week 9: when taking pictures, be a statue

Jesus really is everywhere!

Hey Everyone,

     This week was hard, but awesome. It was hard because it was super hot and we walked a ton. I'm ready for the weather to cool down. One of our investigators left for college, but we're still working with her sister. We also had to contact a lot and nothing happened for a lot of it, but it was also super awesome for a few different reasons. 

    First off, Manuel is getting baptized this Saturday! It is super cool because before I got here the Elders had only contacted him, so I have been here for all the lessons. It's going to be interesting for the baptism because he only has one leg. Me and Elder Arroyo are both going to help him into the font and then I get to perform the baptism.

     This week we also had a really fun activity to find people. We made a little stand to give out free hielitos. Hielitos are these plastic bags filled with ice cream, and you bite the tip off and eat it. We also gave out pamphlets, and Book of Mormons. It was fun and we contacted over 60 people. 

A few cool/funny things that have happened so far.

    -A drunk guy came up to me and talked to me and Elder Arroyo. He asked us to say a prayer with him and kept interrupting it to tell us what to ask for. Then he found out I spoke english and started switching between spanish and english. He'd put his arm around me, pull me close, and say something like ''You are my brother forever'' and go back to spanish.

     -There's a Hermana in our ward, and her son was the voice of Ron Weasley in the spanish translation of Harry Potter. I wish I could meet him but he's in Spain studying right now.

--Elder Thompson

Bits and pieces from family phone calls:

We were talking with a lady and tried to give her a pass along card with a picture of Christ on it. She wouldn't take the card because "she doesn't worship images"?? I found this hilarious!

I had haberno guacamole...super hot but so good! I also had tacos Al Pastor (my dad would be jealous). 

It was a really spiritual moment interviewing Manuel for his baptism and helping him see that he is ready.

Killed a really BIG spider in my house this week...my mom would have burned the house down before killing that thing. 

passing out ice cream and talking about Christ!

Last pday, we went to the main part of Veracruz.

Lots of statues made for lots of epic pictures.

this one is my mom's favorite!

my trainer is awesome!

week 8: those tan lines

package of treats from my mom!

Well this week has been a little rough. Monday after P-day we went to our district meeting and that was fun. We had english class, and played a game where someone chooses a topic like fruits or colors, then picks one specifically. Then we go in a circle and say something in that topic and if you say the thing they chose, or repeat, they dump water on you. The problem was the cup was filled with a ton of water. I repeated and regretted that very quickly. It was fun.

We had a lot of people we found and set up return appointments. When me and Elder Arroyo went back most of them were gone, or couldn't talk right then. That was pretty rough. We also had a training in the mission offices. It was awesome, and I got to see Elder Miskho from the CCM. The first thing he said to me was about how tan I've gotten. I've got a wonderful collar tan line (picture down below).

Things with Manuel are going really well. I found out a lot more about him this week. He's from Culiacan and he's moving his family. It's sad because he's leaving September 15 to go back and sell his house. I think we're going to be able to baptize him before he leaves, because he only needs to attend church one more time.

Until Next Week...

--Elder Thompson

Bits and pieces from family phone calls:

Best thing I ate this week was chili rellenos...so good! They reminded me of dad's poppers.

My mom sent cinnamon toast crunch cereal...but we don't have milk...so I'm just eating plain and it's awesome!

Addresses here are so crazy. There's random street names and house numbers, but no street signs, so we end up wandering around and asking people where to find specific streets until we find someone who can send us in the right direction.

My tan lines are really coming in strong..haha...even the ring tan line.

Homesickness is getting better this last week.

The language is coming slowly, but I can tell I'm understanding more.

our washing machine

the beach near us

that collar tan line is coming in nice!

week 7: learning to do laundry

my first day in Veracruz with President Palmer, his wife, and Elder Arroyo

Tuesday-We got up and took Elder Arroyo's old companion to the mission offices, and we went back to the house and I unpacked. We had some study time and then left to teach a lesson to a lady named Ivonne. We went to her house and found out she wasn't home so we contacted in the neighborhood for a bit. We found a guy named Miguel who we visited again later in the week, and we also found a lady named Irma. She has three dogs, and Elder Arroyo and I helped walked her dogs and Elder Arroyo taught her while we walked. We got back and she invited us in to wash our hands. On the way out I saw she had the picture of Christ visiting the Americas and we asked about it. That was pretty cool. I also found out that we almost always eat lunch with members, and because it's the main meal we don't really cook on our own.

Wednesday-We taught a few lessons, one with Miguel that went really well, and another with this guy named Manuel. Manuel is super cool, but it's sad because he lost one of his legs. We invited both of them to church, and to be baptized.

Thursday-Not to much happened there was a lot of contacting and another lesson with Manuel that went well. We also me with a few less actives.

Friday-We didn't do anything different, there was a lot of sun and I forgot sunscreen, but it wasn't too bad. I've been getting used to the heat and I'm literally always sweating.

Saturday-We had a few more lessons, and had to walk really far for our lunch appointment. Then we did some contacting, but we couldn't find anyone.

