October 5, 2010

So where do I even start? Because I don't know. This is going to be long cause there is so so so much to tell you. The plane to Miami was huge. It had 3 then 6 then 3 for the rows. First I will start off with the question everyone was asking themself when we got off the plane "Where are we mother?" ha ha "Where am I?"

When I first left the airport on a bus I just saw a bunch of crazy busses. People just bareley hanging on the outside of the bus. I saw a lot of homeless children which was sad as well. I have never seen so many homeless children just chillin in the street. Kids were throwing stuff at our bus. So ya the first place we stayed at I slept on a little matress on the floor and had the oppurtunity to shower with a cup and a big bucket. The next day we had training and went contacting. It was awesome but so different. The contacting went well. We found a family of 5 with 2 sacerdocios and another man that was really interested and both wanted a return. But the first house we went to could have fit in our shed. Mud for floors, a piece of wood with a blanket over it for the bed. Every house is either made out of tin or pieces of wood. For door locks a lot of people just use rebar through their door and into a piece of wood. I have seen so many houses that could fit in our old shed. But what I love about it is people don't care. They are 100 percent fine with it and happy. In the states people complain about being poor. Well they have no idea. No one can say they are poor until they experience the living here.



So the police carry ak 47s. I have seen quite a bit of those and the ambulances look like 1980 landcruisers or minivans. I have been approached by a drunk ladron. My companion just had to pull me away and we just kept walking. Every day we cross a bridge where a girl was recently murdered and there are some way sketchy places I have been. Like no one has been to the ghetto till they have been here. But not once have I felt scared.



My companion is Elder Menterossa and he is from El Salvador and doesn't speak a lick of english. As well as the rest of the people where I am. I am the only white person and the only person who speaks english ha ha. I am in a city called Jinotega. Which is a city up in the mountains from Matagalpa. Like 4 times a week I have to take a bus down to Matagalpa which is like a 1 and half hour bus ride. Psh it's good cause I can sleep and study and stuff. But I have to go down to Matagalpa cause that is where our zone is. There is only 4 missionaries in my city - 2 hermanas and 2 elders. This is the coldest place in all of Nicaragua. ha ha And it is perfect weather to me. It is so awesome to hyperventilate every morning with a freezing shower in the coldest place in Nicaragua. The mornings are kinda chilly not bad at all tho. But if I was in the hot part of Nicaragua like I was in Managua for my first 2 days I would love the cold shower refreshing instead of pneaumoning. My shower looks like the hose connection outside of our house with a pipe connected to it where the water runs out and it is freezing. We also have a huge bucket in our shower for when the water doesn't work. Cause water is so sketchy here, half the time it will work half the time it won't. This experience is R rated but I need to share my second day in Jinotega. I got up and needed to go to the bathroom number 2 so I went in and well went. And come to find out the water wasn't workin. So it was just chillin in there the whole day. My toilet seat consisted of 5 pieces, it was like a puzzle building it. But now we just don't have one. It sucks but psh whatever.



Something I have seen that I didn't even know still existed is a main way of transportation is donkeys and carts. I was like what they still do that? And yes a lot of people have donkeys that pull them on a cart. There are just like wild random horses in the street and chickens as well. And 100s of wild dogs. You want a dog they have any dog any size any color any style here. I probably see 100 plus stray dogs each day. I also see dead dogs layin in the road.

We do have someone who cooks and cleans for us.

I see 5 year old kids beggin for money on the bus everytime we ride. There is so much new stuff I have experienced. A thing that kills me though is when I see kids who are no older then 10 years old smoking. So stupid, but there are things that go on here that are normal.

I watched conference in english. I only got to watch one session on Saturday tho cause of where we live and the bus ride.

My first day here our church got robbed and tvs and dvds and a whole lot was stolen. Doors were broken. I dunno how they got in. All the churches are surrounded with huge fences with barb wire and locked and all the windows and doors have bars on them.

The other day and a little pulperia there was a rat trying to get in the food and the lady caught it and gave it to us and we took it out side and smashed its head in. ha ha awesome huh.

So yesterday for p day we needed some food. We were at a investigadors house and so we got 2 chickes tied them up and then I chopped their head off with a machette it was awesome blood went everywhere. I will make sure to send you pictures. But ya we just cooked up the chicken and ate it. I chopped the head with a machette and my companion hung his from like a branch and just held the head down and started cuttin it. It started freakin out and blood went everywhere. I got my chopping on video and took plenty of pictures. Killing the chicken, plucking and eating it was probably the best experience I have had so far.



