My first week in the field was awesome but also tough. I left the MTC at 5 am last Monday to head to Puebla. Traveling was super easy and went a lot smoother than I thought it would. I got to Puebla and 4 other missionaries and my mission President along with his wife were there to greet us. I love the way Latinos greet each other they shake hands, then hug and then shake hands again. We then put all of our bags and suitcases in the back of a truck then head to the Mission Presidents home. The city is super nice and their house is even more nice. They have a personal chef haha! We introduced ourselves (in Spanish of course) talked a bit about missionary work and what their responsibility is as Mission President. Then we ate lunch. We had a lot of tacos and this traditional desert which was super good, but I don't know the name of it. We also took some pictures as well. After all that we squeezed into one car and headed to the mission office to meet our new companions. They were all in the chapel and the way they told us who are companion was, was by each of them going down the line saying who they were and who there companion is going to be. It was a fun little surprise. My comp (companion) is dope. His name is Elder Nascimento, he is from Brazil and is 21 years old but its also tough because he speaks little to no English. Its good though because I have already learned so much from him. We then after all that headed to the bus station to go to our area. We took an Uber and barley fit my 3 suitcases in the small car haha. We traveled with another companionship which was nice because one of them spoke English so it was chill. While on the bus I got to call my Mom which was good but not for very long because a Latino guy started rapping really loudly and didn't stop. So I could barley hear her so we decided just to wait until my next p day. The town I'm in is big but also small and a little poor. It's poor to me but probably not poor to them. My first area is called San Salvador el Seco (which is just east of Puebla, Mexico). My apartment is super small and has definitely humbled me a lot and has made me really appreciate what I have back at home. There is a kitchen, a small bathroom and the toilet is very close to the wall so I have to sit sideways on it hahaha. There is one bedroom with 2 beds where we sleep, an office space for where w do our studying and a small laundry room, a place to cook and eat. Its small but cozy. I got all unpacked and then we went to go get some food at this placed called Aloma or Álamo I think haha. We both got a hamburger and fries. Yeah they have hamburgers and fries here. They are different though. They put mayo and ham along with the patty and it was actually really good. The restaurant is also a 3-5 minute walk from our apartment. After eating we spent some time looking over a packet I got telling me about my mission. The first day was crazy and hectic.
Tuesday was technically my first day in the field. We pretty much do the same thing every morning. We wake up at 6:30, stretch, exercise, shower, eat breakfast then start our studies at 8. We do personal study for an hour, companion study and language study for an hour. During comp study one of the things we do together is practice telling someone about the Book of Mormon to someone who would be walking down the road. At first it was a little difficult but now I am starting to get the hang of it. After studying we went to the super market to buy food/supplies for the house. We also stopped by an ice cream shop and I got like 15 little mini ice cream sticks all for like 30 pesos which is like $1.50 in American dollars. Then my comp bought me a cake for my birthday which was November 2nd. After dropping the stuff we bought off at our apartment we then headed to lunch. We went to this small little shop/restaurant. We had this sandwich called a cemita. It is a big sandwich with chicken, guac and cheese. It is so good and probably my favorite meal so far. After that we went to our Branch Presidents home to talk and also have dinner. His family is super nice but talk super fast so I wasn't really able to be in the conversation. We, well they, talked for a while and then we had dinner. We had rice with pork and tortillas. It was super good but I couldn't eat much because we had lunch not too long before that. Oh, we also eat lunch at like 2pm or 3pm everyday and it honestly sucks but I guess I will have to get used to that. After that we went home, did some more studying together, planned for the next day then got ready for bed. It was a good but stressful day.
Wednesday was my birthday which made the day a lot better. We did the same routine and after all that, at 11 we did some contacting through the phone which is basically calling people who are potentially interested in learning about the church. The point of it is to try and set up a time we can teach them. We had very little luck but ended up setting up like 2 appointments via phone. Since it was the day of the dead my comp got to call his family for a bit so I did some Duolingo. I also ate some of the cake he got me. It was very very good. The only bad thing about my comp is he does one of my biggest pet peeves! He chews with his mouth open and I might be going crazy because of it! But I still love the guy. We then went to the store to buy more things, well he did haha. We got home from that, tried to do more contacting but no luck. After that we went to our Branch Presidents home. We waited outside his house for probably 30 min before he came and let us in. We ate dinner there and had this kind of taco or I think it was carnitas. It was really good it had meat, potatoes and black beans. I usually don't like black beans but Latinos make them teste pretty good. After we ate we chatted for a bit and I think Pres. saw that I looked tired so he let me take a nap on his couch. It was much needed but I think he let me do that because they didn't want me to see his wife walk in with a cake for me, but also for the day of the dead. I woke up from the nap and they were like "Happy birthday Elder this is for you" haha. I was very surprised because I just woke up but very happy and thankful for it. They sang to me, we took some pictures and then ate the cake. Latinos definitely know how to make a good cake. I also get fed a lot here in my area and some times don't have to pay for meals. After the "party" we went back home through the crowd of people. Walking through the streets during the day of the day is crazy. A whole bunch of flowers, fireworks, and many other different sounds. We got home, did some studying, planned, prayed a lot and did some more contacting but still no luck. After that I started to write in my journal and the lights went out. Luckily we have phones and flashlights and my comp said that has never happened before. It most likely had to do with the day of the dead but I'm not sure. It was wack. It was a really fun, good, but also a little stressful day. I am getting better at the language everyday.
