other than my pains in my stomacho this week, things have been good. we had a double baptism Saturday for two people. that was cool, I did one and my comp did the other and thankfully they came to church Sunday to be confirmed. a lot of times people done come the Sunday after so they don’t get confirmed.
two weeks ago was independence day here and that was cool. there was huge parade with bands and all that cool stuff. I have a video but can’t send it through this I don’t think.
we had a really cool experience the other day. we are in the most dangerous part of el Salvador so we have to be really careful where we go and when. we have one investigator who lives like 10 feet from the railroad tracks and were not supposed to go there at night if it’s not lighted. we were on his way to his house during a really bad storm for a lesson and I got a really bad feeling that we should go there so I told my comp and he said the same thing but he had the feeling he needed to use the bathroom. so we turned around and he said he didn’t need to go anymore so we decided to visit one of our other investigators and her grandson.. so we got to her house and she was balling because she is really sick and she had just found out that her nephew was just told that he was going to be killed by one of the mafia members. the mafia is huge here so if they say they will kill you, they will. we gave her a blessing and she did feel better after. its amazing the feelings or the promptings of the spirit that we get when we need to be somewhere else. it’s also amazing how real it is that her nephew will die. I can’t even comprehend that, that is one of those things you see in movies..not in real life.
things are so different here. the other day we walked by a place where a bunch of prostitutes were and they were in their houses looking out at people to see if they wanted to ¨join them¨ and I saw the look on one of the girls faces and it hasn’t left my mind. she looked so sad, like she felt like she was dirt. I really wish I could do something to help her but I’m not sure there is. I never really realized how bad this world is outside the US. things are 100 times worse here and its depressing.
I’m sorry to hear about brother Lewis. but it’s also nice to know that we have to opportunity to be with our family forever and ever. it sounds like the ward is doing well and I’m grateful for the callings that I had to prepare me for my work here. I learned a lot of leadership at home and it is helping me here. a lot of people you have to be really up front with and I’m sure doing that here.
it’s exciting to hear about moms job, I bet she loves it huh haha and are you enjoying work dad? we get a lot of rain here too, the storms are worse than thunderstorms in Texas, they are bad.
ok imp pretty much out of time so ill attach some pictures and write next week. I love you all and am thankful for your prayers and support.
love, elder herman
much love from a brother to another
I don’t have any good pics of my apt so I will next week.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Well hello to all! Boy this sure has been a crazy week for me. This is my first email from El Salvador and the keyboards are a little different so if you see something odd then we will blame it on that! So much has happened this last week I don’t even know where to start!
First I’ll start with the plane ride here! It was a long flight, we left Monday and got here Tuesday about mid day. On the flights I met Amarie Stoudamire and Justin Derulo, if you don’t know them, look them up they are very popular people ha also on the plane rides I took part in giving away two Books of Mormon and that was my first real missionary experience on my mission!
The first day here was just getting to know the area a little bit, knowing the rules, and meeting members. One cool thing we have is a cocinera which is someone who cooks for us! We eat there twice a day and the members feed us the third meal in that day. It’s awesome, I don’t have to cook haha. We also have someone that washes our laundry and irons for us. We have money in our monthly budget for them to do this so we pay them. My favorite foods are papoosas, rice and beans. People eat papoosas here like it’s their job. Our cocinera owns a papoosaria and makes them for breakfast for us every morning.
One really cool thing I am blessed with is knowing English. I learned that in companionship study (which is an hour) I teach my comp English and he teaches me Spanish. My comp is from Costa Rica and totally looks like he is American but I’ll get to that later. Well anyways, most people, if they are lucky will make $100 a week. That’s hard especially if you have a big family so not many people get by. The reason we teach them Spanish is so when they go home they can work at a call center and make a minimum of $700 a month which is a huge improvement. I feel so blessed with the education that I have. I really want to baptize on my mission, but another goal is to do a good job teaching my comps English. That in and of itself is worth two years for me.
