December 26, 2011

So I'm kinda jammed for time. But anyways Christmas was super sweet. In
the morning we had a nice short sacrament meeting, following which I
passed out my personal stash (a little help on the spelling Mom)  of
candy canes to the members. They all thought I was pretty cool, so that
was nice. After that, the Swenson family was nice enough to let us come
over to skype home. That was really fun. Enjoyed some nice laughs with
the family. It was kinda weird to see them. They all are starting to
look a lot different haha. Everyone is going to be completely different
when I get back, I'm sure. But anyways that was the highlight for sure.
After that we just maxed and relaxed a little bit. Took a nice nap, made
a snack, the whole 9. In the evening, we went to a couple dinners with
members and chatted with them for a while, which was pretty fun. All and
all it was a good day. And just like that, my first Christmas away from
home is in the books. It was kinda fun and home didn't seem that far
away. But it was different that's for sure. But it is so rewarding to
know that I am doing something that makes my family proud, among many
other reasons. So this is definitely a great experience and I wouldn't
trade it for anything. I just wish I had more time to email haha.

Skyping with Sammy

How were your presents?  I hope the pants fit ok.  If not, maybe you
could find a way to send them back to me and I can replace them.

Everything looks and fits great. The shoes are awesome. Those are by far
the best dress shoes I have ever owned. Thank you so much.

The Elmo pajamas are in honor of your sister
Yes I know. Tell her that I plan on wearing them at least for a while
haha.
What else did you do today?
Maxed and relaxed. Ate a couple dinners with the members, chatted with
them, and that was about it. Played with the Nerf hoop too.

I was going to ask you about your towels and bedding today.  Are the
ones you have ok?

I'll probably replace my towels in a couple weeks. Other than that I'm
cool.

December 19, 2011

Well here I am about to spend my first Christmas away from home. Its really kinda crazy how fast things are moving here. It almost scares me to death how quickly the last few months have gone by. But looking back, what is more unbelievable is how much I can see change in my life as I try to help others change their own. I think that is the part I like most about the mish. I know that the Lord wants to shape me into the person that he wants me to be. And so I can understand why some things are so tough sometimes. It's a refiner's fire for sure. Every little thing that stinks right now, is stretching me for a reason. I'm absolutely certain of it. It's important to not forget that, but sometimes I do. It's something that I have to keep telling myself every day. I think sometimes we forget a lot of important things. Especially around this time of year. Sometimes we get so caught up in the receiving and the lusting over the sweetest new gadget that we forget the true meaning of Christmas. I was watching Mr. Krueger's Christmas and even though its a little old and a little silly, it really helped me put things in perspective. Remembering Christ is what it's all about.

How is life with your new companion?

Pretty good. He is a lot more serious than I am used to. But its all good.

Funny thing that happened this week.

Well this morning, I was cleaning the bathroom, and I was just flushing all the used paper towels down the toilet. It was not a good idea because it started flooding real bad. It was a very frantic moment for me. I didn't know how to turn off the water, so I screamed for Elder S. and he came running to my rescue. It was terrible haha. It was a laugh or cry moment for sure. Luckily I decided to laugh.

3 good things that happened this week. You didn't include any last
week.

1. We had the car for a couple days. That was so nice.

2. We made some real solid contacts.

3. We get to practice Spanish a lot now.

What is the thing you have enjoyed most about being a missionary?

Just feeling myself grow more than anything.

What is the most challenging aspect of missionary life?

Not getting down on myself for sure.

Do you know what you are doing on Christmas?

No idea still. Hopefully, they'll shed a little more light tomorrow at zone conference.

How's the car? I assume your companion is the driver because the
transportation guy told dad you couldn't drive for a while.

They actually just took it away from us. Elder Z. got his green dot. So we're back on the bike.

How's the Spanish this week? You really need to make sure you speak to
your companion in Spanish even though you can both speak English and it
would be easier to communicate that way.

Much better. We both suck haha but we get a lot practice in the lessons now which is good.

Did you send out your Christmas cards? Remember, I need one.

Can I send them like a postcard, or do I need to get envelopes?

Do you have any thank you cards? I am hoping you will send a little
note to anyone who sends you anything for Christmas.

Ok I'll try to find some. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything that I need to do.

December 15, 2011

Alright so I am officially no longer greenie. SO happy that the training is over. Now I feel like I have at least a little experience. We got transfers today. What happened is that I stayed in Santa Ana 5to North and Elder Z. went to the south side. So he is going to stay in the ward, so we'll still see each other a lot. My new companion is Elder S. He is from the Dallas area. He is ok, pretty quiet. He has only been here one transfer longer than me, so he doesn't really speak Spanish either. So it should be interesting haha. But anyways, transfers is kinda fun. Its kinda excited to have a new start and meet new people and get used to working with a new human. So it should be good. They gave us the car too, so that's really good because its starting to get a little cold and a little wet. So things are looking pretty good. Now we just gotta go do some nice baptisms!

