September 29, 2014

So, of the 9 people who committed and promised to show up at church  yesterday, not a single one came. For everyone’s information, because  apparently tortillas are very important, I have eaten like twenty. They are provided at every meal, but the amount of food in the main dish is so vast that I can barely eat whatever the side is, let alone tortillas. My companion usually has 2-4 dishes of the main though. I cannot for the life of me figure out how people eat so much. Most tortillas here are made from corn, which is alright. The good ones are flour tortillas, and they cost about 2x as much. Also, they are made in very few places, and are basically only for gringos.

Some of the food I’ve eaten here has been... interesting. I ate this really strange soup yesterday. It consisted of pepper, pig fat, tiny corn cobs, lime, and more pepper. The pepper actually bubbled out of the soup into little pepperoni looking shapes. It was incredibly spicy. This might be hard to get used to if everything is like that. It was really…interesting. Coca Cola is a really common drink here, so I have had to drink it a couple of times, but I find it absolutely disgusting. On a brighter note, tang is very common, and the variety of flavors is amazing. Also, had a chamoyada, which is kind of like a shaved ice. But they mix the flavoring with pepper. And stick a stick of pepper in afterward. It was incredibly bad, I thought. That will change I hope.

To answer some questions: Most people here have really bad teeth. They may be missing many, have them misaligned, any number of problems, but everyone is really nice. All of the streets are super broken; potholes may be as deep as up to my knees. Cars have to drive really slowly. The terrain is super uneven too, depending on where you walk (and that might be opposite sides of the road, you might be walking over hills, or on completely flat road, or in many dips. I am not missing my Magic Cards as of yet, because I don’t have time to try to do anything extra past what I do with investigators. I do not sunburn as far as I know, and people have mistaken me for Mexican and been really surprised to find out that I cannot speak Spanish fluently. I live in Valle Alto, in Reynosa, in Tamaulipas. Basically, if you are old here, if you were rich you have perfect teeth; if you were anything else, you have little to no teeth. Apparently, I have a really good accent, and a lot of the elders and sisters that are American and from the USA speak less well than I do. We have one who can only say three things, but he’s a great missionary. He carries around a picture of Jesus and asks them if they know who this is. When they answer yes, he asks them if they want to learn more. When they answer yes, he turns to his companion and says he wants to know more. Then his companion gets their info, and they set up an appointment. He can’t talk at all. I am very grateful for my progress. The heat really isn’t all that bad. Donkeys and horses are used here to haul around garbage, which I find entertaining.

About that dreaming in Spanish thing, I don’t remember any of my dreams, and my dreams are more visual than auditory, so I won’t know when and if that happens. I do find myself thinking in Spanish first sometimes.

I quite enjoy the jokes here, but they are all in Spanish (huh, who knew?) and they are generally plays on words, which when translated into English are no longer funny. At all. If an English speaking Elder tells me one that works in English I will tell you because the Spanish ones won’t make any sense. Ok?

Shooting is fun. But I’ve heard being shot at is not. I haven’t been shot at, so that’s good. There are people here who do that kind of thing though, and that’s bad. The military patrol the streets all the time, and I was incredibly surprised during a lesson to look over and see tank roll past the home we were in, followed by an armored jeep and a pickup, all in army camo, and loaded with soldiers outfitted and ready with machineguns. I didn’t get a picture, unfortunately. Also, the police have helicopters, because the bad people here have informants with walkie talkies on every corner to inform them when ground police are coming, and from what direction. We cannot talk to those people.

I’m working with my companion. Hopefully we can work together better. All of the elders and sisters are friends. It doesn’t matter whether you have seen someone before, they’re your friend. My mission President is really nice. I try to play basketball with the elders in neighboring areas on P-days. Some of them play in a very interesting way. One of them knows not how, and his dribble involves both hands. He also runs backward, and should you try to block him, you engage in a dance move commonly referred to as grinding in the states--you trying to get away from him, and he trying to stay with you. It is very awkward. Except for one elder, no one can actually make the ball go into the hoop, so the games are very funny.

