Derek also received an email with a little more detail:
Hola mi familia y amigos,
This
week has been a blast here in the Mexico MTC. I'm not really sure where
to start so I'll just start at the beginning. After landing in the
Atlanta airport I went straight to my gate and after waiting for what
seemed like forever another two missionaries showed up. Elder Sheldon y
Elder Pitt, both of them from Virginia and both of them know each other.
So, fast forward to the Mexico City airport, this airport is the
biggest airport I have ever seen. So as we come through immigration and
customs we are herded through lines and down hallways, but everything
is in Spanish and everyone is speaking Spanish, so between us three
missionaries that are together we knew enough Spanish to get through.
Customs seemed way too easy to get in. After I got my bags I walked up
to two lines, one of them with metal detectors and scanners for your
bags. The other line had no security at all, so when ever I stepped up
in line I was told to push a button (I still don't know what it was for)
and then was told to go down the line with zero security. It seemed way
too easy but that's all that was required to enter into Mexico. After
that we found the driver for the MTC and waited around for a few more
missionaries to show up and then we headed off. At this point it is
about 5 pm,
and what that means is Mexico City traffic. I have been in traffic in
some big places before, like Charleston, St. Louis, and Salt Lake, but
compared to the stuff that we drove through those seem like a Sunday
afternoon cruise. But I have some serious respect for our driver, he was
going in and out of traffic like he was in a little smart car, but in
reality we were in a 12 passenger bus. Once at the MTC we had all kinds
of orientation and seminars about adjusting to your new language and
your new calling. We had classes like those all the way up until Saturday
night. The days at the MTC are very long, we have 16 hours of language
study and scripture study every day except for preparation day. There
are some here that have been here for 5 weeks and are speaking nothing
but Spanish. And what is even crazier than that is that I am not too far
behind them. The learning is at an extremely fast pace. I have already
learned how to teach lessons, share my testimony, and pray in just 7
days! But I have made plenty of mistakes. The worst one was probably
when we were teaching a lesson and we asked the investigator if he would
pray. The word for pray in Spanish is orar, but what we said was
orinar, that is in Spanish to urinate. So we asked our investigator if
he would urinate.... But in my defense that was only the Friday
that I got there. I am not too worried about it because I will probably
make plenty more mistakes. My Companions are great! I am in a trio
companionship. Elder Eagar y Elder Sheldon. Elder Sheldon is the one
that I met in the Atlanta airport, he knows so much Spanish and Elder
Eagar is a huge 300lb. guy but he has a very kind heart. Before this he
took Chinese in high school so he knew zero spanish before he came here
but he has learned alot too! Even here in Mexico I have found either
people that I know or someone that we have the same mutual friends. Well
that's all for this week, I will send pictures later today!
Love,
Elder Brayton
L-R: Elders Eagar, Sheldon and Brayton