On Friday or Saturday morning, I need to get your Christmas gifts in the
mail so this is your last chance to tell me your wishes.

I'm not sure what to ask for. So I don't really know. Dress pants and I think I want a nice Duck's sweatshirt. I would go get one myself, but I can't leave Santa Ana and they don't have any nice things here-- haha. Maybe you could send me like a paper with different sweatshirt options and I could select from that list.

Are you ready for transfer day?  Will you be sad to lose Elder Z. as your companion?  Remember to get his home info so you can keep in touch.   Are you ready to get used to someone else?

Ya, it was a little sad because we got to be pretty good friends, but my new companion seems alright. His name is Elder S. He is from the Dallas area. He is only one transfer ahead of me, so he doesn't speak very good Spanish yet either. So it might be interesting.

Did your translator arrive?

Oh ya---- thank you!

What kind of jacket did you buy at Dick's and why?  Why did you have to
spend $50 more at the bike store? What do you buy at Food 4 Less?  I
thought your groceries came out of your mission credit card.

It was like a Nike golf pullover. For when it is a little brisk at night. I ran out of mission funds so I had to use personal funds last week. So I'm going to have to be a little more thrify with the mission funds from now on.

How is your new bike?

Awesome it runs great. Except now they gave us a car so I don't think I'll be using it as much this transfer haha.

Did you have a baptism today?

Nope.

Something funny this week.

um, can't really think of a particular story, just a lot of little things.

Have you heard from any of your friends lately?  I talked to Brooke
Johnson at the basketball game the other night and gave her your
address.

Ya we have a little email board for all of us.

How are the countdown packages?  Remember Elder Z. takes his if you
get split this week.

They are totally sweet. Yep, he took his with him.

Did you like the Christmas photo cards?  Please send one to me.  I
forgot to keep one for us.

Make me :)

Are you following all the mission rules?

Of course not.

How is your sleep?

mas o menos

How's the food been this week?

mas o menos

Any contacts?  I thought maybe you would be spending most of your time
working with less active or partial-member families.

There aren't a lot of members in our half of the ward. Most of them live in the other half.

Do you know your Christmas plans?  Do you do anything special as a
mission? Do you know where you will be calling us from?

Umm I actually haven't heard a lot regarding Christmas. I think I'll be calling from our cell phone but I'm not sure.

How's the Spanish this week?
Its a lot better actually.

December 8, 2011

So this week was pretty good. It didn't feel like we made a ton of progress, but I guess we are just planting the seeds as we wait for something good to happen. I guess a story of interest would be what happened, I believe on Monday. We were doing our morning stuff, when one of our less active members called Elder Z. She told him that she needed him to bring the American (that's me) to the donut shop down the street to translate what she was saying to the owner, a little Korean woman. I guess the story was that this big angry Mexican woman, had left her purse in the donut shop and she assumed that the Korean woman had stolen it. So by the end of the ordeal, I was in the middle of a really weird argument. It was really loud and there was at least 3 different languages being thrown around me. Haha it was an experience that's for sure.

I know you had some of your own winds last week too. Bro. Echeverria
reminded us about "THE SANTA ANA" winds. How was your weather last
week?

I really haven't noticed any winds quite yet. It was a little cooler though for sure. I actually wore my sweater for the first time.

Did you get your bike?

The mission office just called to say that it just came in. So we are going to get it in like 30 minutes.

Last week you couldn't think of anything funny to tell me because you
said you were stressed. Why?     

Because I keep forgetting to have fun haha. But we're all good now.

Tell me something funny that happened this week.

Well I acted as the translator between a big angry Mexican lady and a poor little Korean woman. I'll elaborate more in another email.

Tell me 3 good things about the week.

1. The Christmas ties were a big hit. Every one in the ward thought we were so funny.

2. I shared my testimony on Sunday. It was scary, but I think I did alright.

3. We cleaned the crap out of our apartment today for Deep Cleaning Monday. Since we have transfers next week, we have to clean our apartment to be spotless. It is practically glowing.

You mentioned a baptism scheduled for December 11th. Is that still
happening?

Hopefully. This lady is having problems with her work schedule as far as Sundays go. So hopefully, but I don't know.

Are you enjoying your countdown to Christmas package?

Oh yes of course.

Why was your letter writing time so short last week?

Not sure.

I figured that not this Wednesday but the next is transfer day. Is that
correct? Do you have any ideas what will happen with you? I remember
that you went to the temple last transfer week and your letter was
delayed. Will that be happening again?

Austin and Elder Z.

Transfers are Tuesday. Most likely, I will stay here and Elder Z. will move on. However, I'm not sure if I'll get a son, or if I'll be with an experienced missionary.

November 28, 2011

How was your Thanksgiving? Did they serve anything different?

