Adapting To My New Environment

Well, the first week has been a rollercoaster, I must say. The first couple of days were incredibly hard. I quickly learned that I don´t know nearly as much Spanish as I thought I did, a very hard truth to learn indeed.

Luckily I was picked up in the airport (after my 12 hours of travel) by one of the only english speaking people in the church...an 18 year old named Gerson (Jason in english). I remembered him from the last trip, so I couldn't complain there. We made our way from the airport to what was to be my temporary home... When we got there I was greeted by four other muchachos that I knew from before. Although it was good to see them, this was a rude awakening to my lack of spanish...I was immediately bombarded with conversation that I couldn't understand. Being that I'm usually shy around people I don't know at home,...you can only imagine how stupid I felt in the presence of 6 non-english speaking people that I hardly knew...It was defiantly stretching from the get go....Not to mention that the four people that I am staying with do not speak english either!!!!

The house itself is actually pretty nice... and in Mexican standards, very nice. So there I am blessed. I am also blessed that I have my own room, something that I am extremely grateful for (Im one who needs my space sometimes). My host mom is very outgoing and excitable, and due to the fact that she is a teacher, she is very eager to help me learn spanish...although its a challenge because she doesn't really know any english... The father is kind, however a little introverted and awkward. The daughter (14) is shy but very friendly, and luckily speaks a lil english (although she adamantly refuses to use it). The son (20) well,...hes nice but...a bit on the strange side so far...I'm not really sure how to interact with him...avoidance is my main choice concerning him...

My ministry duties have been bye far the most stretching so far,...to the point where I wanted to rip my face off sometimes. I tag along with two guys who speak no english (and I mean NO english). We go from house to house of different youths across Mazatlan and just visit and talk (I don't really do any of the talking yet). They encourage the jóvenes (youth) to continue to come to church and they just take the time to build relationships. Its actually really incredible. And although I don´t do a ton of talking during these time, I did get to pray over two guys on one of the days...this was a bit stretching, mostly due to the fact that someone was translating me to them (awkward) but I praise God for that moment anyway. I also am helping construct classrooms for children, and a few time a week I get to play with them. Soon I will be making weekly trips to the prison here in Mazatlan, a thought that scares me badly... All in all im excited for my work, and think my excitement will only grow as I continue to grow and learn spanish.

Im fed really well. Breakfast is made for me every morning, and its not just bacon and eggs...no, no, no...today Nachos, or tamales, or some other stuff that I dont know what it was, but it was good inside a tortilla. I have lunch at a different house everyday, and it is always delicious. I cant believe the generosity of the people here. They are so willing to give...I absolutely love it. The relationships are all so personal,...we pull up to a house where I know no one, and with a kiss on the cheek I am welcomed and fed...

Already I am learning and growing in extreme ways,...and it really hurts sometimes but none the less I am grateful.

The Calm Before the Storm...ya right

So I was to be in San Diego for almost an entire week before I went to Mazatlan for my three month mission. In my mind I saw that week as a sort of a lil vacation, to rest up before my trip. Little did I know it was going to be one of the hardest weeks I have yet to face.

I was staying with my cousin Nina, her husband Roger and their two kids. This was a bit awkward because I had never met them before. This was also awesome because they had offered to take me into Mexico (Ensenada) to visit my host family from my previous trip (they moved from Mazatlan) for the weekend. This was a clear blessing from God.

Well, I arrived in San Diego on a Tuesday and wasn't to go to Ensenada till Saturday....Now because of their two kids and work, they didnt really do anything fun (or what I would call fun...like leave the house for days at a time). This gave me an awful lot of time to miss my family and friends and to think..."WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING!" And just to top it off, it was raining for the first three or four days...hard core. I got a little depressed and stressed. I was bored and lonely and really just wanted to go home. However, I couldnt blame them...they have responsibilities and I can understand that.

It wasn't all bad either. I am a big fan of children and they have two very fun and cute ones. They younger one (one year old) was extremely cute!!! And I quickly fell in love with them...And they were very giving to me, letting me take one of their cars out on the town one of the nights (for example). And apparently i look an awful lot like Justin Timberlake (according to my aunt and cousins). My cousin called my Justin so much she started to forget my real name (seriously).

So along comes Friday and I am getting very excited to go to Ensenada (also my mom flew in to see me off...again)...little did I know it was going to get a lot worse before it got better...