Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Week 79 - :)

Today is a good day to be a missionary. Why? Because I had a record number of emails, and received a ton of good news (and not so good news - sorry about the kneecap Roy). I love you guys and I´m so grateful for your support. 

This week we are going to have a baptism! We are baptizing Marciano - a 96 year old man who had been Catholic all his life. He doesn´t hear too well so we have to shout in his ear but he´s really smart and he´s making a good choice. I´m pretty excited. 

Dad- Bummer about the US hockey team. They´ll do better in 4 years when I´m there yelling at the TV. lots of questions today :)

1.  What is the Spanish word for where you live?  Apartment, Flat, or whatever you call it there...
     Casa (house). There aren´t that many apartment complexes here - I lived in one in central, but other than that I´ve lived in houses.

2.  Tell us of an amazing spiritual experience this week.
    There are lots. But one that sticks out is from our District meeting. We have 2 new missionaries in the district (they´re both gringos - Elder Merrell and Hermana Westbrook). So we just talked about what every new missionary needs to know. About our spiritual experiences and how they can be happy despite the difficulties they will face. It was great as those of us with more experience told them of our love for the mission and the blessings we have seen. We also watched a video of Elder Holland in the MTC going nuts haha. It was similar to his talk in GC about Peter on the shore of Galilee from John 21. But it was a bit more intense. Peter, lovest thou me?

3.  Tell us of the most amazing food experience this week.
     Easy - Tlayudas. They are from Oaxaca. It's pretty much just a super giant quesadilla. One of them was filled with crickets - not bad. It won´t be replacing chicken, beef and pork any time soon, but it's good.

4.  Tell us of the most questionable food experience this week.
     Well...crickets. and a hamburger - those are always dangerous in Mexico. They really aren´t any good and generally lead to typhoid ha.

5.  Tell us if there is any place in your area that the Missionaries go to on P-Day for a cultural or sight seeing experience.
     Yeah! We´ve got the aguacero. 


and la sima de la cotorras. Check it out!





6.  Does the Ward building have Wi-Fi?
     Umm, I don´t think so. 

7.  Do you go to Ward Council?
     If we had it I would go haha.

8.  What is your shoe situation?
     Sad. The Eccos are spent but I know they can go the distance haha.

9.  Have you used all the clothes you brought, or are you still saving some for later?
     I´ve used and abused them all, with exception of the sweater.

10.  How long has your companion been out?
     He completed his first year a couple of weeks ago.

11.  What are your companion discussions like, i.e. How do the two gringos speak to each other in Spanish?
     Umm, I guess the same way two gringos speak to each other in English. haha. It's nothing too fancy. 

12.  I assume in learning the language, speed is key, in other words, keeping up.  How are you at that?  Are you able to have a speedy conversation, without thinking about it?
     I can keep up just fine. I speak Spanish with a bit of an accent and a less extensive vocabulary but it's really no harder for me than speaking English. 

13.  Speaking of language learning, I assume there is a time you switch from translating in your head, to just understanding the language. Is that true?  How long did that take?
      It's a bit of a gradual transition. As you learn to conjugate the verbs and extend your vocab you do less and less translating. I think I was speaking with translations after about 2 or 3 months here.

14.  What percent of the time do you think in Spanish vs. English.
If I read or hear English I think in English. If it's Spanish I think in Spanish. It's really amazing how well the brain can separate the two. Also sometimes I´ll read scriptures in one language and it will remind me of another scripture in the other language. It's cool. I look forward to talking to you in Spanish :)

Thanks for the email and I hope you have a great week! Love you.

Mom - I think I got her package (Sheila's) - I got a total of 3 but I can´t see the names on them. About my apartment I really have no idea. I´m good with Glenhood our anywhere that RAD suggests. I love you mom!

Roy and Andee - Well I´m pretty much out of time...I guess I´ll just make myself some shells and cheese haha. :) Congrats on the grad school offers. Hopefully Harvard and Stanford reply soon with good news. :) I love you guys!

Steph - Hey! thanks for the update. I promise I´ll write you next week, I´m super short on time. 

Ok. love y´all ha. 

Elder Roth

Wendy to Clark: I  "walked" all over Ocozoco looking for a basketball court. 
 This green house is right up the street...Is this where you live? 
 Clark replied: nailed it :)

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