Momma, Thank you for your email. It was beautiful. The weather here has been crazy. Scorching hot from about 8am to 4pm and pouring rain and thunder from 5pm to 10pm. We still walk in the rain and in the heat and in the mud and on the hot pavement. Either my rubber shoes feel like they’re melting into my feet or they’re soup-full of water. We press forward still, every day, even when all of our appointments fall through--they're sleeping or hiding or out or “next time na lang” which is polite for "don’t come back."
The other day, I found out that Sister Roncal had lice. I noticed little white things attached to her hair folicals as we were waiting for one of our investigators to answer our knock. We immediately went home and I shampooed her hair with R.I.D. (good thing you sent those mom! You may send a few more, just incase. I told the mission nurse that I had a RID kit and she said, “That is some mom you have.” It's true. I am so blessed.)
We had to wash ALL of our clothes and bedding with boiling water (because there is no hot tap water of course). We have a stove that only fits two small pans. We boiled water and as we were in the middle of everything, ran out of gas. We had a new gas tank delivered, and shortly after, our electricity turned off and our water supply was cut. We continued and pumped our water from a pump out front. Our mission nurse called. I told her what was going on, and up until that point I was just silent, thinking...k, this is hard, but it has to be done. Sister Roncal voiced how hard it was. When I told our mission nurse, it sounded like she was almost crying on the other end saying, "Oh no you poor thingssss" And then I sobbed quietly.
We were out of work for two days because of our laundry and slept without pillows. I just kept thinking...this could be worse. I could have three babies with lice and carpet to clean. This mission is like mommy prep.
The next day, I picked nits out for 4 hours with my Revlon tweezers and Sister Roncal thanked me and cried. I shared the story about you and Pop, and she told me a similar story about her parents. It’s weird. There are people on the other side of the world experiencing the same things in a different culture and different language. Her dad is also 73 and her mom around 60. I think the lice thing was a way for us to grow a little closer together.
I had my first encounter with a sixth sense this week. Sister Roncal and I were teaching Brother Nelson in preparation for his baptism. We usually teach him at a members house, but the member was in the hospital having her baby, so we taught him at his antique home—which he is always saying that he doesn’t want to do. When we first entered, there were people gambling in the front, and the feeling was heavy. We taught him in the back room of the house—just us three—and in the middle of our lesson, I heard something like a screen squeaking on the outside of the back door. Like there was wind outside, but that night was perfectly calm. Nelson said, “Go away, we don’t want any visitors.” And I was kind of like….Huh? (confused face) and we kept teaching. The sound got louder and louder, and we ended with a prayer. Right when the prayer ended, the lights were turned off in the room, but in all of the other parts of the house the lights stayed on. As we left, Brother Nelson told us about a lot of his experiences in the home and said there was a bad spirit there. I got spooked on the way home and grabbed onto Sister Roncal, when a frog jumped out into the street in front of my stride.
Elder Miller went to Cauayan this past week. I told him there may be a package waiting for me and he said he’d bring it back to Solano. He texted me while they were there and said how HUGE the package was and “did he have to?” I thought maybe he was exaggerating and said that I’ve been waiting for this package my whole life and if he would bring it, I would have dinner ready for them all when they came back into town. He agreed.
Well, he wasn’t exaggerating. Hahah. It was HUGE. I felt really bad that I made him take it on the bus--which he said broke down and they had to all get off and wait for another bus. But I made them sopas and they were happy.
The package was from Michelle. THANK YOU SO MUCH MICHEELLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I LOVE YOU!!!! I am going to write her a letter this week. I love everything.
Nelsons baptism was this past Saturday. There was a huge storm during the whole thing and right after his actual baptism, there was a brown out. I was conducting the intermediate hymns and right when the lights went out, the singing stopped also. We all just sat in the dark, waiting for the lights to come back on. It must’ve been a challenge for the baptized to re-dress.
Sunday we woke up at 530am to stop by some of our investigators homes to remind them to come to church. Of the four people we went to, none came to church. Sitting in Sunday school, I thought to myself...0 at church, again. Then the door opened and in came Perla Cadaboda. She lives the absolute farthest of all of our investigators--even members. She has a son who joined the church while away at school and is now serving a mission. We thought for sure she wouldn't come to church this week, but she showed up and attended all four meetings. In sacrament, she leaned to me and whispered, "my son is going to be so proud of me that I am going to church." :)
President emailed us this week about a storm coming to our mission. He sent us a lot of emergency preparedness things that we need to do and I am not worried one bit. I know the lord watches over his mssionaries. Just pray.
I love you so much and I hope you are all well. Happy birthday to my beautiful Sister and handsome Brothers. I love them all. Thank you again Michelle, Gordon, and Alainna for all the wonderful things I really needed them, THANK YOU!!!!!
I love you GRANDMA! I LOVE you ALL!!
Your nit picker,
Sis Fort
P.S. CONGRATULATIONS to Ivor and Natalie. They are getting married this 27th. Ivor wrote me such a beautifully written letter that made me cry. Please tell Sister Morgan that she is a beautiful force of a woman and has changed more lives than she probably believes. I love her.
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