There are so many things I am not allowed to eat! I can’t have water from the tap, at all! I can only have bottled or bagged water. I had never heard of bagged water until I got here, ya its odd. I can’t have any fish, anything from a pig (no bacon...it stinks...get ready dad for me to have a lot of bacon when I get home) I can’t have cabbage, Darn it, I love cabbage so much. I can’t have any vegetables unless they are cooked in bleach, same with fruits. I think there’s more but I can’t remember all of them. The chance is that I’ll get a worm, all Americans here do so ill be sick here in the future haha. All these food rules make Americans sound like wimps!
The other day I gave my first baptism invitation to a girl that is 14 and her family is already members. The cool thing is that she accepted! So we have a baptismal date for her is the 17 of this month. I’m not sure who she wants to do it but I hope it’s me! The people here are humble, very humble. They all pretty much have nothing. The houses are so small, old and gross. It really makes me so very thankful to my father in heaven and as well as my father on the earth that has worked so hard to provide for my family We have never had to do without things that we need and I thank God every day for what I have. There are so many people here it’s crazy! Mom you prolly wont like this but the drivers are crazy here. I almost get hit by busses everyday...:) The only place to walk is the side of the road, there is nowhere else to walk so cars are going 60 plus right by you and we just do our best to not get hit. While we’re paying attention to the cars going by, we were not paying attention to where we’re walking and about every step there is two piles of dog poop. There are so many stray dogs here it amazes me still. Some of them are so cute but I don’t dare touch them haha and some others would look like the dogs that, well I won’t mention his name, iI’l just say he was into dog fights and is in the NFL...The dogs look like they were in dog fights. If you can get past all the trash and gross things around here it really is a beautiful country. It’s so green here and I love it and the people already.
My bishop is a gangster. He is 27 and is amazing. He is such a great guy and he speaks clearly enough that I can understand every word he says. Some people that speak to me I can understand every word but the others I don’t understand a word because they speak sooooooooooooo fast and mumble, way worse than Brent did! But I am used to the Spanish now, now I’m just learning to understand it. I have to pick out key words and try to piece them together, it’s so hard. But I like to say un poco mas cada dia or I understand a little more every day, which is true. I know I have someone’s help with Spanish, there is no way I could do this by my myself!
I have had different foods every meal pretty much besides beans, papoosas and rice. It’s difficult for me to say what it was because to be honest half the time I have never seen it before. For instance the people here really like this drink that is made out of corn, it’s interesting. It’s a thick white drink and it’s decent and I’m used to it now but it was different at first. This might surprise my family a little bit, they all ´think´ that I’m a picky eater but I’m really not. Everything that has been put in front of me I've eaten and I’ve actually liked. I haven’t had one thing to eat that I haven’t liked.
My comp is amazing and I was really blessed with him. he is a good teacher, he knows some English which is helpful and he is very patient with me. Usually presidents of the mission put the best missionaries as zone leaders but not ours. he puts the best as trainers. right before I got here my comp was a ZL and president took him out of that to be a trainer, our president doesn’t mess around. My comp is amazing and couldn’t have asked for better.
It amazes me how Americanized El Salvador is. There are so many American stores here and restaurants. The food there is all imported so it’s safe to eat. Oh ya we’re not supposed to eat at restaurants other than American ones, or drink soda because they make it from the water here. We went to Walmart today and it made me feel like I was home and it made me miss it a little bit but I know I have work to do here.
There are a lot of drunks here and I mean a lot. Every time we see one they all look at me and say the same sentence...I don’t speak English...ya right. We’re not allowed to have our cameras with us because people get jumped all the time so I don’t want my camera stolen so I keep it in our apartment. that’s why the pictures aren’t that great, they are just around our complex. the other day one of the guys in our ward that speaks a little English asked me the difference between naked and nude..I get a lot of odd questions like that all the time haha
Oh, the people here don’t have the same standards as us. When a woman is breastfeeding, they don’t cover themselves at all. In church people will just take it out and start doing it and they will come and greet you while they are breastfeeding. This is when you really have to stare at their faces and not wander haha good times
I can’t think of anything else right now but this last week was a good one. I really like being here and can’t wait to have more baptismal dates. The work is good and almost everyone is willing to listen. I miss you all lots and am thankful for your support. I look forward to next Monday, my P-day so I can write again. I love you all! Elder Herman.
