8/15/11

Yes, I have other funny e-mails planned in the future, but not for this week. This week I must be somber and serious.

 

And so, the week started off as it had for six months. In the smelly town of Granollers. In the tiny apartment. With the same people. Sleeping on the same bed as always. Eating from the same bowls, plates, and drinking from the same bottle. Sitting at the same chair, sitting on the same couch, taking a shower in the same shower, shaving at the same sink, looking in the same mail box, and staring in the same mirror, wondering why life was still the same.

 

Then, the same changed.

 

So, yes, I´m in Gandia again. Thursday morning I headed into Barcelona, went to the leadership conference, got my official secret decoder ring and ID card, got photos with the Man from St. George(conveniently covering the nametag) and took off on a 4.5 hour train to Valencia. It used to be three hours, but there´s a lot of construction, and they´ve ripped out all the train access on the south side of Sants Station, so we had to make a large loop around Barcelona. I got into Gandia around 10:45 that night.

 

The new apartment is a little different. It´s the largest I´ve ever been in, it has wood floors, air conditioning, surround sound, a TV and DVD player(lol yes I´m not lying), a dishwasher, separate bathrooms, a big kitchen, and it´s clean. They did a nice job finding it. 

 

C/Plus Ultra 21, 1, 1

46701 Gandia

Spain. 

 

So, the last few days have been just getting back into the hang of things. The normal routes around town are different since we live in a different area, so for the moment I´m following rather than leading. Most of the members are pretty surprised. They all seemed happy. Usually commented that I looked different. Tomas Costa demanded I hug him, then commit to visit him next week when he´s back in his house in the city instead of on the beach. Said I was the first missionary he´d ever seen go back to the area.

 

I don´t think it´s as hot as last year. It could be just having 40 pounds less to carry around, or that the weather´s just changed. Or that we´ve got AC in the apartment and you don´t wake up covered in sweat. And my shower! It´s wonderful. I just wish the nozzle was a little higher. But there´s no need for a curtain or door.

 

The AC in the living room is a little funny, though. Because they´re just simple wall-mounted units with the condensers outside, they need a water drain. The other ones have it drain back outside, but in that case, it drains to a hose in the house. So we have a water jug below it, and we´ve got to keep an eye on it, or it overflows and we have a mess everywhere. And that´s bad with wood.

 

I´ll probably take a video and then send a card home soon. Or we´ll find a different shop that has card slot readers. One of the two.

 

We´re teaching a good amount of people. And I might be traveling a lot this week for baptismal interviews. Alcoy´s date is a maybe (it´s pretty wishy-washy) but Benidorm´s date seems more solid.

 

We´re both a little hungry, because today is a smelly Spanish holiday and all the stores are closed. We´re going to go back and break open a can of baked beans with our teeth. (we have food, lol, but we´re desperate. And baked beans are hard to find.). Too bad we don´t seem to have a can opener.

 

My new companion is Elder Gross. He´s from Minnesota, which is a nice change from the U-tards and Bolivia. He´s organized and clean, but not anal about it. I think we might talk a bit too much, but it´s better than not talking at all.

 

Right now we´re teaching someone that Elder Crofts and I taught. And she´s progressing this time...might be getting baptised soon.

 

Well, I hope you all have a good week. I know we will.

 

Bradley.