New Area!

Hola,

First off, ¡Feliz cumpleaños!  I'm sorry I didn't get to write you before your birthday.  But, thanks to technology I am only one day late, instead of one month.  And I am very jealous of your Chicken and Dumplings.  I have missed dad's cooking a lot these past few months.  The food isn't bad, most of it is actually pretty good.  But it's not dad's.  So enjoy some chicken and dumplings for me.

I'm still not too far ahead of you in the BOM, so you still have a chance.  I'm in 2 Nephi 17, and I have decided that whoever translated the Book of Mormon into Spanish started making up words when they got to the Isaiah chapters.  Still, they can't last forever, right?  So you better catch up soon.  :P

My new area is very different from my old area.  There are a lot more dirt roads, and we pad lock the door for extra security.  Still, the people are still good people, and I enjoy getting to know them.  It's amazing hearing some of their experiences, and seeing how the gosple has started to bless their lives.  We have a couple we are teaching who had a child die.  We recently taught them about the plan of salvation, and seeing their reactions when we talked about temple work for the dead and eternal families was incredible.  It really makes me grateful to have had that knowledge for all my life, and to be here bringing it to others.

That's all I've got for you this week.  I love you, and once again happy birthday.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long

Teoithuacan

Hola,

I don't have a ton of time to write today if you couldn't tell by what time this is sent.  The reason for this is that we got permission during the week to head out to Teotihuacan.  It was a very long, but very cool trip, and I'll tell you all about it next week... from Chalco.  That's right, I also found out I'm going to have changes tomorrow.  I'll tell you all about it as well next week.  I'm just letting you know I'm doing OK.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long

Transfers and Atotolco

Hola, 

Well, if you couldn't tell, I didn't get to go to Teotihuacan today. Still, like you said, there will be other opportunities, but I am a little bit disappointed. Still, I do get to write this week, so there is still an upside, but I don't have any cool ruin pictures to send home.

This week was pretty good. Elder Tadeo was looking at the map of our area and decided to go check out an area we had never been to before. It's called Atotolco, and it's a good deals away from the area we are usually in. It also has no paved roads, something we don't run into to often in our area. Still, we found somebody to teach there, so we'll probably be down in that area more often from now on. Although chances are one of us won't be here too much longer. Transfers are a week from Tuesday, and since I finish my training then, chances are very good that one of us leaves. Elder Tadeo has been in the area longer, but he is also district leader, and they tend to stay in their areas longer, so we really don't know who will be going and who will be staying. That's part of the mission life though I guess. 

I'm glad to hear you got your room set up though. I think this is the first year in a while I haven't come to help you with that. So I'm happy that everything went OK. And I'm sorry to hear about the week of meetings. I know that can be really hard, and I hope you find a good game to keep you occupied. I like one called Galaxy on Fire 2. I don't believe the first one actually exists, so I don't know why it's number 2, but it's good to keep you distracted for a while. Hopefully that helps. 

 I think that's about it for me. I haven't gotten your postcard yet. That's Mexico I guess. I'll write you next week and let you know what's going on with transfers. I love you, and I get what you were saying because I feel the same way about you. 

 Love,
Elder Samuel Long

Crazy Kids

​¡Feliz Aniversario!

If I'm right, this one is known as the silver anniversary, or aniversario de plata in Spanish. I hope you and dad have a fun, kidney stone free vacation. And I am happy to be one of the crazy kids in this family. From what I've seen, no one really ever stops being a kid, they just get better at hiding it. For example, the missionaries always seemed so grown up to me when I was a kid. But now that I am one, I have seen just how young we really are. We still get bored in long meetings, make fun of each other, and do some stupid things. Still, I'm so glad to be able to get to know all of the wonderful people here, missionaries, members, and nonmembers alike, and see how life works down here. One of the people here said I was in the wrong area to see Mexico, because all of the touristy things are in the north. Yet that's not the real Mexico. The real Mexico is where the people live, what they see from day to day. It's riding the bumpy, shakey, and somewhat scarey public transportation. It's eating tortas and tacos from the street vendors, not always the smartest choice in all honesty. What I'm trying to say is that I feel I am in the perfect place to get to know Mexico. And I feel I got a bit off topic from the subject of your anniversary.

As far as things are going here, things are about the same. I finish my training in two weeks, which I can't really believe. I feel like I have progressed a lot with the language, but I still have a lot to learn. I read a couple of the Isaiah chapters of the Book of Mormon in Spanish this week, and they kind of kicked my butt. I litterally had to go verse by verse reading the Spanish, then the English to understand what he was saying. The other chapters I do a lot better with, but Second Nephi is going to be a challenge. Still, I know I can make it through. Other than that, I feel I learn something new everyday as far as the language goes.

As far as the people here, they are all pretty kind that I've talked to. A lot of the people here own their own little businesses here. And a little business in Mexico can be as little as going bus to bus selling candy. It kind of surprises me how often that one happens. You'll be on the bus and suddenly there's someone shoving some kind of mango chile lolipop in your face saying uno por dos pesos, o tres por solo cinco pesos. But they must make money, because they keep doing it. Many people also work in factories making all sorts of things. And there are a lot of moto taxi drivers as well. Moto taxis are either carts pulled by a motorcycle, or occasionally a bicycle, or a golf cart. They are more expensive than the buses, but are fairly cheep still, so we use them occasionally. So basically, people do a lot of different things here, just like in the states.

That's about all I've got for you this week. I hope you get feeling better, and once again happy anniversary. I love you.

Love,
Elder Samuel Long

P.S. There is a chance, it's not for sure as far as I know now, that I won't be able to write next week. We may be going to some Mayan ruins to the north of Mexico City called Teotihuacan. Like I said, I'm not completely sure, but If I don't write you next week, that's why.

P.P.S Speaking of stupid things missionaries do, this may have happened: