Platinos Con Arroz

So, I caught a chicken this week. . .

We were walking down the street one night and we saw a chicken running out in the street with people chasing after it so I turned to Elder Campos and said, ``Elder, este es una oportunidad para servicio!´´(Elder, this is a chance for service!) So we helped catch the chicken. I was the one who actually caught it. =D 

I also had my first baptism this week! I would have attached the picture, but I forgot the cable to attach my camera, so I'll have to send it next week. His name is Kenneth, and he was the first person I got to teach out in the field. And I mean the very first.   First discussion, and everything. It was kind of difficult to remember the words for the baptism in Spanish, and especially hard to say the name right, (The names down here are unusual, they all have a first and middle name, but they have two last names. And they're all weird Spanish names too.) However, I got it right on the first try, and we confirmed him the next day.

So I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting yesterday, and I can tell you, it was NOT easy. especially because it had to be completely in Spanish.  However it went really well, and I was told by lots of people that my Spanish was very clear and easy to understand. So at least my Spanish is progressing. :P

The food here is different but good. There´s rice for about every meal, some type of meat, usually a potato of some sort, (interesting fact, there are over 3400 different kinds of potatoes in Perú alone (I was told this by one of my teachers at the CCM, and I trust him)) and sometimes a salad of some sort. I can tell that I'm going to gain weight while I´m down here. :(

All letters and packages need to be sent to the mission home. That's the very first address we ever had that came in my call packet.  One of the Hermanas in my district was telling me that there's a lady up in Salt Lake that will bring packages down here personally, and they'll get here in like a week, so you might want to look that up. 

Sounds like lots of awesome things are happening at home! I don´t have time to write about them all, but I really appreciate all the emails I've been getting!

Yo amo todos las personas a la casa, y quiero a expresar mi sentimientos. A veces las cosas no serán fácil, pero si nosotros perseverar, nosotros seremos bendito. Yo he visto las bendiciones de mi misión, y yo deseo ver las bendiciones en ustedes vidas también. El tiempo iremos rápido, entonces siempre recordamos a hacer todas ustedes podemos a servir, y ayudar. Yo amo ustedes muchos!

With love,

-Elder Dañel Jacob Smith

Semana Dos

Howdy, Everyone!

Here's a little story for you. It's about our golden investigator Frank. We met him on Sunday, and gave him lessons every day until Wednesday, and he was leaving the next day, so he really wanted to be baptized,  that night, after four days. So we set everything up, and everything looked good for the baptism. Sadly however, I'm not sure exactly what it was, he wasn't able to get baptized, and we haven't had contact with him since. It's just super crazy porque he wanted to get baptized after four days! I've never met anyone who wanted to be a part of the church that much. I really hope he gets in touch with the missionaries wherever he is now.

Anyway, Elder Campos is from Chile, (it's kinda funny talking to people because the relationship between Perú and Chile is a  little iffy), but he's a fantastic missionary and a great trainer. Everyday I understand him more, so it's really helping my Spanish to have a native-speaking companion. 

Understand this about Lima, it's big! Really, really big. Literally one of the biggest cities in South America. It's actually made up of a ton of little cities, (kinda how all the cities in the Salt Lake Valley kind of mesh together) So I'm in Lima, But I'm not in ''Lima''. Kinda confusing. 

For our food, all of it is prepared by our pensionista, with the exception of meals at the houses of members.  We always have to lock the gate, so eventually I'm probably going to get a key. I haven't taken any pictures of the apartment yet, but I'll send some in my next email. The inside of the apartment is actually pretty nice. A lot nicer than some of the other missionaries apartments. :P

My clothes are great, we have a hermana that does our washing for us, so that's really nice. With my shoes, The ECCOs are holding out fantastically, but the other pair, the soles are starting to wear out pretty fast.
 
On P-days out in the field, it goes sort-of like this. It starts out like a normal day, except we clean the apartment. We head down to eat breakfast, then head off to write our weekly emails to our families and the mission president. Afterwards, we head out and eat lunch at a restaurant, usually chicken. 

Last week we got into out sport clothes, headed over to the church, and played some fútbol and voleibol. Oh, and we got to watch Bolt in Spanish with subtitles. We then eat dinner, then get back to work teaching and proselyting. It's pretty alright.

The language is hard, and at times I feel discouraged, but I've seen the miracles working in my life, especialmente el don de lenguas, (gift of tongues).

There are so many wonderful people here in Perú, and I'm blessed to be able to serve them.

Yo sé la obra es difícil, pero lo es la mejor obra en el Mundo. (I know that the work is difficult, but it is the best work in the world). Yo puedo siento el mano del Señor trabajando en mi vida, (I can feel the hand of the Lord working in my life) y yo lo siento cambiando mi en muchos cambios.  (and I feel it has changed me in many ways).  Mi testimonio de la iglesia mejoré y con todo es mejorando. (My testimony of the church is growing and with everything it is getting stronger). Yo tengo un firme testimonio y no puedo paro. (I have a firm testimony and it won't stop.)

That's all I have time to write today, but I love all of you so much! Never give up, even if your trials are great.

Hoorah! Hoorah for Israel!

-Elder Dañel Jacob Smith

First Week Out in the Field

Hello all,

 

First off, sorry I wasn't able to write last week.  It's been a pretty crazy two weeks. Here's what happened:

Our last morning in the MTC, we had all of our stuff packed and ready to go.  We took it out to the bus and drove off to a capilla (chapel) somewhere in town.  We had a meeting with the mission president, President Ardila. 

 

And, we got to meet our new companions (our trainers).  My companion's name is Elder Christopher Campos.  He is from Chile. 

 

 

 

 

After the meeting, we got a taxi and rode off to our apartment.  I live in a district or area of Lima that I think is called Santa Anita, and everything out here is dirt. These are some of the poorest people I´ve ever seen.  It does vary however, because I´ve been in both really nice houses as well as tiny shanty-houses. Nonetheless, everything is dirt. There´s always a layer of dirt on everything. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To get to our apartment, you have to go through a big metal gate, and up a set of stairs to this little brick courtyard that's only about fifteen feet across, and there's a wooden door to our apartment. It's probably only about the size of a hotel room, and is split up into three different rooms. The bedroom, our study, and the bathroom.  Oh! and there's no door to the bathroom, only a curtain.

Anyway, that same night, we went to the chapel of our ward and I was set apart as a missionary for the San Fransisco Barrio (Ward). The next day, we went straight out to work.  It's difficult, lots of walking, and extremely hot.  And, the language is killing me slowly.  However, it's definitely rewarding. That same day we got a baptism commitment! And since I arrived here, we've gotten four more and we have baptisms lined up for the next four weeks.

Because we had all of this going on the first day I went out, I didn't get a P-day this last week, and I've been wearing thin a bit, but it's nothing I can't handle.

I had one of the most spiritual experiences last night, we were teaching a man named Frank Ching-Gonzales, who we met earlier that day. Everyone has stories of their "Golden Investigator´" and this is mine. He attended the church meeting earlier that day, and said to one of our friends in the ward that he wanted to be a part of this church. We set up an appointment for later that night, and when we had him say the prayer, the spirit was so strong, and it was such a fantastic experience. I may get more investigators like Hermano Frank, but this is as close to the best one as I could have down here.

Learning this language is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. I know it takes time to learn a new language, and I probably won't be able to understand anything that's said to me for a couple months, but it's hard to concentrate when I can't understand, it's hard to teach when I can't talk, and overall, everything about this language is kicking my butt.

We had an... interesting experience the other day.  Me and Elder Campos were out tracting and we came to this one house, and understand this about the people of Perú, some are humble and receptive, some have never been part of a church and don't want to, and others are super-super-super-catholic. This man we met at this house was the latter. We were explaining some scripture about baptism to him, and he asked for my Bible.  I thought "uh oh... this isn't going to be good.." but I couldn't refuse him, and he thus proceeded to attack us with scripture that we agreed with, and we (when I say we, I mean mostly Elder Campos), tried to explain how we agreed with him, but he wouldn't let us get a word in.  It was ridiculous.

