What a week! It's been so crazy. So, I get ther Wednesday and they take me to get my nametag, put my stuff in my room, etc. and then straight to class. Hermano Osuna, the teacher, didn't say a word in English (He does in class now, I think it was partially a scare tactic the first day). It was ther that I met my companions Elder White nad Elder Cloward (more about them later). After class was a new missionary meeting/orientation, and then dinner. After dinner they had us, in large groups of missionaries (50-70), "teach" three "investigators" to show us how difficult it is to teach, and how important teaching with the Spirit is. That brought us to time to go back to our rooms and unpack, get ready for bed, and sleep. Hopefully through sharing this I can kinda convey a little of what it was like for me my first day. I will say that it was the longest half a day in my life! And the days here all seem pretty long, because we're doing so much from when we wake up at 6:30 am until we go to bed at 10:30.
So a typical day here goes something like this: At 6:20 I get up, say prayers, and generally get ready. 7:00 is "personal study time" for an hour and then Breakfast at 8:00. After Breakfast is Gym (on some days; we switch gym time every day). After gym we get showered and ready for more study time (all study time is in our classroom, which is always the same room) until Lunch. After Lunch is more study time, until we have class with Hermano Osuna where we usually learn Spanish for three hours. Then we have dinner and some more study time until we go teach our "investigator" Ariana. After teaching her we study until 9:20 when we go back to our room and get ready for bed and wind down, and then lights out at 10:30! Rinse and repeat.
This kinda begs the question: what do I study during all that study time? Mostly we (my companionship) prepare to teach Ariana. I also take time to read the Book of Mormon in Spanish (El Libro de Mormon). There's also about an hour a day when we go to a computer lab and learn Spanish on the computers. So, although there's a lot of study time, I don't get a lot of time to study for myself, but that's ok because I'm not here for myself, but for the Lord and it's his time I'm on.
Quickly about my companions, Elder White is from Preston, ID, home of Napoleon Dynamite, and Elder Cloward is from Springville, UT. They're both great people and fun guys to be around. Unfortunately Elder Cloward had to leave today and go home, because he had bad anxiety and needed to go home to get treated for that. We don't know if or when he'll be back, and he won't be back with us, but it was great having him.
-Elder Whitaker
So a typical day here goes something like this: At 6:20 I get up, say prayers, and generally get ready. 7:00 is "personal study time" for an hour and then Breakfast at 8:00. After Breakfast is Gym (on some days; we switch gym time every day). After gym we get showered and ready for more study time (all study time is in our classroom, which is always the same room) until Lunch. After Lunch is more study time, until we have class with Hermano Osuna where we usually learn Spanish for three hours. Then we have dinner and some more study time until we go teach our "investigator" Ariana. After teaching her we study until 9:20 when we go back to our room and get ready for bed and wind down, and then lights out at 10:30! Rinse and repeat.
This kinda begs the question: what do I study during all that study time? Mostly we (my companionship) prepare to teach Ariana. I also take time to read the Book of Mormon in Spanish (El Libro de Mormon). There's also about an hour a day when we go to a computer lab and learn Spanish on the computers. So, although there's a lot of study time, I don't get a lot of time to study for myself, but that's ok because I'm not here for myself, but for the Lord and it's his time I'm on.
Quickly about my companions, Elder White is from Preston, ID, home of Napoleon Dynamite, and Elder Cloward is from Springville, UT. They're both great people and fun guys to be around. Unfortunately Elder Cloward had to leave today and go home, because he had bad anxiety and needed to go home to get treated for that. We don't know if or when he'll be back, and he won't be back with us, but it was great having him.
-Elder Whitaker