2014-12-08, Hola from Mexico

Week 9

So I'm out of time as always! But this time cuz we kept losing power here today! Super annoying!!  Sorry if I didn't get to your emails if you sent me one!  And if you sent me a dear elder or a letter, I won't get the mail until tomorrow.

 So a couple things! 

1. Despite the reckless and lawless driving, I Haven't seen a single car accident here! 

(So maybe stop signs and stops lights and speed limits are there to kill us, cuz I've seen multiple deadly car accidents in America).

2. A kid asked me if I dyed my hair, cuz it's a different color from everyone else's.

3. I've just gotten use to not understanding anything.

4. I went with my zone Christmas Caroling, and we sang in front of a movie theater that had its doors open, and inside I could hear the Guitar song Cliffs of Dover, and then after that a song I recognized, but I don't know the name, but that second song was all mostly screeches that are made with harmonics and the whammy.  But man, I tell you what, a guitar has never sounded so beautiful in the history of the world!  Even the song that was straight screeches! It made miss my Ibanez GR 250 with FAT 6 whammy guitar.  Mom you better not sell that! Sell Jacob instead! hahaha just kidding :P or am I?

5. They're getting ready for Christmas here!  They have it in most of the apartment building windows, and they're playing music too; Most of it American.  It's bringing back memories of home at Christmas time.  I miss those days.  But just two more years right? 

6.  Miss you guys a ton, and I miss all my swing dance friends.  You guys are probably gonna have to re-teach me when I get home! 

7. The air here is terrible.  Some days you can't even see the mountains that are just a couple miles away.  This week I started miss the Sierra Mountains.  Those are my favorite place to be. No noise, no trash (which is EVERYWHERE here), actual wildlife, the songs of the birds, clean air, fresh water.  I can just keep going on and on haha.  Dad!! I wanna do the Pacific Crest Trail with you when we get back!  I need to get out of the City! haha 

8. Apparently everyone here is like anti hunting.  I shared one of my hunting stories with a family we were meeting with.  I didn't think it would have been a problem, but I found out later, that people here are anti hunters.  So people kill each other here, like every day. No problem. But if you kill a squirrel it's a really big problem??? Whaaatt? What crazy place is this??? haha I guess it's because the only wildlife here is stray dogs, and people haha.

9. No we didn't have a Thanksgiving here.  But we're gonna have a zone Christmas activity!! 

10. And the Highlight of the week, is yesterday.  My companion and I taught the Restoration of the Gospel!  Even with my broken Spanish, the spirit testified of my words to Teresa and Irvin, and also to me.  It was very strong, and incredible!  Then, after the Account of the Vision of Joseph Smith, I asked if they would follow the example of our savior and be baptized by someone holding the authority of God!  And they said they Would!!! Which is super awesome!! 

And to make it even better, the area I'm in right now is the nicest area, but the hardest for missionary work.  Not a single person has been baptized here in about 3 years and the ward is super small.  So Irvin and Teresa might very well be the first ones in three years!  I'm super stoked for them! Cuz this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it blesses the lives of everyone who partakes of it! 

God be with you until we meet again! 

Love you Guys! 

-Elder Elkins

Week 8

Man I don't know where to begin! 

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

 

Week 7 - Arrival in Mexico

Hey guys! I have like 5 minutes to write this!

My pdays are on Mondays now, cuz Im in mexico! The key boards are a little different here, so there will be some spelling mistakes haha 

well it is crazy here! but it reminds me a lot of sacramento! But there are some differences, the driving is insane, it smells funny, and no one speaks english haha there are a ton of stray dogs here, so thats fun! But the people are pretty nice! I just finish some in field trainning, and then had dinner, at a members home. and it was really good! I love it here! And I got a super awesome companion! Elder Cornejo! He is from santiago Chile! And he is learning english here too, so we help each other out! Well I gotta go now, but I will write more on monday! Have a great night! Love you guys!  

Week 7

Hola mi amigos!

so another long week here in the mtc! 

But it's my last! And Come monday I'll be in a different country where I won't know what anyone is saying! Awesome right?? hahaha 

I'm super excited to finally get to the mission field and get to know the people, and teach them about Jesus Christ! 

But then I'm scared at the same time haha we Skyped someone from Chile this week! It was cool! But She said something about catholics, families, and a river. That's all I understood, so It'll be interesting when I get there! 

