I'm sure you are all anxious to hear how things are in this part of the world so I will waste no time and jump right into it. McAllen Elders in my district left monday morning early. Spent the day me my companion and elder simpson who is going to calgary. It was more or less business as usual. Last class with our teachers which was sad because they were pretty awesome. I got them cards at the bookstore but the card selection was kind of retarted and all the thankyou cards had flowers and were pink so I found some pretty sweet cards that said Happy retirement on the top of the front and then I wrote in sharpie FROM TEACHING OUR DISTRICT on about 3/4 of the front. I think I am funnier than I actually am ... haha Seriously though I dont think MTC teachers can really understand how much their example means. Especially after yohu get to the field. Then we had our last night boring whatever. I packed my bags so well I could have won if packing was an event in the olympics. Ok here is where it gets a little more exciting. Got up at 3, left the MTC at 4, there were 8 of us traveling 6 elders 2 sisters. I was the only spanish speaker and they all knew each other from district slash branch stuff. We drove to the airport and that's when I started losing it. After being in the spirituality bubble for 9 weeks which felt more like 9 years getting to the airport and hearing normal music and people being the way people are man it was like getting punched in the stomach. Got our tickets and went through security and then while still feeling like I've been punched in the stomach by societey I have to call home. And gosh it was so humiliating I cried like a baby. It was aweful!. I talked to parents for a while. And then tried to call allie because I have only heard from here once in the last nine weeks because shes been sales traveling the airplane globe of business whatever running vancouver something. And I left the lamest half whimpering message on her phone. I felt so pathetic. Then I gave up my phone because there were 4 of us and three phones and one elder had been standing there the whole time and we were getting close to boarding and nobody else looked like they were going to give it up soon. Sorry I didnt have time to call anyone else. We also happened to fly with a senior couple going back to Ark they had left to go to their sons wedding so we got to meet and talk to them. Turns out they are in the office. She is referal and he is veichle fleet coordinator. Ill talk about that later maybe. We connected quickly in ATL and then got to Arkansas. It was warm but not too hot. Sounds like we missed two weeks of 100+ degree weather and now its just warm and nice all day every day. Que suerte! Met the president and his wife and the Assistants to the President grabbed our bags and went to the mission home. Now I just have to start by saying Stephen M Petersen (My mission president) has a presence. I cant really explain it other than that. I don't know if you are all familar with the same feeling I get when someone has a presence. But you can just feel the strenght of their character emminating out of them. And Sister Petersen is sooo nice shes awesome. At the mission home they fed us a snack which was nice because it was the first thing I'd eaten that day. Then it was basically christmas morning we got soooo mcuh mission swag. We got a binder with all this stuff notepads and pens and a multipurpose hankercheif hahah. Its for wiping tears cleaning messes muzzling dogs and horses waving goodbye haha I dont know one of those crafty cute mission mom type of things. We've got lots of those. We also got a Little Rock. haha its a little polished black stone that we are supposed to hold while we think of things we are grateful for. Every morning we write down three things we are grateful for in the notebook with the pen while holding the rock. It is quite the mission swag experience. We also got the living chirst (eng and esp) some conference talks (ex lock your heart) etc etc etc We had to fill out some forms after that and we wrote a letter home that they are going to mail with a picture. That going to parents house. I dont have any idea when it will get there or how or whatever. We had some training meetings slash vehicle safety. AND we all got interviewed by president.
My interview with the president was short but super awesome. He showed me my trainer and talked about him a little. Showed me my area. Let me ask questions. And of course no good business undergrad student EVER shuould go into an interview unprepared to ask questions. So I had questions ready. Here are the results. He told me my Companion's name is Elder Carrell. He said he is one of the most giving people that he has ever met and one of the best missionaries in the mission. He told me if Sister Peteresen's son was coming to the mission she would pick elder Carrell to train him! That's pretty serious business. My companion is also the district leader for our spanish district. There are 140 missionaries in the mission and only 18 are spanish. We are also the two mission office elders. There are lots of senior couples in the mission so they cover all the permanent in office positions ( we are very blessed here) being the office elders basically in short means we get a truck with unlimited miles (pretty nice not gunna lie) and we are responsible for moving furniture or whatever else needs to get moved around. Peoples stuff. Office tasks. We are also in and out of the mission office every day just about helping out and whatnot. And I think we get a little extra food money because we have to eat on the road while we are moving people. SO in sum I am pretty lucky. President told me he wants me to really get trained and learn well. We live close to the mission office and the mission home. Our area is called Sherwood Spanish and we are in north little rock. Its a small branch with 6 missionaries its all spanish. President says I was put there to be successful and that we will likely be the highest baptizing district the mission. Thats one of the mission things we were put here to be successful. We also have a pretty big proselyting area. (I think its biggest in the mission) maybe other than some super rural stuff. Ours is pretty well populated. Thats that I guess. The rest of the day we ate and had a couple meetings traing stuff. Then went to bed. The next morning we got up at 6 to exercise. I volunteered to stay back with the new elder who was sick with throat someting or other. I just stretched like a dork and did like 10 pushups and talked to sickie while the Assistants took every on else on a run through the neighborhood. Then we all got ready and went to transfers. The new people had to introduce themselves. Then president said we were the best new group he'd ever received ( I assume he says that every time but I dont know ) hopefully it didnt put as much of a target on our back as I felt like it did as we sat on the front row of the chapel. haha just kidding ... sort of. Met my companion and we had to give the one elder going to the memphis side of the mission a ride 2.5 hours away BUT it turns out we had to take a car up there too so that then became my job. SOOO basically the first thing I had to do as a real missionary was drive two and a half hours on the freeway! (two lane haha) But seriously I was a littel freaked having only driven on the freeway twice before. Once wiht my teacher once from St george to provo. It was fine... I was praying like the whole time haha I am honestly such a baby thats one of the things that I learned in the last week. Ill work on it. Then my comp and I drove back and grabbed some groceries blah blah stuff. We live with two english missionaries which is nice because its a little less isolated. WHile my companion was at transfers they moved his desk and mine into our bedroom which made him a little irritated but instead of move it back we took more desks and put them in our room and now we have this super cramped sleep slash study slash shower master bedroom isolation thing going. If you could see our rooom you would understand how rediculous it is. We have a bookshelf on a dresser. haha its so stuffed its pretty funny.
