How to make friends

Another crazy fast week. 

 

I can't say everything that happened. I have to address this issue at the beginning of the email to soothe my OCD tendencies. But I am going to dry to get to the best parts. 

 

Let's launch. 

One day, Sis H and I are tracting(going door to door talking to people), doing our thing talking to every stranger we find. We knock on a great big green house door. 

 

Out top emerges a little grandma, on the porch. She invites us up immediately. She is so nice! 

She sits us down, and graciously offers us something to drink. Sister H obliges the friendly grandma, even though we are in a hurry. 

She brings out two glasses filled to the brim with a brown looking juice. I note that there is foam on the top--and acknowledge the fact that this is unusual for most natural juices. But I’m not acquainted with all  Belizean juices! Maybe this is something new. 

So remembering that missionaries cannot deny food or drink from well-intending folk, I take the cup, and throw back a nice, big gulp. Fearless. 

 

Throat burning. Tongue tingling. Senses blurring..............................

....................................................................................................

Rancid olives are in my mouth. Or so it seems. 

 

I say, "I’m sorry, what kind of juice did you say this was?"

"Coke!"

I am not super smart, sure. But since my time in Belize I can identify a coke with little effort-if any at all on my part. Grandma is called out of the room by her live-in. I turn to Sister H, in a near panic. 

 

'SISTER H, THIS IS BEER I KNOW THIS IS BEER!!!!!' in strained whispers. I am hatching a plan to dispose of the beer. I consider running to the veranda and throwing it on the street below. But I don’t know when grandma will be returning to the room. 

When. 

She came back, apologizing profusely. "I am so sorry! I gave you girls beer!!! For Mother’s Day we had coke and beer and I got them confused!"

 

"Serious? Oh glad we caught that one!"

The live-in caught the mistake. Thank goodness for live-ins. When we left the house, we couldn’t stop laughing. I said, "Sister H. I'm drunk." ok ok JK!! 

 

But that is the first time alcohol passed these lips. Yikes. Mom please explain the Word of Wisdom.

 

 (Hi, this is “Mom”  For those of you not familiar with the Word of Wisdom, it is a law of health revealed by the Lord for the physical and spiritual benefit of His children. On February 27, 1833, as recorded in section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord revealed which foods are good for us to eat and which substances are not good for the human body. He also promised health, protection, knowledge, and wisdom to those who obey the Word of Wisdom.  One of the foods that we are warned to avoid is alcohol, so most LDS people do not drink alcoholic beverages.   There is more information on this topic at https://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng.)

  

IN addition...I had a birthday party! It was a great night. My friends the P's invited me over and made me a big beautiful cake! pictures included. We sang Belizean happy birthday and had a feast and I sat in a hammock for the first time in Belize. What a wild night.

 

I am going to have to finish my stories next week! 

But J is going strong. K and his family are getting baptized and Rsaid a BEAUTIFUL prayer last night that almost made me cry.

 

Personal peace is the reward of righteousness ya'll. I love obeying the commandments. And as so eloquently put by K our investigator, faith does not mean sitting at home and saying you believe. It means you do what God asks--you keep the commandments. Christ promises peace as long as we do as He asks! 

 

The Savior is the source of true peace. Even with the trials of life, becauseof the Savior’s Atonement and His grace, righteous living will be rewardedwith personal peace. In the intimate setting of the Passover chamber, theSavior promised His Apostles that they would be blessed with the“Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost” and then uttered these importantwords: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the worldgiveth, give I unto you.”³⁰ Then just before His Intercessory Prayer: “Thesethings I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In theworld ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome theworld.”³¹

 

I know He overcame the world. 

 

All is well in Belize. . 

 

Love, 

Sista Hirschi