Fall Back

email 3/9/09
So it seems the spring forward got the best of you all. Well here the fall back got us too. I don’t know how missionaries are supposed to know about that kind of stuff. Nobody told me or any of my companions. I always thought daylight savings was always on General Conference which isn’t for a whole month. My companion and I went to church yesterday an hour early to find a locked door and nobody there. We weren’t sure if maybe we had missed the memo on a Stake Conference or something. But finally a member in of the bishopric of another ward showed up and opened the building up.

We had a baptism this last weekend. It was a really nice program and it rained. We sang "I love to see the rainbow" which I thought to be very fitting for the day. Walkiria, the oldest daughter in the family we are teaching, was baptized first. Her mother Lorena still smokes and will be baptized in the weeks to come, but they didn’t want Walkiria to have to wait. Her little brothers as well will be baptized in the following weeks. I am glad that we had a baptism for my companion during his first transfer. I really wanted him to start his mission with a baptism.

I have an assignment for you all. There is a popular Coldplay song which to this day I have memorized. I want an analysis. At one part Chris Martin sings, "Your skin, yeah your skin and bones, turn into something beautiful. You know I love you so, you know I love you so." and later "Your skin, yeah your skin and bones, turn into something beautiful. For you I bleed myself dry, for you I bleed myself dry." Is he not talking about Christ? My question: What does "Yellow" mean? The other lyrics are potentially profound as well: "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. I drew a line, I drew a line for you." and "I wrote a song, I wrote a song for you. I swam across, I jumped across for you." But after all of those lines he says "And it was all yellow too". What is Yellow?

So my companion has this terrible habit of saying the F word in Spanish. In Mexico and Spain there is a word for to get, to grab, to catch that is completely acceptable up there. But down here in South America it is the worst word you can say. The Andy Challenge for the week: Count how many times you say the word "get" and imagine how bad it would be to replace that with the F word and you will understand what my companion is going through. In his mind it is okay, but it has got to stop. It is a bad habit and he is working on it. The problem is that his mom is from Spain and he has said that word his whole life.

Anyway, I am just peachy keen and enjoying life. Next week are transfers so don’t look for me on Monday. I will be writing on Tuesday. I hope that everybody is well and healthy. It made me super trunky to hear that the Moab half marathon is coming up. Oh how I wish I could run!! Take care and control your language!! I love yall!

Andy