Please read this part of the letter in the tone of “tired” or “exhausted”. This should not be read as “pessimistic”:
Well. This week was not very good. I got to do balloon figures at a birthday party, which was nice. The unfortunate part was that the food served I could not stomach, so the missionary looked like a jerk gourmet. I apologized profusely, but still. That is the only meal here that I have not eaten. We invited twelve individuals to attend church this week. None came--this after many promises, questions about if they could arrive late, the works. Pretty much everyone we were working with dropped us. So we got to do contacting and knocking doors a lot. Nothing. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we walked. Tried to talk to people, but nothing doing. Wendy and Jesus, 2 kids (14 and 11) that we had baptismal dates for are getting baptized in a Christian church. They did not specify which, only that it was the denomination to which their father belonged and that we were not to come back. Bleh.
Then there are the problems we have that are not missionary related that we get to help with, too. One of the Sister's mother has a serious medical injury in her big toe; it will cost roughly 100000 pesos to fix. Then will come the after treatments, which means more cash. The bishop doesn't have time to work with everyone right now because his job has him out of the house a lot, so the viciouscanaries [missionaries] are the transit to him. I was in a bus car wreck. Noone wants to listen to missionaries in ´The Season,´ too busy giving, partying with their friends, the works. Our Mission Leader does not attend church, and when we ask for help we get excuses. Just a whole lot of bad.
I have decided that next week will be better.
You may now read in whatever tone you wish. :)
On the up side, due to the wreck, bus transit was free. I bought a car speaker which works wonderfully. Some of the members are really great and work with us a lot. They even give us presents (usually food although sometimes other things). The infection on my foot is now accompanied by a blister, both of which I know exactly how to handle. In the other birthday party I attended (yup, I got invited to 2 in one week--hooyah) they had rootbeer especially for me! I am not going to say I cried, but it was a very emotional and tender time.
All of the other missionaries are you best friend, which is a little weird sometimes but also nice. Writing this letter is difficult because I cannot remember specific words and how to say them in English.
I am still pretty much the most unique person I know--with the whole lots of countries and life experience thing going for me.
So, yeah, going to be a little frank here. Pretty much all of our investigators who were progressing? They dropped us. They have their kids tell us they are not home after they open the door and we see them, say they are really super busy, don´t know when they will be able to talk again, etc. There are many excuses. On the plus side, I have gotten very good at being rejected. When we are received, that will make it feel even better than it normally does. We contact, knock doors, and visit members all day. It would be nice to have an investigator again.
I had Chinese food; that was interesting. It was like someone took the food, cooked it, and then poured buffalo sauce on top. It was good but not what I was expecting. And you know what? I love greens. Veggies are the best. We rarely have them because basically everyone here is a tortilla-eating carnivore. And beans. Cannot forget the beans. Those are really very important. A meal would not be complete without them in one of their many forms, including but not limited to soups, charcoal, paste, and many more types. Also Coke costs less than water here, which would be great, but I do not like it. Go figure. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a store that sells rootbeer. I must encounter one.
The zone leaders changed. I know absolutely nothing about the two that we have currently. It should be fun.
Yup. Life is hard right now. Hope to report some good stuff next week.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí, (Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you)
Elder Scott
Sunday 30 November 2014
Tuesday 18 November 2014
November 17, 2014 -- The Road Goes On
Well. This week was really relaxing for me. All of my problems have dissipated, more or less. That means I can spend all of my time worrying about how to help other people, which is really very fun.
First, the problem I had with intestinal inflammation. Apparently, I should have had this like the first day, and it is really strange that an American only got this after two months in Mexico. Haha. The flip side story about that is that one of the other elders commanded me to get over it. It worked. And although I found it weird, it just goes to show that miracles can happen and elders can command them, regardless of what kind they need to be.
I do not know if I mentioned this, but some of the members in my branch/ward cannot get my name right. They keep calling me Elder Holland. He is really good at something called planchando (ironing, or reiterating a point in such a way that the importance of said principle of the gospel is not only important but imperative. Many times, this can mean painful.) Apparently I am really good at planchando. One of the members is a mother of 3. She is not married, and after much discussion and reasons that will remain undisclosed, she probably cannot be sealed with her first husband, who died as a result of a terrorist act. Everyone is telling her she needs to search for another spouse who is worthy of her children and with whom she can be sealed for time and all eternity. I brought out various scriptures to try to emphasize the point. They included D+C 88:14-24, the Spanish bible dictionary definition of mother, and other important scriptures: baptism is the doctrine of salvation, sealing is the doctrine of exaltation, etc. I definitely ironed that point in. We are working on doing all that we can for this sister, including getting her a patriarchal blessing. Can you believe that she didn´t want one? I couldn´t fathom it. Crazy. Anyway. I now feel a little bit worthy to be called by his name even though I think it’s funny.
Grandpa sent me an email warning me about cockroaches. I do appreciate the thought. I am very aware of the bug population of my house. Fortunately, I learned that if you keep a pile of refuse outside, all of the bugs stay outside. J I am kidding--our house actually doesn´t have a cockroach problem. The problem is the flies. They are everywhere. Sometimes it looks dark when it is light outside because of the flies. They’re usually not in our house, though. We keep it clean and close everything possible in an effort to prevent infestation.