Well we had 2 thanksgivings. The first was with the Patino family. No they are not Italian. They are investigators and are always super nice. They invited us to join their family gathering. I could not believe how many people were there. They jammed like 30 people in their tiny townhouse. I wish I had taken a picture. It was unbelievable. It was a traditional American thanksgiving. Except they served lasanga. Again they are not Italian. Also they served Pasoli, which is like a Guatemulan beef soup. It was pretty good.

For our second helping, we went to the Najera house with the other companionship. They gave us one plate of American thanksgiving food and another with Mexican food. They admitted they were just playing lip service to the holiday. But we were all absolutely stuff at the end of the day.

Did you get your bike today?

Not yet. Hopefully sometime during the week.

Pants-Do you like pleated or flat front?

Either or.

We ordered 20 picture Christmas cards for you. We used the picture of
you in front of the temple in your new suit. They are really cute. We
missed this week's mail, so those will get to you next week. Do you
need any addresses?

Um, I'm not sure I quite understand what you want me to do with those cards. Perhaps you could re-explain to me.

I am glad that the food is getting better for you. That is so sweet of
the sisters to ask you what you want to eat. Do you ever offer to help
cleanup, set the table, etc? Do you still eat lunch AND dinner at
members' homes?

Only dinner. Of course we clean up. Sometimes Elder Z. helps cook. I'm really no good at that kind of stuff, although on Thursday, we went over to the Patino house early to help out and I cut up some nice veggies.

We bought a leaf blower and vacuum and cleaned up a bunch of leaves the
other day. The next day it needed to be done again, but the garbage
cans were full. Have you participated in any service activities?

Not any organized ones. But we have stopped to rake leaves, carry in bags of food, and even wash cars as we ride though the streets.

*Be sure you secure your new bike. Buy a lock. Where do you keep it at night?

We keep the bikes in our apartment at night.

*Wednesday night, Sammy and I went to see the new Twilight movie. You don't need to put it on your list to see when you get home.

Oh good, now I can stop losing sleep over it.

*Tell me something funny that happened this past week.

Its hard to remember right now. I'm pretty stressed out.

*Tell me 3 good things about the past week.

1. We had some real nice Thanksgiving food. Twice.

2. Yadira Carreon finally came to church for the first time. We have been been trying to get her to church since the day I got here. We also secured a baptismal date for the 11th of December.

3. I'm finally starting to figure out what people are saying. The hard part is formulating a response.

November 24, 2011

Rainy day in Santa Ana

Well, well, well. Another week down in the good old mish. This week I think I started to turn the corner with a lot of things. I realized that the member actually kinda like; they feed me just about whatever I want.
In our ward the Relief Society makes a list of who is going to be
feeding the missionaries during the next week. The sisters usually come
up to me afterwards and ask me what I want to eat. I usually just tell
him that I'll eat anything but salad and rabbit food. Which is true. I
think my eating habits have really changed since I've gotten here. Also
the Spanish is starting to turn the corner as well. Me and Elder Z.
decided that we are only going to talk in Spanish and that we are going
to label the crap out of our apartment with Spanish notecards. So I
think things are really going to pick up next week. This last week was
just kind of a rebuilding process.

How was your week?
Better. Things are starting to look up.

Did you get your Spanish books?  The Book of Mormon CD's?  They told me
10-14 days, so probably not.

I did get the books. Thank you so much. The Verb book is super helpful.
I haven't seen the Book of Mormon CDs yet though.


I was wondering if you would like some Christmas cards to send out.  I
could order some of those photo cards from Target using one of those
pictures they took or you could send me a current photo.  What do you
think?

Sure. I'll have to start taking pictures then hahaha.

Funny experience for the week?

Yesterday we were riding our bikes around and we found this house that
is just covered in garbage. Like absolutely surrounded by crap. It was
almost artistical, the way it was arranged. But it was so ridiculous and
kinda cool. We'll have to go back and take pictures so I can show you.

Three good things about the week?

1. Spanish is getting better. I have been studying for about 2 hours a
day, and I can finally start to see the results.
2. Me and Elder Z. went to the Salvation Army store and bought about
15 ties for like 20 bucks. It was pretty sweet.
3. Went on a nice temple tour on Saturday. So that was good.

Do you still have the orange camera?  Please send it home.

Ok. The thing about that thought is that literally right after I sent
that awful demanding letter home about the said camera, I noticed that
the screen had a large crack in it. Just so you know. I'm not sure what
happened.

Do you want another suit for Christmas or just some pants?

First priority is probably pants. I can try to measure myself if need
be.

I need your sizes for your wish list.  I need a bit more info about the
shoes you described last week.  Where do I get Echo shoes?  Did you say
you want a maroon color?

Umm I bet they would have them at Mr. Mac. They run in European sizes,
and I think I need a 44. I'm not sure what color I would prefer. I'll
let you decide.

What size long sleeve shirts?  I bought you some, but you sent them back
to me when we bought all those new short sleeve ones.  Help me remember
the size.

16.

What are you doing with all the clothes you don't like?

Right now they are in my suitcase. I'm not sure what I'll do with them
next.

Do you think you will stay with Elder Z. next transfer?

