Still having fun with the Language

Tuesday, Martes (November 19, 2013)

Our outlet for the heater melted so I’ve been sleeping in a sweatshirt ever since then. My comp and I taught a new investigador.  Well, he mostly did, he repeats stuff like a champ. Our progressing investigador got way trashed and had the Mexico homeland security come and take him.  We convinced them to take him to his ex-wife’s house. The other elders H y W who live 2 min from us but proselyte in Clatichua.   They are fresh, Elder H is from Mexico somewhere and Elder W is from Cali.  Elder H just randomly says my name all the time, funny dude.  I’m getting humbled for sure.

 

Wednesday, Miercoles (November 20, 2013)

Had our district meeting where we talk about our goals and what we need to do better. Elder G, the big tall white guy from Virgina, is our district leader. Cool guy, he helps me out a lot. He said “I love you” over the phone and I thought he asked how old I was so I said “21”-- haha.  He said “Cool but I said I love you”.  Haha good times.  I have no clue what’s going on ever in the district meetings cause they are all speaking spanish ha-ha.  Oh it’s rough for sure learning a new idioma.   I’m gonna start calling my comp John Gruden cause he is calling audibles without telling me all the time.  We were supposed to teach Plan of salvation but we taught restoration. Did it without telling me.  Whatever though.

Thursday, Jueves (November 21, 2013)

We took a bus,  well buses, to the interviews with the president.  It took us 3 hours total.  I slept most of the time…love my president and even his wife - they are awesome.  They remind me of Grandpa and Grandma Farner for sure. We got muffins from COSTCO.  We need to do a better job planning.  My comp who’s Latin, is always late.  It’s embarrassing showing up late; but every time we show up late our citas aren’t even ready.  So it’s Latin time on Latin time I guess.  Still I would like to be on time. 

Been seeing lots of ruppas and loving it.  I want to keep some of them at the apartment, but I don’t want the diseases or bugs considering I have bug bites all over my body.  It’s like chicken pox. I don’t know what they are.  They itch like crazy.  I wake up in the middle of the night itching myself.  That’s Mexico. I’m getting humbled that’s for sure.

Friday, Viernes (November 22, 2013)

We taught my man V today.  He’s a barber and speaks English.  He calls us brothers every time he sees us, it sounds more like “bruders” though.  He plays soccer every Sunday during church which is rough.  So I asked him in Spanish which is more important, God and church or soccer.  He said God and church but I gotta play some soccer.  I’m confused about him but he’s the man.

 

I had some food at the obispos casa…absolutely amazing.  It was this soup with corn, meat, lettuce, onions, radishes and tasted like heaven when you dipped a butter tortilla in it. Also started my ingles teaching with P and his 2 sisters. So fun. Love doing that. Their mom always gives me some sort of pastry.

Saturday, Sabado y Sunday, Domingo (November 23 and 24, 2013)

Taught P y his familia about the Plan of Salvation. I did most of the teaching and my companion did most of the talking.  Church was good; understood more and am reading in Spanish a whole lot better.  Some things I noticed over the week. Every car has some sort of an attempt at neon lighting, kinda weird.  The clothes take days to dry when being air dried. There are always worms crawling on the shower floor…gross creepy ones.  The bus drivers are crazy-- they pass like 6 cars, trucks, buses at a time.  Crazy.  Every time we go to the supermarket we have to check in our mochillas and then get them when we leave.  When it’s sunny one side of the street always has shade and the other side is blistering hot. The shady side is always crowded. And some lady asked if we were stewards on an airplane haha.

Anyway times are getting betterish…still have fun with the language and can’t wait till I can speak it fluently.  But who knows when that will be. I’m getting more comfortable with talking but I don’t know what to say cause they are speaking so fast.  It’s rough but I’m still loving it.  The highs are way better than the lows.  I pray like 6 times a day now and I always pray for you too. Thanks I need all the love I can get.

love ya and miss ya

Elder Farner

Serving in Serdan Mexico

November 18, 2013

This week has been, well no words can explain what has been going on but I will try. We are in a city called Serdan. It’s small and has a lot of people. The weather is Seattle -ish except more sun and gets way cold at night.  My companion is the man.  He’s from the Dominican Republic and speaks little to no English; so we have some fun conversations you could say.

Pretty crazy down here.  Lots of noises.  Music, lots of music.  They have trucks, bikes, and 4 wheelers that ride around with music so people know when to buy this stuff.   They have gas for the boilers, water like the big jugs they have in the offices. We hand dry our clothes. The relief society president lets us use her washing machine.

The idioma(language) is getting mejor (better).  It’s difficult cuz they speak so fast down here its half impossible to understand.  I pretty much just stay and say  que bueno, bien, bueno, si, no, no entiendo or siempre, and then bear my testimony in sketchy Spanish.  They have lots of motorcycles that are way too loud and they have ruppas for years.  They are so ragged and nasty but they is an occasional ruppa that I would take home.  Cars, lots of bugs and trucks and gotta have a sticker on it.  Nike, Jordan, Grenade.  Also Lamborghini and Ferrari stickers for years.  Lots of jackets with sports teams on them; loving it for sure.  

Never been more angry, frustrated, sad cuz I can’t contribute much or understand anything and it’s hard to feel good with that.  Also so much walking…I’ve walked more in the past week then I have in the past 2 years for sure, and stoked, happy, enjoying life because it’s amazing when people want to hear us or share their feelings with us and help us out.

The spirit works in the wildest ways. Just now a guy next to me started speaking English. 99 percent of the people here speak Spanish, but he asked about our church and when we meet and wrote down his info and called the English language the most beautiful idioma in the world and said he would see us on Sunday. pretty sweet.

We have 3 investigators with a baptismal date.  We have 16 new appointments next week.  They are all contacts.  We were trying to find a house and couldn’t find it; knocking on all sorts of doors and never found him.  But we got 6 new appointments in the meantime.  I even did the contact, well the first part on one of them.

There were 67 people at sacrament meeting. That’s about all that’s happening.  The place we stay in has the shower and toilet together, and no ac or heater, but we got a plug in one.  The members feed us every day and I have had avena (don’t remember the English word-ha) with peanut butter every morning and microwaved sandwiches before bed…nasty.  But it’s a blast and has flown by.  Got a busy week coming up for sure.... anyway till next time.

wish you could be down here

love you and miss you

Elder Farner

President and Sister Christensen with Elder Farner