T’was the night before pday and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
The elders were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of baptisms danced in their heads
The jackets were hung by the heater with care
In hopes that the wetness wouldn’t be there
And I in my thermals, and Elder B. in his cap
Had long settled down for a just winters nap
When out in the kitchen there arose such a clatter
That I leaped from my bed to see what was the matter
Away to the door I flew like a flash
But before I could get there, I heard my foot splash
And what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a miniature flood, 8 inches of rain-
As you may have guessed by my attempted poetry, we had another flood today. This one was a much different experience from last time. At about 4a.m. the dona called because she was worried. It had been raining a lot and she had just woken up, and there was quite a bit of water in the road, so she was wondering if there was water in our house. And there was. I only had to take a couple steps from my bed and it was already quite wet. Our door had been shut, but the rest of the house already had several inches, and we could hear the little sewer whole gurgling away, as the water rose quickly. But between dona and us, we took care of it. By the time the fireman came (well prepared for the then inch high water, in fireman suits, helmets, and visors) it was already leaving. The dona let us go upstairs and sleep in the house they’ve been getting ready for their family. We didn’t sleep too well, because our feet were still really really cold. But it was nice. Meanwhile, the dona and R. cleaned up everything, which was incredibly nice of them, and by the time we woke up at about 8 o’clock, they had finished. I made a little video, but it ended up way to big to send.
So that was pretty exciting.
In other news, things are good, Today it is beautiful and sunny and warm. We had a good week but I’ll probably talk more about it on Friday. Christmas is coming absurdly fast, we haven’t even had time to plan what we’re going to do, President moved p-day to Christmas, today we’re just going to write and do a few groceries, so we can leave our area or do whatever on christmas. There’s a lot of stuff we’ve like to do and not a ton of time. Elder B. is planning on calling at 3 o´clock our time. That works out to be about 9 o’clock your time (you’re 6 hours earlier). His parents are calling his cell phone, so I’ll call you guys at the same time.
In response to a few questions, yes, bacalhau com natas is a pretty normal dish at any time of the year, but it’s especially common around Christmas. I believe I’ve eaten it twice in the last week or so, and I’ll probably end up eating it a bit more. But it’s good. Cod fish with cream, good times.
Elder B. and I are still getting along really well. We’ve been singing Christmas songs at every opportunity. It’s also a very effective way of finding people to teach. We’ve been knocking doors and offering to sing songs. You would be surprised how many people say no, but it’s good for nice people who don’t have time, plus it’s lots of fun.
Speaking of lots of fun, I got a very cool letter on Thursday, from Michelle B. (johnny’s mom) telling me how when the missionaries came to the door she thought of me and let them in. She got baptized back in November. It was definitely the best Christmas present I’ve gotten so far.
That reminds me, the same day, I got back a package I had tried to send to my friends (that’s right, if you guys are still reading this, there are, in fact, presents on the way) It seems it got all the way to Mississippi and the got sent back, somewhere in between the present for Johnny being stolen (I believe that’s the second time Johnny’s present has been lost in the mail. Sorry). I’m going to get a new one, send it again, but I need a different address to send it to. I was wondering if you guys could find out where Johnny, Caitlin, and Roberta will be, respectively, in the next few weeks, and either email that to me, or tell me on the phone.
S., who you may remember, is set for getting baptized here in a bit. We had dropped but he found a pamphlet in the trash and got into contact with us again.
We’re really excited about this week, it’s going to be a really good week. We have Christmas conference on Wednesday, Christmas eve on Thursday, p-day/Christmas on Friday. I wish the Christmas season was longer, and that we had started singing hims and such earlier. It’s a really good time for missionary work, as long as you don’t get homesick. Not feeling too homesick this time around, it’s just sort of strange. Still doesn’t quite feel like Christmas, or it does, just not like normal Christmas. But that’s alright, mission Christmas is great.
Everyone have a great week, and a Feliz Natal
Elder Ammon