First I’ll start with the plane ride here! It was a long flight, we left Monday and got here Tuesday about mid day. On the flights I met Amarie Stoudamire and Justin Derulo, if you don’t know them, look them up they are very popular people ha also on the plane rides I took part in giving away two Books of Mormon and that was my first real missionary experience on my mission!
The first day here was just getting to know the area a little bit, knowing the rules, and meeting members. One cool thing we have is a cocinera which is someone who cooks for us! We eat there twice a day and the members feed us the third meal in that day. It’s awesome, I don’t have to cook haha. We also have someone that washes our laundry and irons for us. We have money in our monthly budget for them to do this so we pay them. My favorite foods are papoosas, rice and beans. People eat papoosas here like it’s their job. Our cocinera owns a papoosaria and makes them for breakfast for us every morning.
One really cool thing I am blessed with is knowing English. I learned that in companionship study (which is an hour) I teach my comp English and he teaches me Spanish. My comp is from Costa Rica and totally looks like he is American but I’ll get to that later. Well anyways, most people, if they are lucky will make $100 a week. That’s hard especially if you have a big family so not many people get by. The reason we teach them Spanish is so when they go home they can work at a call center and make a minimum of $700 a month which is a huge improvement. I feel so blessed with the education that I have. I really want to baptize on my mission, but another goal is to do a good job teaching my comps English. That in and of itself is worth two years for me.
There are so many things I am not allowed to eat! I can’t have water from the tap, at all! I can only have bottled or bagged water. I had never heard of bagged water until I got here, ya its odd. I can’t have any fish, anything from a pig (no bacon...it stinks...get ready dad for me to have a lot of bacon when I get home) I can’t have cabbage, Darn it, I love cabbage so much. I can’t have any vegetables unless they are cooked in bleach, same with fruits. I think there’s more but I can’t remember all of them. The chance is that I’ll get a worm, all Americans here do so ill be sick here in the future haha. All these food rules make Americans sound like wimps!
The other day I gave my first baptism invitation to a girl that is 14 and her family is already members. The cool thing is that she accepted! So we have a baptismal date for her is the 17 of this month. I’m not sure who she wants to do it but I hope it’s me! The people here are humble, very humble. They all pretty much have nothing. The houses are so small, old and gross. It really makes me so very thankful to my father in heaven and as well as my father on the earth that has worked so hard to provide for my family We have never had to do without things that we need and I thank God every day for what I have. There are so many people here it’s crazy! Mom you prolly wont like this but the drivers are crazy here. I almost get hit by busses everyday...:) The only place to walk is the side of the road, there is nowhere else to walk so cars are going 60 plus right by you and we just do our best to not get hit. While we’re paying attention to the cars going by, we were not paying attention to where we’re walking and about every step there is two piles of dog poop. There are so many stray dogs here it amazes me still. Some of them are so cute but I don’t dare touch them haha and some others would look like the dogs that, well I won’t mention his name, iI’l just say he was into dog fights and is in the NFL...The dogs look like they were in dog fights. If you can get past all the trash and gross things around here it really is a beautiful country. It’s so green here and I love it and the people already.
My bishop is a gangster. He is 27 and is amazing. He is such a great guy and he speaks clearly enough that I can understand every word he says. Some people that speak to me I can understand every word but the others I don’t understand a word because they speak sooooooooooooo fast and mumble, way worse than Brent did! But I am used to the Spanish now, now I’m just learning to understand it. I have to pick out key words and try to piece them together, it’s so hard. But I like to say un poco mas cada dia or I understand a little more every day, which is true. I know I have someone’s help with Spanish, there is no way I could do this by my myself!
I have had different foods every meal pretty much besides beans, papoosas and rice. It’s difficult for me to say what it was because to be honest half the time I have never seen it before. For instance the people here really like this drink that is made out of corn, it’s interesting. It’s a thick white drink and it’s decent and I’m used to it now but it was different at first. This might surprise my family a little bit, they all ´think´ that I’m a picky eater but I’m really not. Everything that has been put in front of me I've eaten and I’ve actually liked. I haven’t had one thing to eat that I haven’t liked.