Not sure if the baptism is going to happen anymore, because turns out the sister is trying really hard to divorce here husband, and that is strictly against the law of chastity and the whole adultery thing. We have been unable to explain this effectively apparently, but she wants to get baptized.

So, funny story, during one of our lessons the investigator, who was female, turned to me and asked me a question that I didn’t understand--really fast. I had her repeat herself a couple of times, but I could not understand what she was saying. So I just said yes. Turns out, she asked me if I wanted to marry her. I learned this about an hour later while talking to my companion. The investigator, my companion, and the two young men we had with us, not to mention the investigators daughters (3) and grandchildren who were present, thought this was very funny. I was less amused.

I managed to actively participate in a conversation that lasted 2 hours yesterday. We joked a lot, and I got them!

So, one pair of shoes is already ruined. Due to the excessive amount of walking we do on weird terrain, the right heel on my right shoe has come off partially.

I went to a pizza buffet, and the amount of food I ate was less than the amount Members provide when we go to their houses.

Mom, if you send me a package, whatever you choose to send will make me happy. But, if possible, I’d like to have a large container of tang (orange kind please) mix, because you can only buy them in little packets here. Whatever else you want to send will be great, too.

Well, Love ya guys! Talk to you later.
-Elder Scott

[P.S. Here are some pictures. My favorite is the one with the skeleton! :) ]

September 22, 2014

So, hey all.

The flights were a little painful. The first one, a large woman slept on me for the entire flight. The second one was fine. The third one, the stewardess kept waking me up to tell me things that were unimportant.

I am in the second area for Reynosa city, and I have no idea exactly where I am, because none of the streets have names. With the exception of those whose signs are so rusted you can't tell what they say.

We have taught about 15 lessons, we talk to a lot of people, and everything here is great. The first day was hard, but everything got better after that. This area is a new one, (kind of) because the hermanas who were here last didn't leave any records for us.

My companion, Elder H, is a fine elder but is a little difficult to get along with, but everything is good. He is from Mexico City. We get along fine, but he doesn’t like to follow some of the rules. He doesn't do morning exercise, sometimes we come home early, and the way he eats...oh boy! The serving sizes here in Mexico are about 3x the sizes in the US. Everyone who can afford to buy food here has a belly (almost). I can barely finish half of a plate, and he has 3 or 4 every meal. The members feed us every lunch time, and the food is always really good. I drink so much water. I can drink 2 liters of water at a time and still feel thirsty, but I can’t eat anything. The water here is not safe to drink, so you have to buy purified water from salespeople who drive around in little cement trucks.

I understand what most people are saying, but I have trouble figuring out what older people say, because they have almost no teeth, they mumble, and they talk in a really strange pattern. Understanding depends on the line of communication, with phones I understand nothing, in person, as long as they have teeth, I am good. I can kind of talk to people, but the way I word things is weird, and people seem to understand me, but I don't feel happy with my language skills.

We walk everywhere. My bishop’s house is about 2 miles from the chapel, and my residence is almost in the middle between these two places. Everything is good though. I teach the gospel every day. I see at least one donkey a day, except Sundays. My mission President is very nice, although he doesn't speak English. He really is very nice, though.

Oh, Canicula? The 40 days and nights of extreme heat? It isn’t just 110. It can go as high as 50 degrees celsius (about 120 F) or more, but it is always over 45.

Also, someone accepted a baptismal date already! Her name is Immelda, and we have her set up for baptism on the 9th of October. Pretty excited about that!

Love you guys,
-Elder Scott

Pics from the MTC:

September 15, 2014

P-day is now Monday! Of course, today is Tuesday, but that is not important.

So I understand almost everything people say to me except when they say it really quietly. I have to intently listen to one person if I want to understand anything.

My first companion, Elder H., is from Mexico and doesn't speak a word of English.

I got to speak on Sunday, which was fun. I missed Elder Cristiansen, though; he is a member of the first 70.

