Monday, November 10, 2008 - Week 2 in the Field!!

Haha, HI! Well I hope you don´t expect to hear from me very often or get a letter for sure. I haven´t received any letters or packages yet so wé´ll see what happens. Now...I heard something about receiving letters and packages at the Zone conferences. I guess it gets stored in the mission office and then the Zone leaders come and pick it up. Luckly, tomorrow´s zone conference! So next Monday you´ll know if I got them! Well, after two weeks, and as you can certainly imagine there´s alot to talk about. First my compaion because you want to know. His name is Elder Winkfield. Nobody in Mexico can pronounce it´s usually weenfee-el! Kind of funny, anyway. He´s from Spokane, Washington, and he´s a little bit interesting, nothing just blatantly wrong, he likes to obey the rules, and he knows the area. It´s still amazing to me how large our area is, it´s incredible. Our little area is a bike mission for the missionaries in Arizona. A bike area here is still small. I can´t, I can not in English or any words, describe how big our area is. If you want to check it out go to Google Earth and look up Tlajolmulco, or something along those lines, my Area is ¨Sante Fe¨¨Chulavista¨¨COlmas del roble¨¨Villas del Hacienda¨ and ¨Los Frenos¨ if they show up. It´s huge. Anyway, my companion said on our first day sometimes he struggles to love the people. I can imagine why now. For the most part I love them. The problem is they are blood bred Catholic, like I probably said last week. Not the I´m Catholic but I really don´t know what that means. Not many people want to listen to us. Often. Well, until we say ¨Well we´re not actually from the Catholic CHurch, We´re from the CHurch of Jesus Chr...¨ And then they usually start saying they aren´t interested. The whole baptism as a child thing is also a problem, most people and other missions you say, well technically it doesn´t count, you did it wrong. And people agree. Here, you don´t say that unless you´re REALLY tired of your mission, because you´re going to die. My biggest problems with the area now is we don´t use our resources. We contact wherever we happen to be standing at the moment or Knock doors, kind of on a whim, I think we should prayerfully pick a spot and rely fully on the Lord for that. We have to do 180 contacts a week. I don´t understand that because we´ll usually get 30 addresses and visit one all week. Then 180 more the next week. And visit 2-3. I don´t know. I have a lot of improvement to make on the contacting too though. What to say to catch their attention, how I should do it, how can I know if they´re interested. Well the buses are still crazy, we hitch hike alot too. Which is funny, sometimes they don´t stop all the way, so you have to keep one foot planted. It does save alot of money. Everythings MORE expensive here. Somethings like the bread, yeah 30 cents. But drinks and everything are either the same or, In Walmart, more expensive. By a long shot. I´ve learned one valuable thing about Mexico though. If it says ´made in Mexico´... it sucks. I think I told you that last week too. But it really applies. That one drink Senzao is the name, and another are exceptions. A two liter of orange soda is 80 cents. It´s pretty good. I calculate everyting in american dollars too, for the record. It´s easier with smaller numbers, when you go buy a soda and it´s 11.50 it´s more or less, What?? So yeah, I bought a pillow for 68.00 today. Lol, in Pesos. So about 7 bucks. The last time I checked it was 12:1 Pesos:Dollars. Which is great. But it fluctuates I´m told. Also I´m really sorry, I´ve been using money like I own a bank here. I DID find a pair of shoes here! There´s a fat people store and I bought some shoes, they ´seem´more comfy, but I have to walk around for a day before I´m going to know. I really hope they work, I´m looking forward to the shoes you send. The others are so hard, it´s a hard leather like bottom, my old shoes, and every step is just a clunk. The blisters cover all the middle of my foot from the balls to the toes, so it´s pretty bad. I´ve been putting Neosporin on and doubling the socks which is good. Elder Gonzalez, Elder Hoffman's compaion drained them (which was very itneresting) and afterwards I soaked them in hot water with salt. Which is supposed to help. So the shoes were +/- $80 and I´ve spent about another 40 on just stuff. I feel reeeeeeeeeally bad! = (The store I got the shoes in is across from what´s called ¨San Juan de Dios¨ which is the biggest black market I´ve ever seen. It´s about the size of Superstition Springs mall or Chandler Fashion, but with 3-4 times the goods. Because every little inch of space is taken. Everythings bootlegged and pirated. All the games and movies are copies and every other store is a shoe store. I found a belt buckle today of metal and such of a Nintendo Controller for 80 