But still super stoked! And It'll be an adventure! I can't wait to get out and finally get to work with people. There's nothing I can say that will scratch the surface on how the Gospel blesses everyone, and how the atonement can heal any pain, and help with any hardship in life. I really don't have much to say about it. It's just amazing, and it's as simple as that. No es facil, pedo es simple! 

So this past week we got about 700 new missionaries in! There's a ton!! But we didn't get a single missionary in our Zone, so after district 18C (my district) and the other one 18B, leave, it's just going to be 6 sister missionaries here! 

So our Zone went from nothing but 40 elders for a few months, so just 6 Sisters haha they're gonna have a fun Priesthood Meeting next week lol 

Nothing much else new here. All the snow melted, so I'm happy, and so are all the island and africa native, missionaries here haha 

It's kinda crazy that this is my ultimo dia de preparacion aqui! And today I've been limping around all day too haha! Last night we were playing soccer in the hallways again, but this time without shoes, and Elder Carreon ended up kicking me right on the bone on the side of my foot, with the ball of his foot! there was a really loud slap, and I could hardly walk because a sharp pain in my foot every time I put weight on it. But Today It's just a little sore, and I'm able to limp around on it with only a little pain. So It's not broken! whoo hoo! And Father like Son right! haha for those of you who don't know, my dad had a severe foot injury after falling 20 feet, so he limped around for a while when recovering haha but my recovery is only gonna take 2 days haha 

A few other things! 

1. I'm getting sooo white here! My tan is like completely gone! Back home when I was a lifeguard, my co workers would say I am black, because I was so tan! 

But now I'm starting to look like a pasty utah boy! NOOOOOOO!! Hopefully Mexico will change that haha 

2. We got our hot water back this week! Of course it had to be the week we leave! 

3. I'm super excited for mexico! I ;leave this monday at 3:30, and I'll get there later that day! 

4. you have no idea how happy it makes an Elder to get mail, and packages! 

5. send me emails! It'll take 6 weeks for letters to get to mexico, and I love getting emails from you guys! 

6. I had a dream about duck hunting with an Elder who also hunts. We had a great hunt haha can't wait to get back out there :P 

7. Every Member a Missionary - Thomas S Monson. 

This week I learned how essential it is for people to have friends help them come unto Christ! 

So go serve Christ and be a friend to someone who is in need! 

and help the missionaries, we can't help others, without the help of you. 

8. If you play an instrument, keep at it! I've discovered here that music is more precious than gold, And I wish I was better, so I could perform a musical number here! But the missionaries that do perform here are amazing and everybody loves it! 

9. Next email you'll get will be from mexico!! 

-Te Amo!! (I think that's how you say that haha) 

-Elder Elkins  

Week 6

Hey guys!

Another great week here! 

We got the first snow! 

and idk why everything has to be so dang cold! 

So it's snowing out side, and in our classroom, they have the AC going! WHY!? haha 

and the worst part about the cold, is our showers. So basically, They put us in the junkiest building here. Apparently there's rats on the bottom floor. and hot water doesn't exist in my building! It's been getting worse and worse, and finally we can't take showers in the morning without getting hypothermia. and there's like no water pressure in our building either. So you just gotta suffer through the cold water for a good 5 minutes. So we're just taking showers after gym now haha but oh well! the cold water makes for fun memories! and they are remodeling all the buildings here. So our buiding will go under construction, after I leave. 

Yesterday we had our last lesson with our first investigator... it was sad. Love that guy. His name was Jorge! and he's super awesome! But since I'm leaving in a week, we won't be able to meet with him again...

But I litterally just got my flight plans for mexico! I gotta leave the mtc at 3:30 am, and I'll be traveling all day! But it's exciting! But also kinda scary, cuz we also taught someone whos a native spanish speaker. She was from columbia, and we skyped her! But I couldn't understand anything! maybe 5 words... and she was laughing at me the whole time cuz I couldn't say anything in spanish.... 

so mexico should be fun. Oh and We've gotten some emails from a missionary that was in our zone a while ago! So he's been there for like 4 weeks now, but we got an email from him when he was out for only 2. and so in mexico, he hasn't talked to a single person, he's had people yell and throw stuff at him, and he's been chased! 

so Mexico sounds like a crazy place! I'm excited to go there!! haha And Don't worry mom, I'll be fine! The Lord protects his servants! But I'll probably have some crazy awesome stories when I get home! 

