April 30 2015, week 2

Hello Everyone! (and I mean everyone!)

Let me just hurry and get this out of the way: many of you may have noticed that you are now on my email list. Don't Question it! In truth I more or less just copied Elder Bylund's Email list and was too lazy to narrow it down. So yeah.

Mexico is great! So much has been happening! 1st off I am no longer our district leader. I have been "promoted" to being Zone Leader. Which means I am kinda in charge of all the districts in our zone. "Wow", some of you might be thinking right now, "That's a lot of responsibility" or "That's impressive!". Well... it's not. We only have one district in our zone, and only 4 elders in total. So nope, I don´t really have to do much.

His letter ended there! Weird. I wrote "There better be more than that coming!" He replied

Hey Mom!

Don't worry, there is! I just had some tech problems and am uploading pictures.

How's it all going back home? Annas Bum healing up? haha that's a funny story :)

Stuff that I wish I had remembered: An umbrella, and more pics of Megan. I've decided that i'm going to give all of my favorite companions a picture of her :) that way they'll have my official seal of approval for dating her!

P day has been good so far though. We went to downtown Mexico and I took a lot of pictures! We were in a van for most of it, but i think i still got some good ones.

Teaching people in spanish is so hard! There are times when I know what I want to say, but I don't know how to say it in the "Native Tongue" yet. But I'm definitely making progreso. That's spanish for progress. I think. 

Read my letter when it actually arrives (everyone else wanted to borrow my camera cord and I was the last one done typing), and try not to cry for me too much :)

So here is the rest

(Sorry, Technical difficulties). But Anyways It has been a blast down here! Elder Kopsa and I have just started teaching Jonathan Mendez. Lessons have been going pretty well and he's even started to read the scriptures! Awesome, right? We've been teaching him about prayer and shared with him Santiago 1:5 (That's James 1:5 for all you gringos out there), explaining to him why praying is so important and how it can help him to improve his life. I can't wait to see where the lessons go from here!

District 10A has left us, leaving us as the only district in our zone. It was a sad day when they left, full of many tears (none of them mine of course) and many a sad Hymn sung. Over the past few weeks we had gotten to know them pretty well and it's sad to see them go. This is the slowest time for the MTC, because of school and whatnot, but it's still rather depressing to be the only ones in your entire zone. Another "shipment" of missionaries isn't going to be joining our district for the next few weeks, but we'll find a way to make do.

Every day during gym time we do one of 3 things: Play volleyball, Lift weights/work out, or play with the good old hacky-sack. I'm getting pretty good at it, but Elder Kopsa still makes me look like a fool every time we pass it off to him. Weight lifting is also a fun option, but lately I've been using the elliptical bikes more. I'm going to need all the practice I can get before I'm biking around everywhere I go!

Rumor has it that an apostle is going to be here in a few weeks! I'm not sure if it's true or not, but it would certainly be cool! I really hope one does visit. I would take like six selfies with him. I've also been hearing rumors about a certain magical website that you all can use to send care packages (more specifically, Donuts) to your favorite missionaries down in the MTC! Sounds like fun, right? ;-D

I think I've gained about 50 lbs down here. There is just so much food that I have to try! Today we went to get our Visas verified or officiated or something, and we stopped by to get some street tacos. Now, I've been warned of these street tacos. They're kind of the Russian Roulette of the Mexican world. Either they're delicious, Give you insane Diarrhea, or both. Knowing this, I had two. The tacos were absolutely delish and super spicy, but tonight, we'll see if I won or lost this round of Mexican Roulette.

One thing we do a lot of is play the game "What are the odds". If you don't know how to play it, ask a friend. I have lost this game several times, resulting in: Getting water splashed in my face, eating food with way too much hot sauce on it, and raising my hand during large devotionals, getting called on, and then saying that I forgot.

We did get a new group of missionaries yesterday! Two of them are in our same house but not in our zone. Unfortunately, this means that our backup shower/bathroom is now taken. The good news is that one of them is from Rigby Idaho! My People! Elder Bauro and Hermana Bertalini are both heading out to the spanish speaking Nampa Idaho Mission. So if you ever see them, Tell em that their old buddy John "The Elder" Phillips says hi!

