WEEK 1: PERU MTC

HEYYYY MOMMM HOW ARE YOU????????? I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN. I love you and the whole familyyyy!!!!!!!!!! I am having so much fun here, and my companion was nice enough to let me use his EZ type thing - it is so easy to use and journal with. That will answer all of your questions because I wrote a small book every single night this week, ahahahhahahah. I love you so much and I miss all of you, although my mind is on other things, honestly... My Spanish is getting better, but my English is getting so much worse, and I hate it but its ok. Anyway, here is my giant email journal. I love you so much and I am having the best time here. Tell Gabe to email me already, and tell him to make a playlist of all the songs that he wants me to hear when I come back. I love you all sooooooooooooo much and anyway here's my weekly novel... 

October 10th, 2018
The day that I left was super crazy. I went through customs and I found the gate that I was leaving on. There was a group of about 13 missionaries waiting there so I knew I was at the right place. We got on the plane and I sat next to a member who was sitting in the aisle, and he asked if I would trade him seats so he would be able to deal quickly with any problems. Because of this, I was sitting in the middle of two fairly big dudes. The member talked to me for a while about his mission and he gave me some advice. The guy on the window side of me was not a member and he was a former marine. He was from Georgia, and he knew where Waycross was. We talked for the most part of the flight and I was trying to turn the conversation towards the gospel. It is so much harder than you think. After 3 long hours in the packed, tiny plane, we got to the Atlanta airport, the most busy airport in the entire world. Our flight was barely landing and we had 10 minutes to get to our next flight to Peru. About 10 of us missionaries had to sprint across the largest airport in the world to catch a train that took us across the airport. We sprinted and sprinted through the airport just to see our flight pulling out. Just kidding, mom. We barely made our flight and we were off to Peru. After an insanely long 7 hour flight, with no movies or games, (because we are missionaries) it was a long long long flight. We got to the airport in Peru and the view was crazy, all you could see for miles around were orange street lights in the sprawling city. It was so crazy being in Peru, everyone was speaking Spanish and it was just so different. I exchanged 50 bucks for about 140 nuevo sols, the currency here. Lima was really crazy to see, especially at 1:30 at night. There were really torn down ghetto buildings all over the streets, it was surreal seeing how people lived here. We rolled into the MTC or the ccm at around 2:30. and we went to bed at around 3:00. We had to wake up at 7:30, so they let us sleep in a little. The CCM was so beautiful with white buildings and many palm trees. It was so good to be here and I immediately knew I was supposed to be there. The food at the CCM was super weird. I didn't know what anything was. We had classes all day the first day and I could already hold a small conversation in Spanish. Oh, also, My first companiero is Elder Merrit. He is way cool and from Oregon. He played football so I respect that. We have 2 Latino elders that only speak Spanish, and I am the only one who can kind of communicate with them. It's bed time now, but I have been having so much fun aready, and the Spirit is present all of the time here. It is so awesome. Also, my hair was sooooooo short before and they still buzzed me. All of the new elders lined up and we got haircuts like sheep, it was crazy. I look like Caillou now but thats ok because i ain't trying to impress anybody. The food really is weird, and so are some of the people. I am really having a good time. Our roommates are cool, and my companiero is way cool.

October 11th, 2018 

I have been at the MTC for two days and I have so many things to say about it. I am loving every second that I have been here. My companion is great, and we have a ton of fun chillin and learning Spanish. I'm sure I have one of the best, most determined and hardworking companions in the mission. Also, he loves ice cream, and he eats a ton. A lot of the elders that have been here for three weeks are saying that constipation is inevitable, I will never ever go through that, I repeat, I will not let that happen. They say the microbes are different here, but it will never happen to me. It is only my second day at the CCM, but i feel like I am learning Spanish so quickly already. I can communicate very well with my Latino roommates, and I learned a little about their life at home. Spanish is a super interesting language and I am doing pretty well already. The Latino elders probably hate me because I ask so many questions and I try to talk to them so much. Elder Merrit thinks he is terrible at Spanish, but he's really not. He has a crazy good work ethic, so anything is possible. Today, we had our first physical activities hour and it was pretty interesting. They have a really slippery basketball court, so if you tried to cross someone over, you would break your ankles. There were a ton of elders playing soccer, but I'm trying to play other sports in the CCM while i still can. The classes here are so long, and i feel like I've been here for 3 years already, they have us studying and doing other things every second of the day from 6:30 in the morning to 9:00 at night. It is really busy, but I love being here. Our group of Elders is super fun and they know a couple of people from Spanish fork. Like elder jones, who knows Jarom. The food was terrible the first couple of days, but it I am either getting really hungry or the food is becoming way better. We met our Spanish teachers today and they are so nice. I'm going to learn so much Spanish. Everything is so good and I love being here, the Spirit is present in everything we do, and I feel the spirit is so strong. 