 Talked to mom. That was nice. I can't talk to people in English. I forget the words to use.

My companion and I have a little house because we are out close to the middle of nowhere. I saw a donkey cart today. Also there are dogs everywhere.

I absolutely love everything I have eaten in this country so far.

Also, a couple of Mexicanos and Peruvians have complimented me on my accent. Hah! Dad, this is the reason I pronounced words wrong, because I was speaking the wrong language!

This keyboard is really hard to use.

The heat here really isn't that bad actually. The precipitation in the air is hard, but the heat isn't bad. Apparently there are 40 days during the summer where it is always over 110 fahrenheit. That sounds fun.

Um, absolutely everything here is off brand. The yoghurt is amazing.

So, I have nothing really to write about yet. I will next week, but basically all I've done so far is sit and wait to be told what to do next. Pretty excited though.

Well, love you all.
-Elder Scott

September 11, 2014

So, I start packing today. I leave the MTC at 9:00 Sunday, and I have 2 layovers. My flights and layovers in total add up to like 18 hours of time. I am stoked. Although I may have to acquire more money in order to pay unforeseen baggage fees at the airport. I am not too worried about it, though. I will just be flying AeroMexico. I am very excited to be able to head out for Mexico soon. The MTC was nice, but I am so ready to be out there.

In other news: here are the nicknames I received during my stay at they MTC: Jukebox (Because I like to sing--A LOT), Rocket-man (because I punch the volleyball over the net a lot), and The Wall (because of how I block in soccer.). 

I get to visit the temple today. Oh last week, instead of going to the temple because there was a mix-up up with one of my district members I ended up sitting outside of the temple studying Jesus The Christ for two hours. It was amazing. 

Here is something I noticed that I thought was really cool during my studies: in Spanish God is Dios. Dio is the preterit form of Dar, which means to give. So, what I got is that the word for god is directly  related to "he gave." How cool is that? 

I talked to my branch president again, and he said to remind him to have me give the talk. Fingers crossed right?

I see David for the last time at lunch today probably. I will tell him congrats. 

Ii enjoy getting your letters, Mom and Dad, but I haven't heard from anyone else, which makes me sad. Many persons should send them to me! Bring me a Email-ery (shrubbery)!

Love you all,

-Elder Scott

September 4, 2014

So, I have 1 more P-day after today here at the MTC, so no need to worry about me not writing again before I become a Mexican (mom). Glad to hear everyone is doing well. I am actually pretty sure I saw Jessica practicing a couple of days ago when I got on a bus that was supposed to go to main campus and it went to BYU instead. This particular trip, although very fun, made me miss choir again. Bleh. I haven't been able to sing in the choir yet at the MTC! I do quite a lot of singing anyway, however. Just random things. Some of the people here actually refer to me as Elder Jukebox. This makes me happy. I love music!

So, in this email I will tell you all a couple of funny things that happened this week.

First, my other companion, Elder H, got to speak in church. He did really well, and the entire thing was in Spanish AND understandable. I was not, however, sick for this meeting, which was nice. No, what was amusing about this meeting was that our branch president spent the entire meeting sleeping…also his first counselor…and one of our two zone leaders. Three of the five people who remained on the stand for the entire meeting were awake for none of it. Elder J attempted to take a selfie with the sleepers but decided against it because you aren't supposed to take pictures in the chapel. Elder J kept referring to our branch president as "The Holy Grail Of Sleeping Selfies!" Needless to say, our district found this very amusing. After the meeting ended and everyone woke up, I walked up to the branch president and requested to be chosen to give a talk at the next opportunity. He said, “Elder, be careful what you wish for.” I guess he didn't think I was serious. I want all 3 people in my companionship to have spoken at the MTC, and I am the only one left who hasn’t. I want to give a talk, which I have to admit feels strange.

