Week One

Hey!!
So my trainer is pretty cool! He's from Pocatello and has like a year on the mish. I am his first ´kid´ in the mission so that's cool. He's a pretty good trainer. He speaks spanish just fine and covers for me when i dont know what to say. He has taught me how to teach the people here because you have to teach them reallllllly simply because they don't know much if anything about the gospel. But we are doing some good work!! He always tells me not to worry about stuff when i ask him though. I think that he thinks im a worrywart when i just ask a ton of questions to get to know what i should say! Idk it is just how i learn.

But besides that we have a lot of fun and i think are seeing some success. So you have to go 5 times to church before you can get baptized here so it kind of sucks!! it is a good rule though becuase a lot of the people dont stay active. You are not going to leave the mission with like 200 baptism anymore... but that is good because they used to baptize everything that moved and just go for numbers. We are looking for conversions not just baptisms.

But yeah the houses here are pretty much like all made of concrete. I doubt i will get a dirt floor anywhere but i suppose it is possible. There aren't really any bugs you have to worry about just like a ton of little lizard.
Well i don't have a super ton of time here but i will send some pics!! Ill try to take some better pictures so that you can see where i live and everything better. Its interesting here haha. The food is super good. The only think i dont really like is the raw onions they put on everything. haha. I doubt that will change much.



I love you guys and i really do feel the support i have coming from everyone, especially when it gets rough and the day gets long.

Ill try to write more next week and plan it out beforehand!!

Elder Marrott

Welcome to Mexico, and Hospital...

So...Here goes, answer these Questions:

1. What are your first impressions of Mexico?
Mexico is BEAUTIFUL!!!! like I am surrounded by mountains and trees and old buildings and just yeah!! I love it. but it is super ghetto

2. How much weight did you gain in the MTC?
I gained like 15 pounds... =( I was going for more. My goal by the end of the mish is 200. That is like 15 more so I think I can do it. although I live on a hill... haha

3. Who was your favorite missionary in the MTC and why?
Haha.... umm probably these two hermanas to be honest. that or Elder Peterson. The hermanas were awesome because they thought I was like the funniest person they have ever met and laughed at everything. I loved them and they like literally became my sisters and I loved it. Elder Peterson for pretty much the same reasons. That and he was just always fun to talk to. and Elder Smith. Idk. just them all!

4. What did you learn in the MTC that surprised you?
That God doesn't really need us. He is hastening his work. we just have the opportunity and privilege of helping him in that work. If he didn't have missionaries he would do it some other way. I am just an instrument in his hands for the spirit to touch those who are prepared by him. Because of that I get to learn amazing lessons to help me for the rest of my life.

5. Did you find your lost name tags? hahaha
No.... they gave me a temporary one and we ordered 2 more. It was totally awkward and annoying my first day. ugh. like the airport on the way to the MTC all over again. A missionary without his tag is a sad missionary.

6. What are you most excited to try in Mexico? Food? Places? Experience?
I am definitely most excited to just be able to talk to anyone I want and understand and speak the language good. The people are totally awesome and friendly and i just wish i could talk to them all. We get contacts off of the taxi drivers haha because they can't run from us but they are all way nice. Oh side note. Driving here is CRAZY like pretty much chaos. I am amazed there are not more accidents.

7. What has been the best advice so far on your mission?
Just don't hold back. Try everything whether it is food or talking or whatever. I have the spirit to support me and angels round about. Why be scared of anything?

8. What advice would you give new missionaries that you wish you had done?
Basically number 7, but also just get to know people and how they work before you get here. The right out of high school missionaries have it the roughest I think. You have to have some social skills out of the high school nightmare.

9. How do you feel your Spanish is now, since you're in Mexico?
Haha... I was one of the best if not the best in my district in the mtc. Here it is roughhhhh. people slur and talk so different then people who learned Spanish. Like those who are native have harder accents than those who learned Spanish.

10. Who Loves you MOST?
haha. God ;). jk mom. in all his infiniteness i think you give him a run for his money.

Well I'm sorry I don't have much more time. I will next Monday for sure. But I have to go meet some people in the ward and stuff. Soooo Next Monday I will be back to email!! I love you so much and I'll try to send pictures next week! the internet here is not too good so it will just take a bit longer.

Take care!!!

Elder Marrott

P.s. The mission home is where you mail everything. I just get it sent to me on like zone conferences and whenever I'm in cuerna. 3 postages for letters and idk about packages. I know if they are under 4 pounds its like 10 or less bucks. I think.

I almost forgot to tell you all where I am!! So I am in a little town called Hospital and it is kind of near Cuautla. a little south east of Cuernavaca. look it up!

