August 27th, 2015 - Final Week! - A visit from an Apostle and ready to go beyond "The Wall"!8/27/2015 ¡Hola!
Well, the time has finally come. I leave the CCM on Monday to experience what Mexico is really like beyond The Wall. Of course I´m a little nervous, but I´m beyond excited! That´s why I´m here! Sometimes I feel like I´ve been here for months, other times days. But now it is really happening. Mexico City. Crazy. I´ve been ready to leave for a while, but it has been getting harder to leave the incredible friends I´ve made here. Although, I´m sure I´ll see them soon enough. Time works in mysterious ways here on a mission. I don´t think anyone quite understands it completely. But what I do understand is that Monday morning is when the true adventure begins! My mission President is coming at 10:00 on Monday to pick us up. There are the three of us in my district that are in the same mission and a couple of Latinos, too. We actually talked with the Latinos at dinner once. They were super nice. We kept speaking to them in Spanish and they would talk back in English. It made for an interesting conversation. In my lessons with our different ¨Investigators¨, I have found that my Spanish is better with one person then not so good with another. I´ll be speaking pretty good in one, then terrible in the other. No idea why, just begging for some consistancy. The real highlight of the week was when Elder Christofferson (a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) came to visit. He and his wife came to speak to us on Wednesday and it was truly amazing! It is a true privledge to hear from an Apostle in person and in such an intimate setting. I´ll just mention a few of my favorite parts. Although, the entire thing was amazing! I loved when he talked about gratitude and how the Lord will never give us more until we´re grateful for what we have. That goes for blessings and revelation as well. He also talked about how the Lord is with us no matter where we go. We only have to go alone when we specifically refuse the help given to us. The only one who had to truly do it alone was our Savior, Jesus Christ. But he suffered so we wouldn´t have to. He also told us as missionaries that we will have the help needed to be successful and the Lord will even send Angels if necessary. It was truly an amazing and inspirational day! I am so thankful for the time that I had here in the CCM to prepare and transition into missionary life. Everyone here is so full of love and so willing to help however they can. Because of them, I am excited to go out into the field! Thanks again for all the wonderful support from home as well. I´ll share my new address and mailing info as soon as I can! Also! I love getting pictures, quotes, talks, and anything like it! Love you all so much and have an amazing week! Love, Elder Foust
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¡Hola!
My time here in the CCM is very limited! I only have 10 more days here on this beautiful campus! It´s going to be hard to leave, but I am so excited to finally go out into the field! I found out this week that the CCM is literally 15 or 20 min away from my mission. Most of the other missionaries who leave have to wake up as early as 2:30 to catch a flight or bus. I can practically walk right outside the gate! I´m so close, but it definitely feels like a world away. Today we had another opportunity to go beyond The Wall. We were incredibly fortunate to go through the Mexico City Temple open house! It was amazing! The Temple is absolutely beautiful and massive. It was fascinating to see how they incorporated the Aztec/Mayan theme throughout the entire temple. It definitely become one of my favorites. It was definitely a peaceful and spiritual experience witnessing the beauty of the temple, as well as remembering the amazing ordinances performed there. It truly is the House of the Lord. Also! All the Hermanas working at the temple today were from my mission! We spoke to a few sisters and basically told them we´d see them in a week or so! Other than that things here have been pretty chill. Spanish is....coming....slowly. Haha, but I have definitely come a long way. We were talking to some Elders who came just a few days ago when one of the teachers asked them how long have they´ve been there in Spanish. The Elder looked absolutely terrifed and said, ¨Sorry I don´t speak English, uuh, I mean Spanish!¨ It couldn´t have been more perfect. The teacher was just like, ¨Then what language do you speak!¨ Definitely made my companion and I feel a lot better about our Spanish capabilities. I wish I could say the same for my toaster capabilities. The toaster here in the CCM is like a giant toaster oven with a conveyer belt and it can be kindo of a deathtrap. Elder Johns in my disctrict has already almost set the Comedor on fire twice! He just ran to our table and was like ¨Uh guys, we gotta go! I may or may not have just started a fire.¨ Then, just the other day, mine got stuck and sure enough smoke just starts filling up the entire room. Definitely a fun experience. Besides setting things on fire, our District loves singing, dominating in volleyball, and all sorts of shenanigans. Reenacting the paintings in the classrooms is definitely one of our best talents though! Hopefully I´ll get the pictures up soon, they are perfect. We´re already a pretty photogenic so it makes things so much better. It´s been amazing here with so many great people and it will be a hard goodbye. Especially with my companion. ¡Nuestra compañia esta sememante ajustado como un vaso! Well, hopefully everything is going well in all of your lives! Love you all and wish you to have a great week! Love, Elder Foust ¡Hola!
