Elder Jesse Kevin Stauffer

Thursday, April 8, 2010

First Email from the CCM in Peru

Hey mom and Dad! I made it!!! 1st thing they wanted me to tell you is that DO NOT SEND PACKAGES HERE to this MTC :( sorry but we just cant have them here they are way too busy, my mission president will be letting me know if i can get them in the field, hope that you guys enjoyed me calling home because i loved it, it gave me a boost. whit got her call but i almost missed the plane to go get her phone call, but it worked out and i made it on the plane, but we got home to this mtc at 2 in the morning. if you go onto google earth and find the airport in capello then go directly east about 40 miles you will see the ccm (mtc) home. it is about 1 mile from the temple so if you find the temple go east from the temple 1 more mile. I LOVE THIS MTC, this has been such a fun day, but when we got home all of our companions were asleep in bed so i didn't get to meet him until today, my companion is now elder vizcarra, yes he is a native and i can't understand a word he says, but that is why they put us with them so we can get better at our spanish. Also we had interviews with the president here, president whetsen, he lives up by the castle off of 89, small world. Then later i was taking a nap because i fell asleep studying in my bed, one of his assistants comes and gets me and says the president needs to see me , and i got called to be the district leader, not a big deal, just have to collect and hand out our weekly reports to our mtc president and just direct class and things like that, only means i have the opportunity to serve the 8 elders in my district. The food here is different....dad you won Ill like it when you come pick me up, its only been one day, and yes its like a steam room here. we played soccer for gym today and i was as sweaty as i was with my football pads on. Lima is awesome, we got to the airpport at 10:45 and then had to go through customs and such and that took until 12. Then we had to go find our people who where picking us up and Lima is PACKED at 12:30 at night, are you serious??? then on the drive over to the ccm people are playing soccer at 1 in the morning, and people are walking around, it is busier here at 1 in the morning than it is in salt lake at 4 in the afternoon, it is crazy, but awesome, this is an awesome place, you are going to love it when you come here. The ccm is so so so nice, my style, its like an oasis, they treat us really well and so much more laid back here, not so strict, they just expect everyone to be mature. My companion is so funny, i love him.

K I love you, please write me letters, it takes 10-14 days to get to us. Love you with all my heart, Jesse

Thursday, March 18, 2010

First Email to home

Hey mom and Dad,

Thanks for all the great letters, all of the elders in my district get mad cause I get so much. And the package was great, I told everyone that we owned stauffers animal crackers it was funny. I now know why all of us elders have such bad grammar, Because there is a little timer in the top right hand corner of the screen that counts down your time from a half hour, so i will do my best to hurry as fast as possible while getting in everything.

Dad wanted to know my schedule from morning to night. K at 6:15 I get up to get a good shower and have some privacy, all the other elders get up around 6:25. Then I go back to my room, put my suit on, wait for elder mccracken. then have to be to class 7. From 7 until 7:45 its personal study, you study in the classroom. Then at 7:45 it is breakfast, and I don't mind the food at all. Then back to class, from 8 until 11 it is companion study. Then at 11:10 it is gym, i play basketball every day and I actually haven't been doing that bad. Then after gym it is prepare, which means go back to residence hall and shower, then put your suit back on. Then class from 12:15 until 5:30. Usually Brother Williams is our teacher during that time, then go to dinner at 5:30. Then back to class after dinner with Sister Mejia from peru. Class is from 6:15 until 9. Then from 9 until 9:30 we plan for the next day. Then back to our rooms and change into gym shorts, and write in journals. All of the elders come into our room at night to visit with elder bittner and elder tanner. They also like us to so they just come chill with us so it is hard to get anything written in our journals but i still do a full page every night.

K i am sending some pictures I developed today. Some with kolby, my district, and Elder cox. Be careful i wrote on the back but i smirred them already, so just remember that I wrote on the back of them. Craig Bills is at the MTC, he was mr. football my year and played last year at BYU, also Xavier suaYilo, he is a tackle at UCLA and he is massive, kinda got star struck, but it was cool to see them. Elder McCracken's brother is the lead singer of the Used, ask devin he will know. But the used is a famous band from utah, and I just happened to get his bro. Elder M. is from highland, we went to Lone peak high school. I like the food actually so i dunno what goodrich was talking about. I have had so many cankers, so good thing I have that kaska. I was eating a pop sicle and my lips got frozen to it, and when i pulled them off it tore my lip skin off, wow it hurt. Then its basketball getting elbowed in the face also causes cankers. Been sleeping so good, always one of the first to wake up, which is surprising. Tammie will appreciate that.

Mom will you send my spanish scripture case, and my Hymns. I don't need my spanish scriptures because they gave me the exact same ones I bought here, so just use those ones for decoration or something. Spanish is so hard, but im doing my best. Hermoso (brother) williams doesn't speak in English to us, so it is so hard to learn what he is trying to teach us. But I love Hermana (sister) mejia, from peru, she is so awesome, and looks like a real peruvian. Mom if you want to write everyday then do it, I lied, letters are the best thing here in the MTC. I dunno if i told you if i Got the bottom bunk or not, but ya i got bottom. I spent a lot of money at the book store getting things I needed so that is what the money is on my card, they only give me 6 dollars a week for everything so i will be using my debit alot. President Estes is our branch president and he is kinda intimidating, But that is ok, our sacarament is in spanish so i didn't get a word out of of the talks. My district is 50-A, our zone is 50, and live in room 105.

I leave here on 7th of April, I should have my travel plans sometime next week, all elders are jealous. We can't chew gum at all, only in our rooms, it hasn't been that hard for me though, i just use mints now, which scares me because they have sugar. And already have been here a week that is crazy, prob the fastest week of my life.

K write me, tell tory that he is a bum for not writing me, well he might of wrote but we haven't gotten the mail yet today so i dunno. I love you, if you have any questions ill answer them, I will be writing letters today, so i will probably write you guys a letter, to respond to all of dads sweet letters. Sorry just so rushed in here.

Love Elder Stauffer