Sunday-We went to Miguel's house to pick him up for church at nine, church is at ten, but he didn't answer. We went back to the church and waited for the ward mission leader so we could go pick up Manuel. Manuel was ready to go and he enjoyed church. The ward has a lot of people, like 150-200, and it was super awesome. After church we ate with a family, and then we visited a few people. 

I'm done with my first week and it's crazy how much I've learned. I'm really excited to be here, and it's crazy how different it is here. I'm washing my laundry by hand right now, and the house is super hot, except in the bedroom cause we have a swamp cooler. 

--Elder Thompson

Bits and pieces from family phone calls:

Our casa is in a gated community where every house is exactly the same. 

We have only cold water, but with the humidity, you never need a hot shower!

We have a concrete wash basin system in the backyard for doing laundry...so yeah, washing my clothes by hand and hanging them to dry takes so long.

We were teaching an hermana last week and she suddenly had us go hide behind her house. Because my Spanish isn't great, I had no idea why. My comp explained later that the Jehovah's Witness missionaries had pulled up in front of her house and she didn't want them to see us there....so funny! I was so confused!

We really only eat lunch here and the members made really good food.

We did go shopping and bought bread, peanut butter, yogurt, and nutella....that will cover breakfast/dinner for the week. They feed us so much at lunch, we just aren't hungry later.

We walk A LOT. We take a bus from our casa to the area in Veracruz where we knock doors and street contact. It's hot and tiring, but the people we talk to are kind. Manuel spends most of his time in the park. We are hoping he continues to progress and keeps coming to church.

one more cartoon doppleganger from the laundry in the CCM

Elder Caleb Miller from AF...so good to see someone from home!

Elder Arroyo and the rest the trainers/greenies

art in Mexico is just wow.

week 6: hello/goodbye

  So it's been a crazy week so far. Saturday was pretty sad we had to say goodbye to our teachers. We were Hermana Resendiz's first district, so she was pretty sad. Then Sunday was really sad when I had to say goodbye to my district. We all got really close during the CCM because we saw each other all the time. Then during church we sang a musical number and all bore our testimonies. 

    Monday morning me and Elder Miskho woke up at about 12:30 and went to reception. We got to the airport at 2:30 and checked in our bags. Then I saw a Krispy Kremes in the airport and went and got 2 donuts which were amazing. We started boarding the plane at 5:30 and left at about 6:45. We got into Veracruz around 7:15 or 7:25, and the humidity hit like a freight train. That was fun. 

    We went to the mission president's house and had breakfast which was picadas, chicken and beans. Picadas are like mini spicy pizza things and they are good. I met my companion, Elder Arroyo, and he's awesome. Then I went to Zone Meetings which we have every week because we all live close. I got to go, but I'll talk to you all next Monday.

--Elder Thompson

bits and pieces from family phone calls:
I was so tired Monday night, I didn't even bother putting sheets on the bed.
My companion is from a place just south of Mexico city, so we are speaking a lot of Spanish.
We did some knocking Tuesday, and met a woman who had 3 dogs. We offered to take her dogs for a walk. When we came back, she invited us in and we noticed a pass along card with a picture of Christ on her fridge. We asked her about it, and she didn't remember where she had gotten the card...she had never met with the missionaries. We made a return appointment with her!

looking a little dazed after being up since midnight!

all the greenies

My trainer: Elder Arroyo

week 5: shipping out

Well, I got through the CCM, and I'm shipping out Monday at 2:00 in the morning. It's crazy because it feels like I just got here. Here's a quick summary of the week.

Saturday: Elder Miskho thought it would be funny to set an alarm for 3:30 in the morning. That was funny in hindsight, but in the moment it sucked.

Sunday: Elder Miskho was at it again, but this time he set three alarms for 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30. By the third alarm I was so tired I didn't even wake up. Then we said goodbye to another district in our branch. We also watched a video on the building of the Salt Lake Temple. 

Monday: Elder Miskho was too tired to set more alarms, so I got a full night's rest. We also were walking back to the casa when we saw some Elders picking avocados from a tree. The only problem was that the avocados were about 20 feet off the ground, their solution was to tape a bunch of sticks together and put a coat hanger on the top. Surprisingly it worked. 

Tuesday: So everyday in our classes we have this bug spray we have to put on, and my district has gotten into the habit of hiding it from Hermana Resendiz, and we took it to new heights today, figuratively and literally. We got a shoelace and tied it to a cord hanging from the ceiling. 

Wednesday: We had TRC in the morning, and it was cool. Me and Elder Cox were able to teach to the whole plan of salvation twice to the members that came. 

Thursday: It was my birthday and I turned 19. That was fun. I got to call my family and talk with them for a bit. We also had a service project in the kitchen. My companion and I were helping a guy named Estaban, and he had us open a bag of sugar and pour it into a container. After we did that he told us we could go back to our casa and take a nap, but we instead went and played volleyball. It was fun. 

A quote I found by C. S. Lewis that I really love is  “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. … There are no ordinary people. … Your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses”.

Everyone is a child of God with infinite potential. We must try to see people as God does. Everyone has worth, and I know it is our job to try bring everyone to Christ.

I'll talk to you all next week,

--Elder Thompson