Lucky Charms

This week as just zoomed by! The first week we were here, someone told me that after a little while, the days feel like weeks, and the weeks feel like days. And let me tell you, it is true! Probably cause all the days are starting to blend together. But guess what! We went to the temple today! 

The temple's still being remodeled, so we didn't get to go inside, but we did go to the visitor's center. Also, they had a store, so I got some new ties and a watch! (By the way, my old watch broke last week. I'd set it on the table in the classroom, and it decided to take a leap of faith. . . didn't go so well. the back broke off and the second hand went all screwy. Kinda gave up the ghost and all. so yeah!)

Also: Elder Powell decided that the city of Mexico just outside of the CCM looks exactly like Lucky Charms!  But it looks that way cause of all the brownish greyish houses made out of concrete, and every once in a while, there's a roof that is pink or blue or something like that. Totally the cereal and marshmallows!

Lucky Charms

Things are still going great here at the CCM. In response to your question, Hannah, no, we don't eat tortillas and rice at EVERY meal... just most of them. But there is at least some form of tortilla, rice, and beans present at every meal, but there's more than one option. and I usually take the other option. To whom it may concern: Beans at every meal will give you indigestion for at least a week, sometimes more, but it goes away once you're used to it.

Conference was amazing! I especially loved President Uchtdorf's talk during the Saturday morning session. Or at least, I think it was during that. But it was the one about how just because we don't comprehend all of the spiritual things right now, just as with temporal things, doesn't make them any less true. Really made me think of the mission and all. Cause even though we may not be able to comprehend all the reasons why we've been called to do specific things, or even that it may be wrong, but it's really that we just don't comprehend everything about it yet.

By the way, we did get to watch conference in English. Which I was at the same time really happy and really upset about. Cause it was still good to be able to hear and actually understand what was going on, but when the two guys went up and spoke in Spanish, they still translated it to English for us! I kinda wanted to see how much I'd actually understand, but it's probably good they translated it for us. I don't think I'd understand a single word. 

It's pretty hard listening to Spanish. I feel like I can speak it decently, but when someone else starts talking, I just get further and further behind trying to translate in my head whatever it is that they're saying. And then if they say a word I'm not sure about, my brain breaks and I can never catch up. But it's okay! I've still got two weeks. Plus, hopefully in Texas the Spanglish will be easier to understand than straight up Spanish.

Cool story! Last Thursday or Friday, at like 11:30, Elder Seegmiller said I just sat up straight in bed and said "La Confrencia General . . . . Como. . . . " and then went back to sleep. Really weird, right? I mean, who sits up in their sleep and says that the general conference is like, then leaves it at that? But it's a step closer to having a dream in Spanish! I mean, everyone I've talked to said they know they've got the mission language down when they start dreaming in it. So hopefully soon!

That's pretty much all I got to say. Nothing else really happened. Been doing all right. And having so much fun with my district! Really, here at the CCM, if you've got a good district, you've got yourself a good time. Same with companion and roommates. And mine are awesome!

Basically all I got. So until next week!

Elder Chamberlain

P.S. It's so weird to think that my name is Joshua! I mean, my first name's Elder, right? But you guys can still call me Josh. Just so you know. 

En Serio!?

Hola y como estas? (By the way, no idea if any of those words are supposed to be accented, but whatever.)

So how´re you all doing? It's been great to hear from some of you in email every week! So far it sounds like everyone's doing alright, and I hope that that assumption is true.

I got a haircut today! It feels kinda strange to get a haircut from someone who doesn't even speak the same language as me, but it went fairly well. It was a chop shop, but what she gave me was basically what I usually get, but less hair as a result. Took about 20 minutes, if even that! It's crazy how efficient everyone here is at doing their jobs! But I guess that just comes with doing the same thing all day every day.

Not all that much happened this week. On Sunday we watched a devotional given by David A. Bednar on Christmas Day at the Provo MTC. It was really awesome, and I'd suggest everyone look it up and listen to the whole thing. Especially if you want to see an impression of Cookie Monster done over the pulpit in front of thousands of missionaries! (He compared Cookie Monster to the natural man.) Inspiring talk!

