Why'd It Take Four Hours?

Hi friends!


I finally made it to the Mexico MTC, and I can finally update you all of what it's like down here. Please forgive me if this email turns into Spanish though because I'm using a Spanish keyboard so the layout is kinda different. On the bright side though, I can do fancy phrases like ¿How are you? and ¡This is amazing! (Notice the upside down exclamation point and question mark)


Sunday
I finally hit the one week mark of my being set apart as a missionary, I was able to see my grandparents on my mom's side and say my farewells to them. I realized that because I would be gone for two years, I would need to return the piano books I borrowed from them, and while that was sad, I was able to copy my favorite song from them so I could take it with me on my mission.


Monday
Today was my final day at home, it was sad leaving my family,  but I tried to make the best of this day.  I finished packing with the help of my mom,  and I tied up as many loose ends as I could. I was able to visit some familiar places like the Saratoga Springs Temple and Westlake Highschool and appreciate the memories I made there. They were a lot of 'last' things today,  food, activities,  and more that I was a little bit sad today.  But hopefully,  it'll all be great on my mission. 


Tuesday
Woke up at 3:30am today. That about explains today. I'm only joking. This was probably the craziest day so far. I woke up early so I could get to the airport 3 hours before my flight. I sat at the gate alone for an hour and a half before any other missionaries showed up .  Previous flights I've taken have given me some grief with time or security, but today's flights were easy peasy lemon squeezy and I actually had fun going about the airports in SLC, Dallas, and Mexico City. Sadly, my ticket companion - Elder Seamons- did not have quite so peachy a time and lost his passport in the SLC airport (I knew this because they kept announcing his name for like a half hour).  Eventually more missionaries showed up and I was able to meet my actual companion -Elder Cushing- in person.


The flight from SLC to Dallas was pretty short, and we flew over Utah valley so I was able to say goodbye to my people from above. Sadly, I didn't sit next to Elder Cushing, but I was able to meet Elder Toro who was pretty cool. He was leaving a dog who was sick and he hopes he'll be able to see the dog again. Prayers for the dog please.


Had time to spare between my SLC and my Dallas flight so a bunch of missionaries and I stopped at Whataburger for lunch. Burgers there was fine, I prefer the Utah options though. The gate we were supposed to meet at kept getting switched on us, and after some short delays we finally departed to Mexico City. No missionary friends this flight, but I was able to doze off for most of the flight.


I was worried about Immigrations in Mexico City because of the Spanish I would need to say, but because I was older than 18 I was able to go through the automated line and it was another easy peasy airport moment for me. 


After everyone left the plane, we waited for our packages. And during our wait, it started raining very hard. So hard in fact, that water was pouring through the roof onto the floor, and they had to change where we were going to claim our baggage. It took at least an hour to get our (sopping wet 💧) bags. 


Luckily for us missionaries, right past customs (which we could skip because we had nothing to claim) were some guys with buses, and they lined us up and waited about an hour and a half for all the missionaries to show up. Eventually though, we made it onto a giant MTC bus and drove to the Mexico MTC.


There was no McDonalds at the airport, Elder Larkin was sad.


Mexico City gave me flashbacks of my trip to Kenya, and how out of my element I was there, luckily though, the MTC reminds me of Provo so I feel more at home here.  The drive was pretty long, about an hour and fifteen minutes, and I made sure to enjoy the air conditioning on the bus, because it may be the last time I feel air conditioning for two years. 


It took FOUR hours to get from the Mexico City airport to the MTC, and we basically missed everything that was going on that day. They basically gave us a short meal, our phones, our baggage, and said good night. This was a crazy day.


Wednesday
Orientation today, this was my introduction to the MTC. We were given many rules here to follow, and I was finally able to socialize with my district here. Sadly, these next few days, while many things happened during them, I can't really say as much (partially because of time problems, and because of me forgetting my journal while writing this)


Thursday
We had an Emotional Resillience workshop today. Our speaker, Hermano Benjamin Castañado was an amazing speaker, and is very motivating.  We were able to have our first full day today. Full classes (though the schedule was wrong about their length), and not very much free time. We also had a house meeting, where we were able to meet our house leaders, Elder Witter (part of my district) and Elder Davis (part of another district).


Friday
Gift of Tongues workshop, same teacher, still amazing. I've had a nose bleed everyday so far,  but they are getting better as I adjust to the new environment,  so I think today will be the last day of it. In the evening we had an outdoor activity in Spanish class where we played the game Conversation (the one where you have to say a word following a theme to the beat). It was very fun and I had fun learning with my district. 


Last week I had an LSA test (A Spanish language learning test) and somethings went wrong with my microphone giving me a score of Novice (basically 0), but today we did another test and I had no troubles with microphone and I was able to get a ranking of advanced,  the best in the district. 


Saturday
The day I'm writing this email. Now that I'm not at home I'm trying to figure out how to best write emails to you. Right now I'm alternating between phone and English keyboard and computer and Spanish keyboards because they each have different features that I'm trying to use.  


Today's Preparation day will be shorter than my other P-days, only going to 4pm, but the next ones will go until 5.


Scripture of the Week
James 5:16 - "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."


Spanish word/phrase of the Week
Centro de Capacitación Misional de la Ciudad de México - Mexico City Missionary Training Center; This is the name of the MTC here in Mexico. In Spanish it is nicknamed the CCM, so that is what I will use from now on to refer to the MTC in Mexico.


My next preparation day is on Friday, so expect the next email to come sooner this next week. Also expect the next email to be a bit shorter, not only because of one less day of stuff to talk about, but also because I will be having a temple trip every P-day which will take up about five and a half hours of my P-day.


For anyone worried about my health,  I've gotten a few scrapes but other than that I'm fine.  Some people were worried about the food,  but it has been amazing and delicious. Things are going well so far and I can't wait to update you guys again!


Check out my photos! https://photos.app.goo.gl/g2QAHn4xdMnPx4JT8
Don't forget you can email me for any reason. I won't bite! mgrant@missionary.com


Until next week!
 - Elder Grant


Pictures:
1. My district! District 13G
2, 3, & 5: My CCM companion, Elder Cushing, y yo







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