RURAL RANT

So you guys see that last Sunday, I went in rural territory.  I can't lie, this 2nd go-round, I've really had to psyche myself up to get out in rural territory.  Sometimes, after those marathon days I just want to cry when I remember I still have an ENTIRE full service week ahead of me :(

And honestly, my track record of rural experiences hasn't been so great.  Because the householders are so isolated and don't see many foreigners they are full of pena (embarrassment) with me and won't answer my questions or barely look at me!  Also, the past few times I got put with sisters who refused to talk both at the door and to me (makes for an interesting 10 hours).

So this time, I thought I'd do myself a favor and made plans with Miss Alixe who's experienced at the door and a good friend and expected the best.  So let me tell you how it turned out....it was blazing hot, I ran out of water so had a bladder infection by the end of the day, had diarrhea the last half hour, and something bit me giving me a full-body rash I STILL am struggling with but.....it was actually the nicest time I've had preaching in rural.  For once, the householders were really open with me and we only had one person who refused to listen to us.  Because we're only able to get out there once a month, I asked my new return visits for their phone number so we could stay in touch and I could let them know when I'd be there again so as not to miss them.  They ALL gave me their number without hesitation and expressed genuine appreciation for the visit saying they didn't want to miss us next time either.  I'm actually really excited about the next rural visit.  We were generally talking about the Memorial to them since we can't get there often and many of them said they wanted to come but transportation would be a problem (there IS a bus that goes from there to Granada but it only runs twice a day at 8am and at 12pm).  When we told our brothers, they said that if 30 commit, we'd rent a bus and send it out for them.  Yeah!!!  I'll keep you guys updated as to how it turns out.