Oye! (That's Spanish for...well, for a lot of things, but in this context it means "I'm tired physically, mentally, and emotionally" ;)
That's great, Mom, that all is going a lot better. I think studies show that if you keep up a different schedule for like 2-3 weeks straight, your body will adapt and it will become the norm for you. Not sure, but I'm glad all is working out. And attitude really does make all the difference. Haha! Yeah, Hispanics eat a lot of potatoes (especially in French Fry form). Another popular snack food, you could say, that all Hispanics eat is called Salchipapas. I can assure you Dad knows what they are. Basically it's just fried french fries and hot dog bits thrown together and it's SUPER popular in Spanish countries. The other day, we were eating with a Peruvian member (the one who introduced me to Lomos Saltados), and she made us Salchipapas with...get this...FRY SAUCE!! She had this pink sauce drizzled on top of it all and I asked her (in Spanish) "What is this sauce??" and she said (in French ;) "It's basically ketchup, mayonaisse, some pepper and other things." So I told her (in Elvish) "This sauce is SUPER famous in Utah, we basically invented it." It was very funny. So yes, I am a pro at making french fries now.
This week...went. If I remembered what happened I'd tell you. Kidding, I'll pull out my planner to see what we did. :)
Ahhh yes. Last Monday was a very fun P-Day. A few weeks ago, we found a random teddy bear in Walmart that had a tag on it that said "Take me to the Photo Place (I forgot the name) and you can get a free photo shoot." So we did, and last Monday us three and two other missionaries dressed up in bowler hats, top hats, cowboy hats, and fake mustaches and wait and had a free photo shoot. It was SWEET!!! I basically looked exactly like Charlie Chaplin except for with brown hair and missionary clothes. The pictures were great but we learned we only get one for free and if we want all of them (like 30) even digitally, we have to pay a hundred bucks. So forget that idea!! The experience was great and we'll get a big black-and-white group picture pretty soon here (I'll send the picture). Later that day we went to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) and we were lucky to have a member that could get us in for free. We went because there were two exibits going on there (a tattoo exhibit and a glass nature exhibit called Chihuly) going on at the same time and the tattoo one ended yesterday. Chihuly for some dumb reason was temporarily closed when we were there, bummer. But we went to the tattoo exhibit, which was pretty good. A lot of mens' butts covered in tattoos which didn't really tickle my fancy. There was a lot of really cool tattoo art, but I couldn't help but think Why?? Art is incredible and wonderful and I love and respect it with all my heart, but on your body, your temple from God. Not really my cup of tea. We went to other parts of the museum which was a ton of fun.
Other than that, this week was kind of a slump. We've been trying hard to work with the members to find more investigators to teach, and we've seen a lot of miracles and gotten lots of members willing to invite their friends. They just need to start inviting their friends. :)
Yesterday (Happy Belated Labor Day by-the-by, yes we do celebrate it here in Canada) I was able to see a principle put into action at the outcomes of it. I've been trying a lot harder lately to be more bold and not sugar-coat everything to try and make the Gospel seem to adaptable to people. I've fallen guilty of that many times when people state their beliefs, and when they aren't exactly the same as ours, me trying to re-word and contort our beliefs to make them more accepting of it. And that's not good. The Gospel is truth and if people aren't willing to accept it, stinks to be them. But we, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, need not fear what others have to say about the Gospel. And we must not fear speaking the truth in all times and in all things and in all places. We shouldn't be ashamed of what we believe. Yesterday, we were in a area with a lot of crackheads, crazies, and homeless people, and a man confronted me and asked me my opinion on some questions. I decided to be very blunt with him and tell him what I thought. And for the most part, he agreed with me (except that beer makes you live longer :). He later when on to say that he used to come to our church in Calgary and we were able to invite him to church here and gave him our contact information. It was a great experience. On the other hand, my companion, Elder Staheli, was talking to three Lesbians on a bus and they asked him what our churches belief on homosexuality was. He told them that we believe in marriage between a man and a woman. They weren't too happy. Luckily we were leaving the bus at that time, but they got some choice words in their before we left. Nevertheless, in both of those situations we did not fear man, but God, and we were not afraid to speak the truth and stand up for our church, no matter the cost. The Gospel is a wonderful thing and it is so true. I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week!!