What medicine are you taking for your throat, you are sick.

Hey guys how is it going, I am doing great and I just killed my Dad (sent his companion home, didn’t really kill anyone), so I am still in the same area, but I am not sure right now who my next companion is. I think it is Elder Franco from Mexico, so I will really have to use my Spanish this transfer. So this week my Spanish, I think, became fluent, which was weird because I can say what I want and understand almost everything now, it is like a switch that just turned on! I am glad because my next companion will not know English. But yeah I got the letters from the Relief Society a week or two ago. And that is sick that Dad got an iPad, I can’t even remember what an iPod or iPad even looks like. But you have no idea how trunky I feel hearing that y’all are going to the Texas / Texas A&M game. Trunky is the word here in the mission when you start to think about things back home, so it was hard not to do it this transfer because my companion was always talking about home. The last two weeks has been a struggle for me, my companion was dying so it was hard to be patient with him sometimes. But we did teach 120 lessons this past transfer which seems like a lot but we could have done a lot more. Also Makenzie I have some postcards I found so I am going to send them this week so they should be there in a bit.

But our area is finally progressing which is nice so hopefully we can get some people in the water next transfer. The thing about the area here is there are so many inactives so the focus is usually almost on strengthening the branch here because it really needs it. The branch leaders here are not the best and church sometimes feels like going to the Catholic Church across the street because everyone is wearing jeans and t shirts. We have our work cut out for us next transfer so we will see how it turns out. We have to get some people married, and we’ve got to get others to go to church. But it was cool this week we had a family that has an inactive dad and the rest are not members that came to church so that was way sick. We have to get them married though and the dad a divorce from his wife in Cuba so it will be a fun transfer. We also have another family that is progressing so it is cool to watch them as they have started reading, praying, and going to church, and you can see a change in them every next visit. So I gave a talk this week in church, which it is something that is easy to do. I remember before my mission if I made 10 minutes in a talk I was happy, but now I can just walk up with my scriptures and give a talk in Spanish without notes for 15 minutes, so it is a sign I am learning Spanish and more about the gospel. Piano playing was a little difficult because the chorister and the whole branch were singing the wrong notes and the chorister had no idea what she was doing. But funny story this week we were at a baptism of someone in our district, and I was singing the opening song and the lady next to me was like what medicine are you taking for your throat, you are sick. So I had to explain to her I just sucked at singing and she kept trying to tell me I was sick. So an example of how I suck at singing still, I think it is even worse in Spanish.

Culture Fact of the Week- Every house no matter how bad it is has a huge sound system in there house and car if they have one. I miss being able to sit at home with windows and enjoy the peace and quite. Here there is no such thing as peace, there is always loud music playing no matter where you go which makes it hard to teach sometimes. The worst part of it all is the Justin Beiber plague is now here and I always here that baby song. I hate that song so freakin much.

So yeah Dad we have told the office a thousand times that our pump is broken, so the office elders are sucking it up right now. There is only so much that you can do sometimes.

So I am excited for this next transfer, I think I get an American in the house so I am excited for that. Also the haircuts here absolutely suck. They don’t know how to cut hair like mine so I had to get a buzz because they screwed up. I am sorry I haven’t sent photos in a while I don’t like carrying my camera around here so for Christmas one thing is an USB adapter so I don’t have to use my camera. I will make a list of things for Christmas, there is not really much I need.

I hope all is going well, I bet Jacob and Makenzie are excited for basketball season, it will be fun. Here there is no such thing as basketball only Dominican ball.

Take care, and have a great week

Love Elder Smith