This weekend it was pretty rainy, but just in the evening on Friday and Saturday. Both days I decided to go on a walk in the rain, and got completely soaked! I might have ruined my purple tie, I haven't tried ironing it out yet. It was pretty cold in the classroom that night, cause I got SOAKED! But it felt good at the time. And I didn't get sick, so it's all good. 

Saturday night after the rain stopped

Also, the power went out in the classroom Friday night cause of the rain. So I put a flashlight in my bag, but I probably won't need it the rest of the time here at the CCM. And even if the power goes out, chances are my bag will not be right next to me, and I won't be able to find the flashlight until the lights come back on.

I can't remember if I've talked about this already, but we're teaching two "progressive investigators" right now. They're really just our teachers, but they're posing as people that they know pretty well, and we're teaching them like they're actual investigators! Their names are Carolina and Fernando. But really it's Hermana Gutierez and Hermano Hernandez. They're awesome, and both super friendly! We teach them on alternating days, at different times of the day so the rest of the district can teach them. So like, two lessons in the morning to Fernando and three in the afternoon to Carolina, then switched the next day. (There are five companionships in the district.)

Random fact: Again, no idea if I've already talked about this. But anyway. Some of the guys at the casa think I look like Matt Damon, especially when I wear my black raincoat. I don't see it, but they're all in agreement. But anyway.

Two thumbs up!  Elder Chamberlain and Elder Powell

More good news! We actually will get to listen to General Conference in English! I'm so happy, cause I don't think I could stay awake if I had to sit through ten hours of men speaking only in Spanish. Much less worried about Saturday now.

Been playing Volleyball most days during Gym time. I'm not really super great, but it's really fun! Also, since in Spanish they say their V almost like a B, it sounds more like Bolleyball. I'm just used to calling it that by now, so don't be surprised if it's that way for the rest of my life!

Also, last night the Zone Leaders, Elders Johnson and Searl, organized a game of Mafia for P-day eve. Except instead of the mafia trying to kill all the citizens of the town, the Devils were tempting missionaries to go home. It was really fun, and the good side figured out who the devils were eventually. Sounds kinda stupid now that I think about it, but it was really fun!

Other than that, I'm not really sure I have much to report! Sorry if this is shorter than other weeks. It's not so much that not a ton has happened, just that the weeks really are starting to fly by! I can't believe by Saturday, I'll have broken my record for longest time being away from home! And Tuesday was Hump Day! More than halfway done with the CCM! Kinda glad about that, cause the schedule here gets really predictable after a little while. But at the same time, I don't think I could spend six months here and learn everything I need to know about being a good missionary! Oh well. I guess we'll just have to learn on the job.

I love you all! Hope you're doing fantastic! Please write soon!

-Josh

p.s.  'Cool beans' in Spanish is 'Frio Frijoles'! The 'j' sounds like an 'h' so it sounds like 'freeholeys'. But that's just a random fact.

No fear, stand firm

Hello friends and family! Sorry if this letter is a little bit shorter than last week's, but I'm not exactly sure what to write. Not a lot has happened this week. Learned a lot in Spanish, and have been doing a lot of study, but nothing super monumental happened.

Don't send mail. I mean, send stuff through email and those websites and stuff, but regular mail takes FOREVER! Elder Searl (one of the new zone leaders) got a letter today that was sent ten days ago, and that's really short! The only reason he got it that fast is cause it had international postage on it. His companion got a letter on Monday that was sent on September 4th! So yeah. I really want to hear from everyone, so write! Just don't send through the regular means. Also, dearelder.com apparently takes 10-14 days to get here as well. So email is probably the best option.

One of the more happy things is that I've realized I'm not one of the greenies anymore! I mean, the first four days at the CCM everyone marks you as a new person cause you gotta wear your suit, but now, there are two more batches of young sprouts in! And I don't feel as awkward with Spanish, although I'm not yet sure if that's cause I've learned more, or just that I'm not the least learned one in the CCM anymore!