My comp is amazing and I was really blessed with him. he is a good teacher, he knows some English which is helpful and he is very patient with me. Usually presidents of the mission put the best missionaries as zone leaders but not ours. he puts the best as trainers. right before I got here my comp was a ZL and president took him out of that to be a trainer, our president doesn’t mess around. My comp is amazing and couldn’t have asked for better.
It amazes me how Americanized El Salvador is. There are so many American stores here and restaurants. The food there is all imported so it’s safe to eat. Oh ya we’re not supposed to eat at restaurants other than American ones, or drink soda because they make it from the water here. We went to Walmart today and it made me feel like I was home and it made me miss it a little bit but I know I have work to do here.
There are a lot of drunks here and I mean a lot. Every time we see one they all look at me and say the same sentence...I don’t speak English...ya right. We’re not allowed to have our cameras with us because people get jumped all the time so I don’t want my camera stolen so I keep it in our apartment. that’s why the pictures aren’t that great, they are just around our complex. the other day one of the guys in our ward that speaks a little English asked me the difference between naked and nude..I get a lot of odd questions like that all the time haha
Oh, the people here don’t have the same standards as us. When a woman is breastfeeding, they don’t cover themselves at all. In church people will just take it out and start doing it and they will come and greet you while they are breastfeeding. This is when you really have to stare at their faces and not wander haha good times
I can’t think of anything else right now but this last week was a good one. I really like being here and can’t wait to have more baptismal dates. The work is good and almost everyone is willing to listen. I miss you all lots and am thankful for your support. I look forward to next Monday, my P-day so I can write again. I love you all! Elder Herman.
You can still write Elder Herman a letter on this website, or email him at cole.herman@myldsmail.com.
If you use the website(his mission is free of charge), be sure you select the Provo MTC until he's shipped out. It's a super convenient and easy way to write to him without having to lick the envelope or pay for a stamp!
If you use the website(his mission is free of charge), be sure you select the Provo MTC until he's shipped out. It's a super convenient and easy way to write to him without having to lick the envelope or pay for a stamp!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Hello to all! How are you all doing? I have had a very rough but good week! First off I want to say go Horns and hahahaha BYU, I always knew that Texas was way better and always will be, once a Horn always a Horn! I'm sorry to hear about Sister Burnett, but they fact that we have the plan of salvation in our lives is amazing. I love teaching about that in lessons because we always have the spirit with us when we teach that. It’s amazing to know that n we can be with family forever, we have all the tools and knowledge that we need to for this and if anyone doesn’t know about this or would like to hear from the missionaries talk to bishop Joseph N. Herman of the Hiram ward or go to www.mormon.org :) wow I am such a missionary. I’m in an area in San Salvador in Soyapongo and my area is called Paleca. There are quite a few other missionaries here! The boundaries for my mission are huge! Some of my friends are 4 hours away.
So ill start off with the good because it seems there is a lot of bad. So we have one baptism for this week and her name is Keiry Marthinez and her first name sounds like Katie...ha I thought that was interesting. But she wants me to do it! I am so excited for my first baptism but not for the fact that I have to memorize the prayer in Spanish and her name. Spanish people have a thing for long names so she has like 5 or 6 names that I’ll have to memorize. Another good thing is another Hermana we taught came to church on Sunday with her grandson and he loved it!
Well here’s the bad. I have had diarrhea for the past week and have been very sick! I have been having the worst stomach pains I have ever had, I thought it was food poisoning but it wasn’t it is way worse than that. I don’t have a worm but I have a parasite. So I am taking pills and have been very uncomfortable for the past week relying on those to help. The other bad thing is that I got bit pretty badly by a dog here. it didn’t do too much but were watching it because the dogs here are nasty and well think about a third world country with thousands of dogs running around that eat out of the sewers and no one takes care of them.
