I can’t believe I’m training though. It’s gonna to be tight---they have this new program that they JUST put out---we are the FIRST IN THE WORLD to receive it. It’s by the first presidency and it’s this NARLY 12 week program with all the stuff laid out for you. I’m going to be teaching like an MTC teacher kinda and it’s going to be way better for the new guy arriving in the field. I WISH I WOULD’VE HAD THIS!!!! It would’ve been like the sickest jumpstart ever to the mission--they push for more equality and letting the other person lead and stuff--because a lot of trainers exercise their unrighteous dominion and are just dead to the world and don’t work, so, the president picked 15 of us, people he thought could really teach the new people to work hard and be "perfectly" obedient....ahhhhhhh I’m so friken amped I’m getting this opportunity, you don’t even knoooooow. We had this training today on the "draft" as its called right now cause it’s not fully finished. It’s going to be crazy...like I said--almost everything is laid out for you in a way and we’ll be studying everything, and not just focusing on one thing like PMG or the Book of Mormon, but on all the doctrine. We, not just for all the trainers, have 2 HOURS of companion study a day!! sooooo long!!! but it’s gonna be fun. I’m gonna study this thing so much for the next couple weeks so I can make all the practices fun and really learn and grow in the doctrine with my new comp.
Today was crazy. We slept in Chingnawhapan with Elder Cranford and Elder Hernandez (different one) and then left for the puebla at 6am on the bus for 3 hours, then I dropped my comp off and went to the offices, had the training for another 3 hours, then picked up my hijo and we went to the capu again and then …bad things happened---he didn’t have any money so we went to go get it out of the mission card and the machine ATE his card!!! I was gonna call the secretaries and tell them---buuuuuuut my phones broken...so I’m flying solo in the middle of nowhere right now with my newbie and nobody can contact me---it’s kinda cool actually but I’ve spent like 400 pesos in the last day. I’m almost out for the month pretty much cause I had to pay for everything for my comp and and both his cards don’t work, but I don’t care. I’m just sooooooo happy I have a new companion. He’s this chubby Mexican kid from Guadalajara---and he seems suuuuuuuuper tight---but I’ll wait a week and tell ya, but oh my gosh, I think I’m gonna love the next 12 weeks. I’m not going to be changed the next change because this program is 12 weeks long :)
Ahhhh I’m so amped---seriously I’m going to learn SOOOO much in the next 12 weeks with this new program they have--like we will learn evvvverything---the goal is--that when he leaves he could possibly be able to train someone, so that’s alooooot of work---the pres. wouldn’t do that--but for the knowledge part that’s the goal. I’m so excited...I mean—I’m DEFINITELY not the best Spanish speaker or know all those lessons perfect, but we are going to be so good and obedient so that we can have the SPIRIT with us at ALL times, and really start receiving revelation for Tetela and GET SOME BAPTISMS this transfer!!! I’m so amped sooooooooooo happy, annnnnnd I got a package from Grandma Nancy tooooo and ERIIIIIIIIIIIIICA---soooooo surprised and it made me SOOOOOOO happy...thank you soooo much :))))
So this day has just been great---and I haven’t looked through all my letters yet but I got a bunch---I told Hermana Rex that I’m a rockstar again and that it’s all my fans that write me hahahah ahhh I’m loving this for reals. I’m soooooo looking forward to the next couple weeks!!!!!
Here’s a little about last week though:
I found these SWEET cowboy boots at this store the other day...I ALMOST got them because they are so awesomely ridiculous but then I was trying to think of what I would ever wear them with besides like a clown outfit, I was like naaaah I’d totally wear them other times, but I didn’t get them, BUT THEY ARE SWEET!!!!
