Palace of Cortez – both built in the 1500’s.  I have been told that I was lucky that no one with a gun came and took my camera away because I was taking pictures that had other people in them besides us.  This can be a big problem if you happen to catch one of the really bad guys here so the advice is take pictures of only landscapes.  Wow I guess I dodged a bullet this time – literally.

We are safe, we are happy, we are working hard, and we are getting ready to greet our new missionaries from Mexico City and Provo tomorrow and send our first group of 14 home on Wednesday.