There's a lot of work to be done in mexico! The Gospel of Jesus Christ can change people for the better, his atonement can heal any pain, and any damage that has been done. Through him, we can start with clean slates, and be made whole. I know that families can be together forever, and that through the gospel, you can have the greatest peace and joy in this life, and in the eternal life to come! 

The Message we share as missionaries is so important, that despite persecution, and the dangers, we will go and work, so other people can have the same joy and peace that we have. If any of you don't have the atonement, and the gospel in your life, I invite you to search for it, and when you look for God, he will show himself to you, and he will bless you. 

There's not much else new here in the mtc, other than that. The days are still long and hard with lots of work to do here. But it's still a great place to be. I love being a missionary of Jesus Christ! 

I love seeing people that I teach here, become healed, and light and life comes back to their eyes! When we first me My friend Jorge, he didn't have any life in him, there wasn't any light in his eyes. But over the past few weeks, he started to smile, and laugh, there's a light the shine from him now, and it's an amzing thing to see that in someone! 

a few other things

1. I'm now in the oldest district in my zone, and we are getting a few newbies haha 

2. it's still supoer cold

3. Whenever we play soccer in the feild, and a school bus drives by, all the girls scream for us haha mormon girls love the missionaries! :P

4. only like 9 days until I'm in mexico! That's crazy! 

5. Miss you guys! stay strong! 

6. la vida no es facil, pero es simple. 

(life isn't easy, bit it's simple) 

May God be with you all 

-Elder Elkins 

Week 5



Hey guys!

Another great week here! 

We got the first snow! 

and idk why everything has to be so dang cold! 

So it's snowing out side, and in our classroom, they have the AC going! WHY!? haha 

and the worst part about the cold, is our showers. So basically, They put us in the junkiest building here. Apparently there's rats on the bottom floor. and hot water doesn't exist in my building! It's been getting worse and worse, and finally we can't take showers in the morning without getting hypothermia. and there's like no water pressure in our building either. So you just gotta suffer through the cold water for a good 5 minutes. So we're just taking showers after gym now haha but oh well! the cold water makes for fun memories! and they are remodeling all the buildings here. So our buiding will go under construction, after I leave. 

Yesterday we had our last lesson with our first investigator... it was sad. Love that guy. His name was Jorge! and he's super awesome! But since I'm leaving in a week, we won't be able to meet with him again...

But I litterally just got my flight plans for mexico! I gotta leave the mtc at 3:30 am, and I'll be traveling all day! But it's exciting! But also kinda scary, cuz we also taught someone whos a native spanish speaker. She was from columbia, and we skyped her! But I couldn't understand anything! maybe 5 words... and she was laughing at me the whole time cuz I couldn't say anything in spanish.... 

so mexico should be fun. Oh and We've gotten some emails from a missionary that was in our zone a while ago! So he's been there for like 4 weeks now, but we got an email from him when he was out for only 2. and so in mexico, he hasn't talked to a single person, he's had people yell and throw stuff at him, and he's been chased! 

so Mexico sounds like a crazy place! I'm excited to go there!! haha And Don't worry mom, I'll be fine! The Lord protects his servants! But I'll probably have some crazy awesome stories when I get home! 

There's a lot of work to be done in mexico! The Gospel of Jesus Christ can change people for the better, his atonement can heal any pain, and any damage that has been done. Through him, we can start with clean slates, and be made whole. I know that families can be together forever, and that through the gospel, you can have the greatest peace and joy in this life, and in the eternal life to come! 

The Message we share as missionaries is so important, that despite persecution, and the dangers, we will go and work, so other people can have the same joy and peace that we have. If any of you don't have the atonement, and the gospel in your life, I invite you to search for it, and when you look for God, he will show himself to you, and he will bless you. 

There's not much else new here in the mtc, other than that. The days are still long and hard with lots of work to do here. But it's still a great place to be. I love being a missionary of Jesus Christ! 

I love seeing people that I teach here, become healed, and light and life comes back to their eyes! When we first my My friend Jorge, he didn't have any life in him, there wasn't any light in his eyes. But over the past few weeks, he started to smile, and laugh, there's a light that shines from him now, and it's an amzing thing to see that in someone! 

a few other things

1. I'm now in the oldest district in my zone, and we are getting a few newbies haha 

2. it's still super cold

3. Whenever we play soccer in the feild, and a school bus drives by, all the girls scream for us haha mormon girls love the missionaries! :P

4. only like 9 days until I'm in mexico! That's crazy! 

