Week 56

I am so glad the Holidays are over...call me scrooge but after 4 days of not working I never want to see my apartment again. It is no fun when you can´t leave the house. We did have to leave New Years Eve for Santo Domingo for our district meeting. It was insane, and a lot different here in the coast. On the way back there were men dressed as women everywhere. We locked the doors and tried to get back to El Carmen as quickly as possible. You have to give them money or else they try to kiss you...not my idea of a great tradition, but what do I know. At midnight we took a peek and there were fireworks and burning muñecos (effigies) everywhere. I have to admit that it looked entertaining.

For New Years day we really just got stood up a lot, everything was closed and I have never seen so many empty bottles of alcohol in my entire life. I really can´t see the entertainment in drinking, call me naive but I just don´t see it. All of the women were soaking their feet from dancing so much.

Things are going really well though, we have a new investigator with a baptismal date! Fabricio he is a former investigator of my companion and he came to church the other day and said that he was ready to be baptized. I think it could have something to do with his member girlfriend but he really wants to do it.

Julio Cedeño is still doing great he is definitely one in a million. He told us that this was the first week he didn´t feel strange being at church. The first few times he came he said he couldn´t feel his hands and was so nervous that he couldn´t move. I guess it really freaked him out, he said that he could feel the spirit so strongly and was worried that he would burst into flames. Although I thought it was funny, I´m not sure I blame him for being a little worried, he has had a pretty tough life, poor guy.

President Sloan is still out of comission right now but our Zone Conference is coming up this week it should be sad without him. I really miss President Sloan, he is such a great motivator and he really loves us so much. He makes a big difference in all of our lives.

Love,

Hermana Whitney Tanner

Ps. I wanted to post pictures but the Ecuadorian Internet doesn´t want to work with me.