Weird Lessons and Birds!

Hola familia!

Haha...this week is just what the title says. Weird. 

I want to start out with this statement that I believe and feel with all of my heart to be 100% true: Everyone is a child of God and He loves everyone equally. With that being said, I am going to explain some things that happened this week. Remember, don´t forget the above statement.

Modesto, a 45 year old man from the Dominican Republic, came to his first lesson with us at the church. We didn´t know it, but he brought a friend. His girlfriend. His 30 year old Asturian girlfriend. That wasn´t the bad part. As we started the lesson, we asked Nancy (the girlfriend) about her religious beliefs. She looked at me like a had the word LUNATIC stamped in red across my forehead. Haha. She isn´t a believer. But, she was nice enough to sit through the lesson and listen to us. Thankfully, Modesto loved it and wants to keep moving forward even though our member that we brought started going off about the Word of Wisdom and how it´s changed her life. We´ll see how this ends up. Advice to anyone who wants to help the missionaries: please do not say anything that they don´t tell you to say. Also, please do not go off about the Law of Chastity, Word of Wisdom, Tithing or any of that stuff unless the missionary talks about it first. It´s a bad idea. Trust me.

Beatriz, a member reference from Nelly, will go down in history as the worst lesson I´ve ever been a part of in any time of my life. I´m not sure that I can even describe it. When we came home that night, Hermana Carroll got in the shower and I laid on my bed and laughed for about 20 minutes straight. I just couldn´t stop. It was so terrible that it was hilarious. But it was the circumstances that made it terrible. Beatriz lives in the middle of nowhere right next to a Gypsy town. We literally almost got attacked by gypsy men getting there. Also, because Gypsies are not the most hygienically counscious people on the planet, Beatriz and her house are surrounded by flies. The lesson itself really wasn´t bad. She had a ton of questions and knows everything about the church. She reads a lot on the Internet. She already knew EVERYTHING (and I mean everything) about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon (she´s read it once already), and our church meetings/history. She is really intelligent and is looking for more spirituality in her life. She told us that she would be baptized on the 23rd of August if she knew that the church was true. Terrible lesson, pretty good outcome. I really honestly don´t know how the most horrific lesson turned into a baptismal fecha, but, we will take the blessings that the Lord gives us. Beatriz also came to church yesterday and LOVED it. 

To add to our week of really weird lessons, we are having a problem: the seagulls are hatching and learning how to fly. Needless to say, I´m terrified/not happy. They make the most noise of any creature I´ve ever seen in my life, and they will not stop. Neither of us has slept well in days. I´m going to try Dad´s google thing and send a video. It´s incredible. 

Things are going well here. The branch is still struggling. Gossip is a really dangerous thing, especially in a tiny branch. We are really praying for the members right now. The missionary work is growing, especially in the past month, but the members are really struggling with a lot of personal things. It would be really helpful if you could keep them in your prayers. 

Thanks for everything! Love you all!

Hermana Endicott

Attached: My new friend from Paris. She said that we could stay at her house anytime we want. She is the bomb.