I bought a guitar!

This week was pretty good because today I bought a guitar because it was super cheep and my comp said it would be cooler. I bought it really cheap and I'm trying to learn and I need some good easy songs to practice. On Sunday I had a talk about service and of course that is one of the easiest talks to give, but the only problem I had was that it was in Spanish so it took me awhile to put it together, but I think it went pretty good because I felt good giving it. So I think I got my package because my old comp went to the offices and dropped it off at a members house for me because I was in Centro buying the guitar, but he said it was from someone with the last name Wilson. So I don't know if they sent me stuff or if you sent it with them. Oh and a member wants a Chili recipe and I told her I can get one that is out of this world so I'm going to need that from you mom.

I still need to burn my tie.This week has been pretty good and we got some people that could easily in the future get baptized so we will see how that goes. Having a comp that only speaks Spanish helps a lot because he can correct me and help me pronounce everything correctly. Yea we got a few people to teach and we have a new and his wife is a member and he was born in California so he knows English, but he had a really rough past like he has been in jail and in a gang and other stuff. The cool thing

-Elder Wolford

A bad time to need the baño

What's going on fam,

Wow a lot has happened this last week and I got a bunch of little stories to share about things that happened that I thought was funny. The first story is called "A bad time to need the baño" Well I just finished eating at a members house and really needed to go to the bathroom. So after a few minutes of talking and all that I asked if I could use their bathroom and like always they say for sure. Anyways when I got in there my mouth about dropped to the floor because I was about to relieve myself, but the toilet didn't have any water in it and didn't have a seat. Great now I have to squat above the toilet and hope nothing bad happens. A few minutes pass and I thought all was well until I noticed the bucket next to me full of used paper, are you flipping kidding me. I wish I could have held it because this bathroom was pretty bad and to add to all this the sink was broken too. 

"Who wants a Tamale?" My comp and I just got back to the house when a Tamale vender was right outside our window. We live on the top floor so he told me to turn off the lights so I did. He cracked the window open just a little bit. The Tamale venders in Mexico ride the Nacho Libre bikes around and have horns on the front the yell TAMALES!!! To get there attention you whistle. So my comp cracked the window open and whistled so the guy got off his bike and looked around, but there was no one there. My comp did it like 5 times it was super funny. 

"Watch your step." My comp and I were at the church with one of our investigators to play soccer with the young men of the ward and my comp and I sat on the side. Anyways this little boy about 12 years old was walking in the little patch of grass we have at the church talking to another kid and I noticed a mountain of dog crap in the grass. Honestly it would be almost imposible to miss it, but this kid wasn't looking at the ground and stepped 1 inch away. No way I told my comp to look because this kid almost destroyed his shoe and as I said that he moved his foot right on top of the mountain of dog crap and his friend started to laugh because it seriously almost went into his shoe.

"Baby I'm worth it." This last Sunday right after sacrament someones ringtone started going off and we have a sign before you enter that says turn all phones off, but you know how that goes. Anyways this ringtone was the song Baby I'm worth it and it was going off for about 10-15 seconds the member I was sitting with couldn't keep a straight face and it made things worse that I couldn't either. 

Happy Birthday Mom I hope it was supper awesome and I love you so much and am so thankful that you made the choice to join the church so that I could be here in Mexico teaching others about what truly matters in life. Being here makes it more clear to me that what truly matters is the gospel and family. Love you with all my heart.

-Elder Wolford

Belated Christmas

What's going on family,

Alright this week has been pretty awesome and there is a lot that is about to happen. So this last week I got to talk with you guys and that was super fun and it felt like I was at home and never left, but I wont lie I felt a little weird after because it felt like I left home again. Yeah, but the power kept going out and the I-pad I was using was being super dumb so that kicked my butt a little and was a little frustrating, but all is well.  I loved seeing everybody and Grandmas package got here and the socks were made in China and my comp said that I should get everything alright except the jerky because a while ago he got a package and they only took the jerky. He told me that the people there are just being dumb and to just talk more to his mom because she ships thing all of the time around the world. This week we have permission to watch Disney cartoon movies on the New year because everyone and there dog gets drunk so going out and working is pretty much a huge waste and is a little dangerous. I think the other Elders want to watch Atlantis and some other movies. We will also play some card games to pass the time. Today I asked a guy how much he is selling the Nintendo 64's for and he said he would for about 800 pesos which is literally nothing so I will definitely buy one before I go home.  