This next story happened at volleyball. Elder R and I were on splits so that we could play volleyball, because everyone else was at soccer or basketball. We were playing with 7 of the hermanas (sisters) from our zone, as well as a couple of guys from other zones. I have discovered that I can serve better by throwing the ball into the air and punching it (both actions performed by my right hand) than serving it normally. Also, I cannot even hit the ball when I try to overhand it. But, during one volley, the ball comes over the net, and me and this Philippine elder I was playing with both go for it. We are both looking up, and of course we slam right into each other. On our way away from each other (because we hit so hard) we grab hands and manage to hit the volleyball. It goes back over the net. After this I feel kind of out of it, because we knocked heads, and we both have pretty hard ones. But of course, that doesn't get to be the most exciting part of the game. Not even close. The most exciting part was when I saw a ball coming from another court. So, watching the ball, I walked over to catch it and throw it back to the correct court. Little did I know, that the hermana who had hit said ball my way was following the ball and that she was also a large Hawaiian hermana from my district. She was also watching the ball and not where she was going. (If you think you know where this is going, prepare to be a little surprised.) I caught the ball, but then all of a sudden something happens. At the time I had absolutely no idea what, but it was explained to me afterwards. Immediately after I caught that ball, the hermana that had been following it body slams into me. This would not normally be a problem, but there was another heramana, also from my district, standing right behind me. So Hermana G slams into me, I slam into Hermana E, and for a split second I know that I have been sandwiched between two heramanas and that it has to be a violation of page 33 or 34 in the missionary handbook. As a result of said 'encounter' Hermana E ends up on the ground. I end up crouched over her. And Hermana G is the only one left standing. I was absolutely sure I was going home for the next twenty minutes, but it turns out that I am considered the victim in the encounter, so I am good. Elder R, who I was with, ended up just laughing at me for a good while, but it was all in good fun.

The next experience has to do with soccer. My zone likes soccer, and we play it a lot. I always play defender. They consider me the best defender in the MTC. I know! What an accomplishment, right? But the reason I say this is because of how Elder W explained to me how I play soccer. Here goes: (and this is a conversation, so bear with me.)

"The way you play soccer is so funny!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, the way you defend is hilarious Elder Scott."

"How do I defend?"

“Ok, so you are standing there, the elder with the ball starts dribbling toward the goal, and you walk up to him. Then you stop. Then it looks like the elder with the ball hands you it, then trips."

     (now keep in mind that Elder Webb was laughing this whole time)

"And I would say it was something like luck, but it happens every time."

So I found out that my tactic for defense was to stop moving. Apparently it is very effective. We play ball a lot, and I have observed myself and I really do just stop moving, I somehow get the ball, and then the person dribbling and running with it usually trips. I don’t try to trip them and don’t think I’m doing anything to trip them. It just happens.

My favorite thing that actually happened during soccer was one such experience. There were some new Elders in this day, and they were trying to show off and show how much better they were than everyone else. As you are aware, I am a rather solid person. I was playing defender, and I did what I always do, which is run up, stop moving, and then get the ball. But this elder doesn't react  like everyone else does; he tackles me and bounces off, ending up in the dirt. When I tried to help him up, he brushes me off and tells me I shouldn't be tackling people. I felt kind of bad about it, but I was a little mad that he accused me of tackling him. About five minutes later in the same game a ball comes flying in from the other side of the field, so I decide to punt it back. I overrun it and turn around in order to be able to hit it. I kick it, and then I feel something slam into my back—the same elder. He is in the dirt again. I try to help him up, and he brushes me off. I tell him he should probably stop running into me, but he speaks to me venomously about me needing to stop running into him. So I ask him how I generated enough speed without moving, to hit him with my back and knock him down. He then went and played Goalie. This particular match was bad because, as I said earlier, it was a bunch of new Elders who were trying to prove themselves, and they were playing dirty. Their goal got 'stuck' at half the size of ours for instance. It was all right though, because my zone had fun.

