Hay Bendito More Like Aibonito

Bueno, well, this is my last time in Arecibo. I'm going to the beautiful mountains of Aibonito, so this is qué pasó in my last week here. Sorry for no fotos last week, I ran out of time. This week, you'll get double :) PS: Sorry for the novel, I had to. It's my last week in Arecibo, jaja.

Monday - So for Pday, we went to Vega Baja. Well, Sunday night we went to the church to get something done on the computer, and the bishop took the keys home, so we were waiting for him to give us the keys. We woke up and cleaned before we went to Walmart, which was actually so much better until we got there and it was PACKED. Then we found a plantain, three plantains in 1 plantain. It was a triple single, so sick. Then the lady made us scan it for 3, even though it was 1 plantain. Smh. Then we went to Vega Baja to get haircuts from Elder Phillip's. I didn't get a huge difference, I just got cleaned up, but the kids actually have really fire haircuts. Then we ordered $60 worth of pizza, and somehow we all had enough cash to pitch in on the table. All of a sudden, there was $60 on the table. Pretty sick. We're poor but rich spiritually, you know the vibes. Then I left my water bottle in the car or chapel, either in the Levittown elders' car or the Vega Baja chapel. I don't know. I am using a water bottle that's plastic. RIP my hydro. Don't worry, I'll find it, it will be done! Then we made calls in Vega Baja, and our phone died. Lol. So we just drove home for 40 minutes with no power and the windows down in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. It was pretty epic. Such a good Pday. Then we wrote a note for the Freytes family because they haven't been answering us, and we put it in their mailbox. That was cool, good idea from Elder Teuscher.

Tuesday - This was wild, bro. So we woke up and tenised our hearts out like ballers. Then we had a devotional, and all the missionaries who are leaving gave their thoughts to us about their advice to be a successful missionary. We do this every transfer, and I love it! So cool to hear what they have to say! Then we did weekly planning because we always goal set. It's the best. I love goals. They help so much. Then we had lunch, and we made a brookie (brownie cookie mixture). It was so freaking fire. When I found out that was a thing, I about lost it. It was so mind-blowing. I'm like, who is the genius who invented that! Oh yeah, this morning I woke up to pee because I had to pee really badly. And I was on the toilet when the alarm went off. Basically, my internal clock is on point. Also, I hate vegetables, so I buy Naked (the drink brand) green machines (for my veggie intake). But they didn't have the Naked brand, so I went with the green Odwalla brand. And apparently, I grabbed the wrong flavor. After I peed, I went to drink it, and it was so gross I puked a tiny bit. It went on the floor. Lol. I think it wasn't because of the flavor; it was like a burp puke. And I had drunk like 2 glasses of water before, and then I chugged that. It was funny, there was a tiny bit of vomit on our floor after. Back to the afternoon entonces. So we did goals, then Melvin brought us food, and we gave him a brookie, and oh, le encantó. It was fuegisimo. Then we did stuff and had a lesson with Sariluz who lives in Sabana Hoyos, which is like a 30-minute drive. So we decided to go walking in a neighborhood by her house. We found a few grey dots in a neighborhood who just stopped wandering. We had a feeling to go visit them. So we went, and I had this strong spiritual feeling to go down a street in the urbanization when we passed it. So we got out of the car, and I'm still thinking we need to go down that street. And Elder Teuscher was like, "Alright, how do we get to their house (the grey dot we were trying to visit)?" And I go (as we're looking at maps on our phone), "We need to go down this calle." He said, "Ok, sounds good." So we're walking, and there's nobody, and we get to the end of the street, and there's a guy doing something facing the other way, about to walk inside. We pass him, and I get the strongest feeling that "that's the reason you're on this street, talk to him." So I yell really loud to get his attention, "Buenas tardes, Hermano." He looks up and has a smile on his face and goes, "Buenas." And I have the feeling to skip the small talk, just jump in, so I'm like, "¿Podemos compartir un mensaje de Jesucristo contigo?" And he goes, "Dígame," which is like, "Talk to me," like, of course. It was such a cool mini lesson. We talked about so many things, and we have another lesson Sunday! So that was awesome. He's a good guy. Then we were walking to go to the first house and friends we were trying to visit, and we got a text from Ismael, who has a baptism date. Long story short, sadly we have to stop teaching them. Then we went to Sariluz's house, well first we were looking for a forest because, bro, I had to pee super badly. So we were looking for a forest, can't find one. I know I won't make it till the end of the lesson and the drive home, that's two whole hours I have to hold it in. So we get to Sariluz's, and I just say the most sincere prayer for the weirdest thing of not having to pee till we get home. Guess what! I lost all feeling to pee super bad during that whole lesson. Then I didn't have to pee on the drive. Then the second we park, it all comes back, and I'm about to explode. I know God helped me right there. Even for weird little things like that, we should always ask in prayer, "Ask, and ye shall receive" (if it be God's will). Anyways, back to the lesson with Sariluz, we had a good lesson, and her little kids were there for once! We've been trying so hard to teach them as well, especially her daughter who's 12, so she can get on the covenant path. Amén. We taught them about Jesus and prophets, and we got invited to Thanksgiving dinner at their house! So we'll be doing Thanksgiving with Sariluz and her family on Thursday! Also, I got a mosquito bite on my bicep, and it's really weird. Lol.