One of the members here have a squirrel for a pet. I held a squirrel for the first time in my life ha ha it was awesome. It was crazy holding and playing with a squirrel on a leash. I have also seen alot of geckos.



In my bed each night I get the opportunity to share it with random bugs that like to bite me and so I wake up with a bunch of bug bites. But the best is when you are sleeping but wake up and feel something crawling on you and you see that it is some strange looking bug you have never seen before. There are no scorpions here and no they didn't give me a net. I don't think it would help to be honest. I aint worried. What is a couple of bed bugs that bite? It's all good.



So it rains pretty good here and all the streets in my town are rocky and just dirt except for some where there are some stores then it is brick. But the roads turn to rivers when it rains. Like you think I am kidding. I aint. They literally turn to rivers and you have to change your route cause you can't cross.

Every driver thinks they are the driver on Grand Theft Auto. Just freakin crazy. They speed swerve and honk. I have never heard so much honking in my life. They will honk and if you don't move they won't stop. But they are also kinda good drivers cause they will miss you by an inch. But literally every one thinks they are the driver in Grand Theft Auto or like fast in furious.

The people here are way awesome and nice. 2 little girls in our ward already wrote me love notes ha ha with a heart and mine and their names in it ha ha it was funny. Jaxarelia is a 10 who crushes on me ha ha but she helps me a ton with spanish. She is like the best teacher. And her sister who is 11 Juranela.

Yesterday for p day we hiked to the Cross. There is a big cross up the mountain in Jinotega and we hiked to it. It was so awesome. I will send you pictures next week. I forgot my cord and didn't want to go get it.

Everywhere I go I feel like I am hiking well because it is hiking with how the roads are. And every house only has 1 light bulb in it no more than that. And I keep typing in spanish on accident and have to erase it and write it in english. I want to be fluent. I want to talk to the people fluently like I do in english.

The food here is so good. Especially the juice. Juice in the states are horrible compared to this. All natural and 100 percent better. I have had the best juice ever here. I have also had the best bread ever here. It is called Pico and it is only 1 cord here. Things are so cheap. For breakfast I bought a bottle of fruit punch squiz a bag of jalapeno chips and 4 Picos for only 13 cords and 20 cords equal a dollar. Things are cheap and it's awesome. I can get my shoes shined on the street for only 5 cords.

I didn't write yesterday cause the internet was not working. This place is sketchy so ya. Not everything works properly. The internet is in a little cyber place and I pay for an hour.

Every house here has a metal tin roof and when it rains it pounds and it is loud. The rain here is so much different then when it rained in Utah. Utah rain is like sprinkling. Que mas uh on our way to Jinotego which is like 5 hours from Managua I saw a flooded town. A town floooded from the hurricane and the whole place was like 5 feet deep.

Awkward experience yesterday. Yesterday after FHE my companion and I left and were walking really fast. I didn't know where we were going but we were going there fast. Once we got to this house there was a lot of people there and I didn't know why. Then I walked in the door and there was a coffin just chillin there with a body in it. And I immediately was like whop and turned around and walked out. A member in our ward died yesterday and they do the funerals the same day. Anyways it gets awkwarder. I was just sitting on a chair outside the house and the daughter of the man who died she is probably 29 to 34 was walking out and right as she walked out the door where I was sitting people approached her and I was like in the middle of their circle and they were all crying and I was just sitting there. I didn't know what to do. So awkard? I think yes.

Know I love you and miss you and all is amazing and good. Enjoy this letter. I know it is long but I experienced a lot.

One more thing on the news. All tv things look like they are filmed with cameras from their house. Anyways on the news some guy got hit by a car and the news people just go up and start interviewing him like "How do you feel right now?" Just it is ridiculous. The guy is in pain and they just talk to him like it aint nothing. He just got hit by a car and he is rolling in pain.

Elder Webster is still in my zone so I see and talk to him a lot. He is awesome.

Anyways I think I need to end this. I love you and miss you and will see you again in a short 21 fast sundays or 21 months. That aint nothing. All is great for me and I hope it is the same for you.

Love, Elder Moore