04/12/2011

Mommy!! :)

 

Yes mail in Suisse is alot more reliable than in Mexico.  We get mail 3 times a day Monday through Saturday, and once on Sunday.  They like to be efficient. 

 

I am glad you got to have a good time with Jazmine and going to Chuckecheeses and the rest of the family too.  Did you tell her happy birthday for me??

 

I wish that Mother Nature would forget the month here... :P  I am not a big fan of the heat.  It's actually not too hot, but I like the cold :)  My companion wonders what I will do when summer comes and it gets even hotter.  Meh.  I think I will survive.  If not, expect a funeral announcement within the next couple of months ok? ;)

 

I remember that time at the MTC!!  I remember they told us that if we wanted our parents to see us and be on camera, we couldn't do anything silly when the camera was looking at us.  It was interesting, because the camera guy was walking around during the ... I think it was a fireside... either that or a devotional.  Either way, it was good :)

 

This past week has been pretty interesting.  I have found out since I got here that it is more than a little difficult to talk with Jehovah's Witnesses, because most of the times they just like to argue and debate, but they won't take anything or do anything more to find out the truth.  But we met one this past week and spoke to him.  My companion and I both bore our testimonies to him, and he was touched!  He actually took a passalong card that we gave him.  This was an evening when we had planned on visiting a member, and then going to an investigator's home and teaching a lesson.  The investigator wasn't there, though! But if she had been there, we wouldn't have found that Jehovah's Witness.  I hope that he someday sincerely ponders about the message we shared that day.

 

My companion received her 'dying letter'.  AKA the letter that tells her she is almost finished with her mission and to plan on what she is going to do after!  She has... less than 100 days, I believe.  Yes, I DID figure it out.  Hey, I have to brush up on my math skills or I'll lose them all!

 

I lost my companion the other day!! We were on the tram, and she got off and I didn't.  I was thinking about something and not really paying attention, so I didn't see her get off.  She always makes sure that I see her before she gets off.  Apparently, I was looking but not seeing.  Laugh.  I went 5 or 6 stops before I realized she wasn't there!  Oh yeah, that might sound weird if I don't mention that:  We don't sit next to each other on the trams or buses.  Actually, we split up so we have more opportunity to talk to people.  Which is not always a good thing if I don't know where we're going... haha

 

One thing I really like here is there are people who play music on the trams!  They play a couple of songs, then go around and ask the passengers for money.  They play some good ones sometimes.  The other day, there was a boy (I swear, he was barely a teenager!) who played Rondo Alla Turka (Lemmings ;D ).  He wasn't looking at the keyboard for most of the time!! He was looking around, behind him to see who was outside... like it was nothing to play that song.  It was amazing!

 

I continue to be intrigued with the language.  Sometimes I understand what people are saying, and sometimes I don't.  Not quite sure if it varies from person to person, with what we're talking about, with what time of day it is, with what mood I'm in, or a combination of all those. 

The Bishop can speak some English.  And he speaks it with an American accent, too!!  It surprised me, because he is French.  No not Suiss.  French.  But we were in a meeting one time, and he said a few English words, and it threw me off! He said it just makes sense to him.  And he said he learned it from having American companions during his own mission.  Interesting...

 

The town of Yvoire was the Medieval town of sorts that I mentioned.  It was pretty there.  I will bring my camera next time and send pictures.  We looked in all the different stores to see what they had.  And we went with Sister Murdock, the mission president's wife.  She bought us ice cream.  mmmmmmmmmm.....  There was a store there that had cuckoo clocks.  Which reminded me that I was going to buy one.  But for some reason I still have the inclination to ask permission...  So.  Is there any reason I can't use my debit card within the next week or so to buy a cuckoo clock?  I want to get one from Geneva, not France, so I need to buy it before I leave Geneva. 

 

Love you, Mom!! Stay happy!! Keep smiling!!

 

Love, Sister Bartlome