Creo en El Sol

Hannah's first district

Hey fam!
     This week was just a roller coaster. So much has happened but I don't even know what to write about.

The fountain around the corner from their piso

     Last monday night we had a lesson with Yasmine. She told us that she wants to be a Mormon, but the problem with her (and with everyone else that we teach, really) is that we can't get her to come to church. There is just something about the Spanish culture that makes actually attending church a ridiculous idea to everyone. Like, "Sure I'll get baptized... but wait, you want me to go someplace on a Sunday?"

Hannah's poor sunburnt legs

     Whatever. Anyways, SO then after the lesson we asked her about Nayeli again. We had tried visiting her a few times but we could never actually find her apartment complex (nothing is marked here) and she said she would walk us there. We thought she was just going to show us the way but she goes all the way up and rings the door bell. Nayeli's mom (Sonia) answers the door and we ask her about The Book of Mormon and she was excited, but busy, so we have an appointment with their family this Wednesday--fingers-crossed. So then we left and we expected Yasmine to just go home but then she told us about another Brazilian friend that lived close and she offered to introduce us. We were like, "okay whatever you want." So we get there and the friend (Gabrielly) wasn't there but the dad was and he just told us his life story and he told us that he was seeking direction to his life and that we were the answers to his prayers and he promised us he would come to church with us on Sunday. Then we left and Yasmine went home and we started walking to our piso and a man came up to us and asked us what church was true. Boy did we have an answer for him! We explained how Joseph Smith had the same question and we just gave him the watered down version of the first vision and we asked if we could visit him again sometime. He told us that he doesn't have a telephone but he is always in the same part of the street every night and we could come back on Wednesday. After we left him we were seriously just so in awe about how our night was going and then another person approached us! this little old Ecuadorian lady just had a son die and and she was seeking direction and faith. We prayed with her and the spirit was just so strong. She works constantly though and we have been trying unsuccessfully to meet with her again. That night was just seriously so insane. I hope that happens again someday.
     So now for a funny story. We were studying one morning and our doorbell rang. Well, that was weird because we are missionaries and we are usually on the other side of the door. I didn't even realize we had a doorbell until then. I looked at Hna Muse expecting her to go answer it because I don't speak Spanish but she just stared at me like you can do it so I grumpily shuffled around the corner and opened the door and this little old NUN was standing there. I was in shock. She said "somos las hermanitas de las pobres" and then something about wanting money so I said "somos las missionaras y no tenemos dinero." Her eyes got really big and she pointed to the picture of Jesus Christ that we have on our door and asked me what it meant so I told her that it is JesuCristo and I turned around to show her another picture that we have on our wall and she pushed her way into our apartment. I repeat, the nun was in our apartment. She went strait to our table with all of our pass along cards and just started sayin "que bointo, que bonito" and proceeded to take one of every single pass along card. I mean, some of them it made sense that she would like them because they had pictures of christ and say things like "faith brings hope" but she even took the ones that have a picture of Joseph Smith and say "the truth was restored spring 1820" sort of an awkward thing for a nun to want, but whatever. Then her companion comes into our apartment and looks at all of our stuff and they both just say "que bonito" over and over again and FINALLY Hna Muse comes in and her faced just looks soooo confused and then the nuns leave. Hna Muse asked "what in the world just happened" it feels like a crazy dream. That was the morning the Mormon missionaries had Catholic nuns in their apartment.

     Now I guess I'll say what happened when we tried to go visit Orlando again. Orlando was the man that approached us on the street. SO we went back to his little spot and he had a friend there. His friend told us that Orlando was busy so we thought maybe we could teach the friend. Well the first question that we asked him was if he believed in God. He just looked at us and said he believed in the sun and then tried to tell us about the special powers that the sun has. We nodded and told him to tell Orlando that we stopped by. He was just a little much.

The river just outside their piso. 

      Yesterday, and really mostly Saturday, were the most disappointing days in my life. First, our investigator Patricia called us with some bad news. Patricia had been taught by missionaries before but she worked to much to really make time for them. But earlier his week we met with her and she told us the she was reading The Book of Mormon and she knew it was true and she wanted to get baptize and come to church on Sunday and we were crazy excited. But then Saturday she called and told us her husband is very catholic and he is mad now and it is just better if we don't ever come back. So devastating. But really not as devastating as the call we got later that day. Jackson called at like 11 (we don't have to go to bed now until 11:30 in case you were wondering) and told us that he is moving back to Brazil and and it was nice talking to us but his phone isn't going to work anymore and he won't be coming to church because he will be moving. We honestly almost started crying. And of course our ward mission leader wanted to meet with all the missionaries before church Sunday morning to see how everyone is progressing towards el dia blanco. We got there and he was telling all of the elders about how he is sure that the Hermana's area is the easiest area in Granada because our numbers were so good this week and how everyone in this area listens and we barely have to work. We were just speechless. It still makes me angry. Man.
So we basically have to start over this week. We really need miracles if we are going to have 3 baptisms on the 10th of May. I don't even know where we are going to start. But that is okay. Heavenly Father is preparing people.
Now I am officially out of time. Write you next week.
Love Always,
Hannah