Most likely not. He has already been in this area for 9 months. I'm sure
he feels like he is going to die here.

How is the Spanish this week?

Much better.

Contacts?
I'll let you know when we find them.

The temple at night

November 14, 2011

Well I can't think of much to say this week. I'ts amazing. As soon as we get into the computer center at the chapel, I immediately forget everything that we did this week. At the moment nothing comes to mind. I guess the biggest thing of interest is that we are doing a lot of contacting now. We had to drop almost all of our investigators last week, so now we are doing a lot to try and find new ones. We usually just ride our bikes up and down Bristol Street in an effort to find people. We usually speak to crowd at the bus stop or at the crosswalk. So far we haven't found anyone, but we just got to keep it up, I suppose. I'm still having trouble with the language, but my understanding is getting a lot better. Last night we watched a special Spanish-only broadcast from Salt Lake. One of the speakers was Elder Doxey of the Seventy. He is about as white as it gets, but his Spanish was absolutely flawless. I think watching other gringos speak the language boosts my spirits and gives me hope. But it still is rough. 

Hi mom. I love you.

I think I need some pants badly. I only have like 3 pairs. Do you think you could get me some? Maybe some nice gray, striped ones. Just some nice variety. Also, its getting a little cooler. Could you send me some more long sleeves? Thats funny to think that I am whining about being cold here, when Brett is in freaking Alaska. hahaha

How are things back home?

Any news with the NBA?

Is Adam Sandler's career over yet? Holy cow those "Jack and Jill" ads are everywhere and it just looks awful. This is really getting sad. He needs to just go home and enjoy his money.

Where the heck is that Van Tussenbrook newsletter?

Also, I thought of some good Christmas gifts. Some nice slip-on slippers. Two piece pajama set. Ties. Lots of ties. A belt. Pants. A pair of shoes. I think I want some Ecco shoes. Like in Corovan though. Is that how you call it? Its like that burgandy color. Ya those are cool. The slip on shoes I brought are just too big. I'm going to try and send them home. P-Day is just too short. It's crazy.

Do you have mailing addresses for your friends? I would like to send
them a Thanksgiving card and maybe a little something for Christmas.

I do not. I'm sure you could find their mission home addresses or their parents would probably know.

Any further contact with Margarita?

A little. She is also taking lessons from the Jehovah's Witnesses as well, so we are having to compete with them over her schedule, so its a little tough.

I am curious about your P-day schedule? Do you play sports? Laundry,
shopping, etc.?

We wake up, do laundry and study, clean the apartment for a little bit, then we go to the church for email and dodgeball with the zone. After that we do shopping, finish cleaning. maybe write a few letters. Then at 6:00 we're out the door.

You mentioned that you were writing your letters at some other
missionaries' apartment? Where do they live? How close is that to you?

There are 4 missionaries working in the Santa Ana 5th ward. We work the north half and they have the south half, so they are pretty close. They are pretty funny. Elder Almeida is from Venzuela and his companion, Elder Centeno was born in Mexico, but lives in Norwood California.

Are you allowed to give me your mailing address so that I can send
things directly to you? I have to mail on Saturday morning if I want
things to get to you from your weekly zone leader delivery.

I think all the mail has to go the mission office. I'm not sure if we even have a mailbox at the apartment.

Dad has written letters to you through Dear Elder. Do you receive
those?

Yep.

Thanksgiving plans yet?

As for dinner, I think we are going to eat at the Perez house. They are super nice. The dad isn't a member, but he has been going to church every week for the last 10+ years. They told me that I am the the 105th missionary that they have had in their home

Funny experience for the week?

I can't think of specific funny moment, but its just really funny to teach Elder Zamora new words in English.  Oh also, its getting a little cooler, like 70 degrees and everyone here is acting like its -30. They all look in me in my short sleeve shirt like I am crazy. Its pretty funny and I hear "Como no tiene frio?" mulitiple times a day. 

November 7, 2011

Well just celebrated our first Halloween in the field. Only a few
costume jokes, haha. For living in a Mexican neighborhood, I was
expecting a little more chaos, but it was acutally pretty tame. We are
having quite a few challenges right now. I don't know if you remember
that Isaac guy I talked about, the rocker? But anyway, he was literally
hours away from being baptized before he flew the coop. He just didn't
want to change his image. As such, he spent the last couple weeks
avoiding us. We finally got a hold of him last night and told him not to
expect us to visit him anymore. I think that is the part of missionary
work that most people don't realize. Sometimes, you have to cut them
loose. We can't force anyone to repent and if they don't want to we have
to find better ways to use our time. It was a real shame. Most of the
blame probably goes toward his wife. She was totally undercutting us,
telling US when we could come over and talk to him. Isaac really loved
our message and knew it was true but we just could work around his wife.
When we told them that we had to start using our time in other ways, he
was pretty sad. But he wasn't willing to do what it takes. And his wife
wasn't willing to help us or him make those changes. In fact, she was
persuading him the other way. Again, it was a real shame. Hopefully one
day, he will crack down and do what it takes.

