Where should I start? This week has been so awesome! Let me just say that I
am in a completely different world! We landed and went to our Mission
President's House. He is a very good man. He really cares about us a lot
but is kind of stern. He is very big on obedience and isn't
afraid to tell us when to shape up, but he does joke and laugh with
us. He actually reminds me a lot of President Jess. Except he's short
and Mexican. He really helped make us feel good and at home. The next day we went to an unfinished church building with the chapel upstairs. This is where we met our companions. My companion is
Elder Tucker. He is from South Salt Lake and went to East High. He is headed home in September. At first I was kind of disappointed because I wanted to be with a native speaker. But I realize that the Lord has a much more intelligent brain than me and knows what he's doing by putting us together. Turns out Elder
Tucker is a really cool guy. I really do like him a lot and we get along great. He is funny and we joke around but work hard. The first day we made a pact that we wouldn't speak much English...
that goal died. We do try and talk in Spanish as much as possible but its really easy to revert back to English because that's what I understand. Yesterday we made another pact that we would only speak English in our apartment, which is a great idea but I still seem to be talking to him a lot in English. I like him a lot and I depend on him more than I've depended on anyone else before.
Our city from our roof! am in a completely different world! We landed and went to our Mission
President's House. He is a very good man. He really cares about us a lot
but is kind of stern. He is very big on obedience and isn't
afraid to tell us when to shape up, but he does joke and laugh with
us. He actually reminds me a lot of President Jess. Except he's short
and Mexican. He really helped make us feel good and at home. The next day we went to an unfinished church building with the chapel upstairs. This is where we met our companions. My companion is
Elder Tucker. He is from South Salt Lake and went to East High. He is headed home in September. At first I was kind of disappointed because I wanted to be with a native speaker. But I realize that the Lord has a much more intelligent brain than me and knows what he's doing by putting us together. Turns out Elder
Tucker is a really cool guy. I really do like him a lot and we get along great. He is funny and we joke around but work hard. The first day we made a pact that we wouldn't speak much English...
that goal died. We do try and talk in Spanish as much as possible but its really easy to revert back to English because that's what I understand. Yesterday we made another pact that we would only speak English in our apartment, which is a great idea but I still seem to be talking to him a lot in English. I like him a lot and I depend on him more than I've depended on anyone else before.
I am in a different world like I said before- new language, new people,
and a new culture. Our area is in the city of Tepatitlán, about an hour away
from Guadalajara. I am in a city, and its loud all of the time. There is music going on all of the time. There are these Gas Trucks that go around and play different songs advertising their brand. The streets in our city are tiny. People pretty much park where they want to. On the side walk, half way out in the street, and all of these people are very good at parallel parking. The streets are tiny and they're full of parked cars. We take buses a lot when we need to get to the very other side of town. But for the most part we just walk everywhere. My calves are getting huge, this city is all on a hill. The streets are very steep and I am get a big workout just from walking
around. Most of the houses here have running water and electricity. Most of the houses don't have warm water but they do have running water. Its still crazy to me the houses here though. They are all right next to each other and just built out of different kinds of rocks. They just make do with what they have even when its close to nothing. Most of the members houses floors are cement, the nicer houses have tile, I have yet to see carpet anywhere.
and a new culture. Our area is in the city of Tepatitlán, about an hour away
from Guadalajara. I am in a city, and its loud all of the time. There is music going on all of the time. There are these Gas Trucks that go around and play different songs advertising their brand. The streets in our city are tiny. People pretty much park where they want to. On the side walk, half way out in the street, and all of these people are very good at parallel parking. The streets are tiny and they're full of parked cars. We take buses a lot when we need to get to the very other side of town. But for the most part we just walk everywhere. My calves are getting huge, this city is all on a hill. The streets are very steep and I am get a big workout just from walking
around. Most of the houses here have running water and electricity. Most of the houses don't have warm water but they do have running water. Its still crazy to me the houses here though. They are all right next to each other and just built out of different kinds of rocks. They just make do with what they have even when its close to nothing. Most of the members houses floors are cement, the nicer houses have tile, I have yet to see carpet anywhere.
