I ate a banana directly from the tree.

I hope you all understood the title of my email.  I ate a banana DIRECTLY from the tree.  I hope you all realize that is impossible in Utah.  Also did you know that bananas grow from like this weird pod thing?  It is amazing! I have never seen anything like this in my whole life.  

Papantla is super awesome and tropical.  So tropical that it used to be the ocean.  Papantla is also really really hilly.  The whole city is built on hills.  So one day I was walking on top of a hill, minding my own little missionary business when suddenly I saw that there were seashells!!! On top of this mountain!! Seashells!!! The whole city was once under the water!!! Agh! Do you realize how cool that is!?  Anyway.  

Things here are going just great.  We have been finding a lot of people and we have been working in a new area called Tajin.  It is a tiny community near the ruins of Tajin and it is out in the middle of nowhere.  But we went out there and we found a bunch of people and we found a donkey. And we fed it ilote.  It was a great moment. This area is super awesome.  There is so much greeen!!!!  It is amazing! Almost everyone has a banana tree outside their house.  

The ward is super great, I have been getting to know the people a little bit better and they are awesome!  I think they are accepting me into their herd.. haha They are always working and visit inactives and just being epic.  Just like every ward should be!! I am happy to be here and I am happy that it is almost Christmas!!!! I hope you all enjoy Thanksgiving this week! Eat lots of turkey for me!! Be happy! I love you all!

 

Hermana Chanclita

Barrio Xanath

So this week has been great.  I got to my new area on Tuesday!  I said goodbye to my neighbors and it was really really rough.  They are just the best.  But I know that they will be just fine.  Then off the ADO (that's what they call the bus system here). All day in the bus... woohoo.. that was awesome.  One awesome thing about Veracrus is that every street in this state is extremely curvy.  So basically to travel in ADO, you feel like death.  So after traveling for 5 hours in ADO I felt awesome!! I got here around 1 met my companion Hermana Vite and we started working at 2.  It was great!  Very tiring.. but great!  

This area is awesome.  I am in Barrio Xanath.  These members are great and the people here are just awesome.  Another super cool thing is that here they speak another language.  They speak totonaco (I don't know how to write that..) But it is this crazy dialect. Papantla is like a tiny pueblo, super super super traditional.  The people here are awesome.  They are so friendly!! And they are so willing to listen.  Well obviously not everyone but yes there are definitely more people to talk to here in Papantla. 

The area is cool, it is very very very green. Almost a jungle!!  Which is awesome!  But also means there are a lot of little creatures.. gross.  The weather here is cold.  Everyone told me I would be dying of heat but it has been ridiculously cold.  And I sure love bathing in cold water when it is cold.. you could say that I just don't bathe now... okay.. That's not true.  But it is pretty miserable.  

This week we had a baptism.  A little girl named Debani.  She is super cute and she was so excited for her baptism.  She wanted so badly for her dad to baptize her but he couldn't because he wouldn't stop drinking coffee. One of the new elders helped us with the ordinance.  Poor guy.  He just got here and he struggles with the language.  I remember those days.. we are doing what we can to help him feel good here, so we let him baptize her!  It was a super cool experience.  We had to baptize her in the other chapel because there was no water in our chapel but everything turned out really well.  The work of the Lord can't be frustrated.  I have seen so much proof of that in my mission.  All the weird things that happen that seem to be a huge stumbling blocks...all just kind of go away.  God is awesome.  He always has out backs.  I hope you all always remember that.  I love you all and I hope you are all happy! 

Hermana Chandler 

Tacos al Pastor

Hi family,

I hope that you are all happy and healthy!! Things here are going well!  This week are changes so tomorrow I will be embarking on a new adventure to Papantla, Xanath!  I am pretty excited! I have heard a lot of super cool stuff about Papantla!! There are lots of ruins and this super cool place called Tajin!  I can't wait to see it in person!! I am a little sad about leaving my area because I really do love it!  In spite of all the complaining, I really did love it! 

This week was pretty awesome.  We had a Bautstrito, meaning that companions in our district had a baptism this week! It was amazing! Why? Because I know that God really does perform miracles!  We baptized one my best friends from the entire mission! Her name is Kassandra. We started teaching her forever ago and on my last Sunday in Museo she got baptized! I am so happy!  She is super awesome and I know that she is going to be an awesome missionary one day! Things here are going really well. I am sad that I have to say goodbye to everyone but I think that I will enjoy my next area just as much as my first two!! 

I love you all and I am sorry that this letter is short and a little boring.  I wrote it with love!  

Hermana Chandle

r