I do not know what happened with that kid I gave a blessing to, have absolutely no idea. I hope he did all he could. You know? Because it´s glorious.
Rain is great. When it rains, I make sure to thank Heavenly father for the challenge, as well as a lot of the other things that are difficult for missionaries who have to be outside preaching. It isn´t easy, but it is worth it.
Nobody came to church this week. That means the two baptisms we had planned for Thursday have to get pushed back to next week. Tanto.
Talking to people really is very easy; what is hard is ending. I never know the appropriate time to cease a discussion.
My companion and I work with the members a lot. They do absolutely anything we ask them to. I have to say, it pays to work with the members. Getting to know them and helping them with their difficulties is the best part of the day sometimes. One of the sisters who we like a lot got really sick, went to the hospital, and the doctors say she probably lost her baby. I was unaware she was with child before I heard about it. We have been helping them out a lot. The kids accompanied us for lessons, but they all fell through. ´Tis difficult to be a missionary sometimes.
Love you guys,
-Elder Scott
First, the problem I had with intestinal inflammation. Apparently, I should have had this like the first day, and it is really strange that an American only got this after two months in Mexico. Haha. The flip side story about that is that one of the other elders commanded me to get over it. It worked. And although I found it weird, it just goes to show that miracles can happen and elders can command them, regardless of what kind they need to be.
I do not know if I mentioned this, but some of the members in my branch/ward cannot get my name right. They keep calling me Elder Holland. He is really good at something called planchando (ironing, or reiterating a point in such a way that the importance of said principle of the gospel is not only important but imperative. Many times, this can mean painful.) Apparently I am really good at planchando. One of the members is a mother of 3. She is not married, and after much discussion and reasons that will remain undisclosed, she probably cannot be sealed with her first husband, who died as a result of a terrorist act. Everyone is telling her she needs to search for another spouse who is worthy of her children and with whom she can be sealed for time and all eternity. I brought out various scriptures to try to emphasize the point. They included D+C 88:14-24, the Spanish bible dictionary definition of mother, and other important scriptures: baptism is the doctrine of salvation, sealing is the doctrine of exaltation, etc. I definitely ironed that point in. We are working on doing all that we can for this sister, including getting her a patriarchal blessing. Can you believe that she didn´t want one? I couldn´t fathom it. Crazy. Anyway. I now feel a little bit worthy to be called by his name even though I think it’s funny.
Grandpa sent me an email warning me about cockroaches. I do appreciate the thought. I am very aware of the bug population of my house. Fortunately, I learned that if you keep a pile of refuse outside, all of the bugs stay outside. J I am kidding--our house actually doesn´t have a cockroach problem. The problem is the flies. They are everywhere. Sometimes it looks dark when it is light outside because of the flies. They’re usually not in our house, though. We keep it clean and close everything possible in an effort to prevent infestation.
I do not know what happened with that kid I gave a blessing to, have absolutely no idea. I hope he did all he could. You know? Because it´s glorious.
Rain is great. When it rains, I make sure to thank Heavenly father for the challenge, as well as a lot of the other things that are difficult for missionaries who have to be outside preaching. It isn´t easy, but it is worth it.
Nobody came to church this week. That means the two baptisms we had planned for Thursday have to get pushed back to next week. Tanto.
Talking to people really is very easy; what is hard is ending. I never know the appropriate time to cease a discussion.
My companion and I work with the members a lot. They do absolutely anything we ask them to. I have to say, it pays to work with the members. Getting to know them and helping them with their difficulties is the best part of the day sometimes. One of the sisters who we like a lot got really sick, went to the hospital, and the doctors say she probably lost her baby. I was unaware she was with child before I heard about it. We have been helping them out a lot. The kids accompanied us for lessons, but they all fell through. ´Tis difficult to be a missionary sometimes.
Love you guys,
-Elder Scott
Monday 17 November 2014
November 10, 2014
Hello All. How goes life. What challenges are you facing? Would you like to hear about my life? Blahty Blahty Blah. Almost nobody writes me, and that makes a poor vicious-canary [our family term for “missionary”—big grin] sad.
Life this week was difficult. We had a lot of rain. I spent all of my time soaked, even though I was wearing an impermeable coat. At some point during the rain I got sick. I have inflamed intestines. This makes constipation look like child’s play. I hurt all the way through the tubes, when they allow things to pass through. I still have it, but I am taking medication to help `ease` my suffering. My companion is also really sick due to his allergies. But he refuses to take medication. We teach that in order to receive blessings, you have to do all that you possibly can to deserve said blessings. For getting better from sickness, this includes taking medication, don`t you think? Can`t get him to do it, though.
Had exchanges for 2 of he 6 working days of the week. Elder Zagal and Elder Montes. Zagal has 6 months, Montes has 1 week. We accomplished a lot. Met some great people in the other area, whom I am absolutely sure are getting baptized.
Had Alexandra and her mother Guadalupe come to church this week, in addition to an assortment of small children. Some of which were not hers. They enjoyed it a lot, and I answered a lot of her questions (of which there were many). They enjoyed themselves, and we have more lessons before they are getting baptized. This is happening. They want it.
To tell you the truth, growing out of your clothes (either way) is no big deal here. You can buy jeans for 10 pesos. Shoes for 50—a full suit for 75. 3 piece? 100. Shirts? 5. Do not know how much a belt costs, but I do not need a new one quite yet. It actually costs more to repair an article of clothing than it does to buy a new one.
