Old Women Think We're Cute

Here is Elder Hulme's most recent mailing address:
114 Crabapple Lane Apt. F
Birmingham, AL 35214

I'm in the city Ensley.  This place is cool.  There are billions of trees and other plants all over.  Humidity is tough, though.  In dry heat, sweat comes out of your skin, evaporates and cools you.  Here, sweat comes out of your skin only to find more water from the air.  The two sources of water join together and make me way hot and wet.

Ensley looks like it was once an awesome living city.  Then all the white people moved out and the black people with jobs seem to have left too.  So now there are lots of people living on welfare and food stamps.  Gang activity is mild, which is good, but there still is some.  Our branch is the same as the city - everyone leaves when they can.  It used to be a ward, but now there aren't a ton of members.

Elder Dansie (companion) is from Rupert, Idaho and he's 25.  Spent 6 years in the Navy.  His family is not LDS and he joined the church just 2 years ago.  He has only been out for 6 months.  It is such a relief to have a companion that is easy to get along with.  We are both a bit airheaded at times, scheduling tons of appointments or visits all at the same times as other stuff.  It's fine, though, because we get along and teach well together.

We have been teaching mostly old women, though.  I have the suspicion that they only talk to us because they think we're cute.  It makes for lots of lessons one way or the other.  It's tougher talking to real people.  More fun, but harder.  The women here hate bras as far as I can tell, and they love cleavage.  It's pretty gross.

Everyone here is Christian.  They love Jesus and love praying.  But they are so lazy!  It seems that they just sleep all day until they go to "Walmarks" to get some food.  We're lucky if anyone will open their screen doors.  They lock them and then yell at you through the door.  So when we can see the person's face, it is a pleasant change.

(Brent used Google Earth to capture this street image of his address)

Our apartment is sweet.  There are cockroaches all over and it's nice and big.  (Valene thinking, What, the cockroaches are nice and big?  Or is the apartment nice and big?  Probably both.  Xander must not mind the cockroaches.)

We don't spend too much time on bikes.  Our area used to have 16 missionaries in it, and now it's just us.  So we have lots of miles to cover and we end up driving more than riding.

I haven't met anyone who speaks Dutch yet.  Hopefully some day.  Well, I love you all.  Merry Christmas.
-Elder Hulme

Temporary Re-assignment

We found out today that Xander will be sent to the Alabama, Birmingham Mission until he gets a visa from Suriname. He finally gets to leave the MTC next Tuesday. I don't know how many people he will find in Alabama that will speak Dutch. He is excited to get out and talk to people in any language, do some teaching and maybe see some new surroundings.

Whatchoo talkin 'bout Xander?

Still no word on when Xander will get to leave the MTC.

He has now been there for two weeks longer than originally planned. He continues to learn Dutch and have additional responsibilities. He has an new companion that is a native Spanish speaker and learning Dutch now. Really, he seems to be anxious to get out and do some good. We can only hope that the authorities in Suriname get a little spring in their step and approve their Visas.

Photo: a brush with fame about 2 years ago. They sold him a bike.

The Good and the Bad

The Bad:
1)  Out of 4 Elders going to Suriname, 3 Visas didn't make it.  Xander's companion left all by himself last Monday, and the rest of them are stranded in the MTC.

                Melodramatic hug to Elder Freeman leaving for Suriname

2) The rest of his district left on Monday for The Netherlands and Denmark.

3) They piled mattresses into one room Saturday night and talked until midnight.  Then they had to say good-byes on Monday at 3:00am, 5:00am, then again at 3:00am the next morning.  Very tired.

4)  Due to #3, he came down with a cold.

5)  It snowed.

6) Brother Chandler (one of district presidency) was transferred - he was sweet.  And Brother Griffin (a teacher) left for medical reasons.

7)  He went a whole week without any mail (Hegerhorsts - you saved the day by being the 1st to break the dry spell Wednesday morning - he was so glad to get your notes.  And in our defense, Brent did send Xander a package & letter which must have arrived shortly after he wrote his last letter.)

                                                                        A prank

The Good:
1) Xander got a new companion, and he's cool.  Elder Sanchez was a ward mission leader for a long time, so he's pro at this missionary stuff.

