What is up family? I hope all is going well back in the states. I am doing great and I starting to figure out how the mission is run and how all of the different things work together. But yeah, I have 4 letters waiting for me at another house in our district I need to go pick up sometime this week. Thanks for the package that I will get in a couple of weeks, I need all of the garments I can get, we haven't had water or electricity together in a while so I haven't washed my clothes in like 2 weeks so it's kind of gross re-wearing clothes especially because I am sweating all of the time.
So I found out this week we live in pretty much the worst house in the mission, so oh well, only place is to go up.
But this week has been pretty hectic with traveling to Bonoa and to Santiago for meetings this week. This week is pretty much dead teaching wise because we have to travel all the time. We had a zone conference in Bonao this past Monday and a New Missionary meeting/ training in Santiago yesterday. I am not going to lie I am not a fan of 8 hour meetings at all. But the meetings are good, so if you think staying awake in sacrament meeting is hard try a meeting in the mission. But the church has come out with 8 new lessons that are brand new added onto Preach my Gospel, which I like a lot because they are mini lessons that make the investigator focus on commitments and baptismal dates. The thing I like about them is that they are simple and easy to teach in Spanish. So yesterday all of the new missionaries had to teach about the principles and how to teach that principle in front of the mission president and all of the other greenies and their trainers. So I was nervous before the meeting a little bit, but I prepared a lot for it and I was able to speak without thinking in English which was sweet. I can pretty much speak fluently when I am talking about things like I know the vocab for in Spanish which is pretty much the gospel and sports right now. I guess I taught well and spoke Spanish well of enough because President Lee stood up[ and said Bien Hecho( good job), and then after meeting pulled me aside and told me that my Spanish was great for the time that I taught. Also my companion told me that the President was talking good things about me to him which made me happy! So after the meeting my companion said he was glad that I was the American companion he had to train, because in the meeting sometimes it took patience to listen to the others. Although living in an all native house is difficult my Spanish has skyrocketed since I have gotten here. And my companion helps to because he likes to volunteer me to do practices and participating in district, zone, and mission meetings which is not always something I like to do.
But teaching wise this week was mas o menos (so-so), I had one day where I taught seven lessons in an afternoon when I was on an exchange with a Haitian that new Spanish a little bit, and that day was my best teaching day by far in the mission. So every time now an investigator asks a question Elder De la Cruz makes me answer, so sometimes it takes longer to answer than others especially when it is a question I am not sure how to answer in English. We have a couple of investigators that are progressing, and we had a lot we had to drop which was really hard to do but the Mission President said if they aren't progressing to drop them and find others that are ready.
Culture Note of the Week: Baseball is always on either in the Colmados or in the houses of our investigators. Why is Roy O pitching for the Phillies, and why is Berkman hitting home runs for the Yankees? Also the public transportation here is fitting 8 people in a 1995 corolla, when I get out of the car I can't feel my knees or my legs.
I don't know Dad if you remember Brother Van Leuven who used to be the stake young men's president, his son is in my zone. So I have someone from Katy in my mission, he was looking really familiar and I remember now playing basketball against him.
Brittney thanks for your undercover mission, I found a pattern among other missionaries so thanks a lot, my companion taught me this pattern I just don't follow it because my name is way common. Makenzie and Brittney have fun at homecoming. Sorry about you getting cut from the team, have fun with all of the free time that you will now have. Makenzie what team are you on?
Jacob keep up the good work on the field bro, it sounds like y’all are doing well and you are having fun.
I hope that all is going well with y’all, so take care, I am praying for y’all everyday!
Love Elder Smith
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