Viva Mexico

So I've been in Mexico for about two days now and I've been in Juarez for about one day... Long strory.

So Monday morning at 4:30 we woke up, drove to Salt Lake and flew to Houston, Texas which was cool because I haven't flown  in forever. But Houston was cool but actually hot.  We left from Houston to Monterrey, Mexico and that was a weird flight. I had to fill out immigration papers on the way there and that was really weird. But we made it to Monterrey and it is beautiful there. After we got off the plane we had about an hour to get to our next flight. But we had to pass through customs first and that took like 30 min. Wo we were all in a hurry and ran to baggage and got our bags. I found all of mine but one. So I assumed someone took it for me because I was the last one to pass through customs. Turns out no one did so it was lost! Luckily the Monterrey, Mexico missionaries where there to be picked up the same time we had our layover. This means that like four experienced missionaries were there along with their mission presidents, so I had a lot of help and finally found my bag. I had five minutes to get to the plane and by this time the rest of my travel group left me in a hurry. So it was just me and the mission president and another missionary. We ran as fast as we could to the gate and it turned out that I was too late.  :(   So i missed my flight. Luckily the Monterrey mission president was nice enough to buy me a ticket for the next morning and let me eat with them and sleep at their mission home. So my first night in Mexico was in Monterrey and I had lasagna for dinner.  That is exactly how I planned it.

The next morning I woke up and took a taxi with two other missionaries to the airport. They dropped me off at my flight and then I was alone. In Mexico. And I didn't understand anyone. But I made it out alive. So I got to Juarez, met my companion (Elder Moya) who is from Mexico City and speaks a little bit of English. And then I took a four-hour bus ride to my area which is called Casas Grandes. 

It is nice here. Really poor and run down but everyone here is super nice and the weather is ptretty much like Utah--really hot and really cold. 

Our house is just me and Elder Moya and it doesn't have air conditioning or heating just a fan and windows, I really like it though. Also there is no hot water so cold showers cada dia which I'm fine with. I figure I better enjoy all the cold while I can.

Anyway I don't have my address yet and haven't taught anyone or have anything cool happen. The language is coming and I'm happy.  Also, Spanish keyboards are hard so sorry for the spelling.

Love, 

Elder St. John

LAST WEEK IN THE MTC!

A picture with the hermanas from another district in our zone.

Left to right (Hermana Schultz, Hermana Swan, Hermana Dennis,

Hermana Perry, and Hermana Westmen).

Last time at the temple.

So this might be my last email sent from America for two years. I leave for Mexico on Monday morning and I am so excited. We got our travel plans on Friday and that was the best thing ever, they changed our plans though, so I got new travel plans, but all they did was give us another flight to skip over an 11 hour bus ride so that's a blessing to not have to ride in a hot bus in a suit in the middle of Mexico for 11 hours. 

So my travel plans go like this: 

Wake up at 4:00 am to be at the bus by 4:30 then we leave at 5:00 to the Salt Lake Airport where my flight leaves at 8:09 to the Houston Intercontinental airport. I should get there at like 12:00 and then I leave at 2:00 to go to the Monterrey Mexico airport. I get to Monterrey at like 3:00 and then I fly to Ciudad Juarez at 5:00 and should get there at like 6:00 or something like that...  so if I call you it will be between the arrival and departure times. 

Trying to make sure I fit in when I get to Mexico.

Anyway this past week has been so amazing. SO much has happened. 

Wednesday: We skyped members and taught them which was cool. I got a new teacher to replace Hermano Arnold who was moved on Monday, and me and Elder Fillmore had a street contact with two BYU students and told them to pray every day in Spanish even though they only spoke English so they were very impressed. 

Thursday: we had service in the morning and that was fine, we cleaned the apartments. Then I had class and it was a pretty normal day.

Friday: I had my last lesson with my first investigator Mercedes and it was incredible. We taught her about prophets and answered any question she had for us and the lesson went all around pretty well. After the lesson though, was amazing. Mercedes told us how she had two other companionships teach her before and after us and she said that we were the only ones who could answer her questions, and that when she went home after their lessons she was tired and only wanted to watch TV and stuff like that, but after her lesson with me and Elder Engberson, she said that she was happy and peaceful and that the rest of her day was better. She also said that she has been asking God a lot of questions lately and that every single question had been answered through her lessons with us. We told her it was our last lesson with her, but she wanted another one so we scheduled one with her for yesterday, we couldn't find her where we had planned to meet so I hope we find her some other time this week. But anyway I thought this was amazing, and after I walked away from that last lesson I looked at Elder Engberson and said "That's why we are here". It really is, and it only made me more excited to go and have experiences like that in Mexico. 

