Week #4: Missionitis and fireworks

Mission #Selfie with Elder Photobombers

Things at the CCM [Editor's Note: CCM is MTC in Spanish it stands for Centro de Capacitacion Misional] are really starting to change.  There are points now where I can hear the Latinos talking in Spanish and understand them perfectly (so long as they are talking about the Gospel alone because that is about all that I understand).

A few days ago one of the elders in our district (Elder Keck) had a birthday and so we as a district decided to make MTC History and throw the first ever (at least in the last 4 weeks) MTC Birthday party.  We went back down to the cemaco and bought just about everything that we could find and afford for the birthday party.  All and all it was a pretty good little get together of a few of the districts complete with party hats and Pringles.

Every 2 weeks the flow of the MTC seems to change.  It has its own little high school effect. For the first 2 weeks we get here we are kinda like freshman or sophomores, but then when the next 2 weeks come around we have moved up a grade level and become the juniors of the MTC everyone thinks we have all of the answers and we never give them a chance to think otherwise.  Now we have all been here for 4 weeks and have moved on to the beautiful life of a senior and I think the "missionitis" here might be worse than the senioritis of high school.  At this point we are all dying to leave the CCM. We all know that we are woefully inadequate for the field but it feels as though we are at a plateau here - like we need to move onto real Spanish instead of only the gospel Spanish that we have only partially mastered.

I'm pretty excited to hear about Carsten's mission call - I might just have to leave a hidden care package here at the CCM for him to find throughout the course of his stay here.

One of the most ironic things here at the CCM right next door,  is a pretty big night club and they have parties every Friday and Saturday night.  Last Saturday everyone was fast asleep when we were awakened to the sounds of explosions and saw bright flashes of light coming from outside our windows.  Everyone in the CCM ran to their windows in shock, which in retrospect might not have been the best idea, trying to find the cause of the noise.   A few seconds passed and there was nothing, we were all breathing heavy thinking that it had been some kinda explosion or drive-by but then as we were about to jump back into bed it happens again and to our total enjoyment we had the pleasure of seeing a full on Guatemala firework show some 300 feet from the window.  We weren't sure if this was a delayed 4th of July celebration or helping to celebrate Elder Keck's birthday, but it was great!

Here are some answers to your email questions:

What does your daily schedule consist of?

We get up at 6:30am get ready shower etc then go into personal study then language study.  After that we have breakfast and come back to do more language study.  Next is grammar then teach an investigator, more language grammar, comp study with lunch mixed in.  After lunch it is more grammar another investigator and then dinner finished off with more language study, planning for next day and learning lessons through PMG.

What are the meals like?

Meals right now are actually mostly american food with little bits of Guatemala favorites in the mix - many of the new nortes that arrived 2 weeks ago were feeling homesick and wouldn't eat any of the native food so they switched it to mostly american...

Quite a few people mentioned this week that they noticed from your district picture that there are no hermanas in your district?

In my district there are no hermanas there were about 20 or so in the MTC last week but they have all left now and it is only the two hermanas that came with us and the two that came with the last group of nortes. There are supposed to be around 56 new nortes coming in tomorrow and there are only supposed to be 3 new Heremanas in that group. There are also 40 more Latinos that will be coming as well - its getting kinda packed here

Do you need anything?

How about a hammock and some extension cords...don't ask, I am working on a project.  Also photos in the mail, I would specifically like one of all of the youth and youth leaders and bishop.

Anyways things here are great, apart from the "missinitis" and the total itch everyone has to leave the CCM and go into the field. I love you all and miss you much  - I haven't received a letter yet but that is probably because of the Guatemalian mail service. [Editor's note: Earliest letters were sent on July 6th through Dearelder.org pouch mail, and on July 7th through regular USPS, give's one the idea of time frame]

Over and out Elder Wilcox.

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Editor's Note and update 07/23/2014: Technology and social media media is wonderful as we received these additional pictures this morning from an unexpected source...I imagine a conversation something like 'hey let me take your pictures, and give me your parents email and I will send it to them I am sure they would love to see you'.

A couple pictures taken outside the Guatemala Temple