first letter from the field

Hola outside world!

So this is how it is going to work; I’m writing a basic letter on how I am doing to go out to everyone. And then for some of you I will write a personal message.

Alright so first things first ...HOLY SMOKES!! What have I gotten myself into?!! Mexico is straight up crazy! So I’ll explain what’s been going on since I landed:
We landed and I was one of the lucky ones and had all my luggage. We met our mission president and the AP’s (Assistant to the president) and they are all really nice. We then went to their home and ate dinner and stayed the night.

I won’t lie, on our way through Puebla to the house my only thoughts were…
#1 Wow, I am probably going to die in one of those streets, and
#2 Two years ... two years ... two years!
Ok, Mexico is the garbage can of the world; it is the nastiest place ever, not like all the pictures.

(Sorry if I jump around a lot) Then the next day we got our new companions and went to our new areas. My companion’s name is Elder Ortiz and he is a native to Mexico.... who doesn’t speak English very much. In the beginning he purposely spoke only Spanish and so I thought he didn’t speak any English...but he does. (He thought he was funny or something)

We then, went on a bus for 2 hours to drop off one set of companions (Elder Farr and his comp). Then once we dropped them off we went and took another bus for another hour to get to our area. My area is called Ajalpan (I think that is how you spell it) and then walked about a mile to get to our house. So in short, I live in the middle of nowhere. It is a mile or 2 to go anywhere.

I got settled in and went to work. The first day we went to the church (which is newish) and my companion taught the members something about how to talk to friends about the church. We have, like, 10 active people that come to church... with, like, 40-60 in-active. So I met almost the whole district (we are not big enough to be a ward). I didn’t understand a thing anyone was saying.....nothing. I just butchered my way through the language, smiled a lot, and used my hands to show them what I meant. They are all really nice and understanding about how I suck at Spanish.

We then went home and planned, went to bed. Oh, and by the way, my house is a dump. There have to be a 100,000 health code violations, but in Mexico I don’t think they care much about that, ha ha. I need a blanket because I don’t have one and I need a pillow because I don’t have one of those either.... but I have a mattress so I’m doing pretty good.I got up the next day and got ready (oh and the shower is messed... like first I have to turn on the boiler and wait for 20 minutes and then get in, but I have to be fast and careful because if I don’t turn the knobs just the right way I get 2 minutes of scorching hot water and then I have ice cold water for the rest of the shower. And then I need to be careful to watch all the corners because they all have holes and when I shower the spiders living in them like to come out to see if I’m paying attention and if I’m not they will attack.

Then we went to work.... we have taught 3 of 4 people so far. …and when I say we, I mean my companion because I don’t understand ANYTHING. So I just smile, say my testimony and pray (which I do them all wrong) oh and most of the words I learned in the MTC mean nothing out here ... I have to unlearn a lot of them at least... as they say in Spanish SOPLA (it blows).

Umm, what else? ... Oh and I figured that Mexico must be the soda capital of the world. That is all they drink, but the coke here is off the chain ha ha.WE WALK EVERYWHERE. When they told us that, all I thought about was how buff my legs would be--but now all I think about is how soon I am going to need another pair of shoes and how many blisters I got that day, ha ha.

Oh ya, and guess what? I’m learning a third language--it is another dialect here in my area. I forget what it’s called but I’ll let you all know later.

Right now I’m in Tuhuchan (or something like that) and we are staying the night because tomorrow is zone conference. Oh, and you know all of those jokes about how many Mexicans can fit in a car …they are all true. They are facts not jokes. In a car that is supposed to fit at max 7 people--I have been in one that have fit 17-20ish. And another amazing thing is a whole family of 6 can fit on one bike ... it blows my mind.

Oh, and so what they told me coming out here… is to stay away from the girls because they like the white meat... and they apparently greet everyone with a kiss, so I was supposed to watch out; what a joke. There is not a single attractive girl here they just don’t exist... so that will not be a trial out here ha ha.

Oh, and I love the food so far. I have thrown caution into the wind and eaten everythingthat has been put in front of me and I have lived. Don’t get me wrong I have prayed at every meal before we eat and ask to be able to eat the nasty things but all is well.Alright, now to talk about how things are going..... Not good. They pumped me up in the MTC and got me ready to baptize and be obedient but its different out here… don’t get me wrong, I am obedient to the max, but it feels like the missionaries are just getting lazy with the work. I have tried to talk to my companion about it but he doesn’t understand what I mean. (Luckily I was blessed with an obedient companion) but when we go to members all the time and when we are there and don’t share a message; it’s not right. But what do I know; I’ve only been doing this for 5 days?

Elder Farr, my friend, has it really bad. His companion is a joke and is super lazy. Elder Farr has already been having a hard time staying on a mission because he doesn’t want to really be here. He is scared that his family will be angry if he quits, so he is pushing through it. He is a good guy and I’m not sure how to help him except tell him I love him and that I’m not going to leave anytime…so at least he will have a friend. It goes deeper that what I’m writing here but it has affected me so I thought I would put it down.

Other than all the strange things I’ve talked about I can honestly say so far I am happy here. I’m keeping a good attitude about it all and laughing a ton at myself and the things I see. I hate not being able to speak Spanish and being the only white guy. (I now know what its like to be a minority) but the lord is blessing me with almost more than I can handle. My testimony is still small but it is pure and strong. I know that God loves me and is mindful of me, I know that when it looks like God kicks you when your down he is really only letting you grow and it’s because he loves you. I know that families can be together forever.

From the best looking missionary that will ever walk the face of the earth,
Elder Cranford