Sunday, April 14, 2013

April 8, 2013 (Week 34)

April 8, 2013

Man. It sure was tough to drop Westhoff. I felt like Tom Hanks in the undisputed CLASSIC (mom) Castaway, losing Wilson.

It's alright. I've got Spalding now. His name is Elder Lehikainen. La cain. basicamente.
 
Sick Companion
Well.. He got here, and we worked pretty hard for a day. He had never knocked a door before, let alone contacted or seen 2 story buildings. He was in a pueblito in Tuxtapec for 3 months. He's right out of training.  So im his padrastro [stepfather]. Well not really. He had
a step father too, and then me. But he's had 2 transfers in Mexico. His stomach was pretty weak right off the bat, he got sick from Mondongo his second week in Mexico. Poor kid barely recovered from that one. And then he gets here, and Wednesday he starts going to the bathroom a ton. We go see a little farmacia clinica and they just tell him he ate something bad and here's a few pills. Nothing changed, the Hermana TreviƱo sent us home at 6:30 Wednesday, and he went to the bathroom with some pretty heavy diarrhea about every 20 minutes... We woke up Thursday and went to the hospital. We were there till Saturday.... FREAK. So long being cooped up in a room. He was hooked up to all sorts of machines and had to drag his pole and IV to the bathroom every 15 minutes. Try being in a small room with that for 3 days... ooooh boy. I used my tie as a breathing aid. Well. he had (has) salmonella y gastritis. Super fun right? yeah. But the first night he had a fever. So they had the clima [air conditioning] blasting at 12 degrees Celsius that night. That's like 45 degrees... The dumb nurse wanted 200 pesos for a sheet or pillow. I said vete [no way] and tried to sleep. It was freezing. I had the clothes on my back (white shirt, dress pants...) and got about 30 minutes of sleep. I had to leave every hour or so to warm up. But I ran into this guy from Layton my first day as I was ordering food. Gary Child. White guy that looks like Uncle Cary. Gave me such a scare. I haven't seen a white adult in 8 months... he is LDS and works selling software to hospitals down here. Which by the way, he hires RMs to do sales pitches in South America. Great guy. Offered to buy me food after his meeting because he knew I couldn't leave. 3 hours later he tracked me down and gave me a sandwich, juice and m & ms. Super chill. Really nice of him. I'll get a letter off. He gave me a business card.

By the way, i still HATE doctors and hospitals....

View from the Hospital
Anyways, I ate crappy hospital food and slept and read until the president rescued us Saturday at 5. Got to priesthood just in time. Watched that, slept after, went to the other two, not that great in Spanish. We watch them at the Stake Center. That got a little annoying. But it was still good. I really liked Hollands and Uchtdorfs in Priesthood. It is time for the members to take an active role. It's a good message for Mexico, and the US. Well, the world.

I've been sitting on my roof of my house a ton lately. I just watch the ocean clouds pass by for an hour and go to bed. It's keeping me sane. I love those Giant sunflower seeds, Dad. Send a pounder :) haha But no. I love sitting on the roof. Westhoff and me did it a ton, and now my comp likes it too. Really helps calm down the night.

As for a positive story, I lost my arm this week. The only downside to hammocks is that if an extremity of your body hangs out, it cuts off circulation. I woke up at about 6 and realized my arm was gone. Westhoff, was already awake, couldn't sleep or something and was watching intently as to what my subconscious was doing. I slapped away at my arm and tried to bring it back into the fold, but failed for about 5 minutes, and then finally got it in. Westhoff was dying inside. Reminded me of the time I got my wisdom teeth out and feel asleep with my arm behind my head and started yelling "I can't find my arm! Where did my arm go?! "
Convert at Conner's Birthday Party

Well.. I'd better go. Love you all. hasta la proxima, Elder Mortensen. 

April 1, 2013 (Week 33)

April 1, 2013

Freaking pansies. We went back to the apartment with 6 TJ´s [Jehovah's Witnesses]. They live downtown and are all 26 or so. They gave us a folleto [brochure], didn't have a sprinkle of doctrine. they won't read ours. We went back to ask questions, because that's how you convert them. You put them on their territory so they feel good, but then you start asking where they get the authority or just trip 'em up and then you've got your in. Well anyways, these women (3 year old girls more like it) saw us, and shut the doors. We asked, "we just have a few questions!" After 5 minutes one came out and said: "I don't speak good Spanish. I can't answer you why Jesus isn't Jehova or why he came in 1914." Pansies. She went back in! Anywho. We got into it with some pretty prominent TJs. Like top notch big guns of Veracruz. They told us to come by later, (street contact) and we did. We started talking on the doorstep, and they said they didn't have time.. so.. I pulled out my Bible and we ended up being there 2.5 hours on a doorstep. So dumb. They know they are wrong. I do have respect for them though. They work harder than 3/4 of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ. They go out and proselyte every weekend, and they know their doctrine, as false as it may be. But anyways, this time was great. The entrie entrada knew that the TJs were at it again. We tried to be calm, but the guy kept telling his 18 kid to shut up so he could yell scriptures at us, hahaha. Didn't get anywhere, and so I asked if Christ had a body. They said no. Then I said what was the point of the resurrection then? They didn't know how to not contradict themselves, haha. But then some 70 yearold guy selling tamales walks in and listens... listens... and then cannonballs in. He started planching [grilling] the TJs so hard. Me and Westhoff were all smiles and found our way out and let them continue on. Pridefull pricks! haha We tried to talk to this old guy after, Luz del Mundo, but he tried to planch us and say only Jesus Christ is the name we should baptize. We gave him a folleto and sent him on his way, like a champ. It was so random. 4 different religions. I learned a lot.

Also, the Birthday. for Wednesday, my converts, Alejandro and Reyna, told the bishop it was my birthday. We didn't know. So anyways, we get told about a random consejo de lideres [leadership council] Wednesday at 5. Weird time, weird hour. We got there and there was a YSA activity. We enter in the bishops office, and we start. I was like wait a second.. where are all the leaders? Why is the bishops daughter and Alejandro y Reyna in here? Then they brought in a cake and sang happy birthday to me in English and another girl sitting next to me in Spanish. She turned 22 with me. Really cool. Played volleyball, and then ate food. I was pretty stoked my converts did that for me.

They told me to come over Thursday at 3. So we did. We talked, then they brought in a flan they made and we ate that. Pretty freaking chido [cool]. They will be cool to keep in touch with. Computer geeks. Won't be too hard to Skype with them.

Thursday, Westhoff sang happy birthday at 6:30 to wake me up. Little did the chump know, (he should have known after 3 months) that I don't remember saying companion prayers in the morning, let alone regain functionality until 7:30. I asked him if he sang something that morning at lunch and he said, "what?? You don't remember?!" "nope".... hahahahahaha I was OUT. Like usual. He's been impressed with my sleeping skills. I fall asleep on buses and other things with such ease he's quite impressed. haha. Entonces... The food for lunch was horrible, super greasy, and Esperanza was gonna make 2 huge raisin and lime pies, but fell asleep haha. She didn't have too much money anyways. I'm alright with it. and..... the grand finale.... MOUNTAIN DEW. It came in a package for Westhoff. pictures to follow :)

I'm staying here. I get another white guy, but I'm mayor [senior companion], which only Elder Smith, from our MTC group is at the moment. The rest are still menor [junior]. So I'm stoked about that. I hated menor. There are so many knotheads on the mish lately. Good to have a few cards in the deck. Pretty hard to get the transfers. Westhoff is leaving to Temascal, an area where they baptize in a lake, speak a dialect, and surrounded by mountains.

Well. hasta la proxima, Elder Mortensen