A Mexican Thanksgiving, oh wait that doesnt exist!

Hello Hello!

Well Thanksgiving week has come and gone, and it was a little sad to be gone for it, one of my favs, but it helped that they don't have Thanksgiving here and it sure doesn't feel like that time of year. Ha. I'm sure you guys had a great week, everyone seems to be super busy which is good.
Note: Elder Elgan wrote this after realizing that Thanksgiving is this week and not last week – “Oh I thought for sure it was last week, So did the whole mission, and least my zone. Oops.”

So my thanksgiving went a little bit like this. Studies, walking around in the sun, with no success because nobody likes to open their doors, until lunch. We went in to Centenario to the house of an hermana that lives over there. She fed us tortas de papa, which looks like a twinky made of potato with ham and cheese in it. Also soupa de pasta of course, beans, with some heavily limed lettuce and avocados. The best parts were the coke, and the chocolate cake with flan on top for dessert. Definitely not thanksgiving but I'll take it! It was good. Then after lunch we found a part member family, and put 3 bap. dates with 3 of the kids. It then started pouring and so we got absolutely soaked walking back for our umbrellas and jackets haha. But oh well its worth the fechas. We then found a new family to teach and got 3 new investigators! They sell desserts on the street, and they gave us the corn on the cob with the mayo, cheese, and chile on it like in nacho libre. So good! Loved it so much more that I thought I would. We finished off the night with the Eldas and of course they gave us gelatina (don't know why the Mexicans just love to make anything into a jello), Hot cocoa and cookies. It was a really good day, lots of success and good food.

Last Tuesday we did divisions again. I went with Elder Welch in his area of Morelos. He is just 1 transfer ahead of me so it was interesting having two new guerros (white boys). We managed to do just fine with our Spanish. Morelos is kinda a sketchy area I think. Ha we were walking down the street and a crazy started running at us with his arm out, not sure why and so we kind of starting walking fast and I was looking back at him and ran head first into this lamp post. Just bout knocked me out. haha no just kidding but my head hurt for a little while after. I forgot about the crazy after that I think he just turned around and left thinking I was more out of it than him. We also taught a new guy that contacted us on the street. During the lesson he told us he used to worship the devil, and drink blood and all sorts of joyous things. There are some creepy things that happen down here, haha but oh well.

So the other day I got talking to my new friend, The Churro Man. haha. We're pretty tight now. Found out that his wife is actually a member but inactive, and he lives a crappy life and wants to change. So we are starting to teach him and now he gives us free churros! Ah yes life is good. haha.

Sunday was good yesterday, it was one of those random cold days. I would guess in the 50s. But when its cold, nobody comes out, even for church. They are all flojos. (lazy butts) So we had about 30 people at church which wasn't the best, and none of our 7 investigators that I woke up at 5:30 to go and get answered their door. They need to protect themselves from the bitter 50s haha.Church always seems to go by so much faster here than it ever did at home. ha Oh well and they told us that for next month the bus that takes all the members to church can't do it for December because our numbers are too few so I will be surprised if anybody shows up to church.

Today was a good day, we woke up cleaned the house, and then went to a zone activity. We practiced a skit play thing we are doing for an activity for all our investigators and members in December. It is about the member and missionaries working together issue (M&M´s). I play the ward mission leader in the play and I also play the piano for our angels we have heard on high at the end. After Me, Eld Her., Our DL, and Elder Welch went over to their area, we bought some chickens from a rotisiree place, some tortillas, and jarittos and went to their house and watched the other side of heaven. I have been wanting to watch it ever since I got back from Tonga, and finally did! Love that movie, it makes me realize how easy my mission actually is. Makes me miss Tonga, the people mostly. The people here aren't quite as easy to love as they were, but oh well we will get there. haha.

The other day at lunch, the day after Thanksgiving the hermana was making a chocolate cake and frosting and it made me miss cooking so much. Ah is probably one of the things I miss most. Just cooking and baking good food, with real ingredients, I think when I come home I am just going to cook for a week haha

The visitor center opened last week so I am excited to go and take some members this week.

Sorry no pics this week, didn't take any. My zone leader went to the offices today and I haven't heard from them that the package is there yet. My DL gave me a letter that Stacie Gomm sent, but that was all.

Mother I will go back and answer your questions after I send this, don't remember them, in our chat. .

Love and Miss you All!

Elder Elgan

Hola Familia!

Here is some churros and hot chocolate for my cold Wednesday. . 

haha 10 peso for double that many churros, 

gonna miss things like this when I come back.