Ok so this Saturday I will find out if I'm leaving my area and if I have changes with bags or not and on Tuesday I will find out where I'm going if I have changes so that is going to be super fun and exciting to find out what is going to happen next in the mission. Finally I will finish my training after 18 weeks and honestly I thing I broke the record for the longest time being trained and it was almost 1/4th of my mission. What was everybody's favorite present they got for Christmas? I can't believe that I'm going to be 19 in a few weeks it's my last year as a teenager for the rest of my life oh my word time just flies by so fast. It just keeps getting faster and faster every year. I love all of you so much and hope you had a wonderful Christmas and will have an awesome New Year. 

Love, 

-Elder Wolford

Cow Stomach...Blah!

What up Fam,

So the other day we were over at a members house and were talking with them and asking if we can wash our clothes there the next day. My comp and the Hermano play little dumb games to get each other ether wet or  jacked in the nutz, luckily it was just trying to get each other wet this time. After a few minutes I joined and tried to get the Hermano wet and after 15 to 20 minutes everyone was soaked from head to toe. It was a ton of fun other than I walked home dripping. Ok so I herd that France was attacked and a ton of people died what is up with that? Also I heard that America was attacked too, do you know anything about that? Oh my the other day we had lunch at this Hermanas house and she normally has pretty good food, but this time was different. When we walked in it smelled super good and I was starving at this time of day because they don't eat lunch until 2 in the afternoon. She brings out soup first then something I did not recognize, my comp looks at me and says, ¨That's cow stomach.¨ ok well that's alright. It tasted pretty good, but the texture is what hit me the most because I felt like I was chewing on a raw tongue or something. First off Nancy you are an angel sent from our Heavenly Father thank you so much for doing that, you didn't have to. Today I got to go to the temple which was pretty cool because it was all in Spanish and it was cool to go inside a temple outside of Utah. It's very big, but there was not a ton of people there when we went. After that we went to a museum that had a boatload of cool stuff in it about Ancient Mexico and about the temples that are in Teotihuacan and the best part is a member is taking my comp and I next week so that is going to be the highlight of that day. I took a ton of pictures and hopefully I can send you them. I love you all so much and will talk to you later.