pesos. Or 7-8 bucks. Lol. So I got that , I bought a pillow some Oreos and a drink at Walmart on the way back to the house. I didn´t have a pillow and I still don´t have a blanket, lol. I´m VERY glad I brought sheets! The other night I didn´t close my camel back all the way and it leaked all over my sheets. I took some pictures of my house and companion and other such things. Preparation days go by so fast. It´s horrible the other days go by fast too, especially for 10:30 to 9:00 oclock, almost 12 hours. But I wish we had a little more time to do the things we need to do. Today I cleaned the floors of the hours, because you couldn´t walk around barefoot without getting fungus. The house is disgusting, but slowly one week at a time it gets better. I don´t know if I told you the laundry thing last week. But yes I too wash my clothes in a bucket like tray thing protruding from the wall and a cup to scoop water from the bucket. I took pictures of that too. I need to get those too you. I can send them via email which I´ll do eventually but I still have stuff scattered everywhere. As you can also imagine I don´t have much time for that either. So I need to find my camera cord and I´ll send those to you. I´ll send em all to you. Delete the ones I send (except the ones I like) and let you stash em. This place is a ghetto...lol. I don´t mind it that much, and once I get everything implemented and hopefully we start teaching more then things will move a little bit faster. Everyone here says their first area went by pretty slowly but after that it goes by nuts. Just really fast. I hope to go to Vallerta too, I really want to go to Vallerta. Personally I don´t want to spend much more than a single change anywhere. I wouldn´t mind staying here, and I might for more changes, but I´d love to go all over. Vallerta the city in Guadalajara, maybe even the Pueblos. Our area is actually Condo´s and such. Really small houses. But one thing I heard in the MTC is most people here will have ghetto houses and then just an incredible speaker sound system. Which is amazingly true. We´ll go into some GHETTO houses and there on the shelf, a speaker system the size or our T.V. Thousands of dollars. Everyone blasts their ´banda´ too. Not too much Mariachi, actually none except for 4 guys playing at a restaurant that I saw today. I´ve eatin´rice with one meal since I´ve been here and I´ve eatin´beans once. It´s all just random stuff here. Fortunately there´s a member across the street from our house who sells burgers and that comes in rediculous handy! Lol. This is a long email, lol. Well, I don´t have time to write letters so it´ll have to do. = P What else, ... I´m glad to hear about Josh´s new house, I hope to hear from some of you soon in a letter. I´m kind of bumbed about the email situation, but I guess it´s not that bad, I don´t like wasting alot of time on here anyway. We have an hour, we´re only supposed to take 30 but it´s impossible, I´m on 45 min. now. Thank you for the emails and updating me! I´m afraid I´m not going to have much an opportunity to check out my blog spot... = ( but I´m going to leave that for you to watch over K ! Lol I´ll let you know how the shoes and socks are! And then what else... Tell Josh and Erin Hi for me, Todd and Catherine too, I never had a chance to say thanks for the cookies! Oh, back to the money. This sucks, we have 93 bucks a month. Lol. Last week for lunch we went to sirloin steakhouse, that buffet, I think I told you about it... but that was 100 pesos or 10 bucks, well... that´s 1/9 orf my money...A candy bar is essencially a buck and the drinks are roughly a buck too. If I got a candy bar and a drink everyday I´d have 30 dollars. For all the rest of my breakfasts and dinners. So we don´t snack often. Snacks are the mst expensive anyway. My usual breakfast is as so. A bowl of Chocolate Krispies which is a Mexico only Kellogg´s cereal, it´s like Rice Krispie´s but has a big brown Elephant on the box, lol. And a piece of bread. Good old fashioned oven baked bread. Which is where the expression ´Bread of life´comes from I´m sure. That´s 3 pesos, less than 30 cents. And so that makes a good breakfast. Dinner we either get a free burger or buy snacks. Lol. the lunch as I believe I said is with a member. There are about 400 listed members. Sacrament meetings we have about 80. I don´t know. That´s one of my goals too, is when we eat with members, who usually don´t even go to church, well seomtimes. I´m going to talk about going to church and inviting friends and family to church or neighbors. References, lol... you get the point. We´re going to the Bishops meeting with his Counselors this week by my demand and the bishop convinced himself after my desire to become involved with the ward to call a ward mission leader. This way maybe we´ll get some member lessons and ward activities for the investigators to go