Maybe not the most eventful weeks here in beautiful Mexico, but it was a good one! I definitely learned a lot this week. Teaching in Spanish has gotten A LOT easier and I definitely have a lot more confidence speaking more often. We have such a good time in class learning the language. Our teachers really know how to make things fun! Plus, with our district, we always have fun. My favorite part of the week was probably hearing the talks from Elder Holland. That's right, not one, but TWO Holland talks. It was amazing. The power of which he speaks always shakes me to my core. His 2011 talk he gave at the Prove MTC was incredible. Im sure they show it to every batch of missionaries, because it seems like it should be required of you to listen to it as a missionary. My favorite part of his talk was near the end when he talked about the apostle Peter. I already experienced an entire Holland talk filled with emotion and power, then he talks about the Savior. Christ asked Peter three times, because once is never enough, "Lovest thou me?" And after Peter responds with a yes, He continues, "Then feed my sheep." That is why I am here on a mission, because I love the Lord and I love my fellow man. My brothers and sisters here in Mexico and all over the world. Love. That is why I am here and that is how I am going to continue when things get tough. Mormon explains in Moroni 8: 16, "Behold I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear" I know this is going to be a hard two years, but Elder Holland explains that it is hard because it is important. I know it is one of the most important things I'll ever do in this life and that my life will be forever changed because of it. I have not been gone for long, but I already know that. I know that this Gospel is true and that my Savior Jesus Christ lives so that we can all live and be eternally happy. I know I am doing the Lords work and I feel him helping me everyday. AND, I know that I have tremendous love and support from all of you. Your messages and prayers strengthen me everyday. I love you all so much! See, good weeks don't always have to be eventful. Love, Elder Foust ¡Hola!
Another beautiful week here at the CCM! The weather has been perfect. These huge thunderstorms really cool things down here in Mexico City, which makes for perfect evenings. It´s actually pretty cold when I wake up. Not too much has happened this week. Finally getting into a routine here after the first crazy week. One really cool thing was that we were able to watch a live broadcast of Elder Nelson at the Provo MTC. His talk was amazing and really focused on the true blessings of being on a mission. The other, slightly more crazy experience was going to Migration in the city today. Leaving campus is a pretty big deal since you're in a pretty big bubble. Anyway, it was incredible. On the way back our bus driver took us to downtown Mexico City. It is a really beautiful part of the city. Lots of fountains, statues, and obviously loads of people. So now I've seen the city and I'm legal. It was a good day! Although it hasn't been an overally exciting week, the people here definitely have been. I might be a little biased, but I'm pretty sure I have the best district ever! We always have so much fun and feel really comfortable with each other. I love everyone I work with and It definitely makes learning more about the Gospel that much better. We build off each other and serve one another very well. I am especially grateful for my amazing companion. Seriously, he's the best! Elder Gardner and I get along perfectly and I love learning from him. He knows so much and pushes me to become better, too. I'm definitely blessed with amazing people here in the CCM. I love you all so much and love hearing from you! Until next week. con Cariño, Elder Foust |
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