In other news, my camera has quit working. I am working on fixing that, because there are many interesting things I want to take pictures of.
Gave a blessing to this kid who asked for one. Had absolutely no time to prepare or anything, so the best course of action is to pray before. Pray that you will be an able conduit for the spirit to tell this child of god what they need to hear. I promised him health, which is what the blessing was for, and as I was going to end it I found myself promising that he would meet someone this week that he would have the opportunity to bring into the church. And that, should he faithfully try to bring this person in, he would be successful and would find a ton of joy in them and their accomplishment. And that he would gain a personal testimony of the importance of missionary work. Twas pretty cool!
Life this week was difficult. We had a lot of rain. I spent all of my time soaked, even though I was wearing an impermeable coat. At some point during the rain I got sick. I have inflamed intestines. This makes constipation look like child’s play. I hurt all the way through the tubes, when they allow things to pass through. I still have it, but I am taking medication to help `ease` my suffering. My companion is also really sick due to his allergies. But he refuses to take medication. We teach that in order to receive blessings, you have to do all that you possibly can to deserve said blessings. For getting better from sickness, this includes taking medication, don`t you think? Can`t get him to do it, though.
Had exchanges for 2 of he 6 working days of the week. Elder Zagal and Elder Montes. Zagal has 6 months, Montes has 1 week. We accomplished a lot. Met some great people in the other area, whom I am absolutely sure are getting baptized.
Had Alexandra and her mother Guadalupe come to church this week, in addition to an assortment of small children. Some of which were not hers. They enjoyed it a lot, and I answered a lot of her questions (of which there were many). They enjoyed themselves, and we have more lessons before they are getting baptized. This is happening. They want it.
To tell you the truth, growing out of your clothes (either way) is no big deal here. You can buy jeans for 10 pesos. Shoes for 50—a full suit for 75. 3 piece? 100. Shirts? 5. Do not know how much a belt costs, but I do not need a new one quite yet. It actually costs more to repair an article of clothing than it does to buy a new one.
In other news, my camera has quit working. I am working on fixing that, because there are many interesting things I want to take pictures of.
Gave a blessing to this kid who asked for one. Had absolutely no time to prepare or anything, so the best course of action is to pray before. Pray that you will be an able conduit for the spirit to tell this child of god what they need to hear. I promised him health, which is what the blessing was for, and as I was going to end it I found myself promising that he would meet someone this week that he would have the opportunity to bring into the church. And that, should he faithfully try to bring this person in, he would be successful and would find a ton of joy in them and their accomplishment. And that he would gain a personal testimony of the importance of missionary work. Twas pretty cool!
Life is pretty boring otherwise. It is work.
Love you guys.
-Elder Scott
Love you guys.
-Elder Scott
November 2, 2014
This week was pretty much boring. Not much happened.
My birthday was interesting. We spent the first half of the day doing service for Virginia. Due to a long period of absence from her home, she had no water--this due to the fact that her piping and sinks, among other things, had been stolen. I found myself itching to do what they brought in professionals to do because I did this type of thing with dad and they were making it way too complicated. All of that stuff I did not want to do that dad made me learn how to? I have ended up using that knowledge a ton here. I fix things all the time. With or without tools. Of course, technical language is different in Spanish than in English, so I cannot explain how to do what I do in Spanish. Only by example. Which, although it works, is far less productive than being able to accompany your works with words.
My companion seems to think I am a 4 year old. He tells me to do things that I have already done, also, he disallows me to do things like this, which I know perfectly well how to do. Also every time we come to a street crossing, he tells me to look both ways. Which, when I do not find it annoying I find downright hilarious. He is 22 and believes that I cannot possibly know more about anything than he does. Well, that irks my sense of pride; but hey, being prideful is kind of not a good thing. So, I am going to let him continue thinking I am hopeless when it comes to real life, and simply do what needs to be done in the best way I know how.
Anyway, done with that rant, after service we went and tried to teach lessons. I say tried, because we were there, the spirit was there, but some of the people were not there. (physically or mentally, both or take your pick) The law of agency can be really annoying. I think I can understand how Lucifer´s plan managed to pull away a third of the hosts of heaven. It seems like it would be really nice to just force someone to do something like be converted and baptized, because we know it is the best and only way. But, then again, forcing someone to do something never makes them happy about it. So, in the end we know that agency is needed and important. Each and every human on this earth agrees that agency is important, otherwise they would not have a body.
After that, we went and had dinner with the mission president. That was a little scary. We went to sirloin stockade, a golden corral type buffet place, but more Mexican (more tacos and the like, and fewer different types of food)--twas good, though. After that we went outside. I ended up beatboxing for the mission president. An elder who was going home the next day (Halloween? really?) filmed me, and supposedly put it on the internet. Based on the lack of talking about it in mom´s letter, I do not think it hit the web. The mission president showed me a video of a missionary in Spain breakdancing. Very strange day, that was.
My companion is the district leader now. It is a little bit of a change; he has more responsibilities now.
Hey! Who the heck is Alex, and why has no one told me about him? What is his relationship with Jessica? She brought a boy to family dinner? Really? What is he like? I must know, for if he be found unworthy, he shall not have her!
