Letter #59 - Week 61: A Creature Was Stirring, Yes, Even A Mouse

November 18, 2019

Hola Everyone!

In the middle of our evening companionship prayer last Monday, I hear Hermana Connolly shriek and as I opened my eyes, I watched her leap onto the countertop. I followed suit and when I had finished the prayer, I asked what happened. Hermana Connolly had her eyes open during the prayer and saw a mouse scurry across the floor. As we were watching we saw the mouse dart for our island in the kitchen to the counter against the wall and we both screamed. We deliberated on what we should do for a little bit on the countertop, and ended up calling one of the senior couples to talk it through with us. We haven't seen anymore of the mouse, so hopefully that excitement is over for the time being.

The new missionary standards came out on Gospel Library this week and Hermana Connolly and I read through it all. There wasn't anything too dramatically changed, but I did enjoy going through it all. I am grateful that we have those guidelines to keep us going in the right direction and to help us to improve each day.

Hermana Connolly loves tostones, which is a Dominican dish of double fried plantains, so we've been trying out our Hispanic cooking skills and trying to perfect it a couple of times a week. Alex, a girl we're teaching, moved from the Dominican Republic, and when we ate with her last week, her mom made tostones. They were really good, and she told us that she put them in a garlic salt water solution before she fired them the second time. We decided to try it out, but we knew we needed to be really careful with water and oil. Aparently I wasn't careful enough, because when I did it a huge column of flame came up. Luckily nothing lit on fire, but the smoke detectors did go off and we had to air out our apartment for a little bit. That was the end of our dream of garlic salt tostones, but all in all I think we came out winners.

We definately turned out better than someone on the sixteenth floor on Saturday night. As we were coming in for the night, I heard a sound in the parking garage and thought, "Wow, that sound reminds me of the fire alarm in Yonkers". Turns out that the fire alarm in New Rochelle sounds the same. We had to wait in the lobby for an hour, but everyone was safe and it all turned out alright. Hermana Connolly really liked the fire trucks and so we took some pictures.

By request I've been trying to take more pictures of the food that we've been eating. Evelyn has been having compassion on us and feeds us a little less every time we come over, and the food is just as good. Last night we dropped into Bishop's to deliver some cookies and report on some of the things we did that week, and after telling him that we'd already eaten three times, he insisted that we have 'a little bit' and prepared us some really fancy meat and cheese. Something that I really appreciate about the Bishop's family is how much they treat us like their own. We've been striving to build strong member-missionary relationships, and I think that something I've really learned is how important it is to hear and understand those around you. Love really is spelled T-I-M-E, and that's something I'm trying to get a little better at each and every day.

Alma 9:14-17

14 Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has been verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from his presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land.

15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent.

16 For there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land.

17 And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name.

¡Os Amo!

-Hermana Prue