Semena 6, August 23, 2023

Hola familia y amigos!

Esta semana es solo Español para mi distrito. Aunque, por mi familia y mis amigos yo hablaré inglis. De nada.

I think this is my last email I'll send before I go to Chile, that is weird to think. Before starting my mission I didn't register in my head that I would be in Mexico for 5 and a half weeks. But now it is hard to register that I will be in Chile in 8ish days.

This week I have felt the power of el don de lenguas. It has been amazing. As I said earlier this week has been only speaking in Spanish. I've found that I actually know more than I initially thought. Anytime someone would speak to me in english, my mind would translate the words I knew into Spanish. I didn't have to think about it and consciously translate the words that were familiar to me. Y when speaking I didn't have to consciously think about the correct conjugation (meaning I didn't have to have to think it through if it was you or me or us or them; and if it was in the pretirite, future, imperfect, present, present subjunctive, etc tenses). I know that was the Holy Ghost helping me learn Spanish. I have also been able to memorize things faster. The gift of tongues is real. I have witnessed it and experienced it. I just have to live worthy of the Holy Ghost to always have His companionship.

Things are cleared up with my companion. I was in a study skills office class by myself to memorize something. (My companion had already memorized most of it and told me it would waste his time to come with me. So he just waited outside working on something else which was chill.) Anyways before we started off, the maestra, Hermana Jensen, asked me how I was doing. I responded with a casual bien, pero she saw right through me and asked how I was really doing and how me and my comp were doing. I believe she was led by God to ask me specifically how my relationship with my comp was. So I told her what was going on, and we spent the next 35 min talking about this. She told me very valuable advice. She said "I know you have a kind heart and confronting people goes against your nature. But I need you to understand that you cannot let anyone, I repeat, anyone snuff your growth and demolish your confidence. The Lord called you to speak Spanish with the people of Chile. They need you Elder, they need you to speak Spanish to them. You cannot let one person unknowingly halt your growth." She then told me a very personal story that she made me promise not to tell anyone, so I won't. She hasn't even told her children. But in broad terms with little detail to honour my promise, someone heavily discouraged someone very close to her, and it effected not just them, but her and many others. It took decades for them to finally get it out of their head. That is the power of discouragement everyone. Once it weeds it's way into your mind, your brain will believe it as fact. And that is hard to tear out. So I encourage and plead with each of you: do not say or do anything to discourage or bring anyone down. Instead, lift each other up as Christ did. Christ always took the time to stop and talk to someone in need, He always had a ready smile and a positive attitude. Build up people don't tear them down. If you do that people will notice and then they will want to build you up! So please, be aware of your words, actions and even your thoughts towards others.

My district has gotten into sand volleyball recently. It is very fun! The missionary handbook says to not play competitively... maybe this is something we need to work on haha. Just kidding we aren't overly competitive to the point where we start throwing hands over a bad call. Only to the point where we get excited if we are winning and get motivated if we are losing. 

If anyone is curious what normal day at the ccm looks like here you go.

- Wake up at 6:15

- Workout till 6:30

- Shower and get ready for the day

- 7am breakfast

- 7:30-8am finish up breakfast and make your way to personal study

- Personal study from 8-9

- Spanish class from 9-12

- Lunch from 12-12:30

- Companion study/language study from 12:45-2:15

- Get ready for gym time from 2:15-2:30

- Gym time from 2:30-3:45

- Get ready for class from 3:45-4:10

- Afternoon class (originally a gospel class but now it is a spanish class) from 4:20-5:15

- Dinner from 5:15-5:45

- Go back to same class from 5:45-9

- Go to casa and have a house devotional from 9-9:30/9:45

- Then write in your journal and get ready for bed 

- Lights out at 10:30

Question of the week: What have you done this week to build someone up?

Hope everyone is doing fantastic! 

Elder Spencer

Semena 5, August 16, 2023

Hola everyone!

Tomorrow I'll have been a missionary for 1 whole month, loco. 1/24 done.