We have more dates set up for baptisms in the month of November, but I will only tell you about them after the fact because I have found that many times circumstances set themselves up in such a way to make baptism difficult, if not altogether impossible, without an individual being willing to give up something that is very important to them.
We brought a 9 year old investigator to stake conference. The entire family was going to come, but it seems like everything conspires against people we have asked to come to church and they find themselves unwilling to give up something they absolutely have to do right now for something as unimportant as church. So, the parents handed us their nine year old and told us to have a nice time. Apparently, they trust us. Their four year old wanted to come, too, but the mother did not want her to leave. We got the mom to promise to bring her to church next week. Muahaha! Anyways, nine year olds have a lot of energy. And stake conference was broken up into pieces due to the size of the stake here. Our half lasted for 2 hours. That is far too long for an active child. We ended up following her around for the last bit of the meeting. I do believe missions are great preparation for being a parent. I seem to learn more about dealing with children every week.
We got a bunch of new Elders this week. Talking to them was fun. You can tell which missionaries are new, because they all look shell shocked. They share this face that shows that they are all absolutely lost whenever anyone speaks Spanish to them. Encouraging them was fun. I may have only been out here in the field for nearly two months, but you know what? I know a lot. And having concrete evidence that they can eventually get the language and everything helps them feel better about how uncomfortable they currently are. Most of them have American companions, too, so they can actually understand and talk to someone. I remember my first day. It was really terrible.
Well. Do not have anything more to talk about.
Love you guys.
Elder Scott
My birthday was interesting. We spent the first half of the day doing service for Virginia. Due to a long period of absence from her home, she had no water--this due to the fact that her piping and sinks, among other things, had been stolen. I found myself itching to do what they brought in professionals to do because I did this type of thing with dad and they were making it way too complicated. All of that stuff I did not want to do that dad made me learn how to? I have ended up using that knowledge a ton here. I fix things all the time. With or without tools. Of course, technical language is different in Spanish than in English, so I cannot explain how to do what I do in Spanish. Only by example. Which, although it works, is far less productive than being able to accompany your works with words.
My companion seems to think I am a 4 year old. He tells me to do things that I have already done, also, he disallows me to do things like this, which I know perfectly well how to do. Also every time we come to a street crossing, he tells me to look both ways. Which, when I do not find it annoying I find downright hilarious. He is 22 and believes that I cannot possibly know more about anything than he does. Well, that irks my sense of pride; but hey, being prideful is kind of not a good thing. So, I am going to let him continue thinking I am hopeless when it comes to real life, and simply do what needs to be done in the best way I know how.
Anyway, done with that rant, after service we went and tried to teach lessons. I say tried, because we were there, the spirit was there, but some of the people were not there. (physically or mentally, both or take your pick) The law of agency can be really annoying. I think I can understand how Lucifer´s plan managed to pull away a third of the hosts of heaven. It seems like it would be really nice to just force someone to do something like be converted and baptized, because we know it is the best and only way. But, then again, forcing someone to do something never makes them happy about it. So, in the end we know that agency is needed and important. Each and every human on this earth agrees that agency is important, otherwise they would not have a body.
After that, we went and had dinner with the mission president. That was a little scary. We went to sirloin stockade, a golden corral type buffet place, but more Mexican (more tacos and the like, and fewer different types of food)--twas good, though. After that we went outside. I ended up beatboxing for the mission president. An elder who was going home the next day (Halloween? really?) filmed me, and supposedly put it on the internet. Based on the lack of talking about it in mom´s letter, I do not think it hit the web. The mission president showed me a video of a missionary in Spain breakdancing. Very strange day, that was.
My companion is the district leader now. It is a little bit of a change; he has more responsibilities now.
Hey! Who the heck is Alex, and why has no one told me about him? What is his relationship with Jessica? She brought a boy to family dinner? Really? What is he like? I must know, for if he be found unworthy, he shall not have her!
We have more dates set up for baptisms in the month of November, but I will only tell you about them after the fact because I have found that many times circumstances set themselves up in such a way to make baptism difficult, if not altogether impossible, without an individual being willing to give up something that is very important to them.
We brought a 9 year old investigator to stake conference. The entire family was going to come, but it seems like everything conspires against people we have asked to come to church and they find themselves unwilling to give up something they absolutely have to do right now for something as unimportant as church. So, the parents handed us their nine year old and told us to have a nice time. Apparently, they trust us. Their four year old wanted to come, too, but the mother did not want her to leave. We got the mom to promise to bring her to church next week. Muahaha! Anyways, nine year olds have a lot of energy. And stake conference was broken up into pieces due to the size of the stake here. Our half lasted for 2 hours. That is far too long for an active child. We ended up following her around for the last bit of the meeting. I do believe missions are great preparation for being a parent. I seem to learn more about dealing with children every week.
We got a bunch of new Elders this week. Talking to them was fun. You can tell which missionaries are new, because they all look shell shocked. They share this face that shows that they are all absolutely lost whenever anyone speaks Spanish to them. Encouraging them was fun. I may have only been out here in the field for nearly two months, but you know what? I know a lot. And having concrete evidence that they can eventually get the language and everything helps them feel better about how uncomfortable they currently are. Most of them have American companions, too, so they can actually understand and talk to someone. I remember my first day. It was really terrible.
Well. Do not have anything more to talk about.
Love you guys.
