Honestly,
I'm not sure if time is flying or moving slow. Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sat go
by really slow, but then the weeks go by fast. This week was just as
good as last week, and I finally feel situated...doing my thing.
First, I forgot to talk about one of the
coolest/worst/craziest things here at the CCM. THE WEATHER. Its crazy
nice basically all day long every day... and then at around dinner time
or maybe right before bed every night, it rains (and often rains like
crazy). There have already been 3 storms that turned the roads into mini
flash floods. You just have to hope you're inside when they hit, because
the rain usually doesn't last long. But the day time...its always
beautiful.
Because I already filled you all in about the CCM
last week (probably more than you wanted to hear), I am not sure what to
share because other than the first few days our weeks are very similar.
So I'll share a few stories/experiences...
First, futbol. Not gonna lie...I am getting pretty
sick at soccer. We play on this week cage court most of the time (same
size as a bball court), and sometimes play on a regulation field. I
consider myself good because all the latinos make fun of the rest of the
´´gringos´´ soccer skills to me...I´M IN! haha. Yesterday me and my
comp (Anderson) played cage soccer during gym time and didn't lose during
our 1 hour...13-0. Sports here at the CCM are intense cause theres tons
of ex-athletes who are locked in a classroom all day long. Fun stuff.
One of our morning teachers, Hermano Romero, told
our district that he met an Elder who was here at the CCM from Ecuador,
and that if we found him and got a picture with him he would bring us
Taquitos from ´´outside the walls´´. We ended up finding him and have
been hanging out with him a ton since then. He is the man. Good news-he
says there are definitely clothes that fit me in Ecuador, AND I can get a
Robben Van Perse jersey for 12 dollars. Lets goooo.
Something way cool happened with Elder Estreya (Ecuador homie).
After hanging out in our class room for 30 or so minutes before we had
to head back to our casas, he pulled out a chair and asked me if I would
give him a blessing of Salud y Fortaleza (Health and Strength). It was
epic because he wanted me to give it in English...and even though he
couldn't understand a word, afterwards he was slightly teary eyes and way
grateful. Shows that the Spirit and Love are a universal language. Its
funny because he talks soo fast its so hard for us all to talk with him,
but its helping us out!
This week I made it my goal to make as many Latino
friends as possible. I sit with them at a lot of meals and always chat
in between classes. Elder Estreya and all his friends love me because we
always talk about soccer (aka SO GLAD the World Cup just happened so I
am in the know). I've learned that if you want to make friends with
someone from a completely different background with a huge language
barrier, the trick is to just have fun with them. Talk about sports and
things they enjoy...actually care about their interests and what they
liked to do back home. Most gringo missionaries just bombard them with
questions and how to say this and that and I can tell it must get old
for them. I have a feeling sports are gonna be my key to success in
Ecuador--just gotta find some common interests and all barriers are
broken down :)
The guy who cleans our house and the 10 or so around our house,
Cameesh, is probably my best friend here other than the guys in my
district and from BYU. He's 25 and has a wife and 2 year old girl out in
the city but lives here at the CCM to work everyday. He is literally one
of the nicest guys I have met, we teach each other our respective
languages whenever he's in our casa. Yesterday during our service project
we got to help him clean a few houses...it was a blast. Today, he
played basketball with us during his lunch break and was sooo excited we
asked him, it was great. AND, he balled hard. Probably the best on the
court (behind me... :/ ).
There is this trend I'm catching onto...everyone around here or from
central/southern America is just so genuine. I can't get enough. (But
maybe 2 years will do.)
Its awesome hearing
from you all back home. Sounds like everyone is doing great...I love all
the updates I can get...so por favor, keep em coming haha! I am way
grateful for all the love I have been getting out here. Since a week or
so before leaving the States my heart has been full...and at this point
is lightweight overflowing. Never thought I'd have so much fun working
all day and getting ready to serve others.
P-day today was great as ever. Took a nap (oops),
played 2 hours of soccer, 1 hour of basketball, and lifted for an hour.
Getting my fix!
Oh year, our old
´´investigator´´ Enrique is now our evening teacher, Hermano Palma. He
is a beast. We have 2 new investigators this week, one who is one of our
morning teachers and one we havent met. 2/2 on baptism invitations and
acceptances! (haha...). Mi espanol is improving. Looking forward to
these next 4 weeks to learn the much much much more that I need before
hitting SouthAm!
Hope everyone is living life out there in the US of
A. Miss rockin my America swag so you all better hold it down while I am
gone. Love you all.
Elder Sorensen
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