Takis And Coke

Que pasa, familia y amigos! That's all my Spanish is limited to, haha. The first full week in the field feels crazy. In my mind, it's still the first day, but time is only going to move forward. I'm also still waiting for my second bag! Thankfully, I have all the clothes I need, but there's still stuff I need from the other one. Anyway, let's get on with the week...

Monday

Not much happened for P-day besides the stake president inviting all of us to meet with him for a couple of hours and have lunch. Not gonna lie, it was kind of a bummer that we had to go to that for my first P-day. There was a pretty big group of missionaries there, and I was definitely the newest. All we did was play some little games that made no sense. My Spanish isn't great, so I had no clue what was going on. At one point, I had a blindfold on and was running towards a missionary clanking spoons together while everyone else was yelling random stuff. I honestly had no idea why we were there. The rest of P-day was basic, just filled with naps, emails, and calling family.

Tuesday

We woke up early because we had to travel to zone conference. We pretty much just got dressed and left. On one of the buses, it was so packed that I wasn't even close to being able to stand up straight. I was so hunched over, haha. Thankfully, we got a seat pretty soon, so the rest of the ride was comfortable. When we got to zone conference, I said hi to Elder Monson and Newton, the group of elders I traveled with, and it was fun to talk with them. Well, mostly just Elder Monson because Elder Newton is pretending like he doesn't know English anymore and is only speaking Spanish, which was kind of a pain. Also, zone conference was all in Spanish, and I have a long way to go before I can understand as much as I need to, so I honestly didn't get a whole lot out of it. It was also hard because I was coughing a lot the night before, so I didn't get much sleep and was fighting to stay awake. It wasn't a big deal, just kind of annoying. Also, no one told me that zone conference is like 7 hours long, so I was expecting to go home after like hour two, but I was way off. No hate toward zone conference or anything, but next time will definitely be a better experience since I'll know what to expect. After, Elder Wilkens and I had to buy something to get change for traveling, so we got these Oreo cakes and some candy (definitely needed at that moment). When we got back, it was a regular day. We were supposed to have a lesson with Eva (the girl with the brain deformity), but unfortunately, her parents weren't home, which was a bummer. We also had a really cool conversation about Christ with this guy, and I've been trying to stretch my Spanish. It felt good that I said something right. It's the little wins that get me through the day.

Wednesday

Today, we had a lesson with these people named Luz and Carlos. We contacted Carlos before, and he said we could have a lesson with him and his mom. Carlos is already an old dude, and Luz was crazy old! It was kind of funny and reminded me of that one episode of SpongeBob for the few of you who get that reference. They're super cool people though, and the lesson went very well. We also had a lesson with this guy named John, who we invited to be baptized last week! He has a lot of potential, so I'm excited to meet with him more. Also, every day, Elder Wilkens and I have to buy a bag of Takis to get through the day (plus a Coke for me). We went to this lady's shop we usually go to. Her name is Carolina, and she's hilarious but also crazy, so she's fun to talk to. She's the only store where you can buy a big bag of Takis, and I bought the wrong ones! It was kind of devastating. I seriously need those two things to get me through the day—it's a problem. We finished the day talking with this friend named Giancarlo about the Book of Mormon, and I feel like I did a pretty good job explaining what it was. Obviously, Elder Wilkens has been carrying the companionship because I can't say a lot in Spanish, but each time I say something useful, it feels really good.

Thursday

I was so zoned out most of Thursday. When you're tired and stranded in a country where you can't understand anything going on, it's so easy to get lost in your own head. Today, we taught this friend named Felix, who we dropped forever ago, and her daughter, who has a 2-month-old baby. Anybody who has a baby makes me think of my niece Delilah (don't forget me while I'm gone!). The lesson went well, and then Felix started asking me questions about Peru because I told him I was new. I told him that I still haven't eaten a lot of food yet, so he went inside and gave me and Wilkens this really good plate of food. I don't even remember what it was, but I remember it was one of the best things I've had yet. There's just a lot of chicken and rice here, and I've learned that I can't eat rice unless I'm really hungry for it, which kind of sucks because every meal they just cover the plate with rice, and I feel like I'm always wasting food. Anyway, it was a pretty typical day after that, so we'll move on.