Also. Sorry, this kinda counts as monumental, but I didn't even think about it until just barely, but I was made the District Leader! I'm still not exactly sure what that means, and what else I'll have to do, but it happened. And there's a meeting tomorrow that I'll go to learn about that. This didn't happen until Sunday, cause our old DL (Elder Johnson) was made a zone leader when the past ones left on Monday morning. (It's so weird to think that I've seen two groups of Elders leave!)

Speaking a little about Sunday, Dad wanted me to tell him about it, so here it goes. Everyone writes a talk for Sacrament meeting, which is at 10:30, cause the Branch President just calls random people to come up. Normally everyone gets the chance to talk at sacrament meeting at least once at the CCM, but it might be a little different, cause this week is Fast Sunday, and next week is General Conference. Which, by the way, we will be watching. In Spanish. So I probably won't get anything out of it until the Liahona or Ensign gets here. But Sunday. After church the Branch Presidency has a time we can have interviews with them if we want, but so far my district has taken that as the opportunity to have a jam session. We all just go into one of the piano rooms and play whatever we know, sing along, and just talk. It's so much fun, and I really love these guys here! And then, at 8 or so, we watch a movie in the Gordon B. Hinkley building auditorium. So far we've watched The Testaments and How Rare A Possession. Then we have a District meeting, and that's it. Lots of study in the other times.

One of the major things, though, that I've learned this week is that the Lord is always looking out for us, and his tender mercies are everywhere, we just need to look for them. I found this out last Friday. It was kind of a hard day, not because it was really all that hard, just that I was feeling pretty homesick (They had peaches at lunch, and I made the mistake of eating one). But later that afternoon, I just kept finding scripture after scripture that comforted me, then there was an AMAZING sunset. I didn't get a picture unfortunately, but it was so cool, cause it was sprinkling at the time, the sun was a perfect golden glow on the horizon, and to top it off, there was a double rainbow just in front of our classroom window! Heavenly Father truly does answer our prayers, and loves each and every one of us.

I was really kinda dumb, and didn't bring my scriptures with me to the computers, but one of the best scriptures I found this week was in Exodus, I think it's chapter 14, verses 13-14, but it might be chapter 13. It's just as the Israelites are at the edge of the Red Sea, being pursued by the armies of the Pharaoh. I mean, that would be a pretty scary prospect, right? But when they start to fear and complain that they will surely die, Moses speaks those words to them. And that was under the prospect of possibly being slaughtered! In that light, we don't really have all that much to worry about, and the scripture brings so much comfort. But the coolest part only comes if you read it in Spanish. The first words Moses speaks to them is this: No temais; estad firmes. That quite literally translates to English as "No fear; stand firm." 

That's really all that we need to do to have happiness in our life. The opposite of fear is faith, so really the best advice I can give to anyone right now going through a change, or some scary part of their life is just that. Have faith, cause it'll all be fine in the end. And stand firm in the true gospel of Jesus Christ. If we do those two things, we will be delivered from our troubles by the Lord. I know that this is true, and I hope that all of you know that too.

I don't really have anything else to say. I hope you're all doing well, and that you can recognize the hand of the Lord in your life. I love you all! Mexico is still awesome, although the food does get kinda old fast. Beans and tortillas should only be served at a limited number of meals per day.

Adios till next time!

Thirst no more, Elder Powell!

Thinking ahead... or thinking on a head

Elder Powell and me

Guys--the bathrooms here are nuts!

Sorry, just had to think of a good subject to get you guys interested. But really, they are! You know how at restaurants and schools and places, the flusher on the toilet is just right up at the top? Well it's not like that here! They put it at the base of the toilet, so it's pretty much a foot pedal. It's so cool! I mean, why hasn't America picked up on that, it's so much more sanitary! We can put a man on the moon, but we can't even develop the best way to flush our toilets!

Mom, thanks so much for the cookies! I got them yesterday, not really sure when you put in the order, but they were AMAZING! Pretty much the first real American treat I've had the entire time. The food here's been good, but let me put a pretty big disclaimer in. There is some form of beans, rice, and tortillas available at any given meal of the day. I don't pick them very often, cause studies over the past week have shown that too much of that can give you indigestion.

