banana bread
Hey guys. What up in the hizood? All is going pretty great here. The weather has been absolutely PERFECT these past four or five days. I can't even describe it. It's almost as good as California weather in May or October. The sun is just perfectly warm and there is a nice slight breeze, and the air is dry! It's not humid, which is really a nice change. Humidity kills. Just like smoking. But really, I've been so tempted to just go have a picnic or something, but I sort of can't.
We played volleyball this morning as a district. It was fun, but I definitely am not very good anymore. :( rofl. Plus the ball was rock hard and it just hurt to play, but hey, it was a good change. Then we played some soccer and I totally stunk it up. Hooray for Wiggins' sport skills! Maybe Ben and Jamie's family will redeem our cursed blood. Do it guys!
I read about the crazy fires in the national daily report that we get at the office from church headquarters. It basically just says what sorts of things might pose threats around the world so that mission presidents know about it and are aware. I can't believe that Lombardi Ranch burned down. Chupa. Really! I really wanted to come home to fresh corn and tomatoes. That's just too bad. I'm glad to hear that things didn't get too out of control for our ward members, or at least they didn't lose their houses.
So dad asked me to explain what I do as a financial secretary. I guess I'll just write it in here to that you can all know.
I have to keep track of all the money in our mission account, approve expenses on President's church credit card, and manage the money that we get from Salt Lake. I pay all the bills of the office, my house, and the mission home, and I pay all the cell phone bills of the zone leaders too. I make checks for all the people that offer us services (medical, water, rent, etc.). When I do all of that there's a lot of record keeping and organization that takes place, sending reports to Guatemala and our daily transmission summaries (what we did that day) to Salt Lake. Yesterday (don't tell) I moved $30,000. I hope I didn't mess up. I had to do the monthly assignment for the mission, depositing money to all the missionary´s cards. When I was out in the field I would ask myself where all the money we spend on a mission goes, because I as a missionary wasn't getting any. But now I'm thinking, ¨How can we give so much to the missionaries every month???¨ My perspective has certainly changed. One thing I have to do is take care of a big cash pool in the office, and when it runs low I have to go to the bank and cash a check I make to myself in order to refill it. It's pretty nervewracking because they hand me a really really really thick stack of money and I put it in a little bag and then walk straight back to the car without looking at anybody. In El Salvador. But I don't think I'll die any time soon, so don't worry. Really though, so far I love it. I really enjoy working in Excell and doing math. It has helped me a lot to learn about how to save money and budget the money that I have, and I'm going to start to just keep a record down to the penny. So yeah. That's pretty much what I do. I can't explain a daily routine really because every day is something different, but that's the weekly routine.
I still really want the recipe for banana bread... teeheehee. PLZ??!?!?!?!
I think next week were going to go to the zoo! I'm pretty excited about it.
Oh yeah, guess what! Last week Elder Homer, Archila, and I made homemade pupusas! We made the dough and beans from scratch and then bought the cheese from the store. Somos puros guanacos! The first batch turned out really gross and doughy, but the second time they were really not too bad. Still, if I had bought them from a pupusería I would have never wanted to come back, but it was my first time, and now I know how to do it all better. So just so you're all ready, we've gotta have a good little pupusa party when I get home. I just need to learn to make the curtido. It's the cabbage stuff you put on top that's just sooooo good. Man. Pupusas are the redeeming entity of this silly little country.
This weather is seriously making me want to have Thanksgiving turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, and pumpkin pie soooo bad. Man. Maybe... I dunno. Man! I think I might have to just eat REALLY prudently the first few weeks of this month and then buy myself a Thanksgiving feast. I just might. I really might.
Don't forget to send me the recipe for banana bread. Yeah!
Anyway, I'm out. The mission is good, it keeps going, I'm having a lot of great spiritual experiences, its hard, but its great and totally worth it and I really love it a lot, despite the hardships and inconveniences (companions, man... I guess it's for the best). Anyway, I love you all and hope that you're all doing well.
