Elder Mecham in Guatemala: August 2014

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

That is really cool that Millie and Joey are at BYU. I will probably go walk over and say hey to them next P-day or something...Just Kidding!

Hi,
I really like the pictures in the e-mails and the ones you send, the only problem with the real pictures is that I have no place to put them, so I just put them in my journal. The language is coming (I think), but it is just one of those things how you receive the evidence of your faith, but only after you have been faithful. I just need to be faithful and diligent in my work and God will use what I know to allow me to do his work. If not, he will make sure I learn it pretty quick in the field. I still haven't heard anything about switching and i am half way through the MTC so i doubt they will transfer me. My companion is doing well, he was just released from being the district leader, so now Elder Harris is our district leader. Elder Harris reminds me of a lot of Travis so it is nice having him around. I still get the same amount of mail, a bunch of it is from you, and then I will get some from mom, and then I got one from brother Dixon and Mr. Budo, and Erika. That is super cool about Daniel and Seth. My guess is Seth is going to the Philippines or some where like where the Mikesells are and Mary and Johnston went (an area like that in Asia). That is really cool that Millie and Joey are at BYU. I will probably go walk over and say hey to them next P-day or something. My companion won't be opposed to it because his girlfriend is over there now too. I will make sure to call you before I head over so you can tell them I am heading over, then they could just drive us back to west campus. Just kidding, I will just have them pick me and my companion up instead of us walking over. A package would be nice. Thanks for asking! I am out of the Kisses you sent, and I think I want an umbrella. Thanks for that! So, our older group in our district left this Monday, so since we were his favorite younger companionship in the zone, we inherited all his food. It is insane how much food we have now, but none of it compares to the delicious, wholesome taste of a Hershey Kiss.
Here are some photos.

This is the Provo temple we go to each P-day. I really like the whole circle thing it does.

The first one is elder Seamons, Then me, Then Elder Gowans. Elder Gowans seems really familiar to me and he says he has Mechams in his family. By any chance are we related, he lives in Elko, Nevada.

This is all the food we received from Millie's dowery. It is basically a six year olds dream food storage

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

"IRÉ, HARÉ, Y SERÉ (I will go and do!)

Sorry! No pictures this week, I left my camera in the classroom. I have heard nothing about my visa or when i got to the Guatemala MTC. I went to ask the information desk about it and they didn't appreciate it to much. The language is fine. I am focusing more on grammar than words so i don't know how to say more, but i can say more things right. My companion, Elder Hill, Is from Twin Falls Idaho and is 18 like me. Everyone in my apartment left a girl so i make fun of them all the time. my favorite one is one that the branch presidency told us (kinda). He said "We call each other Elders, not Guys. Elders are here do the Lord's work and the Guys are back at home making out with your girlfriends." I really like sacrament for the most part, because it is always based on something we need to know. One thing they have us do every week is make a five minute talk for sacrament. what they do is randomly select names to give a talk and you don't know if you have to give it until it is time for you to give it. It is kinda like how they draw names from the hunger games except no one can volunteer as tribute. I have not met anyone new that i used to know, but a few people have left that i liked. It is weird seeing the kids that already know Spanish when they come here, because they come in after you and leave before you. It is funny to see the kids faces who about to leave when they here the kids who know Spanish talk to each other. It is just a big, fat reminder of how unprepared they are to talk Spanish to people where t is their native language. The more i look around though, the more i think that me and my companion are the only ones going to our mission, are even Guatemala in general. Thank you for the package. i have already started my giant pile of kisses' wrappers and informed everyone in my apartment to not touch the pile and to leave it and all its glory alone. My piles are meant to be acknowledged and appreciated from a distance, not to be touched or thrown away. Thank you for your letters, it is great when i go get them mail with my companion and half of the letters are mine out of all the districts mail. I also have a new favorite quote (it is my professora's missions theme) "IRÉ, HARÉ, Y SERÉ"

Please tell Mr Budo I get his Dear Elders. AlsoI heard from Cameron Dixon which is very nice.As far as your diet coke failure... well you study the word of wisdom and i will pray that you will honor your promises to me. I think that will help you kick off that addiction. Life's good, i love all the dear johns you send me, my companion is awesome, i am good on food because of my apartments companions food and the packages plus i get three all you can eat meals a day, i love the MTC, and i go to the temple every p-day. i have to log off, i am over my time. I love you, bye.

(Christine's note...I told Bret I would try to kick my diet coke habit while he was gone, and that I would faithfully have personal study every day. I have had about 4 diet cokes today, but have kept my study promise. I will kick the DC habit before he gets home! The Hershey kiss pile is something he and I have joked about for years. He thinks I should never throw away his wrappers. Also I send him dear elders not dear johns! Oh Bret!)

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

I think the food here is great, but a lot of others don’t agree with that. We are the sub campus so we get the scraps from main campus.

