Dia de Muertos

Hola,

Dia de muertos is everywhere here. It's actually kind of interesting, because a lot of the decorations are the same type as you would see for Halloween, so it feels a lot like October at home. I guess they have their form of trick or treating that night as well, so it really is a very similar afair. There are some differences though. For example, they have some traditional food that isn't just candy. I really like the pan de muerte. I'm interested to see what the actual day will be like.

We've been keeping busy in this new area. We have two baptisms this coming Saturday, a husband and wife named Felix and Sharon. It's been incredible to see the difference in them from when I first met them. They have both learned to truely trust in the Lord. They had some marriage difficulties a couple weeks ago, and things were getting a bit heated. But rather than seperating, they chose to pray and read the scriptures. When they did this they found the kind of peace that only comes from God, and they chose to work things out. Unless something terrible happens I'll be sending word of how their baptism went next week. We are also teaching a mother and daughter named Heydy and Grecia. They both want to be baptised, but the mom, Heydy, is almost eight months pregnant, and has some fears about what might happen with her pregnancy if she was to be baptised. Still, even if she chooses to wait it won't be for much longer than two months or so. There are also a lot of less actives in this ward, so we keep pretty busy with them. Those that are active are usually pretty helpful in the work though. We have four ward missionaries who actually like to work, and although the ward mission leader is a bit frito, his assitent is very helpful. All in all this is a nice area to work in.

As far as P-day goes we haven't had too many adventures recently. Unless you consider washing clothes and writing emails to be adventures. We did have one interesting experience a couple of weeks ago. We had zone conference in the morning, and decided to go get something to eat in the Chalco plaza, more or less a mall. It's nice to eat there because they have some American food, like KFC and Burger King. Anyways, we were sitting there and we noticed a lady sitting at a table near by. She was having a pretty lively conversation with nobody, and kept saying fairly nonsensicle things to those around her, including to us. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Still, she didn't try to attack anybody, so everything is OK. But yeah, other than that nothing new really.

I'm glad to hear that you guys might have had a chance to catch your breath a bit. You've been keeping pretty busy these past few months. Still, it's better than sitting around doing nothing. That's about all I have for you this week. I love you and I'll write you next week.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long

Six Months!!

Hola,

First things first, ¡SEIS MESES!  Ok, now that that's over, no, I really can't believe I've been out for six months.  The time has gone by so fast, and I can't believe I'm 1/4 of the way done.  Looking back, I really can't believe how much has happened during the last six months.  For example, Spanish.  I feel I have come a long way for somebody who knew absolutely no Spanish.  I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on it now.  I've also felt my testimony grow so much during my time here.  If this is how I feel after six months, I'm excited to see what other changes come in the coming months.

I have gotten pretty good at packing my suitcases actually.  I just wish I had a bit more room for everything.  I can fit it all, I just have to use my expertice in packology to do it.  Still, things wear out eventually, so I might end up with some more space eventually.  I do find it is easier to fit it all every time as well.  Still, I'm hoping I won't be moving around like this my entire mission.  It could be worse though.  I've heard of missionaries who stay in the same area almost a year.  For example, one of the elders told me he had the same first area as his trainer.  Still, whatever happens I know it is what the Lord has planned.

As far as the weather goes, the rain came back this week.  I had thought we were just about free from it, but it decided to make another pass.  Still, we have had less than during the summer, so hopefully we won't be getting too wet.  It has gotten a bit colder too, but it's not too bad.  I still haven't had the chance to see the stars very well, but I've heard there are places in the mission where you can see them better.  And with the way things have been going for me, I'll probably end up in one of those areas soon.

I'm glad to hear you guys had fun on your trip.  As far as the smoking, there isn't too much more of it here, but you do run into it.  At times you see people smoking something a bit stronger as well.  Still, I haven't had too many problems with it, especially in public areas.  I am sorry to hear that Zack and Nathan aren't planning on serving missions as well.  Ultimately it is their decision, but the only thing I would tell them is that it is worth it.  I don't think I will regret it, but if they don't do it they probably will have some regrets down the road.  Ultimately it is something that I feel really will serve you in your life if you choose to put in the energy.

