Ups and Downs

The wedding was pretty awesome. Parties here don't start til 10-11pm and don't end til 5am. It's crazy! They even had a one course meal and everything. We had met the bride a few days prior and she and her mom insisted we went to the party. This is a photo of our table:

We ate and danced a ton, then we went home at 1am, though everyone else stayed til 5am....I can't imagine staying up so late, I'm getting OLD.

Well that was Friday, onto Saturday! We went to a place called Las Cuevas, which is about 3+ hours from the city. It was really fun riding in a "micro" with 30 other single adults.

Las Cuevas was GREEN beyond reason. I really felt like I was in the jungle. Sadly, we saw no monkeys, but I'm determined to see them at some point.There were some really cool waterfalls and lots of mosquitoes too. I got bit in one of my eyelids. No, I won't up pictures of it, that's just gross. But I got bit on my legs pretty nicely . I had really good time appreciating the wonders of Mother Nature. The bus ride was long too going back, but it was worth it. 

And then came Sunday. We were supposed to go to Warnes (a province outside the city) to go to the ward of one of our workshop participants. We were also to give a talk during the Sacrament and inform people of the TAE workshops we taught. We were up and running by 7am, despite not having slept too long. BUT, Reynaldo never came to pick us up!! So........we didn't go to church. hahah not because we were slackers, but because we didn't know where our own ward met, since we had just moved into the apartment earlier that week. We cleaned out the FRIDGE and then some. The apartment is starting to look more homey. And we watched Pride and Prejudice, the LONG version. I'd never seen it, but I like it better than the newer version. 

So Monday, we went to the Center to film Ashley's Interview so she could send it to the Grad Program she's applying to. That's how we spent the entire morning, but THEN we went to go eat Mexican Food!! It's called El Chile and the burritos we good, although they weren't authentic, but still. At a reasonable price too. I think I paid $5 for the entire meal. I felt more at home for sure. Well we came home because there was a guy who was supposed to come fix the dryer, but it turns out he couldn't so he's sending us someone else sometime this week or next week. Everything moves quite slow here, definitely not used to it yet. And last but not least, we went to a store called called Hypermaxi and bought a bunch of stuff for the apartment. AKA more WATER. 

Ah well this is what's happened until now. It hasn't been easy adjusting to a new country and a new culture. I can safely say I HATE CHANGE. But, I know the Lord has a reason for everything and there's a reason I'm here. I'm teaching workshops that can and will change people's lives. And I need to stop worrying so much about myself and start focusing on others. I feel like I've been way too selfish. Yesterday, Ashley and I read a chapter in the Book of Mormon for "Family Home Evening" and it was the story of Ammon and his cutting of the arms. Haha it's a great story, but I kind of feel like we are a bit like the sons of Mosiah. We each went our separate ways to teach the "workshops" to the "Latin Americans" and were told that we should be patient towards them and have faith that God is with us always. Times are hard, especially when you're far away from your family and close friends. But it's the Footprints in the Sand poem, there's another set of footprints right beside ours.

-Cristina