Email from Elder Pentreath, 18th June 2012

We got a brilliant email from Elder Pentreath today. We're starting to glimpse pieces of his life out there and he sounds very happy. Here are some highlights:

"On Wednesday we left our boots just outside the appartment over night, upside down. I put  them on and quickly ran to the loo one last time before leaving (there's nowhere to go during the day, everyone just stands still, whips out their willy and just wees right there - I don't want to do that!!) So I was standing there wee-ing and I felt something running up my boot so I took off my boot, after finishing my wee, and literally a ginormous cockroach ran out! It was genuinely 10cms long and about 4 or 5 cms wide.. It was SO fat! I'm just confused how I managed to put on my boot without feeling it at first! It was proper loud as it ran across the floor.. and straight into our bedroom!! =O Ahh well!"

On Sunday: " N.K.T (new Kru Town) was buzzing today - lots of schools finished and so there was lots of graduations! Not all kids go to school and so a whole community come and celebrate a little 6 yr old's graduation from just no particular year. They get out HUGE speakers and all dance and sing super loud. Apparently it'll be like this for the rest of the month! On the super wet flooded day we came across one in which they'd just balanced the speakers on a rock sprouting out of the foot deep water. About 40 or 50 people were all singing along and all doing this same dance in sync knee deep in water. It was just incredible to see!! We really are entering the rainy season and quite a few days this week we've worn our wellies and waded through water up to our knees all day."

"On Tuesday the rain was particularly bad and Elder Esiaba found ourselves walking down the beach, totally totally saturated and singing 'Joseph Smith's 1st Prayer' - 'Oh how lovely was the morning..' There's something incredible about getting through difficult circumstances on a mission. Things which you'd usually weep at at home we just smile and don't think twice about - and don't even understand why it doesn't really affect us!!"

"Food here is good, all because of Elder Esiaba! He is the man with the cooking plan and we eat (in the evenings (that's the only time we do eat)) well enough. All rice and a few different types of sauce. They love hot food out here! Lots of 'pepe' (just crushed chilli peppers)."