Oh those pictures look awesome! (We sent pictures from Aspen's birthday party and the hunting trip)I was able to find some raid and have not seen too many cockroaches since I sprayed all the cracks in the entire apartment. It smelled terrible! But no more roaches:) >My shoes and clothes are holding up well; although finding modest skirts and dresses when I need new stuff is going to be difficult, so if you find any while out garaging hang on to them for me.
This week began the roller coaster that I suppose will last for the entire mission. We had some really high and exciting times and then some not so awesome moments. We call the not so awesome time "dias de los muertos" because when our investigators do not want to hear any more or are not interested in progressing they "die". It's pretty funny because if we sense that they are separating themselves a bit from the church or are not completing their commitments , we say (privately of course) that we need to visit them once more to see if we have to kill them, meaning that we are moving on. So, this week we had two dias de los muertos. The first one was with M. Hermana Castor had taught her twice but had not been able to contact her in two weeks. We had gone to her home several times, but she was never home. Finally, we found her at home! However, she told us that she had been offended and had come to realize that the church was racist, because, as missionaries, we cannot kiss males on the cheek. This is the usual greeting in Chile, and we do kiss all of the mujeres, but just give handshakes to the men. Hermana Castor had not explained this to her (normally we don't and never have problems unless the men try to kiss haha). However, she was offended that Hermana Castor and her old companion had not kissed her husband. Some people are just loca haha. T
However, now to the good news!!! We are making excellent progress with K, the lady who has no religious background. We realized that we are going to have to explain things more simply to build her religious foundation, but she is really responsive! We are going over to her house this week, and will hopefully be able to teach her husband. He has a few LDS friends, so hopefully he too will be receptive.
Oh goodness, we had a crazy experience with one of the less actives. I had been warned by Hermana Castor that she is a little off. She was not wrong lol, but what was worse was that we arrived at her house right when she was starting to prepare lunch. She said she was making picante pata and wanted us to try it because it is "super healthy and delicious". We had to go to our mamita for lunch in 30 minutes, but she insisted that she cooked fast and we just needed to try a little bit. She then went to the kitchen to cook and left us sitting there. In about 20 minutes the food was done. Pata is the foot of a cow and picante means spicy but she didn't add any spice. It looked good. It was served with potatoes and rice. However, with a second glance we noticed that the "healthy meat" was pure cartilage from the ankle of the cow. Worse than that was that there was still hair in the cartilage!!! Short spikey little black cow hairs in the food! Hermana Castor and I tried sorting out all the meat that had the longest hairs, but that was like half the dish. I was ready to gag. Her idea of a little taste was a full serving! Oh it was awful. We guarded our gag reflex to eat the pieces with the fewest hairs and then I rapidly grabbed the plates and took them to the kitchen, trying to hide what we had not eaten. Oh a day to remember:)
Well it sounds like you all are super busy! That's crazy all of the missionary work you are doing! Great job:) Aspen looked so cute for her birthday. It looks like it was a lot of fun.
You should look up the situation here in Arica. Apparently there is some kind of treaty that Chile signed with Peru years ago that promised Peru part of Chile´s sea. However, Chile did not comply with the treaty and does not want to give up its rights to part of the ocean, since it is used by Chilean fishermen and shipping companies. Peru of course is demanding the ocean. Today is the deciding day, but both sides are saying they are willing to fight for the ocean and economy. There are big displays here in the center of Arica, since it is the city that will be affected by giving up the rights to the water. There are gun shots (empty shells I assume) and lots of chanting and singing and up roar. It appears Chile is losing, but the Aricans fear that soon Arica will belong (once again) to Peru. Look up the history, I am not sure of all the details lol. But then send me the info so I know:) Always excitement in the mission:)
I love you all and hope school and hunting went well. Love you
Hermana Biggs
World Court Draws New Peru-Chile Maritime Border
THE HAGUE, Netherlands January 27, 2014 (AP)
By MIKE CORDER Associated Press
The United Nations' highest court drew a new maritime boundary between Peru and Chile on Monday, awarding Peru parts of the Pacific Ocean but keeping rich coastal fishing grounds in Chilean hands.
The line drawn by the International Court of Justice ended decades of debate about how to carve up some 38,000 square kilometers (14,670 square miles) of fish-rich waters off the coasts of the Latin American neighbors. Peru's fishing industry estimates the annual catch in the region to be worth some US$200 million.
Peru wanted a maritime border heading roughly southwest, perpendicular to the point where the two countries' land border meets the ocean. Chile insisted the border should extend from the coast parallel to the equator.
The court found a compromise by saying a border already existed parallel to the equator extending 80 nautical miles from the coast and then drawing a line southwest to a point where the countries' 200-mile territorial waters end.
In Lima, President Ollanta Humala had no immediate reaction.
Outside the presidential palace, scores of people who had watched the verdict being read on two giant TV screens shouted "Long Live Peru" afterward, though there was some confusion as to whether their country had won or lost.
In the Peruvian border city of Tacna, a few hundred people from a patriotic society who had gathered in a movie theater to watch the ruling sang the national anthem. Dozens of police guarded the Chilean consulate but there were no incidents.
A professor of international relations at Lima's Catholic University, Farid Kahhat, said Peru had won a bit more than half the territory it sought.
But the leader of the Peruvian fishermen in the region, David Patino, told The Associated Press that the decision was a loss.
"We haven't won anything. We are in the same situation as the past," he said.
After Peru, Chile is the world's No. 2 exporter of fish meal.
Peruvian historian and columnist Nelson Manrique called the decision an "intelligent verdict" that is "not going to please anyone but it's also not going to bring anyone to fits."
Patricia Majluf, a leading Peruvian fisheries scientist, said the area up to 80 miles (128 kilometers) that remains in Chilean hands "is where the Chilean boats fish the most" and she doesn't expect the verdict will cost the job of any Chilean fisherman.
"All the anchoveta is fished in that zone," she said. The anchovy species is converted into fish meal for an insatiable global market that uses it in animal feed and fertilizer.
Majluf, a professor at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, said about 1 million tons of anchoveta are harvested annually off the northern Chile coast. That's about the same amount as off the southern Peruvian coast, she added.
For many, the case launched in 2008 by Peru is a matter of national pride. Chile seized its three northernmost provinces during the 1879-83 War of the Pacific from Peru and Bolivia, which lost its only coast in the conflict.
The actual border area has long been a model of coexistence. Citizens of both countries travel freely between Arica and its Peruvian sister city of Tacna, both of which depend on the fishing industry and on each other.
Chileans crowd into Tacna's hospitals and clinics for the cheaper health care, while Peruvians work construction and other day jobs on the Chilean side of the border. Arica's mayor, Salvador Urrutia, says some 5,000 people cross the border in both directions each day.
Rulings by the court are final and binding on both countries. The presidents of Peru and Chile each pledged to adhere to whatever decision the court made. The countries are partners in a number of important regional and Pacific economic alliances and have seen annual bilateral trade grow from $500 million in 2006 to $4.3 billion today and each had significant investments in the other in sectors as diverse as tourism, retail and gastronomy.
Chilean government figures put Peruvian investment in Chile at $11 billion last year with Chile investing $13.5 billion in Peru.
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