Dear Family,
Wow, a pretty crazy week this week - well at least for somebody from Arizona! It rained for 7 days STRAIGHT this past week and today is the first time I have seen the sun since then - and of course, I got sunburned . . .! I finally really understand what rainy season means now. Here, there are things called Baguadas, which are somewhere in between a rainstorm and a hurricane and we had TWO this week, which both lasted for a couple of days. If you all remember, I have said before, that Valiente doesn't have paved roads which has turned out to be a little bit of a problem now . . . all of the streets have flooded, and we have been proselyting in SHIN DEEP water for the past little while. But, that isn't necessarily the worst part. We always leave, even if it is storming, but we don't like to use umbrellas because here, that either means that you are gay - or that you are Jehovah's Witness - the both of which I am not :). So, we just kind of weather the weather like men and slop through the mud like REAL men, haha! We even have to wrap our scriptures in like 5 plastic bags so they don't get wet.
One of the funny things about Dominicans is that they are all afraid of the rain. They all think it brings diseases or something - that if it touches your head, you will get sick. So, normally they don't leave the house if it is raining. But, if they have to, they wrap plastic bags around their heads - just in case - and if they get wet, well then they have to change their clothes asap and take a shower to rinse off. Funny thing is that the water for their showers is . . . rain water!!! When it rains a lot here, the government shuts off all of the water all together and makes the people catch it in buckets and things. Luckily, the house of the zone leaders where we are living, there is something called a Sisterna, which is pretty much just a big hole in the ground - so . . . we don't have to worry too much about rain gathering.
So on to the missionary work part! We had another baptism this week! His name is Ayendi, he is 12, and the son of one of the strongest members in the branch, named Brito. Ayendi was living in the North part of the island, but his mom moved to Spain - so he came to live with his dad. While living with his dad, he came to know the church and now the rest is history. If all goes according to plan, I should be able to go to the temple sealing of Brito and his family in a year - and also Diana, the Haitian woman that was baptized last week! That is kind of the ultimate goal here for the missionaries: to be able to meet someone that they baptized in the temple. I hope I can do it - it would be so awesome. My odds are looking good recently because we are working with 4 families. One of which are trying to get their birth certificates for marriage, and the other - after telling us that she would never marry her husband, went to church a few times, prayed to see what she should do, and saw the difference in her husband from the gospel. She decided yesterday that she wants to get married and baptized too, so we will see how they go.
So on to the worldly part. What is going on with the World Cup? My companion is from Mexico, so we always talk about soccer together and we have both been dying to watch a few games lately. Who is looking good? Who is likely to win? How was the United States this year? Also, word on the street is that it is really heating up over in Arizona lately. I CRAVE that so bad lately. Last summer, sometimes I would just go outside, stand there and soak in the heat, then go inside right before the point of sweating - but this 100% humidity 24/7 is killing me! It is sooooo sweaty here. For example, sweat is dripping down my nose right this very second while I am typing out this letter. Everyone kind of stopped going out in the sun about a month ago, so we are kind of alone on the street now (no thanks to the water as well). But, it's all in good fun! What would a mission be without this kind of stuff? I honestly don't know - it's all part of the experience I guess! Well, have a good one!
Love, Elder McBride
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