Week 72 In Ft. Lauderdale....

Well, Elder Park neglected to mention in today's email that his bike vanished. From what we understand, they strapped it to the bike rack on the car and drove to "who knows where", when they arrived his bike was gone. We only have 5 months left!! I didn't want to purchase a new bike for such a short period of time. So... THANK GOODNESS for CTR BIKES!! I am so glad that we bought his bike through them! They will be replacing the bike with a brand new, same model bike! It was worth the extra $79 that we paid 18 months ago!!

Belle Glade...Stinks... literally. At night they "burn the corn" and it smells like death, dog crap, and corn. Because that's how they farm out here and produce corn products. With FIRE!!! I still am not exactly sure how it works but they light whole fields on fire an acre at a time! They grow a field then light it on fire, just to do it again because cane grows quick, I haven't been able to see how they harvest the cane after it is burnt. It just appears to me like they create a wasteland.

About everybody speaks Creole but I did find some Spanish hovels to hang in and teach a little, its funny because, I will sit and twiddle my thumbs for one lesson and then my companion will do the same the next, then we will see some English ghetto lady and we will speak some English and then do it again. (That is why I would really like a Haitian Creole work book) But I am already beginning to understand A LOT and it is sounding more like a language and less like a food processor.

Most of the people here work in something related to corn or sugar cane production, and its "the season" and the men tend to work well into the night. So that  makes it difficult but it just has to be dealt with.

The people around here also do not move fast. they mosie (?) across the streets making traffic stop. If they don't have anything to do they play a gruesome game of dominoes that involves clothes pins on their face or they just sit in the middle of no where... doing nothing. This place is the definition of Ghetto. It's not the Hood this is just a terrible contradiction, full of  tough hard-workers, and Lazy bums. People trying to make dreams come true, and people content bumming for cigarettes. Its inspiring and excruciating.

But people love us Jesus boys.

That is why we are able to find a ton of people and teach a lot, the Haitians really love that my companion speaks creole, but they love even more that I don't but am trying. I have already been offered 2 daughters and 3 grand daughters. (So I know that getting married after the mission will be easy if I can't find anyone at home I can come here!) Unfortunately Creole is an extremely vague language, it is french spoken in a caveman like grammar, and so some of the more intricate parts of the gospel have to be VERY blunt or they are misunderstood. (we have had to correct a few Chastity issues with members)

But otherwise everything is going well save mike bike falling of the back of the car and either being beamed up by aliens or snatched by a Haitian before we could turn around...

But this trippin' place nothin' to throw round here. Just gotta tighten up and all will be 'ight.

Stay Strong, Push on.

Elder Parque

P.S. we were also called some hoodrats n-word- translation: we are their brothers. That was a proud moment.

P.P.S. "neg" in creole translates directly to ''Black Man" but its connotation is dude so a common salute is Saka Fet Neg or whats up black man to everybody white or black

We had a baptism lined up for Saturday but Satan of his boss cheats and called him to Miami to work over the weekend.