Elder Scott
October 27, 2014 -- Mas Cerca Dios de Ti (Nearer My God to Thee)
Well, this week was quite interesting. As the subject line reads, baptism--I had my first one. It really was quite something, not only due to the fact that it was my first one, but also due to the strangeness of it. As I believe I have told you all, Virginia was in a car crash and as a result has various problems with her right leg. One of these problems is that she cannot bend it. Due to this, our plan for the baptism was very strange. We had two chairs in the font, me, the bishop, and my companion (all to help this brave sister because her condition prevents her from standing, among various other fun things). I did the ordinance 3 times because we could not get her entire body under the water the first 2 times (leg problem). But, when I was talking to her afterward, apparently she experienced no pain during the baptism, which is, quite frankly a miracle. She was in so much pain she could not move the day before. She is so very happy. Also, one of her good friends turned out to be the bishop of another ward that is a couple of hours away, and he was unaware of the baptism. When he found out, he came all the way here for the confirmation, and he did it. It was really, really cool.
We moved Virginia into a new home (same Virginia) and as a result we are going to teach one of her daughters who previously had absolutely no interest in religion. Service works, let me tell you.
Due to various circumstances, from moving out of our area, to family saying you cannot talk to the Mormons anymore, to death threats, etc., all of our baptismal dates for the 30th have failed. But, we have 3 more planned for the 20th of November now, and these ones I am sure will work out.
My new shoes, which are very, very nice, cost a total of 50 pesos. That is about $4.15. And, to make things even better, they are the type of shoe that Jessica and my mother were trying to get me to wear to be fashionable and for dating before my mission. The cheapest tie I have bought so far here cost 10 pesos, and it, too, It is quite nice.
Things with my companion are better; we work well now.
I am having very vivid dreams that I am starting to actually remember. They are very interesting, and I have decided to write them down (useful for, if nothing else, to amuse me when I am really super bored).
I went with a bunch of the new elders to the Mexican equivalent of the consulate here to work on obtaining a green card. Most of my district from the MTC was there, and it was really super nice. We were kind of loud, though, because we were having such a good time, and that was a problem. I got my fingerprints taken and did lots of signing papers. It was alright.
Apparently there is a video of the newbies here in Mexico on facebook. If you would like to view it, please consult my mother, because I have no idea how to access anything but Myldsmail and the missionary website.
Once again, I would like to talk about my clothes and how they fit. Those nice fitted suits that I got just before my mission? Well, when I wear them, there is a large section of the fabric that folds
in on itself underneath the belt that I need to put another hole in. I am working on making the sleeves tighter around my arms, but unfortunately, my arms are not massive enough for me to need to cut them open. (Haha, that was a joke. I do not want huge arms that ruin my clothes.) All of my shirts look massive on me, like I borrowed a shirt from my companion.
I send pictures to my mother every week and then I erase them from my camera so that I can take more. If you would like to view pictures, please consult her. (I do not know what she does with them.) [editorial note: I put them on this blog—big grin.]
And to answer your question about the picture of the jaw in the street, I think it was a dog jaw. We see some dead animals in the street, and usually it is a dog. Of course, it is hard to tell whether it is dead or soon to give birth, but when it is male you know it is dead. There are animals everywhere. I have seen people take belts into the street, rassle themselves a dog, and take it home. This country is very interesting.
This week I experienced something very interesting with our food situation. One day we ate 3 separate lunches. One consisted entirely of tamales and grape juice. Another was spaghetti with American cheese, fried tacos, and carbonated juice (I do not know the name of the fruit, but it looks like an orange, and the inside is pink) [second editorial note: I’m pretty sure that is a grapefruit; he’s losing the ability to remember English words]. And for our third, we had soup, tortillas and lemonade. I was so full it was painful.
Well, that is about all I have got. Love you guys, and have a good week!
Elder Scott
We moved Virginia into a new home (same Virginia) and as a result we are going to teach one of her daughters who previously had absolutely no interest in religion. Service works, let me tell you.
Due to various circumstances, from moving out of our area, to family saying you cannot talk to the Mormons anymore, to death threats, etc., all of our baptismal dates for the 30th have failed. But, we have 3 more planned for the 20th of November now, and these ones I am sure will work out.
My new shoes, which are very, very nice, cost a total of 50 pesos. That is about $4.15. And, to make things even better, they are the type of shoe that Jessica and my mother were trying to get me to wear to be fashionable and for dating before my mission. The cheapest tie I have bought so far here cost 10 pesos, and it, too, It is quite nice.
Things with my companion are better; we work well now.
I am having very vivid dreams that I am starting to actually remember. They are very interesting, and I have decided to write them down (useful for, if nothing else, to amuse me when I am really super bored).
I went with a bunch of the new elders to the Mexican equivalent of the consulate here to work on obtaining a green card. Most of my district from the MTC was there, and it was really super nice. We were kind of loud, though, because we were having such a good time, and that was a problem. I got my fingerprints taken and did lots of signing papers. It was alright.
Apparently there is a video of the newbies here in Mexico on facebook. If you would like to view it, please consult my mother, because I have no idea how to access anything but Myldsmail and the missionary website.
