It’s Week 1 for this new elder, and it sounds like he’s experiencing all a mission has to offer right out of the gates:
 |
| Day 1: Elder Santana and Elder Webb |
Really, though, I’m dying. Not literally; I’m just never dry. I’ll get to the good gospel stuff in a minute. First, here are some things I’ve learned since I’ve been in México:• P-Days are Mondays.• How to cut steak with a spoon• How to catch myself using only my rump after a bus hauls over a speed bump at 30 mph• How not to care what temperature it is, because answers in Celsius (and Spanish) or “Hot” don’t really cut it• How to be OK with mosquito remnants on my hands (it’s kill or be itchy for a week)• When I use bug spray, I BAKE because I don’t sweat (which — it turns out — is some kind of survival technique our bodies use to keep cool). Science!• That everything in México is hot, except the shower water.• How to prune with a machete. (Mama, I miss my pruning saw.)• How to be ok with everything being dirty. It’s just too hot to care.• Everybody’s tone-deaf.• Pesos use the $ sign, so even though a bag of Doritos says “$5”, it’s actually like 55 cents.• That Mom could never, EVER, live here, and after I leave, I don’t think I will either (see above).• Really, truly, I love it here.So I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to put myself into categories...(pause, to let everyone get the joke)My companion is Ecuadorian! He’s from Guayaquil, and he converted about 2 years ago. He’s 23. We’re kind of having a hard time. He’s great, and he’s helped me a lot (maybe just because he doesn’t speak English), but he’s really stubborn and we disagree a lot on how the work should be done. I mean, I’m pretty easy-going, but Elder S. is exactly the personality I have the least patience for. I’ve actually been really stressed lately, and I’ve been having a lot of doubts, but I received a(nother) miraculous confirmation yesterday that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be and that Heavenly Father is aware of me and my desires to work hard. It amazes me how uniquely Heavenly Father knows us and knows exactly what we need. Apparently, I still have a lot to learn about charity and patience.Yesterday was my first Sacrament meeting in the ward Buena Vista II, ¡and two of our progressing families were there! Yadira y Naylea (Madre e hija) are progressing very well. Naylea really wants to be baptized, and so does Yadira, but Yadira isn’t married to Raul (the father of their other daughter, but not of Naylea. Very common here). The other family there was la familia Reyes. Carlos was baptized about a month ago, and his wife (girlfriend?) Mari is investigating. They were there, along with her two sons Tote (Francisco) and Kevin, and their niece, Reyna. We’re trying to help Mari with her doubts, and last night we had family home evening with them and I suggested we read A Proclamation to the World. It was great.It’s tough here because everybody lives together without being married, everybody gets pregnant at 15-18, and they don’t like the idea of being married. While I was reading the Proclamation last night, I saw again how excellent this plan of happiness really is, because the organization of the Priesthood for families is truly perfect. It’s sad when people don’t understand their roles.Oh my gosh. I’ve been in this internet cafe for a little over an hour, and this guy has had the same song on repeat the entire time. For the first 30 minutes I doubted, because I thought “maybe it’s just because all this music sounds the same to me”. Nope. The same song. (I know, because when it starts, the horns sound like a theme from Pokémon, and the accordion is rather memorable.)Well, if I haven’t made it clear, I really love it here. Yeah, it’s hard. Yeah, I miss English, and Air Conditioning, and music. But I love the people, I love the food, I love the culture, and I’m excited to stick it out and see these people come unto Christ.Les amo,Elder Webb
• ❦ •
No comments:
Post a Comment