My newly stocked kitchen

Torta's 

Here are some pics from the Temple today, the visitor center opens this Friday so that is pretty exciting for everybody, also the first white sisters of Mexico City East came today.

Hello again!

Another good week here in Sunny Mexico as you guys say, haha however this last Wednesday was freezing cold I wouldn't have been surprised if it started snowing. The Mexicans were dressed like they were going to the South Pole for a few days. haha But now it is back to the same same perfect warm temps! I guess this week is 3 months, I swear it was just 2 . . I'll take it.

This past week was a little frustrating as far as teaching went, we had almost all of our citas (appointments) fall through every single day. I was wondering what in the heck we were doing wrong. But this week should be a lot better. I am hoping we can get a lot of fechas (bap. dates) out this week so we can reach our blanco navidad (White Christmas) baptismal goals. If people would just get married before living together. . its all good though that's what repentance is for :)

Sunday was definitely the most eventful day of the week. We woke up extra early to go and get all of our investigators who had accepted the invitation to come to church with us, 6 or 7, and not a single one answered the door. hmm. Sucks for them that they didn't get to hear my awesome talk on enduring to the end that I gave. haha. No it was good, lots of the members came up to me after and were like felizidades! (congrats) and I was like. .  thanks? After church we hoped on the ward bus and came back to Carrera only to realize we locked the keys in the house. An hour and a freakin half later of finagling with a wire hanger through the window and the help of our ganster neighbor (obviously not his first rodeo breaking into a house) we got it open. So study time yesterday was a tid bit shorter. Then we went to lunch. . With Hermana Sarahi (the ex missionary) which last time was really good but this time . . lets just say straight to the top of the bottom 3 list of the week. haha. It was pig feet, it was really similar to tongue, same consistency, but for some extra flavor had little black hairs growing out of it. I just had to tell myself they were spices. ahhh so bad, it was funny because we were talking about Hermana Sarahis stories of her mission when she had to eat food she didn't like, and while I was choking down some hairy feet I was like "yeah that must have been rough". .

We had a zone fast for Friday and I really wish I would have developed better habits of fasting, because ahh its the hardest thing in the world for me, haha,  definitely something I am really gonna have to work on.

An awesome experience this week was when I was able to teach in English. A brother of one of our investigators who was living in Oregon moved down here, and he is more comfortable in English so I taught the whole lesson in English. I loved it, it was awesome. I was struggling for some words in English which was weird just because I have really only ever taught the gospel in Spanish so its all I really know it in. But the best part was Elder Hernandez standing there with a blank look on his face the whole time, feels nice to give him a taste of my life the past few months. haha.

Today was a really great day. We woke up, studied, cleaned the house, then went to Walmart. I bought a ton of good food, and I am so happy about it, I am going to send a picture of it all, that's how happy I am about it. haha. Then we ate some tortas and went to the offices to get flu shots. yay. Hopefully I don't get sick like I always do from them. I got some good temple and torta pics that I will send also. haha.

The Spanish is still coming, it is hard for me to see too much progress week to week, but I know its there. I really know most of the grammar pretty good, now I just need to learn all the vocab. haha lots of words. . I wrote the President for the first time in Spanish today so that felt good. Hopefully he will understand. haha.

The Week Top 5:

1. Teaching the lesson in English

2. The food of p-day. haha Tortas and my fully stocked house

3. Finished the BOM in the mish

4. Our ward now has ward missionaries to help us!

5. Street food. . haha tacos, wings, and churros. yum

Bottom 3:

1. Hairy Pig Feet Surprise

2. Being locked out of the house

3. Freezing cold Wednesday

Sounds like everything is going really good at home! I will definitely miss Thanksgiving, one of my favorites, but oh well. Hope the house gets done soon so I can see pics!

Love you all!

Elder Elgan

First 6 days. . weeks? What. . seriously?

Here are some pics of the main road I live in, 

and my doors from the street. 

Buenos Tardes!

Another great week has come and gone here in the ever so lovely Mexico city. It was a really good week, and now I have officially been here for 6 weeks! First transfer done. I am staying with Elder Hernandez which was a surprise, we both thought for sure he was gone, by the end of this next transfer he is going to have over 7 and a half months in Carrera alone. haha so long. The next transfers are on Christmas eve but I heard they might either have them the week before or after, hopefully after so there isn't a risk of me moving and not knowing the members for Christmas skyping and what not. But I cant believe these first 6 weeks are over, they went so fast. Probably the hardest 6 weeks of my entire life for many reasons, but definitely the most rewarding. 6 more weeks and I won't be a trainee anymore. yay. So an elder in my zone was talking to me the other day and was like, we are going to have 102 weeks in our mission so if you just pretend like that's 100 weeks, then every week is 1 percent of the Mish. That makes it seem like so much shorter. haha.

