January 8, 2018

1. Photos
2. Spanish
3. People
4. Illness

2. I thought I was getting the hang of Spanish for a little bit but as soon as the holidays ended it went away.  Turns out I learned how to have conversations with missionaries and not with people!  I was doing so good.  It is just a little frustrating and that is kinda a good word to describe my week.  I'm just getting back to what is normal for missionaries but it is really not normal at all for me!  When I got here to my area and to my mission it was a great time to learn a little about speaking and to get ready to work.  As far as working goes it is not the best time for that.  Just getting back into the swing of what it was like my first 3 weeks is rough but I am loving it!  I am learning less but more!
3. People here are so different.  They are a lot alike but there are a few key differences!  Like they do not have a concept of keeping their word.  In America, if someone doesn't want to do something they will make an excuse or they will just tell you 'No'.  Here they will tell you "Yes" and then they will be all ready to go but they never will!  We have had so many people say they would go to church and they are great people but they just don't like doing what they say they will!  It just bugs me but at the same time, I get that it is just not a thing here.  My companion says it is pretty normal to see this kind of stuff, but I am just so used to people doing what they say they will do.  It is hard to come from that and have people who just choose not to.  For example, we had an investigator who wasn't really progressing but she knew the church was true and that we were trying to help her.  We invited her to church after an awkward lesson of her just trying to push off what she knew was coming.  We told her that we couldn't keep coming by if she didn't go to church.  She kinda just said "ok, I'll go."  We knew that she wouldn't but we left it there because those were the first words that she spoke during the whole lesson.  We left to continue to work at contacting.  Not to our surprise, she didn't go to church.
We have done just a ton of contacting this week because we don't get referrals (Please GIVE MISSIONARY REFERRALS, BECAUSE LIFE SUCKS WITHOUT THEM).  The only way to really get investigators is by knocking doors and THAT DOESN'T WORK HERE or anywhere, I imagine.  We have contacted for like 4+ hours a day and nothing has come out of it!  We found a lot of doors we don't have to knock again!  But that is about it.  It is turning into a finding game.  The field is white and ready to harvest, now I just need to find the field!  We still have some amazing investigators right now but they are all people who we met before this week.  Right now they are all having a hard time.  Two of our investigators' fathers died this week and I guess there is a 9 day mourning period in their religion.  We will get there but we have to start with the basics!  So this week will be AMAZING!   I am so looking forward to teaching them and helping them progress towards Christ!
4. I have gotten so sick it's not even funny!  Something is wrong with my stomach, something is very wrong!  Theis week I have just had pain, at times it just hurts so much we called Hermana Bennett (Pres. Bennett's wife, she is in charge of medical stuff) on like Wednesday and she told me to get a drug.  I tried to get it in my area but it does not exist in a Rancho!  I just got the medicine today and I am so glad it's not even funny!  It should only take about three days to work and if it doesn't we will go from there.
I love and miss you guys and the food and just America!  But I am loving it here and am so glad I am here!  Have a good year! - Elder Cazier