There was something mildly important that happened last week the I forgot to mention haha. My companion became district leader and I became house leader. Basically my role as leader de casa is to make sure our house is running well and to lead a devotional everynight. So far in my time as house leader our house has gone through: 2 broken dryers, broken handles and doors, no hot water, no drinking water, and a 4 day drought of all water. So I've had lot's to do haha. The drought was a grand ol' time, saying drought is misleading for a couple of the days. 2 out of 4 days we had no water and the other 2 days we were able to flush the toilet once, use the sink for 2 min and have a 30 second shower with the next 2 min of a little trickle of water. We would have to cup our hands to fill it up with water and use that to shower. So imagine a house with 25 boys who all sweat a lot and only about half of us could partially shower each day sometimes no shower. Man, it took me back to my good ol' sports days where I was trapped in a sweaty locker room for months on end with a bunch of smelly boys going through puberty. I miss those days. Kinda. Not the locker room part, but I miss the sports days. Anyways so as casa leader I went and talked to reception to see if we could bring the water back. Everytime someone would come and fiddle with the pipes and tell us we have water. And everytime it worked for 5min and would shut off. So with patience I waited to see if it would come back on and I would go back the next day. Within 2 days reception knew me,  I would walk in and I'm sure they thought "wow he's back again huh, we've fixed their water so many times." Well we finally have water again and I am so grateful it is back! I love water. The other problems I previously mentioned were easy to fix, no lasting issues there. 

Another thing I've had to have patience with is my companion. He isn't the most patient character. We were told the best way to learn Spanish is to make thousands of mistakes till you get it correct. But my comp makes a deal out of it when I make a mistake, raising his voice in a patronizing tone making me feel stupid. So that is affecting my Spanish learning a bit. Don't get me wrong, he is a great guy, and we have fun together! Other then this little quirk we are getting along great! 

I am not super sick anymore and the thing going around our district has started to slow down! We are starting to recover, the sniffles and sneezes and coughs in class and studies are starting to stop which is really nice.

Yesterday there was a worldwide missionary training center devotional with David A. Bednar and his wife. He firmly talked about repentance. One of his main points was that repentance isn't a checklist. It has to be a change, but it can't just be a change of action and deed which a lot of us think it is. It has to be a change of action alongside a change of heart. And during the change of heart we have to come unto Christ and focus on Christ. For once we do all we can do to come unto Christ and repent, then his grace will be sufficient for us, and the Holy Ghost will help us feel forgiven.

On Monday and on Tuesday my comp and I went to the study help desk. It has probably been one of my favourite moments at the ccm. What I learned was very similar to the way my dad taught in some of his classes! On Monday it was a class called Comprehension (the class is one teacher teaching me and my comp), so for the class he gave us a ton of study tools to dive deeper into our studies. We spent 1 hour breaking a part one verse of scripture! It was incredible! And then the next day came and we took a class called feasting on the words, and he gave us more study tools and resources. We spent 1 hour studying one word: Grace. It was absolutely phenomenal. It made me realize that I don't know a lot. My knowledge is very small. It made me realize that my personal study can be so much deeper, which was kind of daunting because if I spent one hour a day breaking a part a verse, let alone one word, I wouldn't get through all the books of scripture In this life time. But this is why we have an eternity to keep learning and growing! I am very very grateful for that!

Weekly question: What is something you have done for someone this week?

For me, I got to help someone on the other side of the veil. What does this mean you may ask? It means that I did temple work for someone that has moved on from this life. Giving them the opportunity to accept covenants with God and take a step closer unto Him!

Hope everyone is doing great! 

Elder Spencer

No photos lo siento

Semena 4, August 9, 2023

Well, the week was nothing new.

We have taught a couple lessons in español now. The first one was last week thursday, we had a couple days to prepare and get the language ready. It was a 15 min online lesson that went pretty well. Our second one was yesterday, we were told 0 min before that we had it. Our teacher was like "hurry, hurry let's go, we have to go teach!" So we grabbed our stuff and flat out ran. These were in person lessons, no time to prep. We taught two people about prophets, our lesson ended up being 5-10 min long. I think it went pretty well! Our next lesson is on Friday and that will be another 15 min one. 

A couple days ago after our morning class, we were all feeling very hungry and wanted some good food. So we had our teacher say the closing prayer and bless the food. We all hungrily stalked towards the comidor and we could smell the food from far off. And being the entitled Americans and Canadians that we are, got super excited to see that we were having burgers haha. 

