I am now the president of one of the Relief Societies in the mission. this means that I am the district leader of 3 companionships of sisters (the term was formed recently in the mission because about a year ago there weren't even 3 companionships of sisters in the mission)... oh and to throw frosting on the cake I also have a senior couple in my district. (yes that makes 4 companionships, the most in a single district in the entire mission)
I really didn't ask to be district leader but oh well I will just have to make the best of it.
I know you are all dying to know where I am... I didn't even leave the stake. I am in the ward Zavaleta. If you want to find me on a map here is a link to google maps locating the church and the area. My companion is Elder Salazar, he is from Veracruz and has the same time in the mission as I do (we will go home the same day). we are also opening the area meaning that we both just got here on Tuesday.
It is really hard opening an area. I really wish I didn't have to do it while learning to be a district leader at the same time.
We have already had a little bit of success. We have only found 3 of the people the other elders were teaching and two of them now have baptismal dates (the other was a crazy guy who just wanted to contend with us). I have found that it is not so much working your butt off to have successful missionary work but rather working you brain off. "Work smarter not harder." It really is true. instead of worrying so much about finding 300 people to teach once every few weeks we are going to find 10 or 15 really good people to teach almost every day. therefore they will progress faster and will be more likely to get baptized. It won't be easy but we are going to baptized this change.
One of the people we found, J* (remember J is pronounced like an H is Spanish), was going to be baptized but in his interview it was found that he was still having problems with the law of chastity. when we went with him he told us all about it and that he has since gotten rid of the problem (he had 3 women that he was going out with and probably more than just going out with). we put a new date with him for the 16th of August to be able to help him make sure that he is 100% ready before the baptismal interview. we also had a really cool experience with him. he has an ulcer in his foot and it is constantly hurting him. I (I'm not sure about my companion) felt an impression to offer to give him a blessing. after we gave him the blessing he told us that his leg didn't hurt anymore. the constant pain had gone away. It was a really cool experience.
It has been a really good experience here this last week. we have been working hard and have also shown that even in La Libertad (the stake I'm in) you can contact people. It is kind of a common belief in the mission that inside of Puebla you can't contact as much or as well as outside. This week we proved that wrong. The only difference is that you need to be more proactive about it here. It is harder but not impossible to contact here. in 5 days (Wednesday through Sunday) contacted 100 people. Also a lot of the people in the city are busy and in a rush so you really need to be fast about contacting them.
Elder Jason Blanding
President Christensen;
Thank you President for showing the confidence that you have in by putting me as a District Leader here in Zavaleta. I really hope to live up to your and the Lord's expectations of me. I don't really feel up to the task but then again the Lord never calls people to callings they feel they can fill but he always qualifies those he calls. I am praying extra hard that he qualifies me, and fast.
We have already had a little bit of success. We have only found 3 of the people the other elders were teaching and two of them now have baptismal dates (the other was a crazy guy who just wanted to contend with us). I have found that it is not so much working you but off to have successful missionary work but rather working you brain off. "Work smarter not harder." It really is true. instead of worrying so much about finding lots of people to teach once every few weeks we are going to find 10 or 15 really good people to teach almost every day. therefore they will progress faster and will be more likely to get baptized. It won't be easy but we are going to baptized this change.
One of the people we found, J*, was going to be baptized but in his interview it was found that he was still having problems with the law of chastity. when we went with him he told us all about it and that he has since gotten rid of the problem (he had 3 women that he was going out with and probably more than just going out with). we put a new date with him for the 16th of August to be able to help him make sure that he is 100% ready before the baptismal interview. we also had a really cool experience with him. he has an ulcer in his foot and it is constantly hurting him. I (I'm not sure about my companion) felt an impression to offer to give him a blessing. after we gave him the blessing he told us that his leg didn't hurt anymore. the constant pain had gone away. It was a really cool experience.
As of now I feel like the district is in an OK state. they are working but there is still a lot of room for improvement. This week I am going to focus on working with the members and contacting. They are the two common themes among the district that I feel need the most improvement. I really want to help eliminate the idea that you can't contact in La Libertad. It really is a crippling idea because it motivates the missionaries not to even try. Obviously the first step will have to be put the example and show that it can be done and it does give results.
Elder Blanding.
1: You have to warm up their water every morning by turning on a boiler that is outside the house and fueled by a tank of natural gas that you buy off of trucks that drive down the street.
2: There is almost no such thing as a back yard. (or a front yard for that matter) because all of the houses are placed one next to the other.
3: A finished house is the exception rather than the rule.
4: You buy your bread out of a van that goes down the street blasting a really annoying song.
5: You can live within a block of your house.
6: Instead of a police force to control speeding they just put speed bumps every 100 meters on all of their main roads. (even the freeway has speed bumps).
7: No one has personal computers. Instead they go to the nearest Internet server to do anything and everything computer based.
8: You can't buy a vacuum in Mexico. partly because no one ever has carpet.
9: Wooden houses are for the poor people and cement is for the rich. (a wooden house here is basically like a camp shack, 4 walls and a roof)
10: Pizza is delivered by a motorcycle.
11: Fresa (strawberry) is a slang term that can be interpreted as posh, rich, really nice, or just anything upper-class. not just a very tasty fruit.
12: Being 30min to an hour late is normal...
13: A Piña (pineapple) is a slang term for a good looking woman. not just a delicious fruit.
14: It is virtually imposable to buy Root Beer. [I found a place where you can get it... but it is super expensive for a missionary budget.]
15: Milk is sold in boxes and doesn't need to be refrigerated until after you open the box. The expiration date is usually for next year.
16: When there is a World Cup game on in the which their country is playing the whole city seams to shut down. you can also always tell if a goal is scored.
17: A doctor hits your stomach a few times and because it hurt says that he needs to operate
18: Average people know more than the doctor about what a sick person should or should not eat... or at least they think they do.
19: Nobody buys DVDs in the stores... they all just buy the pirated ones you can find on almost every street corner.
20: Owning a car is for rich people.
21: Squeegees are used to clean the floor.
22: The best way to make a dog stop barking at you or chasing you is to bend down. (no really they are accustomed that when someone bends down they are going for a rock to hit them with)
23: The public transit thinks they own the roads and that every one else has to give them space.
24: The car horn is connected to the gas pedal of the car in front of you.
25: If the road has no posted speed limit it has none (not a real law but they treat it that way).
*26: Selling fresh made potato chips on the side of the road is a way to make a living.
*27: One door from the street can be 1 house or 200.
*28: There is always a bus that goes where you want to go... always (you may have to take a half a day side track but it will get you there).
*29: The making of concrete is done with a shovel ON the street (litterally they mix it directly on the street and not in a bucket or a mixer).
*30: Having a phone plan is the exception not the rule. everyone just buys prepaid time when they run out.
