Tuesday, October 23, 2012

10-22-12

Hey Moms,

Holy sweet long email. Things are good here though, staying pretty busy, well at least trying to. Yeah today is the start of my second and hopefully last change here with my kid. It's not that I don't want to be with my kid I just want a new area. I am so tired of this place. It's so small even the people who aren't members of the church know who I am by name now. If we knock doors I always get the ¨you again?¨ thing. 


But yeah we have some really good investigators it's just they all have one problem that is keeping them from being baptized. We have one guy that is just soooo ready but he isn't married to his wife and the divorce process here is a nightmare. It was crazy because the house, well room, they were living in before, the owners went in and robbed all their stuff and then kicked them out. They called the bishop at 11 one night and he took him to a hotel and called us and said we basically had that next day to find them a place to live. So we went house shopping all day and they ended up finding a really good place in the area. It was just sad though because they were basically crying because the house they had found came with a bed. They had just been sleeping on a blanket on the ground in this cockroach infested room for like a month. Just such a hard situation, we went to teach them one night and they were all basically falling asleep because they were so tired from not having eaten in a day or two. We got them food from the bishops storehouse, but the owners of the room they were renting had stolen everything, including their little electric stove, so even if they had like beens or rice they couldn't cook any of it. 

But we got them all moved into this room, and yesterday we went and had a lesson with them, they were just so happy and seemed so calm and everything. The guy is just dying to get baptized, just hoping for the divorce to go through. That's basically what we have been doing all week though. 

On Thursday we had this really big ward barbeque and soccer tournament. I got dragged into playing on the elders quorum team, but I was just in my missionary clothes. I ripped the biggest whole in my pants haha. I guess I have to start looking for a sister here that knows how to sew. 

My comp has been teaching me how to cook some Peruano food. I can make garlic rice that you would not believe, so good. My comp eats an insane amount of rice though. He bought a five pound bag of rice last week and he finished it off yesterday. I don't know how he is alive with the diet he has. For breakfast he always eats a huge bowl of white rice and fries an egg and puts that on top. And then we eat lunch with members, and then for dinner he eats a huge bowl of white rice and a cucumber. Sometimes he mixes it up a little bit and eats an avacado, but tha'ts it. You'd think he would be a little bit nutrient deprived. But he said that's what he has done his whole life. Strange...Anyways, the countdown is on, this is my last change before the year mark, almost time to listen to christmas music, and almost my birthday. The last day of this change is my birthday. Anyways, love you guys, have a good week.
Adam

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

10-15-12



Hey Mom, 

So you have celiacs also? That's strange, is that something you have had your whole life and its not been a problem or is it something that gets developed? I just had to laugh though when you told me that there could be damage without symptoms for years. I'll just say I'm having plenty of damage and plenty of symptoms right now. I would say celiacs is one of my lower priorities of stomach problems for the moment haha. I have been sick for a while, nothing major, like I don't have parasites or ameobas or anything, just lots of boo. 

I think it's because were always visiting this family that is really poor in our area and they always give us something to eat. But since they don't have running water or light in their house it's kind of dangerous to say the least. But eh, I only have like six more weeks in this area or so, so I think I can manage it. I am hoping it slims me down a little bit because I am getting fat. They feed us way too much in this area and I have morning sickness (boo), and it's way too hard to do excercise. I am just way way too tired to get up and do any p90x. I'll just wait till I have six months left and then hit the p90x hard. 

Things are really good here though. We are finally getting some investigators to progress. We have like 4 families that we are teaching. Plus we had interviews this week, they seemed to go really well. It's cool now that I have some time with President. He gave me some really good ideas and things I want to start trying differently. It's weird that I am in the double digits of months now. I have just a few more weeks till my year mark too, did almost a year really just go by? Strange. 

A couple interesting things happened this week though, first of all I finally felt my first earthquake. It was a 5.something and happened at like 4:30 in the morning. I just woke up and my bed was rocking back and forth really hard. I thought I was just dreaming, and then it stopped. Only lasted like 10 seconds, and nothing was damaged. But at least I can say that I have been in an earthquake now. 

