It's raining, it's pouring

Don't worry about sending me gloves or anything! When it gets cold enough for me to need them, they'll be available and I'll just get some here. I'm making do with my warm jacket. The people say it isn't even cold yet... I hope I stay all winter to get the full adventure out of this place.

There's been a whole bunch of stuff going down with the schools here, too! Apparently the government wants to privatize all schools but the teachers don't want that because then they have to work 6 years longer, or something. Just what I've gathered from the strikes in Tuxpan and way out here in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes they even block the roads!

Thank you incredibly for the Danner boots. 5 months in and they're still intact. They are also totally waterproof, as my picture of me walking through the flood will show. What a great purchase, especially for my new rural area!

Things that I like about my new area: The members. Here in rural country where only one member owns a car, the people are all so patient and don't expect things to just instantly appear. 'Hey, would you like to walk 45 minutes with us to a lesson?' ?Sure, why not?' And off we go hiking in the mountains! The Branch President is the bomb. He is only 28 and he says he wants to feel like a missionary forever, so sometimes he spends all day with us. He really loves Elder S and me because we work hard and love people.

My comp... is the greatest. We have laughed so stinking much. He's a real human being who loves people and knows how to teach because he is actually converted to the Lord.  We let the Holy Ghost do all the work.

We got absolutely lost the other day and ended up in Teziutlan way far away without knowing how to get back to our villages. We decided to go to a certain point and just wait. Not one minute later, we hear a car honking -- the only member in our branch who has a car just happened to pass by us exactly as we were waiting where we felt we should wait. He drove us back to Atempan. That miracle is an evidence that the Lord always guides His servants, even when they are not aware of it. Truly, the Gift of the Holy Ghost is constant companionship.

We did get our money! We still lack a cell phone which makes working a lot harder, but hey, we're in the middle of nowhere. ''Es México. No pasa nada.'' I have said that about a million times

recently, and I love it.

Photo time! If you have questions, respond fast.

I love you!

I hope John Denver's "Christmas for Cowboys" comes true with wide-open cornfields and hot chocolate.