Proselitismo

So a lot happened this week. We went to the Lima East mission to go proselyting. Elder Ch and I  were paired with an American elder who has been out for 7 months. I did not do a lot of talking, but Elder Ch was pretty good at saying hi to people on the sidewalk. We helped out with one lesson about the restoration. We met a man who spoke a little English from working on a cruise, and he allowed us to come back to his house to teach him. He started talking to us about his sister who lives there too and showed us some pictures from his cruise travels. He had on this half-English half-Spanish game show. It was kind of funny because we didn't realize that he also had the radio on, so when our companion asked if he could turn off the TV it was funny to hear the radio still going. We were able to teach a lesson though, and Elder Ch and I were able to help out a little. We told Elder Co about the house, and after hearing Elder Ch's description, I realized that there was a lot more I was oblivious to, and I am pretty grateful that I felt protected from seeing those things. I felt the Spirit there though and they were pretty receptive. It really shook my mind though after seeing it.

So here at the CCM, we all have to prepare 4-5 minute talks in Spanish every week and then they call up people to give their talks. Everyone always gets a little nervous when they announce who is giving their talk that Sunday. I have only have had to write two so far because we had the Trujillo temple dedication and then another Sunday was the first Sunday of the month. This past Sunday I was picked to give my talk. Our branch presidency said that I did a good job and they were surprise at how my Spanish has come along because I had a bit of a hard time at the beginning of the CCM.

We are now avanzados! Since we are the only American elders who are avanzados, we all knew that two of us were going to be zone leaders. Elder Ch and Elder Co are the new zone leaders, and I took over the position of district leader from Elder Ch. The Spanish is starting to come along, but I get a little confused with verb conjugations. Our teachers are starting to talk faster in Spanish. One of the supervisors here was telling us about Huancayo and Lima, and we learned that people in Huancayo tend to talk faster, quieter, and with a higher voice than people in Lima. It already seems like the people in Lima talk that way, so these next few months are going to be pretty interesting. It will also be interesting to compare Spanish with Chrisanne and Dad. We stopped teaching an investigator who had an alcohol problem because our teacher is now taking on another role of someone who has met with multiple sets of missionaries before and has member family members. It is a little tricky.

We miss our roommates who have left on their missions, but now we have Latino roommates who don't speak much English. We have even more missionaries in the CCM than we did before. My FHE sister Hermana Kelly arrived this week. It was good to see a friend from school. That is pretty cool about Michelle and Jordan's nephew. I will definitely keep an eye out for him! The weather here is usually cool in the mornings and nights, and then kind of warm in the day. It is funny when we start to feel even the teeniest water droplets because people joke and say things like, "There's a storm, quick, everyone inside!" or something about that that is the most rain we have seen since we have been here. I keep hearing things about bonita Huancayo and I am starting to get ready to leave the CCM. We are starting to see that teaching in a trio can be a struggle sometimes because sometimes we cut someone off or someone gets left out. I think we are doing pretty well though. If you don't have a scripture for my mission plaque I think I want D&C 128:22. It should say something about going forward and not backward.

I hope you are doing better mom. Please let Dad know that I did read his email and I do thank him for writing me. I may need Lactaid pills if I can't find them. Am I allowed to wash my suit pants? I did it once already. Also, do you know where my shoeshine kit is packed? I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Brian Hymas