5. Miss you guys! stay strong! 

6. la vida no es facil, pero es simple. 

(life isn't easy, bit it's simple) 

May God be with you all 

-Elder Elkins 

Week 4 Pictures from the MTC

 

Week 4

Hola Amigos!

Another great week! 

But kinda the same old stuff! 

But hey! I'm half way done with the MTC! 

 But another district is going to be leaving us next week, including elder Parkinson who is like one of my best freinds here! He's a crazy awesome swing dancer! And we're both having a hard time because we can't show off our crazy swing dancing move here! He's also a crazy awesome improv actor, the best I've ever seen! the past few nights, all the Elders would cram into his dorm and he would put on a show and they are some of the funniest things ever!!! We cry because we laugh so hard, and one elder pretty much threw up haha 

But the spirit of God is here with us, and we are his missionaries! This past week My companion and I had the greatest lesson we've ever had in the MTC! We taught our investigator, Jorge about how families can be together forever and how the gospel blesses families. The spirit was so strong and I was able to speak spanish!! Because God was there with was and the powers of heaven enabled us to teach with ease! It was so great! And Jorge (who is also our spanish teacher) said the lesson was perfect! He was so excited for us! And he said that no one could convince Jorge (his role play) that the Gospel and this church isn't God's here on the Earth! It was amazing! But I can't speak spanish at the moment because I'm not teaching an investigator at the moment. That's the really crazy part!! 

but I gotta go get a hair cut now, because I really need one! 

a couple otro cosas. 

1. I didn't get tackled on my birthday!

2. I was playing soccer, and then got the ball kicked right into my face which went numb, and then right after that I got hit by the ball in the spot that counts, so now I'm scared of soccer balls haha    

3. I almost Got killed by a samoan playing volleyball 

4.I can't wait for mexico!! 

Te Amo! 

-Elder Elkins

Week 3

So I'm like out of email time so this will probably be short!  But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true! It's amazing here at the MTC with so many of God's miracles every day!  One of them is I'm actually able to have conversation's en esponol now! And I'm able to teach our 3 investigators now! It's awesome! But I'm now where near good enough yet! But I'm getting there! Oh and I realized I'm completely fluent in Spanglish, so that counts for something right?? 

 So there have been multiple adventures this week! We went to the Mexican Consulate to get our visas! First we took the MTC bus (which is an old Prison bus) to a train station where we took two trains to get to the consulate just to get a picture taken and two finger scans haha But it definitely was a great time! My whole district and I needed a break from the MTC! But during our travels all of us were harassed by multiple people because we were Mormon. I think someone was even throwing stuff at us. In the middle of Utah! Mormon capitol of the world! So it was kinda surprising to me, and it was my first time ever being persecuted from my religion. makes me wonder what Mexico is gonna be like haha but it was still fun! 

Every PDay we go to the provo temple. and it's way bigger than the Sacramento one!  The temple of God, is the best place to be, I love it there! It's so peaceful, and you can feel the love of God there so strongly! It's the only place where we can get a real break from everything! 

So one of the districts in our zone left this past week, and the whole zone is missing them. they were all great guys and we had tons of fun! Now things seem a little empty without them. But they're all out fulfilling their call to serve! We haven't gotten a new district yet. We should be getting new missionaries next week though! So we're all excited for that! 

 A couple other funny stories, one of the Elder's here is a 6' 4" guy, and he managed to fit himself into elder Parkinson's closet, and me and a few Elder's were hanging out in the hallway when suddenly all we hear is bloody murder screaming hahahahaha we walk in to find Elder Parkinson passed out on the floor laughing, and I almost passed out from laughing haha it was great! 

