Invictus

So last Tuesday, January 24th Adam and 36 other missionaries flew to the CCM in Guatemala City. He left Salt Lake at 8:05 pm and flew to LA then from LA to Guatemala City arriving there at 5:30am central time. Tuesday was his p-day but because it was a travel day we didn't know if we would hear from him. We did get the short email below.

Hey Mom,

We did get p-day today, it has been pretty stressful though jaja. I think my bags will be ok. They are both hovering around 48 pounds so I'm pushing it. This week has gone by so fast but I am really ready to get out of here. My Branch President told me that they usually assign American Elders to Native companions when we get down there so I probably will be having a switch. 

Sorry I haven’t mentioned what I have and haven't been getting from everyone. As far as I know, I have gotten every package you have said has been coming my way. Make sure you tell them all thanks for me. About those Calle shoes, I am sending them back. 1) No room in my bags, 2) the sole on one of them is coming off, so they probably wouldn’t have lasted long anyways. Grandma Mags sent me some money in her last package so I am going to hang on the that and whenever I get out in the field I will use that to buy a pair. I am also not taking any bathroom supplies with me ha-ha. I have to make weight somehow, I figure I can smell bad for a few days and not have to pay the over weight fees. I cut my hair today really short also, so I don’t really need shampoo for a week or two, I should be all right. Ja-ja. 

Sorry this email is going to be really short today, I cant think of a whole lot to say, I sent a package home in the mail that has dad's birthday present in it and all of my stuff I wont need in Guat. I am so excited to go, it is a little surreal that in just a few hours I will be on a plane to a land far far away. I hope Bones is doing all right. Mono is no fun. Perfect time to work on those mission papers though if he isn't doing school. That would be awesome if he moved back down to NM, I am sure Dad would love that.  Well I am really excited to hear from you guys in a few hours. Have all your questions ready and everything for me. Tell Dad he better have brushed up on his Spanish because we are only talking en español. I am going to save some of my Internet time so if you want to email me one more time before I go I will check it again, if not, not a big deal. Pues, hasta luego.

I got to talk to Adam while he was in the SLC airport but Kent was in Phoenix on business. So after Adam and I visited for awhile he was going to try to call Kent. He ran out of time and tried again in LA but his calling card was out of minutes. He tried to get Kent to call him back on the pay phone but that didn't work and just as he was about to give up a kind stranger walked up to Adam and offered to let him use his phone. So Dad got his phone call and after their visit Adam said they were all heading to McDondalds to load up on Big Macs before boarding. The next day we got the following email from Adam letting us know he was in Guatemala safe and sound.

¡Mama!

I’m alive! It is absolutely beautiful here. The CCM is such a nice building! I was really pleased. We got in really early this morning and made our way through customs and loaded on to this really rickety bus and absolutely tore through the streets here ja-ja. Absolutely nuts, I am not sure if there are such things as speed limits here. 

I did get new companions, I am in a trio now with Elder Vaughn and Elder Schull, both Americans, both going to Xela, both have been in the MTC for 6 weeks. I had met Vaughn before, and they both seem like really awesome guys. We have two nativo roomates but we have not met them yet. There are not that many people here. It is actually a pretty small place, but seriously all the land around and stuff is just beautiful. Right outside my window is a really ghetto house but then you can see the Temple too and a giant mountain with some unbelievably nice houses. 

They let us sleep until 12 and then we had lunch and now we are doing a little orientation and they are giving us 15 minutes to email. The food here is unbelievable good. 1000x better than the MTC. It is actually like legitimate cooks making the stuff, it’s very Latino, but so far it has all been really good. 

Story time. I was kind of freaking out a little bit this morning when we walked out of the airport. It was still dark outside and I had just stumbled my way through like 5 conversations in Spanish, and were trying to find out where to go, and this man outside the airport rolls up to me, he only had stubs almost to where his knee would be and he had duck taped himself onto a skateboard, and was yelling at me in Spanish. I had no idea what he was saying. The lady who was telling us where to go was just like "keep walking, don’t talk to him" and he finally let me go. Then she told me he was trying to get me to let him polish my shoes, but that when they do that, they steal your shoes and/or your money. And all I could think was, "how is this little man going to steal my shoes and then make a get away on a skateboard he is duct taped to, without me catching him?” I felt so bad for the man, that would be such a hard life, but at the same time I was just like there is no way this is really happening, where the freak am I ja-ja.  

I am a lot more settled in now. I know I am going to love this place. It is seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The weather is PERFECT. It is like a nice 70 degrees with a little breeze and some clouds. All is well, tell everyone hola for me.

Adam