Wednesmiércoles - Wow, this week keeps getting insane. So we started the transfer off with 15 tennis balls, and now we have 4. So we went and played some tennis like every morning. Yo, I'm so cracked at tennis after playing every morning for 4 months. That's always fun. So we came home and got ready for the day. Then we had personal study, which is always fun. I love to read the scriptures. Then we had tacos for lunch. That was dope; they were yummy. Then we had interviews with President. Lol. I got told I'm out of Arecibo and getting transferred, but that's all I know. So, but it was like, "What? Nooo, Arecibo is my casa!!!" But I'm super excited to experience a new area. So that will be awesome to be in a new area with another new comp. Crazy how time flies. I remember just getting here to Arecibo. And I feel like I finally remember everyone's names in the ward and where they live and their family, etc. It's crazy how God makes you uncomfortable the second you start getting comfy because without it, we can't grow! So vamos a ver dónde es my new area y quién es mi compañero nuevo! Then we went and visited Miguel because last night I had the feeling to go visit him. He's still not ready, but he loves our visits, and I know my promptings to visit him are benefiting him, even if I don't see him baptized. It's okay. It's not about the baptisms. "Love your neighbor" is más importante. Then we had a class with our ward via Zoom. My last class teaching the ward. But I also can't say anything to anyone until it's announced over the pulpit by the priesthood leader, so I know it's my last, but I can't tell them. Jajaja, sad days, home sweet home of Arecibo. I love this place so much. So many memories here. I can't wait to come back after the mission. I remember thinking my second transfer to not take it for granted because one day I won't be here, and yep, it went too fast, and I took it for granted but enjoyed every second of it! Also, while we were driving, a bee landed on my head through the window, and I hit the brakes and started freaking out, and my companion was dying. Bro, I am terrified of bees. It's scary.

Día de acción de gracias - We had a good last District Council with this District, fue bueno. Then we went to Sariluz's house for Thanksgiving dinner. (Don't be surprised that they celebrate that here. They celebrate every holiday from any country. They love to party and want any excuse to get drunk) Anyway, we go to Sariluz's (one of our friends we're teaching), and we get there, and her uncle is there, and he's completely wasted out of his mind. It was so funny. He was playing Spanish music on a speaker super loud, and the great grandma's yelling at him the whole time. Then there's this other dude (he's also drunk) who's like, "Yeah, the Mormons came to my house once, and they were cool. One was from Utah, and the other was from the Dominican Republic. Do you know them?" Then he goes, "They would've been here before Maria" (the massive hurricane in 2017), and I'm like, "Ah, that's cool." He's like, "Oh, you guys are Mormons?" I'm like, "No, we're members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Then he waits, said the thing about the missionaries again, and asked again like three times. Drunk people are funny. Then he's like, "Yeah, I'm not against the Mormons, but me personally, I am Jehovah's Witness." I'm (in my head, don't worry) like, "Bruh, what are you doing? You're not allowed to have holidays. Why are you here?" It's so funny, like what. It was so funny. Then there was the third uncle who was drunk, and he just was trying to spray flies with bug spray for like the whole time. The flies were really bugging him, like badly. He was getting so angry at the little flies. Then Sariluz's aunt was a little tipsy and going off on the karaoke machine, and it was absolutely hilarious. I had a blast. Probably not the best thing spiritually, but it was so funny. Also, Puerto Ricans use Thanksgiving as the start party for Christmas, so vamos a ver what's Christmas like. I'm excited.

Friday - Bienvenidos a the safety zone.

We visited some lady out in Camuy. She dropped us because we believe in the Godhead, and she believes in the Holy Trinity. (The way she described it was like she doesn't understand. She basically wasn't caught up on the fact that we believe they're separate. She thinks they're a different thing. I'm like, "Bruh, the only difference is we don't believe in a Trinity. We believe they're separate beings." She's a little confused the way she was talking. I don't think she even knows what the Trinity is. Lol, it's okay, though. She's still a very nice old lady. Then we visited another lady, and she is like, "I don't even know with this lady." She asked us the most random, weird questions not even related to the lesson. She's obsessed with modern revelation and prophecies, though, so we're going to give her lots of stuff to read and watch about Joseph Smith and stuff. Then we left Camuy. Probably my last time there until I return to Puerto Rico. There is a lemonade stand that they have on the street with a giant blow-up lemon, so I have said since I got here I want to go to that. So we went since it was my last chance. Super good lemonade; it was awesome. Then we got food truck Mexican, and it was so cheap and so fire. Literally, such good tacos. Such a good food truck. Holy moly, those slapped so hard. I'm begging my comp to go back, so we will see. Vamos a ver.