Once again, I would like to talk about my clothes and how they fit. Those nice fitted suits that I got just before my mission? Well, when I wear them, there is a large section of the fabric that folds
in on itself underneath the belt that I need to put another hole in. I am working on making the sleeves tighter around my arms, but unfortunately, my arms are not massive enough for me to need to cut them open. (Haha, that was a joke. I do not want huge arms that ruin my clothes.) All of my shirts look massive on me, like I borrowed a shirt from my companion.
I send pictures to my mother every week and then I erase them from my camera so that I can take more. If you would like to view pictures, please consult her. (I do not know what she does with them.) [editorial note: I put them on this blog—big grin.]
And to answer your question about the picture of the jaw in the street, I think it was a dog jaw. We see some dead animals in the street, and usually it is a dog. Of course, it is hard to tell whether it is dead or soon to give birth, but when it is male you know it is dead. There are animals everywhere. I have seen people take belts into the street, rassle themselves a dog, and take it home. This country is very interesting.
This week I experienced something very interesting with our food situation. One day we ate 3 separate lunches. One consisted entirely of tamales and grape juice. Another was spaghetti with American cheese, fried tacos, and carbonated juice (I do not know the name of the fruit, but it looks like an orange, and the inside is pink) [second editorial note: I’m pretty sure that is a grapefruit; he’s losing the ability to remember English words]. And for our third, we had soup, tortillas and lemonade. I was so full it was painful.
Well, that is about all I have got. Love you guys, and have a good week!
Elder Scott
October 20, 2014
Well, life is fun. Many things are happening right now.
We have one baptism scheduled for the 23rd, with the Hermana Virginia, who has a fractured leg (not sure exactly what, but problems) and FIVE baptisms scheduled for the 30th. Because that is my birthday, I get to do all of them. Our baptism with Hermana Imelda fell through. We cannot convince her about divorce, and we are unable to teach anything because the conversation gets changed to it. Hermana Virginia is progressing really well, though.
I found out today during the missionary activity that the president invited everyone to that almost no one wakes up at 6:30. And almost no one exercises. Well I am going to. I am losing weight. Like a lot. I moved down two belt holes, and all of my clothes are gigantic.
Tiangues (not tianges) are my favorite thing in the world. You can buy a good pair of shoes for 80 pesos and a tie for 10 (12 pesos is 1 dollar). They also have all kinds of fun knick knacks to look at, which is a good bonus.
Solfege here is different. The basic clef is do, re, mi, fa ,so, la, si, do. That is confusing. Si is sharp so in the states, but here it is ti. Bleh.
Did you know that I have been in the field now for a month and a half almost? I was thinking about that today. It seriously does not seem like it has been that long.
I have discovered four things that every missionary should become very good at because they will be doing them a lot: waiting, walking, worshipping, and wondering. I was unaware that being a missionary involved so much waiting. We wait for everything. We wait. Always. We walk absolutely everywhere, unless we need to get to the missionary center at the stake center. Then we ride rickety buses. They are fun. Bus fair here is 8 pesos, or 67 cents. Worshipping, because we spent 4 hours (3 after I finish my first 12 weeks) studying the gospel, and everything we do is centered around it. The wondering, well, that is because everyone has this annoying little trait known as ´agency´. Sure, someone may promise to come to church or an activity, but they have the ability to decide not to. That can be hard sometimes.
Life is mostly fine. I do not think my companion likes me anymore. We are quite a bit different, and as hard as I try, you cannot build a one-sided bridge. We have exchanges Saturday, though, so I just need to endure to the end (hah, 5 principle of the gospel).
I discovered something that I find fascinating. In The Book of Mormon the story of Alma the younger is an amazing story. But, when applied to the language of Spanish, in which Alma means “soul”, the levels of meaning can get pretty deep. I thought that that was awesome!
Have to take care of a bunch of things right now, entonces. Saludos, y amor por todos,
Elder Scott
We have one baptism scheduled for the 23rd, with the Hermana Virginia, who has a fractured leg (not sure exactly what, but problems) and FIVE baptisms scheduled for the 30th. Because that is my birthday, I get to do all of them. Our baptism with Hermana Imelda fell through. We cannot convince her about divorce, and we are unable to teach anything because the conversation gets changed to it. Hermana Virginia is progressing really well, though.
I found out today during the missionary activity that the president invited everyone to that almost no one wakes up at 6:30. And almost no one exercises. Well I am going to. I am losing weight. Like a lot. I moved down two belt holes, and all of my clothes are gigantic.
Tiangues (not tianges) are my favorite thing in the world. You can buy a good pair of shoes for 80 pesos and a tie for 10 (12 pesos is 1 dollar). They also have all kinds of fun knick knacks to look at, which is a good bonus.
Solfege here is different. The basic clef is do, re, mi, fa ,so, la, si, do. That is confusing. Si is sharp so in the states, but here it is ti. Bleh.
Did you know that I have been in the field now for a month and a half almost? I was thinking about that today. It seriously does not seem like it has been that long.
I have discovered four things that every missionary should become very good at because they will be doing them a lot: waiting, walking, worshipping, and wondering. I was unaware that being a missionary involved so much waiting. We wait for everything. We wait. Always. We walk absolutely everywhere, unless we need to get to the missionary center at the stake center. Then we ride rickety buses. They are fun. Bus fair here is 8 pesos, or 67 cents. Worshipping, because we spent 4 hours (3 after I finish my first 12 weeks) studying the gospel, and everything we do is centered around it. The wondering, well, that is because everyone has this annoying little trait known as ´agency´. Sure, someone may promise to come to church or an activity, but they have the ability to decide not to. That can be hard sometimes.
