Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Elder Crandall and Elder Ekhorutowmen

Hey Everyone! I don't even know where to start with this last week.  The first day after I arrived was the worst day ever... I started thinking about family and friends and how much easier it would be if I could just be at home playing with friends rather than half a world a way surrounded by people I didn't know and couldn't understand.  I was reading in the bible and found Exodus 3:11. it is moses asking the lord why him... why was he chosen.  I felt the same exact way all day.  I thought about this while I was going to sleep and realized its because he knew that moses could find a way to get anything the lord asked of him done.  I figured that if the lord is asking me for a 2 year mission, that is nothing compared to eternity.  So for some reason my enter button on the keyboard I am using wont work so this is going to be one big paragraph!! haha!  So... the first night with my companion... I noticed that he was a little quiet and when he did speak he spoke pigan english so I had no clue what he was saying... the elders have no clue that obedience includes bed times, or punctuality, or language... hahaha! There are probably 40 elders and they were all up yelling and screaming (some singing hymns) until 11:30 at least.  I knew that the next day was going to be hard so I just wanted to fall asleep but it is sooooo freaking hot and humid that I have to wait until my bed is a sweat soup and I have sweat out all my energy to fall asleep.  then in the morning my companion Elder Ekhorutowmen (Eh-horu-tomen) flipped on the lights and started shaking me to get up... it was 5:15! I hate the mornings... and I hate being woken up like that so I wasn't too happy. It took me probably 10 minutes to explain to him that we still had over an hour to sleep but he kept saying no no no, we need to study!! As I have been with him the last week I have realized a few things about him.   I reminds me exactly of Radio!!!!!! hahaha!! He walks and talks exactly like him!! I was dying when I finally realized who he reminded me of!  He has a little limp when he walks and he holds his hand out in front of him too!  He is not mental like radio though.  Everything he does is in slow mo I swear.... It takes him at least 5 minutes to take a quick pee and wash his hands and get out of the bathroom.  It has been driving me crazy a little bit because we will go down three flights of stairs and sit in class and he will realize he left something so then we go back up three flights of stairs to get it while he moves soooooo slow and then we go back down stairs and he realizes that he forgot something else. I just want to tell him, hey man, we all forget things but walking slower than dirt is only wasting your time my time and most importantly the lords time.  he wakes up at 5:30 every morning and just wanders around and even with all that extra time he is still 15 minutes late to personal study at 7... which means i'm late to everthing as well!! I have never wanted to be more obedient in my life and I've never felt like someone is pulling me down at the same time.   Alright, enough talking about how slow he is... and about the good things he does!!! I have never met someone with more verses from the bible memorized!  He takes minutes if not hours to open to a scripture... but thankfully he has half of them memorized!!  He is still the hardest person at the mtc to understand.. half the time the other missionaries don't know what he is saying but i am starting to figure him out!  back to the good stuff sorry.... We taught our first lesson yesterday! I was expecting it to go HORRIBLE because he doesn't listen to anything I say and he doesn't understand that we are teaching PEOPLE not LESSONS so I was definitely worried haha!  So we went in and I took the lead and made sure we got to know the person (kanek) before he starting reciting verses from the book of mormon and bible trying to convince the guy.  we taught him about the book of mormon and It actually felt pretty great!  I felt the spirit tingle up my spine as I testified to him about the things I know are true.  my companion did a great job at using the introduction and a verse in isaih to explain how the BOM is just like the bible.  He wanted us to come back!  We will be teaching a lot more this week so we'll see if we can keep it up.  This was the first time my comp and I actually connected and gave each other a hug when we were done!  I get along great with all the other missionaries.  They think i'm pretty funny (brush off my shoulder) haha! So the thing I have noticed the most about them is they are just like the fijians when they laugh! They laugh uncontrolably at absolutley nothing!!  My companion had baggy pants that had a boot cut look and some of the guys in my district thought he looked like micheal jackson!! They laughed forever, it made me laugh pretty hard too.  However, The funniest part of the week was when we were in class and one of the sisters noticed that my comp. had tucked his white shirt into his brief part of his garments.  I kid you not,they laughed for over 20 minutes! my true laugh came out at least 10 times.  I haven't laughed that hard since probably hanging out with Brandon Wilde doing Chem parties!!!  I didn't think it was even that funny that he tucked his shirt in his garments but I thought it was hilarious that they could not control themselves over it.  They love to laugh more than anything!  that is probably their only down fall because they don't know when it is not the right time to crack jokes.  However, my compainion does a really good job at laughing at himself, if he didn't he would probably be a pretty sad kid because he is makes people laugh everyday just from his mannerisms! for instance, he eats the entire bone when we are given chicken for dinner!! hahaha he chews it like a dog!! it is so great!  Speaking of food... it is actually pretty good! it is always rice with a piece of chicken and hot sauce.  The first couple of days I didn't have an appetite but now I am eating a ton... back to normal!  I went to the temple today and did 2 endowment sessions right after one another.  I normally have to pray that I wont fall alseep, but this time I realllllllly had to pray so I wouldn't fall asleep!! haha!  It was awesome to be an escort for a couple of the other missionaries.  I didn't realize how much going 5 times before I left has really helped me!! Thanks for that Daddio!!  The days have gotten much better, I hope this next week goes great as well.  Everytime someone asks me what mission I will be serving in and i tell them... whether they are white or african... they say, ohhhhh that is going to be very hard.  Greeeeaaattt... hahaha!                                                                                                                                                         Shout out to Tanner bear!! I can't believe how much studying with you has helped!! The african learning style is slower than dirt with many repeated answers.  I feel like I have already learned everything they have taught me from you!  I defintely expected the teachers to be like you but then I realized that is impossible because you are soooooo good and you teach with the spirit.  I love you so much buddy and I miss studying with you! Keep up the good work!      I love Jesus Christ and I am so thankful for his gospel, it can do so much for us in our lives! I have prayed for everyone of you guys this week.  tons of love, Elder Crandall

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