KAKAIBA – Some of the strangest things people say, leave on the stairs, and Monong Bien…

August 11, 2014

This week I realized that some of the “normal” things about life here in the Pines would be very different at home. Hopefully y’all get a kick out of it!

After someone first opens their door to us, the most common “reaction” is, “BAKIT?!” or “WHY?” How  do you logically even respond to that? The real answer, “Because we love you even though we don’t know you yet.” Sounds creepy. Usually I just say, “Because we are missionaries!” Then go on trying to make small talk…AWKWARD!

Also, I see some of the weirdest things on the stairs sometimes. Here are this week’s highlights (with pictures, of course).

Don’t know what kind of bones these are…jaw bone, but what animal??

This worm is longer than my foot. And my foot isn’t small or anything.

Barbie head. Super creepy.

Crab. Whaaa??? Yep. A crab.

There used to be a creepy stuffed banana doll thing that was always on the stairs on our walk to and from home. It doesn’t sound scary, but it was like a horror movie (or the closest thing to a horror movie as missionaries) because every time we walked by it would be in a different place. In the morning, on a stair. Later tied to the fence. Then, on a tree stump. It was super creepy. I haven’t seen it in a while, but next time I do, I’ll take a picture of it.

Oh. My. Gosh. My companion has had some of the funniest/weirdest interactions with Monong Bien. So great. She cracks me up.

·         She got him to fix our toilet

·         She gives him our bill and cash and asks him to pay it. I don’t even know how to pay bills here (There isn’t really a house to house postal system. People will come by and tape what looks like a receipt but is actually our bill on our gate. Then Sister Campos just gives it to Monong Bien with our cash and 20 extra pesos.)

·         When I was sick and asleep all day, she texted him and asked him to come to the window so she could talk. Then she gave him 40 pesos and asked him to buy rice for her because she was super hungry and it’s “not good to leave Jackson Five here alone.” (Monong Bien calls me Jackson Five. Clever, right?)

·         She dropped her eye shadow out the window onto the roof. It’s the roof above our laundry room – just one story up. She asked Monong Bien to get it for her, so he climbed a fence, jumped to the roof, and got it for her. (I missed the whole thing!)

·         When we ran out of water at our house, Sister Campos gave Monong Bien our empty buckets and he filled them up for us so we could take showers.

·         Somehow, Sister Campos and I locked and closed our bedroom door. We don’t have a key for it. So, when we came back at night, we were locked out of our room. Sister Campos got Monong Bien to fix it for us. He got a ladder and a really long pole to turn the light on through the window. Then he and another neighbor dude put a giant rubber band thing at the end of the stick and kept swinging it inside trying to get the door handle and turn it. It worked! Success!

Monong Bien is the best! So is Sister Campos – she’s a hoot. Life is so amusing right now. Lots of reasons to smile!

So, teaching! Haha. We didn’t teach Roxanne this week. She has been busy with school – it’s exam week. We did teach the Baysics and I was so touched when Rin shared her experience of when she prayed about Joseph Smith with us. She said, “I felt like how I felt when I read the Book of Mormon. Before when you taught us about Joseph Smith I kinda just thought, ‘Who’s that?’ but when I prayed, I didn’t hear a voice or anything, I just felt that he is a prophet.” I am seriously so so happy for her. AH!

We were able to teach the Montorio family TWICE this week, and the kids were really excited to come to church. But when we dropped by to pick them up Sunday morning, only the dad was home…What the?! The dad told us he didn’t know where they all went, maybe to the market. Bummer. Super frustrating. But then we got the full story through text from Joseph later Sunday afternoon. He told us his dad said they weren’t allowed to go to church, but instead they had to go to the market. :( Hopefully their dad will soften up soon.

ANNIE! Oh my goodness. We watched the restoration video with her. She is so awesome! She really just wants to understand, which is SUPER rare. (Most people are passive listeners.) When the movie ended she said she wished it was longer. And that she was excited to learn more. And she really like that Joseph Smith was a real person, just looking for answers.

I love my KAKAIBA life here in the Pines! Hope y’all are doing GREAT in America! :)