October 12 2018

I love being here at the CCM. Today, it was very difficult to get out of bed. All of the elders in my room had alarm clocks, including the two Latino elders. We all woke up at 6:30, but i think we all fell back asleep, because we all got out of bed at around 7:15. Because of this, we were late to breakfast, so all the good food was gone. We studied Spanish so much today.  I can say things like "Yo se que Dios es nuestros Padre Celestial" which is I know that God is our Heavenly Father. The food is good here, and the teachers are so helpful. The Latino elders en our rooms are so helpful too. Me and Elder Merritt taught the Latino Elders a couple of English words too. I feel like I have been here for 3 weeks, but that is only because they fit so much into one day. They definitely know what they are doing, because I am picking up Spanish really quickly. My love for the Lord is growing, and so is my love for the people here. Estoy muy agradecido por el Evangelio de Jesu Christo y mi companero. That is my best attempt at saying I am very thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am constantly thinking about Spanish and I am even starting to dream in Spanish. The gift of tongues is a very real thing, and I am experiencing it first hand. Also, the Latino Elders taught me how to sing a hymn in Spanish tonight. It was probably one of the most spiritual things I have ever done, the words were different, but the melody was the same, and the song had the same meaning. I loved singing that song.

October 13, 2018

Today was great day. The days are sooooo long here at the CCM, it feels like I have been here for 5 years already. My Spanish is getting so much better with each day, but I still have so much to learn. I am not really stressed about learning Spanish, but learning so much in one day is really tiring. Elder Merritt is getting much better at Spanish, He thinks he is way behind the class, but he is learning just as fast as everybody else. I was reading in 1 Nephi 2:16, where Nephi was told by his father that his family needed to leave his home and go somewhere totally unknown. Nephi didn't follow this direction blindly, just because his parents wanted him to, he pleaded for the lord to let him know that these things were true. For his willingness to learn, the Lord blessed Nephi and let him know that it was the right thing to do. I think that deciding to go on a mission was just like that for me. I needed a confirmation that I should go on my mission, and I got it, from praying and asking the Lord. Every day something happens here that reminds me of the confirmation that when I first decided to go on a mission. The CCM is so great. I love being here at the CCM, but the schedule is so busy. A lot of the elders are realllly sick and they look miserable ahahaha. Personally, I love it here ahahahaha. I love trying the new food and learning words and phrases from the Latino Elders in my room. I eat all of the fruit that I can (no I really do Mom) and I tried a crazy weird fruit that looked like an alien egg. Every time I see my Latino roommates in the halls or the cafeteria, we always yell HEEEEEYYY, because I guess 'hey' is a universal word for 'what up'. I try to talk to every Latino I see, even though my Spanish is really broken up, I can still communicate well enough to tell them about football Americano and how to teach them words in english. I had a little bit of duct tape covering the caps of my body wash, and it came in handy today. A Latino Elder from Bolivia broke his glasses and it was his only pair, so I ripped one tiny strip of duct tape into 3 and fixed his glasses. I Love talking to the Latino Elders in the CCM, because they are so nice and they help me learn Spanish more than anything. The Latino Elders call me Elder OOF because the H is silent in the Spanish language, and I get asked about the pronuncia of my name a lot. I am loving my time here, I really am. I love the people and I love just being here, I am having so much fun! 

October 14, 2018

Today was Sunday and It was actually so nice to not practice Spanish for one day. I am getting really good at saying prayers in Spanish and I ask the lord to bless ya'll every night. I am still saying really simple prayers but i say personal prayers in only Spanish now. I love the Elders in my district, especially my companion. Church was so long today. The North Americans and the Latinos are in 2 different branches so most of our sacrament meeting is in Spanish. Sunday isn't 3 hours here, It is actually 8 hours long. We went to soooooo many little Sunday school things it was ridiculous. One thing that made me feel the spirit was a devotional by Elder Holland that we watched as the last class of the day. It was a tape of a devotional given a week ago at the Provo MTC. Elder Holland always makes me feel the Spirit so much. I was crying like a baby during that devotional because I felt the Spirit so strong. I was crying so much that tears were literally flowing off of my face and getting my suit wet. I looked over at Elder Merritt and he was bawling too. Me and Elder Merritt are the biggest, strongest, and most athletic dudes in the whole CCM, but we were hugging each other and crying so much. Even the Hermanas cried less than us. In his Devotional Elder Holland was talking about our missions and how important they were to our own conversion unto Jesus Christ. I started to question myself, and my own conversion to the church, when I heard words in my head saying, "you fool, you know that you know this gospel is true. You know more than anything that this gospel is true." I love the Lord so much, and I feel my faith growing every day. I miss all of you so much, but I know I am supposed to be here. Oh, also, at dinner tonight they had hotdogs and wings and it was sooooo nice to have American food, even thought its only been 5 days.

