Hello Everyone!!
ONLY 2 MORE WEEKS!!! Its crazy how time is flying by now! This week everyone in my week will be getting a Latino Companion. Mine is from Venezuela and comes at about 9:30 tonight I heard. I'm a little nervous because the Venezuelans in the past have been crazy and off the walls and speak really dang fast, but está bien, right? But honestly I'm really excited for him and I know that everything will work out, or at least I have to try and make it work.
We switched rooms again yesterday and I'm in habitación 11 with Elder Black and Elder Clinger. I love them, they're awesome. It's also super nice because I will be going from a room with 16 people to a room with 6 people. So, maybe I will get some sleep now. Elder Clingers comp came last night, even before the North Americans. He is awesome and understands most English, which is very useful for when you don't know a word in Spanish because then he just helps you out. He is from Mazatlan Mexico too! I told him I've been there a few times and we talked a little bit about it. Elder blacks comp is from Ecuador so we will have a variety in our room. There are I think 57 new missionaries these 2 weeks so the total will be 99. Now, I thought this was the most ever but apparently last year they had 120 here!! If you have seen this place you would also wonder how that is possible! As it is, we don't have enough room in the cafeteria for everyone now! I think I forgot to tell you that last week 3 Elders from Mozambique and one from Brazil came. They all speak Portuguese so they are here for 6 weeks too. I finished my 2 investigators on Monday again and we got to hear about the real people and their conversion story. It was really cool to know that the teacher that was our investigator actually had to teach the person they were portraying, except for they went a little easier on us, haha.
Anyway, I will finish talking about yesterday because it was the best Pday at the CCM. We went to the temple again in the morning and it was amazing as always! (we get to go twice next week because we have Latinos and I'm so excited!) Then we ate at the temple again and got back at about 2pm. We had to switch rooms and then we went straight off on our tour! We had to take this huge ski lift thingy all the way to the top of this mountain and up there was a Catholic church and some shops a little further down. The view was incredible! I took some pictures but they don't do it justice at all. So after that we went to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum). It was pretty cool. But there was one thing that literally blew my mind!! I cant really talk about it so I will send you the pictures and hopefully you get it. Let me know if you do, but honestly it was the best part of the Museum. Then after that we went and bought jerseys. I got three and it cost 120.000 pesos. So now I only have about 50.000 left and my card, but está bien haha. Oh yeah remind me to ask you about my debit card because they said the pin was invalid, so that's why I used cash. It should still be the same right? It was really weird because when we went to the museum people would just stare at us and laugh. We must be too dang good looking for them to handle. Oh yeah, we were walking the streets in downtown to get to the Museum and this lady accidentally got in the middle of us and then she just said the f word. It completely got me by surprise because one, it was in English, and two she just swore for no reason. It reminded me of what Brother Whitman said about how when people say bad things about you in Spanish it wont effect you that much but when they say it in your native language it will have a much bigger impact. He said the same is true for the gospel. Although sometimes I think it's going to be impossible to communicate with people so that they are about to feel the spirit and actually understand me. I just always have to remember that this is the Lords work and that he won't let my lack of Spanish keep his children from feeling his love and receiving his gospel. I just have to keep praying that I will be able to communicate better. I know it's not the hardest language by a long shot but its still frustrating when you can't communicate exactly what you want to say or how you feel. But that was the highlight of the past few days. Thank you so much again for all your love and support! I'm so sorry if I don't get to your emails quickly! And if it takes me forever to respond. Send me another email to remind me!
Élder Richmond
ONLY 2 MORE WEEKS!!! Its crazy how time is flying by now! This week everyone in my week will be getting a Latino Companion. Mine is from Venezuela and comes at about 9:30 tonight I heard. I'm a little nervous because the Venezuelans in the past have been crazy and off the walls and speak really dang fast, but está bien, right? But honestly I'm really excited for him and I know that everything will work out, or at least I have to try and make it work.
We switched rooms again yesterday and I'm in habitación 11 with Elder Black and Elder Clinger. I love them, they're awesome. It's also super nice because I will be going from a room with 16 people to a room with 6 people. So, maybe I will get some sleep now. Elder Clingers comp came last night, even before the North Americans. He is awesome and understands most English, which is very useful for when you don't know a word in Spanish because then he just helps you out. He is from Mazatlan Mexico too! I told him I've been there a few times and we talked a little bit about it. Elder blacks comp is from Ecuador so we will have a variety in our room. There are I think 57 new missionaries these 2 weeks so the total will be 99. Now, I thought this was the most ever but apparently last year they had 120 here!! If you have seen this place you would also wonder how that is possible! As it is, we don't have enough room in the cafeteria for everyone now! I think I forgot to tell you that last week 3 Elders from Mozambique and one from Brazil came. They all speak Portuguese so they are here for 6 weeks too. I finished my 2 investigators on Monday again and we got to hear about the real people and their conversion story. It was really cool to know that the teacher that was our investigator actually had to teach the person they were portraying, except for they went a little easier on us, haha.
Anyway, I will finish talking about yesterday because it was the best Pday at the CCM. We went to the temple again in the morning and it was amazing as always! (we get to go twice next week because we have Latinos and I'm so excited!) Then we ate at the temple again and got back at about 2pm. We had to switch rooms and then we went straight off on our tour! We had to take this huge ski lift thingy all the way to the top of this mountain and up there was a Catholic church and some shops a little further down. The view was incredible! I took some pictures but they don't do it justice at all. So after that we went to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum). It was pretty cool. But there was one thing that literally blew my mind!! I cant really talk about it so I will send you the pictures and hopefully you get it. Let me know if you do, but honestly it was the best part of the Museum. Then after that we went and bought jerseys. I got three and it cost 120.000 pesos. So now I only have about 50.000 left and my card, but está bien haha. Oh yeah remind me to ask you about my debit card because they said the pin was invalid, so that's why I used cash. It should still be the same right? It was really weird because when we went to the museum people would just stare at us and laugh. We must be too dang good looking for them to handle. Oh yeah, we were walking the streets in downtown to get to the Museum and this lady accidentally got in the middle of us and then she just said the f word. It completely got me by surprise because one, it was in English, and two she just swore for no reason. It reminded me of what Brother Whitman said about how when people say bad things about you in Spanish it wont effect you that much but when they say it in your native language it will have a much bigger impact. He said the same is true for the gospel. Although sometimes I think it's going to be impossible to communicate with people so that they are about to feel the spirit and actually understand me. I just always have to remember that this is the Lords work and that he won't let my lack of Spanish keep his children from feeling his love and receiving his gospel. I just have to keep praying that I will be able to communicate better. I know it's not the hardest language by a long shot but its still frustrating when you can't communicate exactly what you want to say or how you feel. But that was the highlight of the past few days. Thank you so much again for all your love and support! I'm so sorry if I don't get to your emails quickly! And if it takes me forever to respond. Send me another email to remind me!
Élder Richmond