Cari Miei!
I hope this letter finds you well.
This week has been a week with lots of fun. When I got here to Prato the bike that I inherited was...in interesting condition and I knew that soon it would die. So when it finally went the way of all the earth this week, I wasn't surprised. So after some minor inconvenience, we made it to a bike shop close to our house. I found a bike that I thought was decent, but I didn't want to buy it until I had checked out another place or two. So we walked about an hour to another place that was a warehouse type store for sporting goods and found some bikes there. They are really nice though, and the lowest one cost about 130 Euros...Keep in mind that this is the first bike I have to buy in the mission, and so I have to purchase it with my own money. So after sleeping on the decision for a night. I decided to buy the first one I saw for 60 Euros, It was pretty decent and for 60 Euros I was content with the purchase. That is until I started riding away.... The tires were wobbling from side to side and the back tire made the bike thump up and down.... but we were already late for an appointment so we kept on going; we had to go back Monday to get the receipt anyhow. So we continued throughout the day and as we were traveling to do some casa near the Church, the bike chain broke...like the chain didn't fall off...it broke. Snapped, severed. And the tire got shifted so that it was pressing against the rim... This was when the store had already been closed on Saturday night...I would have to wait till Monday to do anything about it. So we walked it back to the house and the next day we borrowed a Members bike to get to all our appointments. (His bike was also a...fun bike...You had to put in about 1000 percent of the effort to travel 1/10 of the distance of a normal bike...anyhow, different story that there.) So Monday we took the bike back to these guys they got it fixed, replace the chain and straightened the wheel. They did it for free so I had no complaints. Then after riding 100 Meters...the tire started rubbing against the back frame again. The tire was popping out of the metal frame of the bike. So we took what I now so affectionately call "The Lemon" (It even has a yellow accent painting) back to the bike shop. They put on a new tire...still a little wobbly buy the bumping had stopped...the chain was fixed... and they did it all for free as I thought was just...now...after that the bike was just fine. Minor wobbling but I couldn't complain. Until...last night when I was riding it, the back tire started again to pop out of place...and then after much much prayer and traveling. (My bike was upheld by the Grace of God at that point.) it was about 8;00 the bike had been deteriorating all day. And it started clicking really bad...don’t know what was clicking and also the tire was making this puffing noise...so It sounded like I was riding some contraption that ran on steam and coal from a scientist movie from the 1860's...It was worth a good laugh...So now I find myself in a pickle...I don't care much for that bike. Tomorrow we are going to take it to see if they will give me something back for it...highly doubt it. Then we are going to buy a new bike...for 130 Euro...My fault for not inspecting it well enough, not taking it for a test drive, and not being smart at all in buying it. Sometimes you have to burn your hand on the oven before you learn it's hot...
My catchphrase for all this (Whenever my bike broke down) has been, "I bet they don't have days like this in Australia." no one gets the reference to a favorite childhood book. Other than all that fun stuff, the week has been normal, we are finding people and teaching people and having fun. Anziano Frustaci and I are getting along really well and I'm liking the Branch here.
Love you all so much and hope that you are doing well; I have to go because I'm running out of internet time and only have a little cash on me. Love you all so much!
Anziano Memmott
I hope this letter finds you well.
This week has been a week with lots of fun. When I got here to Prato the bike that I inherited was...in interesting condition and I knew that soon it would die. So when it finally went the way of all the earth this week, I wasn't surprised. So after some minor inconvenience, we made it to a bike shop close to our house. I found a bike that I thought was decent, but I didn't want to buy it until I had checked out another place or two. So we walked about an hour to another place that was a warehouse type store for sporting goods and found some bikes there. They are really nice though, and the lowest one cost about 130 Euros...Keep in mind that this is the first bike I have to buy in the mission, and so I have to purchase it with my own money. So after sleeping on the decision for a night. I decided to buy the first one I saw for 60 Euros, It was pretty decent and for 60 Euros I was content with the purchase. That is until I started riding away.... The tires were wobbling from side to side and the back tire made the bike thump up and down.... but we were already late for an appointment so we kept on going; we had to go back Monday to get the receipt anyhow. So we continued throughout the day and as we were traveling to do some casa near the Church, the bike chain broke...like the chain didn't fall off...it broke. Snapped, severed. And the tire got shifted so that it was pressing against the rim... This was when the store had already been closed on Saturday night...I would have to wait till Monday to do anything about it. So we walked it back to the house and the next day we borrowed a Members bike to get to all our appointments. (His bike was also a...fun bike...You had to put in about 1000 percent of the effort to travel 1/10 of the distance of a normal bike...anyhow, different story that there.) So Monday we took the bike back to these guys they got it fixed, replace the chain and straightened the wheel. They did it for free so I had no complaints. Then after riding 100 Meters...the tire started rubbing against the back frame again. The tire was popping out of the metal frame of the bike. So we took what I now so affectionately call "The Lemon" (It even has a yellow accent painting) back to the bike shop. They put on a new tire...still a little wobbly buy the bumping had stopped...the chain was fixed... and they did it all for free as I thought was just...now...after that the bike was just fine. Minor wobbling but I couldn't complain. Until...last night when I was riding it, the back tire started again to pop out of place...and then after much much prayer and traveling. (My bike was upheld by the Grace of God at that point.) it was about 8;00 the bike had been deteriorating all day. And it started clicking really bad...don’t know what was clicking and also the tire was making this puffing noise...so It sounded like I was riding some contraption that ran on steam and coal from a scientist movie from the 1860's...It was worth a good laugh...So now I find myself in a pickle...I don't care much for that bike. Tomorrow we are going to take it to see if they will give me something back for it...highly doubt it. Then we are going to buy a new bike...for 130 Euro...My fault for not inspecting it well enough, not taking it for a test drive, and not being smart at all in buying it. Sometimes you have to burn your hand on the oven before you learn it's hot...
My catchphrase for all this (Whenever my bike broke down) has been, "I bet they don't have days like this in Australia." no one gets the reference to a favorite childhood book. Other than all that fun stuff, the week has been normal, we are finding people and teaching people and having fun. Anziano Frustaci and I are getting along really well and I'm liking the Branch here.
Love you all so much and hope that you are doing well; I have to go because I'm running out of internet time and only have a little cash on me. Love you all so much!
Anziano Memmott
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