2) Xander is the new District Leader for their reduced little district.  He gets to check the mail for everyone.

                                                             Comparing Thumbs?

3) He said it was quite a hookup to have another apostle come and talk to them - Elder Christofferson.

We still don't have any information about when or if the Visas will arrive.  It is possible that they'll get reassigned to state-side missions until their Visas arrive.  Send good vibes to the Suriname folks to get those Visas here!

The three on the left are still in the MTC

Surprise Phone Call

Yesterday the phone rang and caller ID read, Pay Phone.  I was going to ignore it, but Oli picked up the phone and I heard, "Xander, what are you doing?"  My heart jumped, then sank, then flipped, wondering what was wrong.  Nothing was seriously wrong, except that his and 2 other missionary's Visas are delayed, and they have to stay in the MTC another week.  We had just received his travel itinerary in the mail a couple hours earlier and were looking forward to his phone call from the airport next Monday, 5/25/10.  Surprisingly, they allowed these 3 to call home to relate the change of plans.

He definitely sounded discouraged that he has to stay on longer.  But otherwise, he sounded good.  He spoke some Dutch to us.  Told some good stories.  Asked questions.   It's kind of amazing that we were all home.  Had he called 15 minutes earlier, no one would have been home.  Had he called any other weekday over the past month, Brent would not have been home - he just happened to take one day off.

Elder Hulme and Elder Williamson

These two had an instant friendship when they realized that they both love Drew Danburry (local singer/songwriter).  Elder Williamson is the only one in their district going to Denmark.  Hence, he is the only student in his classes - that would be weird.  They have some plans up their sleeves for mountain biking in Whistler, BC after their missions.  I wonder if they'd let me come.

Package of Love

A while back, Xander mentioned that an elder in his district was craving muddy buddies.  So of course, I whipped up a batch and sent them on with a letter to the elder.  In the letter, I mentioned that he should let me know if anyone else wants anything special sent.  Well, last Friday, I got 4 letters from elders asking for assorted snacks.  It was quite funny.  The best part was all the nice letters and the nice things they said about Xander.

Elder Alexander wrote:
"...You should be proud of your son.  He is a "real man" as he would put it and I have a lot of respect for how he resolves conflicts.  He is far more mature than most Elders here and I mean that with all seriousness.  He is a fine young man.  I am 22 and trust me, I can see the difference between him and others here."

Elder Williamson wrote:
"...I would like to thank you for raising such a wonderful chap of a missionary.  I will miss him very much when he goes to Suriname and I, to Denmark.  Being the only Danish Elder, Elder Hulme helped me fit in and feel a part of the district despite our new language barriers."

Then, on that same day, one of Xander's teachers in the MTC showed up at the bike shop, shopping for a bicycle.  This teacher had such nice things to say about Xander - that he was learning the language quickly, that he kept everyone laughing, that he helped make this district a cohesive group of friends.

Nothing could've been more comforting than to hear all these nice things from complete strangers.  Perhaps the elders just wanted to be extra nice since they were asking (very kindly) for treats.

These are the assorted snacks which were requested.  Sunday, our kitchen was a nicely run bakery.   Oli made the chocolate chip cookies, I made the no-bake cookies, and Milly made the muddy buddies.

We divvied out the snacks to 6 missionaries - the 4 elders who wrote to me, and Xander and his companion.  Xander had included a short note requesting that I please remember him in the "Package of Love."

One week from today, he'll be on his way to Suriname.  We can't wait to hear about all his adventures.

Translating is a Funny Thing

Yesterday, I received a nice little e-mail from Xander.  It was a very short, early Happy Mother's Day greeting.  At the end of the letter, he wrote a few lines in Dutch, knowing that I would cut and paste the Dutch into our Mac's Translator widget to find out what he wrote.  I laughed out loud when I read it.

I'm pretty sure that he meant to write "best" instead of "beest" because after a little research, "best" is the same in both languages, but is probably pronounced with a long e in Dutch.  Beest = Animal.  He just misspelled "dankbaar" which means grateful or thankful.  Can't really figure out the last phrase.  I know it has something to do with when I sent a package containing some treats and notes for other missionaries in his district.