Hola!
Well, I won’t sugarcoat this first week. It was challenging, as I knew it would be. My brothers told me it would be. I have never been so exhausted in my whole life. I almost fall asleep in every lesson we teach, mainly because I have no idea what is going on. It is quite funny. What an experience this is--it has been the craziest adventure I’ve ever embarked on.
No wonder people think Mormons are crazy. We send 18 year old white boys like me halfway across the world to live in unknown and sometimes iffy neighborhoods where we can’t speak the language very well at first, and expect us to go into people´s houses to tell them the most important information that has ever existed. It can be overwhelming at times. But mostly it has been just one wonderful ride.
I just need to mention this one more time just to get it off my chest and I promise to never complain about it again. SPIDERS. EVERYWHERE. THEY HIDE. THEY LIVE IN THE WALLS. POISONOUS. Some are as big as my palm and they are the poisonous ones. You can probably hear my screams from here. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Ok, I feel better. Well, not really, But I bought killing spray and sprayed everything I could. God sure has a sense of humor ;)
My trainer (from Mexico—speaks just a little English) is awesome, even though he doesn´t get why I don´t understand Spanish yet. So then I rant in English for a couple minutes, look at his confused face and then tell him that is how I feel during every lesson. I think he understands more now haha. We teach about 5 lessons every day. They people talk SOOOOOOOOO fast and drop all their s´s and add ¨po¨to the end of each sentence. Super hard to understand. But I see gringo missionaries who have only been here for 5 months who understand everything and can speak fluently, so it gives me hope. But I know the gift of tongues is real and I am grateful for the Spanish I do have.
Everything is so different here. The people´s houses are pretty humble and run down on the outside, but inside they have massive TVs and stereo systems. It is a very laid back culture and they have a different timetable. Sometimes that makes it difficult to keep appointments with them or to get them to come to church meetings. I have met some super awesome people and there are miracles here already. We were walking down the dusty paths from where we live on the hill down into the town, and a family came out and asked if we could teach their daughter English. Sure! We went in and they said we could come back later in the week for another English lesson. It will be great to hopefully teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ as well, besides the English.
The central part of the city in the valley is very modern. I can buy almost anything I need (even Nutella!). One thing I have noticed is soda is king here--people here drink a lot of soda. And interestingly, the music in the stores is in English. Most of the people have no idea what the songs are saying. Thankfully, the food is pretty normal--potatoes, rice, chicken, soup.
Another example of God’s sense of humor—I have always hated fish. I was thinking about this before we went to our mamitas (we have a person here that cooks us lunch, our main meal) house to eat. Fish. haha I ate it though!! So, yeah!
Sometimes I stop, look around, and wonder if this is all real. Am I really on my mission? Am I really in Chile? This whole thing has been quite surreal and a real adjustment. I am thankful I have my testimony deep in my heart. Whenever I think about giving up, and I am ranting to myself about this or that problem, I think about my Savior, Joseph Smith, and my family. This is too important to give up on. EVER. I will never leave this church, the church of Jesus Christ, because I know he will never give up on me. How could he? Why would I? Even if there are holes in my roof, spiders in my walls, and I can’t understand what anyone is saying.
A quote my good friend sent me in an email, ”Don’t think you can’t go on a mission because you don’t know enough. If you know the church is true, Jesus Christ is the Savior, and Joseph Smith was a prophet you know enough.”
That is my testimony and the testimony of countless others. I knew this would be hard. But I love the Lord too much. Please help the missionaries in your area. They are looking for people to teach. The members are ESSENTIAL to this work. Love you guys always.
Everything is awesome,
Elder Phillips
Not my town (I had camera issues) but a good representation
Antofagasta--where the mission office is--just a short 10 hour bus ride away :)
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