Bannon's Mission Blog: My front porch is a WARZONE!!

Wow... Quite the week it has been here in the Compton of the DR. Basically I have been stuck and hiding inside my house for the past 2 days because there is a full on war on my doorstep between the police and a bunch of hoodrat gangsters...I am not joking about it being on my doorstep either. I dont know the last time I slept because it is kind of hard when bullets are being fired and bombs are going off right outside your house. The cops shot a bunch of tear gas bombs on our street because that is where the bad guys are. They actually even found a hiding spot under our house. We live on the top floor so they were right below us shooting at the cops. Anyway, tear gas bombs suck because they make you ball your eyes out and choke and burn like crazy. Just picture cutting 100 onions at once. Then times that by 6. Thats what a tear gas bomb does. So our eyes were swollen and ren and it hurt to open or close them. We were all like on the floor crying and laughing and rolling around in pain all at once haha. It was definitly an experience... We couldn´t leave our house for the past 2 days streight and we are out of drinking water, toilet paper, and our water pipes broke so we cant do dishes or shower or flush the toilet. I think it is over now because it has been pretty calm the past couple of hours and we even mannaged to find an open internet center, so for that reason I am writting right now. Walking down here we saw like 40 new bullet holes on the walls and in light polls and stuff. But the cops are super heated because a cop was shot and killed. Our house is on the busiest street in all of Salcedo and the most dangerous too. At one point, there were more than 12 gangsters at once shooting at the cops like 15 feet from our house. I have a huge head ache now and I think i am deaf haha. I feel way bad for the greeny missionary who lives with us. This is his first week in the mission! He would probably be tramatized, but he is from Mexico, so Im sure he is used to all this haha. But don´t you worry mom, I am alive and well and have nothing to worry about because I am in the Lords work! I would put a smily face in right there, but my ghetto computor wont let me... haha.

Anyway, other then my area and house being a warzone, my area is pretty ghetto in all parts. We mostly have city, but there are a good amount of country sides here too. MY area is pretty dead and we dont have much work at all. So I am treating it like I am white washing it and starting from skratch. Our ward is tiny but they are all aweosme and want to help us. They are willing to come with us to lessons and are all just super great. So I am hoping these dang riots get over with so we can finally leave and start teaching.

I hope this email didn´t terrify anyone or anything. I am really completly fine and it has been quite the exciting couple of days in this new life I live. Luckily I got to go out today because I was going insane in my house after being in there for 48 hours streight not being able to leave. Just prey my water will start to work again so we can shower! haha.

Love you all. And welcome to the Dominican Republic!