Also, another person got killed in my area this week. Twice in one change. That might be a new record. Like I have seen dead bodies and stuff before, but it's rare to actually see or here the doing of the deed. This time we were with that family that is really poor and we heard a few gunshots. In the moment we just thought they were blackcats going off, because they are always blowing up black cats here, but no. Some people called me a little afterwards and were like, someone just got shot, be careful. I was just like of like uhhhhh. Again? Clean up your act Xela, so ghetto. 

The last thing was that a sister missionary got home from her mission this week from the DR. We were talking to here and I asked her if she had met an Elder Behrmann, she was just like, is he huge? So I laughed and told her yes and she said she remembered him when he hit the field haha. Just thought that was kind of a strange coincidence. 

My comp tortillia´d for the first time last night too. It was really funny because most of the non-guat latins are super racist against the guatemalans. They always talk about how the people here are chickens because they eat too much corn, and how its against the word of wisdom to eat corn. And then the crazy old corte ladies will make them cook their own corn tortillas everynow and then. My comp being the worst, he is kind of a superioristic, like who knew that Peru was the greatest country in the world, like I had only heard of it for machu pichu and llamas before, other than that nothing. Always makes me smile. 

Anyways, I need something from you guys, I would really like it if you guys could send me one of the priesthood lineage sheets that dad has, that would be something cool to have. Anyways, that's about all for the update this week. I love you guys, have a good week. 
Adam

10-8-12

Hey Mom,
So yeah, General Conference week is really the best week in the mission. Work for a few days and then you have the weekend to just relax and gain some spiritual knowledge. The announcement of the missionaries was really awesome I thought. I think that is the best way that it could be really. 21 is too old for the women, by the time they get home from the field they are a little....old. But if they can leave at 19, be home by 20, and have all the experience and knowledge of an rm, think how much better prepared they are for life. Its not too late to start school, get married, and they dont have to just be in a limbo for 3 or 4 years waiting to turn 21. As for the guys, almost half of the elders here left when they turned 18. Here in Central America and in Mexico the rule has been that they could leave at 18 so that didn't really change much. All of the members and everything are still pretty excited though. It doesnt really make much of a difference for the guys, an 18 year old guy is just as immature and ignorant as a 19 year old. I was thinking about how big of a change it will have in the make up of byu and byui though. Super interesting, like who will be the people who live in the dorms and stuff? Rms never ever live in the dorms...It will be weird when I get home too, because a ton of all the girls my age and around my age will still be on their missions when I get home. Ghost town? As for the reduction of time in the mtc...I didn't catch that part. What's the deal with that? 


I missed a few things because, I watched it in spanish this time around (how weird is it that both of your sons didn't watch conference in their native language?) and so I missed a few bits and pieces. Although I was super happy about how well I did understand it. In conference the language is a lot more...educated than the language I am listening to. They use all vosotros in the scriptures and everything and that is only used in Spain so that was a little weird. But really it was cool listening in another language. It's different but the same. I don't like it because you don't get the character of the voice from the person, you miss a lot of the personality. It wasn't the same listening to Uchtdorf or Eyring, and especially for President Monson, the voices don't have any of their personality. But it was a lot better because I was a lot more focused on getting the big picture of all of their messages, and not getting caught up on bits and pieces. I think my favorite was Anderson's talk in the morning Saturday, talking about the refiners fire and faith. I think that was perfect for me. I am excited to download it in english again also, it will be like watching an entirely new conference haha.

 
As for Romney, I knew that he wiped the floor with Obama. Kind of funny actually because it's actually kind of a big deal here. All the people want to illegally and legally immigrate to the states so they follow a lot of the news and everything in the states. Like five different members told me after the debate that Romney made him look like a joke. That's good, I am not sure what I will be doing with the voting situation, will I be able to vote? I have never registered before or anything, can I still absentee vote? 


As for the mission president in california, that guy has an "I'm a Mormon" video, it's really cool. I can imagine that he would be a legendary mission president. I like that quote you sent too, I have one in my journal that is similar, I love it is says, ´´Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. –Sydney J. Harris´´. Its true. Its really amazing what an attitude can do for a person. I have seen that a lot here in the mission, there are people who are just dying to get out of an area, away from a companion, or to get home, and they just let time pass them by and don't really get anything out of it. It would be so much easier and better to just go home if your going to waste time. 


