Week 33 No Phone Call

Sup dudes! Or more mexican slang...que onda batos! 

I'm doing pretty well right now, I'm actually in the city of Obregon for the day for a doctor's appointment. Obregon is pretty cool! But I'm glad to be serving in navojoa....feels more like home to me!

This week was pretty good! We had the bapstimal service for Gustavo this past week and he is just so sick. He loves the gospel and loves everything about the church. I am pretty fortunate to have found a "chosen one" like him on my mission!

I wanted to touch on some of the things about the Mexican culture that I've learned here because I don't think I have a ton like I should have. La cultura de México es bien suave!
DISCLAIMER- these things don't identify with all of Mexico (maybe they do) but things are things I have experienced here in the state of Sonora

Here's a short list: 
1. Like I may have said before, when you are eating any meal at any time of the day, you are guaranteed to have Coca Cola, tortillas (usually flour), and limes. Everyone uses all three of these things in every meal!

2. The spider man hand! I hope you guys know what the Spider Man hand looks like, if not, look it up. But basically, the people here (and apparently in other places in latin america) use the spiderman hand at the dinner table. Like when spiderman shoots out webs from his hand to grab on to something, the people here signal their "web hand" if they want something. for example, instead of saying, "carlos, could you pass the salt please?" You can just simply point your spiderman hand at the salt and someone at the dinner table will grab it for you without breaking the conversation.....I love it!

3. Random animals, there are always random animals in the street. Horses, chickens, pigs, cows, you name it! I even saw a kangaroo once in Magdalena. And no...I'm not lying nor crazy. It was a kangaroo. The locals know about it. No one really bothers about the animals in the street. It's just life here in MX!

4. Dogs! In the US, if you see a dog in the street, you might naturally run up to it and want to start petting it or return it back to the owner. Here in MX, you avoid the street dogs. They aren't cute little lost puppies in the street. They are survivors trying to make it out on their own. The missionary cliché about dogs chasing you is 100% true in Mexico. We are constantly running or biking away from dogs trying to eat us. I have been bitten 3 times now! I just miss my little pups at home just thinking about it!

4. Last one (for now) is the straight blunt-ness from these mexicans here in sonora. Sonora is known for being brutally honest, which sometimes is good. But sometimes it's rough! hahaha for example, many people say "your spanish is awful" or "you're really cute, marry my granddaughter"....stuff like that. It's super funny, we will sometimes ask who or where someone is, and they'll say, "oh he/she is the big fat one over there". Seems a little harsh but it's the culture here!


There's so many more things I could talk about, but I'll stop there. I love the people here so much. Some of the best people I have met in my entire life. They are so humble, loving, and funny as a people. I hope to learn from their example. 

That's it for me for this week! Keep me posted with more emails because I love hearing from everybody! Keep trusting in God and keep relying on the love Our Savior has for you! 


Hasta luego!
Elder Gregory




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