``Intercambios
Today I did exchanges with Elder Catillo from Miami. Lot´s
of interesting things happened. I`ll tell you.
In the morning we found a fat, short, lady in the street.
She was sitting there with watery eyes, and when we passed by she asked us a
favor. She invited us to sit down and she began the story of how she had broken
her ankle and that she needed money to pay for a taxi to get home, really far
away in the ´´fields´´. As we spoke I smelled something and it appeared to be
coming from her.
She told us that she liked to hear ``the word of god`` and
so we shared a scripture with her in Helaman, Helaman 5:12. She understood it
and even finished my sentence when I told her that the rock is Jesus Christ.
After the scripture I explained that we wanted to help but when I went for my
Missionary Handbook, the which I´ve been using as a wallet, I didn´t have it; I
had left in the apartment. I looked all over in my pockets and I came up with 4
pesos, which if you want to convert it, (dollar has gone up to like 8:1) is
like less than 50 cents. Three pesos is how much it costs to get in the taxi,
let alone go somewhere.)
So I gave it to her. Haha, she looked at me and then looked
at me with a face that told me that it wasn´t what she was expecting me to give
her.
I explained that it was everything that I had, but with a
questioning look at my companion I said that we could see if we could find
more.
With that she asked us the favor of helping her stand up and
she started to waddle towards the corner of the street saying that she would be
here in the yard on the corner where ´´the people take care of me``. And as we
left she said, you`re going to come back right? And I assured her, despite the
skeptical attitude of my companion that we would.
We went back to the pension and as we walked my temporary
companion Elder Castillo told me how he just doesn´t trust people any more and
asked me if I was really going to give her money. I thought about it and said
that I already said that I would, and I couldn´t really go back on my word. He
said that he wouldn´t have done it.
We walked 10 minutes back the way we came and came back with
50 pesos, everything that I had. We went back to the corner where we left her
and went into the yard and asked for Rosita like she had told us to do and they
led us into a little house and we found Rosita eyes still watering, sitting by
a smoky, almost out, fire place.
Our fears were confirmed as we entered the house and yard
and found 3 or 4 other men that had the same smell as Rosita. She and the rest
of them had been drinking. We came to find out later from one of her drunk
companions that most of her story was true, but that she hadn`t come from the
hospital, like she had led us to believe, but that she had been there all night
with them and that she frequently was with her.
I sat down on the bed and told her that we were going to
help her, but that she had not been totally honest with us, (I was guessing at
this point because no one had confirmed me yet) She had been mostly honest, but
we talked a little and that´s when I figured out how the situation really was.
She and the other men who were looming around were clearly
all alcoholics. So we talked to her for a little bit and told her that we
wanted to help her get home and that we wanted to pass by her house later to
help her come closer to God. She agreed and said that that would be fine. I
gave her the 50 peso bill and told her that it was for the Taxi. I also gave
her a book of mormon and I marked some scriptures in 2 Nephi 4. She thanked us
as she kissed the book and said that she wanted to show us where she lived. We
had to go, but we told her that we would come back in like an hour and that we
could all go together to her house (her house is actually a blue bus).
So we left and went to our appointment. One hour later we
came back and found Rosita again. We told her that we were ready to go and
finally we got outside with her walking very slowly assisted by my hand and her
cane, when I asked her for the money that I gave her. She handed me 22 pesos. I
looked at her and I knew what had happened, and why there were two half-empty
boxes of golden wine in the little house where we were. I told her ``that was
for the taxi`` and she said ´´´but they asked me for it!´´ I didn´t get mad at
her, but I gave a her a face of dissapointment. RIght then the taxi got there and
we started to get on when Rosita told us to go to store down the road that she
needed one more box of wine. I not very ammused with what had just happened
with my 50 pesos told her no that she didn´t need it. She pleaded with us and
the taxi driver as we went, but to no avail.
This was rediculous. We kept going and going and the it
turned into a dirt road. The taxi driver kept up a good speed and so it wasn´t
too smooth, and as he did so Rosita complained and asked if this was how he
always drove and that she was going to throw up. I was seriously afriad of
being puked on by a fat drunk lady.
Finally, (I`m out of time) we get to her house, er bus. and
after the taxi gets as close at it possibly can to the bus we help her get out
of the taxi and slowly, really slowly and wobbily make our way to the bus me
and my companion with one arm each. She was not doing her part of the walking
very well, and after a few minutes we finally made it to the door. I let go of
her arm to open the door and a few seconds later she fell face first in a sort
of slow motion, screaming, towards the ground and the front step of the bus.
Luckily we kind of stopped her fall, so that she didn`t bang her head.
It took us another few minutes and me lifting this woman´s
full body weight with all my might to get her on her feet, up the steps and
into the dang
We left her with the book of mormon and got back in the taxi
towards home. And as we talked I realized I had 22 pesos in my pocket and
that the taxi was already more than 60 and we still had to get back in to the
city.
We get back into the city to realize that the power is out
and so the atms don´t work, and this taxi driver didn´t really want to be not
paid. So he drove us to a part of the city where luckily there was power and we
finally paid him 112 pesos for the whole thing.
After all, I don´t regret it, even though it was
rediculous,and sometimes I feel like I should. We helped this lady get home,
and I know that I won´t go to hell for helping the poor drunk, fat, complaining,
alcoholic lady, even if it cost me 112 pesos and a lot of effort.
Elder Turek
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