- Elder Wolford

Street Tacos

Dear Familia,

Oh my goodness this time of my life is full of adventure and mystery's at every corner. This last Thursday I had to go to the offices because my comp needed to renew his visa so I got to hang out there for awhile. Some of the Elders asked me if I wanted to go through the Tiangis with them and look around. They are like a bunch of little shops down one street. Anyways and they said we can get tacos too. I was warned before don't eat from those places until you have hit a year in the mission. Oh how I wish I did. So I got a taco and it was super good and only 20 minutes after I ate it my stomach was being a little weird and I didn't think much of it. Then the second we got back to the offices I had to go pretty bad so I speed walked to the bathroom and let it go. Little did I know that I would be in butt pain for the next two days. Now I'm all good and feel totally better. Well Christmas is coming up and I know that there is not much I can do with the money I have, but I have been getting little treats and things that my comp really likes for him. I just thought it would be nice to do and it makes me feel super good even better than getting something. Ok so I'm singing in the choir that they have for this next Sunday because it is stake conference and I have to because my comp plays the piano. They said that these people in the choir are the best out of the stake and to be honest I think a group of cats and dogs could make prettier sounds than these people do. If you were to get survivors from the Titanic to listen it would bring back the memories of that awful day. That's a little mean, but it's true. Earlier today we went to the center of Mexico City and looked at some really cool cathedrals around there and while we were sitting on a bench with a member in the only park in Mexico City a guy walked by and looked at me and I said, ¨Good afternoon.¨ and he said it back. Then the member that we were with said that guy was gay and I was like how do you know. I know because he looked back at you five times already since we started talking. Oh that's a little weird. Then I just lost it because I thought it was super funny. I was talking with Pres and his wife the other day and they said that it looks like you will have the new Pres and his wife for about 10 days before you go home. Oh yeah and my return date says July 22nd 2017 it is really two weeks earlier than that because they want to make sure that no one has problems going home so I'm really only going to be out 23 1/2 months. My Book of Mormon reading has been totally fantastic because every time I have read I get a question answered and it is blowing my mind. The blessings I see now because of the knowledge that is coming while I read is just out of this world. It reminds me of the time when I was really young and the missionaries were sharing the stories that are in it and how cool they are and now it brings back those times and I'm loving it. We are doing good with the people we are teaching and we had 11 less actives at church this last Sunday. They want us to work more with the less actives in order to strengthen the members because they baptize a lot every year, but the people that come to church remains the same so that is what we are working on and it is great even though I don't understand what is going on half the time. The words I probably say the most to my comp is, ¨What did they say and what is going on?¨ Apparently I can renew my green card when I turn 21 and it stays valid for the rest of my life and I can technically buy property down here cool huh. I'm going through about as much milk here as I was at home it's to dang good and for some reason it is apart of me. I love you all so very much and love hearing the stories back at home. Keep reading and listening to the Spirit because he has some pretty cool things he wants you to do. Love you and have an amazing week.

-Elder Wolford

Day of the Dead

Dear Familia,

Oh my goodness so much has been happening here in Mexico and I can't believe that I have been here for three weeks. So last Friday I was not feeling so good like my allergies were being very dumb and I was sneezing all day for some reason and there was no way I could stop it. No joke I sneezed about 235 times it was awful. Everywhere I went I would sneeze and the people here would say bless you our salud. Later that same day I was looking out of the window in our apartment and I see a guy only in his boxers on top of a garbage truck that was super weird, but hey that's Mexico. Last Wednesday the whole mission got to listen to Elder Neilson from the 70 and he is in charge of the missionaries, it was really good because he spoke English so they had a translator for Spanish so I was super blessed because I'm still pretty bad at it. He talked a lot about how we can improve the way we work and what ways are more effective. I really learned a ton and can't wait to actually apply it to my teaching when I will finally be able to. The day before Halloween my comp and I were invited to a little kid party with members and they asked if we could help with decorations and other stuff and my comp and I thought it would be cool to have costumes too. So he went as Clark Cent and I went as Captain America. We had the super hero shirts under our white dress shirts it was super awesome and the member asked if I would show the little kids how to dance like an American, so I did and it was really funny because they thought I was from out of this world. Everybody now calls me Gigantic. On Halloween day though we could only be outside till 2:00 p.m. because Pres said that it can get a little crazy at night, so we stayed inside for most of the day and he said that if it gets crazy Sunday go inside. We celebrate Halloween on the 31st they do to, but on November 1st they celebrate the day of the dead and apparently that's when people decide it is a great idea to get really drunk or high. 

