There are two kinds of people in this world: those you love, and those you don't know

I GET TO STAY WITH HERMANA RAMIREZ IN PUERTO BARRIOS! and we are getting a newby...we are hoping for a spanish speaker, because we both want to improve with our spanish, and hermana ceballos has helped SO MUCH. I was super anxious to hear about the changes that are going to be taking place this week, but the feeling of RELIEF came when I heard that we get to be together. We have gotten to be really good friends. We've talked about our struggles with eachother, so things have really cleared up. It wasn't bad before, but now...we are a team.  

The General Relief society meeting. I got to watch it....in spanish. NOT the same. It was good, apparently REALLY good, I'll be looking forwarded to reading it in English. However, I did understand a lot, but sometimes it is frustraiting to have a prophet speaking, but you can't hear his voice, and can't always understand what he is saying. My favorite parts were the musical numbers (they were in english) and I just really love the hymns, and singing. a lot.  Pretty sure my mom cried through the musical numbers with all of those sister missionaries. Especially with my little sister leaving for a mission in just a few months to california roseville english speaking. She leaves one day after her 19 birthday in ganuary....I mean january, because in english the "J" makes the "djuh" sound. 

which brings me to another story. So there are a lot of people who can't read here. and I want to teach them how to read. especially Clara, (one of our investigadores who remembers MY name out of the three of my companions....I felt special when she said that she can't remember my companions names, but that she could only remember mine ( I ususlally am the one that people don't remember or don't even try to learn)). I had this thought a few days ago and so I wrote it down in my planner to remember to talk about my idea with my companions later, and it just so happened that like a day later when we were at her house, she came out of no where saying that she wanted to learn how to read! I am so excited to help her with this! ps, thank you mom and mrs. Morris and mrs. Mendenhal for teaching me how to read. What a blessing it is! 

I am known as un "salvador" to my companions. I seem to always be prepared with whatever we need. water. hand sanitizer, flash light, bandaids, sizzors, tape, pills, good bobby pins, hair ties...the list goes on. 

Lights go out here on a normal basis. and the funny thing is, when the power goes out, sometimes you can't even tell because nothing really changes. possibly a fan turns off and maybe your one light bulb, people just are chill about it. I am grateful that I carry my flashlight for those times that the lights go out at night and need to go somewhere. like the other day when we had this tropical storm. It was pretty intense, but everyone and everything is okay. We had just gotten back from the store last p-day in the evening and were going to go do an fhe with a member family, but my companion really wasn't feeling well, so we ended up staying in the apartment for that evening. Which turned out to be a blessing about 15 minutes later when the big storm hit. 

So my mom asked me about bug bites and if I was suffering. i think it was the day after that I was at this one house for a LONG time because everyone loves hermana ceballos and doesn't want to say good bye. well, there were a lot of mosquitos, and I didn't get a chance to reapply my insect reppellent. let's just say the next day I had 40 inflammed mosquito bites...on one leg. I won't bother counting the other leg. yeah. it itched. a lot. 

We had a baptism of a 19 year old boy who is like my favorite investigator. But a funny thing is, (that wasn't all too funny) is the lack of white clothes. White clothes are a stress in my life. The priesthood men could really help us out if they all owned white shirts and pants. but all is well. We were eventually able to find some white clothes for the baptism. 

I guess I have more than just a stomach of steel, I've got an immune defense too. I'm doing pretty well at avoiding the sickness. My companions have both had a pretty good cold for the past week....annnnnnnd I'm still clean. They get a little offended when I don't want to share food off of the same fork/ biting a piece and then sharing etc. but I'm not sick.....jus sayin.

some funny things that happen in my life:

people using their hair as floss....yuuuuuuummmmm. :P

hitting my head in doorways, especially in busses. 

receving hair cream from a member assuring us that it is used for rubbing on mosquito bites to help heal them. 

and some adventures will be told after the mission....PS mom, I'm okay. :)

I'm continuing to learn more of my purpose here, as a missionary. I am learning patience more and more as I continue to do dishes of my companions, wait hours while this member is talking about who knows what with my companion as I am getting eaten to death by mosquitos, taking comments that aren't always super uplifting and so on...but really, I am happy. I don't know if the "time of my life" has kicked in yet, but I am sure enjoying this time more and more. 

I am so grateful for all of the support from my family, grandparents, ward, friends, parents of friends, strangers, church, and my Savior and Heavenly Father. I don't feel lonely, and I am not sad or nearly as frustraited as I used to be. 

Thank you for the prayers! 

with love, Hermana Deb Hutchins