Monday, January 9, 2017

Week 75 - Learning to Deal with Cold

Hey Guys!

Yesterday, a cold front hit Puerto Barrios. It got down to about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead of waking up and feeling the blazing sol that I have come to love so much, I woke up and felt cold. 

Part of the reason why it was always such a challenge for me to get up for seminary while i was in high school wasn't because I was sleepy; it was really because I would wake up and realize that outside it was about 40 or 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and then I wouldn't want to get out of bed anymore. So you can imagine how I felt getting up yesterday and today.

In the morning right now, what usually happens in the first 15 minutes of the day is this:
6:30- wake up, say a prayer, get out of bed, and unsuccessfully look for a blanket or something I can throw over my shoulders to warm me up.
6:35-6:45- get distracted and grab the Administration Manual 2 and start reading, and then remember that I feel cold and that i don't like that feeling, so I go put on socks and a jacket.
6:45-7:15- my companion and I go to play soccer or run around a bit in the morning. It helps me warm up a little bit.
7:15-7:30- my companion tells me every single morning, "If you want, you can shower first." That is because in Guatemala in general, we do not have hot water. So usually after he says that to me, I slowly grab my towel and go to shower very quickly. It's normally a good thing to have a nice cold water shower in hot weather, but it days like this, it's just not fun. You have to shower in water that has little pellets of ice in it (well, not really, if you're in Puerto Barrios, but I'm glad I'm not in the capital right now)
7:30-8:00- finish getting ready, eat a bowl of hot milk with cereal, and go to study the scriptures.

I just realized something too: Next winter, I'm gonna be in the States. I love hot weather, but when it comes to cold climates, I'm a wimp. And Guatemala has made me even worse. I'm gonna die next year. :/

The work's been good. We had to discipline some of the missionaries in our Zone this week, which is exhausting because it usually means long 2-3 hour bus rides when we could be doing other things, like working in our area. So Elder Cabrera and I ALWAYS take advantage of the bus rides to sleep a little. It's always better to sleep, because that way you don't have to listen to the awful Mexican music called banda that the bus drivers always listen to. (The music that people listen to here is NOT good- the banda is horrible, and a style of music called raggaeton has become very popular down here. The music is 50 times more foul-mouthed than the lyrics of any rap you'll listen to in the States.)

I've been good. One of my goals is to strengthen my testimony as much as possible about all of the doctrines of the church, so I’ve been studying Gospel Principles and the scriptures to learn as much possible. It's been nice because now, after so long, I have a lot of experiences that I can look back on and see that in those moments, the Spirit testified me of the truth of those things. I feel blessed to be a missionary, but I've only got half a year left. So I'm gonna make every day count. You guys should too. Look for a way to make every day a spiritual experience. i promise that you guys can find it.

Va I gotta go so LOVE YOUR BIKE (that’s something I always say to my missionaries, it sounds like "Love you bye" when you say it fast)

-- 

Elder Jeffrey Reed

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