Christmas Day Phone Call

Elder Bell in front, then Elder Hulme, then Elder Guinn

The plan was, Xander would call around 3:30pm our time, and we would call him right back so the charges would be on our line.  We worked on a puzzle to pass time, and finally, after 4:30, he called.  We called back and heard, "We're sorry, this call cannot be completed on this line."  We tried adding 1, taking away 1, checking the country code, calling Comcast from my cell phone to see if we had some international calling problems, calling from all of our cell phones.  We could not get through.  Finally, Xander called back.  He had to go purchase some calling cards, and just make the call from their cell phone.

1)  He hates the dogs.  In Suriname, they are all straggly, barking, mangy beasts that roam the city and are irritating.  Fortunately, they are not vicious dogs.

2)  On Christmas day, all the elders had breakfast at the senior couple's home, the Jansens.   They love the senior couple and it sounds like the Jansens take great care of the elders.  Then they went to the nursing home and wheeled folks over to the church for a Christmas lunch.  He said that was fun.  He didn't think his lady could talk at all, but when he finally parted with her, she spoke perfectly and thanked him.  Later they went to the zone leader's house and watched Toy Story 3.  When we were talking to him, there were huge fireworks going on outside and dogs barking.

3)  He loves the fruit in Suriname, especially the mangoes.  They eat lots of rice and beans and noodles.  The milk is terrible, nothing like our milk.  I get the impression that it's kind of like diluted canned milk in a carton.

4)  He misses large grocery stores.  There are only small markets and you have to visit several of them to find what you need.

5)  He has not seen the ocean yet.

6)  He loves the city.  He suspects that he may stay in the city for the remainder of his mission.

7)  Lots of people ride motor scooters.  He saw one guy riding a motor scooter with two monkeys on his back, and the monkeys looked scared to death.

8)  He spoke some Dutch to us, but it was really hard to understand through the speaker phone.

9)  Just a few days earlier, he decided to get a Christmas tree.  He went into the front yard and cut down a frond from a palm tree.

10)  The Christmas package I sent him did not arrive on time.  He wasn't upset.  Makes me sad, though.

He wears flip flops inside because of all the sand that enters their house.

11)  He says there is one church building in Suriname, and 4 additional buildings that the church rents.  The branch that he attends is good-sized and has great church members.   The branch is larger and stronger than the branch he attended in Alabama.

12)  He told us to enjoy some skiing for him.

Overall, he sounded great.  He seemed happy. We are so glad he is learning, growing, and changing.  Gosh, we miss that kid.  I can't wait until Mother's Day.

New Bike and Tasty Food

This is Xander's new address in Suriname:

Elder Alexander Hulme
PO Box 2932
Paramaribo, Suriname
South America

This week has been good.  I got a new bike and had some tasty food.  Here are my favorites:

Shoarma - French fries, chicken with BBQ sauce
Bami - Noodles
Nasi - Rice
Roti - Like a tortilla with curry, Hindu burrito
Bacabana - Fried plantains

There are lots of bacova that grow here, which are regular bananas, and also banaan, which are plantains.  I've been eating out lots, and with members, and at various different events.  I'm not exercising nearly as much, so I'm losing muscle mass, but putting on fat.  Still the same weight.  We have to drink filtered water, but the other food is basically all safe as far as I can tell.  Except Elder Bell's Bruine Bonen that went rotten and made him way sick.

Elder Guinn's bike broke, so Xander gave him a lift

If we have a good week, we can all get together for p-day.  We will all be together for Christmas, and apparently on Christmas we will watch a movie.  Now it's between Space Jam, Toy Story 3, and Despicable Me.  I'm going for Toy Story 3.

We are in the citiest part of the mission - we've got downtown in our area.  Dus, Ik kan niet zoveel gekke dingen zien als sommige van de andere zendelingen mogen zien.

I love it when Xander writes something in Dutch.  We get an interesting translation

I haven't dreamed in Dutch yet, but we do always pray in Dutch.  I'll be using my Christmas money on bike parts, so it'll be a great Christmas.

From the Eyes of Elder Hulme

1.  You see the sun each day.  It usually rains each day as well.
2.  We are in the "citiest" part of the city, and it's super cool.
3.  In this country, food spontaneously combusts.  I mean, I could go weeks living on the fruit that falls onto the ground - coconuts, mangoes, and things of that nature.
4.  It's completely flat here.  Not even a hill.
5.  They love raunchy pictures.

We played Ultimate Frisbee this morning for 5 hours.  It was fantastic.  When you ask someone how they are they reply with the word "rustig."  It means rusty.  I think when people ask me how I am, I'll begin answering, "I'm rusty."

We had a baptism last week.  Her name is Zuster Malats, which means leprosy, which is a bit unfortunate.  She was already converted when I got here, so I didn't teach her anything except some commandments.  But now I've been able to teach her lots of stuff, namely the new member lessons that everyone is supposed to receive.

This photo is right-side up on my computer,
but it won't stay that way here!

The bike issue here is tough because nobody sells any tools.  All of the bikes here are these cheap Chinese beasts of one or two varieties:

1)  Euro style, dropped toptube, 700c fat tires, coaster brakes.
2)  America style, simple means beach cruiser, coaster brakes, with "s" shaped cranks.
I'm currently using someone else's America stye bike.  He's painted the old Utah Jazz colors on it, purple, green, and yellow.  It's quite ugly and hilarious.  Chains here stretch out in about a week, but flats aren't as bad as you'd expect.  I may have to buy a bike from the muslim store (likely a stolen bike).

Elder Hulme and his MTC companion Elder Freeman reunited in Suriname

I (VaLene) want to be this lady's friend.  She looks like a hoot.