Happy Late Thanksgiving!

Well family I hope that you all are doing really well.  I am glad to hear that the funeral was wonderful and that you all had a great Thanksgiving too.  The pictures from the funeral are so beautiful... I am really sad that I missed it.  Grandpa was a great guy and I am sad I wasn´t there with you all.  From what mom and dad told me it sounded like a great funeral.  And mom I do remember caroling with everyone.  I remember walking in the hospital and thinking to myself, "Are we allowed to do this? I think the patients might get angry because they are sleeping."  But that is about all I remember.  Sorry I 
wasn´t there to help with the pies... Banana Cream pie is hard to beat... Oh well.  

This week we didn´t do anything for Thanksgiving.  I actually kind of forgot that it was Thanksgiving.  When we were at our lunch appointment the sister who was preparing our meal for us asked me, "Hey isn´t today a holiday for you?"  I stopped and thought.... oh yeah... today is thanksgiving... and then I looked down at my chicken foot soup and was sad thinking that everyone else was having stuffing and turkey and cranberry sauce... But I finished the soup... foot and all and went to work.  Pretty lame huh? 

This week has been a rough one.  We don´t really have any investigators and we are constantly trying to find new ones.... But no one seems to want to listen to us.  And the few investigators that we have are not progressing.  So it is not very fun being a missionary when you are not having very many lessons.  This week it seems like we are walking from investigator´s house to investigator´s house and they are either not there or they are "busy" watching T.V. or on Facebook... And when we call them they either don´t answer or they give us some excuse that they can´t meet with us for a couple of days.  It is just kind of frustrating.... But I am doing okay for the most part, so that is an accomplishment.  Haha

I only have three weeks left in this transfer with my companion and we have been doing really well for the most part... The only problem is that when we don´t have success it makes us a little irritable as missionaries.  So in other words I think we are ready for a change in companions.  I hope that I get changed sooner than later. The first reason I want to get transferred is I want a new companion.  Three months with one companion is kind of hard.  Second, we have a recent convert who keeps flirting with me and keeps giving me things. Third there is a homeless guy who wanders around our area begging for money and every time he sees me he shouts, "Hey Sister!!!! One dollar please!!!!!!!"  It doesn´t matter if he is one block away or five blocks away... As soon as he sees me he starts shouting asking for money.  

I already stick out like a soar thumb anyways and I don´t really like it when he calls a lot of attention like that. The first time he asked me for money I actually gave him a dollar.  But then I started seeing this guy EVERY DAY!  This free give away thing got old really fast.  Then I gave him a quarter one day and he got so upset.  The next day I didn´t give him any money.  Now when he sees me he first asks for money and when I say, sorry, not today he raises his voice to a bit of a shout and says, "You Gringa... Think your so much better than us huh?  Why don´t you just go back to your own country." Or he also says things like, "Don´t tell me you don´t have any money today... I know you have money!"  It is pretty ridiculous but that is the way he is... So yes I want to go to a new area... And I learned my lesson... 

People just automatically assume that I have a whole bunch of money that I am ready to give away.  Lots of people are pretty desperate down here.  One time my companion and I were stopped looking at our maps and trying to find an old investigator when a middle aged man ran up to me and started saying in a worried voice, "Please senorita, my mother fell and a truck backed up into her and there is blood everywhere.  Please please please she is just over there.  Please give me some money so I can take her to the hospital... Please just one dollar... anything."  He was talking so fast and was so worried that I asked, "Where is she?"  He then pointed quickly to the road a couple of blocks away and I didn´t see any commotion.  So I looked back at him and he kept begging for money, but he suddenly changed his story saying, "Please my children are hungry help me help me!"  I realized that this guy was lying because his mother was no where to be found and he was changing his story when I didn´t cough up all my money the first time.  

When I told him I didn´t have anything he walked off and when he saw a woman stopped he would quickly run up to her and start begging to her.  My companion then said, "Hermana they are always lying when they only talk to you.... If he was really in trouble he would have begged me too."  We were by a juice stand and the worker behind the glass said he always begs on this road and it is always the same story.  Pretty crazy and it is really sad.  I have never been this close to poverty in all of my life so it is really an eye opener to the blessings that we all have.  

Well I can´t remember what all happened this week but it wasn´t much, we just kept walking and walking and walking and talking to people who don´t want to listen to us and walking some more trying to find someone to teach!  I am getting pretty tan and the back of my neck looks like someone elses!!! It is so dark I can´t even believe it!!! I am putting on sunscreen but the sun still shines no matter what!  Haha  Being tan is cool but having farmer tan lines is not cool... And I have the worst farmer tan lines in the world!!! My feet even have my shoe designs burned into my skin!  Haha pretty crazy.  

Well I have to go but I love you all more than I miss you!  Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving together.  This church is true! 

Love Hermana Welch (Jess)