CCM

On Thu, Jan 8, 2015 at 11:54 AM, Jacob Emerick <jacob.emerick@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Hola Familia,

I hope you got my e-mail I sent last Wed night just saying I got here and all my bags here safely. WOW where to begin!? The CCM (MTC) is awesome! It´s even better than Disney World! Sorry John and James but I´m having way more fun here! My companions name is Elder Wockenfuss. HA he actually was called as the District Leader too! So we are the District leaders in our District! Our district is awesome, there´s Hermana. Ivey, Simonsen, Greenfield, and McGill, Who´s Grandad works at the DC temple! There´s  then me, and Elders W, Griffin, Thompson, Ackley, and Froelich. Our teachers name is Hermana Montoya and she is the Best!!!!! The classes are all pretty much in Spanish with a very few English words. Everyone here teaches in Spanish. For the Native Spanish speakers here it´s like the Provo MTC in the U.S.  They are here for like 11 days then leave! But everyone else stays for 6 weeks! I´ve already had to teach some lessons in Spanish! The investigator’s name is Fernando, he´s such a cool dude.  

I´m the only one in the Companionship that can speak some Spanish. Until last night I was the one really teaching the lessons. Haha I´ve already learned so much Spanish! I can easily have very, very small conversations with some natives, (ex. Sports) and can communicate to workers and teachers some (very little) Ha ha. My companion didn´t have a suit when he got here so we had to go to the reception to get him one and the lady spoke zero English. So I had to help him by translating what I could to help him get what he needed, but we´re still waiting for the right size for him.

 Food wise the first couple of days I felt a little sick (toilet wise) but now I´m getting used to the Spanish food. Every other day we switch between American food and Mexican food, for example Hamburgers, pizza etc. and Mexican Tacos, taquitos, and other awesome food.

 As far as exercise goes every morning, my comp and I run with other elders in our Casa. First week it was just five of us in one casa but now since the greenies are here we have a full house. One of the Elders that just moved in last night plays for the BYU soccer team! As we ran I kept up with him the whole time, which is saying something because we are at 7000 ft here compared to 2000 in Pa.  My comp. and I are the only ones in our room (each holds 4) so we share a whole bathroom to ourselves which is awesome. The mornings here are definitely the hardest because you have to wake up but after the run I feel great.

We are continually learning Spanish and some words I've learned are , la expiacion, el Salvador, agradecidos, versiculo, capitulo, Santa Biblia, verdad and much more. I´ve felt the Spirit so strong here, in class, lessons, en nuestro casa, everwhere! Our branch presidents are great. Presidente Torres was a little upset when Elder Wockenfuss was called as DL because he couldn´t say his name! He said 'I just call you Elder Fuss! HAHAHA So Elder W, wrote Elder Fuss on the back of his nametag for Sunday its going to be awesome.

For fast Sunday I bore my testimony, in SPANISH. WITHOUT  ANY NOTES! I had it written down then when I got to the podium I put it back in my pocket and went from there! One lesson when we taught the first vision to Fernando, as I was reading the First vision in Joseph Smith history the spirit was so strong, as I was reading it in Spanish I started to cry. It was so powerful. I know that the Spirit is what teaches especially when I speak such broken up Spanish. Sorry guys but I have barely even thought about you. It´s just great here and I haven´t felt homesick at all. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The people here are just such great members. They have such strong testimonies of the gospel.

 A couple more things, we have a store (tienda)  here where we can buy all kinds of awesome snacks, ties, shirts, stamps and everything. I only played cage soccer once so far, other times I´ve played ultimate frisbee and everyone thinks I´m amazing haha.

 When we first flew in last week the drive through the City was crazy. I saw a lot of stuff that dad probably saw on his mission. It was so cool and surreal. Well I think that might do it for now. I'll see if I can send some pictures!

Hasta Lugo

Elder Emerick

P.S

Also to answer some of your guys questions, the Airport in Atlanta was fine, I got off went to the bathroom, asked someone where my next plane is, walked all the way to the other side of the airport and met like 7 other missionaries there. Some of whom are in my district and the others are in our casa. Customs was fine too. When I got off the plane in Mexico D.F. my bags were together waiting for me. I put my bags through the thing and they looked through my stuff but that was it. Also I just went up to the immigration lady she looked at me, punched my visa and off  I went to get my bags. I feel the Savior had been watching over me.

There´s not much of a limit on how much time I get for e-mail, just as long as I can get stuff done in time.

