Chapter 5: Plata

This week was Halloween and we got dressed up. :)  This is a picture of our costumes for Halloween, note the ties- Silver is Spanish is Plata, which in Costa Rica just means money, signifying the financial secretary. Gold is oro, and it stands for the gold medal that the Migration secretary has in Costa Rica for being one of 2 countries 100% legals. Costa Rica has been there longer though, so we still have the record. ;)So about halloween, we don't really celebrate it much down here :P A few years ago there were some children kidnapped and then sacrificed in the forest. That put a huge damper on the Halloween spirit and they only do personal gatherings here. We did pass by a few bars that had decorations up but we avoided them for the most part because we know the problems the world has with Modesty. We did not have to stay inside the house.

Spiritual moment this week: We have two investigators that I feel can get baptized this month and I´m hoping that one that has been an eternal investigator can join those two. The two that I´m talking about haven´t been to church but it wasn´t all their faults, one didn´t go because the member we sent never showed up at his house. He called us after the first meeting and said that no one showed up to get him but that he had been waiting, ready for an hour. :( I was so sad about that and frustrated that he could be one step closer but a member messed it up. :( The other one is progressing really fast and should be coming this week too.

Oh crap moment this week: So we heard gunshots last week. The gunshots were heard in the most dangerous part of our area and I just happened to be in the area for the first time that day. I was in no danger but it was a good story to tell. No more gun shots but I do like the countryside more than the city, but it´s not all that different, just the people make the difference. I feel safer in the campo of Guanacaste (Limon is dangerous).

Funny thing this week: I played a mean joke on one of the sister training leaders with the fake cockroaches, it made her and her companion scream and it made everyone laugh. She pretended to Trick or treat at our secretary door because she saw I had candy so I gave her the cockroach secretly and then she freaked out when she saw it. I gave it to her as a gift and then I gave her candy. She was a good sport. :)

I was able to laugh a whole bunch w¿this week and I will laugh so much more with Elder H. :)

Solo in the office is fine, I survived the worst week. :) Not all that lonely, 4 was really a crowd, a fun crowd but a crowd none the less. There were two early morning trips that I made this week and both of them have gone by very well. We have a third this upcoming week and I am not excited. Elder Hoover and I made a deal, he drives there and I drive back. He gets more tired on the way back, but once I´m awake I´m awake until I hit the end of the line.

I am fantasterrific! I´m excited to be able to get out into the field more this week and get this area going. I´m getting along really well Elder Hoover and he´s a bunch of fun. We have personalities that fit well and even when tired we haven´t had a fight. :) My English is getting back to normal but my Spanish is falling a bit :( I´m going to fix that with study this week. :)

Love you,

Elder VanderMeyden