Week 7: January 26, 2015

Hola Fellow amigos,

Wow what a week!! So much stuff to talk about. I’m loving it here in my mission. What a spiritual week.

Monday,

So we stayed up all night in the CCM because we left at 2:30 am for the airport. We got to the airport and had to wait in line for like 2 hours to check our bags. Ugh. The Mexico City airport is impossible. Way different that any airport I’ve been to. We took a small bus to our plane. The plane was the smallest plane I’ve ever been on, only three rows across. It fit like 60 people. The plane ride was like an hour and a half long. Slept the whole way. Except for the free Coca Cola I got. Yay. We arrived in Tuxtla and it was so humid. And it was only 7 in the morning. We met our mission President and I was relived because he spoke to me in English. The rest of the missionary’s were jabbering away in Spanish. We took an hour and a half bus ride to Tuxtla; the airport is so far away. And arrived at the temple where we took pictures. We went to the mission home and they served us pancakes. YUM. So much better than any CCM food. We had interview with the President than the assistants took us to go contacting. I was really nervous. But I ended up giving three cards away with a brief conversation. Haha. The people talk so fast here. So all of us stayed at the Mission office for the night, no sheets or anything it was cool though.

Tuesday,

So we woke up and the assistants rushed us to the stake center. We had for breakfast the best tamales I have ever had for breakfast. Then we had some training from the assistants. It seemed like it took forever because all of us were waiting to hear who our companion was and to hear where we would be going. The time finally came. They announced the Hermanas first then started with us. Elder Clark was right before me and he received a gringo companion which never happens. The time for me came. These words popped up on the screen, Tapachula, San Hose area, the hottest area in Tuxtla, then the name of my companion, Elder Prows from Utah. I was so surprised to have a white guy as  my companion. He greeted me and we hugged and took a picture with the Pres. We ate like 3 boxes of Little Ceasers for lunch. They rushed us out because it was a 6 hour bus ride to Tapachula. So we got on the bus and its super nice. For the next two hours Elder Prows explained to me about the area and how it was. What’s crazy is that Elder Prows just finished training and has only been here for 12 weeks. We got to Tapachula and got out of the air conditioned bus. It is sooo humid here, and so hot. Even though the sun was down and it was like 9:30 it was still like 90 out. It was humid enough that when I went to take a picture with Elder Prows, my camera fogged up. Haha. We then took a taxi to our house. It’s small with three rooms and a bathroom but I love it. We wrote in our journals and unpacked, Elder Prows has been there for 12 weeks. We set up my mosquito net and went to bed. It was so hot and I was so paranoid of bugs that I didn’t fall asleep till like 12.

Wednesday,

So we got up at 6:30 and stated our daily routine. It’s amazing how much I don’t want to work out that early in the morning, so that was a struggle. We did personal study than companion study than language study and then headed to our zone meeting. We took a conbie, a small van thing that only cost 6 pesos. So I met our zone leaders and others in our zone and had training from the pres. and I didn’t understand anything because Elder Puentes talks so fast. After that we went back to the house and headed to our lunch appointment with Hemana Blancito. She made us the best tamales yet. Yum.

Let the proselyting begin. Oh how hot it is here, I have never sweated so much in my life. We walked a ton. It was really cool meeting investigators though. That night I was so tired.

Thursday though Satuday,

So we got in the normal routine of missionary work, it is the hardest thing I have ever done, but the reward is far greater. Bringing people unto salvation feels so good even though it involves being super tired and sweaty. We committed a young girl, Janey, to Baptism, which was so cool even though I did none of the talking. We do a lot of walking probably like 10 miles a day. But we also talk to lots of people. They are so poor, I’ve learned to be grateful for everything I have, like a hot shower, and ours only has cold water, so I inch into the shower every morning. At least it wakes me up. We also committed another investigator to baptism. He pretty much bore his testimony to us about how the Book of Mormon is true and how Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. THE HOLY GHOST WORKS MIRICLES IF YOU HAVE FAITH.

Sunday,

By far my favorite day. We went to church, and they had assigned me a talk so I gave my talk to the ward, about missionary work, and how it’s all about love and service. The rest of church I didn’t understand anything, so I just read the whole copy of the Liahona Magazine. The Liahona is amazing, it is modern day scripture. After that we went proselyting for 3 hours. At 6, we had a Family Home Evening with these family of investigators Romeo, Mirenia, and Romeo the Son. They are my favorite investigators. This was the most spiritual experience this week for me. We watched the Joseph Smith Restoration film with them and the Spirit testified so strongly of the message. We bore our testimonies about Joseph Smith. We meet with them on Tuesday and are going to invite them to baptism.

Today.

PDay in the field isn’t as fun as in the CCM. We had to clean the house and wash our garments by hand, we then took the rest of our laundry to a Lavenderia and then went to Walmart. Walmart is basically the US when you walk in its air-conditioned and clean. We bought our food and other stuff, and a pound of bacon, clean cut, yeeeesss. Then we had Dominos for lunch.

