June 3, 2024 THE HOPEFULLY NOT SO BORING ADVENTURES OF ELDER WILLIAMSON CHAPTER LXXXV

we walk up to one of our investigators.. she's covering shredded ham with what looks like blue fun dip dust.. "what's that?" i say.. "rats" she responds.. oh yah obviously.. so she puts it right under a cage of giant rabbits, and i'm thinking it's food for them?.. but then these big rats start coming out to scavenge for the meat, and then it made sense.. it was some kinda poison, to get rid of the rat infestation.. aNd she kept having to tell this little kid that was there to not eat any of the meat.. "cUz yOu'Ll DIE!".. one time we're walking down some giant stairs in our area, and this old dude with a cane stops my comp, points to me, and is like (in english) "hey, i betchu if a' ask you whe' this ga' is frum heel tell yuh heez frum utah".. and my comp's like "oh yah, he iS from utah"... so that's how we met ruben.. we asked if we could come by to his house some time, and he said we could.. so we went to go visit him, and he had told us previously that he had had a pretty serious back surgery.. so when we walked up to his house, he didn't have a shirt on, and he turned around and was like "i told you guys i got surgery right? look" and i kid you not, this dude had 100 staples running down his entire back, starting near his neck, and running all the way down to his waist line.. and after just receiving a dominican surgery myself (on a mUch smaller scale obviously) i could tell that couldn't feel good.. the thing is tho, when we find people that speak english, especially someone of his age, they're usually not someone who really has interest in learning more about Jesus Christ.. but while we were talking to him, he actually expressed interest.. he told us about how he was born here in the DR, but then moved to the states to live in a lot of different places on the east coast.. he lived there for around 24 years, but then was deported, leaving his entire family and all his friends.. and now he lives here alone, in a house that's pretty crappy.. with serous back issues.. he at some point was in an accident that caused him to break his spine into 3 pieces.. and then for the next 3 years he was stuck in bed, unable to do much of anything, even tho he was alone most of the time.. and then when my comp asked him if he has a lotta faith, he started to tell us a story.. one night when he was laying in bed, around 3 in the morning, he woke up needing to use the bathroom.. he could see the bathroom just a few feet away, but knew he wouldn't be able to make it there.. but he didn't want to just gO on his bed obviously, so he just thought.. "it's so close, i think i can make it".. so first he sat up in the bed, and that was pretty painful, but he was able to do it.. and then that first step went alright, but he said that as he took the second step, a firey pain shot up his spine, and his knees buckled underneath him.. he collapsed to the floor and started crying.. he just kept asking why.. but then he said he felt a hand on his shoulder, and a voice that told him.. "don't cry, it's ok, i've felt more pain than this" and he remembers crawling to the bathroom, to check behind the shower curtain and under his bed to see who it was that was talking to him.. so he said he wouldn't call himself a christian, because he said you have to get baptised to become a christian, but since then he's believed in God.. sooo we'll see what we can do with him, see what we can help him with, and if he wants to get baptized.. and then this has been elder goldfarbs last week, so on his last night doctor flete took us out on an adventure.. first we went to this place called crime burger.. and flete has been hyping these burgers for a while now, and he goes as far as to say that they are celestial burgers.. and when i say that i have never tried a better hamburger in my entire life, i mean better than smash burger, better than food shack, better than anything i've had in the states.. and the fries were good too.. and he got us some hotdogs to share also, and that was also by far the best hotdog i've ever eaten.. and you know when you go to a restaurant, and you eat food like thAt.. and then you don't feel so good after?.. that didn't happen.. i felt exactly satisfied, like the portion was perfect, and somehow the burger was filling but light at the same time.. it was cooked medium, it had a very good bun, some kind of sauce and grilled mushrooms, and it had these grilled onions too, and bacon... and the hot dog was actually real meat.. and had a fire bun too, and cheese and bacon, and idek what else it was just fire.. and they had american music playing over the speakers.. but anyways, after that he took us hunting for root beer.. idk how it got brought up, but somehow he and goldfarb were talking about it, and so he wanted to get us some.. so we went to this store called the gold dragon, and we walk in and at first everything looks normal, and i don't really notice anything weird.. but then i look to my left to one of the walls and just see soda.. and in this country they have soda.. like they have a lot of it.. buttt they lack a lottt of american sodas.. for example, the only flavor of mounain dew they have here is the original.. and it's only found sOmetimes in bravo.. or so i thought.. turns out in the gold dragon they have major melon, code red, voltage, and i think the orange one? electric orange or something? idk i pretty much never get that one... but i legitimately was sooo dumbfounded and surprised at seeing those flavors.. like i think the last time i was that shocked, was the first time i kissed a girl.. like i was just standing there staring wide eyed and so confused.. i guess i didn't really realize how much i have missed mountain dew.. buttt needless to say i copped a voltage and called it good.. cuz i'm sure i'll have lots of opportunities to drink mountain dew in approximately 4 months.. nottt really sure what'll be happening in 4 months, but i have a feeling i might see some more mountain dew.. and then he drove us home at rapid and chaotic speeds in the rain and it was pretty fun.. we got a new elder in the house.. we got a couple people at church, and we continue to progress towards the baptisms of some people.. we're getting therrrrrre.. that's all for the week tho, have a great week, love you guys! alma 48:10 And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christians.