¡Hola familia y amigos!
Siete
Oop is how my Nicaraguan friend pronounces 7Up. (In Spanish the letter
"U" is the "oo" sound.) I believe I mentioned this in a previous
email, but Pizza = Pixa and Pepsi = Pexi as well, haha.
Other
random Spanish fact: there are two forms to express the word
"you"--Usted (the formal version), and Tu (informal/personal). Here,
they use a different version, the "vos" form. It's pretty much just like
tu but maybe even a little bit more personal. I didn't pick up on it
until recently, but now I hear it all of the time. Not allowed to use it
(missionaries, ya know . . gotta use the more formal form), but there ya
go.
So there was a huge earthquake two nights ago at 3 am.
I'm a fairly light sleeper, and so at the start of the first few
vibrations/tremors, I was awake. But then my bed started rocking back and
forth and the fan fell down and I yelled out at Hna. G to wake up,
because she sleeps like the dead. I don't know what my thoughts were.
Not panic. Just kind of . . . "Well, we live on the 3rd floor of this
poorly built apartment building. Do we just stay here? Run outside?
Jump out of the window and scream?" Just as I was considering bolting
for the door, the earthquake stopped. And then all of the dogs in Leon
went crazy and everyone's lights came on and we got a bunch of text
messages asking if we were okay. Which we were. Hna. G fell asleep five
minutes after, in fact, and didn't wake up for the second round of
earthquake at 4 am,
haha. I had a hard time falling asleep after everything went down, just
because we're in Central America and happen to live between several
very active volcanoes, which an earthquake could easily set off. But,
nothing happened, and my alarm went off at 5:30 and it was time to get up and study (our mission Pres. changed our schedule to 5:30
temporarily until every companionship in the Zone finds a new family to
bring to church. It's not too bad, I'm just always tired.).
Also,
and I have now idea how, but the pigeons have someone found a way to
sneak into our house. It was a weird moment this morning. Stumble out
of my room on the way to the bathroom, notice the pigeon that is
casually perching on my desk, just chillin' . . . process the fact that
there is actually a pigeon sitting on my desk . . . pause, stare it down,
and it flies away somewhere in the ceiling. Still serious about the Nerf gun. Someone send me one.
Not
phased by cockroaches anymore. Or the gecko that lives in the hole
under our light switch. Or the colony of termites in my pencil case or
ants on my bed. My life is kind of like the scene in the movie
"Enchanted" when Amy Adams sings and all of the pigeons and cockroaches
and mice flock to her house and help her clean..except mine don't sing,
they just pester my life. Maybe I'll try singing to them.
Two main things I want to write about in this email: an artist and a doctor.
First,
the artist. His name is Silvio, and he is one of my favorite people
that I've had the privilege of meeting here. How to describe him.. He's
probably in his 50s but his hair is jet black and he has an
Italian-Mario-style mustache and dark, wide set eyes, which never seem
to quite be focused on anything and give him the appearance that he's
always staring off into space, even when he's listening intently. He has
a thin, wiry build and a delicately shaped face and pointed chin, and
is almost never wearing a shirt. He makes papier-mache for a living, and
his house/workshop consists of shelves upon shelves filled with mini
Gigatonas (little Spanish dolls) he's made, masks with various
expressions and shapes (men, women, zebras, you name it) ranging from
life-size to small enough to fit into the palm of my hand. His table is
littered with newspaper scraps and paint brushes and Gerber baby food
jars filled with different paint colors, and bowls brimming with various
glues and adhesives and models covered in plastic bags to use for the
masks he makes. Everything about him is just . . .free. He's a free spirit
who loves what he does for a living. Everything he makes is made with
meticulous care, and he knows the history behind every new design he
creates. He's never set foot in a Church in his life but he reads the
Bible frequently and prays daily. He studied theater in Cuba for 3
years, which is always apparent from his theatrical renditions of the
scriptures we have him read. He likes theology and philosophy and is
really smart, and likes to speculate about things and discuss and dissect
them in detail. He writes and sings his own songs, too, and has
randomly broken out in song for us a few times. I've never taught or
met anyone like him. He's interested in learning about the Church, but
the approach of teaching is completely different that anyone other
lesson I've taught. He's the type of person who seems to just know who
you are by looking at you.