Saturday: We went exploring around the campus and found an apartment that had a room that was stacked to the ceiling with pillows and I had never been so happy, I had only heard rumors of this place but now I know its real. And it's incredible, probably the 8th wonder of the world if you ask me. At night we had a testimony meeting and it was really spiritual and I loved it. 

Sunday: Fast Sunday was hard, I was starving and had lots of meetings, but we had Mission Conference and that was awesome and I took tons of good notes. We had a good Sunday Night devotional and that was all for Sunday.

Monday: Monday started off pretty rough but ended really well. Classes where fine, we didnt see Mercedes and that was a bummer, but I was able to read like 30 pages in the Book Of Mormon (the first day I got to the MTC my branch presidency challenged us to read the whole Book of Mormon cover to cover before we leave the MTC and I'm on like page 502 or something so I'm almost done) but that was pretty good. But the coolest part of my entire week had happened once we got back to our apartment to go to bed. Elder Engberson was having a rough week and so he asked for a blessing, and he asked me for the blessing. This was scary because it was the first blessing I've ever given, but I read through how to give bessings in the Missionary Handbook, put my hands on his head and opened my mouth (D&C 33:8) and it was filled. I don't really remember what I said, but it wasn't too long, but right when it was over Elder Engberson hugged me and said that when I gave him the blessing it sounded just like his Patriarchal Blessing. So that was crazy, but I it was really cool to give my first blessing and have that as a result.

Its been a long and crazy week but only one more till I'm out on a new adventure. 

Love you all and I'll talk to you soon!

<3 Elder San Juan

Week Four at the MTC

This has been an awesome week!

We have like 5 investigators so I'm teaching lots of lessons now, which is awesome, I love teaching lessons. We have this one investigator named Mercedes and she is awesome. I always feel the spirit so strong when I'm teaching her. 

So this last Wednesday day we got two new districts in our zone and its the zone leaders' jobs to introduce and welcome the new districts which was awesome! Except we forgot about one of the districts so they sat in their class room alone for an hour.. but it's okay because the next morning we got to welcome them. 

This past Thursday I got to go to the Mexican Consulate to get my visa approved so I got to go to Salt Lake. That was really fun but it also made me a little more homesick because it was so familiar to me. It was actually really weird walking past the Bee's stadium as a missionary. But on the way there and back I got to talk to a bunch of cool people and I even hung out with Spider Man for a little bit.

This week has been kind of difficult for all of us with the language, we keep learning harder and harder things so its rough, but the gift of tongues is definitely real even though its getting harder I know I wouldn't be this far without it. Also on Friday night we found the most amazing thing. There is this room right across from our apartment that is full of vending machines and microwaves and ovens and it is heave. We call it the "Holy of Holy's". 

Sunday was fine this week, lots and lots of meetings, but Sacrament was really good.  Sitting in that meeting after that long week of stressing about the language and about actually leaving to Mexico soon should have been really stressful, but while i was there I felt that everything was going to be alright. 

Hermano Arnold's last day teaching us was on Monday so that was kind of sad but he just moved to a class right below us so I'll still see him. Elder Fillmore got a frisbee in a package so at nights we play frisbee for like 30 min. before we go to bed which is the funnest thing you can do in the MTC. But speaking of keeping yourself entertained, we have a list of goals on our white board in our classroom and someone wrote "ape no kill ape" on it for some reason, it made Hermano Arnlod really mad so naturally we decided to write it all over every white board mirror and light in our class room. 

Umm that's about it for the week. I can't really think of anything else... Thanks for all the letters and emails and thanks for the package Dad! It was much needed. 

Love you all and I'll talk to you next week.

P.S.  If you want to know what one of my MYC teachers looks like and see how perfect he is, go to YouTube and search wearewoodwardavenue on YouTube and watch the sky full of stars YouTube video. It's Hermano Mecham playing the piano and singing.  I'm not allowed to watch it but he told us about it. 

Week Three in the CCM

A picture of me in front of the map.

Elder Engberson, Spencer, Elder Medeiros

My whole district: Elder Engberson, me, Elders Cannon, Medeiros, Crowley, Birk, Allred, 

Lambert, Fillmore, Murdock, Chavez

Time is flying by now I can't even believe I've been here for 20 days now. A lot of interesting stuff happened this week! Dad you got the letter about my roommate so that was the main thing that happened this week, but the other thing that happened was on Sunday me and my two companions Elder Medeiros and Elder Engberson are now the new zone leaders so that's pretty cool! All we have to do is welcome the new districts, pick people to pray for church, and basically be the eyes and ears for the branch president! I'm pretty excited about it and so are my companions, especially because we are getting two new districts tomorrow, so it'll be really crazy! 

This week has been pretty boring other than those things. Except there is one other thing that happened. Elder Fillmore left for Spain monday morning at about 6:00 a.m. which was pretty sad, untill he came back like 8 hours later because the Church lost his visa. So looks like our district is lucky enough to have him for a few more days/weeks depending on how long that takes.. 