On the first day, the people at the airport gave us this little business card for a website called missionarypackagemx.com that I guess is pretty much like dearelder.com, except they serve missionaries in the Mexico MTC. I checked right before I started writing this, but it costs $1 to send a letter that will be received the next day. I think you found another site kind of like that, mom. Again, thank you so much! (I don't really want you guys to blow a boatload of money sending me mail every day, it's just we don't have very long to check mail, so written letters are nice. And I´m pretty sure that's a good price, compared to postage, and how long it would take to get letters here)

We arrived in Mexico City around 5:00 p.m. on the first day, and customs was a little nerve racking because I realized that when I gave that Lady at the Salt Lake Airport my flight itinerary to get the ticket, she didn't give it back! It turned out I didn't need it, but it was pretty scary to think about what would happen if I didn't get my passport stamped.

Another scary thing that happened at the airport was that at the security check, I forgot to take the quarter dad gave me out of my pocket! They asked me if I had anything in my pocket, and I thought I didn't, but I checked. California quarter, in there for 10 minutes. But they still let me through.

After we arrived in Mexico, they loaded us on a bus with smaller seats than they have in airplanes, (I didn't know those existed!) then drove us to the CCM (or MTC in English). The driving here makes New York City look tame. And it was raining pretty hard. Apparently we're in the middle of the rainy season, so we got a ton of rain the first three days. But other than that, it's been sunny.

My companion's name is Elder Powell. He hails from the Pleasant Grove / Lone Peak High School zone of Utah. Such a cool guy! He ran track during high school, and raced BMX bikes. We've been getting along great, and have had an amazing time so far. And we're both going to McAllen! So is more than half our district, and a few in another zone. Our room mates are Elders Seegmiller and Thane, both of whom are going to Indianapolis. Elder Seegmiller is from Clearfield, and Elder Thane is from the Pleasant Grove area as well. Can't remember what city, but somewhere in that area. Such great guys! Our district is awesome as well. I don't think I can name everyone, but we've got three sisters and a total of 8 elders. The sisters and two other elders are coming to Texas with us. We will be here at the CCM until October 20th, at which point this thing becomes real!

Elder Seegmiller, Elder Thayne, Elder Powell and me!

We taught our first investigator on Friday. Two days after arriving. And the ENTIRE lesson was in SPANISH! I was so terrified! But it turned out ok. Elder Powell is a lot better at Spanish than I am, so he talked most of the time. We taught someone named Alexa, and we taught her four other times, after which we committed her to baptism! My Spanish has improved a ton over this week, mostly because of the lessons with her. I think she's really one of the teachers here, and she'll start teaching us in a few days. Ok, I know I just barely said my Spanish is better, but it probably isn't all that much better, it's just that I'm not as scared to try to talk to people anymore. I can't always understand what they say, but I can usually make myself understood, with a ton of help from an English Spanish Dictionary, of course.

On Monday was Mexican Independence Day! It was really cool, even though it was hard to sleep that night. There was a cultural dance type thing that was really cooI. But apparently Independence Day is the most violent day of the year, cause they all get so drunk they start shooting at each other. Loud night!

Mexican Independence Day celebration!

Our schedule is basically like this: We wake up at 6:30 or earlier, and are out of the house by 7 for personal study at the classroom. Breakfast follows at 8, with classes starting at 8:30. We have classes from then until around 11:30, when we have gym time. Elder Powell and I have used this time for lifting, but you can also play basketball, volleyball, or other sports. Lunch at 1, companionship study at 1:45, and Language study at 2:30. 3:30 starts the investigators, with more companionship study, then dinner at 6:30. District meetings and such after dinner.Lights out at 10:30. That's pretty much it. But it'll change next week, probably.

Sorry if I didn't email you personally, but I forgot to make a list. If you want me to send you a message, or want a personal message or something like that, just contact me through email, and I'll write back on p days (Thursday). Thanks!