Today we went to the temple, we did initiatories, it was very peaceful. The drive there and back was not as peaceful haha. The driving in mexico city is muy loco. Basically no right of way, if something or someone is in your lane and stopped you veer out of the way and into another lane regardless of if there are cars there or not. I got to sit passenger seat in a 12 person van, it was very entertaining to see how skilled of drivers everyone is. I definitely think owning a motorcycle or bike is the way to go because they just zip on through. The little walking sign at crosswalks is entertaining, it starts out with a little guy walking and we just strolling along on the spot, and as the timer gets lower and lower he gets faster and faster until he is sprinting! It was epic!

Our district is getting to the point where we are all getting sick, our bodies slowly getting used to the food and the schedule. It is no bueno. 

One thing we have discussed this week in a devotional is giving. Give more than you receive. A principle of giving that has impacted my life and completely changed my life is giving gratitude. Everytime I have taken the time to express gratitude and to recognize what I am grateful for I have felt happiness, joy, peace, and comfort. 

Question of the week: what is something in your life this week that has made you feel grateful?

Semena 3, August 2, 2023

Hola everyone!

My pday got changed from Saturday to Wednesday, so all my emails will be sent out in the middle of the week for the next month. 

Not too much has happened in the past 3ish days haha. But it'll probably still end up being a long email. On sunday we attended church in our little branch, the way they pick speakers is they call 4-6 missionaries randomly to give a 5 min talk in español. So throughout the week we have to prepare a talk to give incase we are chosen. I didn't get called which was kind of nice. After church we joined the choir, there were over 200 of us singing, it was pretty powerful! After that we had dinner and then a devotional. The devotional was absolutely amazing. It was a talk by David A. Bednar from a while ago. It is called Character of Christ, you can find it on youtube. A take away was that when the natural man/woman faces something difficult, their natural tendency is to turn in on themselves and become self centered. When Jesus went through something difficult he turned out. When he was dying on the cross he made sure that his mother would be taken care of. I really really recommend giving it a listen, it has changed a big part of my mindset.

On monday I had spanish class in the morning and then in the afternoon I got to go to the temple!! It was about a 45min bus drive through Mexico City. The temple is so beautiful, the spirit could be felt strongly. We did baptisms and confirmations, I got to do some confirmations, it was awesome because the prayers were in Spanish. Afterwards I took some cool photos and soon enough I was taking pictures of missionaries for about 30 min in that exact same spot haha. 

On Tuesday a new batch of missionaries came in, it was interesting to think that I could've been one of those. (My original start day was the 24th and I would've gotten here yesterday.) But for whatever reason I got moved earlier. 

We had a devotional that evening about the Book of Mormon. It was so amazing! There was this quote I heard in the devotional. "When you read the Book of Mormon turn it from the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ. To the Book of Mormon: My Testament of Christ."  I am going to restart and read the bom again, but with a lense of myself in the stories. When Nephi is led by the spirit to get the brass plates, it will be me remembering a time I was led by the spirit. When Alma the younger was told by an angel to change his ways, I will remember the time I fully decided to serve a mission and change my life for two years, and when I read about the Nephites touching the nail prints in the palm of our Saviour, it won't be a random Nephite, it will be me remembering the times when I have felt the enabling power of el Salvador's expiacion (the Saviour's atonement). I invite you all to do the same (you to Tommy and George). Verse by verse, chapter by chapter, here a little and there a little, it will be the story of you coming to know Christ. Your testament of Christ.

Another thing that stood out was that the Book of Mormon is like a mansion. Enumerous rooms, filled with different pieces. Detailed furniture with engravings of promises and blessings. Grand halls with the rays of God and His glory. Vast dining tables covered with the most exquisite feast imaginable. Are we going to be a tourist that just steps in the entry hall and take a quick look and not think much of it? Or are we going to be a pilgrim or someone who craves after knowledge of God and from God? That is just something to ponder.

Today has been a lot of fun! I got to talk to mis hermanos y mis padres! And then we did some laundry and cleaned our casa. Then we played pickleball and volleyball for 3 hours! It was epic! 

Weekly question: How has the Lord blessed you this week? (What has been something unexpectedly good that happened?)

For me, I found my wallet. I had misplaced it on Sunday and I couldn't find it for three days. And then I found it less then 2 hours ago hiding in my tie bag.

Hope all is well! Elder Spencer

Photo time

 

Here is a nice picture for you mom

Me, Elder Coleman, Elder Leurchter, and Elder Cottrell

Mexico city

I love to see the temple

                                           that sweet photo op that I took 30min taking photos of people