I dont actually remember when thanksgiving is =/ if its on a weekend, Ill be eating with a member and we usually eat well with the members, theyll have no idea about thanksgiving though.
Living on my own has brought with it this challenge, I dont know how to cook. Ive been living off hamburgers for the last couple months (At least I learned to cook that myself). Elder Lizama (my comp from mexico) used to work at a shop for fast mexican food (Tacos, burritos, I imagine its what Im used to calling taco truck) so hes off pretty well on his own. He makes his own tortillas, and then he makes tacos from them, sometimes he shares :) Quick food is pretty easy, yes they still have panaderias on every block and sometimes in unlikely places (In the middle of the street). In these shops they also sell cheese and ham, also potato chips, soda and candy. Sometimes a quick lunch is a sandwhich and chips, Its not bad. On weekends we eat lunch with members and they stuff us.
Elder Lizama is a strong missionary. Hes a convert. He left for his mission a couple months after he and his family was baptized. This coming year he will have more time as a missionary for the church than as a member of the church haha. Something pretty cool is he was sealed to his family the day before he left on his mission. For his short time as a member, Im surprised by how much he knows. He says he studied nonstop while he was in the MTC and for that he knows the Bible really well and he knows almost the whole history of the church. During the months he was preparing for the mission, he read the book of mormon all the way through (I finished it during my third month here in Chile). His personality is kind of a mix between Julio and Alex from the YSA branch, I found it kind of easy to get along with him, and its also kind of a refreshing reminder of some of the friends I had back home. I get a sense however that hes used to running with a more talkative crowd than me. The language barrier is part of the reason although I would say thats not really so much of a problem anymore, Im pretty confident in spanish. I should probably try talk more. He also works really hard. He has a real passion for helping other people and sharing the gospel, hes always talking about what people need and what we need to be doing as missionaries.
That said, I must say that I dont always agree with some of the decisions he makes. lol Its comforting to know that Im not the only missionary in the family who has trouble working with his comp. I feel like I have some really good ideas about what were doing wrong to change to help this sector but in his fire and flare he usually just follows the momentum that comes from his own head. Its a problem of communication really, Ive voiced something in the past and he shut them down quickly without discussing it and for that Ive been more timid about voicing my opinions. Its something were working on. Changes happen on the second of december, well see what happens.
As far as the work is going, its going slowly. For the last two sundays, we have had no investigators come to church. This seems to be the hardest thing to invite someone to do. Were teaching various new people, Im waiting to see who will progress. One lady we met knocking doors accepted a baptismal date but said she doesnt want to go to church, were not sure what her doubt is. Shes really nice and she gets along with us well. we teach her in the door because we cant enter her home because theres no man in the home. Another family really enjoys talking about joseph smith and some deep doctrines of the bible with us, we have to be careful or well find ourselves there for hours. They dont want to come to church either. Im sure were doing something wrong or there is something we could be doing better. One thing ive noticed about the people that have prospects of progressing is that they seem to have a good experience with us. I figure thats the most important part. If they simply have a good experience with us, They usually let us come back. Im thinking about how I could do more of my part to invite the spirit so they have a good experience.
Well thats all for now. I hope all is going well for everybody and that you have a great week :)
I love you very much
Jeremy