Some interesting things I have seen here...well there are a lot. Not many people have cars here so they take the bus. The people here try to pimp their buses out and they don’t do a very good job but they do have some subs in them and it’s really funny to be walking on the road and hear this huge bus bumpin! It’s really funny for me to hear that because I like subs also. Another is that the women here hawk some of the biggest loogies I have ever seen. We will be teaching a lesson and they will just spit it out on their floor. Oh how America is so different haha I also have see cockroaches the size my palm. There are a lot of churches here and we I saw a church called nuestra iglesia es verdadero which means our church is true.
I would agree with you and say we are spoiled with a cook and someone to do our laundry but the main reason we do that is for them. They make money off of it and they sure do need that here. A couple extra bucks a month goes a long ways here, things are really cheap here. So this is more for them than us.
I'm glad we got my shoes and socks at missionary mall. I feel I’ll wear through them pretty fast and need to get them replaced, good thing they have a two year warranty. The terrain here is pretty rough. The roads aren’t very good and if you’re not on a road you’re in rocks or poop from dogs!
Also will you tell people I can receive dear elders here so if they want to write me through there they can also! I haven’t gotten any letters from anyone yet but I’m hoping to get them tomorrow or Thursday.
I don’t feel that effective always here. This is my first area and imp not sure what to be doing but I know I could be working harder. My comp isn’t as great as I thought he would be. I'm having a tough time with this because I know I could be doing a lot more in a day but he isn’t as affective as he could be. I need to say something but don’t want to because I have to be with him for 10 more weeks but I’m on the Lord’s time not his or mine so I need to! Wish me luck. Not much else has gone on here, like I said it’s pretty slow here. Oh as of today I got my Visa and am no longer illegal..Yay for being legal ha Thanks for all of your support. I love and miss you all!!
Love,
Elder Herman
So ill start off with the good because it seems there is a lot of bad. So we have one baptism for this week and her name is Keiry Marthinez and her first name sounds like Katie...ha I thought that was interesting. But she wants me to do it! I am so excited for my first baptism but not for the fact that I have to memorize the prayer in Spanish and her name. Spanish people have a thing for long names so she has like 5 or 6 names that I’ll have to memorize. Another good thing is another Hermana we taught came to church on Sunday with her grandson and he loved it!
Well here’s the bad. I have had diarrhea for the past week and have been very sick! I have been having the worst stomach pains I have ever had, I thought it was food poisoning but it wasn’t it is way worse than that. I don’t have a worm but I have a parasite. So I am taking pills and have been very uncomfortable for the past week relying on those to help. The other bad thing is that I got bit pretty badly by a dog here. it didn’t do too much but were watching it because the dogs here are nasty and well think about a third world country with thousands of dogs running around that eat out of the sewers and no one takes care of them.
Some interesting things I have seen here...well there are a lot. Not many people have cars here so they take the bus. The people here try to pimp their buses out and they don’t do a very good job but they do have some subs in them and it’s really funny to be walking on the road and hear this huge bus bumpin! It’s really funny for me to hear that because I like subs also. Another is that the women here hawk some of the biggest loogies I have ever seen. We will be teaching a lesson and they will just spit it out on their floor. Oh how America is so different haha I also have see cockroaches the size my palm. There are a lot of churches here and we I saw a church called nuestra iglesia es verdadero which means our church is true.
I would agree with you and say we are spoiled with a cook and someone to do our laundry but the main reason we do that is for them. They make money off of it and they sure do need that here. A couple extra bucks a month goes a long ways here, things are really cheap here. So this is more for them than us.
I'm glad we got my shoes and socks at missionary mall. I feel I’ll wear through them pretty fast and need to get them replaced, good thing they have a two year warranty. The terrain here is pretty rough. The roads aren’t very good and if you’re not on a road you’re in rocks or poop from dogs!
Also will you tell people I can receive dear elders here so if they want to write me through there they can also! I haven’t gotten any letters from anyone yet but I’m hoping to get them tomorrow or Thursday.
I don’t feel that effective always here. This is my first area and imp not sure what to be doing but I know I could be working harder. My comp isn’t as great as I thought he would be. I'm having a tough time with this because I know I could be doing a lot more in a day but he isn’t as affective as he could be. I need to say something but don’t want to because I have to be with him for 10 more weeks but I’m on the Lord’s time not his or mine so I need to! Wish me luck. Not much else has gone on here, like I said it’s pretty slow here. Oh as of today I got my Visa and am no longer illegal..Yay for being legal ha Thanks for all of your support. I love and miss you all!!
