YOO FAMMM!!!
how y´alll doin? I'm greeeeattt! I just got back from Raul´s baptism!!!! I got permission to go, and it was sooo awesome! I'll attach some pics. There were like 30 people there and his wife gave a talk and testimony, wow! It was powerful. She cried and said she's waited a long time for this day... in that moment everything was all worth it! Everything-- all my work. the mission. the time. No words can describe it. It was hard not to have a smile beaming from ear to ear. What was also cool is that I got a lot of pictures with the ward members that I didn't have the chance to get because I left earlier than I thought I was going to leave. It was just awesome.
Sooo, my new area: called Aeropuerto-- or airport. There are constantly planes flying over head. This week, we´ve been in the process of changing houses. Right now I'm living in 3 different houses-- haha: the offices, our old house, and the new house. PLEASE send me 2 more sets of mission clothes... or mom, is it ok if I take $10 and pay a taxi to move all my stuff to my new house. Then I just need 1 more set of mission clothes. haha for real, all I need is a pair of gym shorts and athletic shirt, the thinnest and lightest pair you can find please, just to sleep in. The summer months are coming and its gonnnnnna be suppppeeerrrrr HOT. Well anyway, our area is HUGE!!! No me diga, it's so big. There were 4 missionaries, and on Monday, as part of the transfers, they closed the other half, so now we have to work both areas. but it is gonna be awesome, I'm supper excited for my new ward. They are all super excited to help with missionary work and its about 4 times bigger in assistance than Brisas, my old ward. Yes, I am suppa excited.
The offices~this past week has been the longest week of my mission. 6 am mornings and 12:30 am nights, 4 of the 7 days of this week. The president has capacitations all week, starting with us! We had tuesday, now he's in Chetumal, like 6 hours away. Then he goes to Compeche and Cancun next week and the week after. We had to make EVERYTHING for the capacitation, which had a theme of Ammon and the flock of sheep, and cutting arms off, and stuff. I have never been so stressed in my mission. I get like 40 calls a day( on average so far, I've heard some days it gets up to 100+ calls a day....), taking orders, sending things, checking statuses, writing emails, etc. and especially since I came on the transfer mark, it's hard, because there are lots to do with transfers. Usually the secretaries come midway through the transfer and get trained a little bit for the rest of the transfer when its calm, everyone is settled and happy, before the maddess of transfers, or the old secretary stays a little bit to help the new ones, but its chill. I have to supply the houses if new areas open, set up the cell phones and deliver furniture to their houses. I also have the job to sort mail and packages.... HOLY COW, its HEEEEEEckkk.. there are 175 missionaries, like 86+ areas, and I have to memorize each companerismo and area, district, zone, and put it into a shelf to send to them every Friday. Takes FOREVER. I was sooo stressed yesterday. then everyone calls me everyday, `Hey Elder Connolly, has my package arrived yet???!!!??` "NOOO!!! it hasnt yet!``, regardless if it has or not ha. I learn quick ;) and I think I have about 10,394 more things to do, I still don't know my whole job description. I just do what I think I'm supposed to do, then get yelled at, then I learn ha. For example, Pres Salinas yelled at me because i didnt know where the envelopes were.... apparently i should have come engrained in my brain! haha, but its ok. another example, the other secretary yelled at me today because I called 2 taxis, on accident, then took another. Oops! It's chill. The offices, so far, have been super stressful, but it's gonna be a lot of fun.
Daily schedule: wake up at 6:30. eat, chill, exercise, then at 8, study personal, then at 8:40, study with my comp, until 9:25, then we leave our house for the offices, about 30 minutes from our house, including bus ride and walking. then from 10 on we work in the offices, doing what we need to do, whatever it may be. We just have to be back into our areas by 2 pm to eat with our members for the Comida. Then we work in our area for the rest of the day, like 3 to 9. Now that is how it should be... this week was literallll choas, holy cow! With the new missionaries coming, missionaries going home, the capacitaion preparation, changing house... it's been crazzzy.
My comp: so he's not Mexican, like I said before. He's from Peru, and his name is Elder Saurez. He's awesome. We`re gonna have a lot of fun together—I'm stoked. From what I remember from off the top of my head, he has a little sister, he was baptized when he was 8 but I think his parents are converts. He lives close to Matchu Pichu, that Inca ancient city way up in the mountains-- already made plans to stop there post mish ha ;) . he's a stud!
So every Monday, we have a meeting with Pres and his wife. OH his wife... she is awesome, but SUPER strict. She just looks for ways to planch us, or `iron us out...^. It makes me wonder how AuntJjean and Uncle Rich were as mission presidents! We didn't have it this week because of new missionaries and old missionaries leaving and coming. but I look forward for a closer relationship with my mission pres--I esteem him a lot, and want to learn a lot from him.
What else, I am writing whatever is coming to mind, which is alot. Hopefully it made it to the paper with some sense. Also, I am going to send some other pictures-- Elder Dominguez gave me some pictures from the baptism of Mary last week, so I'll send those later or next week. I am sorry-- I did some voice recordings but I don't have time to send them. And also I wasn't able to give anything to eEder Jergenson before he left with his family. Sorry.
Well I love you all. I'm outtie! Laterrr. thank you for all you do!
elder C
