¡Buenos Dias amigos y famalia!
Everything here in Mexico are fantastic! A lot has happened in the past week, both sad and happy.
The week has just flown by. Each day feels super long, but it feels like an instant at the end of the day and week. Every minute is still packed to the brim!
We have started to get into a lot more spanish. We have to constantly be up and ahead of everything or we are so far behind! Our classes are a Spanish-only zone now, and I even try to carry that out of the classroom as much as I can. I am really starting to pick up the language, but there is so much more to learn! We have also been going around the CCM to just talk with as many of the native workers as we can. That has been a really fun experience! So many people here have the coolest stories to tell, but no one really talkes too much to them to know. The majority of them are LDS, but we have found some who aren´t. So far, we have been able to invite them to our sacrament services, and giving the missionaries in the assigned area their information. There is always places even here to speak and spread a message.
Our teachers are absolutely amazing!! I´ve talked about Hermano Arevalo, who acted as our first investigator. We always have just an amazing experience talking and learning from him. Before his class though, we have a few hours to study the gospel then the language. Then he would pop in and join our discussion of the language. One of the days, we were all in a circle taking of conjugating past verbs and stuff when he walked in and sat on the other side of the room. So all of us started to get him to get into the middle of the circle, but he wouldn´t budge! Elder Helzer, one of the guys in our district was the first...and last to speak. "¡Hermano! ¡Nesisitamos su Expiacion"! (meaning to say: "Nesistamos su inspiracion."...big difference). So we were all on the floor laughing with that.
The food is still just as good as ever. I really enjoy the native real mexican food, and the amazing staff there just love to cook for us! Some of the food still has a weird taste to it, but I´m getting used to that a little bit. Especially after taking polls of what the missionaries like, the staff have started making American foods, but they always still have a twist of mexican still in them. Along with the food, they always have breads or pastrys...but I guess the culture for them is making them hard. So I´m starting to miss soft bread. Real bread...not the Bimbo brand card board slices they use for the nutella sandwich bread...that doesn't count. XD
Everyday we are giving about an hour for exercise and gym time. For the first half here at the CCM, we have played basketball, which I have improved, but I feel not too much. We have just discovered a group that play Ultimate Frizbee every day!! Now one of my favorite sports!! Although I´m not the best at the moment at throwing the frizbee, I am a master at catching. So I´m always found running to the inzone jumping and catching all sorts of crazy stuff! You feel like you´ve accomplished something when you have like four people playing defense around you, then you still score! WOOT!!!
It´s such a good way to get exercise as well as relax from the stress of the schedule. Cause that´s one of the larger problems here, is managing stress. Some take it very well, but others can have severe problems.
Our district is super strong. One of the greatest that I will ever have. Elder Barth, Moore, Myler, Helzer, Walker, Widmer, Hermana Sellers, and Jett. It almost seems by what we as a district are working to achieve and our relationship with each other. The adversary is doing everything in its power to prevent us from doing what we need to do. We are by far the district with the most visits to the clinica (CCM Doctors). All of us at one time or another have found ourselves there...some more severe than others...XD But after this past week, we are now one Elder short. Elder Dialogue. Due to a severe health reaction to either the stress or something, he was sent home back to Utah. Watching him leave was super hard. This district has been able to do SO much in just four weeks, and I am overjoyed that four (WILL be five when Dialogue returns) will be joining me to labor in Washington. But all of us will definately be staying in contact with each other.
In the Hispanic culture, fireworks are HUGE. They light them off for birthdays, to mourn the dead, holidays, etc. you name it. For the longest time, we thought that they were cannons or some other weapon (being surrounded by the more getto part of Mexico City). I came up and spread around that we were all part of the Hunger Games (or missionary games or something). Each of us are in districts; we are surrounded and encased in a 13ft wall; and our casa is right next to the cornacopia (four large monuments with tubes on the top of them). When each cannon would go off, we´d be like:"Must have been that kid in the white shirt and tie from district 14A." Then at night, there is music playing, must be the mexican hunger games theme...we are inside, so we just cant see the logo in the sky. But I have seen spot lights, so the logo must just be blurry.
But still a lot of fireworks even at night. Might even hear a bunch of hispanics whooping after each explosion. Dia de los muertos is coming up too.........see how that night goes. XD
I have found that I absolutely love MOTAB! They have some of the COOLEST and greatest songs out there. I continually think and feel that I need to try to get into it later in life. Then I can make funny or awesome faces and be shown would-wide! Best of both worlds right there!!!
A large large inpore of greenies came just this last Wednesday. Our Zone really grew due to that fact. And so far, being a Zone Leader is really fun!
But its fun to see how these greenies act the first few days. It´s hard to even start to imagine if we were that crazy our first week. From almost dancing and taking pictures on stage before or devos, to playing kingdom of hearts on the piano. But I know that they will be true missionaries by the time they are through the CCM, or the mission.
In the evenings of the day, we have scheduled TALL. Which stands for Technology Assisted Language Learning. Which is a program through BYU. But every time that I log off, the goodbye loading screen is a beautiful animated picture of Mt. Timpanogous. Such a beautiful view!!! It´s got to be SO beautiful down there!!
Less than two week left here. Everything is really starting to come together. I feel really prepared. My whole view on missionary work has dramatically changed in the time that I have been here. For example, on my way to the hanger in the Georgia airport, I was sitting right next to another man who started asking small stuff like "you guys laywers?" But then after telling him a little about us, he said that he was not interested and "past saving." I think that I could have made an amazing experience to just talk with him a little more. But now I feel a strong desire to really share the message with everyone who I can and will listen.
I do also have to say that the Tienda (store) is a magical place. The prices are fantastic, and we are given a balance card with a little on it to fit our needs here. They also have a large variety of ties for about 35 pesos, really really good price. So we all have gotten at least one or two "tienda ties." Another thing that they just started is a real mexican custom football (soccer) jerzy, complete with custom name and number. Not thinking of a good 2-digit number, I chose just to see what they would do "24601." I´m pretty sure that it wont work, because if it did, the world might just explode out of sheer awesomeness!!!
I also juat want to thank all of you who are able to be amazing examples in my life. Learning so much here has made me realize just how blessed I am to be able to have each and every one of you in my life. My companero is going through some hard hard things with his family. A fact that he may not be welcome home when he returns.... All of us here are praying for him and finding ways to help him, but I also wish at least a few prayers for my companero.
And I thank all of you for being the example to me, and helping me be who I am today.
I am really excited to see how this week will be! So much has happened and I am excited to see what two more weeks will be able to do for me. I have been able to hear the amazing words of Elder Holland about two times. And each time has left me absolutely loving this work. Some of his quotes:
"Throughout all the history of the world, the Lord on many accounts has chosen teens, and this time he has chosen you."
"You are commanded, I command you to have at least one convert, and it had better be you!"
"Moroni said that he saw us and our day. He saw one of us, we don't know who, but he saw us. ´Juses showed you unto me´"
"Just like Alma and his Angel, go out there and Astonish people! ...but don't lay them out flat for three days...you delay lessons that way."
Love and miss you all!
Elder Glen Wright
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