Friday

We had exchanges on Friday, which was interesting. I got paired with an elder named Rayzel or something like that. He's from Brazil and doesn't speak English, so I got a taste of what a native companion is like, and holy crap, I'm so grateful I have Wilkens as a companion. Rayzel wasn't bad or anything, but I was just so lost. I was zoned out the entire day and spent hours straight going through random scenarios in my head. Our lessons were still good, and I added insights to each one, but it was just a lot more difficult. When we met back up with Wilkens and his exchange companion for dinner, he asked me if I bought my Coke and Takis for the day, which I thought was funny, especially since we both did even with different companions. It was also the husband's birthday at the place we were eating, so we got to have cake! It was super good, but I felt bad because I was able to eat an entire slice of cake but not a plate of rice. For whatever reason, rice doesn't sit well in my stomach.

Saturday

We woke up still at the ZL's house and did some yoga and abs for our workout in the morning. Then, Wilkens and I just got ready and left. When we got back, we realized it was fast Sunday this week, and apparently, we usually fast from lunch on Saturday to lunch on Sunday. So during companion study, we had extra time and decided to use that time to buy and eat our bag of Takis before lunch. I also bought a Coke for both that day and for after Sunday so I'd be prepared. After lunch, we had a lesson with Luz and Carlos again (the older people), and it turns out that Carlos is already a member, which was crazy to find out. He also told me that he loves hearing me bear my testimony and that my Spanish is sufficient because he always feels the Spirit and my love for the Gospel when I speak. Oh my gosh, I needed that so bad—that was so kind of him to say. We had some other good lessons and even set some people on date for baptism! There's this lady who works at a small pharmacy, and we give her lessons there. She was one of the people we invited for baptism today. I didn't even notice, but there was a lady behind the counter, too, who we've given lessons to. She's pretty Catholic, and surprisingly, she said she was interested in baptism after she overheard our lesson. Sick! By the end of the day, the fasting was getting to me. When I'm hungry and tired, I just get super quiet and upset about life, and that was no exception that day. Even though it was an amazing day, the last hour was slow and hard, and all I could think about was how overwhelming the mission is going to be. I know that's a bad mindset to have, but that's where I was at until we went to bed.

Sunday

After personal study, we got up and went to church and picked up John on the way. He brought his daughter, Lucy, and I thought that was super wholesome. I was still hungry, tired, and in a bad mindset all throughout church, which is something I need to work on. Church here—I'm zoned out a lot because I don't know what's going on. Also, we have a church dog named Oso who just wanders around during sacrament meeting—kind of funny. Anyway, there was a small miracle today because we talked with Pamela. Pamela is dating this guy named Bryan, who's a member, and he told her that he wants to get married in the temple. We were worried that if they broke up, Pamela wouldn't want to get baptized anymore. Well, unfortunately, they did break up, but it turns out she still really wants to get baptized! That was cool to hear, especially since the people we were fasting for are the ones we plan on baptizing this month, so that was a little miracle. For whatever reason, it took forever to leave the church to grab lunch, and I was getting super impatient, but thankfully we eventually did. The members we eat with on Sunday have like seven dogs at their house, which is insane. We walked in, and SpongeBob was playing on the TV (or Bob Esponja in Spanish), and they said it was for the dogs, which was kind of weird. For lunch, we had swordfish! It was actually really good, but of course, after eating, I still had a lot of rice left over. They also had this really good soda from Brazil, and I'm a soda junkie, so that was awesome. Tracting was basic today. We grabbed a big bag of Takis from Crazy Carolina and said we'd pay her back later because we can't buy stuff on Sunday. We didn't have many lessons today, but the lessons we did have went pretty well, and ever since eating lunch, my mind was magically in a better place again, so it was a good day.

TL;DR: Zone conference was brutal, exchanges were interesting, my Spanish needs practice, fasting, and lots and lots of Takis and Coke.

Spiritual Thought: 2 Nephi 4 is one of my favorite chapters. If you need a hype day about God, that's one of my recommendations.

Photos:

Meeting with the stake president

A big pile of dirt (my area)

Me and Elder Wilkens

What a Peruvian town looks like

Language study (productive)