Love,
Elder Herman
Monday, September 5, 2011
Well hello to all! Boy this sure has been a crazy week for me. This is my first email from El Salvador and the keyboards are a little different so if you see something odd then we will blame it on that! So much has happened this last week I don’t even know where to start!
First I’ll start with the plane ride here! It was a long flight, we left Monday and got here Tuesday about mid day. On the flights I met Amarie Stoudamire and Justin Derulo, if you don’t know them, look them up they are very popular people ha also on the plane rides I took part in giving away two Books of Mormon and that was my first real missionary experience on my mission!
The first day here was just getting to know the area a little bit, knowing the rules, and meeting members. One cool thing we have is a cocinera which is someone who cooks for us! We eat there twice a day and the members feed us the third meal in that day. It’s awesome, I don’t have to cook haha. We also have someone that washes our laundry and irons for us. We have money in our monthly budget for them to do this so we pay them. My favorite foods are papoosas, rice and beans. People eat papoosas here like it’s their job. Our cocinera owns a papoosaria and makes them for breakfast for us every morning.
One really cool thing I am blessed with is knowing English. I learned that in companionship study (which is an hour) I teach my comp English and he teaches me Spanish. My comp is from Costa Rica and totally looks like he is American but I’ll get to that later. Well anyways, most people, if they are lucky will make $100 a week. That’s hard especially if you have a big family so not many people get by. The reason we teach them Spanish is so when they go home they can work at a call center and make a minimum of $700 a month which is a huge improvement. I feel so blessed with the education that I have. I really want to baptize on my mission, but another goal is to do a good job teaching my comps English. That in and of itself is worth two years for me.
There are so many things I am not allowed to eat! I can’t have water from the tap, at all! I can only have bottled or bagged water. I had never heard of bagged water until I got here, ya its odd. I can’t have any fish, anything from a pig (no bacon...it stinks...get ready dad for me to have a lot of bacon when I get home) I can’t have cabbage, Darn it, I love cabbage so much. I can’t have any vegetables unless they are cooked in bleach, same with fruits. I think there’s more but I can’t remember all of them. The chance is that I’ll get a worm, all Americans here do so ill be sick here in the future haha. All these food rules make Americans sound like wimps!
The other day I gave my first baptism invitation to a girl that is 14 and her family is already members. The cool thing is that she accepted! So we have a baptismal date for her is the 17 of this month. I’m not sure who she wants to do it but I hope it’s me! The people here are humble, very humble. They all pretty much have nothing. The houses are so small, old and gross. It really makes me so very thankful to my father in heaven and as well as my father on the earth that has worked so hard to provide for my family We have never had to do without things that we need and I thank God every day for what I have. There are so many people here it’s crazy! Mom you prolly wont like this but the drivers are crazy here. I almost get hit by busses everyday...:) The only place to walk is the side of the road, there is nowhere else to walk so cars are going 60 plus right by you and we just do our best to not get hit. While we’re paying attention to the cars going by, we were not paying attention to where we’re walking and about every step there is two piles of dog poop. There are so many stray dogs here it amazes me still. Some of them are so cute but I don’t dare touch them haha and some others would look like the dogs that, well I won’t mention his name, iI’l just say he was into dog fights and is in the NFL...The dogs look like they were in dog fights. If you can get past all the trash and gross things around here it really is a beautiful country. It’s so green here and I love it and the people already.
My bishop is a gangster. He is 27 and is amazing. He is such a great guy and he speaks clearly enough that I can understand every word he says. Some people that speak to me I can understand every word but the others I don’t understand a word because they speak sooooooooooooo fast and mumble, way worse than Brent did! But I am used to the Spanish now, now I’m just learning to understand it. I have to pick out key words and try to piece them together, it’s so hard. But I like to say un poco mas cada dia or I understand a little more every day, which is true. I know I have someone’s help with Spanish, there is no way I could do this by my myself!