Anyway, I don't have anymore time to write, so I have to stop, but I'll tell you more next week. I love you all!!

-Elder Dañel Jacob Smith

One Week Left!

Hi all,

 

The fact that I have one week left in the MTC is really exciting for me because I really want to get out of here and get integrated into the Peruvian Culture! Luckily, because I'm in the Lima Este (East) mission, I only have to walk right next door to the chapel adjacent to the CCM, so that's pretty nice.

 

Sad to say, Eric was only here for two weeks, because he knew enough Spanish to be included in the Spanish speaking Latino group, so that's what happened with him. I've met a lot of new, and very interesting people during my stay here at the CCM, and hopefully they do become good friends outside the mission.

 

The reason why I sprinkle my emails with Spanish words is porque yo quiero a usar the language as soon as I can, entonces it kind of seeps into everything. 

 

 

 

Oh, and the Mug Brownies were microwaved. They were really chewy.

 

The temple in Lima is definitely an interesting one. It's shaped kind of like a giant tent, the six spires aren't really attached to the main building, and it's a kind of small temple, so everything inside is really compact. Other than that, It's not all that different. Oh! And when we go to the sessions, the audio is in Spanish, but the MTC missionaries get to wear headsets that translate it into English.  I heard about the new video. A couple missionaries got to see it before they came, and they said it was really good. I unfortunately haven't seen it yet, they're not playing it in this temple as of right now. I think it's because they still have to work on the Spnish translation, so I might get to see it later.

 

 

Oh, and if you're going to send any letters or whatnot, save them for a little while, because I'm going to get my new address to send them to, so hold off for a little longer.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't really get to take any more pictures today, pero I'll take a lot when I actually get out into the field. They have little Internet places down here where you go and pay like a sol(~30 cents) to get Internet for an hour, so I'll still be able to send them to you on p-days.

 

I'm glad that Nicole made it safely to Romania, and I think she'll find that it's nothing and everything she expected.  It was the same way when I got here in Peru.  She's gonna love it.  Hopefully she's got the language down enough.

 

Sorry I'm not able to write much about what's going on down here, but honestly, every day is the same, so it's hard to write new things. It'll be a lot easier when I actually get to leave the CCM and go out into the field.

 

OH! One more thing, one of the hermanas in my district here at the CCM, Hermana Cornu's boyfriend is brother to Brandon Mull, author of the Fablehaven and Beyonders Series', so that's pretty legitimate. She said she could introduce us after our respective missions, so I may just take up on that offer.  If I can remember.

I love you all, and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! or Easter! or... what day is it? Arbor day? Anyway, I'll write you all next week!

 

Love,

-Elder Dañel Jacob Smith

Pan con Queso

Hello Everybody!

 

As week four in the MTC rolls around, things are starting to move faster and faster! These last two weeks went by super fast, and it's sad for me because I feel like I only got to see Eric and the other Latino Missionaries for a really short time. There was one Latino Elder that I got to be pretty good friends with before he left, his name was Elder Ynoñan. He was super cool, and he knew a good amount of English too. He was definitely one of the nicest guys I've ever met.

 

To answer your question, CCM stands for Centro de Capacitación Misional de Lima.

 

Every day blurs together, so it's hard to write new things every week, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try.  SO! Every time a new group of Greenie MTC missionaries comes in, on the first P-Day the intermediate group has to escort them around. We were the intermediates last week and the others decided to leave me and Elder Wesemann, so we got to take around the newbies everywhere they wanted to go outside the walls by ourselves. It was not very fun because everything is still new to us too. Anyway, I don't think we'll have to drag other greenies around anymore, so that's a plus.

 

The majority of the intermediates know me by now (of course) and there really are a lot of great people here at the MTC. I can honestly see myself becoming good friends with most of them even outside the MTC.

 

They have a learning program here in the CCM called TALL. (Technologically Assisted Language Learning) 

I hate it. I think it's supposed to teach the language topics in an easier way, and I think it does the exact opposite. I can't use it because it's such a difficult program to use. It's definitely no replacement for an actual teacher, even if they don't speak English. (Only one out of my three Spanish teachers speaks a little English.) It's really hard to learn something so new, but I'm definitely starting to get the hang of it. I won't be thinking the same thing in two weeks when I'm out of here though. Anyway, that's fun.

