Week 4 Struggles!!

Wow this was a tough week.. One member of our district got a cold, and one by one it has spread to every person in my district. Throughout the week we have not had a class with everyone there. If one missionary is sick, someone has to stay behind as his companion. Elder Oren was the first one to volunteer to stay back. He loves to take care of us, and he checked on us a lot when we were sick. He brought me food, kept track of my meds, and cleaned (my water bottle, desk, etc.) We all have struggled to feel well but as a district we have stuck together and persevered.

This week has been busy, but at the same time not much has happened. 6 hours of class a day, missionaries coming in and leaving, and sickness. The Spanish has been improving so much though! Elder Brown and I have tried our very best this week to make it to class and retain as much as possible. We take tons of notes, and later we make flashcards and study them. Even while Elder Brown was sick, he sat up in bed and did memorization with me. I am so proud of him and so thankful for the example he is!

In our lesson this week, I really got to see my Spanish come out. I was able to teach the lesson, read scriptures, and answer his questions fairly well. I am so thankful for my teachers and how much patience they have for us. They get to see our lessons and tell us how we can improve and I love hearing what they have to say. My companion and I really are improving so quickly thanks to our teachers, our hard work, and the help of the Lord.

This week we also had new elders move into our room! Their names are Elder Avery and Elder T! They are going to Trinidad and I’ve loved having them in our room! They are Samoan, and man they sure are fun! Not to mention, my room smells like a Tropical Island because of all of their soaps, colognes, and oils!! At night though, both of them snore so so much. It’s like a bear cave I swear haha!

It was hard this week saying goodbye to our Mexican Elders this week. We woke up at 4AM on Tuesday and dropped them off at the travel office. All of us Elders weren’t used to waking up that early, so our eyes were extra watery… We had to say goodbye to Elder Payan (Elder Pie Pie,) Elder Lopez (Elder Papichulo,) and Elder Martinex (Elder Cool Guy.) They arrived the same day as us, but since they were fluent in Spanish they only spent 3 weeks at the MTC. We went through everything with them, and it just made me think how much harder its going to be saying goodbye to my District. I really have grown so much with these Elders and Love them like Brothers. It is amazing how much we have bonded in such a short amount of time.

I have a strong testimony of missionary work and how much it is needed. I was blessed to be born in the Church and to grow up learning about it. I know that my life has been so happy because of the Gospel, and it would be selfish if I didnt go share it with others. I am loving the work, the people, and learning to love the language haha. I appreciate all of you so much and while I was struggling this week I thought about how many prayers were being said for me, and how much love I am blessed with. Talk to you guys next week! Remember to email me anytime, and if you want to see my previous emails I have a website with everything posted: ElderPetty.com

-Elder Petty