The next experience happened at Basketball. I played basketball once. The games are 3 on 3 half court only. I spent the entire game trying to get out of the way of my teammates because I couldn't remember how to play basketball.  I shot once, and it went in. That was the only shot that went in for the entire game for my team. We were destroyed. I found this rather funny because when they asked me to play because they needed another player, I warned them that I couldn't play, but they didn’t believe me. They believe me now. Muahahaha! I spent the entire game trying unsuccessfully to get out of my teammates’ way, laughing the entire time. Way fun!

Next experience: Like I said, I do quite a bit of singing here. Being able to make people a little bit more happy makes my day. I finally met a hermana who I could not please with my song, due to her hatred of the music of Josh Groban and my inability to sing any songs that she wanted to hear because she liked a bunch of fringe music from bands I have never even heard of. That was a little sad for me, but I still got to brighten a lot of days with other songs I can sing. I have two crowd pleasers that always work; take on me (just the chorus) and Grace Kelly. I spend lots of time getting requests to sing songs from people I don't know as I walk around, also to beat box. We as a zone found out that Elder B can do a crazy House beat (watch a movie or something where there's a party going on at a teenagers house and the parents come home early, that deep thrumming bass and notes in a rhythm). After devotionals and during bus rides we kind of have jam sessions. We all sing whatever we want, do beats, the works. It is really fun. The devotionals are always really good too.

OK, here is something I think they should warn missionaries about before they get to the MTC. All of the hermanas here are stinking GORGEOUS. How is that fair? We Elders are not allowed to date! We are on missions! They should not be allowed to be so pretty, funny, cute, or whatever else they are because it makes talking to them without flirting extremely difficult. I will survive, though. ;)

I will admit I am jealous that the girls got an Impala. But I will live because I know what I am doing right now is so much cooler than anything they can hope to accomplish with that car. ;)-

I love you guys, and I am doing great here. Cannot wait to get to Mexico. I am very excited!

Love,

Elder Scott

Week Three

Hi!

I think Mosiah 4:9-12 is what I actually want for my mission plaque:

 9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

 10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.

 11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

 12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

I don't know whether it is because I am excited, or because English is hard, but typing is really difficult now. I leave the Missionary Training Center in roughly 2 weeks, though I do not know the exact date. 

The Spanish is coming along excellently, I now know seven (I think) ways to conjugate a single verb, and my lessons are still mostly me talking and explaining things, but I rarely stumble or cannot find a word to express my thoughts anymore. 

Elder B's accent has gotten worse, and he gave a talk in sacrament meeting this Sunday. These short five minute talks are solely in Spanish, and should contain a scripture, a quote from preach my gospel, and a testimony. In Spanish. Elder B walks up, say Hola, and then proceeds to apologize, because he did not bring his scriptures in Spanish. He then gives the entire talk in English, except for a couple of word which were in Spanish. The branch president cut him off because he wouldn't stop talking. He just told him he needed to be finished. And if that is not a humbling enough experience, the president of the whole MTC was in our sacrament meeting. (Oh, just so you know two random missionaries are selected weekly to give talks. He was chosen, he didn't know he would be speaking.) 

Also, during this time I got really sick. I had to leave priesthood meeting earlier that morning because my right eye had come completely red and I could no longer see out of it because it was watering so much. That lasted for roughly three hours, and then it miraculously just ended. Then, as soon as I sat down for sacrament meeting, I discovered that I really wasn’t feeling well. I was going to ask my companion to leave with me right away, but he got called up to give a talk. As soon as the first 2 talks ended I ran past the President of the MTC in the Cultural Hall with my companion. I remained entirely uncomfortable in the devotional and throughout the night, but don’t worry. I’m better now. It sure wasn’t fun, though.