 

It was Elder Wesemann's Birthday on the 23rd, entonces the hermanas got some brownie mix at the store, and we made mug brownies! I'm actually kinda sorry for Wesemann, because I definitely wouldn't want to have my birthday in the CCM. It'd be rather boring, having to sit in a classroom all day learning Spanish on your birthday, so I'm glad mine is circa 7-8 meses from now.

 

I learned something really important a few nights ago. American humor is not Peruvian humor. I'm lucky I found this out from someone else, because it would've been really awkward learning this myself. You see, Americans are known for having really harsh humor. I.E. Telling someone they're the worst, or calling them names without meaning it. The Peruvians, as well as the other Latinos take that kind of joking very seriously most of the time. I know this because one of Eric's Latino roommates got really offended because of the American's humor, so I have to be really careful of that. I'm lucky I didn't offend anybody before I knew about this. Anyway, I just need to remember to be really careful.

 

Entonces, today was p-day, So we went to the temple as usual. When we got out, we met a guy who had some packages for some of the other missionaries from their families. He's an American, but we found out he lives down here in Peru, so just out of curiosity I asked him if he'd ever met Nick DeWall, Liz's brother who lives in Peru. He did. Small World, right?

 

Anyway, I don't have any more time to write, But I love you all! Oh, and I think letters take about two weeks to get here, but I'm not completely sure. We'll find out when I get the letter you sent.

 

With lots of Love,

-Elder Daniel Jacob Smith

 

From the MTC in Peru

First, let me just say HAPPYBIRTHDAYHAPPYBIRTHDAYHAPPYHAPPYHAAAAAAAAAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADAM!!!!! And a very Happy Anniversary to my insanely awesome parents. ;) 

This past week has been really great for me! Not only because I'm starting to pick up the Spanish faster, but one of my very best friends, and the coolest person ever arrived at the CCM! It's the one and only Elder Eric Daniel Kidman! He got here at about 3 in the morning on Thursday. I knew he was coming, so that whole night I was anxiously waiting to see him.  Anyway, we have a new batch of Latinos now, and they're actually really awesome! And also insanely good at futbol (soccer). I have been playing futbol for the past couple of days with the Latinos, and I can honestly say I've never enjoyed getting my butt kicked more than I do while playing soccer with them. The only trouble is the field we have to play on is turf, so lots of people have gotten turf burn. Oh well, Just gotta be careful.

Somehow, I've avoided sickness so far. About two thirds of the people at the CCM have gotten sick to some extent, But I've somehow managed to stay away from it.

I can definitely feel the Gift of Tongues working with all the missionaries here at the CCM, and it sometimes feels like words I never even learned pop out of my mouth. Some words in my head have been replaced by the Spanish equivalent, and it's kinda freaking me out. It's an immense blessing to all of us here at the CCM. I am not, however going to be able to speak fluent Spanish for a good six months still, but this is a good start.

The address Elder Scott gave at the Provo MTC was broadcast to all the MTC's across the globe, so I got to see it too! Not only that, but I saw Nicole singing in the choir! It was really cool, and also an extremely good talk. I'm extremely grateful for modern day Prophets and Apostles to help guide us, and this was definitely an excellent example of that.

I want to thank everyone who wrote me emails this week. It really means a lot to me to get messages from you all, and with all your encouragement, I'm going to be able to go forth with all my heart, might, mind and strength to help these amazing people in Peru. So once again, thanks for all your encouraging emails.

On that note, real letters are nice too, winky face. It's always nice to get a solid letter, because believe me, getting one of those here is like winning the lottery to us missionaries. One of the Elders in my district, Elder Jensen, got a package in the mail the other day, and it was like it was Christmas. Everyone in the district gets excited when even one of us gets a letter. So, yeah, letters are nice. Another winky face.

I don't have a whole lot of time left, so I'll leave you all with this: Always strive to have the spirit with you. For missionaries, it's our main teaching tool, and for everyone it acts as a comfort and a guide. Nefi (Nephi in English) was led to Laban being "... led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [He] should do." (1 Ne 4:6)  Always listen to the promptings of the Spirit.