Everything down here is based upon the upcoming movie "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" and I hate it! I hate myself for missing it! Downtown there are posters and billboards everywhere for it. But we found out that by buying "Specially Marked Packages" of cookies in the MTC Tienda, we can get Avengers Stickers! So everything of ours has basically become bedazzled with stickers. It's Pretty Legit.

A few nights back we were woken up at 3am by gunshots. A few minutes later we heard more, followed by a sharp yell. I'm not sure if he died or not, but a man definitely got shot right outside of the MTC walls.

Alright, well before I sign out, here's your weekly Kopsa Joke,

What do you call a Pig with 3 eyes? A Piiig!

I'd include his sewing joke, but he's running out of good material.

Alright, well I hope you all have a great next week! Enjoy the pictures!

~Elder Phillips

April 23, 2015, Week 1

Finally got a letter!! Here it is. He sure is a funny kiddo!

Hello Everyone! 

I`m sure you had a terribly long week waiting for this moment, but it is finally here! That is right, Its P day! 
        So let me get started with day 1. It was pretty boring, I got stopped in every line at the airport for a "random" inspection. I`m pretty sure it is because I`m a Mexican though. But that was a fun experience followed by 1.5 hours of sitting next to Bishop Cleverly and behind President Alhquest on the plain. And let me tell you: Bishop Cleverly snores!
         So we made it to Salt Lake where I met some other missionaries. didn`t really get to know them, but it was nice meeting them. We were all pretty nervous. When we got on the plane though, we were all (all the missionaries) asked to stand up and move to the front of the plane. I thought that we were in trouble at first, but it turns out that they were putting us all together near the front of the plane. It was pretty classy. I got to know the rest of the missionaries pretty well and heard a few of their life stories. interesting stuff. Then I busted out some paper and we played hangman for the next few hours.
         Skip forward to later that night. We were in a devotional before heading out to meet our district, when a girl in front of me had a seizure! That`s right, day 1 in the MTC and a girl had a seizure. Pretty legit. Turns out that she`s in my district. Her name is Hermana Gregson, and she and her companion rushed off to the infirmary. She`s from Auburn Alabama and has a hilarious Southern accent. She loves the word Yàll and pronounces lawyer like laier. The doc said it was caused by a combination of dehydration, stress, lack of eating, and the fact that the day before she did a triathlon.
         I`m the district leader. That means I`m in charge of our ragtag troop of 4 elderes and 2 hermanas. very small district. Hermanas Gregson and Baird both got sick for the first few days, so that wasnt too comforting. They`re better now though.
         My comp is Elder Kopsa. He was shy at first, but now weve found that hes pretty hilarious. I always carry around my "Kopsa Joke Journal" so I can write down all his jokes and let me tell you, there are some good ones. On Friday we began teaching lessons in spanish to pretend Investigators. we didn`t know that they were pretend though. But our first two lessons were absolutely terrible! We tried to teach several different topics at once and didn`t study the spanish words we would need. This led to many pauses that completely detracted from the lesson. The last two lessons however, were great!
          We`ve taken up the tradition of "Cuchara"ing people. For those of you who dont know what a cuchara is, it`s a spoon. That`s right. So here`s what you do: Step 1. Grab a plastic spoon from the comedor (food hall). Step 2. Bend it up near the head so it forms a 90 degree angle. Step 3. Slide the head of the spoon up someones suit collar while they aren`t paying attention. that was they walk around for a while looking ridiculous with a spoon sticking out of the back of their collar. It`s very entertaining, but it also means you have to watch out. you can also slip the spoon into their back pockets if you`re careful, but I`m still not very good at that one.

       Our main teacher is Hermano Hernandez. He is so cool and such a spiritual guy! he tells us great stories about his mission and his life. We`re trying to convince him to bring his guitar and play it for us, but he still hasn`t agreed to it.

       Please forward this to anyone who may enjoy it, because this is going to be a crazy experience!

       Your favorite Misionero

            Elder Phillips (often pronounced like peeleeps down here)

PS. Here`s this weeks Kopsa Joke for ya. Warning: East coast people might not get it. Elder Toledo (The darker Skinned dude in the pics below, who happens to be in our district) is from Maryland and didnt get it until we explained it to him. But here it goes:

What did the corn say when his clothes fell off?

