Week 21 & 22...1/5/15...Holiday Food, Food, Food and Rat Killer

Translation:  "I will share the gift by filling Christmas with magic!``

Holy cow time has gone by soooo fast!  I'm almost to the 1/4 way mark! Sorry, I didn't write last week! The internet place hadn't paid for the internet so it was closed ;( dang it. But the good news was I got to talk with my family! And that was amazing! I really don't remember too well what happened three weeks ago or two weeks or this week so I'm just gonna try to lump everything together.

So first of all, once again my pictures have been lost.  I lent the memory card to our District leader and he seems to have misplaced it. I'm trying not to make him feel too bad about it because he feels pretty bad. But the good news is most of the photos are already sent home and I have more cards to use! But still, it's kind of a bummer.

Christmas here was insane.  I don't remember what happened when.  But basically, all we did was eat. Members, investigators, less actives, drunks on the street... everyone was inviting us to come and eat food at their house. But not just any food. . . TAMALES!!!! They are delicious but I'm pretty sure I've eaten enough to hold off for another year. We visited almost every member in over 3 days and ate at least one tamale at almost everyone. Then they would send us home with like 12 more. Our fridge was sooooo full! The other thing they serve a lot here kinda like the states are Cookies! But they all come in packages and they just eat a ton of them! That and sweets!

Christmas Eve Sweets and Food

My Comapero Loco

More food from our Presidente de Rama.
 It was soooooo good!

Man, I was soooo full! The cool thing was on New Year's  Eve we had dinner with our Branch President and his family! We had turkey which was soooooo good! But I was so full it was kinda hard to enjoy it. Right at 12 is when everyone lights off all of their fireworks so it's basically impossible to sleep!  Then we got to talk
to our families on Christmas Day and continued eating food. OH! I also was helping Hna Suceli set up skype so they could talk with their brother who is on his mission and guess who his companion is!!!??? ELDER COE!!! One of the coolest kids from the CCM! I was so pumped to say hi to him but that was all.

I got my package from Aunt CaMee and Uncle Travis and my Grandparents and it was awesome!!!! My comps loved it too! 

Some of my comps using the portable ping pong table Uncle Travis and Aunt CaMee and Grandma and Grandpa sent. They love it!


I made an incredible unhealthy invention from all of the food. . . my fantastic invention with all of the stuff that got sent in the packages. Featuring the all-powerful holiday oreo, Nutella, peanut butter cup, more Nutella, and a rolo. Yes yes, it is unhealthy but you better believe it tasted fantastic.

We've continued to teach a bunch of people and we should have some baptisms next week! But we've been praying really hard for them for a couple months so well see what the Lord has in mind!  Our Branch Christmas Activity was a huge hit!!!! We just were a little low on room.  

Wonderful New Year's Eve Meal w/ Presidente & Family

This week was pretty interesting. On New Year's Eve Day (is that a thing or did I just make that up?) We went to eat lunch and we got 3 things of meat about the size of marbles, rice and a ton of what's called herbas. Basically herbs but I think it was some spinach and other stuff other herbs.  It tasted terrible.  I almost died eating it. I'm super proud of myself because I ate all of it! Then I realized I had a problem. None of my companions had eaten it. Or at least all of it. I guess I was so busy choking it down I didn't realize no one else was going to eat it.  I had expected everyone else to eat it.  As soon as we left I started to feel sick.  We taught all afternoon and then about 7 o'clock we went to ask Hermano Daniel if he had something that could help my stomach. I drank some vitamin water and Alka seltzer but then threw up. We went home and for the rest of the night I was throwing up.  I didn't sleep at all. Finally, I got it all out of me but I still felt awful.  We left the next morning to go to work. But we returned to go pick up something.  I laid on my comps bed for like 2 seconds and passed out for 3 hours. The next thing I knew my comp was waking me up to go eat lunch.  I couldn't even bear the thought of eating.  Unfortunately, it was New Year's and so everyone once again invited us to eat. I ate a little bit and by the end of the night when we went to eat with Presidente I was feeling a lot better and right now I feel great! 

Sometimes in these weeks, we've had a great zone lunch.  So we had a great lunch as a zone someday after Christmas! Here's what it looked like from the second level of the church in Malacatan.  I took a photo but no one really was looking so I took another but I decided it was best to close my eyes for it. ;)

Here's our zone today.  We played volleyball and my team won the Tourney!
(Elder Bagley, Elder Heyrend, Elder Jensen, Elder Moreno? Elder Fickes, Me, Elder Goldsberry, Elder Arias, Elder Lagos, Elder Toala. Font: Elder Lovett, Elder Walton, Hermana? Hermana Cabrera, Elder?

OH! Today we played volleyball and our team of 4 elders, Jensen, Godinez, Heyrend and I won the championship!  I went on divisions with Elder Fickes the other day and it was awwwwsoooommmeee! The highlight happened in the morning. Elder Fickes'` house has a rat problem and in the night he said he heard them all night. (I slept like a normally do and didn't hear a thing.) Then right as we were about to leave for the day he saw a rat.  He called me over and I ran into the room with my slingshot and some pebbles and shut the door.  By then there was no escape and I felt like a Viking, Cave Man Warrior (or whoever uses slingshots to hunt) when I killed the rat with one shot from my slingshot.  Actually, I hit it twice but I think the thing that killed it was when it ran towards me and I drop kicked it across the room... But anyway we both were pretty pumped with our conquering.

The rat I killed with my slingshot. Ya, I'm pretty proud of it.

That's basically a quick or not so quick summary of these two weeks! I'm doing great and excited for this new year! I'm learning a ton and Spanish is coming so quick!  As long as I am doing my part of studying and praying the days come easy. There's such a difference between the days when I study and the days I miss.  I hope that everyone had a fantastic Holiday season and that this new year is the best one yet! Love and miss you all!

Love,

Elder (the rat killer) Pugmire