Week 3-4 (Mexico City, Mexico) CCM, Gunshots, and Armed Guards oh my

 Hola a todos!


Ten days in. I'm not gonna lie... the first week kinda sucked. I think just adjusting to missionary life in general is tough and weird. There is so much to do with so little time. I genuinely feel like I have no time for myself. Not to mention the Spanish is also so hard. But, it's all good because I have such a solid district. Seriously, they are so sick. It's been really good getting to know my companion in person. Over these past 10 days of being in person at CCM (or MTC-Missionary Training Center) we have gotten so much closer.

The first week of the CCM was mainly just getting settled and figuring out where everything was, so nothing huge happened.

This week we have been struggling with classes, language, and just everything being jammed packed together. Everyday feels pretty much the same but just a few things are different each day. I have also been sick for most of the time I have been here but I am finally starting to get better. 

On Sunday I let my companion (comp) Elder Paddock cut my hair in our house. I was really nervous about it but to my surprise I got a whole bunch of compliments after it was cut. That made me feel a lot better about it and I honestly like it. There is also a lot of pollution in Mexico so just breathing the air feels different. 

Monday was just a normal day filled with 8 hours of class, a social media workshop, some gym time which was very much needed and that's pretty much it.

Tuesday was the same thing but we had an amazing devotional that night broadcast from Provo, Utah given by Elder Rasband. He just talked mainly about missionary work and I felt the spirit so strongly. After that was over the Hermanas (Sister Missionaries) always leave first and we (the Elders) wait so they can get home safe. While we waited we all sang the Spirit of God. It is my favorite song and on the last verse everyone stood to sing it. It was amazing. I almost started to cry. 

Wednesday was another normal day, nothing too special. Still of course I felt the spirit and learned a lot.

Thursday was a crazy day. We had normal class in the morning and had a service activity where we helped clean up the track that was in terrible condition. The afternoon class was not good at all. My comp and I planned a really good lesson to teach to our teacher. We felt super good and confident about it but our teacher felt the complete opposite. It wasn't a very good experience so we counseled with some of the leaders to try and figure out how to make things better. After class we had a district council meeting about the situation and during that meeting I have never felt the spirit so strongly. I'm not going to get into detail because it was super special but it was amazing. I think things will be much better moving forward. This whole week has really bonded us. 

Today (Friday) I had the opportunity to go to the temple with my district. The temple is beautiful, same with the visitors center. We did an endowment session which was super special even though it was all in Spanish and I couldn't understand much. Today was also my P day (preparation day or personal day) so I got to talk with my family which was really nice. Didn't get to say hi to everyone but still good. We also had our first earthquake today during dinner. Didn't feel anything but it was still weird to experience.

The CCM is surrounded by a big concrete wall with barbed wire everywhere. There are armed guards surrounding the CCM because there is a big prison 5 blocks away. We hear sirens about 20 times a day and at night we hear even more sirens with gunshots along with it. It is absolutely crazy. The food here is edible and I'm still getting used to it. It's still cafeteria food so I'm looking forward to food once I get into Puebla. Sometimes they have food I'm familiar with like burgers which is nice. I have never been away from home for this long but it has honestly been really good for me. I have already learned so much about how to be a good missionary and how to be a better man.

I would also love to hear from you all, my email is zbailey@missionary.org


Love you all,
Elder Bailey
















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