Wow! Mexico is crazy. I'm going to try to paint a picture of Mexico for all of you, because I'm sure you are wondering!
All of the streets are set up on a grid...there are houses and shops literally everywhere. I haven't seen any open land at all. I've seen maybe 3 parks that are really cute. Not like playground parks, just cute grassy parks. There are pigeons everywhere and there is SO much greenery there. I wish there were more trees around, but everything is cement! There are lots of palm trees and flower trees that are so fun. Everywhere we walk is pretty trashy, honestly. I've heard Merida is really nice though, so I guess it's just feels trashy to me, comparing it to Utah. There is usually litter evvverywhere. I'm not really sure what the garbage system is here! The members homes really aren't super nice, but I'm getting used to it. Everything is just so old. Everything is cement and tile. My companion says the cement makes things cooler which makes sense.
I think it's cute how there are houses then the bread store, then a paper store, then snacks/treat store. We did go to Walmart today, and it is exactly like the US. I wonder Walmart puts all the little stores out of buisness because it seems like such a pain to go to the fruit market, then another place for bread and tortillas.
My companion and I stick out a lot being two Americans. I think its to our advantage though! Everyone we stop and talk to usually just gives us their information so we can go visit them. I honestly wonder if they do it because they feel obligated. There have been lots of different outcomes with it. We have to do the baptismal question in the first lesson and we have had 3 people say yes! Some have a spouse or something be like, we are catholic. So many people are catholic. Some will just humor us and let us teach them.
For a lot of people we've taught, prayer is a really weird thing. They get so confused how to do it and what to say. We have to explain it super good and a lot of times there are lots of awkward pauses and we don't really know what to do.
On Sunday we brought an investigator with us! Our ward is really really awesome. They're seriously our angels. Everyday we eat with a family and its so nice to talk to people that know who we are and love us for it. The ward isn't really big, but not tiny either. My companion and I both spoke breifly on Sunday, which was fun I guess. The ward was really great with the investigator we brought. His name is Pascual and he is an alcoholic big-time. The first time I met him he was drunk and I had noooo idea what he was saying. He was in our area book because the last missionaries had him. He would like to get baptized, so I hope that works out!
Another investigator we have is this grandpa named Marby. He ate up our message and said yes to baptism. He is super cute! We haven't been able to make contact again, but we are going to keep trying. Another guy we have is Juan Carlos. He actually stopped us on the road and said he had a dream that he needed to come unto God more because times are getting scary. The first lesson he said yes to baptism too and wanted to come to church, but when we walked by his house he wasn't there. Another of my favorites is Jesus. He is an older guy, and he stopped us on the road. He is catholic, but wants to search for more truth. He had this book about the Holy Ghost from some other church he has been reading and he likes it. He also accepted the invitation. He is SUCH a good guy. He likes sewing patch work things and giving them away. We have a bunch of others we meet with that we met on the street, but those were my favorites. Plus my one hour goes way too fast
Other things...that traditional bread with the doll in it? I tried it at mutual on Wednesday! It was pretty good. Ohhh my gosh, Justin Bieber is huge here. Today was our P-day and we took two sisters in the ward with us around town. They are laurel age and one was asking me about Justin Bieber a lot because I said I liked him. You wouldn't believe how americanized things are. More than half the music I hear is in English. There is a lot of the swearing rap music (which is real nice for us missionaries.) A lot of the food we have eaten at members houses is pretty normal. They always try and make us feel more at home I guess. Like hamburgers and pizza. People love pizza here. Today we went to a restaurant and ate gorditas. It was like a tortilla pocket stuffed with meat. They were small, so we got a couple of different kinds each. I definitely want to come back just to try all the foods! My companion is very careful with the money, so we don't buy more than we need hardly ever. Oh, there are dogs and cats EVERYWHERE. I kinda like it, haha. Another very typical thing here are these bread venders. They go around on bikes and honk this obnoxious horn.
Something I do like about here is the weather. Its sticky, but I'm getting used to it. Everyone is always outside pretty much, so its easy to talk to people. People are SO friendly. We always say buenas tardes or buenas noches to people and its fun. During the day the sun is pretty miserable though. Around 5pm or so its perfect! Baths are fun still, not!!! We will see how long my long hair lasts. Its really hard to wash in a bucket! Our laundry is all by hand in buckets too. Super fun. I really miss the US when we are home in our little casa. Spanish still sucks. Its hard having a companion who understands my English. I guess I really should be grateful though. I have learned some Spanish from her. She just doesn't correct me a lot, so I always worry. She really is amazing though, super loving and patient and obedient.
That is probably all I have time for today.
Love you all,
Hermana Harper
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| Mission Home, Merida Mexico, January 7, 2014 |
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