First of all, thanks so much for the packages!! They are so great. I gave the cake to make to my pensionista and she made it for me friday, because saturday we don't eat with the pensionista. i got to choose my lunch too, and i asked for tacos, yum :) Yeah so i'll tell the story of my birthday. It all starts about two weeks ago. Here in Perú there is an awful tradition of breaking eggs over the head of the person on their birthday. It's brutal, like in the streets you'll see school kids just go and attack one person with tons of eggs! The first time it scared me, but now it's normal. So, two weeks ago Elder Chero, another missionary here in the office, had his birthday. Everyone was planning to throw eggs at him, but i don't like the idea, so i didn't participate. Even so, ever since then, everyone has been conspiring against me and telling me every five minutes how i'm going to get egged. I always told them that i was going to let them do it in our apartment and then just go shower. So, the moment arrives. It was the night of my birthday at like 11 at night and i went and stripped down to just my shorts and stood in the middle of our patio and said "do what you have to do" They had bought 18 eggs (they were on sale) and were all waiting for me to come out and put up a fight, but when they saw me all vulnerable and cold standing there, they couldn't do it. They were indecisive for a while, but after a little while i said if you're going to do it do it, because i'm tired and i want to sleep. So i went and got ready for bed and while i was going into my room it turned into a brawl between three of them. I learned an important lesson from the experience. If i would have given them what they wanted we would have all ended up eggy, but because i made myself look vulnerable and made them feel bad for their wicked secret combinations, i was saved :) haha. So starting from the morning. I got to the pension for breakfast and they gave me a muffin with a firework in it and happy birthday was playing on the computer, it was fun. And after we went to the office as usual, studied, and supposedly we were going to go to a stake young single adult activity and teach them how to participate in missionary work at 11. We got there at 11 and it was actually at 10, so we felt great about that.. But luckily the activity was in our church so we were in our area and just went to work! We taught some great lessons and in the afternoon found a new family! I'm pretty sure the parents need to get married, but they want to go to church and are a sweet family. At 8 at night we went to Los Incas to my old house! Hermana Graciela invited me to go there for my birthday, and made me banana pancakes. Blanca and her kids were there, a woman i baptized, and she gave me cologne as a gift! (i guess i smell bad) But that was really nice and we had a great time until 9 at night, then we hustled to the mission home where we had another dinner with the office and president and sister Risso. We ate chivitos, a uruguayan sandwich that's like a hamburger but with a steak inside. And of course all day i was eating cake. It was a great birthday. My pensionista right now, Hermana Yataco, gave me a soccer jersey of a team from Lima, and a really nice card. It was all around a great birthday.
The storm came the day after.. on Sunday (for younger readers, this part gets graphic) For lunch we ate at a member's house. We ate turkey and rice, it was yummy, then after she gave me some homemade yogurt. All afternoon i was fine, then at night we had to receive reports from all the zone leaders. My stomach started hurting really bad, and i ended up going to lay down on a couch here in the office and fell asleep. Elder Chuiz finished off the reports and when he was done he woke me up, and i felt even worse... then, for the first time on my mission, i threw up. at least i made it over a year and a half. But then i felt a lot better, we went to our apartment, and i fell asleep. The night was rough though, i threw up a few more times and it was just stinky. But this morning i'm doing a lot better. I think it was the yogurt that killed me.
That's the story of my week. other than that, not too much exciting happened. We did a training meeting for the new missionaries who are in their first 12 weeks and their trainers- it went great. And we visited a companionship here in chiclayo in their area to work with them.
Now the exciting part. I left it for last.. The decision. I am officially going home february 16th. (i think i'll actually get home the 17th). I would explain why, but i don't exactly know why. After a lot of praying and thinking through it, i just feel better about it. So, i'll be here another four months :) I love this work and know it's all true.
Love you!
Elder Hatch
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