Elder Tyler Peterson

Hey everybody!
So I don't have a ton of time, and these Mexican keyboards are kind of weird, and I have a TON to say, so I'm just gonna write one big email instead of two.

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that I'm actually here! IN MÉXICO!!!! Oh man it´s awesome! Holy cow! So my flights were good, nothing really happened (the planes were tiny, but that was okay :)) but then I stepped off in Villahermosa, and BOOM!! Super humid! But we were inside for customs and all that, and fortunately it was air conditioned, and I made it through legally, so that was good :) then President Morales showed up with his family (they're all super cool! President Morales is a really funny guy! Kinda like me ;)) when we went outside finally, I was drenched nearly instantly! Super super super humid in Villa!! Had tacos with President Morales and his family, accidentally ate a Cerrano chile in one of them (Super hot!) and then I was dropped off where a bunch of other missionaries lived, and I only had one bag... so I slept in my slacks that night! Almost exactly like Best Two Years, it was nuts!! Except in Best Two Years, they had AC and pillows and nice stuff like that. I haven't slept with a pillow in a week (well, apart from my super buff arm, which is probably better ;)) It was sooo awesome to just look out the window from where I was sleeping and see all of these super weird painted buildings all piled up super close!! So completely Mexican, I love it :)

Had a great interview with President Morales, and then from there I was assigned Elder Gomez from Ciudad de México! He is a freaking stud!!! (and native, which really has helped/will help the language come along! :)) and I love his guts! It's kinda funny, he's kinda like a Mexican version of Brandyn Smith (for my family), and so we have great times!! We got assigned to an area in the city of Minatitlán in Veracruz that we're whitewashing, so right off the bat, neither of us had a clue where we were! Crazy, but we're getting lost less frequently now, and we know where quite a few members live, so that's good!  Oh man!! The people here?!? SO awesome!! Nearly everyone here is so nice, like anyone is willing to talk to you, the members feed the crap out of us, (.... yeah...) and I'm so blessed to have been called to serve here!! :) The first couple of days were rough as far as comprehending any Spanish and knowing and accomplishing a lot, but they were good.

In actuality, my spanish is coming along better than I had hoped! They talk super fast (and quiet!) here, but most of the time I can understand the gist of a conversation and often most of it! I feel like I can communicate what I want to all right too!  I only have two big problems: I don't know un montón of words, which is okay, but the worst thing is when somebody tries to talk to me directly, either to ask something or to direct me, my brain freaks out and my comprehension shoots down to zero!! It's terrible!!  It's like my brain says, ''AAH! Different language!!! Too much!!!''   Without that, it'd be tons better, but it's still coming better than I could have hoped! One of the other missionaries said that by the way I act and talk he'd think I'd had multiple months in the field already! Haha, then one member said she thought I was Chinese and another thought I was from Yucatan, so who can trust what people think? ;)

Friday was incredible!! We were out trying to find members and we were contacting people on the way, and we starting talking to this lady who had a polleria, and we brought up religion (Elder Gomez really is super super good, and he talks most of the time. Y'all are surprised right? ;)) But for the first time, the Spirit really helped me in what I should do, so I shared an analogy about the Book of Mormon (in Spanish!) and gave her a Libro de Mormón! She really was interested, and she said she'd read it and see if it was true, but it was sweet!! Then yesterday was the best! I bore a super good testimony during church, street contacting was fantastic, and then... two people committed to a baptismal date!!!! :D :D It was all the experience of Elder Gomez and the Spirit!! Super cool!!! This place is SOO ready to harvest, and the people are so awesome!!!

So, I love it here!! The food is FANTASTIC, and everybody is super!! The only things I don't like are cold bucket showers and the whole laundry process today.  While I was washing my socks by hand this morning, that was the first time that I've sincerely missed the United States.  So count your blessings!! I love you all!! Be good, and the church is true!

¡Nos vemos!
Elder Tyler Peterson

P.S. Pics! My first night here, and my papa/entrenador/comp! :)

Hey! So Elder Gomez let me do this, so it's all good! Hey, so if any of you wanted to send me letters (or packages, that'd be okay too ;)) (jk!, but really ;)), all you have to do is send it to my mission office, and they'll take care of it! :) I forgot to bring the address with me, but it's on my facebook page, so you can find it there :)

¡Gracias!

Elder Tyler Peterson