I don't know if you guys have thought about a Christmas package just yet(i am prepping mine, just got Landon's and Hunt's presents today), hopefully the next package won't be a Christmas one, but in the next one please send a ton of Christmas music. Whatever you can find, especially if the cd is from MoTab, or an artist from the church. Also for whenever you start the Christmas package, really all I need is new shirts and socks. My shoes are still holding up good and I bought another good pair from Megapaca, so I dont need those. I just need more of the VanHueson 16.5 shirts and some good socks, preferrably missionary mall, but they dont have to be from there. I am pretty short on shirts right now, the people who wash the clothes in some of the areas either loose or steal a ton of my clothes. I am down to like 4 pairs of shirts now. They are getting pretty yellow and worn too. I can hold out till Christmas though, don't worry. I just wear two a week, while the other two are in the wash, it's not bad. Grandma sent me a new shirt a few months ago in her package (i did get her last package too), and that same week I used it, sent it to the wash, and never saw it again haha. Sorry Grams. Anyways, keep me updated on what's going on with college football, top 25 and byu and all. Love you guys, Have a good week.




Adam

Monday, October 1, 2012

10-1-12



Hey Mom,
Holy crap. The store looks awesome. That was the first email that I oppened and I am seriously impressed. It might have something to do with the fact that I am only used to seeing buildings made of cinder block or mud, and full of little brown people, but it looks really really good. It will be good for you guys I am sure. 


Everything is going well here, my comp is kind of getting in the groove a little better, he doesnt cry at night anymore when he takes off his shoes. We had a good week, nothing phenomenal but were teaching a few new families now that actually are kind of positive, so hopefully we will be having some baptisms in the near future. My ward might have broken a mission record this last week, we had 240 people in sacrament meeting. I am not sure how many attend in wards in the states, but that is HUGE here. When I was in Garibaldi, that was my second biggest ward and we never had more than 150 people there. It looked like stake conference haha. 

One of my really good friends in the mission turned 21 this week so we ordered some chinese food and I bought him a tres leches cake (yours tasted better), but it was fun. When we went to their house though I was just laughing, you can tell missionaries have lived in this house for years, but like, years. There is not an inch of wallspace that is not filled with a photo from the church or Jesus or a temple, and in the kitchen haha, there is a stack of cereal boxes that lines all the walls and goes all the way up to the roof. Just stacked on each other. Easily 100 cereal boxes. From floor to roof the rows are all the same box, but like every two or three rows the type of cereal changes. And then on the back wall is just pure boxes of dominos pizza stacked on top of eachother. You can look at the order tags and they are from like 2002 and 2003. So gross. 

My friend that just turned 21 is exactly 1 year older than me in the mission also, and he goes home next change. Almost getting there... I am fighting myself right now too. Such a mental battle, I am trying to hold out for as long as I can without listening to christmas music, buuut, today is October so its fair game now right, right? I know it will make me super trunky though so I am fighting. Two more months though and I will be able to sing ¨Ill be home for Christmas¨ and it will be real, not only in my dreams like this time. 

I am not that trunky though. Its all super routiney now. I am a little worried about changes in a few weeks though. My zonie was on divisions with one of the APs this week and after they finished we saw them at the church and he was kinding of hinting I am going as zonie this change. I sure hope not. I hate district leader. I am so sick of it haha. I just want to be a normal missionary in a normal area, and not have the sister missionaries call me every five seconds asking permission to do the dumbests things ever. Also zonies are usually in their areas for 6-7 months, uhhh. But I am thinking it is mostly likely I will be shipping out of here December 3, that's when the next changes are. I have already had too many areas/comps, just keep me here for a little bit longer. 

Anyways, thats too sad about Joe. Its always tought to hear about things like that. You never wish that for anyone, especially a family that is as amazing as they are. I love you guys. I am starting to look for Christmas gifts so if there is anything you might know of its existance and would like for me to send it, I am taking all requests now, and if not, machetes for everyone. Have a good week.

Adam


P.S. the photo of the bananas just reminded me of Blades of Glory when the hot dog vender has a bun with two hot dogs in it and says ¨Does this look normal to you?¨ haha.