Someone recommended to me that I get the Book of Mormon on CD and get a
CD player and listen to that during my language study. Maybe you grab
those things and send them along. Elder Z. thinks that would be a
really good idea as do I.

I haven't had a chance to work on the Spanish items you want.  Would it
be easier for you to go to a bookstore and get the dictionary and verb
book that you want?  I am also not sure what you have in mind for a
translator.
We really don't have any means to get to the bookstore, I think the book
I want is the Barron's 601 verb book and the 1001 Spanish pitfalls and
maybe a slang book.

Tell me something amusing that has happened this week?
Well we finally had someone come to church. Her name is Margarita. She
was also babysitting 7 kids at the time so we had to round up all those
kids and chase them all over the chapel. It was kinda funny and
ridiculous seeing the kids follow us like baby ducklings.

What did you do on Halloween?
Tracted, with not much success.

Do you have any Thanksgiving plans?
Not sure.

Any thoughts for Christmas?
I think just clothes. Pants, ties, maybe a pair of shoes. I only have
about 3 pants that I wear. I only wear one pair of the two I brought
too.
 Testimony experiences, hmm, I will hand write them.

Do you have a favorite family that often feeds you?
Hmm, I'm not sure if we have had anyone multiple times. They are all
nice.

Any contacts this week?
unfortunately no.

How is your mission president?  Do you see him very often?
He is well. I think I see him a couple times a month.

October 31, 2011

Well I apologize that I haven't been able to write something in quite a
while. Our schedule has been pretty crazy. Let me try to get you up to
speed. First thing, I cannot speak Spanish. It is the hardest and most
frustrating thing I have ever done. I feel like I have forgotten
everything that I learned at the MTC. It gets really discouraging at
times, and I think about giving up a lot. Learning a language just looks
like such a daunting task. I'm really not sure how to go about learning
Spanish. It seems like none of the stuff I am doing in my language study
is working. I feel as if I am regressing everyday. It is just the
absolute worst feeling when someone looks and you and says something
that they expect you to be able to respond to and to not be able to.
Also, we are having a hard stuff with the actual missionary work. We
haven't had a investigator come to church in about 3 weeks. So that is
also though. But on a humorous note, it is starting to cool down here.
Its only about 70*, but poor Elder Z. from Mexico is freezing! He
usually wears his winter coat, while I stay in my short sleeve shirt
haha.


I am a bit confused; has your P-day been permanently moved to Thursday
or was that just for last week?
That was only for last week, so we could go to the temple. We didn't
even get to do a session because we got there too late so we just did
initiatories.

I am glad you talked to your zone leader about learning another
language.  How is the Spanish this week?  Please let us know when local
missionaries from you area come home.  I would like to go to their
homecomings and meet them.

Jen and Val saw your picture of the baptism (Juan's?) in the mission
office.  Any baptisms coming up?  Contacts you have made recently?
No. Our area is kinda falling apart. Most of the people are pretty lazy
and don't like to come to church or read. We haven't had an investigator
in church for like 3 weeks.

How was the Newport Beach Temple?  Mary North said it is pink!
Its a little rosy, not super bright pink. The local city officials asked
the church to make it that way so that it wouldn't stand out so much. I
think it is the only pink temple in the world.

This is your 6 week mark.  I think transfers are on a 6 week rotation.
Are you going to be staying with Elder Z. in Santa Ana?
Yep. One or both of us will probably be transferred next cycle.

How's the food lately from other people and your groceries?  Any new
tastes you have acquired?
I've been eating a lot more beans than usual. I almost always clean my
plate at dinner, so long as there aren't any veggies.

Which of your friends have you heard from lately?
I've heard from Issac, Eric, Brett, and Dalyn Van Tussenbrook this week
haha.

What do you do on Halloween evening?  Camille Carlson told Dad that
Tanner is supposed to be in his apartment by 6 p.m. and stay there for
the rest of the night.
Wow that's funny. I haven't heard anything. I'm pretty sure we are still
going to go work tomorrow.

October 27, 2011

Dear Mom,
Sorry I'm being kinda rushed for time again. Hopefully I can do an entry
for the website and answer your question a little better. Thank you so
much for the suit. It is quite sharp and it fits great. I'm attatching a
picture to show you. Love you. I wish P-Day was a little longer. Love
you thanks for everything.


Did Izaac get baptized on Saturday?

No because he refuses to take out his earrings. So we have to wait on
that for awhile.

Did you ever talk with anyone about your frustrations last week?

No.

What did you decide to do about a bike?

I don't know. I can't bite the bullet yet.

Did you get the box that Jennifer took down?  If not, she didn't drop it
off until Thursday so you will get two boxes this week.  It will be like
Christmas.

I got both boxes on Wednesday after district meeting. Everyone in my
zone was hating big time.

How are things with Elder Zamora?  Do you know anything about his
family?

Good. I think he is a convert. I don't think his parents are members.

Do you have time to send a card to your cousins this week?  Can you
believe Porter becomes a teenager on Friday?

I'll send it today. NO I cannot believe it.

Do you read my letters?

Of course thank you.

Tell me something about the people you spend time with.

I'm kinda being rushed for time right now. I'll fill you in more on
Monday.

How is your health?
I ain't dead yet.

October 10, 2011

Well I guess pretty much all the excitement from this last week came
yesterday, on Sunday. In sacrament meeting, our top dog investigator,
Juan was confirmed a member of the Church. Our bishop, Bishop Flores did
the confirmation. It was pretty cool. We were nervous that Juan wasn't
going to be able to find a ride to church, but right before they blessed
the sacrament, he walked in the chapel, to which we promptly walked him
up to the front of the congregation. Talk about perfect timing. In the
testimony portion, all 4 of the missionaries in the ward bore their
testimonies. It was nerve-wracking to do it in Spanish, but I think I
did ok. I'm going to set a goal to do it every month in my mission.
Lately we have been getting a lot of headaches from one of our
investigators, Izaac. He is a stone cold metalhead. He has hair halfway
down his back, gages in both ears and one nostril, and always can be
found wearing black. But the thing is, he is a super gentle guy. He
loves meeting with us, he even watched some of General Conference with
us last week. He is married and has a 10 year old daughter named Mistik. 
Lately, the problems that him and his wife Susana are having at home have become a lot more prevalent in our lessons.There is often a lot of tension when the 4 of us meet outside on theirporch. But last night, we invited Mistik to join us for the first time and that really cooled things down. We asked to Mistik to say the prayer at the end of the lesson, and after her cute little 10 year girl prayer, Izaac just started bawling. It was a very strong moment. After we sat there and let Izaac get it out for a minute, we invited the whole family
to be baptized and they all accepted. It was a great moment inmissionary work.

Questions and Answers:
I think my cousin Jennifer is going to California not this week, but the
next. Do you think you can wait until then for your jacket and I will
send it down with her? Anything else you might want me to send? Just
for the record, I am not going to replace all your pants.
Um ya I can probably wait. Some garments would also be nice. Fine.

What size rain jacket should I get?
Not sure. Just to let you have an idea of my size, I am 5'11" and weigh
170 pounds. So I am skinny and tallish.

I have put money in your account for a bike. How much do you think you
are going to spend?
Not sure. I'm scared to death to pay a lot for a bike because this is
the part of town where it could very easily get stolen. So maybe between
200-300

Grandma and Grandpa want to know if you are allowed to receive emails
from them.
Of course. Sammy too. I think the rule is family, mission president, and
other missionaries. So ya they can.

I would like to hear a little bit about the people that you spend time
with. Tell me about members that you have met, people that you are
teaching, etc.
Well they are switching up a lot of the ward missionary assignments
here, so I'm not really sure who the new guys are.

Do you feel like Spanish is getting any easier?
A little bit. I can understand probably about 60% of what is being said
most of the time.

I would like to know about your grocery shopping and what you eat when
you are at home. Are you still eating often at members'?
At home, PBJ, grilled cheese. There is a pizza place down the street
called La Pizza Loca that sells a 3 foot long pizza for like $10. So
sometimes we grab one of those for the both of us. Everyone feeds us.
Members, less active members, investigators, strangers. Everyone. Most
days we eat 2-3 dinners. Sorry I was writing my letter to the president.
Um, they feed us a lot of meats, beans, and rice. and torillas. We have
torillas every meal. On P-Day we usally play either dodgeball or indoor
soccer in the chapel against the Costa Mesa district. Since we have 3
Hispanics and one semi-athletic gringo, we usually beat the whiteys in
Costa Mesa in soccer.

Do you guys ever just laugh together or is it serious business all the
time?
We laugh all the time. Elder Z. is actally pretty funny and he is
pretty good at being funny in English. I know I should try to convey the
fun that we have more often in my letters. We really do have a lot of
fun.
Sorry sorry sorry. I was writing my letter to Pres. Bowen. I have to go.
Next week I'll write my letter to him first thing, so you and I can talk
afterward. Love you! Give my best to everyone. Talk to you soon.

Got to go! SO much love!!!

September 30, 2011

Well this weekend was quite eventful. We watched conference at the big
Greenville chapel in Costa Mesa. It was quite a gathering. They had
multiple rooms each dedicated to a different language. They had Samoan,
Tongan, English and Spanish. We watched most of conference in the
Spanish chapel. I couldn't understand everything, but I could decipher
the main idea. So that was an interesting experience.  But the real
exciting part is that after the morning session on Saturday, I had my
first baptism. The name of the guy we baptized is Juan Audirac, he works
maintainence at the Honda Center and he is just a really nice and
receptive guy. I can barely speak Spanish, so I didn't really contribute
much to the teaching, but Elder Z. wanted me to perform the
the ordinance  .I'll have to figure it out or later. But it was a neat
experience. We'll have to have baptisms more often. But after conference, I was

First Baptism Juan Audirac with Elder Z.

really feeling down about how the language was going, so I called
President Bowen, and went over to the mission home and talked with him for about an hour and he gave me a priesthood blessing. So I felt a lot
better after that.