The food here is amazing, one day we had a whole fish and beans. Hermana Ttia make the most amazing Burgers, better than most in the US. The drinks here are weird, most people serve water with fruit stuff in it. It’s hard to get used to. But the Agua de Lima is amazing, we aren’t allowed to drink coke so good thing I had one on the plane.

I am so thankful for my companion, he is truly amazing. He is so motivated, and such a hard worker. He inspires me.

Go to Alma 31:5 it is really true. And in Ether 12:27, the Lord really makes your weeknesses become strong.

If you are doubting your faith, doubt you doubts before you doubt your faith. And if you are considering not going on a mission, GO, It teaches you so many life lessons and skills, and as well strengthens you spiritually. And I’ve only been here for a week.

I have not had beans and rice yet, together!!

Love you all,

Elder Pugmire

Elder Prows and I (sorry its so foggy)!

A meal we had

My district at the CCM

Week 5: January 15, 2015

Aloha people,

This week has been absolutely great; it’s crazy that I’ve been in the CCM for six weeks already. There’s a saying that you've probably heard, that the days go slow but the months go fast. It’s so true. It’s amazing how much my Spanish has progressed in six weeks. The gift of tongues is real if you ask for it and have faith in Jesus Christ! This week my district finally turned into seniors, and the new district that came in say we look so much older than them, which is fun because that is the same way I felt about the other districts. The only age that matters here is how long you’ve been in the CCM.

Friday: Was a crappy day for me.

I dropped my watch while playing cage soccer, and it broke, what a bummer. Then I was just in a bad mood for reasons. It’s amazing how studying the scriptures and working on vocab words put me in a better mood. By the end of the night I was as cheerful as always.

Saturday:

I made 400 note cards that day; I was pretty impressed with myself. I memorized 77 in one day, all verbs which is helpful. Pretty average day on the contrary.

Sunday: Sundays are my favorite, they are so spiritual and awesome, the devotionals are great. Funny story, during sacrament my companion had to give the prayer, and so in the middle of sacrament there was a moment of silence, so he thought it was time to give the prayer, and since it was testimony meeting no one stopped him, so he gave the prayer in the middle of sacrament. He was pretty embarrassed; he ended up giving two prayers. I had my first salad at the CCM and now I’m a salad guy!! For dinner we had salad, coincidence I think not!!

For a devo we watched another talk of Elder Holland I always love hearing from him. Sadly I didn't have my journal. That night we watched three videos. The first was the Stonecutter, many of you have probably seen it but I thought it was absolutely amazing. It was about a stone cutter named John Moyle, and how he gave up everything for the church. He was called as a stone cutter on the SLC temple. He lived in what is now alpine, and trekked 22 miles every Monday to Salt Lake. He did this for twenty years. That year he lost his leg when his cow kicked him. Within six months he was walking on a peg leg to salt lake again. I was just in awe at his commitment and I want to be more like him. In the movie they shared a quote. "This world consists of two kinds of people, those who are acted upon and those who act for themselves," and John was one to act. I want to be one to act. The next video was about Christ and his miracles, there was one scene where an old merchant had dropped his pastries and Christ helped him pick them up. I want to have the compassion of Christ and to help others the way he helped people.

Monday and Tuesday:

Last week!!! Pretty average days. We took a District picture and all wore blue, by my suggestion. Haha. I was studying in Mosiah and came across this scripture in Mosiah 33.  "But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage."

I really love this scripture, because if you rely on the lord he will deliver you out of bondage. Oh yeah that morning I had to teach the lesson to the investigator by myself without my companion, it went ok. I sang in the choir again, this time it was a men’s choir. I sang second tenor. We sang brightly beams our father’s mercy. We sounded so good. I love being in the choir. We were watching a devo from Provo, and during one of the songs I saw Elder Smart, I thought he was supposed to come to Mexico. We heard from Elder Nelson. He spoke about missionary work. Pretty good talk.

Wednesday:

This is our last day with our Spanish teacher Hermano Garza. I’m going to miss him so much. He is getting married on Thursday: He inspired me in so many ways. We took pictures with him and said good bye. We took a test, and I did terrible. It doesn’t affect anything just who your companion is going to be in the field.

Today:

We started the day off by going to the temple. It is a really beautiful temple, too bad we can’t go in, it’s closed for the annual cleaning. We went to the visitor’s center and took a tour pretty cool. It’s crazy I’m leaving in like 5 days; we get to leave the CCM at 2:30 in the morning on Monday. I’m really excited for the field but really nervous. I know if i rely on the lord he will bless me. And if I study hard he will put words in my mouth.

I’m going to miss my district so much. I have never gotten so close to anyone in 6 weeks. They inspire me so much and I’m going to miss all of them so much.

