SPIDERS, Jurassic Beetles, and Pensionistas

I KILLED MY FIRST SPIDER THIS WEEK. it was freakin huge and it ran across my desk and onto the floor and i smashed it! with my own flip flop, guys. this is a big deal. never again tho - one time thing.

so, we take mototaxis everywhere and we invite all the drivers to come to church and we give them a "because he lives" card (have i mentioned this, idk), and now i'm able to do the whole thing! we ask their name, where they live, tell them we're missionaries, and that they're invited to church, and we bear a short testimony. :)

also, i was literally attacked by a beetle as long and thick as my thumb. it was like a scene from jurassic park - velociraptor of the beetles!!! this is not a joke!!! it flew at me and there was a literal thud when it hit me.

i'm learning here that i can do more than i think i can! if you told me two months ago i'd be jurassic park-attacked by the devil, living with spiders and ants, and eating potatoes everyday, i'd be like "ha, no. not about that life." but i'm doing it and it IS life! and it's more or less normal! we always have more in us than we think we do. :)

everything's still moving slowly [as we open this new area]. all we've really taught anyone is the first lesson since we're starting from ground 0. so i have that one pretty much memorized. ;) also, latinos can talk forever, so it's been interesting to maneuver around them. we have to cut people off all the time and i feel bad, but it's so necessary or we'd never get anything done here!

i finally got to see the strength of some of the members and recent converts in pucallpa! we visited the ballon family and the dad was telling us how much the gospel helps him. then he recounted the story of when nephi was commanded to kill laban, and i was like "i know that story!! you know that story??" then we taught silveria who was baptized less than a month ago, and she was saying how much she loves and reads the BOM [Book of Mormon], and i was like "ME TOO." :)

alma 26:37 - "god is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in...this is my joy.¨ god is aware of me and all of YOU lovely people, never forget that! love you all more than anything. bye. :)

hermana wood

Questions from Hermana Wood's dad:
How are you handling the heat?
Do you have electric fans? Do you sleep with a fan blowing on you? Do you sleep at all?
Do you use the mosquito net?
Did you fly from Iquitos to Pucallpa?
Did you have to leave a suitcase in the mission home?
How do you pronounce Pucallpa? (Pookaypa or Pookalpa?)
Do they have electric hot water devices in the shower (like I had in Brazil)?
Does your maid buy the groceries?
Do you like the food your maid cooks?
Do you ever eat in restaurants or snack bars?
Do you drink tap water?
Do you drink Inca Kola?

Answers from Hermana Wood:

• the hardest part about the heat is at night cuz we close the windows to keep bugs out, so all the air just gets trapped.
• we have one working fan! it blows on us while we sleep and it's my saving grace.
• yes, we use mosquito nets...that trap in hot air, hahah. mine has holes, so i'm also using the one we bought on amazon (like in addition). it's 23487 degrees at night. i feel fine.
• i did fly from iquitos to pucallpa (pookalpa)! and i did leave a suitcase there - more do-able than i thought it'd be. the sister leaders fly to iquitos every three weeks to bring back things we need. :)
• the shower is always cold and it's the greatest cuz of the heat!
• the pensionistas live in other houses (we have one for breakfast and lunch and one for dinner and laundry). our dinner pensionista actually had a family emergency and had to fly to lima, so we randomly found another member. HER COOKING IS SO GOOD and she makes whatever we want!! i always leave full from both pensionistas. :)
• no tap water ever! we could buy inka kola, but nah i don't like it, haha.

Hermana Wood with Isabel, her dinner and laundry pensionista.

More from this week's message to Hermana Wood's mom:

random details: i always wear flip flops inside the house cuz everything's covered with dust at all times. microfiber towel = best purchase ever. dries fast and is packable. lotion/chapstick usage is down 150% (who AM i?). also, bought small towels to carry with me cuz i'm constantly sweating. i think hna mucha thinks it's weird, hahah. and, didn't go to lima this week! idk why, the elders never called to explain.

our biggest chunk of proselyting time is from 4-9pm (dinner from 5-6pm), and it's so fun! we ran out of transport money this week, so my legs are buff. lots of exercise. :)

okay so yeah, i re-read you and dad's e-mails all week, and they help so much. you are a literal poet! some of the stuff you say becomes my mantra for the entire week. :) thank you so much for writing! LOVE YOU.