I'm pretty much out of time, but I just want everyone to know that I love them. I miss you guys, but I know that this is where I'm supposed to be. I can't wait to get out in the field, but right now, the CCM is fine. I'll let you know how everything goes. Love you lots! Mexico is AWESOME! (not quite as awesome as Texas will be, but pretty close.)

Elder Chamberlain

I have arrived!

Well, I have arrived safely! My dictation may be a little off, just so you know, cause the keyboards here have a slightly different layout, and I have not yet found the apostrophe! But other than that, I am doing pretty dang fine! Dont have long to email, so this will be pretty short, but just wanted to say that I love you guys, that it is AWESOME here, and that it still hasnt sunk in that Ill be gone for a long time. Ill be sure to let you know when that happens. For now, things are great! Post this on the blog, or just mail it to everyone.

P day (preparation day) is on Thursday, but we dont have one this week, so itll be just a bit longer than a week before I can send to you again. Write lots, though, and dont forget to order a bike! Love you lots! Mexico is cool!

Elder Chamberlain

And… he's off!

(written by Mom)

Last night we dressed our younger children in their school clothes for today before we sent them to bed.  Joshua was up and ready before anyone else, and serenaded us with Clair de Lune on the piano as we finished tying shoes and combing hair.  Miraculously, we all got up and out of the door after one last family prayer at 5:30 a.m.  We laughed on the way to the airport, reciting our favorite lines from Studio C.  John, Sam, Elizabeth and Hannah all were quick volunteers to help Joshua with his luggage at the airport.  After several hugs, pictures, and some last "I love you's" and "See you later's", we parted ways as Joshua entered the airport security line.  He was upbeat, confident, and smiling the whole way.  We were smiling through our tears.  It is a great irony to be so happy and sad at the same time, but we truly feel it is a great privilege and blessing to be sending our son on a mission.  He is ready!  Or in his own words, "I was born ready!"

Thank you, thank you to everyone who has helped us get to this day!  We so appreciate your love and support!

Circle of Love

(written by Mom)
Tonight Joshua was set apart as a full-time missionary.  Our family dressed in our church clothes and went to our church building.  There we witnessed as all three members of our stake presidency, our bishop, and David gathered around Joshua, placed their hands on his head, and gave him a priesthood blessing, authorizing him to begin his service as a full-time missionary.  It was a beautiful experience.

After we got home, our family gathered in the living room.  Some of our cousins came over too, which was a nice surprise!  We started a new family tradition that we hope to continue on the eve of each of our children leaving the nest.  We're calling it "The Circle of Love", and is an idea we learned from some dear friends of ours (Kjars).  We had Joshua sit in the middle of the room, and each person had a chance to say three specific kinds of things to him:  ask him a question(s), share advice, and give a compliment or tell him what they loved or appreciated about him.  Here are some of the things that were shared:

Questions:

• Q:  (Joseph)  Are you excited? Worried?  A:  Yes and a little.  Mostly worried about the language and wondering if I'm smart enough to really learn how to speak in Spanish.  The "One Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song" is about the best I can do right now!
• Q:  (Ruby) Do you know who your companion is?  A:  Not yet, but my mission president's name is President Maluenda, and my friend Mike Packer will be coming to my mission in a few weeks.
• Q:  (Nelson) Is it okay if I rearrange our bedroom?  A:  Sure, as long as your bed isn't right next to mine when I come home.  
• Q:  (Hannah) How long will you be in the Mexico MTC?  A:  6 weeks.
• Q:  (Davis) How early do you have to get up?  A: Tomorrow at 4:30 a.m.  On my mission, every day at 6:30 a.m.
• Q:  (John) How much do you weigh?  A:  About 220 pounds.
• Q:  (Sam) What is your favorite piano song?  A:  I have lots of favorites, but my current favorite is Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy.
• Q:  (Sam) What is your favorite color?  A:  Green.
• Q:  (Elizabeth)  What is your favorite book series?  A:  The Stormlight series by Brandon Sanderson.
• Q:  (Mom)  What are your favorite treats you'd like to find in a package sometime?  A:  Minty gum (especially Five Gum "Rain"), Starbursts, Twix, Kit Kat, Milky Way, homemade bread, homemade orange chocolate chip cookies.  
• Q:  (Logan) How much weight do you think you'll gain or lose on your mission?  A:  Hopefully I'll maintain where I'm at, but it wouldn't be too surprising if I went up or down 20 pounds.
• Q:  (Dad) What is one of your favorite memories?  A:  A Family Home Evening we had at Bountiful Park about the Tree of Life.
• Q:  (Annabelle)  How are your emailing rules different from Grandma and Grandpa's on their mission in the Congo?  A:  Grandma and Grandpa can get on their email or FaceTime whenever they want (as long as they have power), but they can't receive any snail mail at all.  I'll be able to email once a week, receive packages once I get to Texas, but will only be able to call or Skype on Mother's Day and Christmas.
• Q:  (Emily)  How long do you think it will take you to learn Spanish?  A:  Hopefully within 3 months after the MTC, I'll be able to carry on a conversation.
• Q:  (Scott)  How many hearts will you be breaking by leaving for two years?  A:  Good question!  Haha!

