Acting School

Hello!

I'm a couple days late in posting this, mainly because Monday was busier than expected and I don't have anything too exciting to report. But don't close your browser! There will probably some substantial ramblings or rants at some point in this post.

For starters, our midweek meeting has changed from Wednesday to Tuesday. Yes, that's the most thrilling thing that happened last week. Anyway, our hall did an awesome job singing the new song! You can tell that I really mean that by my expression in this picture:

After practicing the song the first time. I was...happy.

Seriously, though, it went really well! We listened to it once and everyone nailed it on the first try. During the second time, I was feeling it so much that I even had to stop myself from walking in the aisle fist-pumping and taking it to the streets. Joy, just pure joy.

The change in the schedule has called for changing up my witnessing schedule a little bit. Zach leads a Wednesday afternoon group in El Limonal, a part of Ojo de Agua's territory. The group doesn't have much support, so I've been going out there with him on Wednesday afternoons the past couple of weeks. It's nice to get away from the city for an afternoon. I had forgotten how peaceful and quiet it is in Ojo's territory. Apparently, I can't escape it completely!

Zach doing a return visit. Ain't he phenomenal?

View of San Cristobal from La Colonia de la Policia.

As for the heat, we're slowly but surely entering the hotter time of the year. Today was the hottest it's been in a while (96° F, 36­­° C), but come April, we'll be wishing for those temperatures back. Sidenote: The mosquitoes have been RELENTLESS since I've been back. Seriously. RELENTLESS. That has everybody paranoid about getting chikungunya, a disease that is supposed to be worse than dengue fever. There have been a lot of reported cases of it in town, but it's hard to know for sure. Many of those reported cases are accurate, but then there are other people who immediately jump to these conclusions: Got a headache? Chikungunya. Did you just sneeze? Chikungunya. You have a slight itch on your arm? Chikungunya. But yes, you do need to be prepared. Thankfully, the mosquitoes have calmed down a little the past couple of days.

Miguelito receiving his gift today, complete with new pens.
(Sidenote: Bree took one of them for herself. Unbelievable.)

In other news, Miguel, a 13-year-old brother in our hall, has started regular pioneering this month! His parents began studying a couple of years ago, and all three of them were baptized last year. He's an awesome kid. He's got such a great attitude and spirit. Even when his parents don't make it to the meetings, he is always there no matter what and comes out preaching on his own whenever he has the chance, including every day of school vacation. When asked how he was planning on pioneering with school and everything, he said he would be taking out a personal territory to work in the afternoons after school. I don't know many kids that age who would have the motivation to do that on their own, but he does! As a gift, Ben & Bree got him a new return visit book. They even labeled it with all the different locations of our territory.

Finally, for the demo this week on how to react to an irate person, Rolando was faced with a tough decision when it came to choosing who would play the role of the angry householder. He would have to choose someone who is known for having a naturally angry disposition, someone who takes pleasure in putting others down, someone who could bring a child to tears just by staring daggers at them. At last, the villain was cast:

LOL he chose Bree. We were all flummoxed by this choice. Flummoxed. What was the reasoning behind it? Would you choose a kitten to scare away thieves? Would you unleash a ladybug to kill a cockroach? Would you scare your younger sibling with a picture of a butterfly? No? Then why on Earth would you think Bree, of ALL PEOPLE, could be capable of yelling at Jehovah's Witnesses, or anyone at all?!?! Okay, I'm done being mean, and now I'll tell you that she did a really good job, in all seriousness. We may have had to practice it with her about 50 times to get her to stop sounding so nice, but she got it down pat. (You'd think that after being a part of our family for all these years, she would know how to shout!) Plus, Rolando is smart, and I have to give him credit for making a bold and fun choice. Sidenote: That was the angriest I had ever seen Bree in the entire time I've known her, aside from one time when she refused to share some cookies. She would be the nicest do-not-call ever. (Other sidenote: She gave me permission to write all that.)

Alright, that's all I have to report this week. Things are going really well, but as always, I miss all of you back home. Let me know what's new!


Take care,

Sam