First email from the field
First area: Currais Novos
everybody in the real world,
my p-day will be monday from now on. probably for my whole mission. well now that i have been in the field a full week it has already been one of the most difficult weeks of my life. i have never been so far out of my comfort zone, not even close. and as far as the portuguese, i knew this exact thing would happen: i felt somewhat confident leaving the ctm and then got out here and realize i know absolutely nothing.
after our plane landed in joao pessoa we met our mission president who seems like a nice guy but doesnt speak any english and is very strict. but then we took a long drive, and i can definitely see why joao pessoa is the second greenest city in the world. i never knew anywhere could be so green and beautiful. it was a tropical paradise. but not my area. but i will get to that. so we had a meeting then went to his house for dinner and found out our companions and areas. we spent the night in a house across the street then the next morning i took a 6 hour bus ride to my area. i met my new companion, elder alan, he is an american and a nice guy. not the most animated person and doesnt have much of a personality but he follows the rules and works hard which is all that really matters. he has been out for a year and a half so he knows what he is doing so i will be able to learn a lot from him. my area is called currais novos. it is in the country side and is just a bunch of dirt roads and hills with a ton of cement shacks that people live in and plenty of random animals roaming the streets.
before i even put my luggage down elder alan said we were going to teach a lesson so se left and walked far to this teenage girls house and he taught while i sat and sweated and sweated, then at the end he asked me to say something so i said a few things and bore my testimony and then he had to repeat it cuz she didnt know what i said.
my house is a small and run-down apartment with a bunch of spiders and no air conditioning and a bunch of spiders. also we dont have a washing maching so laundry is a not very fun 3 hour process. literally. then they take all night to air-dry and some stuff still isnt dry the next morning so i wore wet pants the other day. and the water in our house looks clear when its coming out, but when i filled up a bucket the other day to do my laundry i noticed it was green and had mosquito larvae in it.
we walk. all day everyday. probably at least 5 miles a day and its so so hot, and its winter. i cant even imagine what summer is gonna be like. my legs and feet havent stopped being sore since i got here. also me and my comp got chased by a swarm of bees the other day. i thought that only happened on tv but nope it happened and it was scary.
the days are long, the work is hard, and the lifestyle is depressing. i have rashes from the sun and stomach aches from the food/water. thank you for keeping me in your prayers, you are in mine as well.
[Here are a few pictures Alisse found of Currais Novos on Google]
7 comments:
Mom, The good news is it can only get better from here. He's getting the hardest area over with first (hopefully) and he can look back and know things will get easier and HE WILL BE BLESSED!
SAD!
We need to send him a package... including lots of bottled water!
I also think that they have them serve in one of the worst areas, so it will get better as they go..??
He is being honest & trying not to complain. - That is what I loved about this sad letter.
i just keep repeating "this is exactly what we want them to be doing", "this is exactly what we want them to be doing", "this is exactly what we want them to be doing", "this is exactly what we want them to be doing". so far, it's not working. i cried so hard reading this to bill . . . it's a helpless feeling, isn't it? i debated on whether to forward this to drew. i did end up sending it. i'm praying for brad.
I feel so bad for Brad. Steve still talks about his apartment that didn't have running water and he stood in a bucket and poured cups of cold water over his head to bath. Brad will never forget this experience. I hope his stomach feels better soon.
Seriously, we need to put together a care package. This is so sad! I hope it really does only get better from here.
I am suggesting a water purifier you can purchase one at REI....geez...this made me cry...I can not imagine how your mom is feeling about this....I am sure it will get better with time. It has to be such a cultural shock to go to a third world country....it makes me really count my blessings...my only complaint is the high price of gas -- geez....I really have nothing to complain about!!
Oh My Gosh! You hear about young people all over the world serving in adverse conditions, then you hear it from someone you love and are praying for and it sure makes it real. Real sad. The good news is that he isn't complaining, just stating facts and though it is severe and difficult, I know he will be a blessing to others. He is such a good boy. Our prayers are with him.
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