Love,
Andr ewwwww
ps- I'd proofread this, but I don't feel like it. Just forgive any errors. Thanks.
We played volleyball this morning as a district. It was fun, but I definitely am not very good anymore. :( rofl. Plus the ball was rock hard and it just hurt to play, but hey, it was a good change. Then we played some soccer and I totally stunk it up. Hooray for Wiggins' sport skills! Maybe Ben and Jamie's family will redeem our cursed blood. Do it guys!
I read about the crazy fires in the national daily report that we get at the office from church headquarters. It basically just says what sorts of things might pose threats around the world so that mission presidents know about it and are aware. I can't believe that Lombardi Ranch burned down. Chupa. Really! I really wanted to come home to fresh corn and tomatoes. That's just too bad. I'm glad to hear that things didn't get too out of control for our ward members, or at least they didn't lose their houses.
So dad asked me to explain what I do as a financial secretary. I guess I'll just write it in here to that you can all know.
I have to keep track of all the money in our mission account, approve expenses on President's church credit card, and manage the money that we get from Salt Lake. I pay all the bills of the office, my house, and the mission home, and I pay all the cell phone bills of the zone leaders too. I make checks for all the people that offer us services (medical, water, rent, etc.). When I do all of that there's a lot of record keeping and organization that takes place, sending reports to Guatemala and our daily transmission summaries (what we did that day) to Salt Lake. Yesterday (don't tell) I moved $30,000. I hope I didn't mess up. I had to do the monthly assignment for the mission, depositing money to all the missionary´s cards. When I was out in the field I would ask myself where all the money we spend on a mission goes, because I as a missionary wasn't getting any. But now I'm thinking, ¨How can we give so much to the missionaries every month???¨ My perspective has certainly changed. One thing I have to do is take care of a big cash pool in the office, and when it runs low I have to go to the bank and cash a check I make to myself in order to refill it. It's pretty nervewracking because they hand me a really really really thick stack of money and I put it in a little bag and then walk straight back to the car without looking at anybody. In El Salvador. But I don't think I'll die any time soon, so don't worry. Really though, so far I love it. I really enjoy working in Excell and doing math. It has helped me a lot to learn about how to save money and budget the money that I have, and I'm going to start to just keep a record down to the penny. So yeah. That's pretty much what I do. I can't explain a daily routine really because every day is something different, but that's the weekly routine.
I still really want the recipe for banana bread... teeheehee. PLZ??!?!?!?!
I think next week were going to go to the zoo! I'm pretty excited about it.
Oh yeah, guess what! Last week Elder Homer, Archila, and I made homemade pupusas! We made the dough and beans from scratch and then bought the cheese from the store. Somos puros guanacos! The first batch turned out really gross and doughy, but the second time they were really not too bad. Still, if I had bought them from a pupusería I would have never wanted to come back, but it was my first time, and now I know how to do it all better. So just so you're all ready, we've gotta have a good little pupusa party when I get home. I just need to learn to make the curtido. It's the cabbage stuff you put on top that's just sooooo good. Man. Pupusas are the redeeming entity of this silly little country.
This weather is seriously making me want to have Thanksgiving turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, and pumpkin pie soooo bad. Man. Maybe... I dunno. Man! I think I might have to just eat REALLY prudently the first few weeks of this month and then buy myself a Thanksgiving feast. I just might. I really might.
Don't forget to send me the recipe for banana bread. Yeah!
Anyway, I'm out. The mission is good, it keeps going, I'm having a lot of great spiritual experiences, its hard, but its great and totally worth it and I really love it a lot, despite the hardships and inconveniences (companions, man... I guess it's for the best). Anyway, I love you all and hope that you're all doing well.
Love,
Andr ewwwww
ps- I'd proofread this, but I don't feel like it. Just forgive any errors. Thanks.