I think that's it for me this week.  As far as the Christmas box, American candies and sodas are a good idea.  You start to miss things like cream soda in a place like this.  Every once in a while we can get our hands on it though.  Speaking of which, it's pretty funny to watch a Mexican taste root beer for the first time.  I love you, and I'll write you next week.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long

Transfers/Changes & Cortez

Hola, 

Change aboundeth here in Chalco.  First things first, I have had changes, again.  It took me a whole week and two days this time.  I'm now in the area Culturas 1, which is right next to my old area.  My new new companion is Elder Vasquez.  He is from Guatemala and has 20 months in the mission.  The area I'm currently in was the first area of my trainer, Elder Tadeo, and so far it's been pretty good.  I arrived thursday, and we had a baptism Saturday, with several more to come in the coming weeks.  I've just about gotten use to changing areas now, so it didn't come as a huge shock when I got here.  It is interesting though, I've now been in four areas in four different zones here.  If that keeps up I'll have been in every zone by the time I complete a year.  As far as why we had changes, I'm not sure what the situation was exactly, but it affected at least five different companionships.  Still, change is part of the mission, and part of life, so here I am, for now at least.

That is basically what my week was like.  I once again have basically no idea where I am most of the time, and I give the opening prayer in almost every lesson.  The people here do love to ask the new person to give the opening prayer here.  At least I'm not the only one whose a bit lost.  The other companionship in the ward is opening an area, and Elder Vasquez has to help them find places often, especially where we are eating.  I just hope I learn the area fast, because changes are in four weeks, and who knows what is going to happen then.  (I think the term for changes in English is actually transfers, but the term in Spanish is cambios, or changes in English, so that's what we call them here.  So if you were confused about that, now you're not.)  Still, the area seems nice enough, so I wouldn't mind staying awhile.

I'm sorry to here about the craziness you had to deal with at school.  Society really is falling apart at the seams, isn't it.  I remember when fifth grade girls still had a nausiating case of the cooties, and now they are breaking up with boyfriends that shouldn't even exist.  I wish you luck with that, and that you have more days like Lori's than like that one.

As far as Columbus goes, I haven't heard one thing or another about him from the people here.  They don't seem to really hate Cortes either, he's just another historical figure to them.  That is something I find pretty interesting here.  The people that I've met at least don't seem to have the strong cultural butt-hurt that people like the Native Americans feel.  I'm not justifying the atrocities that occured with either group, but I'm just saying it's been well over a hundred years since it happened.  Ultimately, the events are pure history now, and nobody living experienced them.  That's probably just the white male view of things, but it is how I feel.  (I'm pretty sure if you look it up that the politically correct term is in fact cultural butt-hurt.)

That's about it for me this week.  I love you and I'll talk to you next week.

Love,

Elder Long

New Area and General Conference October 6th

Hola,

This week has been full of new experiences for me. First off, the new area. We are opening a new area called Cinco de Mayo 2. (It's like a party everyday. XD ) It has been a kind of hard experience though, especially since we don't have a cell phone, which sometimes happens with a new area. There were missionaries here a while ago, so what we have been doing this past week has been visiting some of the addresses in the area book. I've heard that this area can be pretty difficult, but so far the people have been pretty open to us, and we already have some lessons set up for this next week. I've heard the best thing you can do in this kind of situation is to ignore everything that other people say about how the people don't accept the missionaries or whatever, and trust that the Lord has prepared people for you. And so far we have found some people that I feel the Lord has been preparing. My companion is named Elder Olivos. He was born in Mexico, but has lived most of his life in Texas, so he speaks both languages fluently. He has about a year and a half in the mission, and has opened an area before, so he knows pretty much how we should do it. Surprisingly enough he is not the district leader. Recently they have been making the zones and districts smaller, so we only have one other companionship in our district, the district leader, Elder Jimenez, and Elder Connor. They are in Cinco de Mayo 1, so we have eaten with them pretty much everyday so far. (I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but the areas are named for the ward that they are in, so, for example, we work in the ward Cinco de Mayo, which has two areas in it. I hope that makes things clearer, now and in the future.) 

This was also my first General Conference in the mission. I've heard that there is no Conference like one when you are a missionary, and the one this time did not disappoint. I really felt that they were focusing in on the fundamental truths of the gospel this time, like faith in Christ, and the importance of the prophets. It's really interesting, because these same kinds of fundamentals are what we teach to the investigators in the mission field. I guess it shows how important it is to review the teachings of the gospel so that we can have a firm testimony. I also got the feeling that we are going to be facing an increase of opposition in the nearing future. Still, I did really enjoy the messages that were shared, and I look forward to getting the Liahona for November to read them over again.

That's about it for me this week. If I missed any questions you have, let me know, and I'll talk to you next week. I love you. 

Love, 

Elder Samuel Long