Answers to questions:
We email from a family history center room in the chapel in Costa Mesa.
I usually email for about an hour. I email you, and all my friends in
the field.
Now most of the member know that I hate vegetables, so they are pretty
accommodating.
See other email about the baptism
About 4-5 new contacts
The Spanish is not coming any easier
Elder Z. is ok. I can't really figure him out. He has a very
different personality type than I'm used to, but he's ok.
I think I'm buying a bike this week, could you make sure I have
sufficent funds on my card?
They gave us a mission credit card, which is where the $150 and the $60
for bags is.
Sleep is good. I have a terrible mattress, so my back is killing me.
The apartment is ok. The walls are paper thin, so we can hear almost
everything going on in our neighbor's room.
We did go to McDonalds the other day.
Yep, conference in Spanish
I share my testimony every day
Um, well at Ross today, I noticed that they have a lot of good dress
pants so I bought a few pairs. I think they might be too small so I'm
going to return them, but if you could maybe pick up some either at Ross
or Kohl's for cheap that would be awesome. I like the ones that are
somewhat on the border of conservative and flashy, like a nice charcoal
or something. I think I need a 34 waist now ( I know fat huh?) The Mish
Mall pants are not my style.
Oh and ties. Can't ever have enough ties. Elder Zamora has like 30. Ross
has some really good cheap ties.
I love you mommy. It means the world to me to have a family back home
who is behind me 100%. I love you guys. I'll try to find time to write
sometime today.

September 23, 2011

Well I finally made it to California. Only I'm not entirely sure I'm still in the United States. They sent me to the north side of Santa Ana, which I'm convinced was recently annexed by Mexico. EVERYONE here is Hispanic. I seriously haven't seen another white guy out on the streets yet. So I think that is pretty funny. My companion is Elder Z., from Chihuahua, Mexico. He is a pretty stinking good missionary. He knows just about everyone. I'm told he didn't know a word of English before his mission. He and I can communicate pretty well in English. As for the Spanish, I have learned that there is a HUGE difference between MTC Spanish and real native Spanish. I can hardly keep up. Everyone here talks so fast, it really throws me off big time. So now I'm have to pretty much start from scratch. Elder Z. is pretty patient with me and tries to help me out. But its a little frustrating right now. I think this is a least I've ever talked in a single week in my life. Hopefully it comes soon.

So they have us out on bikes in our area. Our area, Santa Ana 5 North, probably covers a couple square miles, but there are plenty of people to talk to here. Most of the homes here usually have at least 2 families in their little house. One house we teach, the C. family, has 2 separate sets of parents, and 2 other guys in their house. I think there are 11 people in that little house. I don't know how they all fit in one house. But they are super nice and always like to have us over. One of the other guys living with the C., Juan, is getting baptized this Saturday, in between conference sessions. So that's pretty cool.

So ya, I'm here, I'm confused, but I'm having fun and learning a lot. Hopefully the Spanish will come along soon. 

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR THE FAMILY:

*Tell me all about your companion. Name, where from, how long has he
been out, are you two getting along ok?

Elder Z., from Chihuahua, Mex. He has been out a little more than a year and we are getting along just fine.

*Food. What are you eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner? Have you had
any dinner appointments? Cooking?

We usually have lunch and dinner at a member's house. I try to eat as much as I can choke down. The other day, we had subs, with all that nasty vegetable stuff. I tried to choke it down but I almost barfed all over. I do not know how people can eat that crap, the texture of a slimy sliced tomato slivering down my throat was more than I can handle. I don't really know what to do about that.

*Housing. Where is it located, what is it like, an apartment or
someone's basement, Furnishings, what's the neighborhood like?

We live in Villa del Sol in Santa Ana. Its like a set of apartments for low income families. As far as furnishing goes, there's not much. Looks like some nice DI pieces. As far as the neighborhood goes, I think I am the only whitey in town here.

*How was your first church experience today in CA? What was the ward
like? All Spanish?

Church was weird. It was all in Spanish. The chapel we go to is huge. I'm told it is the second biggest chapel in the world. It has 2 chapels, two floors, a full sized gym and an elevator. All separate from each other. The members were all pretty nice.

*How's the Spanish? Do you practice with your companion?

Hard. Everyone talks so fast, I can't believe it. But me and Elder Z. practice everyday.

*Contacts made? Members, prospective members, anyone whom you are their
first church contact?

We talk with a lot of people. We've only been invited in a couple of times. The first lesson always goes well, but when we come back in a day or so, they aren't interested anymore. Not sure why.

*Transportation. Do you guys have a car, need a bike, walking, public
transportation?