I know that if you are having trials in your life, you need to turn to the lord in scripture study and prayer and rely on him, you can do things you would never have done. 

Love elder Pugmire

My new backpack!

Week 4: January 8, 2015

Hola People,

Wow, this week had nothing that special. My Spanish is coming along. I can almost form sentences, but still have a hard time understanding people.

On Sunday, we fasted, and it was really hard because I’m not good at fasting. But the Lord blessed me for enduring. We had sacrament and priesthood, and that was good. Then after lunch District 10 B bore their testimonies to our zone. It was very spiritual and it was so sad at the thought of them leaving. They are all so nice and inspiring and made me want to be a better missionary! We had a devotional where we watched a video of Jeffery R Holland. The way he talks is so amazing with so much conviction and is inspiring at the same time. He talked about ways to be a better missionary and how blessed we are to have preach my gospel.

Highlight of the week. At the end of the devotional the elder who gave the prayer went to give President Pratt a hug and as was doing so almost kissed him, because they both went the same direction. Everyone was dying!!!

District 10 B left on Monday, it was really sad to see them go, and when they left it felt like nobody was there. The lines for food were like three times shorter yesss!!!! 120 Americans left and 100 Latinos left so it was pretty empty. I really miss all of them.

Tuesday and Wednesday were dull.

Today we went to the immigration office. What a waste of a P-day. So we got to the office and I sat for like 2 hours. I was the last missionary and everybody was waiting for me.

I have learned so much hear about humility and enduring to the end. I am so blessed with this opportunity to be a missionary and to be surrounded by so many valiant and honest people.

I hope you have a good day today make it the best you can.

Love,

Elder Pugmire

Elder Giles messing around.

Me!!

The beautiful sunset...

Week 3: January 1, 2015

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve: We had a Christmas choir festival, where all the missionaries sang it was very cool.

Christmas: Christmas in the CCM was great, it was different than usual, but still really awesome. We attended like 7 devotionals throughout the day so my legs were really stiff. So one of the devotionals was broadcasted from the Provo MTC, and the Provo MTC choir started singing and as they were panning over the choir, Elder Fletcher appeared, and I kind of yelled out, "That’s Adam," it was really embarrassing, but to see Elder Fletcher just made my day, cause I hadn't heard from him since I left, and I just got really excited and told my companion, it was so awesome!!! In that devotional Russell M Nelson spoke, it was cool to have an apostle of the Lord speak to us. He talked about the Facets of the gospel like the facets of a diamond. The next devotional was a video of David A Bednar, I thought it was going to be lame since it was from two years ago, but it really got my attention and struck me in the heart. He talked about the character of Christ and how when he was in his greatest trials, instead of turning in and taking care of himself he turned out and helps those in need. Christ always turns out. He told some really wonderful stories about Christ like attributes. It was an amazing talk, I highly suggest you all watch it; it is from four years ago at the Provo MTC. It is my new favorite talk. As Christmas was about to end for our last devotional, we got to watch Meet the Mormons, it was so nice, we were about to watch it in Spanish and everybody moaned, but then President Pratt said we were watching it in English with Spanish sub titles. So it was a good Christmas.

The day after Christmas we woke up late, because Elder Weaver’s alarm didn’t go off (because it was broken) so we got to study time late. Then we got beat at cage soccer by the Latinos. My Spanish is progressing slowly but steadily. In 2 Nephi 28:30 it says the lord will give unto you line upon line precept upon precept. That was really comforting. The lord will bless me if I work hard.

Sunday was great:

We had steak for lunch!!! Sooo tender! We had a Devotional hosted by Presidante Tenario, He talked about specific prayers and how if we ask the lord in our prayers, let it come to pass, and give him details he will bring it to pass. He told some really phenomenal stories about specific prayers. So before I left for my mission, I told myself that I would join the choir at the MTC, so when they announced choir practice Sunday afternoon, I went and practiced, turns out I’m a tenor. That evening we watched a video about the building of the Salt Lake City Temple. It was awesome. It told of all the trials they faced and how they endured to the end no matter what.

Story of the Week:

On Monday for gym time we went and played ultimate Frisbee, as we were nearing the end of the game, I had the Frisbee and elder fisher was in the end zone, so I decided to bomb it, So I through it really hard, and felt my hand wack someone really hard, turns out it was Elder Burgess in my district. He had to get an eye patch and to keep his eye closed for 3 days. I felt really bad though!! He’s fine now.

The rest of the week was pretty much normal, we had a devotional on exact obedience. Oh, on Tuesday night devotional I sang in the choir, we did phenomenal. I hope I get another chance to sing, I really love singing. We received a new district member from the Provo MTC he’s chill.

For New Years we stayed up till 12 and drank sparkling cider. Fun!

-Elder Pugmire

My District