I love the MTC and my companion. His name is Elder Hill and he is from Idaho Falls. He is our district leader and has a sister named Millie too. He is my age but two months younger. I am doing alright at the language; is definitely helpful that I had taken two years of Spanish. On the first day here they had us teaching fake and/or real investigators. By the third day they had us teaching a fake investigator in ONLY Spanish. I am picking up the language pretty quickly I can tell it is only because the Lord is with me at all times. It is weird; I just remember stuff that I normally wouldn't. My companion is going to the same mission as me and everyone else is going to the Meridad, Mexico mission in our district. I was supposed to fly to Guatemala yesterday (at least that was my estimated time to go) , but I haven’t even gotten my flight plans yet. I think they are just going to ship me off at the same time my companion is and he turned in his back ground check this last Friday. His estimated departure day is August 19. A missionary in our district is leaving today, he super doesn't want to be her so now there is only going to be 11 of us in our district but I think we are getting more on Wednesday. They have given us so much to do here there doesn’t seem to be enough time to do it (they have us watch stress relieving videos), but since the Lord is with me I seem to be more efficient and don’t have a problem doing what they ask us to do. The real problem is that everything they ask us to do (which seems to be everything they had to do and everything they thing we should do) we have to do in Spanish too. I love my campus (west campus) because it is the Spanish speaking campus. Everyone speaks Spanish to us all the time. Class is in Spanish, talks in church for the most part are in Spanish. I haven’t gotten any real news on my departure date though besides a small piece of paper saying my estimated time to leave is August 11th. I met someone from my lacrosse team but for the life of my I can’t think of his name (he was the one that went out with Millie for Sadie’s junior year. I like my teachers, but they can only teach for three hours a day and the other three hours is for teaching a fake investigator (and preparing the lesson), and the last three hours is us doing personal, companion, and language study. I think we are going to get another teacher this week so we will have six hours of language study instead of only three. (I have heard rumors that our fake investigator is going to be our new teacher. I think the food here is great, but a lot of others don’t agree with that. We are the sub campus so we get the scraps from main campus. In other words, they get an all you can eat and they make a lot more stuff for them and we will get sometimes an option between two meals and only get one of each plate, but I really don’t care about that at all. I do need a watch and an alarm clock of some sort. I usually wake up when my companions do but they feel like they have to wake me up and they don’t like to do that (they have alarm clocks), and I have no idea what time it is ever. I just kind of do whatever other people are doing and some people have a watch and i can ask them. There are no clocks on the walls here except on the TV. in the cafeteria. My P-days are Tuesdays and yes I have gotten your letters. I am not sure how well hand written mail is working but I get dear elder mail the day you guys send them. I love my life here and don’t miss my life back at home but I do miss the people I had back at home.

By the way- It was super cool to see Millie before I went into the MTC. I loved that picture of us and it was good I got to see her one more time.
Yo amoro tu. Adios. (Christine's note: His Spanish is a little rusty. I think that is supposed to say- I love you, Bye!)

Here are some MTC photos Bret sent:

Every one in my apartment (Me, Elder Hill, Elder Harris, Elder Neilson

Nice scenery

New friends

My district

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

And he is off...

Today we said goodbye to Bret! The past few weeks have been and emotional roller-coaster for us as our little family and the families of our good friends have experienced so much change. Just a month ago sweet Quicny Ellsworth returned from her Korean mission. Three weeks ago today we welcomed Bret's brother Joey home from his mission in England. Yesterday, our dear Mary Moody returned form Hong Kong and, after a long wait, we also welcomed Zach and Bailey Ellsworth Olsen's daughter to the world! These days are what we call pay days. Since Bret was a small child our three families have been woven together through good and bad times. He walked to school every day with his siblings and the Ellsworth and Moody children. Bailey (the new mother) spent many Friday nights babysitting all of the kids in all three families (one baby will be nothing for her). Father son trips to BYU camps were made in our Great White Whale. Disneyland adventures and other vacations with the three families peppered Bret's childhood. Through the years of his childhood and youth, most of Bret's memories of school, church and neighborhood life include these people who have become so much more than friends. It is wonderful that Bret now sets off to teach people of the joy and happiness that can be found in living a Gospel centered life. He knows it is true and has shared powerful testimony of his love of missionary work with us. Bret will bring many to know Christ.

Tuesday night after Bret was set apart we came home and enjoyed our last night with him. Bret and Doug played one last chess game.

Bret was the winner!

Following chess we packed up Bret's Title of Liberty. He plans to have all of his companions sign it!

After he was packed up, and it was time for all of us to go to bed I heard Joey and Bret quietly talking and laughing. Just like when they were little boys in their bunk beds. Made me want to cry!

I got up early and made Bret his favorite breakfast. (Extra Bacon) Bret requested these sandwiches most mornings before seminary.

Then it was time to say goodbye to his favorite friend.

Frost will miss Bret.

Off to the airport at 6 AM.

The long walk!

Bret's plane to SLC was on time and he was ready to go! He said a final good bye to Joey, Jenna, Susan's husband Mike and I before going through security. Susan and Doug were able to go to the gate to see him off. Bret was very calm and didn't seem the least bit nervous. At 10:20 he arrived in SLC where Millie was waiting to take him to the MTC. Originally Bret had been scheduled to fly directly to the Guatemala CCM (MTC) but because of some visa issues he will spend some time in Provo. This gave Millie the unique opportunity to be able to drive her brother to the MTC. When they got there she said Bret was all smiles. The host Elder who came out to greet Bret asked if he could snap a few photos. As Millie and bret flung their arms around each other, the host Elder said, "Wait! She is your sister, right?" Millie said they all had a good laugh as he snapped this photo.