Holes - Chilean Version

Hello all!

So sadly I don't have much to say about this week, BUT it was a fun week.  We had a ton of service. Like a ton.  Probably more than any set of missionaries in the mission.  But I do love service! Starting to miss proselyting a little bit though, not gunna lie.  The weather will start cooling down soon and the service will calm down and we'll get bikes again so everything will go back to normal.  BUT I did enjoy the service a lot this week, so I'll tel you a little bit about it.

The subject of the email is inspired by a service project we started this week.  I thought that we were just going to go to the house of this member and do a little 3 hour project to help her out and be done.  We got to her house and she told us that she wanted us to dig a hole, which didn't seem like too big a deal.  she drew the outline of the hole and it was a rectangle about 2 and a half meters long and 2 meters wide.  Still no big deal.  We started digging and got about 8'' deep when we decided to ask how deep she wanted the hole.  She responded, ''Oh, as deep as possible.  4 meters, maybe 3.''

Four meters deep, she wants a hole that's twice as deep as I am tall.

So that's when we realized the full magnitude of the project that we've engaged in.  Digging a giant hole is super exhausting, but it's actually kind of fun work.  It's been one of my favorite projects in the mission so far for sure (but that might be because the only service I've done before is helping people move, and that's the absolute worst.  Especially in Chile.)  so we've been digging a giant hole.

We also got a reference this week from others elders about a woman who needed a service, so we went to her house and started building a shed for her to keep a bunch of extra wood that she has just sitting around in her property (I know it's a little odd but we just went with it.)  Her name is Maria, and she's an awesome lady.  I think we'll definitely be able to teach her, and I think that she could easily accept the Restored Gospel.  She says that she's very catholic, but she makes a lot of off-colored jokes and swears a good deal.  She's really funny and easily to get along with though, and we've all made quick friends.  So we'll see how all that goes!

Other stories of the week!  I did divs with the zone leaders this Wednesday, which was a lot of fun.  We had a great day and taught a super awesome lesson together.  

Also I'm an official convert to mate.  For those who don't know what that is, it's pronounced MAH-tay and it's a drink that originated in Argentina but is popular in Chile also, and super popular among all missionaries in South America.  What you do is you put mate herb in a cup type thing with a special straw that allows water to pass while blocking the herbs, and you put hot water in the herb cup and drink it.  I've been warming up to it since I started the mission, at first I didn't understand it at all (''why would I want to put water in a cup of oregano?'') BUT I have cultivated a love for the stuff, and the same member that we're digging the hole for gave me a mate cup and straw and sold me herb for super cheap and so now I'm a mate addict. 

''Swalled up in the will of the father'' by Neil A. Maxwell is a flipping awesome talk!  My zone leader gave it to me in my division and I read it and loved it.  If you haven't read it, go find it!

So that's all that I have for this week!  I love you all, a ton, and I hope to be able to send you some pictures of hospital!  I'll hopefully be able to send you some more pictures next week, I'll plan to have some more time in advance.  Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Fox