Sleep, Pray, Love (Plus put on a sweater, drink something called C-fruit, and make up stories about...)

"Wait, I'm a Gringo???"

This week was amazing. 

We have been getting more sleep this week and taking care of our body more and it has made a huge difference. Elder Astuñaupa and I now talk much more frequently and have a ton of fun. There are just some topics that always spark a conversation like cars, music, and funny stories of our life before the mission. Something I gotta give to Latino's is they have way higher standards when it comes to music. In the states people my age listen to almost any type of music. But here they are careful about the music they listen to. They try to avoid reggatone and trap. And I love that music. But in my defense I still do not understand what they are saying so I am sinning in ignorance, which everyone knows doesn't count. 

Something that stinks about the mission is that there can be periods of mucho stress. Difficult times. When these moments happen your body responds. The stinky part is that when those moments end you body begins to relax and boom, you get sick. That is happening to me right now. I am not super sick and it will pass in maximum two days but it is not fun either. But now that I have realized the cycle I am optimistic because it means life is looking up. 

I am actually cold right now in Santo Domingo and I am wearing a sweater. So you know this is not normal because it is always hot. Being hot stinks but I love taking of my smelly clothes at night and taking a refreshing shower. Then afterwards chiling in the house in my pajamas is the best. I just feel perfect. Something else I love is sleeping. We go really hard during the day and get to the house exhausted and the sleep is amazing. Also the sun rises 15 minutes before we wake up so I always wake up well. Also to all those living where C-fruit exists drink it! It is basically Sunny-D but if you drink it at night it gives you really cool dreams at night. Every night I drink C-fruit I have a movie night in my dreams. 

We will have a baptism this Saturday of the girlfriend of the convert who I baptised a month ago. Elder Astuñaupa will be doing it and I am so excited. 

All right I gotta confess. Nothing brings a companionship together like stories about girls. Especially funny failure stories. And I do have a couple of those. So that really glued the companionship together. I invite all Elders everywhere to try it. For the inquisitive ones I actually just made up all the stories. In high school I was only focused on my studies, the church, and work. I never falted (dad help me out with this one) from my laser sharp focus. (Dad help: I was never distracted from my laser-sharp focus.) Never. Okay so don't ask. 

Something my dad told me is that now it bothers me a bit when they talk about me being a gringo. Definitely true. Like not a ton but I get it. I have blue eyes. I do not need to hear about it every day. I really do feel at home here. My first 5 months I had a lot of fear. Just imagine. I came to the mission with a fear of dogs and vaccines. And my first day they tell me an Elder got bit by a pit-bull in the face and had to get 100 stitches and still has the scar. And then they tell me if a dog bites me I have to get 5 shots. Every day I imagined that happening at the beginning and it rocked my world. In almost every letter home I wrote about it and talked about it constantly. My trainer did not help when he said every Gringo gets bit at least once on the mission. But something that really helps overcoming fears is having to be the brave one. Having to enter the house first or be close to the door as the person is about to open it with their barking dog. I guess I can say faking it until one makes it works. 

Something about me is I am competitive and a perfectionist. I have to be number one. No one can know more than me or be better than me. It has its benefits and downfalls. I love asking missionaries with more time for suggestions because they help. I get hungry at church when people quote scriptures I do not know. By hungry I mean I just want to go home and read all the scriptures. I like being the best. But that means sometimes I can be a bit self-righteous. It bothers me when missionaries make mistakes that to me seem stupid. That has made training a learning experience because I have to let go of the little mistakes and just loved. And I think I am getting there a bit. Or maybe Elder Astuñaupa is just super improved. Definitely both. So a great thing about being a leader is the opportunity to grow personally. 

Y'all every realized how complicated the word get is. Super complicated. Think about it.

Sorry for writing a ton, I felt conversational.

Love,

Elder Tucker