I'm in Acapulco because of SPECIAL CHANGES! I, fortunately, have not been changed. Elder Garcia, however, is needed elsewhere. So I had to travel to Acapulco to drop off Elder Garcia, and pick up my new companion, Elder Maxwell. Elder Maxwell is from West Jordan, Utah, and has almost 8 months in the mission. He's a never been a zone leader, so I get to show him the ropes. (It's not that hard.) He's also never been to Pinotepa, so I get to teach him how to eat iguana too.
This week was truly fantastic. On Tuesday, we went to Yutandayoo with the branch and district presidentes to see about where we are going to hold a family group so that the members and investigators in Yutandayoo don't have to spend so much money or travel so far to attend a sacrament meeting. A member, Maria, offered a house that her son started to build but never finished. The only problem is that it has walls, but they never put a roof on it, and the sun beats hard, and rainy season is coming. So we were trying to figure out how we could get a roof on the place. Turns out, this week they're going to replace the metal roof panels on the church building in Pinotepa, and they're going to send the old panels to Yutandayoo to throw on the house there. Everything is falling into place, and honestly, it is so plain to see the hand of the Lord in the establishment of this family group. Within a couple weeks, we'll hold the first sacrament meeting in Yutandayoo and I just know that from then on, that place is going to flourish.
Wednesday was they type of day that really just doesn't exist in the mission. Not a single plan fell through, and we didn't spend a second half of the day wondering what we were going to do next. We found new investigators, committed investigators to a baptismal date, met with other investigators that are the closest to getting baptized; everything was perfect. A little too perfect.
Almost every other plan we had for the rest of the week fell through. But honestly, that's ok, because when a plan falls through, it's just the Lord's way of getting us where he really needs us to be.
On Friday, we had the family history activity where we watched Coco! I enjoyed it while it lasted, because that's the last time I'll see Coco for the rest of my mission. I've had the song Recuérdeme stuck in my head ever since. I ain't complaining.
The 30th of April is Día del Niño, or for all you güeros out there, Childrens' Day! I don't understand the point of Día del Niño, but whatever. Let's celebrate ungrateful mocosos that always take but never give.}
Just kidding. On Saturday, the district rented a bouncy house and had a huge party for all the kids in the district. It was lit and Día del Niño should definitely be a thing in the states.
That's my rundown for the week. I hope everyone was a FANTASTIC week and remember: I LOVE ALL Y'ALL!
-Elder Aldrich
FOTOS
1) It's watermelon season!!!
2) The hill caught on fire, so I took a picture from the roof of our apartment.
3&4) Whenever we go to Yutandayoo, la hermana Maria feeds us. A common dish is tamal de tichinda. (My understanding is those are mussels and tichinda is a word in Mixteco.) The first time you eat tichinda, it tastes a bit like your boogie board took a nosedive and you got a face full of sand a saltwater. Later you get used to it, and now I happily eat Maria's tichinda.
