Rubiks Cubes And AP's

This week hasn't really been anything out of the ordinary, just the usual contacting, teaching, talking, walking up hills, eating rice, and still missing a suitcase, so we'll just get right into it...

Monday

We tried playing soccer for P-day, which Elder Wilkens used to always look forward to apparently, but I felt bad because not a lot of the kids we invited showed up, and so it was pretty bland. I am also embarrassingly bad at playing soccer, so I just called family during that time, which probably didn't help. But after that, we and our district went to lunch because it was one of the Hermana's birthdays. We went to this restaurant, and I got anticuchos, which is just cow heart. It's actually one of the best things I've had here because it's basically steak, and anything close to American food I'll take. We also got cake for the birthday, so it was a win!

Tuesday

It was a pretty slow day, mostly just finding and contacting people with not a lot of lessons. I had my first district council, and I kind of struggle with those types of meetings, especially right now when I can't understand everything, but it was decent. Slow days can always be hard because you get in your head a lot, but thankfully, I've got a good companion, which makes it a lot better than it could be. We share a lot about our lives back at home, our plans when we get back, our goals during our mission, and everything in between. We also had a lesson with Amparo, who works at this small pharmacy. She has a date for baptism and seems super cool, so I'm hoping that everything works out with her. After the lesson, I noticed that she had a bundle of both a 2x2 and a 3x3 Rubik's Cube sitting on display. Elder Wilkens has been looking for a 2x2 all week because he has a 3x3 already and is getting tired of just always solving it. I pointed it out to him, and we split the cost, so I got the 3x3, and he got the 2x2. I've been addicted to this Rubik's Cube since I got it. There's not a lot of downtime throughout the day, but whenever we just have a couple of minutes between studying or have to come to the house to grab something, I find any opportunity I have to solve it. I didn't realize how much I lacked entertainment until I bought this cube.

Wednesday

The day went by a lot faster, and I don't even know why. In the morning, Elder Wilkens and I had a competition with our Rubik's Cubes, and whoever solved theirs slower had to say all the prayers for the entire day. He's a lot better than I am, but I was up for it, so we did it, and right before he was about to solve it, he made one wrong move, messed up, and I won! The funny thing is that he fulfilled his promise. He said every single prayer, and we pray together probably about 10-15 times a day, so it was so funny, especially during lessons when he would tell our friend that he'd offer the prayer. He probably got so many blessings that day. Other than that, it was just a normal day of teaching.

Thursday

Every Thursday, we have weekly planning, so it usually takes us a while to get out of the house, which either makes the day really fast or really slow. We also had a lot of Zoom meetings, during which I was constantly playing with my Rubik's Cube (I promise I was listening, but I still probably need to repent). By the time we got done with everything, I was just ready to buy my Takis and Coke and get on with the day. It actually turned out to be really good. Towards the end, we got this member named Renzo to come with us to our lesson with Pamela, who's on date. She honestly has a super cool testimony and even asked if we could move her baptismal date sooner, so now she's getting baptized next Sunday! Her testimony is so solid, and I'm honestly super excited for her. I just hope that things stay smooth this upcoming week with her.

Friday

Today, we had exchanges with the APs, so I was really trying to lock in for the day. We got to their apartment, and they fed us bread with scrambled eggs and hot dogs; it was actually so good. I was a little worried, though, because I noticed that both of the APs took a shower and used the bathroom with the door open. I honestly can't tell you how an open-door policy makes you a better missionary and thought that was kind of stupid. I tried avoiding using the bathroom the best I could while we were in their apartment. Anyway, I got paired with Elder Lopez, whose English is just as good as my Spanish (maybe a little bit better). So I got some good language practice in. The day actually went super well, and Lopez made me teach a ton. I just pretty much did all the same things I've seen Elder Wilkens do, and it worked pretty well. It felt weird being the one talking most of the time, and it pushed me a lot, but I think that's a good thing. I even found someone all by myself who ended up actually living in my area, so I was hyped about that and impressed that I did it on my own in Spanish. Definitely a good confidence boost. That night, we went to grab a member to come to lessons with us. He walked out with a sweatshirt covered in Dragon Ball Z characters, then he grabbed my neck and just popped it. It was so random, and I thought my life could end right then and there, but it felt really good actually. We then had to walk up this massive dirt hill to get to this lesson, and holy cow, I felt at home thinking of The Grinder we'd run up during XC camp. The vibes were the same. I got super tired by the end of the day, but it was super good, and we ended it by eating more cow heart.

Saturday

We got up at the APs' house, made up our own workout, showered (with the door open, of course), and ate some pretty nasty pancakes. Elder Lopez also told me that he admires how I don't get embarrassed when I teach. I don't know if that means I should be, but I'll take it. I was supposed to tell him things he needs to work on, but being here for two weeks, I don't feel like I'm qualified enough to really tell him anything. Elder Wilkens and I got back to our area and had lots of lessons scheduled, most of them with people who were on date, which was awesome. It was kind of frustrating, though, because I feel like my Spanish was gone all day, so nothing I said really made sense. It was the weirdest thing. We had another lesson with Amparo, and Wilkens asked her if she had cough medicine because I've had mine for three weeks now, and he was starting to pick one up as well. She gave us some but said that it meant NO MORE COKE!!! That was literally the worst-case scenario. It's probably God's way of telling me that I should rely on Him rather than the treats I give myself.

Sunday

Today was good. We got to church, and I was pretty zoned out for most of it, but we had some of our friends there, which was a win. After church, Bryan (Pamela's recent ex-boyfriend) wanted to talk to us, which we thought was going to be interesting. He pretty much said that he's worried Pamela wants to get baptized just so he'd consider getting back with her rather than for the Gospel. I don't know, though. I think she honestly does have a solid testimony, and even if that is her reason, I think that if you're worthy, then getting baptized is never going to be a bad thing. After that, the day was pretty casual. We went to Crazy Carolina's store, and she just gave me a bag of Takis, and I'll pay her back later since it's the Sabbath, so that was nice. We also went to this friend's house, and he can't get over the fact that I'm from Utah and just called me Señor Utah the entire time. We contacted Eva today and finally met with her mom again, and they said that she still has some scary stuff with her brain, so we'll keep them in our prayers. But that's about it for Sunday.

TL;DR: Pamela's getting ready for baptism, I solved a Rubik's Cube no joke probably 200+ times this week, I'm temporarily banned from Coke, and exchanges with the APs.

Spiritual Thought: The phrase "Come what may and love it," which was a talk that was mentioned a lot during the MTC, but I haven't listened to it until recently. Life's a lot better when you learn to love what comes your way, and I've been thinking a lot about that this week. Thanks for tuning in, and I hope all of you guys are having a great week!

- Elder Mitchell IV

Photos:
Birthday hats
My weird pinky toe that Wilkens is obsessed with
The District
Talking with the Little Niños 
Exchanges





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