The language is coming along better everyday! I can finally understand like 80% of what my teacher is saying. which is good because he isn't allowed to speak English since Monday... I found out that I'm allowed to listen to music whenever I'm on the computer so I've listened to like every motab song out there, and even though I'm not the biggest fan of motab I'll take anything at this point. That's about all for this week nothing much has happend! Thank you all so much for the letters emails and packages! I love you all so much!

Con amor,

Elder St. John

"Mountains to Climb"

Left to right Elder Chavez. Elder Fillmore, Elder Me, Elder Medeiros, Elder Murdock, Elder Cannon, 2 random Hermanas in our district.

So the second week here has flown by. There is this saying here that the days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days. and that is so true. I can't believe it's already been a week since I last wrote. But I also can't believe it's only been a week since I last wrote. It's still awesome here. The food is kind of hit and miss.. so meals are amazing and some give you diarrhea (not really but almost). And I've had like 3 gallons of ice cream so far.. 

Elder Medeiros in small hat.

I don't think I told you this but the Friday right after I got to the MTC, so like three days in, we had to teach our first investigator in all Spanish. It was crazy. I came in not too nervous and I left felling pretty good. I was surprised at how well it went. We taught our investigator four lessons and by the fourth one we got him to commit to baptism. Which would be awesome if we didn't find out he wasn't our teacher right after... even though that was a bummer it was an awesome experience! 

Elder Chavez and Elder Spencer St. John

​Me and Elder Chavez thuggin in class.

So there is a small creek like right next to our class rooms called the Garden of Eden and it is the best thing ever. Every day we get like three hours of study time so we always go and sit by the creek and study and it is the most peaceful thing ever. One time I fell asleep while I was reading and awoke to a pigeon bathing in the river. It was beautiful, especially considering I've been isolated from any form of entertainment for the past two weeks. I will take anything I can that's even remotely diverting.

The Garden of Eden is amazing.

Elder Chavez meditating in the Garden of Eden.

The spirit is so strong here all the time it's crazy. I remember one lesson my teacher, Maestro Mecham, taught last week. He had us all pick out a question we had this week about the MTC, our investigators, or the language. He then told us to open up to 1st Nephi Chapter 1 and said a prayer. It was in Spanish but I remember hearing him say something about our eyes being opened to what we needed to see. And then he had us read verse by verse around the classroom. It was amazing, I have read 1 Nephi 1 like 100 times but I noticed so many things that one time I read with my class. And after we had read the first chapter he put on the "Mountains to Climb" Mormon message and by the end of it everyone was crying. It was amazing. Everyone here had come from all over America and just left their families and we hadn't really understood each other until that moment. That was the highlight of my week.

We went to the temple this morning like we do every Tuesday morning at about 8:00 and I finally did my second endowment session which was amazing. Because I wasn't doing it for myself I got to focus on what they where saying instead of being super nervous like I was the first time and it was really cool. It was a great way to start my day.

Thank you Grandma and Dad for the letters! I can't even tell you how happy it makes me getting something in the mail. So you guys are the best. So keep writing me and sending me Dear Elders. 

I love and miss you guys so much! The MTC is great and I'm doing awesome!

Love, 

Elder St. John

Loving the MTC

Hello! 

This week has been amazing. I love it here in the MTC. The language is hard and 10 hours of class takes a lot of adjustment but its really cool. I'm starting to get used to it more and more but its still a big change. I really enjoy everyone in my district! They are all hilarious. I usually laugh till i get a headache when we are talking during meals. But they are also really spiritual when they need to be. 

In my apartment I have my companion (Elder Engberson from Boise, idaho) and then one other companionship. Elder Medeiros who is from Jordan, Utah and just got out of high school and is also the district leader and his companion Elder Cannon who went to BYU for a year and came here, he is from Blackfoot, Idaho. 

Our room is great. everyday when we wake up our motto is "Rise and Grind Elders." It keeps me super motivated. The lessons are awesome and we get about 4-6 hours of study time a day so that's great as well. And I haven't taken many pictures but I'll send what i have! 

It goes me then Elder Engberson then Elder Medeiros then Elder Cannon.

Elder Engberson and Elder St. John

Spencer & Elder Medeiros

Love you and miss you.

Con Amor, 
Elder San Juan 

Missionary Training Center Day

Somehow it has become a tradition in our family to go to the Brick Oven with the missionary and their family on the day they enter the MTC.  

All three of Kari's brothers came, along with his mother, Spencer's grandmother Bonnie.  Chalis, Sunny and Lexi also came.  

Paige, Elder Spencer San Juan, Kari and Hayden 

They have changed a lot since Katelyn left.  We thought of her often today. 

Such a great family.

  

Paige posted this bitter/sweet moment at the MTC on Instagram.