On Sunday after church we were walking getting ready to go to someones house and that's when  someone threw a cup of coke at me and my comp.  Luckily we were talking about the Book of Mormon so we were protected because it landed right in front of me and behind my comp, but he had to jump a little to get out of the way, but there was no harm done. Ok so after my mission I'm totally coming back to buy something super cool. They have the Nacho Libre bikes down here and almost everyone has them because they use them to sell food. They are not motorized though, but I think I could get someone to help me build it haha. A ton  of stuff here is really cheep so it's super easy to get stuff, but somethings are just plane expensive and to much for the budget of a missionary. I really wanted a jump rope so I could use it in the morning for my workout, but of course they are not great quality and pricey so I bought 10 m of rope for about 50  pesos and made myself one and it works pretty well. Alright I want to say Happy birthday to Eli and hope you get that room the way you want it bub, have a good one and wow 14 already man that's  crazy now you're going to be a teacher now. Time  is going by so fast. Also Happy birthday to my awesome grandpa that has been in a ton of important parts of my life and has taught me so amazing things. He really is one of my biggest examples because the love he has for others is unbelievable and I hope one day I can love people as much as he does. I love you Eli and Paps and wish you both a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I don't know why they are getting home so late, but this one will for sure because I didn't get time to write until 8:00. The weather here is really consistent and my comp says it never really changes even in the winter. Oh and it doesn't snow so have fun with the snow up there. So just a little about my comp Elder Millar he is 19 and has been out for 13 months, he is from Murray Utah and went to Hillcrest High, he loves to play golf, climb, and mountain bike. He is flipping awesome and we know some of the same people which is pretty cool and we get along super well. So we are teaching a couple of people right now and working on  getting them ready for baptism, but it is a little difficult because my comp is the only one teaching because I can't do very much other than give a little prayer and testimony with my broken Spanish. That is probably the thing 'm dreading the most because I want to talk so bad and help teach too, but I don't know enough yet to do that and that's killing me sometimes. I know it will come because I have the faith that it will and the desire to learn. I won't lie it is hard, but we were made to do hard things. I'm pretty sure by mother's day I will have a pretty good grasp on it. I love you all so so much and pray for you. Continue to study the Doctrines of Christ and read in the Book of Mormon because this is were we find the answers to our questions and desires. As well as it will be our guide on the path of truth and righteousness. Again I love you all and can't wait to hear from you.

- Elder Wolford 

Grasshoppers and Hurricanes!

Dear Familia,

Oh my goodness this place is so cool because I can get anything I need just a couple of blocks away from my house in every direction and the food has been super good so far. I have been really blessed with not getting super sick yet and the people are really nice. Where do I begin...well we didn't get any rain from the storm and we were getting ready for it by getting extra water, food, etc. Thankfully though it died out pretty quickly. Yesterday I got the chance to eat some grasshoppers and they were pretty good because they tasted like peppers and lime and I have some pictures I will try to send. Ok so every Sunday they have choir practice after church because they are getting ready for stake conference and they want me to be in the choir because my comp plays the piano and they need more guys, so I joined and I'm telling you they are really bad. Remember at Kyall's farewell the church choir was pretty bad and Kate looked at you and said,"Oh my gosh they were absolutely terrible." It is a thousand times worse than that day. My  comp  and I for Halloween are going to wear super hero shirts under our white dress shirts and it's going to look super cool because he is going to be Clark Kent and I'm going to be Captain America. It is going to be super cool. Here  in Mexico we have competition for teaching people. The Jehovah's Witnesses tell people that the Book of Mormon has weird stuff and that none of it is true, but the really funny part is that they talk to people about my comp and I. They say we are really handsome and strong and they might see us walking around sometime to try and talk to them. The best part is they gave me a nickname and some of the people here call me that. They call me Goliath because they think that I am huge and strong, but can be slain  by a rock haha. No seriously though they call me that and others because they can not say Wolford they call me Waffles, Gigantic, Lobo, and  a few others. My Spanish is coming along everyday, but I still can't say a whole lot. I can understand a little bit more though which is good because now I can tell if they are making fun of me or if they try to trick me as well as when they say,'' Oh you don't understand do you? Anyways my comp is awesome and my area is really great because the members here are really helpful and they always have food for us and to be honest I might gain weight here rather than lose weight. We had an awesome lesson with an inactive member and it was super cool to see the change of heart he had during the lesson. You could even  see it in his eyes. I did't say much, but my comp said exactly what needed to be said it was so cool. Well I love you all so much and can't wait to bring you here someday it is so flipping awesome.

-Elder  Wolford