The Dogs in Iquitoes

Hey there, Friends and Fam!

Don't be confused by the title of this letter. Iquitos doesn't have a week dedicated to dogs (not that I know of, at least), but this week has been full of dog-related experiences. 

One of them is when I realized I was living the dream as a missionary! Me and my companion were, no joke, chased by a bulldog. Just like your stereotypical missionary! At first, I thought it wanted a piece of my leg, but it later caught up to us with its tail wagging about and I realized it just wanted to play. It was pretty cute.

Not as cute as this other dog, though. These next two weeks, me and my companion have hired this other lady to make meals for us, and next door to them lives this adorable little puppy. It would sit down patiently when we arrive at the door, and when we pay the slightest bit of attention to it, it would hop and bound around in circles with its tail wagging abroad. I swear, rainbows, hearts, and sunshinies revolve around this puppy. 

Anyways, this little dog got me thinking about all the other dogs in Iquitos, which eventually got me thinking, "What do people do with their dogs once they've died?"

The next day, my question was more-or-less answered. I was on a switch with another elder from my district (I call him Latino Superman. The guy's super buff), Elder Turcios, and we were walking down this street with a flock of birds ahead at the corner behind some bags of garbage. The birds here are HUGE, nearly the size of a 5 or 6 year old child. When we approached, we could see one of the birds dragging the skeleton of a dog out of a sewer. I'm pretty sure I just stood there with my eyes bulging out in surprise and my mouth hanging open like a cartoon character for five minutes.

The rest of the day, I was extremely weirded out at how big these birds were, and how people may just toss their dogs out when they've died, and not to mention the fact that a bird the size of my torso was pulling the skeleton of a dog out of the sewers.

Well, that's it for dog stories this week. Oh, also, something really cool. There are a few families I've met here that have been taught and baptized by Cousin Chris Dixon! Dad, do you think you could send me Chris' Dixon's email address so I could ask him about those members? Thanks!

How is everyone over there? Is Katie doing well? I'm glad Dad made it back from Turkey safely. How about Emily in China and Missy in Oregon? School is going well for everyone, right? Also, Steven, I heard you had your first date! Who was it with? Tellmetellmetellmetellmetellme!!!!!!

I finally was able to send a picture here. It's a little immature, but still pretty amusing. I was only able to send one, though. Next week, I'll send a picture of Iquitos!

Anyways, I'd just like to finish with my testimony. This week's been one of the tougher weeks when it came to the language, but I know that learning it isn't impossible. I believe that Heavenly Father wouldn't give me a task to fail at. It's like Nephi said, "...For I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Talk to ya all next week!

-Elder Dixon