I also learned this week how being blessed with empathy can sometimes be really difficult. I have related to you some of the problems my class has been having with one of our instructors. We finally had a sit down heart to heart with the guy (which would be hard for anyone) but I have been given the blessing of understanding and feeling in part other people’s emotions. The emotions in the room ranged from furious to absolutely confused. And I felt and understood the reasons behind every single one--at the same time. And you know me, when I actually care about something, I become a much less eloquent speaker, and I get really confusing, even more confusing than normal. So there we are in the classroom. My district Leader has been “discussing” with our teacher in private. And we have a heart to heart. We use English because we are unable to express ourselves well enough in Spanish, and he uses Spanish, which many of my compatriots do not understand, which causes more frustration. So, my district now knows more about him as an individual, and can respect the reasons for his choices. Also, he’s seeing a girl that he is in love with this weekend for the first time after she got home off of her mission, and we all wished him luck. I think things will be better between us in the future. 

Well, Love you guys. Hope you have as much fun as I'm having (not possible!). 

-Elder Scott

Week Two

To start off my email this week I would like to tell you all something that I find very aggravating but pleases me as well. It is really hard to write in English. I leave out random letters because the Spanish word is sometimes very closely spelled, and I think it is kind of annoying but cool. :)

We actually lost another elder, although he just got transferred to the Spain MTC. My district is now eight elders going to Reynosa, and one going to Irvine California (Elder B).

I still teach the lessons basically by myself, although my companions will: one, chime in if there is a pause and say "tiene preguntas por nosotros?" (Elder H) and the other one (Elder B) doesn't understand anything we are saying, so will jump in at random times and talk about things we have A) already discussed and the investigator refuses to do, or B) non sequitur in a huge way.

I have already started finding joy, and I am incredibly happy to be here. Like I said in my other letter, I am having no problems learning Spanish. It's like when there should be a wall somewhere, and you know there is a wall, but you can walk right through it with no difficulty. That is how I feel anyway. I have a lot of words down now, and know preterit and future conjugations of all normal verbs. I don't know future form of verbs that change though. I'm so grateful for the help of the spirit! I am doing really great here. I know that I have been blessed with the gift of tongues, and I am very grateful for that.

Mom, you asked me why my companion was having trouble with Spanish, and you might think this is very funny. Be prepared, Ready? Alright, here goes. He was born and raised in Montpelier Idaho. He spent his childhood working on a farm, and his summers working with potatoes. In high school, he ran track and wrestled. He is also the tallest person in his family, at a whopping 5'5. I thought that was funny, because a lot of the things about him match with Dad, although he isn't super smart, so Dad has him beat there. It's been interesting dealing with him, because it's like talking to a less mature version of Dad. He has an terrible accent, and listening to him butcher Spanish makes everyone's day better. He is getting better, though. We are trying to teach him that a 'r' sounds like a 'd', all vowels always sound the same, things like that to cut his accent. He is kind of a stick in the mud, though.

My other companion is a tall, skinny guy who is just hilarious. We have two new teachers, Hermano Z and Hermano C. Z is kind hard, and Elder H makes fun of sayings of his all the time. Z says things like "Elderes" "No siento para mi, Usted siento para Dios," and he has this scripture that he points at when we ask questions he thinks are stupid. It is Luke 22:42 [Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.]. C is really nice. He is our favorite teacher.

We had the opportunity to teach a member in TRC, which I think stands for Training Resource Center. Members who wish to have spiritual experiences come onto the campus and have small discussions with missionaries in their language in order to help missionaries get a feel for people. We taught Hermana A, and it was amazing. I felt the spirit so strongly while talking to her, and she was really a great person. Also, my companions actually helped me on that one.

In addition to TRC, we teach discussions every day to fake investigators. I do almost all of the talking still, but my companions are getting better.

I have received so many blessings here, and I am loving this experience so far. Our days are pretty jam packed, don't have any extra time. I get to visit the temple every week, which is just great. Last week was great, some of my friends got to participate in sealings for two hours.

Every week we get to attend two huge devotionals. I've had spiritual experiences at all of them. I think I've taught like twenty discussions now, and I really am very glad to be here.

Glad to hear everyone is getting back into the grooves of their lives. I love you all, have a nice week. Talk to you later everyone.

Sincerely,
Elder Scott