Monday, February 3, 2014

Happy Birthday to Mom!!!

Well last night my comps says ¨dang its my dads birthday tomorrow¨ then I look at the date and start to think.....huh someone I know too has a birthday in a few days, oh yeah MOM. So I told him too, and he said ¨well you better tell her this week because next monday will be a little late.¨ I`m pretty sure thats what happened last year. SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!  45 huh, dang. Hope your pretty wise by now;) that was a knee slapper. But I really did think that you were still somewhere in your late 30`s, but if your 45, who knows how old pappy is, yeah lets not ask.
Anyways I have had a decently normal week and p-day, yeah I haven`t eaten more ants but that doesn`t mean at all that I`m not going to bring a few home with me and force feed them to all of you guys! Be looking for the 140 mil bag of ants in the mail;) maybe it could be good food storage. Anyways this ward is kind of weird, the members here are really really really cool! but I just can`t figure out why there hasn`t been any progression. I have been getting to know a lot more members and they love the missionaries! here`s a funny story: On thursday, we were looking for a less active member on the institute list of less actives. So we got to the house, found the 25 year old guy and started to give him a short lesson, then the whole family got home who are all super active. They got home and said missionaries! what are we going to make to eat? the less active guy said BURRITOS! thats weird, not many people make burritos here but I went along with it. So we finished the lesson and while they made the burritos (which took a little longer than we had time for, but who`s going to leave the house and offend the members) we were able to talk to the family a little more. Then when it was time to eat, we went to the table. I tactfully chose a seat the farthest away I could from the 17 year old girl who seemed like she was just a LITTLE bit to interested in Elder Crook. It was honestly nothing big, but I had to keep my gaurd up. So she sat at the head of the table and I decided to sit at the other end on the side. HOWEVER she switched spots to the other head of the table so we were both sitting in spots next to each other. Then the family tradition for the prayer was to all hold hands, I said no way jose! I took my comps hand but kind of put my other one in my lap thinking no one would notice. Then they all started in, WHATS WRONG WITH HOLDING HER HAND! it`s fine said the dad, just take her hand! TAKE HER HAND, i looked to my comp for help, and he said ¨it`s better that they not hold hands¨ then they all agreed. Phew! funny story right:) Also on saturday, we were planning on fasting from lunch to lunch on sunday. So, in my prayer to leave the house I prayed (kind of sarcasticaly) to bless us with an extra big lunch to help us to fast. Well was that prayer answered!!! woooooo hooooo when we got to the members house the first thing he says was ¨gee elders you`re in for a treat¨ he led us to the kitchen and I almost started to cry lol. He had made GIANT patacones with meat and cheese and chicken to put on top. BOY was it good, and those things fill you right up. Although I think they should only be eaten like once every 2 or 3 years because first you fry the plátano and then you squish it, then you feeze it over night, then you fry it again so it is good and crunchy. Then add a few inches of meat and cheese and your good to go. Anyways I was able to fast no problem. 
So dad sounds like you are really liking your calling, I`m glad you are and it sounds like you are enjoying it. THanks for always updating me on gage. Poor guy, he`s just gonna have to wait for the first wave of 20 year old return sister missionaries. In the meantime he can brush up on preach my gospel;) also about guck and gore I kinda have a few thoughts. I don`t like guck and gore either, I have seen a little bit of it here in colombia with a few sick people and it makes me feel weird, But I once was talking to one of the asistents when we were on an interchange and he was an emt before his mission. And he told me, I think everyone feels a little queezy seeing that stuff but it was just part of the job, afterwords it was just normal. So who knows but even though I`m not real keen either on blood ond gore, if thats the way I want to go I think I can deal with it. 
Mom I LOVED your last letter! Thank you sooooo very much for always giving me good letters, it made up for dads wussy half pager;) haha just kidding pa. But I love the little things you say. Just like how you had to make dinner a little earlier a few nights for the activities that dad and shay had. I can`t tell you how much dinner every night with every member of the family present has had a huge effect on me. Even though the outward forces are pressuring you guys to not do it, you find a way around that and still find a way to have dinner together each and every night. Honestly here, with us in the lunches it doesn`t happen very much but when it does, I can feel how much more peace there is in the house. It is such a big change:) thanks for being such and AWESOME person and mom. I also really liking how you said that change is good, thats how we learn and grow. It`s true, and as we are able to adapt to the changes that come our way we are able to perfect ourselves inside and out, just like sharp stones in a rapidly running river, after many changes in the current they are made smooth. that is what we are able to do when we absorb the changes and take advantage of them and make the best out of everything new. 
Shay, well you said you`re doing a project on Colombia. AWESOME!!!!! I had fun answering your q and writting them down. Here goes :)
Sports Teams: The national Colombian soccer team. Every one went totally crazy when they classified for the world cup of soccer. The favorite player of the team is Falcao, I don`t know his first name just Falcao lol. Also there are pro soccer teams in every city that play each other in the postobon leauge
Entertainment: Everyone plays soccer or microfutbol, a version of soccer on a cement court with a small hard soccer ball. Everyone watches soccer games, also theres a sport called tejo that a big magority of the people play. Dancing is a big part of latino culture as well but I don`t know a whole lot about that. Also everywhere there are pirated movies sold in the street for 2 or 3 mil pesos so everyone has a lot of movies too.
Animals: well I havent really seen any out of the ordinary animals, there are huge cochroaches here and lots of dogs, when I was in tunja they had all of the normal farming animals as well
Work: They have basically all of the same professions that we have here, but here there are a lot of taxi and bus drivers because there is a lot more public transport. I`ve met more than one taxi driver who has a degree from a university, engineers, psycologists, etc. Also here basically whatever you can think of you can start a buisness on. There are people who make good money who have 10 wash machines and they deliver them to people on their motorcycles and rent them for 2 or 3 hours. Also a recent convert in Suba worked in the street with an empanada stand and various candis and miscelaneous foods, he told me that working in that pays much more than a minimum wage job.
Food and drink: Here in Colombia every lunch has to have a porcion of rice, most of the time there are potatoes and platanos as well, there are lots of veggies and beans like lentejas and garbanzos also they eat beef and chicken as well. There is a TON of juice here and every fruit there is they make a juice out of it. Also here they eat a lot of soups some of the typcal soups are ajiaco and san cocho. Also there is panela (look that up) and bocadillo, which I sent home to you guys.
Dress: Basically the same, just in the hots parts the girls show a lot of skin
Wierd facts: the only one I could think of is that colombia is the 2nd happiest country in the world. 
So there is a few facts about Colombia, you should interview Moises because he knows a whole lot more than I do, but thanks for asking me I enjoying answering the questions:)
LOVE YOU ALLL
-Elder Crook

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