Our week here was really good too! We did a lot of contacting in our new contact area and met some awesome people (there was also a day when we contacted from 2 hours straight and got rejected at every house...but then we met someone awesome so it was worth it!). There was one day when we were walking on a street that is at the very edge of our contact area and that we hadn't been on before. The street is a really big, steep hill and we could tell from the bottom that the houses on it were really nice. As we were walking up the street, the houses kept getting bigger and nicer and it really looked like we were in a neighborhood in Beverly Hills! When we got to the top of the hill/street, we looked back and saw the ocean in the distance with palm trees and were surrounded by huge and expensive homes. It was a weird feeling, I felt like I was back in LA! There was even one part where we stopped in front of one of the big, fancy houses because we had to write something in our contact book and there was shade there. So we were standing there writing, and a maid in uniform came out of the house and said "I'm sorry, the lady of the house can't attend to you at the moment." Umm....what?! Haha the whole situation and area just felt way too fancy, but it was really fun to see all the nice houses! I'll have to take pictures next time.

Carnaval started last week on Sunday! It starts in Oranjestad with tons of parades and partying, but then moves down to San Nicholas (other side of the island) and mostly stays there for the rest of the time. It goes until Ash Wednesday. The missionaries down in San Nicholas have to be home early on the nights when there are parties and parades, because people go crazy and they hand out alcohol to everyone, it doesn't matter what age! There are some American members who are living here so the husband can go to med school, and they heard about the parades and thought it would be fun to take their little kids to go watch the parade. Well they got there, and realized that the parade floats were just open bars and anyone can walk up and there are bartenders that will make and give you a drink! Not quite the parades we're used to in the US...

We had some really great lessons with our investigators this week, they are all progressing really well! Daniel, Nerwins, and Javier (I think I've written about them before...they are 3 friends who are working here while their families are in Venezuela. Also, Daniel looks exactly like a Latino version of Vin Diesel! I told him and he said he gets that a lot, haha!) are doing really well! They believe Joseph Smith was a prophet and they love the Book of Mormon. They each have their own copy and they all study it together and every time we go, they have lots of questions for us and lots of verses marked that they liked! They're awesome! Juandavid is going to be baptized this Saturday, by his dad, David! David received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday, we are so happy for him! He can't wait to baptize his son, he recites the baptismal prayer for us every day when we come by :). We also had a really cool experience with a new investigator this week:

This week, we had a really amazing experience while contacting. We had been rejected at every house we had contacted that evening, and were very discouraged. As we were walking down the street, we saw a man struggling to carry lots of garden supplies. We offered to help. He declined and said that he was almost home, but then asked what church we were from. We introduced ourselves and our message, and he asked if we give lessons and if we could visit him the next day! His name is Eduardo and we immediately set up an appointment with him. We saw him the next day and had a God lesson with him. He told us he wanted to learn more about God because his ex-girlfriend was really religious and always encouraged him to find God. He was baptized in the Catholic church as a baby, but never went because he lived far out in the country in Peru and his family had no way to get to the church. He told us he had never prayed before, but we taught him how and he said the closing prayer in the lesson. It was so beautiful! He said he felt really good as he prayed and he wanted to do it more. He came to church on Sunday and loved it because he loved seeing lots of families there and he liked that we talked about lots of different topics in the classes. He said he felt very peaceful there. Later that day, we were teaching him the first part of the Restoration, and out of nowhere, he asked, "I've always asked- If God is the Creator of everything and is all powerful and loves all His children, why would he only talk to the ones in Jerusalem with the Bible? Why wouldn't He send His gospel to other people on the other continents?" We were shocked when we heard this! We hadn't been talking about anything related to that, but he said it had been on his mind. We told him we have his answer and he is so interested in learning more.

This experience was so cool and Eduardo is so prepared! He has lots of great questions (like the one I shared) and already loves church! We are so excited to keep teaching him!

I love being a missionary and being able to have experiences like this! It is a once in a lifetime chance and I wouldn't change it for the world! I notice the hand of the Lord in my life so much and I am so thankful for all of the blessings He has given me and my family. Never forget that we are all missionaries and that the greatest joy comes from sharing the gospel!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Davidson

Pictures:

​Roasting marshmallows!

​Morning sky from our apartment window

​Juandavid and David!

Story time! So we bought ground beef a while ago and put it in the freezer, but then we wanted to use it, so we moved it to a drawer in the fridge to thaw. Well we looked in the fridge the next day and a ton of blood/other meat juices had leaked out into the drawer! There was so much of it! Our kitchen sink was too small, so the only other place we could think of was the shower...I dumped all the blood down the drain and then took the meat out and divided it into ziploc bags and now they are back in the freezer (and hopefully not going to leak again). The shower and fridge drawer got cleaned so well with a lot of cleaner and bleach after this!​