Life is mostly fine. I do not think my companion likes me anymore. We are quite a bit different, and as hard as I try, you cannot build a one-sided bridge. We have exchanges Saturday, though, so I just need to endure to the end (hah, 5 principle of the gospel).
I discovered something that I find fascinating. In The Book of Mormon the story of Alma the younger is an amazing story. But, when applied to the language of Spanish, in which Alma means “soul”, the levels of meaning can get pretty deep. I thought that that was awesome!
Have to take care of a bunch of things right now, entonces. Saludos, y amor por todos,
Elder Scott
October 13, 2014 -- Time Flies When You're Having Fun
So, one pair of shoes is unrepairable because we walk everywhere and the streets are really bad. It would cost more money for me to repair my shoes than it would to just buy a new pair. I think that is really funny. But you can buy shoes here for 15 dollars like the ones we paid over 100 dollars for in the states, so I am not too worried about it. The exchange rate on pesos to dollars is 12:1. When I grow up, I want to live so close to the border that I can cross it in order to buy things, but work in the US. Does that not sound fabulous?
Also, basically the only way you can use credit cards here is to withdraw money from ATMs. Everybody wants cash.
This week was great. We had intercambios, which I do not know the word for in English. Basically, 2 elders switch places for a day. [Editorial parent note: we call those “exchanges”.] Elder H and Elder B switched. Elder N is a really fun guy, and what that meant was I was in charge of the area for a day, with some help from Elder N, the district leader. He has 4 months left in the mission, and while I was talking to him I discovered that he started playing video games when he was two and his plans for after the mission are work so that he can buy all the video games--ALL the video games--and attend classes at the community college. He told me he can remember blowing over 800 dollars in a single night back when he was working to buy video games. The stories he told me were rather amazing.
Also, basically the only way you can use credit cards here is to withdraw money from ATMs. Everybody wants cash.
This week was great. We had intercambios, which I do not know the word for in English. Basically, 2 elders switch places for a day. [Editorial parent note: we call those “exchanges”.] Elder H and Elder B switched. Elder N is a really fun guy, and what that meant was I was in charge of the area for a day, with some help from Elder N, the district leader. He has 4 months left in the mission, and while I was talking to him I discovered that he started playing video games when he was two and his plans for after the mission are work so that he can buy all the video games--ALL the video games--and attend classes at the community college. He told me he can remember blowing over 800 dollars in a single night back when he was working to buy video games. The stories he told me were rather amazing.
So, our investigators who moved, Oscar and Alejandra, came to our church this week. And they want us to continue teaching them. They are progressing rapidly, and Oscar knows the Book Of Mormon is true. Elder H asked for permission from the Mission President (extenuating circumstances and all), and we were given it. This did not go over too well with the elders whose area they are now in and with the zone leaders. To make a very long story short, problems are occurring. I have also had the opportunity to observe some of the other elders, as well as the opportunity to sit my companion down and have a heart to heart, or man to man, or whatever you want to call it talk. Sure, he is not perfect, and neither am I. But you know what? What I have seen from some of the other elders is more outside of the boundaries set in the white handbook, and we are actually friends now better than most.
It is really strange speaking a different language, because I will learn something in Spanish and forget it in English; sometimes I will then forget it in Spanish as well. I remember when I had to translate everything from English to Spanish in my head before saying it. I am now doing the same thing, but I will say something, and then afterward I will translate it into English. I find myself thinking in Spanish first. A lot. Apparently, you are supposed to dream in Spanish at some point, but I can never remember what or how things were said in my dreams. Oh well. The thinking is
enough for me.
enough for me.
I discovered my two new favorite things. The first is tianges. They are the equivalent
of a flea market but so much better. Every city here has at least one. I am lucky because my area has two. You can buy almost anything there. And, at the most, it will be around half of the price it would be in the states. Needless to say, I enjoy them. There are stalls for everything. I found a limited edition Nintendo 64, the Pokémon snap version, selling for 50 dollars. There are things here that you cannot buy in the states, and they are dirt cheap to boot. My other new favorite thing is collecting these little objects that come in Sabritones products. They have a picture, and they will say something like 54/150 classic. There are a bunch of different types, and you can find them in the street because people want the food, not the little collectible. I do not know how many I have, but it is a lot. SO, salsa and peppers are great. They make basically everything better--except for Ice Cream. Never put them in Ice Cream.
I quite like that dad cried during Meet the Mormons like a sad middle aged man. I found that very funny. I got a free coca cola with my name on it. It is really too bad I can’t stand the flavor. Everyone drinks it here. It is cheaper than beer, which is cheaper than water. You can buy a 3 liter bottle for 75 cents. (9 pesos). The pizza place, we only go there on special occasions because it is kind of expensive, at 95 pesos (8 dollars).
Oh, also, many of the members changed what they feed us due to them knowing me (woohoo!) The regular diet here is tortillas and meat and peppers. Well, I like veggies, and I told one person. Now, whenever we eat with members, they usually serve us veggies (yay). I still cannot eat nearly as much as my comp. But, I ate two sandwiches the other day (each one had 4 chicken breasts in it, ugh) successfully.