I have had different foods every meal pretty much besides beans, papoosas and rice. It’s difficult for me to say what it was because to be honest half the time I have never seen it before. For instance the people here really like this drink that is made out of corn, it’s interesting. It’s a thick white drink and it’s decent and I’m used to it now but it was different at first. This might surprise my family a little bit, they all ´think´ that I’m a picky eater but I’m really not. Everything that has been put in front of me I've eaten and I’ve actually liked. I haven’t had one thing to eat that I haven’t liked.
My comp is amazing and I was really blessed with him. he is a good teacher, he knows some English which is helpful and he is very patient with me. Usually presidents of the mission put the best missionaries as zone leaders but not ours. he puts the best as trainers. right before I got here my comp was a ZL and president took him out of that to be a trainer, our president doesn’t mess around. My comp is amazing and couldn’t have asked for better.
It amazes me how Americanized El Salvador is. There are so many American stores here and restaurants. The food there is all imported so it’s safe to eat. Oh ya we’re not supposed to eat at restaurants other than American ones, or drink soda because they make it from the water here. We went to Walmart today and it made me feel like I was home and it made me miss it a little bit but I know I have work to do here.
There are a lot of drunks here and I mean a lot. Every time we see one they all look at me and say the same sentence...I don’t speak English...ya right. We’re not allowed to have our cameras with us because people get jumped all the time so I don’t want my camera stolen so I keep it in our apartment. that’s why the pictures aren’t that great, they are just around our complex. the other day one of the guys in our ward that speaks a little English asked me the difference between naked and nude..I get a lot of odd questions like that all the time haha
Oh, the people here don’t have the same standards as us. When a woman is breastfeeding, they don’t cover themselves at all. In church people will just take it out and start doing it and they will come and greet you while they are breastfeeding. This is when you really have to stare at their faces and not wander haha good times
I can’t think of anything else right now but this last week was a good one. I really like being here and can’t wait to have more baptismal dates. The work is good and almost everyone is willing to listen. I miss you all lots and am thankful for your support. I look forward to next Monday, my P-day so I can write again. I love you all! Elder Herman.
El Salvadorian AC
Elder Herman and his companion
View from the apartment
Apartment sink before Elder Herman got to it
Apartment sink AFTER!
First I’ll start with the plane ride here! It was a long flight, we left Monday and got here Tuesday about mid day. On the flights I met Amarie Stoudamire and Justin Derulo, if you don’t know them, look them up they are very popular people ha also on the plane rides I took part in giving away two Books of Mormon and that was my first real missionary experience on my mission!
The first day here was just getting to know the area a little bit, knowing the rules, and meeting members. One cool thing we have is a cocinera which is someone who cooks for us! We eat there twice a day and the members feed us the third meal in that day. It’s awesome, I don’t have to cook haha. We also have someone that washes our laundry and irons for us. We have money in our monthly budget for them to do this so we pay them. My favorite foods are papoosas, rice and beans. People eat papoosas here like it’s their job. Our cocinera owns a papoosaria and makes them for breakfast for us every morning.
One really cool thing I am blessed with is knowing English. I learned that in companionship study (which is an hour) I teach my comp English and he teaches me Spanish. My comp is from Costa Rica and totally looks like he is American but I’ll get to that later. Well anyways, most people, if they are lucky will make $100 a week. That’s hard especially if you have a big family so not many people get by. The reason we teach them Spanish is so when they go home they can work at a call center and make a minimum of $700 a month which is a huge improvement. I feel so blessed with the education that I have. I really want to baptize on my mission, but another goal is to do a good job teaching my comps English. That in and of itself is worth two years for me.
There are so many things I am not allowed to eat! I can’t have water from the tap, at all! I can only have bottled or bagged water. I had never heard of bagged water until I got here, ya its odd. I can’t have any fish, anything from a pig (no bacon...it stinks...get ready dad for me to have a lot of bacon when I get home) I can’t have cabbage, Darn it, I love cabbage so much. I can’t have any vegetables unless they are cooked in bleach, same with fruits. I think there’s more but I can’t remember all of them. The chance is that I’ll get a worm, all Americans here do so ill be sick here in the future haha. All these food rules make Americans sound like wimps!