Goodness this email is getting reallly long.
Then we went to work... from here on out we will just do highlights.
We dont really go door to door ever ... We just go around looking for spanish people. I also have to preface and say I only know what we are doing about half the time. I just kind of follow and dont say anyhting. Our only current really good investigator is a family of 6 that had a date but they cant get baptized because the parents arent married. THe dad is all for it but the mom says she doesnt want to becaues divorcve costs too much. Its an excuse... We are going to teach and commit again. The oldest daughter is ready to get baptized but the rest of the kids will do what their mom says and the dad cant until hes married.
My companion really is a super giving person. He planned a street cleaning effort in conway by calling aroud that missionaryes do once a week. We go and weed and pick up trash its throuhg the chamber of comomece. He was in conway for 7 months. Its in our area but far away. We go there once a week. It used to be wehere the spanish branch was but it moved a ways away. He knows ALl the members there and they alll love him. He brags a little about how he has neeevvver had to go hungry in conway. He can get dinner in 10 mins a bunch of different places. blah blah. We also tell every one we ever talk to that if they ever need anything to call us . People only take us up on it once in a while. We translated for a couple that were trying to get their child into junior kindergarten. we went to the school and talked to the officve people it was weird being in a school.
Okay cool experience of the week. We went to the childrens hospital thursday night I think it was to visit a convert of his whose 4 year old had just had her third heart surgery. It was heart breaking to see the little girl in a big hospital chair with all sorts of tubes going all over the place. It was the night after her surgery. Her mom who was a sweet little pregnant spanish lady who spoke no english and was missing a tooth was sitting by the bed holding her hand. The little girl was visibly super tired and uncomfortable. She kept asking for coke and a hambuger hahaha. Every time they gave her some water on a mouth swab she would gag and something on one of here moniters kept beeping. The nurse sat her up a little more in bed and she was eventually able to star taking some ice chips. It was really pretty heart wrenching. Then the Dad came back with the two yaer old girl who was sooo cute and had the biggest eyes. The little girl ran over to the mom and the mom held her up to see her sister. And then the most incredible thing happened. I dont really know if I can desciribe how sweet it truly was. WIth the mom holding the two year old just over the arm of the hospital bed the two year old looks at her sister and with sadness in her eyes says "you're hurting" and the four year old looked back at her and could exert just enough energy to nod her head. It was one of the sweetest most sincere expressions of love I have ever seen. I want you all to go read the baptismal covenant in mosiah chapter 18 (i think it is) and think about this situation. This is why chirst exhorts us to become as little children.
Ok ... now that you are all feeling warm on the inside you are also vulnerable and I will list my demands. Im just kidding. Well sort of. I always feel bad when I ask for things in my emails home so I am just going to do it and not beat around the bush. I could use some hoodies. My companion is obessessed with turing EVERY (not just the ones in our apartment thermostat he ever touches to its coldest setting and putting fans everwhere. So I brought one hoddie and I wear it while we study in the apartment over my church clothes every day. Mom you can d send some of the ones from my closet at home. zipper is nice because I dont have to pull it over my head and my churhc clothes (missionary clothes i guess you could say) crayola twistables PENCIL crayons to mark my spanish scriptures I left my alarm clock at the MTC so I would like a new battery powered alarm clock. It cant have a radio. A college ruled like study notebook for language study. And this is weird but if someone could cut some printer paper into quarters and send a bunch to me that would be great. And if anyone can send old spice champion. haha its the deoderant I like and I ran out at the MTC and they didnt have that kind. THanks soooo much. Beyond that send food. Any food is appreciated. Thanks a ton! You can mail everything for my whole mission to
905 Kierre Drive
Arkansas Little Rock Mission
North LIttle Rock
72116
espeically now we are in and out of the office a ton and so I will get it all really quickly. Heed I dont know if you have already but you can make the blog private and help people get on. I know its such a huge pain but every one is welcome I just dont want everything out there floating on the internet. THanks so much. I might have you start
Also can my emails please get forwareded to
joshwads@q.com ( I think its com I dont know what Q is might be net)
vonjolley@comcast ( agian i dont know if its net or com)
THanks there is one more but I dont have it on me I will get it next week. I know its a huge pain but I appreciate it soooo much. Also I can receive mail from any family.
Thanks for everything I love you all so much things are hard here but I am super happy. Pray for me to become unsocially retarded. I know that weird but seriously. I just stand around and dont know what to say all the time. It is a real request. Maybe thatll help I dont know. Im learning. Seek Jesus Christ thats what my mission president says all the time.
Love you all, please send me stuff family :)
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