Hey
everyone!
I guess I better start
this letter off answering all of mom's questions from her letter before I
forget.
1. We can't proselyte
after dark because the chiefs of the island have said no.
2. We do have a lock on
the hut door.
3. I have NOT actually
rolled out of my hammock. I am even
surprised on that one, but it is pretty hard to roll out of a hammock. But
alas, nothing is impossible.
4. I haven't eaten
anything with members yet. There are some HUGE lobster and crab that they catch
here!
5. Yes, I have the
guitar. We have a lot of in-house time
at night, so it comes in handy.
6. We do sometimes play
with the kids, but they are in school during our proselyting hours.
7. We live in a town. The biggest thing here is the dock where there
are usually two huge Colombian ships that sell stuff like clothes, hammocks,
rice, etc.
8. We wash clothes in
buckets with water that we boil on the stove
9. We usually work in
the mornings on P-Days, then go to internet and clean the house in the evening.
10. As for Christmas, I
really do not care. But, if you want me to get it by Christmas, the next time I
will be in the city will be December 10th. So just be sure to get it out early!
11. No bat yet. But the fried house cat is pretty tasty.
12. There is a HUGE long
PVC pipe that goes all the way across the bridge from the island to the
mainland and up the monte to the river. So yes, we drink, bathe and wash
clothes in river water.
13. Yes, we have a cell
phone and our whole island has good coverage.
14. We email in the
church, it is the only place with internet besides the school.
So, this last week was
interesting. We went to Tikantiki, where
there is a companionship of sisters, for two days to visit their investigators
and evaluate their teaching. I ended up
getting sick the morning we came back, so I spent two days in the house with
another elder that was on our island, whose companion was in the hospital for a
bug bite on his leg. On Friday, there
was a youth activity in another branch called Ukupa, which means small beach. We stayed overnight on Friday and watched
"The Testaments” with the youth, and Saturday morning, we had our baptism!
We did it in the river right next to the
ocean, and it was awesome! It was a
really spiritual service, and lots of youth and members were able to attend. He got confirmed yesterday in church. I got to confirm him, and it was my first
confirmation, so it was a neat experience.
The culture here is
really interesting. The Sylas (chiefs) hold congress with all the men on the
island every Monday and Thursday, and no one can leave their houses. Yesterday, all the Sylas from San Blas came
and they are doing a big congress today. So that kind of hinders the work sometimes. But I guess we have to obey the laws of the
land. Any time we go into the city, we
have to get permission from the Sylas to leave the islands. Tomorrow, we are
going in to the city in a plane because the transfer just ended, and we have to
help the new missionaries buy all their stuff and get all the food for the
zone.
We should be having 2
more baptisms on the 8 of November! We
are being more obedient and are definitely seeing the results, with the less
actives and our investigators! We are trying to teach one investigator to read
right now, so he can read the Book of Mormon. He is one getting baptized on the 15th. There are a lot of interesting ways to give
service out here on the islands. Well, that is about it for this
last week... I will try to think of some more good adventures to write about
next week! I love you all and have a happy Halloween! I will send pictures tomorrow when we go to
the mission office. The internet here is
slow uploading pictures.
Love,
Elder Austin Michael
Kipp
P.S. I found some epic Mola this week, but you will
have to wait until I get home to see it. Sorry. Hey dad, glad to hear
that the biking is going well. Is the ole' knee holding up well enough to play
some baseball when I get back? It's been
a while since you have struck me out.... that is a challenge. haha!
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