Travel Day:
I arrived at the SLC airport to discover two elders already there. They were going to the same mission which was really awesome, but what made it more awesome is the fact that they ended up being companions! It's amazing what kind of connections there are. After I settled myself in for the long wait at the airport and chatting with my fellow missionaries, more slowly trickled in, until there was an even dozen missionaries waiting for that flight. Here is a picture of Elders Oakensen of Herriman (L) and Bradley of St. George (R). They are both going to la Misión Monterrey Oeste! It was amazing to share the flight to the CCM with them.
After we got on the flight, I noticed a Latina lady sitting across the aisle from me with a Santa Biblia on her lap. I remembered that I had a Libro de Mormón in my satchel, and I immediately had this crazy thought: I should give it to her. I am, after all, a missionary now.
About halfway through the flight (just after we crossed the Mexican border, I think) I said a prayer that I would have the Spirit and especially the gift of tongues and that I would be able to share a little bit of the gospel. I wrote a quick testimony in it and wrote "mormon.org" on it in the cover so that she could (hopefully) find some missionaries if she was interested. Then, I asked her (in Spanish and everything!) what her favorite part of the Bible was. She said she really liked the Gospels, especially Matthew and John, and that she learned much from it (I think. The plane was loud and I have a very hard time understanding Latinos). I shared a passage in Ezekiel 37 about the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim, and that there is another Bible that accompanies the Bible we have now and that supports the Bible. I pulled out the LdM and showed her a little bit of it. She said she never heard of it before, but that she was excited to learn more about it. We talked for a little bit about the book, and I gave it to her and asked her to read it and pray to know that it was the word of God like the Bible. She seemed very excited to read it, which she did for most of the rest of the flight. It's really exciting to see what happens in missionary work. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share a Libro de Mormón, even though I wasn't a fully official missionary yet. I hope that the seed I tried to plant with my broken Spanish blossoms.
So after we landed, we (the group of a dozen 18-year-old not-yet missionaries I was with) had to try to find our way in a Mexican airport. Not very many of us had flown internationally before, and none of us had a lot of Spanish. We also learned that we wouldn't find a CCM representative until after we got through security and customs, so we basically had no help. It was awesome! First, we waited in an extremely long line. We managed to get through customs without causing too much trouble, except that one of the elders got his bags randomly searched through. He didn't get arrested, though, so all is well.
After waiting a very long time for bureaucrats to do their thing, we met a representative from the CCM and they loaded us into a school bus. Mexico City traffic is insanity incarnate. There are no stop signs (at least that I could see in the 40-minute ride). There are no lanes. You just kinda squeeze your little car into an opening with only half an inch of clearance on either side and pray nothing goes bang. It was rather scary how many cars were close enough that I could have stuck my hand into the cabin from the bus. Mexico City itself is really pretty, though.
So after we got to the CCM, we dumped our luggage in a giant pile in the recepción room and got an envelope. It had our assigned branch, district, companion, schedule, casa and room, and P-day. My first companionship would be a trio, with Elders O'Rourke and Ackerman. Since we had been travelling all day and had only arrived at about 8 at night, we had just enough time to drop our bags and attend a devotional, which they hold every week. It was by an Area Seventy, and he talked about diligence and obedience to the mission rules.
After the devotional, we went to our assigned casas and unpacked our stuff. There are four beds and a small desk in one room and a very small bathroom in another. Let me tell you, it's rather exciting trying to get four people out of bed and out the door in half an hour when you only have one bathroom. A bit about mis compañeros:
So I got to know Elder O'Rourke from Anchorage (it's much colder there than it is here, apparently) and Elder Ackerman from Colorado Springs. Elder O'Rourke (going to the Mexico Renosa mission) is a very outgoing guy, and his enthusiasm for the gospel is very obvious. It's hard not to be excited about life and the gospel when you are near him. Elder Ackerman (going to the Mexico Pueblo mission) is a very kind person. He always thinks of others, and he is very friendly and approachable. Both elders are very nice and I really enjoy being around them.
