OBDC and FAMILY HISTORY WORK!!!

So last night we had a conference in the stake center that was broadcast from Guatemala. Elder Amado said that as kids we learn the alphabet as ABCD but we should learn it as OBDC (o be de ce - obedece means obey) haha I liked it.

I am feeling better but I have to blow my nose every 10 minutes... it feels like I am drowning...

yes I know Hna. Scott she is great! :), yes I have see Hna. Curtis, she is training this change! (I asked about 2 sisters she was in the MTC with)

This week someone came and talked to us about family history and told us the coolest stuff!! He told us that people on the other side of the veil who have passed away can have permission to visit their family members during important times in their lives. And that we as missionaries can ask Heavenly Father to give permission to the ancestors or family members of our investigators to help them make their decision. And he gave us a bunch of examples of this. He also said that it is extremely common to see the people you are doing the work for when you are in the temple and that we have concourses of angels protecting us (especially as missionaries)

Long story short, DO FAMILY HISTORY WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we are watching the best two years and sleeping because we are both exhausted haha.

Dear Alyssa,

What do you call a cow that doesn't give milk? (a milk dud)

What asks no questions must be answered? (a doorbell)

Why did the robot eat a lightbulb? (he wanted a light snack)

Alyssa, did you know that I at the party at Saturday we went to that I got a kazoo. love you Alyssa and I really really miss you. And I really hope you like my jokes, love Alyssa from Abby.

Dear Abby,

I don’t know the answer to any of those questions.... I am so happy you got a cazoo and I love and miss you too!!

No pictures this week, sorry.

Did you know that the Panamanians are either extremely fantastically amazing cooks or they can’t cook at all. Luckily the majority are the first.

Thanks for all the birthday presents. I loved them all!! haha I couldn’t wait.... (yes her birthday isn't for 2 more weeks!, she still doesn't have the pictures from everyone, those are in transit but should still make it! So here are a few of those pictures since she didn't give us any this week, I will put more on next week and on her Bday as well)

President Darrell and Adam

(We sure are going to miss you but I know how lucky those Aussie Missionaries and their mom's are to have you and Maryann! See you in 3!)

Emily (Alyssa's sister from another mother)

Garreth

(THE best attorney around, trust me I know and I will give you his #!)

Robert and Elizabeth

(Alyssa's German brother and sister)

Richard

(he is like 7' tall so it's hard to get a whole picture of him)

Kenzie and Sharon

(her other sister from another mother and my bff my whole life, yes that is 29 years and then I quit counting lol)

I love you I love you I love you! Thank you for everything and hug my Abby for me!! 

Tell Carma Morgan that I got her letter and I’m not a flake, I just don’t have much time to write. Tell her thank you for the letter and for her support and that I love and miss her.

So I am going to tell you all the fruits that you are missing out on: Guaba, Guanabana, Guayaba, Maracuya, Cacao, Mamon Chino, Marañon and there are more but I forgot the list at home. Wikipedia is my source for the following bits of info: (if you don't care about exotic fruit, skip all the red but I thought it was interesting.

"Guaba" 

The seeds are covered with sweet white powder. The pulp covering the seeds is lightly fibrous and sweet, and rich in minerals; it is edible in the raw state. Inga species, most notably Inga edulis (commonly known as "ice-cream-bean" or, in Spanish, "guama" or "guaba" or "paterna") the name derives from the fact that those of I. edulis resembles vanilla ice cream in flavour.

Guanabana aka soursop

The flavour has been described as a combination of strawberry and pineapple, with sour citrus flavour notes contrasting with an underlying creamy flavour reminiscent of coconut or banana.

Guayaba aka guava

Maracuya aka passionfruit

Several distinct varieties of passion fruit with clearly differing exterior appearances exist. The bright yellow variety is also known as the Golden Passion Fruit, The dark purple edulis variety is smaller than a lemon, though it is less acidic than the yellow passion fruit, and has a richer aroma and flavour.

"Cacao"

The cocoa bean, also cacao bean or simply cocoa or cacao, is the dried and fully fermented fattybean of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter are extracted. They are the basis of chocolate, as well as many Mesoamerican foods such as mole sauce and tejate.

A cocoa pod (fruit) has a rough and leathery rind about 3 cm (1.2 in) thick (this varies with the origin and variety of pod). It is filled with sweet, mucilaginous pulp (called 'baba de cacao' in South America) enclosing 30 to 50 large seeds that are fairly soft and white to a pale lavender color. While seeds are usually white, they become violet or reddish brown during the drying process. The exception is rare varieties of white cacao, in which the seeds remain white. 

Mamon Chino aka rambutan

The flesh exposed when the outer skin is peeled off is sweet and sour, slightly grape-like and gummy to the taste. In Panama and Costa Rican Spanish, it is known as mamón chino. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow), and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name rambutan, derived from the Malay word rambut, which means hairs. The fruit flesh, which is actually the aril, is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor very reminiscent of grapes.

Rambutans are a non-climacteric fruit—that is, they ripen only on the tree.

Marañon

The fruit of the cashew tree is an accessory fruit. What appears to be the fruit is an oval or pear-shaped structure. Called the cashew apple, better known in Central America as marañón, it ripens into a yellow and/or red structure about 5–11 cm long. It is edible, and has a strong "sweet" smell and a sweet taste. The pulp of the cashew apple is very juicy, but the skin is fragile, making it unsuitable for transport. In Latin America, a fruit drink is made from the cashew apple pulp which has a very refreshing taste and tropical flavor that can be described as having notes of mango, raw green pepper, and just a little hint of grapefruit-like citrus.

The true fruit of the cashew tree is a kidney or boxing-glove shaped drupe that grows at the end of the cashew apple. The drupe develops first on the tree, and then the pedicel expands to become the cashew apple. Within the true fruit is a single seed, the cashew nut. Although a nut in the culinary sense, in the botanical sense the nut of the cashew is a seed. 

Chao for now!!
Love, Hermana Wandell