After
meeting with him a few time, he told me that I have "ojos clinicas," or
perceiving/clinical eyes, and that when I look at someone, I can
actually see them for them, see beneath the surface and
understand them more. He asked me what I see in him . . . and afterwards told
me that he normally doesn't invite people into his home whom he doesn't
know, especially "religious" people on the prowl to indoctrinate anyone
who will listen. But that's not why we're here, and he can see that. He
told me that the eyes are the windows of the soul, the hardest part for
him to paint as well as his favorite part, and that mine have a
"brilla" or a glow/sparkle. It was one of those moments when two people
connect on a level beyond the superficial. I don't know, I can't
describe it. I just feel like Silvio was put into my path for a reason.
Now,
as to the doctor. Javier is Nady's husband (Nady being the lovely girl
who read the Book of Mormon in two weeks), and we had an experience
with him that was one of the most powerful on my mission. I've told you
that he's brilliant, and he is. But he's not closed off or conceited or
"too smart" for God. He and is wife are just . . .ready. It's Roger all
over again, but this time in the form of a family. So, we stopped by to
talk with Javier and Nady Saturday, and walking into the door, I really
had no idea what we should teach. We had a few things prepared, but in
the moment, none of them felt right to share. It was cool to see the
Spirit take over and teach for us. We had less than a set "lesson," I
think we mostly ended up talking about the power of prayer and the
things we need to do in this life to be able to stay with our families
for eternity, but it was a lesson I will never forget. I didn't
premeditate, I just opened my mouth. We had been talking about prayer
and family and other things, when I felt the prompting come into my
mind, "Ask him to obey the Word of Wisdom." It was one of those,
"Well..that would be completely random and off-subject, but sure!"
moments. And I was so struck by the results. I asked him, "Javier, what
would you do to be able to keep Nady for all of eternity?" He made some
joke about designing some mechanical contraption to keep them together.
"And if Jesus Christ was in this room, and he asked you to something to
be able to do that, you would do it, right?" "Yes. Anything." And then I
asked him if he would give up smoking. We had only talked briefly with
Nady over Javier's smoking habit, and she says she hates it, but
understands why he does it. The man works constantly and never sleeps,
and nicotine is often the only thing that keeps him going. That or
coffee. (For those who are unfamiliar with the Word of Wisdom, we don't
smoke or drink alcohol, tea, or coffee.) Giving up two at once would
be a sacrifice. But the commandment stands as it is, and I felt that I
should ask him to live it. There were a few cigarette butts on the
floor, and everyone went silent. He was quiet for a moment, and then
told Nady to go get his box of cigarettes. He took the box from her,
looked at it for a second, and then smashed it together in his hands,
crushing the contents of the box. He tossed it to the ground. "I have
been blessed with a really strong will-power, and I don't have any
addictions. I will never smoke every again." And that was that. That
simple, uncompromising act of faith meant the world to me. I almost
cried, as silly as that is. I just know that they will be baptized. I
just know.
I
have been so incredibly blessed to find people to teach who can and
will be leaders in the Church, who have been prepared to hear the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. Roger is now the President of Institute, passes the
sacrament every week, and is planning on serving a mission. Adalberto
has been inviting his friends to Church. Luis goes on splits with the
Elders all of the time, and Hugo and his family were at Church this
Sunday. We have five people in Church this Sunday, actually, for the
first time in weeks. Maybe I'm not baptizing quite as much as other
missionaries, but I would rather baptize people who are truly converted
than a ton of people who will eventually fall away. There's a balance, I
suppose, but those are my thoughts on the matter.
Anyway.
I know that I have been put here in Leon, Nicaragua for a reason, and I
love this opportunity. I completed 6 months in the mission today,
unbelievably. Aahhh . . . what is happening to the time??
Les quiero mucho!
<3 Hermana Behan
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