So, I tried the new best thing EVER this week, it was a tacos al pastor TORTA---ahhhhh so good. It had beans and tacos al pastor on this super good bread and then I put lemon on it and guac ahhhhhh it was like a 10.5 out of 10, for reals. Also, more about the food, my ice cream place got these two sweet new flavors, strawberry yogurt and chocolate chip--which is the best ice cream I’ve ever had. Other things about food this week that happened and were amazing is that I found tacos al pastor IN Tetela!!! But they def. weren’t as good as Chingnawapan, but then after I had those I went and got some cow tongue tacos---SO good!!! Seriously they are my favorite, and I tried something new...it’s this water they make (and when they say water here or like "agua" it could be agua de apple or some other fruit, but this one was agua de cow head pretty much hahah after they take all the meat off the cow head (oh and I had cow cheek tacos too this week---super good) they soak it in water or whatever and get all the juice out of the bones of the cow head and make this drink out of it and it tastes like meat and its SUPER good for reals!!! I thought it’d be super gross but NO it was WAY good!! Annnnnnnd, even better, Saturday they had churros on the street---and I looooooooove churros, they are my def for sure fave thing in the world, and I got some J Aweeeeeesome !!!
So we talked to the mom of one of the inactive members the other day, and she is not a member, BUT---she is probably smarter than all of the members we have and should be our mission leader. She had a total testimony of the Book of Mormon, and said she got an answer and received that witness, BUT--and I totally can see why--she isn’t baptized because of the state of the ramma. She told us about all the other menos activos and why they are inactive and told us we should probably go visit them and told us where they all live, also, she, unlike the others, recognizes allllllllll the problems in the ramma and that’s pretty much the reason she doesn’t want to be a part of it right now. she said the members need to set good examples, and show support for those who are new and come in. she talked about how it would be totally pointless to baptize 50 people if they were all going to go inactive after the missionaries left, and told us how important it is that those people still receive visits and support from ramma members. And that’s the president’s job in the ramma, and is something he doesn’t do, haha big problem. but she said tons of stuff, but she is AWESOME. We kept telling her she would be the best leader in the church and could be the "change" that this ramma needed. She’s not a member because of the terrible examples though, and certain people just not being inviting and stuff, and says its totally different when she’ll go into the jdub church here and they are all like "OH WELCOME HERMANA" and being all nice and stuff, and same with the Catholics, who always are supportive with her here, but the ramma...no, such a big problem and we’re trying to fix it. We’ve really put in our part though over the last month and a half, but the members need to do their part--which isn’t happening...but its really sad to see something like this--this lady would totally get baptized if it weren’t for the examples of the members, and there would be many more people at church, who are inactive right now, if only for the support of the members and if the members would get out of their houses and visit some people, and stop making rumors or holding grudges against people. I really hope it changes. We told her she should talk to the president, so she’s going to do that, so we’ll bring him there one day and I hope she tells EVERYTHING to him so he can finally just realize what’s going on. I hope and pray they start doing their part, because seriously this ramma will never grow until the members change and start doing the things they need to do. So, hopefully sometime this week this will all go down and she will get her to talk to the president.
I made this cool little figurine thingy for you guys (picture) ...it’s me, a missionary... we did it with hermano chucho for a family home evening kind of thing...but his way was way different so, experimented a little and it turned out super awesome!!! I love it...its a mini-me! =)
It dumped rain one morning and it was totally gorgeous and awesome outside.
