Mason's Mission: Un Misionero en Bakersfield! (Ish)

Day: I know we had church yesterday, so whatever comes after that

Pushup Count: 94

¡Hola mi Gente!

Well, I'm officially in the field. And when I say field, I mean that literally haha. I've been assigned to the North Edwards Ward, which is literally in the middle of nowhere. So far I love it.

- We had a really cool departing devotional before I left the MTC where we sang "Well Bring the World His Truth", but they changed the chorus to say "now we are the Lord's missionaries". Super awesome and emotional

- Woke up at 3:45 two days in a row to send off members of my district

- Ate chips and salsa with Hermano Hunter while he ranted about nerdy stuff

- Elder Dye gave Elder Holt a buzz and it took over an hour haha

- I ate the best cup of noodles of my life

- Friday we traveled to Bakersfield! A flight to Pheonix and a short layover there before leaving straight for Bakersfield

- We got picked up from the airport, and as we were driving to the mission office, I recieved the news that my trainer didn't speak English :/

- I met my trainer, Elder Vasquez. He's from the Dominican Republic, and I had to translate for him during our short meeting at the mission office

- I ate Raising Canes for the first time ever - just for you Elder Dye haha

- We drove two hours to our area, where I struggled to keep up a conversation in Spanish. It was so hard

- Elder Vasquez gave me a tour of our apartment, and I barely understood it

- I was unpacking, and all the sudden I heard "hey Elder, I've been messing with you." I turned around to see Elder Vasquez and he goes "I speak English, it was all a joke." I was so mad haha! He made me suffer all day! It was really funny though

- I've met so many people and I can't keep any of them straight

- We had dinner with a super nice member who only speaks Spanish - and Mexican Spanish full of slang too - so I didn't understand much, but the food was awesome and I shared my favorite scripture with her

- Here's the deal: we cover an English ward, but our range extends if our friends speak Spanish because the surrounding Elders are English. It's confusing, because I never know if I have to speak English or Spanish

- We went to a farmers market, where Elder Vasquez knows literally knows everyone. We bought dried pineapple mmmmmm

- We have to drive at least 15 minutes to do anything, and Walmart is an hour away

- Bore my testimony in sacrament meeting

- Church was is English, but they hold a Spanish Sunday school class, so we went to that. I understood everything, except for when the Hermana I mentioned earlier was talking haha

- I learned how to play Magic the gathering... I think it's harder to learn than Spanish

- One of our friends got the Aaronic priesthood yesterday. It was really cool, and I got to meet his dog. This amigo loves Magic, hence the reason I had to learn

- Because of the rain yesterday (which is super not normal here), we had to stay home all day after church. We did phone contacting and I attempted to leave messages in Spanish. Elder Vasquez just laughed at me, but he jumped in when I needed him

- The power went out for a second last night, and Elder Vasquez put on a poncho and starting screaming like a little girl - he's a really funny guy

It's so brown here, but it's actually really pretty. I haven't melted yet because of the crazy rain, but I'm looking forward to it. Everyone is so nice and really understanding when I have no idea what I'm saying. I have yet to teach a lesson in Spanish, but I'm excited for it :)

Spiritual Thought:

Pray. God will help you with anything you need. It's been a tough few days, but I've also said more prayers than any other time in my life. I know that he's been helping me and that he will help you too. Because he loves you! Don't forget it!

Love, Élder Page