I seem to be that same quirky kid.

Well, we had interviews this week and I ended up not having time to pick up my suit before hand and was, for that reason, the only missionary who was not in a suit for the interviews. That´s always a great feeling. But I got my suit afterwards and it came out great. It even came with a vest which I wore proselyting one day until my companion told me that was really weird so I took it off.

 I feel weird about everyone getting older at home, while I feel as if I had not aged at all. Something the President told me in the interview is that I seem to be that same quirky kid I was when I got there, just with a bit more knowledge and experience. I affirmed that people haven´t stopped telling me I´m odd after, all this time.

 Don´t worry about me being trunky. After all, I only have 133 days left before I can see the new Doctor Who episodes. Not that I´m even thinking about that. The investigator from down stairs is doing better, I believe. He´s been spending more time in the neighbor´s house now. He´s going to come to church with us, finally, on Sunday, and I know that´s going to help him find some ground.

I´m very pleased to see that Elijah has learned to fly! But... don´t you think that makes him competing in hurdles rather unfair for the other children? Let me know about that.

I love you all with
Much love,
Elder Alexander

Did I eat the worm? Yes, I did!

Thanks for the pictures you sent! It´s comforting to see you guys doing well and having fun. This week we´ve been seeing many families with problems. Every night as we try to sleep we just hear a lot of yelling coming from the floor below us and across the street as well. And talking to them, I´ve really come to recognize how many problems we´ve avoided simply by living the commandments. In every situation it always seems to begin with someone not living the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Chastity, etc. It´s really made me consider the value of every commandment. Even the law of tithing protects us. The commandment of service or to love God first and then the rest steers us away from pride and brings us healthy relationships. I am sooo thankful I could be raised in a family who acknowledged God's plan and commandments. And now it´s just so much more special for me to share with other families, and then watch the beautiful results when the Lord´s ways are applied. Also, if you could mention that family in your prayers. We´ve been teaching someone that lives below us, and he´s been pretty stressed with all those affairs.

We tried to make raviolli, but I´m not exactly proud of it.

Chicken Nigth? Yes, please!

There´s this worm called Suri and it´s a delacacy, here in Tingo. Yes, they eat the worm. Did I eat the worm? Yes, I did!

This is Stanford and he tasted more or less like chicken but with a cottage-chesse-style texture on the inside. They´re actually not too bad. I´ll be sure to bring some with me when I come home.

Much love,
Elder Alexander

Like a cold shower in the afternoon.

All is well here in the land of aguaje and weird insects! (The aguaje is palm tree fruit  from  the Peruvian Amazon.)

We made tacos at the pention's for lunch. They actually turned out super yummy!

This week was rather interesting because we had to go to Tochache, which is a city about 3 hours from Tingo Maria, to search for a birth record so someone in La Merced, who we don´t know, can get married and baptized. We were the first missionaries to ever set foot in this town, which felt pretty cool. However, only after about 5 minutes in the street we heard someone scream "Elders!" I kept walking, thinking I was just hearing voices, but then it came again, even louder and closer! It turns out there´s someone who works in Tochache but lives in Huanuco and is member. So.... there´s that. We also found a kid, contacting, who was just passing through some difficulties and feeling very depressed. We taught him about the gospel of Christ. I felt to share 3 Nephi 9:13-14 and in the end, he felt a lot better and said he would love to be baptized. But my favorite part was when he said the closing prayer and he thanked God for sending us. It seems as if every single day God just puts us where His children need us, even many times without us realizing. I am also very grateful for every person we have the privilege of teaching at the moment.

                                         

On P-day, we visited a waterfall and climbed a hill and saw all of Tingo Maria. Some parts here are overwhelmingly beautiful and I often don´t even attempt to take pictures because they never do them justice. It has become apparent to me that all things really testify of Christ. Not only because of His complex creations, but because one seems to feel some sort of connection to them. And they make one feel good inside. Like a cold shower in the afternoon. Anyway, I´m stuck in Huanuco now for a zone meeting but excited to head back on Wednesday.
Cha-Chao!
Much love,
Elder Alexander

Our area (Castillo Grande) is the far side of the river that looks like it´s empty.

The "sleeping beauty". Do you see it?

Oh. Forgot to say! My suit got lost in a taxi, and I have the money that the mission reimbursed me so I think I will go buy one. I don´t know if a crazy taxi driver driving off with your suit is included in it´s two year warranty.

You may be surprised!

Well, you´ll be surprized to know that I have a new companion! Not the new one, but rather a new, new one. His name is Elder Dias, from Cajamarka, Peru. He´s nice. I think. I´ve only been with him five days, but I´ll let you know! Easter was cool because my package arrived the day before. You sent some stuff for the pention and her family, I assumed it was for Karen and them because our present pention´s kids are all grown-ups. They went up on a hill and had a cute little Easter celebration as a family with those eggs. I´ll be sure to send some photos next week.

You´ll also be surprised to know that I ate chicken-head this week. There´s a lady who sells it on a street that we walk every day and one day I jokingly said I would try it some day. After that, she hadn´t stopped bugging me about it asking me when I was going to try it. This week I finally YOLO´d it. I just gnawed on the neck for a while (it was very chewy) and then, getting rather bored, broke open the head and tried some brain for the fist time in my life. Do you know what brain tastes like? I do! After all that I´ve eaten here, I really don´t think I´ll be complaining about mac and cheese anymore when I get back.

You also may be surprised to know that I listened to the conference in Spanish this year, to sit with some investigators. M--- came with a few of those friends again and we brought our pention who listened so intently to every word the prophet said. It was special. I don´t have my notes with me right now, but I can tell you that I also loved the talk by Elder Renlund. Your comment is right on, as well, "A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying". We have to explain that constantly to investigators and less active members. That the people in the church aren´t perfect. They need much help and support, and that´s why they come. When we see someone struggling with sin or perhaps lost in life, in the chapel, that should make us oh-so-happy! On the contrary, we should never judge other members or expect anyone there to be perfect. At the end of his talk, as he testified, the Spanish translator started crying. It was touching. I also loved the first talk by Henry B. Eyering. I have definitely seen the hand of God in the lives of the people in some of the most obscure towns. God does His work in every end and every corner. There was were some specific things that called my attention, but I´ll have to tell you next week. The conference always gives us a new energy for the work and we´re excited to get to work this week and apply and share what we learn from our prophets with the rest of God´s children.
I love you all very much!

Much love,
Elder Alexander