Tortillas and Frijoles

(We didn't get an email from Ryan last week but got both of them this week--I'll just combine them and  put them on the same post)

My companion is from West Virginia.  He is as thin as a twig and eats at least twice as much as I do.  Yes, I have been using sun screen.  I put on a lot and I have not been burned yet.  Yes, I am drinking a lot.   I chug water like there is no tomorrow every single night. I love the Apple juice in Mexico.  It is kind of like apple cider. I am probably going to drink some once I go back to our apartment.  It is so hot here in Mexico, I sweat quite a bit. I know that I will get used to all of the walking and the heat with time. I have started dreaming. I think that it is because of how tired that I am at the end of the day. (Before he left, Ryan claims he never remembers having a dream).   It feels like it is Summer here; the highs are in the 90s and it is really humid. I love the cold showers in the morning.  They wake me up so much.

I usually have little parts in the lesson or I get to bear my testimony. Spanish is really hard, and I am being stretched a lot. I gave a 10 minute talk on Sunday on Tithing and Fast Offerings in Spanish. It was the hardest thing that I have ever done in front of a lot of people and I struggled quite a bit because I tried not to read a lot of the talk. All of these hard times are really good for me and I am growing a lot from them. I love the people here.  In Rosario we are doing a lot of work with non-active members because the ward here is not very strong. I love how I can still feel the spirit even when I do not understand everything that is being said.

Dad, what was the first few weeks of your mission like? What words of wisdom do you have for me?

Mexico is awesome and I am starting to adapt to everything a little bit more. Mom, do you have a lot of experiences or stories of how this gospel has specifically blessed our family, things like tithing or just how this gospel has blessed our family?  I know that this gospel has blessed our family a lot.

 This is hard, but it is really good for me. I am being stretched quite a bit and I am learning so much. I have so much to learn still.  Spanish is still really hard, but I improve everyday. I really like the food down here.  We eat a lot of tortillas and frijoles. I heard that it takes awhile before my stomach is used to the food, but so far I really like the food in Mexico.  This last fast Sunday was the hardest fast Sunday of my life. Fasting for 24 hours in Mexico is not easy. How is everyone back home doing? I love the people down here.  They are so nice. There is a man named Felipe Reyes that reminds me so much of Grandpa Cannon.   Felipe is a really nice older man and he received the Aaronic Priesthood a week ago. I cannot wait until I can understand what everyone says and when I can say everything that I am trying to say in Spanish.   Talk to you next week.

This is the picture taken with Elder Holland at their mission conference the first week Ryan was in Culiacan.  Ryan is on the 2nd row down from the top--third over from the left.  You'll probably have to click on it to enlarge it and see him.