July 11, 2011 - Letter

Dear Mom,

Well, this week really wasn´t that great of a week. We just didn´t have much success, and it was just plain difficult. But that’s how it goes sometimes, and Hermana Durham and I are ready to have a really great week!

There were two things of interest that happened this week though. One of them really really funny. Hermana Durham and I were on our way to a cita, and randomly this guys stops us on the street and shakes our hands. He looked a little familiar, but really, a lot of people here look familiar and I have absolutely no idea who they are. Anyways, we shake this mans hand, and he gets really mad that we don`t beso him. We explain to him that we don´t have any personal problems with him, but as missionaries we aren`t supposed to beso the opposite gender, simply for precaution. We talk to this man for 15 minutes. During the course of this discussion, he tells us that we should change religions because we aren’t allowed to beso him. He didn’t care about any of the other men. Just him. It was really funny. We told him that not being able to beso men for 18 months isn’t a good reason to change religions, but he just wasn’t having any of it. Finally, we said goodbye, and Hermana Durham reminded me that we had taught him and his wife a month ago, and that while kind, they are kind of a crazy old couple. I wish I could paint the picture better, but there you go.

The other things is not so funny. We are without electricity. Somehow. It is a very complicated story. A chapel in Bahia for some reason hasn’t paid their last two electricity bills. Somehow, our apartment here in Punta Alta is connected to that building? And so when we got homw this morning from the grocery store, we didn’t have any electricity. After a good deal of time on the phone and going to the office, we learned that we are not going to have electricity until the bills are paid in full. After another couple of hours trying to find who is in charge of paying the bills. We finally tracked him down and we are going to talk to him in person tomorrow when we go to Bahia. We were hoping that tomorrow we would have electricity again, after he got everything figured out, but then we learned that tomorrow is the Day of the Electricity Worker, so they are going to be closed. So we will be without electricity until Wednesday. A little unfortunate, but a couple of weeks ago we started a food/emergency storage, and in that storage, we have candles!!! So we at least wont be without all light!

The weather the last couple of days has been great! About a week ago, we thought we were going to freeze, but now things are good. It was 70 degrees today. Almost perfect!!! No, we don’t have central heating. We have a little radiator in the kitchen and then space heaters for our rooms. But we can only fun one space heater at a time or the fuse blows, so we usually just all hang out together. It works out pretty well.

I am praying for you all! Especially those of you who are having problems with your knees!!! Are you getting excited for school to start? Its coming up soon, isn’t it? About a month away. I love you!!!

Corinne