Week 13 Bullets and Mice and Kisses

Yep you already know we had both bullets and mice this week.

I'll start with the mice. I am at war with them. They eat my bread and cereal (through the bags) in the night and I can never catch them.I found one the size of my hand near my clothes (of all the places it could've been it was my clothes...:/) I will try and set up some kind of trap. Updates to come.

This week was interesting to say the least. Tuesday we had our district meeting with a couple new elders in our district.  Elder Estrada is staying and I love him. Anyways, we got a new elder in Imuris named Elder Mendez from Bolivia. He is a lot more quiet and reserved but funny. He speaks a little English and he speaks Spanish nice and slow and with simple words. I can understand him about 90% of the time...what a blessing! I'm grateful someone understands that learning a new language is hard and is trying to help me with it.

So after our district meeting, we hopped back on the bus and had a wonderful hour and a half nap (as always) to Magdalena. It was business as usual. We had a lesson with an Investigator (Marcos) who lives kind of off the beaten path. So we were walking in the Plaza of "downtown" Magdalena and we heard gunshots. I looked at Elder Sanchez and he shrugged and said "it's normal" and kept going. We heard more and more automatic machine guns firing off and I thought there was no way this is normal. We started to hear more around us and close by. Police came up to us and told us to leave the area we were trying to go. Elder Sanchez called President Myers and told him what was happening. Without hesitation, we were on our way home and calling it for the day a few hours early. We were in the middle of the quad when we heard gunshots probably a couple streets away and people sprinting and screaming and running through the streets. I started to panic a little bit as Sanchez and I ran to a nearby member's house who owns a store. Her husband was outside the house keeping an eye out and told us to get inside. We stayed for about an hour and he ended up driving us home. The next day we found out these gangsters (or narcos or cholos) shot up basically the entire town looking for this other gang. Doing whatever it would've taken to find them....some people died and many were injured...gotta love Mexico!

Wednesday we stayed on the "safer" side of town with some lessons and contacting. After a lesson, we went to my favorite bakery (the place where donuts and cakes the size of my head are 7 pesos) and there is always the same chick working there. She is about 20-21 and loves talking to us. She had some friends helping her who were roughly the same age. I did what I do normally, got my donuts, said "how was your day?" and went to leave. Before we left we shook all of the girls' hands cause that's what we do as missionaries. The last chick I shook hands with didn't let go and I was confused. The other girls started to laugh and I didn't know what was going on so I started to laugh too. I thought they thought it was funny cause I'm a gringo or something. But all of a sudden she yanked my hand forward and she leaned in to kiss me so I turned my head to the side and before I could say "No puedo no puedo!" she kissed me right on the cheek and laughed. All the girls thought it was so funny. And I thought I was gonna get sent home or chastized by Pres. Myers or something. But Sanchez was laughing about it and said "just be more careful next time" So I guess I'm okay...

Thursday we had a Branch Christmas devotional/party and man did it feel good to feel like I was in a ward! Haha I brought my speaker and played Christmas songs and people brought tons of food and we had a little devotional and ate tons of food and there was a pinata and it was sweet! The Imuris elders came and Estrada can play the piano really well so we sang some hymns. It was cool and I just love the members here so much. Some have more patience than others with my Spanish...but one day!

Friday was awful cause all of our lessons fell through and we just contacted all day and I was as sick as a dawg (still am:/) and no one wanted to answer. 

Saturday basically consisted of us hitchhiking (in a semi-truck haha) and going to a baptism for an 8 year old in Imuris. It was so funny to see the giant-lego built baptismal font in the room and they were trying to heat it up by plugging in an iron and just sticking it in there....gotta love them Latinos! But we sang "When I am Baptized" in Spanish and I was in tears. I felt the Spirit so strongly in this town in the middle of no where with only 6 people present. I just felt this love for the Mexican people and peace. I know God has a plan for us and it is because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And through faith in Him and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end will bring us happiness and joy that can not be described. 

Sunday was pretty normal. We went to church and yep....understood basically nothing. Had lunch at the President's house and went back to the house to plan. We had companionship inventory (for pretty much the first time) and that is when you basically say what the other person can improve on. I thought Sanchez was gonna rip on me. But he said that I could help clean the house more...which surprised me cause I do clean the house. But he does a lot of the "deep"cleaning so I guess that's true. He said my Spanish is really good and that I'm improving well. I am also getting better at teaching. That basically brought me into tears. It was must needed encouragement. He also said something that has given me a ton of comfort and peace. I know this area is rough and hard. But it was the first time I have heard him say, "This area is difficult, especially for someone's first area, and you are doing really well." Because we mainly just do contacting and we don't get much help from the members because there are little members. It felt so good to hear it from him cause I just thought it was normal cause he is a workhorse. I don't know...just felt good.

Thanks for the Christmas packages that are soon to be here! Sanchez is super excited. And we love the Nativity set...every night it's like Christmas! Hahaha

Speaking of which. Basically we are borrowing the President's laptops and bringing them to the church on Christmas. So make a Skype and a Hangout account cause I don't know which one he has. It'll be around 7 my time...so like 10pm for y'all. I know that's late but it's the only time Sanchez's family in Chihuahua will all be home. I'll try and have more specific details on the how to next week.

Sad to hear about women's volleyball....next year! And of course BYU loses a heartbreaker! We can never catch a break. But at least we have that Wisconsin win! 

I'm pretty sure I got everything. Thanks for the emails. I see them but don't always respond...so thank you! Thanks for the love and support and the prayers.

Love you!!

Elder Gregory

--

Elder Tyler Gregory

Mexico Hermosillo Mission