My mission is nothing like what I thought it would be like. We aren't allowed to tract and we can't really even proselyte in the street. The work we do is through the members. We try and get referrals and its hard because everyone here is catholic. There are so many catholic churches it's crazy. There are also pictures up everywhere with Jesus on the cross throughout the city and in everyone's homes. People don't really like us very much. Everywhere we go we people stare at us. First off we are Missionaries and
second we are both Gringos. We pretty much get called names daily, but I can't understand them so its all good. In our area we don't even have a ward. There are not enough active members to be called a ward. We are in a branch with about 50 active members(or less). Our primary goal is to keep the members active and get the inactive members active. We meet with members and inactive members everyday mostly just to talk to them and ask how they are doing then we share a spiritual message. The church building is weird. Its not very big and sacrament meeting is held in the middle- there's no roof there. It's neat that the appearance of the church is so different here but its so
cool that its still the same teachings and same doctrines.
second we are both Gringos. We pretty much get called names daily, but I can't understand them so its all good. In our area we don't even have a ward. There are not enough active members to be called a ward. We are in a branch with about 50 active members(or less). Our primary goal is to keep the members active and get the inactive members active. We meet with members and inactive members everyday mostly just to talk to them and ask how they are doing then we share a spiritual message. The church building is weird. Its not very big and sacrament meeting is held in the middle- there's no roof there. It's neat that the appearance of the church is so different here but its so
cool that its still the same teachings and same doctrines.
I was able to participate in a baptism this week! It was a really neat experience. Her name is Claudia and I like her a lot. She is crazy. Lots of the people here are crazy. She has a weird fetish for hands and feet. Through out our lessons she always tries to grab Elder Tuckers hands and he has to like dodge her grasp. She is getting to know me better so I am learning to dodge her swipes as well. Its so funny and I
just laugh at Elder Tucker while he is trying to teach and she is grabbing his hands. Its so funny! But even after her craziness and our language barrier I could still connect with her and the spirit is so strong when we talk with her. I look into her eyes and can tell how much she loves Heavenly Father. She loves my eyes, she says that she can tell that my spirit is very strong and she can feel the spirit when I look into her eyes. Its way cool even though we can't speak clearly to each other we can still connect through the
spirit. I also had the opportunity to confirm her on Sunday. It was a good experience. At least all of the members of the branch know that I can't speak Spanish now :) I confirmed her and gave her a blessing in
horrific Spanish. But the spirit was so strong. Elder Tucker even said that what I blessed her with didn't really make sense, but afterwards she told me that I said things that helped her out so much. She said that the spirit was so strong and she knew that I was a man of God from the words that I
spoke. It was so awesome!
Well I better get going. Love you all! If you fall away from the Church while I'm gone I am going to be very upset and a little grumpy.
Love,
Elder Summers
just laugh at Elder Tucker while he is trying to teach and she is grabbing his hands. Its so funny! But even after her craziness and our language barrier I could still connect with her and the spirit is so strong when we talk with her. I look into her eyes and can tell how much she loves Heavenly Father. She loves my eyes, she says that she can tell that my spirit is very strong and she can feel the spirit when I look into her eyes. Its way cool even though we can't speak clearly to each other we can still connect through the
spirit. I also had the opportunity to confirm her on Sunday. It was a good experience. At least all of the members of the branch know that I can't speak Spanish now :) I confirmed her and gave her a blessing in
horrific Spanish. But the spirit was so strong. Elder Tucker even said that what I blessed her with didn't really make sense, but afterwards she told me that I said things that helped her out so much. She said that the spirit was so strong and she knew that I was a man of God from the words that I
spoke. It was so awesome!
Well I better get going. Love you all! If you fall away from the Church while I'm gone I am going to be very upset and a little grumpy.
Love,
Elder Summers