Sabado - We went to work out, but it was Saturday, so we remembered the tennis courts were taken. So we grinded at home, and then the elders of Vega Baja invited us to a service at 9 am, and we only had the Facebook page that day, so we accepted. Then we went and did some lawn work! Which is actually so much more tiring here. The grass is so thick, the sun is so hot (90 degrees yesterday is what it felt like), and there's lots of land! So that was fun. No push mowers here; most Boricuas (Puerto Ricans) just use a weed whacker for everything, so two of us had a weed whacker cutting the grass, and the other two had a lawn mower. It was good service and it took a solid 2 hours. Then we came back and we were in charge of our mission's Facebook page. That was cool; it's always fun to be in charge of that. We got ten references. Last night when I was praying, I was asking for help tomorrow with the Facebook to know what to say, etc., and I had this strong idea to make a message to invite people to follow our page on "Hurricane Center PR" (it's the news page for Puerto Rico that informs about weather). So I did it and I sent 500+ invite messages on my account, and like 30-40 people liked my message. I don't know if they followed, but they replied and said gracias. Also, there was a guy that followed and messaged me from Ponce. He was super chill and cool, and we talked for like 3 hours on Messenger (not consistently, lol; it took 3 hours to get the replies back and forth), and I ended up getting his number, and he's super, super cool. Always listen to the Spirit, even if it doesn't make sense. Also, I got blocked from commenting, but it was worth it. Facebook's mad at me. Satan doesn't want more people to be invited. Then we went back to the same taco Mexican food truck, and I got a bomb nacho supreme. I'm so sad we found this place right when I'm leaving. It's so cheap and so good. They have amazing tacos and nachos, and my comp said they have a good enchilada and a good chimichanga. Overall, a good day. We were super tired, so we went to bed at about 9:30 right when we had the chance. We were zonked out. We were pooped.

Sunday - We went to sacrament, and we told Obispo that we have transfer calls and I am probably leaving (we already knew I was not but couldn't say because it wasn't certain). Then he's like, "Yeah, you're speaking. Just bear your testimony for 2 min," and straight up made me talk in sacrament. I made the ward laugh. Lol, I love los Arecibeños; they're awesome. I'm very grateful to have this area in my books and to know these amazing people from Arecibo! Then we had family history second hour, and they are Puerto Ricans, so it was a party. Our lunch was cheese, hot chocolate, and bread and butter (my grandma would've loved it; she loves butter). Then we did our stuff and went to Sabana Hoyos to teach that dope guy I had a spiritual prompting to go see. And we go teach him, and he's like, "Yeah, I read your pamphlet." We're like, "Let's go!" And then we go share the restoration and end up not bashing, but he was giving us questions, and we just pooped them out of his mind, and you could see the fear on his face. I think he realized he can't bash us or put a wrench in our gear. So then I pull out scriptures from the Bible, and he sees all my tabs and markings, and his face was shook. You could tell he was like, "Wait, these 19-year-olds know what they're talking about." Then he goes on and asks us bashing questions, and we introduce the Book of Mormon after bringing the spirit in super strong while we teach and testify of the First Vision. And we introduce the Book of Mormon, and he says, "Have you read Revelations?" And Elder Tuescher straight up goes, "Yeah, the part where it says we can't add to the book. Yeah, that's not what it means," super strong, and the spirit is just letting us teach, and this guy is shook, and he's all nervous because I think he was trying to bash us, but we were bringing the spirit so strong he didn't know what to say. Then he tries to change the topic to his problems, and we just relate it back and teach the whole plan of salvation. And he has more fear, but not scared of us. He's scared he can't bash us. It's so funny. Then we tried to give him a Book of Mormon, and he's like, "No, I have a Bible," and goes on to say, "Well, if it's written, you need to read it." Elder Tuescher goes, "Well, the Book of Mormon was written, so if it's from God, we need to read it." He got caught up in his words and was quiet for like 45 seconds, then was like, "Nah, I have the Bible." Anyways, he's going to read the pamphlets, and we'll be back. He will see how true this message is. It was so sick how he was trying to bash, and we just stopped him in his tracks, and he shut up and listened, and the spirit was so strong. When we were teaching, I know he felt it. Then we went home, ate dinner, Elder Tuescher got a call to be a trainer. Let's go! And then we did studies and had transfer calls, and I'm going to Aibonito!!! The mountains in the southeast of the middle of the island. Apparently, it's super cold at night there. We will see how it is! I have mixed emotions; I don't know. I'm excited to have a new area, but I also will miss Arecibo so much.