Advice:

• Wear deodorant.  (Annabelle)
• Be nice to your companion.  (John)
• Remember that it's okay to have hard times.  You will make it through.  Trust in the Lord.  (Dad)
• Respect the agency of others.  You can't force things with others, including investigators and fellow missionaries.  Just love them, teach them, and respect their agency.  (Dad)
• Hugs… not drugs.  (Logan)
• Don't gain too much weight.  (Nelson)
• Keep a good record of your experiences through your journal, pictures, and letters.  You will see many miracles during the next two years, and you'll want to remember.  (Mom)
• Be grateful and express it.  (Mom)
• The Spirit is what counts.  Always invite the Holy Ghost to be your constant companion.  That's how you'll best be able to do Heavenly Father's work.  (Scott)
• Use every day that you have.  Give what you have to give that day, so you'll have no regrets.  (Emily)
• Have fun!  You can be serious and still make it fun.  (Joseph)
• Don't get fat by eating unhealthy food.  (Davis)
• Don't miss me too much.  (Hannah)
• Don't come home early… unless it's something super serious.  (Hannah)
• Follow the rules.  (Hannah)
• Become friends with the members of the wards and stakes you'll be serving in.  (Hannah)
• Be friends with your companion on the very first day you meet them.  Really get to know them.  They might end up being your best friend ever.  (Elizabeth)
• Teach the Gospel.  (Sam)

Compliments, Praise, and why we think Joshua will be a good missionary: 

• You are always kind.  (Ruby)
• You have always been a peace builder.  You are easy to talk to.  You are a problem solver.  (Hannah)
• You are obedient, consistent, and perpetually optimistic.  You have a tender heart and love the Lord.  You are a teacher and leader.  (Mom)
• You are a passionate person.  You put your whole heart into life and give 100% in everything you do.  (Emily)
• You have always set a good example for me.  You have a good work ethic and are balanced in all areas of your life.  You put first things first.  Nobody is perfect, but you always give it your all.  (Nelson)
• You are amazing on the piano!  (Annabelle)
• You are good at math and are a good teacher.  You really care about people.  (Hannah)
• You are a hard worker and obedient.  (Dad)
• You are easy going and fun to talk with.  (Joseph)
• You are a peacemaker and a logical thinker.  (Davis)
• You make the best bread and cookies.  You are always nice and help us fix our bikes.  (John)
• You are nice.  I like it when you read to me and help me.  (Sam)
• You are dedicated, smart, reliable, confident, and humble.  (Scott)
• You are outgoing and not shy.  You are really nice.  Thanks for always letting me borrow your books.  (Elizabeth)
• You are responsible and have integrity.  (Logan)

After we finished sharing, we sang "I Hope They Call Me On a Mission", knelt in family prayer, and did our family cheer.  This event made us stay up a little later than usual, especially on the night before having to get up super early, but it was totally worth it.