May 6, 2012

DAY 483: MARCH 27


Hello family!



  Well, this week was quite adventurous. After that opening line, you might expect something exciting, but don't get your hopes too high. It was pretty normal when it comes down to it. This week is transfers, and I am going. To stay! (lol) With the same companion, Elder Hernandez. This will make 6 transfers in one area. By the end, it will make nearly eight and a half months! Wow! We've been doing well with everything.



  Last week we had an exchange with the Zone leaders, which here is a little different because they dont speak Spanish. Last transfer, I went into their area, so taught in English, which is a bit different, but just fine. Here it was a little different, because Elder Thornton didnt know any spanish besides "como estas", so its a little weird to teach people just by yourself when you don't have a companion to go back and forth with. On the day of that exchange, it rained like crazy. And I mean crazy. So crazy that in the morning they told us not to go out unless we had set appointments, and the power flickered a few times. I was hoping for something a little more crazy, but it let up after a little bit. On that same day we had our english class. We've been trying to get it going a little more, weve put out some fliers and have got some calls, but still are only getting 2-3 students weekly. We have some teaching material stuff, and usually end with a game, this week was a rendition of "Mother, may I" being "Elder, may I". One time we sang "head, shoulders, knees and toes" and it was just hilarious to hear it with funny accents.



  We had a ward party on Saturday! It was pretty fun. It was focused on games for the family. We invited a ton of people, gave out every single flyer we had, and didnt get any investigators there. Go figure. But, we still had fun playing games with the all the ward kids and stuff. We played musical chairs, which was a blast, because we did an adults game as well. So all the missionaries and several ward members got around a whole bunch of chairs, and we walked around them to the stimulating music of Justin Beiber (no one could find the Mexican hat dance?). I get kind of competitive with games like these, so you know this was fun. Well, I made it pretty far, until one of the last three. It was me, my old companion Elder Rawlings, and Sister Harro from the ward. So the three of us walked around, I really wanted it to end with just me and Elder Rawlings, because that totally would have been a smackdown (maybe thats not the right word. Would have been interesting, he's about as competitive as I am). So anyways, we were walking around, and then when the music stopped, Elder Rawlings grabbed the one right behind me, and Sister Harro tried to sit down in the other one, but, not letting that happen, I grabbed the chair, flipped it around and sat down. There came quite the reaction from the bystanders, saying "Trampa!!" which means cheating. So, after sitting down for a second, I gave it up, then them two went for the last one and he let her win. Not much you can (or should) do to battle it out with a married woman when you're a missionary. Or ever. Elder Hernandez took a video, I'll send the link to my dad.



  On sunday we went to a members house for her daughters Birthday party. She asked me to make a tres leches cake, I guess I've earned a rep for my tres leches. She didnt want to tell us how old shes turning, so she told us twenty something. Well, shes a recent convert, and her baptismal record with her birthday on it is still in our area book, so the something was no longer a mystery. But, on the cake, I wrote "Feliz 20-algo". Wish I had taken a picture. Anyways, fun little party, we ate some pupusas and the cake. This one turned out not quite as good as others I've done, and let me explaind why: I've made tres leches alot, it is seriously so good, you should make one sometime. In my old area I bought some baking powder, then brought it with me to this area so I wouldn't have to buy it again, and then found there was already some here at this apartment. So when ever I've made them, ive just grabbed whichever one my hand happened to reach for. A few of the cakes I've made have turned out really well. Part of what makes a tres leches delicious is that it is nice and fluffy, like a sponge, and then you add the milk over it and it soaks it up and is delicious. But if the cake doesn't rise properly, it doesn't soak up very well, and ends up being kind of flat, and cant soak up as much milk. So I tried adding a little more baking powder, and it helped alot, and it came out nice and spongy. Then this time I did the same amount of baking powder, and it came out flat again! Then I thought perhaps it wasn't baking long enough, it was cooling to fast, etc, and couldn't quite get the right touch. Then I figured it out. I looked on the bottom of the baking powder can that was already here, and figured out I had been using expired baking powder. So that's why it wasn't coming out right. Guess how long ago it expired. Just guess. Got a guess? Guess higher. Nope, guess again. Nope, higher. Yup, you guessed it, that baking powder expired in June 1995, about 17 years ago. I suspect future tres leches cakes will turn out a little fluffier.



  So thats about it. The other elders with whom we live are getting double transferred, so we'll have 2 new ones next week. Hope they're cool!



Love,

Cam



My address for the next 6 weeks (possibly even more) will again be:



1343 Jade Ave

Baton Rouge, LA 70810


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