With love, warm thoughts, and missionary excitement,
Elder Scott
of a flea market but so much better. Every city here has at least one. I am lucky because my area has two. You can buy almost anything there. And, at the most, it will be around half of the price it would be in the states. Needless to say, I enjoy them. There are stalls for everything. I found a limited edition Nintendo 64, the Pokémon snap version, selling for 50 dollars. There are things here that you cannot buy in the states, and they are dirt cheap to boot. My other new favorite thing is collecting these little objects that come in Sabritones products. They have a picture, and they will say something like 54/150 classic. There are a bunch of different types, and you can find them in the street because people want the food, not the little collectible. I do not know how many I have, but it is a lot. SO, salsa and peppers are great. They make basically everything better--except for Ice Cream. Never put them in Ice Cream.
I quite like that dad cried during Meet the Mormons like a sad middle aged man. I found that very funny. I got a free coca cola with my name on it. It is really too bad I can’t stand the flavor. Everyone drinks it here. It is cheaper than beer, which is cheaper than water. You can buy a 3 liter bottle for 75 cents. (9 pesos). The pizza place, we only go there on special occasions because it is kind of expensive, at 95 pesos (8 dollars).
Oh, also, many of the members changed what they feed us due to them knowing me (woohoo!) The regular diet here is tortillas and meat and peppers. Well, I like veggies, and I told one person. Now, whenever we eat with members, they usually serve us veggies (yay). I still cannot eat nearly as much as my comp. But, I ate two sandwiches the other day (each one had 4 chicken breasts in it, ugh) successfully.
I really do love it here.
With love, warm thoughts, and missionary excitement,
Elder Scott
October 6, 2014
So, this week was alright. Tuesday we were not allowed to proselyte due to all of the shootings in our area as well as all of the police, marine, and army helicopters that were patrolling our area. I found that interesting. Army convoys have gotten more frequent here, which is nice.
One of our investigator families got threatened by a creditor they could not pay with having the bad people sicked on them. As a result, they moved. We lost all contact with them for a couple of days, but we found them again yesterday, and they are very happy and safe as well. That made me really glad.
I do not know if I have already mentioned Virginia, but she is a very interesting woman. We found her because she saw a flash of white out her window, so she sent her son to go take whoever it was into the house. Which I thought was weird, but, whatever right? Turns out, she’s been listening to the missionaries in the states, but on a drive she got in an accident that resulted in her getting her right leg impacted into her gluteus maximus. We taught her almost all the lessons, and she is getting baptized on the 23rd. We gave her a blessing, and she is healing remarkably fast, so fast that she was able to attend conference with us at the chapel after being bedridden and not healing for almost 4 months. The power of faith is wonderful.
Imelda, our investigator with the divorce problem, has discontinued conversing with us. We will keep trying, however.
Oh, so funny story, Elder J, whom I met this week (and is almost exactly like Garret Vance, for reference) asked me about how I am doing, and I expressed to him some of my frustration about my companion. He had Elder H in the past. He explained to me that he has never, in all of his 15 months here, worked out. I was somewhat astounded by this declaration--because it is in the white handbook I thought we all did it. I was wrong, apparently. There are other things he does that I find incorrect, so I discussed them with my zone leaders, and they explained them to me. I had the wonderful idea of going running in the mornings, in order to force my comp to work out, but we are not allowed to leave the house because it is so dangerous. I did this after he suggested buying a basketball, because we live right next to a park, but when I voiced my suggestion he shot it down immediately. I was astounded, and after Elder S (zone leader) explained this to me I was simply confused. Oh well.
I am very thankful for all of the things I learned to do before my mission. I had the opportunity to make balloon animals for a couple of kids, I made them a dog, a swan, a cobra, a butterfly, swords, while, suffice to say it was fun. Beatboxing has helped start conversations with other missionaries, and is very useful for teaching tempo. I have had the opportunity also to teach piano, solfege, and how to sing and read music to some of the other elders as well. That was interesting, because I do not know how to play piano, but when I sat down to help him play I found it not to be too hard. Of course, I could only do one hand at a time, but hey, it was a really cool experience.
I have found that most highly technical words are the same in every language, so teaching this stuff to people who do not speak English was not too hard.
General conference was great, I filled 8 pages of paper with notes I took from it. The Spanish talks were great, although the one in Portuguese was hard because it sounded similar, although the meaning I did not understand at all, so I listened in English to that one. General Conference is so much better at the Church building. You are dressed up, you are focused, you are sitting with others who are focused and the spirit is tangible. It was amazing.
I have found that the only hard days here in the mission field are those where WE cannot proselyte and when our investigators have huge problems in their lives.
My favorite people are the ones that call out the Mormons in order to invite us to come teach them a lesson at their house. That does not happen often, but when it does it is great. The mission is great.
The pizza buffet here gives me stomach problems every time we go to it, and we have gone twice. I actually eat less at the buffet than I have to at the homes of members. We went this week to celebrate the birthday of Elder Ortiz, and it was great. The birthday song they sung lasted 3 minutes. All of the elders jammed out in the bathroom to hymns, and Michael Jackson. The employee we did not know was in one of the stalls was very appreciative.
Oh, the elder who uses the picture of Jesus Christ is not my companion in case anyone was confused about that. I have yet to meet him.
Well, that about all I can think of right now.
With Love for all,
-Elder Scott
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