·         Here’s my schedule:

·         Wake up and run

·         Shower get ready

·         Go to breakfast

·         Personal Study

·         Class

·         Lunch

·         District Duties

·         TALL, (computer language study)

·         More Study/Prepare for lessons

·         Exercise

·         DPS (Daily planning)

·         Dinner

·         Lesson with investigator, but it’s going to change soon because tonight’s our last lesson

·         District reflection

·         get ready for bed/Talk with Elder Evelo, Kingsford, and Holt (Best buds rooming next to us that were on our flight from Atl)

I hope you guys like the pictures, I want to send all of them but I don´t have the time and these e-mails only allow for a certain amount of space. Thursdays are our P-Days! Tuesdays we have devotionals and they are soooo cool because they are in Spanish but we have a translator as well. The speaker was Elder Salinas and he was awesome. He basically told us that as he looked out at us and saw that he needed to change his talk so he spoke his entire talk from the heart. It was exactly what we need to here. I felt the spirit so strong, he told a story of a young missionary that could not speak English very well let alone Spanish. This Elder was in the field for 18 months and was wondering why he hasn´t been made Sen Comp yet. So Elder Salinas decided to give him a shot. There was an investigator of the church for 15 years that finally decided to get baptized that lived in the area of this missionary. Elder Salinas talked to him about why he joined the church and he said that the Elder that could only speak very little Spanish was the Elder who converted him, because as he sat there squeezing his hands together, closing his eyes and thinking about what to say, he said he felt the spirit overcome him and he knew that this church was true. He said that he didn´t understand what he was saying but he still felt the spirit. And that made me feel good because he said it doesn´t matter how well you know Spanish, or how well you think you know the gospel, what matters is that you go and serve the Lord with all your heart, might mind and strength and give it the best effort you have and the Spirit of the Lord will do the rest. It was such a powerful talk.

 Another thing that happened to me just 15 minutes ago was during lunch. We were having chicken tacos and the chicken is on a plate and you put them on the tortillas which you took. It was awesome, but when a noodle dropped off my fork into the juice it splattered all over my new shirt. Lucky one  Hermana (sister) overheard us because she was right behind us and gave us a tide pen to use. It got on my left side so when I took out what was in my pocket I forgot my missionary manual, which has the key to the casa and my given pesos amount on a barcode inside. We went home to clean up my shirt, luckily one of our friends in the casa had bleach, but then I realized I forgot it. We went looking everywhere for it in the comedor (cafeteria) but we couldn´t find it so we just decided to try the reception to see if they found my manual. On the way I said a little prayer in my head to ask Heavenly Father to help us find it. So at the reception (She doesn´t speak ingles) I asked her if someone turned in my book and sure enough she had it right there waiting for me. I felt so lucky, and thankful at the same time. I don’t know why this e-mail is so long. My district is the best, it’s an honor to serve them as 1st councilor to the district leader haha. I wish you guys could see this place it is just so beautiful at night. It’s also pretty loud. Elder Griffin said that he bets police here just get in there car and turn the siren on for no good reason. haha The night we got here (Nuevo Ano) ( New Year) there were so many booms and everything that night. At first I was a little scared here but now I feel pretty much at home and am completely confident in myself, companion, and the Savior.

I keep thinking of other things to say. Every week we have to give a 5 min talk in Spanish. This week ours is on baptism, although I don´t know if I´ll be giving it because you don´t know if you´re speaking or not until he says ´we will now here from Elder…….´ The branch presidency is awesome, the CCM presidency is awesome. Our President´s name is President Pratt,  he actually gave a talk in General Conference on tithing you could probably find it online. But in the next couple of weeks I think we might have the 1st counselor become the president I´m not sure.

There´s just so much to do here….. I´m looking around at everyone else´s e-mails and they have like 10X more e-mails than me, what’s up with that!? Haha I hope you guys read my e-mails, because you didn´t tell me you got my last one. The weather here is not what I was expecting, Its pretty cold. The first few days it was hot but then the last couple days it has been in like the 50´s which feels freezing. You will have to send me a missionary sweater when I get to California. Also no one in our district has received mail yet,  Don´t you guys love us haha. Forward this message to whomever.

The Mexican food is the best Mexican I have ever had because it’s real. Also as I was talking to an advisor in the Reception (we´ve been there almost every day haha) I told him that I was going to Carlsbad and he said ´Muchas Mexicanas!´HAHA I´ll end my e-mails for the week by showing you guys what I´ve learned so far.

Es mi testimoni que Jesucristo viva. Yo se que Thomas S. Monson es un profeta do Dios. Yo se que El Libro de Mormon es la palabra de Dios y vedadero. Yo se que mi Padre Celestial es amoroso y quire venir a El. Yo se que Jose Smith fue un profeta, y en el nombre de Jesucristo Amen.

Haha its pretty limited but it’s a testimony, hopefully I´ll learn more next week! Alright talk to you guys later.

¡Hasta Lugo por real este tiempo!

Elder Emerick