It's crazy here
haha but I love it! I guess I'll start with telling you guys what it's
like! So I ended up getting
assigned to like the nicest area in my mission! So that's good! And the apartment we have is pretty good!
Compared to others haha but it's not the nicest. First off we have to hot water, again haha
the joke in the mtc with having no hot water was that we were just getting
prepared for Mexico! It turned out to be
true, cuz every morning it's a ASL ice bucket Challenged! It's not that much
fun haha. And it's like winter time here
so it gets pretty cool. And just about every window in my building is broken,
and the building isn't insulated either, so it gets pretty cold at night lol
the first few days, I didn't have a blanket. So the nights were long haha. But I have two now, so I'm happy! But it also smells funny here in Mexico. They have big open canals of just straight up
crap. So yeah it's not pleasant, but I
think I'm getting use to it haha. And
there are some many wild dogs here! And they poop EVERYWHERE. I stepped in
some. That was a nice present haha. There's also a bunch of dog foot prints in
the concrete from when they poured it, and then the dogs ran through it haha
But all the stray dogs are pretty chill. The only ones that want to kill me are up on
the roof, or behind the fence. And man
they're scary haha my first day here I think I jumped like 5 times lol. But I
guess if a dog really wanted to, it could jump. My mission president said he saw a dog jump
and kill itself. But the people
here have mean dogs to help protect their homes. Robbery is a pretty big
problem here. Every window has iron bars
across them, and each building is surrounded but barbed or razor wire lol. There are also trains that go through my
area. And today I saw two dudes standing
on top, and they had assault weapons to
guard the train. Well at least I think
they were security lol.
The food here is
good! And I haven't gotten sick yet! "Yet", being the key word there. Every greengo here gets sick at least a couple
times. It's just a part of life haha. And
speaking of greengos, I stand out pretty good! I'm taller and whiter than pretty much
everyone. Except maybe 3 others haha so
people stare at me a lot lol. One Sister
Missionary here who is from Utah said in one area, they would take pictures of
her. Almost like they've never even seen
a greengo before haha. I might end up in
that area too lol. But someone here told
me that I look like I'm from the coast, so at least I didn't get too white in Utah!
That's good! But I'm still noticeably taller than most
people haha. I have to duck to walk
under some of the street canopies. And
speaking of street canopies, if you want to experience Mexico, just go the farmers
market by my house. It's exactly the
same haha.
Most of the people
here are nice! There's only one guy here
who yells and cusses at us haha.
But the people
here have also figured out how to cuss at each other on the road with they're
car horns. Certain patterns mean certain
things haha.
The language is a
butt kicker. They don't speak Spanish here, they speak Mexican! And I can't understand anything! But it's coming slowly. And it's a good thing
my companion is a native Speaker! His
Name is Elder Cornejo! He's super
awesome! He's from Chile, and loves American
music, so he'll start singing random songs here haha. He's been out for 8 months today and he's been
learning English here! And his English
is pretty good! And has been a huge
help! But he's not a huge fan of the
food here and when something is spicy, it's really spicy for him! He almost died earlier from the panda express
food here haha. Yeah they have panda! And it's in the Wal-Mart, which is nicer than
the Wal-Marts back home haha. But yeah
my companion is super great and a hard worker and loves to have fun! On Saturday, my whole zone did a community
service project! We painted a couple
play grounds, pulled a ton of weeds and cut some grass! I think I know why Mexicans like bright
colors some much, cuz without it there would be nothing but depressing grey
here haha. So a lot of buildings and
every play ground here is painted with bright colors. The weeds we were pulling had a bunch of dog
poop in them that couldn't be avoided, so we got covered in it and there aren't
any lawnmowers or weed whackers here, so we had to use machetes to cut the
grass! It was hard work, but fun! One of the Native Elders here said I cut
grass like a man! So yeah I felt pretty cool hahaha. And the people here are always blasting
music! A lot of it American! I was so happy to have a break from being
stuck listening to the same stupid songs on the radio, but then I got here and
they play indie rock a lot. It bugs me haha. But they do play the classic Mexican
music too which is okay, but every now and then someone will blast hard core
rock! Which is fine with me cuz I was going through rock n roll recessions haha.
And speaking of rock n roll! I went on
splits one night here with the zone leaders! I was with Elder Allison and he's super
awesome as well! And we had a lesson
with a hard core rocker! Elder Allsion
has been working with him for a couple months now. He had a gnarly black leather vest and
big black leather boots. He had multiple
heavy metal necklaces on and hardcore rings on both hands and an Iron Maiden
shirt on. And when we met with him, i
didn't understand a thing. But Elder Allison had me share my testimony there. And so I said what I could in my broken Spanish,
and when I finished, the man (I don't remember his name which sucks cuz he's
super awesome) we were teaching said, he got the chills while I was testifying
to him of the truthfulness of the gospel, and the Power of the atonement of
Jesus Christ, and that Christ can heal us and change us for the better.
And That I had changed with the help of the atonement.
And then
immediately after, he started to cry. And
that takes a lot for a hard core rocker like him to start crying. So I know the spirit of God was there with us
and that Christ was healing his heart and changing him. He said he wants to be a better person. And he
has a lot of problems to fix, but he's on the right path. And I know that the Gospel is true and that
Christ and God the Father loves all of us, and are just waiting to help us. We just have to let them. My first week here has been great, but also
one of the hardest! I miss my friends
and family back at home. But I'm here to
serve God and the people of Mexico. This
Gospel is true. God is my father and I
am a son of God. I've sacrificed a lot
in my life to be here. And that's because I know that it's what God wants me to
do and I know this Gospel is the restored Gospel of Christ on the Earth. I know that people can be healed and changed
for the better through the atonement of Jesus Christ. This is my testimony and this what I'm
working for and why I'm going through these hardships for. I Hope all of you know these things as well.
But if not, all you have to do is ask God himself and he will send messengers
your way, so that He, Himself, can tell you these things are true. I say these
things In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ Amen.
Love all you
guys!
And I hope to hear
from you soon! I found out today I can
still get dear Elders Here! So please
send me a ton of letters! I love hearing
from you guys and when I'm having a bad day, one letter can make it all better! You have no idea how happy it makes
missionaries to get mail from friends and family!
Have a great
week!
--Elder Elkins
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