too, get the members and the others mingling so maybe they have a little more reason to go! One of Elder Winkfield´s investigator´s from before I got here is getting baptized next week, and we´re striving for some others too, we have to wait for one coule to get Married, which here is very time consuming and VERY expensive! Alot of work to do! I´m trying to keep my mind on the work. I wander to music and video games, cars ... well anything, quite often. I'm told and I know that the more you focus on the work the faster the time goes and the way I see it is you´ll get more done anyway. I´m really strengthening my faith overall, but in especially following your promptings, it´s difficult sometimes, it´s the little things, but they always lead out. And I say you can either worry about your problems or worry about the Lord´s problems and he´ll take care of yours. So either way you´ll get what you need to get done, done. But one other way you´ll do the Lord´s will too. I hope these blisters go away soon, the shoes are being put to the test tonight! I´m excited for the others too! I heard that anything I have to sign for will get here safely, other than that I´m not too excited about asking you to mail me anything... but food sure does sound good. Lol. Sorry again for the money spending thing, if I kept this up it´s be a pretty hefty price and I don´t want that. But at the same time I might take a quick trip to San Juan e Dios and look at movies just before Christmas ; ) I LOVE YOU MOM! I´ve been looking at all the little things you helped me with lately. I feel horrible for the way that I treated you and Dad. Everytime I look at a pair of my garments I see the little J.T. and a heart or a smiley face next to it and it seriously brings tears to my eyes. Every time I read a letter I start to cry. All the little odds and ends I brought from home made me swell up in side. The lucky shell...it´s a frickin shell. But it makes me cry...I love you so much Dad you too. I´ll love you more if you get that 5 year contract... lol. I love you anyway, I´m actually so incredibly happy you took my idea with the house thing. I ´ve thought on more than one occasion how I wish I were there to fix´em up with you! That´d be fun... But I´m on the Lord´s errand, and it´s hard. It´s tough. Most people help me with my Spanish but it sometimes feels like they think I´m the only one who can´t speak Spanish theír first 2 weeks here. It doesn´t matter though, it´s not true. The only burden is most people ask me In Spanish if I can speak Spanish (these are the Mexicans) and when I say not much they talk faster and use big words I ´don´t know...lol. I don´t want all that to come across negative though, I´ve learned so much, and after 2 weeks I can speak pretty good understanding too, I can understand alot more! I know taht the Lord is blessing me in this, this is not me. For me to understand these things and speak the things I do is a God given gift. I want to knjow that in my heart too, and not just say it! But it´s hard, and I´m glad I have a little hope for the future, cause I´m pretty tired already and I don´t want to go back out this week, If I don´t have some excitement, but I´m glad the Lord is working through me and with me and with/through the other elders. The kindness of everyone keeps us alive. We live off of generosity and we...or at least I feel horrible about taking it all the time, but we need! I hope you continue to feed Elder Kelly over there! Lol. Give him snacks, drinks let him know you appreciate what he´s doing. Caus this is hard. Anyway. I love you Mom...so much. I´m going to come home in two years and we´re going to have some kick butt Family Home Evenings, and we´re going to spend a little more time together...Thank you for your blessings and the support you´re giving me, caus Satan wants me to give up. And it´s hard. I received a blessing on my feet from Elder hasslehoff (Hoffman) and he said this is a test and if I endure it, my feet will be stronger. I know the Lord blesses you here and you too at home for principles of obedience. We have a half hour in the morning to work out. I have a Nestle can of cocoa now filled with dirt to lift with. That´s nthing, I don´t have anything, but If I use that time wisely I grow stronger, more than a can of cocoa would usually permit. If you go to bed on time, you sleep like a doll! Etc. Anyway. Tell everyone I love them. And maybe visit the guys again on Tuesday and tell em all I love them... LoVE THEM! Lol. Tell Dad I miss him. I loveHim, I respect him...even though I´m still smarter... I won´t admit that yet...lol. Not in everything, he has a wealth of knowledge and priceless experience and heart that would conquer the grinch. Tell him too keep that. Never let any one work over it... Thank Thank Thank You You YOu! I have to go. I love you.Love, Sincerely, Until we meet again.Jake Taylor - Elder-