The other day I gave my first baptism invitation to a girl that is 14 and her family is already members. The cool thing is that she accepted! So we have a baptismal date for her is the 17 of this month. I’m not sure who she wants to do it but I hope it’s me! The people here are humble, very humble. They all pretty much have nothing. The houses are so small, old and gross. It really makes me so very thankful to my father in heaven and as well as my father on the earth that has worked so hard to provide for my family We have never had to do without things that we need and I thank God every day for what I have. There are so many people here it’s crazy! Mom you prolly wont like this but the drivers are crazy here. I almost get hit by busses everyday...:) The only place to walk is the side of the road, there is nowhere else to walk so cars are going 60 plus right by you and we just do our best to not get hit. While we’re paying attention to the cars going by, we were not paying attention to where we’re walking and about every step there is two piles of dog poop. There are so many stray dogs here it amazes me still. Some of them are so cute but I don’t dare touch them haha and some others would look like the dogs that, well I won’t mention his name, iI’l just say he was into dog fights and is in the NFL...The dogs look like they were in dog fights. If you can get past all the trash and gross things around here it really is a beautiful country. It’s so green here and I love it and the people already.
My bishop is a gangster. He is 27 and is amazing. He is such a great guy and he speaks clearly enough that I can understand every word he says. Some people that speak to me I can understand every word but the others I don’t understand a word because they speak sooooooooooooo fast and mumble, way worse than Brent did! But I am used to the Spanish now, now I’m just learning to understand it. I have to pick out key words and try to piece them together, it’s so hard. But I like to say un poco mas cada dia or I understand a little more every day, which is true. I know I have someone’s help with Spanish, there is no way I could do this by my myself!
I have had different foods every meal pretty much besides beans, papoosas and rice. It’s difficult for me to say what it was because to be honest half the time I have never seen it before. For instance the people here really like this drink that is made out of corn, it’s interesting. It’s a thick white drink and it’s decent and I’m used to it now but it was different at first. This might surprise my family a little bit, they all ´think´ that I’m a picky eater but I’m really not. Everything that has been put in front of me I've eaten and I’ve actually liked. I haven’t had one thing to eat that I haven’t liked.
My comp is amazing and I was really blessed with him. he is a good teacher, he knows some English which is helpful and he is very patient with me. Usually presidents of the mission put the best missionaries as zone leaders but not ours. he puts the best as trainers. right before I got here my comp was a ZL and president took him out of that to be a trainer, our president doesn’t mess around. My comp is amazing and couldn’t have asked for better.
It amazes me how Americanized El Salvador is. There are so many American stores here and restaurants. The food there is all imported so it’s safe to eat. Oh ya we’re not supposed to eat at restaurants other than American ones, or drink soda because they make it from the water here. We went to Walmart today and it made me feel like I was home and it made me miss it a little bit but I know I have work to do here.
There are a lot of drunks here and I mean a lot. Every time we see one they all look at me and say the same sentence...I don’t speak English...ya right. We’re not allowed to have our cameras with us because people get jumped all the time so I don’t want my camera stolen so I keep it in our apartment. that’s why the pictures aren’t that great, they are just around our complex. the other day one of the guys in our ward that speaks a little English asked me the difference between naked and nude..I get a lot of odd questions like that all the time haha
Oh, the people here don’t have the same standards as us. When a woman is breastfeeding, they don’t cover themselves at all. In church people will just take it out and start doing it and they will come and greet you while they are breastfeeding. This is when you really have to stare at their faces and not wander haha good times
I can’t think of anything else right now but this last week was a good one. I really like being here and can’t wait to have more baptismal dates. The work is good and almost everyone is willing to listen. I miss you all lots and am thankful for your support. I look forward to next Monday, my P-day so I can write again. I love you all! Elder Herman.
El Salvadorian AC
Elder Herman and his companion
View from the apartment
Apartment sink before Elder Herman got to it
Apartment sink AFTER!
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