Another thing, it was another Elder's Birthday a couple days ago, but he didn't tell anyone because he didn't want happy birthday sung to him. (My bday is on Nov 2nd. WOO HOO)  and so we're all out in the hall again playing Peg, with a Hackey Sack (I've discovered I really like playing hackey sack) and we hear that it was this elder's birthday!  We decided to go sing to him, but he was hiding in his dorm with a few other elders and the door was locked. But Finally another Elder who stayed in the same dorm convinced him that he really needed in. And as soon as the door opened, we forced our way in and started singing, But the Elder we were singing to tried running away out the door, so we all tackled him a kept on singing while i was holding him down by the legs haha it was great! so I might get tackled on my Birthday now lol 

a few other things

1. we haven't been caught with the fart bombs yet haha but a member of the Branch presidency regularly checks up with us almost every night now haha 

2. Someone set off the fire alarm again, but this time in the middle of class

3. I'm playing a cello and I forgot how much fun it is! Hopefully I'll be playing in big devotional coming up. 

4. Still not mature :P :P :P

5. Can't wait to get to Mexico.

6. I figured out how to say, "Do you even lift?" in esponol!  ( Tu incluso levantar) 

7. I discovered the greatest discovery in the MTC! You can put a rubber band on a banana and use it to shoot rubber bands! So a real banana gun! It's so awesome! 

8. Love and miss you all! The Gospel is true! 

9. I'm getting pretty swool!! (strong)  I'm doing over 100 pushups a day now, and I can make veins pop out in my shoulders now hahaha it's so cool! 

10. I love getting dear elder letters, and real letters! 

God Be with you until we meet again! 

-Elder Elkins   

 

Elder Elkins Contact Information

Week 2

Que pasa!?

so this has been another crazy week. Idk where to begin again. 

It's only been a week and a half but it feels like I've been here for at least a month! the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. 

And man, P-day could not have come soon enough! Well I guess I'll start by telling you guys that the scottish elder I talked about in my last email actually isn't scottish! He just was faking an incredibly real accent hahaha But there is a real scottish elder here, and he's the one who did the solo in the mtc choir last general conference and he did and amazing solo here at the mtc! Man I wish I could sing like him. But my new best friend here in the mtc, Elder Parkinson and I started an acapella  group! so maybe I'll get that good. I'm also playing piano in sacrament meeting this sunday. We'll see how that goes haha oh and they have CELLOS HERE! I'm gonna go play one here in a little bit and possibly put together a musical number. 

I'm finally getting use to the altitude so I'm able to work out harder. And let me just say, I'm getting pretty tone haha so girls, you might wanna wait for me! haha Every missionary here is missing their girl. We keep talking about them... and the missionary goggle syndrome is setting in. It's were every girl here in the mtc gets more and more and more beautiful because we don't have our girls here with us. It's hard not to flirt with them sometimes haha the closest we can get to flirting is holding the door open for them. which we do every single chance we get... haha

 speaking of Hermanas I just witness a miracle of God yesterday! Sister Jammet in our district was really sick yesterday. She said it was the sickest she've ever been. She was crying and could barely function because she felt so bad. So we gave her a blessing by the power of the priesthood of God, and instantly she felt fine! There was a physical change that I witnessed right then and there in her. The life came back to her face and she got right back to work with a smile on her face! It was amazing! The power of God is real and it can and will bless your life if you just ask God. James 1:5

 The spirit of God is so strong here.  I love being a missionary for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is his church and he is leading his people. He cares and watches over every single one of us. 

The MTC is hard. We're doing 16 hour days, with a minimum of 11 hours in class. It's hard studying inside all day and only to learn 3 spanish words a day. We have 3 people we're teaching now, all completely in spanish. It's very frustrating because I have a testimony, I know the doctrine, and the scriptures, but I can't share those things because I don't know spanish. So the MTC is hard. But I've been through harder. And that is because of God in his infinite wisdom has given me challenges in life to prepare me and to make me stronger. And my heart is filled with gratitude towards him. God gives his children trials that they may become stronger. It pains God to see you in pain. But he allows it to let you grow in wisdom and strength. Our Heavenly Father loves each and every single one of you. He wants only what's best for you.  That is my testimony to you. And I hope you come to know these things if already don't.

   

a few other things. 

1. I'm not use to being called Elder yet, cuz I'm no where near mature enough haha

2. most elders here aren't mature

3. Being a missionary is the best thing ever! 

4. someone set off the fire alarm so we all had to evacuate one night haha 

5. I love getting letters! 

6. we have a rivalry with the elders downstairs, so an elder on our floor threw a fart bomb in one of their dorms. it was funny but not the best Idea. He'll probably get in trouble haha 

7. I had a whole list of things to say but I forgot them. 

8. we got a new group of missionaries this week! So I'm not the greenie anymore! haha but it was only 300. ( I came in with 600) 

9. you guys take after me and are awesome! And sorry if I don't get back to you right away on any of  your messages. 

MIss you guys! 