Day 2:
So we started the day with an orientation and a demonstrative lesson with an investigator named Alberto. It was very nice to see some missionary work in action, even if I'm pretty sure it was a role-play. After the meeting, a CCM official came to me and told me that my companionship had changed. He gave me a new envelope, which told me that I was in a new district, branch, and even zone. My P-days changed to Wednesdays (which is why I'm emailing today and not tomorrow). My new companion would be Elder Stark. He is from northern Virginia, and he is going to the Ohio Cincinnati mission, speaking Spanish. Apparently his original companion (who was also supposed to go to his mission) never showed up. We still don't know why. He stayed with some other elders until he could be assigned a new companion, which was me. It was sad to leave Elder Ackerman and Elder O'Rourke, even though I had only known them for less than a day, but it was exciting to meet more people.
Elder Stark is probably one of the most diligent people I know. We are supposed to speak Spanish whenever possible, and I was definitely excited at first, but after a while and the original enthusiasm wears off and you realize that you actually can't talk to Latinos very well yet, you tend to get a bit discouraged. Despite our lack of enthusiasm for speaking only in Spanish (especially during Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, which were probably the hardest days until we could get used to the CCM life), Elder Stark insisted on speaking Spanish. He didn't take much Spanish classes in high school, and when he first arrived, he couldn't really say anything, but he can now carry on a very basic conversation with a Latino pretty well. The amount he has improved in his Spanish and his diligence is rather awe-inspiring.
Days 3, 4, 6, and . . . gosh, I've lost track already:
The first several days were mostly filled with orientations to the CCM, but they didn't hesitate to have us teach lessons. On Full Day 2, we had a lesson with an investigator named David. Turns out, he is really a teacher here, and his real name is Hermano Valencia. (One funny thing I've noticed: all the male teachers first names are Hermano). David lost his son in a car wreck and started making some poor Word of Wisdom related choices. His friend at work referred him, and he is curious because his friend keeps talking about how families can be together forever. We taught the Plan of Salvation to him (oh, by the way, all this was in Spanish), and gave him a Libro de Mormón to read. He seemed really interested. Over the next few days, Elder Stark and I have been teaching "David" and he has accepted the commitment to get baptized after he quit smoking and drinking alcohol and coffee. Even though the lessons are role-plays, it's really exciting to see that this is a little what lessons in the field will be like (hopefully). I really enjoy planning lessons for David, and it's good to see that our Spanish is getting better.
We have Spanish classes during the day. They are taught in Spanglish (the official language of the CCM), and it's amazing how much we can understand and speak after just a week. Our classroom teachers are Hermana Perez (another funny thing, all the sister missionaries and the female teachers have the first name of Hermana) and Hermano Barrera. Hno. Barrera got back less than a year ago from the best mission in the world (guess whose mission that is). For the last three months of his mission, he had President McArthur, who will be my MP for most of my mission. It was awesome to talk to him a little about Monterrey and missions in general. He said that it got so hot there that he carried around two shirts. Partway through the day, he would have to change shirts and wring the sweat out of the other one. Yay. The rest of it was awesome, though.
I'm almost out of time today, so I'll have to summarize the next bit. I'll have to fill you all in a little more next week. Elder Stark and I share a room with another companionship in our district, Elders Evans and Blanchard. Elder Evans has been called as our district leader. There are a total of 10 missionaries in our district. I wasn't able to get a photo of the whole district, but I'll probably have one next week. It's amazing to think that only 8 days ago I had no idea any of these people had existed, and now I feel really close to them. It's amazing what spending a ridiculous amount of time together can do to a relationship, especially when you there for the same reason: to introduce our fellow brothers and sisters to the joys of the gospel.
On a more spiritual note: I was able to watch the Christmas devotional on Sunday. I really loved all the talks (my favorite part was that they were in English). I really felt the Spirit very strongly, and I enjoyed remembering that this month is December (the temperatures in the mid 70s all the time and the palm trees help me forget). My most favorite part, though, was at the closing prayer. The person saying the prayer (I sadly forget who it was) asked a "blessing on those angels we call missionaries." I immediately felt the Spirit testify that I was one of those missionaries. I had the daily prayers of 15 million people at my back. I could tangibly feel that power that sincere, faithful prayer has. It was very humbling knowing that God really is watching out for His missionaries and their families.
I know that the gift of tongues is real. There is no way that I have been able to learn and speak this much Spanish in such a short amount of time without divine help. I know more now than ever before that God blesses those who accomplish His work. I am very grateful to have this opportunity to serve a mission for Him and to share the joy He has brought me with my fellow brothers and sisters. I know that Christ's Atonement is real, and that He can change lives. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His church on the earth, and I am grateful to be a part of it.
Love you all,
Elder Jakob Schramm
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