Aww Shucks!

I`ll send more pictures later. Enjoy!

Translation: Diarrhea schedule. AKA the meal plan

This is Elder Kopsa unpacking on the first day

My District outside of the temple. From left to right:

Hermana Baird, Hermana Gregson, Me, Elder Toledo, Elder Asquith, Elder Kopsa

And then this is the letter he sent to his dad—seriously, he is too funny!

(Dave's letter ) Hola!

My Comp is pretty awesome! We get along and we have quite a few things in common. As for my language, I feel so fluent! And it has only been 1 week! I`m teaching all about prophets, restoration, apostasy, and prayer in spanish! I feel so proud of how fluent I am, until I try talking to a native. Or simply hear one of them pray. Praying was the first thing I learned to do in spanish, but I still only understand the last few words "en el nombre de jesucristo, amen". They talk so fast!

      I miss you guys already, but just wait til you hear some of the stories i`m going to have! The Maestros (teachers) who`ve gone to Juarez have all had great times. 

     Today for P day we went to the temple! just the visitors center though, the rest is under reconstruction. but it was fun! I bought a new tie too. they`re not too expensive down here, ranging from 3-8 dollars depending on where you get em. Tell the girls i already have their souveneirs: plastic spoons with faces and unicorns drawn on them! Haha, I`m sure that`s what they`re hoping to get :)

      It`s very hot down here, but every day around 3:30 we get a thunderstorm. that`s right, we got on e right now. its a thunderstorm because there is 1. thunder, 2. Lightning, 3. No rain. It is awesome! It cools off and the wind blows and I love it! Every night we can hear the sounds of mexicans singing and partying and getting hit by cars. Very loud, but we got used to it fast. Cannons go off at random times during the day, so we stop, whistle the mockingjay whistle from hunger games, and hold up 3 fingers in salute to the fallen tributes.

     Yesterday was P day`s eve, which means we get together with the rest of our branch (the district that taught us cucharaing) and sang chrstmas hymns in spanish! So fun! I really like them too. 

         

The hardest thing so far is the Hermanas. So many and I just shake their hands. I am going through flirting withdrawals. My comp helps keep reminding me of the story of sampson and delilah. That`s right, girls are nothing but trouble.

See ya in 2 years!

Elder Phillips

And So It BEGINS!!!! Elder Phillips Is On His Way!

We had lots of family in town for John's farewell (we also had Katherine's baby shower). I did a little "Mexican" theme with chips and salsa, dips etc. It was a crazy busy weekend, but wonderful!

The LAST Just Dance before being set apart!

 He was set apart as a missionary tuesday night by President Ahlquist. Wonderful guy! John's friend, Justin came but other than that just us. He mentioned many times how he would influence his companions and many would stay out on their mission because of him. It was a wonderful night.

 We got up this morning at 4:30am to get Elder Phillips to the airport, thus the PJ's! We sat and talked until he had to get through security. Anna was sad to see him go, but is happy he is doing good things!

Sleepover in my room!

Waiting at the airport

One LAST family picture!

There he goes!!

We are all going to miss him….well, Ellie is still thinking about it.

We were really happy to get his FIRST LETTER! Here it is!

Hello Everyone!

Today has been a crazy day! I love it here at the MTC already! During the first flight to Salt Lake City I sat right next to Bishop Cleverly and behind President Ahlquist. It was pretty cool. During the next flight all 12 of the missionaries were placed in seats next to each other. So we got to know each other pretty well and I even found another missionary going to Ciudad Juarez! And now he's my first MTC Companion! his name is Elder Kopsa. 

I have been marked. The moment I walked in I was tagged with a orange circle sticker that must signify something important. I was later informed that I was either marked for execution or worse... a hair cut! And I just got one, too! But that's alright, because I'm going to look super 'fresh'. Do kids these days still use that word? they should, because it's pretty awesome. Up Next on my daily schedule: Eat Dinner! So yeah, that's all the letter you're gonna be getting today!

Your favorite missionary,

Elder Phillips