Week 1 (10/2/13)

Finally get to sit down and tell you how crazy this week has been. First off the Mexico MTC is called the CCM. (Centro c.... mexico or something like that. pronounced Seh Seh Emmeh )I cant begin to tell you how insane my life has been and how much I've changed in just a week. the first night I got here was pretty crazy. I didn't have my companion, and I went around and talked to some veterans here. they gave me all sorts of pointers, what to look out for, what to do, and where to go. I finally set up my belongings in casa 45, waited for my district to arrive, and then we went to bed.

Let me tell you, I have the most amazing district ever assembled. I am so close to these guys. there are 12 of us and we are getting to be the best of friends. Let me tell you about them.

Elder Kreiling, My Companion:  Elder Kreiling is a great companion. he helps a ton. he makes things a lot easier, especially with the language, and helping the district. At times he can get a little over zealous with helping others but he is great. he has shared so many of my hard experiences down here and i cant thank him enough for going through it with me as well as he has. He's from draper and i believe that he was on Alta's swim team.  He loves classical and gospel/soul music. together we are having a blast down here.

Elder Duncan:  He is one incredible guy, and like his name implies, he's a tall basketball player who can really dunk .He's from.... Monticello Utah.. or something southern like that, I cant really remember, but he's been with me since the Salt Lake airport. He is an incredible example of faith and he always is keeping us in line and keeps us focused. He is always supporting everyone and is a huge help with unifying our district. He always cracks jokes and brings smiles.

Elder Fife: Man, this kid is crazy. He's always talking and always trying to explain things. He tries so hard with the language, and he is always practicing. he helps everyone, and brings a lot of laughs to the group. He's kind of like that caffeinated squirrel that runs around the forest. I love this guy though, hes hilarous. Currently he has the most mosquito bites out of anyone in the group, which amounts to something like 25. Elder Fife and Elder Duncan are companions.

Elder Thiel:  Elder Thiel is incredible. hes a short little guy who hasn't had any language experience at all. He came here not even knowing 2 words in Spanish. He has struggled a lot and I'll explain why later, but he is an incredible example of grit and faith. He's from Clearfield Utah and has many hunting/outdoor stories. He was also a wrestler on the Clearfield team.

Elder Hatch:  He joined our district on the second day because his companion was too advanced in spanish so they sent him here. he has been so great for our district, and so supportive to everyone. he doesn't say much but when he does its powerful. He has helped Elder Theil so much. his patience is incredible. He is from Kaysville Utah.

Elder Anderson:  This kid is so great. he is about my height and has blonde hair and blue eyes. He is from Walla Walla Washington. Out of our district we are the most alike. we like a lot of the same music and he even brought his Muse shirt from the concert he went to in Portland. He loves the Killers too. He gives all of us a lot of laughs and is really cheery all of the time. he is very good at sports and helps us win a lot of games. His faith is incredible and he is a great example.

Elder Canny:  He is the coolest. He is the first European to come to the CCM. He is from Moss, Norway and has the coolest accent. He wants to get rid of his Norwegion accent and get a more American one because his mom is from America. He was actually born in Salt Lake but grew up in Norway. He is one of the funniest people I have ever met. The accent helps with that a lot. He is so interested in our culture and we often talk about cultural differences. He is incredible at Futbol and we really dominate some other districts at times. his example and his faith is so incredible. I look up to him a lot.

Elder Anderson, Canny, Kreiling, and i share a room. we have such a good time together. we make a great team, and district as well. I'll talk about the Hermanas in a while cause I'm running out of time.  But in our district we have four of them Hermana Paige, Orchard, Turner, and Williams.

This week has been the hardest week of my entire life. No joke, it really has. The first day we were here, they had us praying in Spanish even though no one knew anything. We were all freaking out. The moment I got here all the leaders and teachers expected us to know Spanish. It was an incredible stressful first two days. That first day was so incredibly long and I was so wigged out cause i understood nothing. To make it all the more stressful, we had a branch/district meeting and I was called to be district leader. I didn't expect that one to happen. I'm incredibly honored to serve my district. I try so hard every day to serve the best that i can. I was so wigged out that first night, but through sincere prayer, and complete humility, our father in heaven helped me through the stress. Elder Theil has been so stressed from the language and I dont blame him. On Monday, we gave him a priesthood blessing to help him. It is amazing how much better he is doing now. The power of the priesthood is real.

The CCM has brought me down to my weakest and lowest point. I have never felt so stressed, dejected, weak, and exposed. I have never had more sincere prayers. Miracles have happened constantly. I can understand a lot of Spanish already and i can pray in Spanish really good too. I can give a nice testimony and a lot of other things. The second full day we were here, they made us start teaching our first investigator in full Spanish. THAT WAS SCARY. Our first investigator is named Jorge. It is really fun to teach him and try our best in Spanish. that first time though, I was sweating like i have never sweated before. But through and by the spirit it went really well. We were able to teach him that we don't practice polygamy anymore.

Every day we get up get ready and go to breakfast. After that, we have a lot of classes about doctrine and language. My morning teacher is named Maestro Leon. He is so cool. He is a great teacher. We then have lunch and then gym time. We've played a lot of basketball and of course Futbol. We dominate at Futbol. With Elder Canny, or "Daddy Long Legs" as some call him due to his height and soccer skills, we just dominate. Its a lot of fun. After gym we usually have more language study and dinner. Then we have anything from devotionals, teaching people, or study time. Its a pretty complex schedule. I'll send you a picture of it next week cause my camera died today.

The food is pretty good here. Its all Mexican! who would have guessed. but I like it a lot. The horror stories are myths. Our district isn't too fond of the Horchata's though. but if we mix it with orange juice it becomes great. We call it ""Horchata Juice" we use it as a mascot in many ways.

My messenger bag can be a pain sometimes. My shoulders ache a lot these days. I wish I had a backpack. Too bad.

The casas are really nice. The bathrooms, laundry machines, living rooms, and rooms are really nice. I already miss carpet though. Everything is white tile or brick around here. Haven't seen carpet since today at the temple. That was a nice experience seeing carpet again. The Temple was awesome in Spanish and the Mexico temple is beautiful. I loved it today.

Remember Nacho's and Esqueleto's Mexi bike thing in Nacho Libre? I FLIPPING SAW THOSE ON THE WAY TO THE TEMPLE TODAY! THEY ARE REAL.

Hope all is well at home, and its crazy to hear news of fall and even snow. I love the updates. Keep em coming cause I have no idea what the heck is going on in the world.

Your Elder,

Ethan