I'm almost out of time! 

so May God be with you until next P-day!   

First letter from Elder Elkins at the Provo MTC!

Hola mi Amigos! Qu'e pasa!?

Mi esponol es no bueno, but yo soy going to use as much as possible! 

I'm sending this to a whole bunch of people as a general email just to let you know whats up! And I'm assuming it's going to be posted on the blog too Madre?

Anyways Fridays are the days that I can email here in the MTC! So this is only my third day here and it's SOOO LOCOOO!!

This isn't the missionary training center, it's MORMON BOOT CAMP! haha I love it here but it's constantly go go go! 

The moment I got to the mtc campus, I was rushed through check in and got mi nombre tag which es all en esponol was getting that was a big highlight of the day for everyone haha 

then I dropped off my luggage at my dorm, and then was brought to my esponol class, My maestra es Hermano Rios, he served in argentina! He's so awesome! I know he knows fluent English, but he only uses esponol! So learning and communicating es a little difficult haha 

In the class I met mi first companero his nombre es Elder Garcia! He's only 1/8 Mexican tho and from colorado  lol 

We work great together! he's in tune with the spirit and so am I! so we agree on everything, and we get the exact same ideas, at the exact same time! It's so cool! 

like the first day here, we started teaching some investigators, who are actors here in the mtc, and it's just like teaching people who aren't mormons! Elder Garcia and I can just keep going and going and going! While a lot of the other missionaries in the same teaching workshops tend to struggle a little bit. 

speaking of going and going and going, that's all we do here! we're doing 16 hour days. we get up at 6:30, get ready for the day, come breakfast and then hurry to a three hour class with Hermano Rios! then we have lunch and then studies, and workshops, meetings and planning. We have like no time for anything! Like last night I didn't even have time to brush my teeth! Because we have to be in bed by 10:30. But we've had to stay up until 11:00 each night just cuz we still have a lot of things to do. I haven't gotten a chance to read any letters yet, so if you sent me any, I'll read and write you as soon as I can! We've had a bunch of orientation stuff to do, so that's why we don't have much time. and sorry if this email seems a little spacey, I'm trying to hurry cuz I only have an hour to write this and then report to my Branch pres. 

anyways, yeah it's super crazy here! theres no such thing as down time here because it's just one thing after another. Like later tonight, we have a lesson appt. that we have to teach completely in esponol! so we've been studying like crazy for that! 

We're trying to immerse ourselves in Spanish so we made a list of words that we can only use in spanish, and if we use them in english, we have to do 10 push ups a word. I did well over 100 yesterday,and I probably passed 200 by now just for today. But I'll be super buff when I get home! haha oh and by 'we' I mean my whole district, (except for the sisters) there's 6 of us in our tiny little dorm. Elder bradshaw is a total surfer dude from SoCal, so he's pretty cool and we get along great! There's another elder who's from south Korea! idk how to spell his name haha but he's going to Chile! idk what part tho. and the rest of us are going to the same mission, so that's awesome! everyone in my zone is super funny, and we have a great time together! yesterday during our zone meeting with our branch pres, non of us could stop laughing! it was great! and it was also really needed! 

another thing we all love here is gym time! although, we haven't had time to make it to the gym at all lol but we've been able to do some running and volleyball! So pretty much gym time is sacred to all the missionaries here haha it's our only time to actually take a break from everything! 

the mtc is huge! i meet new elders and sisters everyday! from all over the world! There's one guy in my zone from scottland and has the best acent ever! yesterday just before bed we were all goofing around, (even though we're not suppose to) and we had the scottland elder say that line from Brave, where the old dude says "Feast your eyes!" and lifts up his kilt. IT. WAS. HILARIOUS!! hahaha I still laugh at it! 

So much to do, so little time! There's so much more I want to say, but I'm out of time! 

I love you all! Write me! and email too! I only got one email this week! 

I know this church has the preisthood of God here on the earth and the true gospel of JesuChristo! If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here right now, because it is extremely hard work. I testify these things to you, as a friend and one who cares for all of you. if you don't know the gospel is true, then go find out for yourself! 

Have a great week! miss you all! And hopefully I'll be able to get some personal emails and letters out. I just didn't have time today, so sorry about that! 

May God be with you until we meet again!

-- Elder Elkins!              

 

Elder Elkins found his friend, Elder Nathaniel Jones (Mexico City South) at the MTC!