Week 1

So the CCM really sucked for the first couple of days but it has gotten better as time has gone on. my companion is Elder Hunt from East High. he was like a swimmer and he is a super try hard in basketball even though he was trash and i posterized him once because he made me mad even though we aren't supposed to dunk. But he is a good guy and he works hard at least at the gospel and the language. we are the district leaders. on the way to LAX i sat next to this guy decked out in byu gear who told me his whole life story and is actually a usu fan as well. i made friends first with elder magee who played football for lone peak as a DE and he seemed cool until we got here. he doesn't want to work hard at anything and is kind of a tool so i feel sorry for his companion. the first day we were here i ripped his jacket pocket open and had to sew it back up but it actually looks really good thanks to that sewing class i took junior year. An elder in house from MC hasn't gone poop since he got here so he took some hardcore laxatives the other two nights and sat on the toilet forever. Elder Nordfelt from my district is probably my best friend here he is kinda like Chad Ghering and is really good natured. he is from Huntington beach california and is going to portland. There is a district here that is completely made up of 12 elders and 2 hermanas that are going to the lima east mission and elder hunt, magee, and i are stuck in some other district and have only met one of them. i am looking forward to having some american companions haha. Elder hunt told me that he heard Lima just got a brand new TGIF´s so that is something to look forward to.

We made a video called MTC cribs last night that i will find and send to you guys later it was really funny. our district is chill and has a lot of fun together. The ccm has its own well and water supply so that is one less thing that i have to worry about here. The food is trash though and i have resorted to eating cereal for breakfast because those are the worst and it reminds me of the beautiful US of A. The other day we took the other elder from MC in our house to the counselor because he is having some serious emotional issues and his companion is a straight jerk to him. We get gym time every day so it is nice to lift and play some ball. It is super hot here in the heart of mexico city so i sleep with no sheets or anything on. my feet hang off the bed but it is ok and there is an infinite amount of mosquitos but i haven't been bitten yet. i must have a blood type they don't like or something because all of the other elders complain so much about them. Every week here we get 100 free pesos to spend in la tienda and that is nice i bought some flash cards and stuff and i hopefully will get a present for mom pretty soon that i think she will like. The traffic here never stops and our house is on the edge of the campus so all we hear all night is loud motorcycles and gun shots. I think i counted 8 during a 30 minute study session outside one afternoon. 

We just got back from the temple and it was really cool. The whole thing was in spanish so we wore the headphones and did the veil in spanish but the workers helped us. It let me work on my accent. The temple is super pretty and it was nice to get out of prison here and drive through the city even though it is so ghetto and meet some other people. in our second lesson with our investigator she tried to get us off topic by asking if we liked music and we ended up singing families can be together forever out of himnos and she loved it. We are teaching her really well i think. 

Every Tuesday night is pizza and devotional night and last night we got to watch the broadcast from the provo mtc where elder Anderson spoke. he gave us an example of being a lifeguard at the olympics and how that isn't a hard job but being a missionary can be difficult, but not impossible. He said missions aren't complicated and a ton of other stuff and it is so enlightening and makes me want to get out there. my faith has grown so much here in the ccm and i am starting to see that this really is the Lord´s work and i am just an instrument. there is a good spirit here. i have already memorized su obtejivo and santiago 1:5 and DyC 6:36 and another one that i don't remember the reference to. in DyC 100:1 it talks about families and that scripture was so comforting to me, not that i did much for our family, but to know that you guys will be chill while i do this. 

i have set goals and made thoughts and written down quotes that have helped me get through this week. haha   My homesickness is slowly passing. 

Anyway i am well and healthy and i hope you all are too. Here's some pics. love you 

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Much Love,

Elder Mortenson