I love you all, and look forward to seeing all your beautiful faces!

Love,

-Elder Daniel Jacob Smith

P.S. Liz Smith, my shoes are definitely cuter than yours.

Week 2 in Peru

Well, to start off, I've got some good news and some bad news for anyone who sent me letters. The good news is, yay, you sent me letters! You love me! The bad news is that I gave you the wrong address, so if you sent anything, I'm not going to get it for four weeks. SO! Don't send anything else to the address I gave you or I won't get it for a long time, and that saddens me. The real address is:

 

Elder Daniel Jacob Smith

Calle El Grifo 151

Urb. Campo Verde

La Molina

Lima 12

That's my address until I get out of the CCM, so send letters there instead. Anyone can also send me email now.  My email address is: daniel.smith@myldsmail.net.   Here are a few things I didn't talk about in my last e-mail! 

My flight to Dallas was pretty good, we had a really smooth take off, and not a whole lot of turbulence, so overall it was a pretty good flight. We met 10 missionaries in SLC who traveled with us all the way here. When we got to DFW,

we had a six hour layover, so most of the time there we spent sitting around, eating stuff, etc. When we were about to leave for Lima, we were met by 12 other missionaries, making it 22 at DFW. I got probably the best seat on the flight to Lima, and I found out Airplanes make me very motion sick. We landed in Lima at about 1 in the morning, and when we got though security and actually got to the MTC, we ended up going to bed at about 3 am. Luckily, we got to sleep in till 9 am the following morning. No luggage issues, everything got here fine.

Elders Coleman, Blackham, Weseman and Smith

My roommates, Elder Langford, Bridgewater, and Wesemann are all from different parts of Utah that I can't think of right now.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to really know my Latino roommates very well before they left today. They were  a bit crazy while they were here though. They'd stay up at night running around and screaming, and they'd do weird things like making sling shots out of exercise bands, etc.  A new batch of Americans and Latinos are coming in on Thursday, so that's exciting!

Anyway, major events for this week! The sun actually came out the Wednesday after I emailed you! There were blue skies! It was warm! It was amazing! ...until it was time for physical activity, because things got sweaty and sticky and miserable after that. I guess the clouds... have a silver lining. Ha!

 

Sickness in the MTC spreads like wild fire. I haven't gotten sick yet, and don't intend to so I'm being really careful about staying clean and stuff. It seems like the longer I'm in the CCM, the longer it feels sort of like a prison. At least there's only four more weeks!

Saturday was an experience for me! We woke up at the normal time, went and had breakfast, loaded onto a bus, and went out proselyting. Elder Wesemann and I went around from door to door with a native speaking guide, and tried having discussions. Elder Wesemann and I would greet the investigator, and the guide would take over from there. It did give me a good idea of how it's going to be out in my field, because we were out proselyting in my actual mission. How many missionaries can say that the went out proselyting in their mission BEFORE they got out of the MTC?

Anyway, I was struck by how poor these people are. All the houses were brick, most of them falling apart, dirt roads, garbage EVERYWHERE. Plus, there are literally hundreds of stray dogs just
wandering in the streets. Hundreds. Some sitting on street corners, others chilling on top of houses, really anywhere you can think of. It was hard to knock on doors though, because most of the houses have gates completely blocking the way to the doors. The look of everything was a strange mix of Nacho Libre and Afghanistan.

All the days mix together here, so it's often times hard to keep the days straight. The only days that are different are Sundays, when all we do is watch videos from Apostles to the Provo MTC missionaries, and study. Even still, Sundays blend in with the rest. P-days are the only really distinguishing days, because they're so relaxed. We can do pretty much whatever we want (within reason, as well as missionary standards), then we listen to a devotional for about an hour. It's really awesome! Plus, P-days are the only days we can take pictures, so that's pretty cool too.

Anyway, That brings us to now. Nothing else all that exciting. I am about out of time though, so I'll end with this. Wear pants, drink water, and be the best you can! I love you all!!
 

Elder Smith