We went to one of our crazy investigators 50th birthdays!!! She invited us and we helped her fam set up for the entire thing --- and they needed me---I don’t know HOW they would have reached the high spots but I got this tight sombrero!!! The party ended at 2 but we left earlier, but it was so fun--she was really excited that we showed up...and we wrapped her up a Book of Mormon as a present with our testimonies and stuff and made her an origami crane and flower that I put on top of it :) My PICTURE OF THE WEEK is from that party....I will send it in another email :))
I had such a good experience this week!! We went to these waterfalls first of all, so I’ll talk about that...so we went to these waterfalls with Claudia, her mom, and her little son Her little 2 year old and I played in these things that dripped water and after like 15 minutes I fiiiiiiinally convinced him to run through hahah and held his hand and we both ran though and then after that he was like obsessed with it and got drenched hahah my comp did want to get his nice Hollister collared shirt wet so he didn’t go though, but then the hermana asked him if he wanted to wear her shirt cause she had another and he almost did it. Ohhhhh my gosh, I just sat there and was like---seriously---really your going to take the hermanas shirt to run though the water---he was scared he wouldn’t dry fast...and it was barely any water either, like drips from this bamboo thing---I’ll send pictures, but anyway the waterfalls were super, super cool---like an EPIC jump spot too!!! Seriously it would’ve been sick. It’s proably 80 feet but it was perrrrrrrrrfect to jump...there were all these cliffs and just this hugggggge waterfall and ahhh...when I return. The best part was after the waterfalls. I totally planted a seed and I swear this might have been the real reason we went to the waterfalls and journeyed like an hour and a half through the windiest jungle roads Evvvvvver in this combi--so car sick-- but I didn’t throw up. Aunt Karen would have died probably, it was crazy, plus the fact our driver couldn’t see well cause he was like an albino and his eyes were burned and he drilllllllllled every single speed bump hah...but anyway, about my wonderful moment…
We were waiting for the combi for a ride back to Tetela and I went to go get some ice cream---obviously---so I ran over to this place, and my comp was just with the mom and the daughter talking and I got some ice cream from these really nice people, and I started talking to them and they asked me where I was from and everything----we ended up talking for the next HOUR until the combi came hahahah it was sooooooo sweet!!! They started out with just the obviously small talk questions and then … why are you here. They thought I was from Tetela cause they asked me where I had come from and I said there, but we got over that and then I said I was from CA---greatest place in the world---and than it began. Our conversation turned to talk of missionaries and all those questions and what we teach. So, I pretty much taught them the WHOLE first lesson solo which was sweeeeeeet, and they asked me all kinds of questions and stuff---oh one weird one---he asked me what my favorite animal was and then said, “if God brought you back to earth as an animal what would you be” and I was like "a monkey" and he asked me why---which I thought was weird because he made me explain everything like he was fishing for something---but then I was like--well obviously monkeys have tons of fun swinging around and stuff and I wanna have tons of fun so I wanna be a monkey. That’s pretty much as far as his question went--super random and weird---but besides that, I explained all the questions they had and the coolest thing about this whole thing was in the morning I only had one pamphlet in my bag, and was like oh I’ll just take it out so it won’t get smashed or anything, then I was like nahhhhhh I’ll just keep it there juuuuuuust in case...AND loooook!! I got to give it away!!! so cool right!!! hahaha so awesome, I was so happy, and they were such awesome people and I had to run to the combi cause it came really fast but I waved bye to them from the combi and they were all happy. It totally made my day/week!! It was great!! It just makes me so happy talking to people....seriously I love it---I loved it before the mission, and it’s just growing, and I love sharing the gospel with people that don’t know it. It’s like something so new and amazing to some, I love seeing their expressions and trying to help them through answering their questions. It’s totally awesome.
I’m so excited for what’s in the future for Claudia and Paco’s mom!!! Claudia is awesome!!! She reads everything and we told her to start from the beginning and she’s already in second Nephi!! I gave her some of my crayon marker things so she can start marking them up!! Her mom will get baptized this change--I am determined to get her baptized THIS change---poco a poco---she’s moving along a little, Claudia read with her the other day... but it’s going to be so awesome when she is baptized and then their whole family can be sealed in the temple!!!!!!!! awwwwwwww so awesome, we were talking with Claudia the other day about the temple and she was just soo excited and happy!!! I can’t even tell you, the light she has now is just sooo bright, for reals, she is awesome and will be a great leader here in Tetela someday. I’m so glad I got the opportunity to baptize someone like that!! =)
I taught charity in priesthood on Sunday :) and I did a bunch of work book pages in my Spanish yellow book :)
So I’m pretty much totally amazingly super duper happy right now...totally, totally tooooootally awesome. I love everyone at home.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE,
ELDER BERTHA
t.a.e.h.
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| I found these SWEET cowboy boots at this store the other day |
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| I made this cool little figurine thingy. It's me, a missionary. |
Waterfalls on P-day!
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| Grandma Nancy's Ritz slippers hahahahah sooooo awesome... |
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| PHOTO OF THE WEEEEEK!!!!! |
A party at our investigators
cute little kitty
