Week 16:

Guess who had his first experience with a crazy Oregonian this week?? ELDER JORGENSEN!!!! Actually, it wasn't so much a crazy Oregonian as it was a drunk Mexican... but crazy is crazy so I'm not complaining!!

The crazy Mexican of whom I speak is named HHHH. He was a reference that we got a few weeks ago, so when we passed him by the first time he told us he wasn't really that into religion, he'd gone to some other Christian church awhile ago and the pastor told him to leave... We got him to accept a BOM,

and told him we'd come back later. We finally did on Saturday night. We knocked his door and he stepped outside and started talking with us. As we were talking, some creepy white dude walked between us heading to his apartment, and right before he went in, he looked back over his shoulder and said to us "I'm apostate, please don't knock on my door." FIRST of all... WHO just casually throws around the phrase "I'm Apostate."?!?!?!?! NO ONE says that!!!! Usually we get just like a "please don't knock my door," or some less polite versions of that statement, or... it doesn't matter the point is I just think its kinda weird for somebody to just say "I'm apostate"... I wonder if he knows what that even meant... ANYWHO, HHHH, who speaks English, looked at Apostate boy's door, then at Coop and I, then back at Apostate boy's door, and at Coop and I again, and to clean up his language a little bit he said "Crackers, no respect. What does he think is gonna happen if you knock on his door?!" A sidenote about HHHH, he swears probably more than anyone I have ever met... but Coop and I were just laughing the whole time because he does it in a Mexican accent, and he is one of those individuals that has truly been blessed with the ability to find unique ways to swear...

AND, like I said earlier, he was drunk. To the experienced eye, it probably would have been easy to pick out, but I am still pretty new at these things, so all the pieces didn't click for me until later when he told us he'd been drinking all day. But, I digress. Cooper and I told him we weren't going to knock the kid's door, that we didn't want to anyways... but HHHH kept insisting that we go do it out of spite! Finally, when we wouldn't, he walked over and knocked it for himself, and when apostate boy opened up, he pointed at us and said "these guys want to talk to you." Luckily the kid could take a joke... but even after that was done, Hugo STILL kept going on about how little respect some people had!! He told us "if that was me, I'd have just started fighting him right there!!" When we told him we couldn't because we were missionaries, he said "So take off your tag!! Hide it!! Nobody'll know!!" We laughed pretty hard... but somehow we changed the subject to how his day had been, and he told us it was his birthday, and he'd been drinking most of the day (that's about the point when my life started to make sense)... Cooper asked him if he'd ever had a DUI, because he knows some people who have had DUI's that changed lives, to which Hugo answered "Oh, yeah I've had a DUI... and it changed my life too!!! That "stuff" cost 10 grand!! That's expensive vato!!! Almost sent me back to Mexico. H*** yeah that would have changed my life. I don't want to go back to Mexico... dogs and dog shiz all over, crowded... Mexicans EVERYWHERE. No, I like it better here." Then he asked us if we've ever drunk or smoked, and when he got a no, "oh, you should try it, that "stuff" tastes good dude!!" I didn't... obviously... but it still made me laugh. We kept talking about random stuff for awhile, when whaddya know except Apostate boy comes traipsing by us again, carrying a plant in his hand, which he proceeded to throw in the community dumpster... he went back into his house, and came out with another one... and then went back, and came out with another one. Hugo asked him "what are you doing? Throwing away Marijuana?" To which Apostate boy responded "Well, I am only legally allowed to have 6, and to get down to that number I have 3 more to go..." Coop and I just looked at each other and tried extremely hard not to laugh...

We ended up having to leave, but HHHH told us we could come sometime and he'd actually let us teach him... so... that's promising. And it was definitely a good way to mix up how our lessons normally go... I'm excited to see where this one goes.

I got a package from my boy Reed Ericson last Monday! In it was contained Sweet Spirit, which is what we named the Baton we won Districts and State with, and really Reed and I were the only ones who understood the meaning behind the name, but that's ok!!! I signed it and sent it back to Reed so he could take it to Boone,

but that was a great package to get!!

The other big story of the week is that Coop and I still have a baptism planned for Sunday!!! We had another great week with EEEE, the ward had a Thanksgiving party that we got his parents and sister to come to, and we also took him to see the visitor's center of the Temple. AND I am going to be the one who gets to baptize him, so next week I should be sending home some baptismal pictures!!! He came to church yesterday, and honestly it kinda feels like I get thrown back in time when he comes, because he has a hard time staying focused, and we are all really good friends, so I feel like I am back in Church with Cody and Dillon. We still need to teach him a little more about reverence during the Sacrament, yesterday he wanted to play tic-tack-toe and have a thumb-war, but he's said he wants to keep on coming!!! Yeah!!!!!

Ok so one more time, transfers are coming up, and I don't know what's gonna happen because I am almost done being trained (I am also gonna hit 4 months this week... YEAH!), but I would ask that you don't send any mail unless it can make it to me by Saturday.... otherwise I might not see it!

Ok so I can't think of anything else to tell you guys... so I'm gonna peace out!! If I think of anything good, I'll send it to you later. Happy Thanksgiving and it's almost Christmas!!!

Love,

Elder Travis Jorgensen