So I don’t have a ton
of time to write because today we had a zone activity. It was super fun. We played all kinds of
sports. First we played soccer and it
was super sad because all the American missionaries are so terrible compared to
everyone else. Our zone has two American
Elders. It was crazy though because we have a
missionary from Peru. We played a game
of everyone (11 people) against just him and he won. He was crazy ridiculously good. You would think that with 11 people we could
get a little circle around him so that he couldn’t move. However, he could run twice as fast as all of
us.
Then it was super
funny because the two American Elders and I tried to teach everyone how to play
football. It didn’t go as well because
everyone was confused. It was super fun
though. In our Zone we have 3 Americans,
one Elder from Peru, one Elder from Guatemala and then all the rest are
from México. One of my favorite things
about México is their sense of humor. It
is so funny. They are constantly telling jokes.
Anyway some really
good news is both Stephanie and the Ortencia family have a baptism date for the
5/11/14. I know that your prayers really
helped. Stephanie is super excited for
her baptism. The only thing with
Stephanie is she hasn’t told her family that she wants to be baptized. So if you guys could pray that everything
goes well that would be amazing. The Ward mission leader is going to baptize
her. The best thing about the Ortencia
family is at first it was just the husband and wife listening to us but then
their son joined. Then their daughter
who has two kids started listening! It
is super exciting!
Another funny thing
about México is there will be one door out front but then you walk through the
door and there are like 5 different houses or rooms. The whole family lives there. The
grandparents, parents and their children all in one place.
I have been having
some major stomach problems this week. I
think it is because everything here is spicy. They will offer me a manzana and
that sounds great. Then all of a sudden
they come over with one covered in chamoy which is a type of chili. It kills me sometimes. Pepto
Bismol is seriously my best friend here on the mission. There are literally whole stores that just say
Pepto Bismol on the front. Our area
always smells so so good because we have a Bimbo Factory in our area. It is like Hostess pretty much but in México.
It makes me so hungry all the time
though.
I had my first
intercambio this week and it was really fun. I went with Hermana Peña. It was super exciting because her area is
where the big big city is with all the buildings. All we did all day was Street contacting and
combi contacting. That’s the one thing I
struggle with because you have to share a message quickly or people will just
keep walking. I feel like my Spanish is
coming along but I have to speak so much more slowly than other people. In my area people listen because it isn’t as
fast pace but in her area everyone is there to work. It was so hard but so fun at the same time. We would play a game where you have to look
for an hombre wearing a blue shirt or a mujer with a skirt. It was weird when we did it though. Every person that we chose something specific
about would say that they would be willing to hear more and we could come visit
them in their home. I was just super sad
because it wasn’t my area!
Another funny thing
about México is they put the word “bien” in front of everything. It kind of means really or super but at the
beginning I was super confused when they would say “bien feo” or “bien pequeño”.
Also I have picked up some weird habits
like saying “bien” in front of everything and making this weird tsk sound all
the time. People do it here so much I’ve
started doing it without even noticing it.
There were some
pretty weird stories this week like having to drop one of our investigators
this week. Don’t worry it wasn’t any of
the ones you guys were praying for.
Anyway one of the
things I was reading in a conference talk this week was about how in Charlie
and The Chocolate Factory everyone was so focused on finding the golden
ticket. They would forget about how
amazing a piece of chocolate can be.
There were people who just threw away the chocolate because it didn’t
have the golden ticket in it. I think
that is sometimes what happens in life. We
overlook the small blessings in our life because it wasn’t what we were hoping
for. I feel this way especially as a
missionary because the golden ticket as a missionary is baptism. However, if you are too focused on it, you
miss all the miracles happening around you.
Miracles like when a person the
missionaries contacted a year and a half ago decides to finally come to church
for the first time or even just an investigator feeling the spirit during a
lesson.
I got to see President
Whitehead this week during a Ward activity because he sometimes shows up to
those. He gave me a blessing because I
was so sick. I really don’t think I can
describe something worse than feeling like you are going to throw up and then
walking around all day in the sun. I
know that the Lord’s promise that you will be able to complete the work is true
though. There have been so many days
that if I was at home I don’t think I would have even been able to get out of
bed. It has been such a blessing that I
have been able to work. The weird thing
is the more you work the better you feel. You actually start to loose yourself. I think that is the coolest thing I have seen
on my mission so far.
Oh I also had to get
a shot here because we went into a house where they had some sickness. They are confined in the house for a month so
they wouldn’t spread it. However, they
didn’t tell us until we went in! The
shot was the worst thing ever. They stuck the needle in and then turned it
sideways. I hope it doesn’t scar. I
don’t know if it is the same shot but one shot in México leaves a scar. At
the beginning I was so confused how everyone in México had the same birthmark
on their arm. I guess it is really from
a shot that everyone has to get. Don’t
let any of these stories scare you.
México is great. It is just the weird things that stick out in
my mind when I’m writing letters. There
are so many amazing people here and I feel like that one movie we watched. So much so that EVERY NIGHT IN MY JOURNAL I
WANT TO SAY TODAY WAS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE...EVER.
Spanish has gotten a
lot easier. I can now understand what people are saying almost all the time. I sometimes know what I am saying now :) Anyway I have to go. I hope that you guys have a great week and
have lots of missionary experiences to tell me about :)
Love Hermana Jones
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