The teaching is going really good here, one thing that is frustrating, however, is that we have so many golden investigators, but everyone lives together and is not married so they cant be baptized. ahh Its just another hurdle that is a pain to deal with especially when they have kids. Oh well all else with the people is good. The Spanish is really finally starting to kick in. I can really understand most everything now, probably 90 percent, but I have to focus pretty good. Sometimes I find myself day dreaming when people are talking to us because it takes so much effort to listen and understand. haha. Now the difficulty is just being able to say everything I want to. It is definitely something that is just going to come with time. We did have a lesson yesterday, we taught the restoration and I taught most of it, and I could say everything I needed to, it was my first taste of what it would be like to be fluent. haha. feels nice. one day. . . . The other day I gave a blessing to the little boy, Alejandro, of the Eldas, and Elder H gave one to the little girl Zoe (sounds like soy). I was mad at myself after because I gave it in English, when I probably could have done it in Spanish.

So last Friday Elder Hollander went home, so we had to take Elder Gillis in and we have been a trio since Friday. It is really nice to have someone to really help me with the Spanish, and someone that I can actually just talk to normally. haha. He taught me some good slang things that are good to know for the streets, because when the crazies come to you, you want to sound like you know whats going on, and your not scared of him my taking in formal Spanish, which is all missionaries are supposed to use. Elder Gillis is from Canada so our trio represented all 3 countries of N. America. haha. We didn't really have room for him in our house, but it was good anyway, we had to get creative, his chair was a bucket with a cutting board on it.

We had conference this weekend of our zone and stake. Elder Gonzolez of the 70 talked to us all Saturday and Sunday, as well as our mission president and his wife. Both days were all about how members and missionaries need to work together! My struggles here exactly. haha, just what our ward needed to hear. Good stuff

So we have an investigator named Guadalupe (the lady with the tiny house with no lights). She used to be a nun, and is crazy she thinks if it isn't in the bible, then it isn't doctrine. She is so difficult to teach because she gets off track so easy which is such a distraction. After 4 visits we finally got through the restoration and I was really thinking there is just no way with her. But then in this last visit she asked Do you guys believe in Angels? We said yes why? and she said because when I close my eyes I see two angels sitting in front of me. My whole perspective changed on her after that. haha.

I don't know what my problem is here but I seem to get so attached to people here, the Elders especially. haha its weird because with Elder Hollander going home and Elder Gillis is getting transferred, I was so sad about it. I don't even know why, haha.

The food this week, I had one awful thing. Chicarrone. Don't know if that's how you spell it. It is just fried pig skin, which is half decent if it is just in the fried form but we had it in an awful soup thing so it was just soggy greasy nasty pig skin. Probably the most unhealthy thing I've ever eaten, at least it felt that way. haha. One of our lunch appointments this week fell through so she said buy whatever and I will reimburse you. So we went to the grocery store right next to our house and I bought some microwave pizzas and pepsi. Not bad. All other food was good, we ate some tortas today that were really good at the temple.

So. . if possible it is really just so great if you guys can send real letters, typed or whatever, even if you email them as well. Letters take just under 2 weeks to get to me. You can also dear elder, but tell me if you do so I can watch for them. Because I want to have the hard copies of letters that i can read at home, because when they are only email I only get to read them once, then never see them again. But email is still good too. I was reading all the letters from the MTC when we had some down time today and I love reading them, over and over again.

You guys had such a crazy week!! That party looked SO fun! I´ve always wanted to have one of those!  The costumes looked hilarious, such a good time. Sounds like Josh and Kayla's house is coming along, I am excited to see pictures!

Mother, to answer your questions, most everything we drink is from the members but the water I drink at home is from big filtered water jugs that we buy for 12 pesos. I have a filtered water bottle that the MTC gives you, but I don't ever use it. But this is why I wanted the normal one. So we have one meal a day with members at 2. We eat breakfast in the mornings, which for me is usually cereal, oatmeal, bananas, yogurt, granola bars.  Then we just eat when we come in for the night after planning around 9:30. 

It was so great to hear from you all Thanks for the letters Mom, Julie, Nichole, Brandi love them! Especially love the pics, I want you guys to send me hard copies of them all! haha.

Love you all!

Elder Elgan