Well this was a really good week! I now have my first week down in Chapala. So far Chapala is my absolutely favorite area! It is so great here! You'll all have to look it up once you get back from the coast! Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. First off it is pretty much a retirement place for older Americans because the weather is absolutely amazing. It is warm for sure but nothing compared to how Nueva Italia was.
First off because there are lots of older Americans, there is a lot of really good American food! I don't think I have eaten so well in a long time. This week I definitely realized just how much I missed American food! I think the transition back to American food won't be too rough for me. ;) I mean I love the Mexican food but after eating this week I'll stick with anything the Americans here give me!
Second, because there are a lot of Americans, there are a lot of people who don't speak Spanish. With a lot of the members we speak English in their houses. It was kind of weird when I first got here and it was a little rough to speak English again but after a couple days it felt pretty natural. Another thing that is pretty awesome is that the services here are in both Spanish in English. There were about six people in church for whom I had to translate. That was definitely an interesting experience. It was pretty rough because the speakers talk really quick and while they are speaking I have to listen and say out loud in English what they are saying. This week I feel like I did okay but thankfully I will still have a couple more weeks to keep practicing.
Well Chapala is also a branch. It looks like the Lord just loves sending me to the branches right? I now have well over a year in branches so it will serve me well here now that I have some experience.
The other extremely cool thing here in Chapala is that a family has a store of used things and so they gave us a washing machine that we have in the house. Oh my gosh. I have never been so happy for a washing machine in my life! It is seriously the biggest luxury! It takes out a lot of time that we spent on P day washing.
We have a family that we are teaching right now. The son we feel will be ready to be baptized this week! I hope all goes really well for him and we will have to be working a lot with him this week so that he will be ready!
Other than that everything else is pretty much the same. Same gospel, same message, same Elder O'Brien. I am really excited to be here in this area and I continue to pray that the Lord will help me have just a part of His Spirit that will take this message to the hearts of all the people here in Chapala. I am so glad that I have this opportunity to serve.
May the Lord continue to bless you all! I hope you all are enjoying the coast! Can't wait to hear from you all next week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien
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