Bike. I haven't bought one yet, so I'm riding a member's. I would just go buy one, but Elder Z. doesn't want me to spend so much. Besides, I think he comes from a house where they don't have a lot, so I would feel weird throwing down a couple hundred on a bike.

*Any surprises? Things happen that they didn't prepare you for in the
MTC?

The language. So different. And I'm not sure what to do about the food.

*How are you feeling about this whole experience?

I feel pretty good. Its a little tough right now, but I think I expected it to be hard. So I'm not too overwhelmed right now.

*Do you go to the church building for General Conference?

Yes.
*Do you get to go to the temple?

Haven't heard anything about that yet.
*Do you need anything?
Maybe you could get a new stamp made with the mission office's address. That is where all the mail will go. Tell Sam to log into my Facebook and put the new address up.  

I really could use some food. Other than that, I think I'm good.

Arriving in Anaheim!

Alright I made it to the OC safe and sound. Here is a picture of the group that came in today. President and Sister Bowen are awesome. We are pretty much spending the afternoon at the mission home just relaxing. Its a little foggy today, but other than that, it is totally sweet here in California.

Love you. Talk to you soon.

More info coming on P-Day.
--
Elder Facer

September 16, 2011

Well this is my final email from the MTC. I can't believe I'm finally getting out of the "Provo Jail". Today we are at Infield Orientation, so our schedule for the rest of the time here is a little irregular. So tomorrow I'll will be doing my laundry and going to the temple and whatnot. But I think we're all getting pretty anxious to get out and about. This last week saw some pretty interesting events. On Sunday, for our fireside, we did something a little different. We didn't have a speaker. Instead we watched the special 9/11 Music and the Spoken Word broadcast. It was pretty good. I was a little disappointed in Tom Brokaw's performance, but what can you do? The clips of the attacks always put a lump in my throat. Especially the clips of the second plane hitting the tower. But the music that the choir did was really nice. On Monday, I snapped at Elder T. I was kinda joking around during study time with the rest of the district, when he told us to be quiet. In my defense, he did say it in kind of a rude way, but my response wasn't justified. I just stood up and yelled almost as loud as I could for him to shut up! I think it really got to him, because he was quiet pretty much all day. I felt bad almost all day as well. I apologized to him back in the residence, and said I would try to do a better job of staying focused. He said he really appreciated the apology. So it all worked out good. On Tuesday, Elder Ballard came and talked with us as an MTC. It was a pretty big surprise. We were just sitting there singing the prelude hymn when suddenly the front of the auditorium stood up. I didn't know what the crap was going on. Eventually I figured it out. So that was a pretty cool way to have our last devotional at the MTC. After the devotional, I bid Jeremy farewell. The last of my friends that I'll see on my mission. I'm pretty excited for when we all get back and share all our stories. And it was really cool to have Jeremy just a couple of floors away. On Wednesday, we were assigned to host the new missionaries again. They assigned me to host an international missionary that had arrived the day before. I hosted a guy named Elder Simon, from Kiribati. He is assigned to work in the Washington Spokane English speaking mission. So he has to learn English here. He spoke it pretty good though. He was pretty funny. I guess this is his first time in America, and he told me that he has never been in weather this cold before. I wonder how he'll react to his first winter. But it was pretty humbling helping him with his luggage. He fit all his possessions for the next 2 years in one little suitcase and one backpack. I'm thinking about giving him a shirt or something. But thats about it for the last week. Pretty excited to head on Tuesday.

Answers to questions: 

I will probably send home a package soon. With my memory card. I don't know if I'll have time to write down what everything is. I think I've taken about 250 pictures. Most of them are probably self explanitory.

I did buy new scriptures. They are small. They will be better for tracting. I am going to use the ones that Sam got me for the personal study and keep the other ones in my backpack.

I got my second shot about a month ago. Didn't I tell you this? That was that big 140 dollar withdrawal

The haircut is ok. I'll send pictures.

They do have dry cleaners here. I have gotten my suit cleaned three times. Too many times, I know.

The new mailroom opened on Wednesday. I got the package. Thank you so much. I can't think of anything else. At this point, maybe start sending the boxes to California. I have to start packing tonight.

I feel ready, I'm not sure how prepared I am. I guess I'm just expecting a little baptism by fire when I get here.

4 of the Elders in my district are leaving on Tuesday. Elder O. has to let his finger heal a little longer, so he will be staying at the MTC for like 2-3 more weeks.

Me and Elder T. fly with 12 other Elders on Tuesday. I haven't met any of them.
Sleep is still good.

I'm not sure when my P-Day will be in CA. I guess I'll find out when I get there.

Love you. I am a little sad that this Friday is a little off. I was looking forward to trading emails back and forth. I can't wait to call you guys on Tuesday. I'll call as soon as I get through security. Love you!

I guess there is a rumor that the departing missionaries might get to go to the game tomorrow. That would be so cool. I kinda doubt it at this point, because I guess kick off is at 7:30. So kinda unlikely, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Love you! Talk to you soon!