October 15, 2018

Today was another good day at the CCM. I think my body is finally used to most of the food, and I am starting to love rice. I put this mayonnaise stuff on the rice and then I squeeze limes on it as well. A lot of the missionaries have had the runs for like 2 weeks, and one missionary that was here for 4 weeks was constipated for 2 weeks straight. I haven't had any problems at all thanks to the charcoal pills, Shout out to you mom. Also, I'm sorry my grammar is so bad. I really do recognize that it is, My mind is too busy and focused on Spanish to think too hard about what I say in English. Today all of the North American elders were showing off pictures of their families and girlfriends and stuff. My pictures were by far the best, and my girlfriend was by farrrrr the most gorgeous. I love looking at the pictures of you guys and wondering how you are doing. Let me know how the last football game went, and tell me about school. Mom, email me because I love you and I am doing great and having such a good time here. My Spanish is getting better each day and I love being in my district and with my companero. Elder Merritt thinks he is struggling in learning Spanish, but he is doing really good, he just needs to keep working hard. I think I am pushing him too hard sometimes, but I want to help him the best I can. I miss you guys, but I'm not worried about you at all, I love you all, but my focus is on other things, like bringing together the familias of the people of Chiclayo Peru. The North American Elders are sooooooo funny, and We mess around and have a good time, but we are also working hard and are serious when we need to be. The latino Elders, Elder Condori, and Elder Bravo are the nicest, and most obedient people I have ever seen. They love the gospel and they have really interesting lives. I'm getting really good at Spanish, so I can talk to them super well. They are way good friends, and are super funny.

October 16, 2018

Today was the first day that the sun shone on Lima Peru. The skies have been so grey, and I did not see th sun until today. It is the wierdest thing because it looks like it is going to rain, but it never does. The sun was shining all day today, and we can see a small amount of stars at night, so it is really awesome. The food is getting sooooo much better at the MTC, and I love trying the new stuff they have here. The North American Missionaries have discovered the best way to eat rolls here at the CCM. We grab a roll, or 4, and we poke a hole in the top with our fingers and then pack it full of butter. Then, we microwave our rolls until each has a pool of warm melted butter inside. It is sooooooooooooooo good , and that is half of the North American missionary's nutrition, because we are hungry all of the time. Today during physical activity we were playing handball, the Latino elders call it balonmano, and things got way crasy ahahhaaaha. The ball went outside of the field, and there is a net about 50 feet tall around the field where we play, so two elders were sprinting to get the volleyball, because there are no outs and they ran into the net so hard that they ripped it down from these lights, about fifty feet up. this net was massive, it was strung across 3 soccer fields, and they ripped it down, it was so bad but it was so funny I was dying laughing. Balonmano is basically ultimate frisbee with a volleyball and a goalie on each goal. Balonmanos is life and games get so crazy. I{m like such a good athlete you know, so I am pretty good at balonmano, but I need to learn how to play soccer. Last night, I could tell that Elder Bravo was missing his family because he was looking at the pictures he kept in his journal, and he was just looking sad. With my very broken Spanish and the help of a Spanish dictonary I said that his family loved him mucho. and that they were so proud of him. I also told him that I loved him and was so proud of him too. Then I bore my very simple testimony in Spanish "La iglesia de JesuChristo es Verdadero, Yo se Que. Encato Dios y JesuChristo mucho." I don't even know if that is correct grammar, but the way that both elder Condori and Elder Bravo looked at me, I knew that they felt the spirit. I love  Elder Bravo and Elder Condori, and especially Elder Merritt. I love and respect all of the Elders here. A lot of the Elders are saying that they are homesick, but honestly, I am having such a good time here. I love learning Spanish and I know that I was meant to learn this language. Not everything is super spiritual here, sorry my emails have been so serious ahahahaha, but we laugh so much and we are all having a good time. There{s this elder named Elder Koogath, and he is the goofiest, wierdest dude I have ever seen in my life. He says the wierdest things, and he looks like a mouse. One direct quote from him today was, "Y'know the reason why you can see the sun today, is because its the first time it has come out". He speaks true wisdom and he is literally the funniest kid. Another quote from him when he was playing goalie in handball was "We should make it a rule that you can't throw the ball hard because it endangers the goalie." He's from Idaho and holy he is so strange, but props to him for coming out here. 

Anyway, I love you soooooooooo much. I love you so much and I'm grateful for this mission. I heard from Blake and Sam that you were really sad, but I hear you're doing better. I love you mom, and I am doing the work of the lord. Tell Gabe to email me and tell me about life too, tell him I love him. Also, tell Dad that LSU might take the championship this year like he said. He called it. I love you so much mom, and thank you for helping Kim too. She said that that helped a lot in her email. That means a lot to me. Mom, I love you so much, but I'm out here working hard. I have a super short time left to type, because even on p-days, we have a tight schedule at the ccm. Oh we went on a tour of the city today, and it was crazy, and I bought a backpack that was sooooooooo cool. I love you, and thanks for everything mom, keep your head up, and thanks for being the best mom ever. oh also, we saw the ocean today, but ill send all my pics in the next email. love you byeeeeeeee. <3