Spanish, Kriol AND German?

Happy 5 months. 

Wait what? 

I know. I know. It’s a little uncanny, but I’m taking it in stride. Along with all the other daily dramas. 

So remember my list of languages to learn, lets add German please. YES PLEASE. WE went to a little town in Belize called Spanish Lookout this week. It was settle by the German Mennonites and basically it’s another country. And they speak German. No joke. I racked my brain relentlessly for my 8th grade German to come back to me. I retrieved the following: 

Guten tag. 

Nein. 

 And that’s it. Good luck teaching the restored gospel. 

Nevertheless, we had some success because the Mennonites more or less can sometimes mostly understand English. I have some included some photos of the giant SL sign outside their city. 

 But to be succinct, the Mennonites are very kind and very courteous and besides the first encounter we had with a very cold, very suspicious woman, they were welcoming and willing to listen to the message we had. Also did anyone know the Mennonites are LOADED. They control almost all agriculture in Belize and for it...they are rolling in cash. Hot tip. The outsiders sometimes refer to them as the money-nites. Haha very clever. 

I gave a talk in Spanish on Sunday ya'll. Yikes yikes bikes. My Spanish has taken a hit thanks to the Kriol. In other news, idda talk Kriol a lee bit. It’s a work in progress but I am getting there. 

So cool story. One time Sis R and I taught the law of chastity to J** and his companion JS simply because we teach the commandments of God. And one time, when we returned, J** told us we caused his partner to have a heart attack because we taught the law so strongly. She was in the hospital and if she died it was our fault. Shoot. Turns out the law of chastity is lethal. After the ugly accusations, we worked things out with J**. We are back on good terms and JS is hunkey-dory and readily acknowledges that it was not our teaching which caused her heart problems. But now I have a horrible reputation for killing people when I teach. 

One more cooler story. Meet PT. A man who was referred to us from the top. PT is a tour guide here in Belize for all the Americans who want to see the ruins. One day, an LDS tourist chats PT up about the Book of Mormon. Then said tourist goes home, and orders Pedro a Book of Mormon  online using PT's business card. Salt lake calls my mission, calls Belize, calls my zone leaders, calls me. I get a Book of Mormon and call PT...

 

.'hi...this is sister Hirschi....we want to bring you a Book of Mormon...'

 

and PT "how did you know I wanted a Book of Mormon???!?!"

 

Then me. "PT how do I get to your house?" (this is at night). 

 

"Just follow the light"

 

Iconic. PT had a huge floodlight at his house that he shined so we could come and find him. So I followed the light and found PT. PT was amazed that we knew he'd wanted to read the BOM. He was supremely impressed with the efficiency of our system and insisted that he pay us. Hahahahahah. 

Yeah right PT! 

Well we continued to talk to PT about the Book of Mormon and how Christ not only visited Jerusalem, but also his people in the Americas. PT was very excited about this and expressed that he always thought Christ would have gone to more people than just the Jews. He explained that he’d been in a serious accident recently and should've died. But he didn't and he believes God spared him for a reason. 

 I agree PT. The man is made of gold. 

 

So sometimes when everything in the week goes wrong, and you get attacked by 40 people who hate Mormons, you can get a little discouraged. But faith. Faith is where it’s at. It’s hard to have faith, but it’s a choice. And faith grows and if we persevere and trust in the Lord our faith will become knowledge. I know this gospel is true. I know it requires faith. But I also know the Lord wants to bless and reward us. I’m learning everyone. Sometimes I am a horrible missionary. Haha I’m pretty sure. But that’s the beauty of life...we're all getting better. 

 

Have a great week. 

I love you all. 

Write me. 

 

Sista Hirschi