Thursday was a little less fun but still a good day. We did our normal routine. After all that we did some contacting and had some luck but also no luck. Also when contacting I don't really do much because I can't speak Spanish very good yet. After that we went to a members home to share a message. It went well but In am still having trouble understanding them. I read the scripture and gave my thoughts in Spanish! It wasn't very good though haha. Also going into families homes makes me really appreciate my home back in the states. After giving the message we went back home to do some additional studying. We then went to go eat lunch at the Hernandez home. We had soup with rice with carrots and peas in it and we also had some chicken with this really yummy sauce. It was very very good. Their house is behind their little shop they own which is like a lot of the homes here. We then went home to do more contacting and had lots of luck. We made probably 3-4 appointments for teaching a lesson through the phone. Then we went to the chapel because my comp wanted to show me it. It is like a 20 minute walk from our apartment but it was cool to see a different part of the town. On our way back from the chapel we gave out 2 Book of Mormons (also referred to as BOM)! It was surprisingly easy although I didn't say anything haha. It was good for me to see that though because it gave me confidence to look forward to being able to do that when I know the language better. We then got home, did some contacting but had no luck. While contacting and waiting to see if people would answer we played UNO haha. That was pretty fun. After all that we decided to call it for the day, planned for Friday and got ready for bed. It was a good day filled with a lot of good experiences.
Friday was good but also difficult. We did our usual routine of course. Also sometimes during personal study I will look over at my comp and see that he fell asleep haha. It's quite funny. We then after our studies did more contacting but still no luck. After that we went to do some street contacting in a different part of the town. The town is a lot bigger than I thought it was. When we proselyte we don't knock door to door, we only talk to people on the street. Also it is oddly difficult to tell what is a house and what isn't a house because literally everything is made out of cement and bricks. We gave out 2 Book of Mormons which was dope. I also started one of the conversations so I technically helped give out my first BOM! They struggle understanding me though because I'm sure it sounds weird coming from a gringo. Then we walked a long way back home to do more studying. Then we finally got to go eat at the Oratus home and I say finally because I was starving from walking a lot earlier. They are an old couple from our church who are very nice. We had chicken with rice and a really good sauce. Also every time we eat at a families home they always make sure to tell me it isn't spicy haha probably because I'm a gringo. Oh we also had yogurt with pears in it and to drink Hermana Oratu put like 5 pears in a blender filled it with water blended it up and that's what we drank haha. After we ate I took the lead in my first lesson/message. I shared a scripture about faith. I had to use my notes but it felt good and gave me some more confidence. We then hurried back out to a different families home to give the mom of the home a blessing of healing and comfort. My comp did both the anointing and the blessing to show me how to do it for the next time someone needs a blessing. Although I couldn't fully understand I still felt the spirit in that home. After that we went to Hermana Rojas home to teach her and her kids about the BOM. We taught them about it and ended up giving then a BOM! They are very nice but also make fun of me for being bad at Spanish haha. We then walked home which felt like it took forever then once we got home we did some contacting but had no luck so we played UNO again. We finally got someone to answer and taught this couple about the gospel. I said the prayer and then I let my comp do what he does best, speak Spanish haha. Also my comp also speaks Portuguese which is dope that he is fluent in 2 languages. After that message we planned for the next day and got ready for bed. It was a good day filled with a lot of walking.
Saturday was honestly pretty boring. We did our usual routine. After all that we went to the Branch Pres home to get keys to the chapel because my comp needed to do something on the computer. I'm not going to lie I don't remember a lot about this day haha. We tried contacting people on the streets but no one was interested. We then went to lunch at 2 pm to Hermana Limons home. We had carnitas, some kind of soup and this spinach, nut peach thing. It was all very good. We then shared a message but I didn't say much because for some reason my comp doesn't like telling me what he is going to share before hand. After that we started our 24 hour fast from food and water which we do as a church world wide on the first Sunday of every month. Then we tried to contact more people but still no one would answer. We then went to teach a interested family with a family of members. I felt the spirit very strongly during that lesson and we ended up giving them 2 BOMs. That lesson also showed me the importance of members and why their testimony will affect the testimony of the interested persons. It was a good day.
Sunday was my first sacrament meeting in Puebla. It was also fast and testimony meeting. It was good but I couldn't understand anything haha. The members are so nice but they also like to trick me into saying stuff. Like they ask "have you been drinking?? (in Spanish of course)" and I said yes hahaha. They laughed so much when I said that. My comp told me, no, he asked if you have been drinking alcohol lol. I just laughed along with them. We ended up playing monopoly for most of the afternoon and around 7 we went to the B Pres ranch to go see where a member is serving his mission. It was a good but boring day.
This week was filled with awesome experiences but was super stressful mainly because I can't contribute to conversations. I know that will come with time. My personal day (or p day) is now Monday so I will be emailing and answering emails then.
I would love to hear from you all, my email is zbailey@missionary.org
Love you all,
Elder Bailey
P.S. If you would like to send Elder Bailey a card or a letter please send it to the following address.
Elder Zachary Bailey
Calle 25 Sur N* 907
Col. La Paz
72160 Puebla, Puebla Mexico
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