Well that was fast...

¡Buenos Dias!

It feels ridiculous that I´ve already been in Mexico for a week! Right now time is moving along at about the same speed it did during my first couple weeks in the MTC. Every day feels like an eternity, but looking back every week feels like a day. I´m already one eighth done with my mission! That´s crazy! The thing that makes the days long right now is the language. Communicating myself in Spanish is still my biggest struggle, but I know that I am improving.  I´ve been able to contribute more during lessons and have a couple normal conversations with the members. I had one day that seemed to just zip by because I was able to talk a lot and contribute during the lessons. I know that the more Spanish I learn, the easier it´ll be to be here. Now I´m not saying that everything will be a breeze after that, but things will definitely be just a bit easier.

We still haven´t had any baptisms yet, but I think that´s mostly because I´m so new. I´ve spoken with some of the other new English speaking elders and they´ve had about the same success. The main investigators we have right now are Regino, Monserrat and Mauricio. Regino is practically a member in my eyes. He lives his life like a member and makes it to church and ward activities when he can, but doesn´t want to get baptized for some reason. (I´m just a little more in the dark because I don´t understand about half the conversation) He´s got a daughter who´s a member too. We´ve been inviting him to a bunch of activities and family home evenings in order to hopefully get through to him. As for Monse and Mauricio, they live together and are fairly new to the area. Monse is a 26 year old young woman and Mauricio is only 19... Kinda interesting, but they´re really cool.  Mauricio isn´t always around for the lessons, but we teach Monse a lot and she seems genuinely interested. I can definately see both of them eventually getting baptized. They have a neighbor from Luisiana named Candi. She grew up with a member father, but wasn´t baptized. She has a strong desire to go to church, but her husband makes it hard. He drinks a lot and doesn´t let her do to much. I´ve been praying that we´ll be able to find a way to help Candi come to church. Any ways, it´s been a lot of fun.

Now for answering the e-mails. First off, I have a little more time to write than I expected so don´t worry about trying to keep your e-mails short. Pack em full of everything you want to say! I´m glad that the dropbox is working. I´m still trying to upload all the pictures I have. It may take a while so bear with me. Regarding your question about the water, don´t worry. NOBODY drinks from the tap, even the natives. Everything comes from a garrafon (jug). One interesting thing here is the milk. It tastes a lot more sugary than in the states and it usually comes in cartons or boxes. Apparently you don´t need to refrigerate it until you open it which is nice. I´m sorry to hear the ward being split has been a bit difficult. Just remember the church is true. :) Go make some new friends :) Thanks for sending the pictures of Provo Canyon. They really put a smile on my face. :)  And yes, my ornaments and decorations survived the trip. I don´t have much room right now to put them up, but I´ll try to find a spot. ;)

I´m excited to see how the firepit structure turned out! I wasn´t aware that you´d bought a new kennel for Major. See if you can send me a picture of him in his new kennel.  I´ve gotten to play the piano a couple times after zone meetings and stuff, but I´m kinda sad because I´m already forgetting songs. :( Oh well, it´s not that big of a deal. We´re usually too busy to worry about that anyways. I bought some decent boots for about $40 US. I only need to wear them when it rains a ton so hopefully they should last a while. I shopped around a bit to find them so I think they´re decent. Finding necessities isn´t a problem. We have a Mega (a Walmart of sorts) nearby that I can get basically anything I need. We´re actually going to Costco today to buy some food in bulk for the next month or two. I´m thinking of buying a blanket and pillow to have with me because right now we´re using the bishop´s stuff. Things with my companion are doing fine. I´d say we´re pretty good friends. He gets on my nerves now and then, but that´s to be expected when spending 24 hours a day with anyone. Sometimes he doesn´t seem to serious about the work, but he seems to be trying and that´s all I can ask. I think the main problem right now is that we´re both fairly new. I only have one month here and he only has about five. Overall though, things are good. :) I´m learning a lot and I can communicate much better than I could before. However, like I said, the language is still the biggest obstacle. All the members are friendly with us of course, but generally the people here are friendly too. Sometimes they´re a little too friendly. :P Being a white boy in Mexico is... interesting at times. The girls here love us, but unfortunately gays do too. I´ve already been called after by groups of girls a couple times as well as had two different gay guys hit on me. Can you say uncomfortable? Overall, it´s not a problem. I just hope the girls here have the same taste in guys as the girls from the States. ;) Any ways, the weather hasn´t changed too much, but it´s been raining a bit more recently. It´s rained a couple time each week for the last three weeks. It´s nice when it doesn´t rain a ton because the days are so much cooler. If it rains a ton, however, the streets turn into rivers and even with an umbrella we usually come home pretty damp.

I think that´s pretty much it. I hope to hear from Kayla sometime. Also, I´m excited for that package. It hasn´t gotten here yet. I think it takes about three or four weeks usually. I hope it wasn´t too expensive to send! Be sure to have the boys keep writing me now and then. Keep me updated on what´s going on over there! :)

I love you all a ton and think about you every day. I´m extremely thankful for the opportunity of being a tool in the Lord´s hands. Some days are difficult, but I´ve already grown a bit and I know that I´m learning things that will bless my life as well as the lives of my loved ones. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored by the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord´s prophet on the earth today. This church is true. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Sean Horrocks