Arrival in Cuernavaca, Mexico 7-21-14

Elder Marrott arrived safe and sound in the Cuernavaca Mexico Mission.  He has been assigned to serve in the Hospital Area in the Zapata Zone in Cuautla.  His trainer is Elder Holmstead.

Hermana Alynda Kusch, President Bruce C. Kusch, & Elder Kendall Marrott
July 21, 2014

Ojala

Hola!

So this week we learned like the coolest word in Spanish, Ojala. It pretty much means like i hope so or literally ¨to God¨ Apparently there used to be a whole lot of muslims in spain so it became a phrase but its pretty cool!  So like if you wanted to say i hope so or i wish this would happen you just say Ojala! lets hope the mexicans understand it.

So i got my Visa this week! we got to go down to Salt lake to the Mexican embassy there and get it. And we went with like a huge group of our zone, like almost half of us and it was way fun. Salt Lakians are not the nicest though haha.  Also! We got our travel plans for mexico and i am the travel leader for it! We have to get up at like.... 3:30 in the morning Monday the 21st so that's not the funnest but then we are going to fly to Phoenix Arizona and then to Mexico City where our mission president will pick us up!

It feels pretty real now.  I've been itching to get out of here and teach some real people for a while. Speaking of which, we got to talk on the phone to one of the converts our teacher helped teach! It was like super cool! we could hardly understand her because of the connection and it was on speakerphone but it was so cool to talk to someone who is a real convert to the church about how to improve and really be good missionaries. Her biggest piece of advice is just really care about them and be patient. If they say no, that just means they are going to say yes the next time. It was awesome. I love being a missionary for that reason. We also finished up teaching one of our Progressing investigators we taught for 2 weeks and he was so cool.

Well I love everyone and appreciate all the support I was able to get which brought me to this point in my life. I know it is where I'm supposed to be and I know that this work is of God!  God really does love his missionaries and looks out for them. I know this church is true and that as a missionary I will be specifically needed in bringing this truth to some of the people of Mexico. I can't wait!!!

Love,

Elder Marrott

P.S. So super weird. While we were talking to that lady on the phone, I got to hold a smart phone and an IPad at the same time. I didn't know what to do with myself!  hahahahaha.

4th of July Weekend

Hey!!!

So 4th of July was super fun. We had a regular day like usual during the day. At night we went to the chapel here on the west campus and watched a broadcast from the main campus of a little 4th of July program. There were some freakin sick musicians who were missionaries with like the piano and organ and violins and everything. It was really fun. Then we heard from one of the secretaries from the MTC presidency.

We got to watch 17 miracles though!!! Its such a good movie. Levi Savage is a stud. So is that captain Willie guy who was a bit mean but a good guy none the less. Mom, we are related to the family from the pie story right? Super weird... God works in mysterious ways haha.

So I can't remember if i ever wrote about our "investigators" but the first one we had who ended up turning into our second teacher was called Diana. Anyways she is SUPPOSED to get baptized today!! Idk how that works!! haha I sort of hate this whole fake investigator scheme they got here but it is way better than us scaring off real ones with our horrible teaching/spanish haha.

I really have had some powerful lessons that were like directly lead by the spirit to talk about exactly what some people needed to hear. It's so cool. We study like all day and then have 2 different lessons on either Spanish or how to teach investigators or sometimes both! Well, always both, because our teachers all speak like 90% Spanish just to get it ingrained in our heads. Anyways we do all this everyday just to make those 20-40 minutes we teach each investigator worth it. The fruits of being a missionary are short but the sweetest. I just can't wait to get out in the field so its real!! haha.

I just want to take this time I have writing to thank everyone that has been writing me and praying for me and even thinking about me. I feel the power and protection that comes through being a missionary. God has called all worthy and willing men who hold the priesthood to serve missions. To be honest there were other things I could have done and went into this because I knew I was supposed to. God makes all his commandments worth it. There are no opportunities that I am missing out on back home with school or people or whatever that will not be more than made up for when I get back. 2 years is a long time but its only the start of the rest of my life living as a disciple of Christ through the teachings I am learning and teaching here.

If anyone wants to write me you can on DearElder.com. I love those, they're easy. I love you all!! God bless you.

Elder Kendall Marrott

P.S. I am going to try to attach some pictures today of just random things I've taken pictures of. Not the greatest but I'll maybe try to prepare to attach more next week.

(I didn't have wifi this weekend while I was in Idaho, so I had to drive to McDonalds and sit in their parking lot to send my email. Kendall got it while he was online, here is his second response. Glad I didn't miss him, he was kinda disappointed until it came.)

Sheesh I don't have much time to respond, but it sounds like you guys are doing great!!! I miss Idaho. It's so much better than Utah ha ha. Oh Provo...

All the districts coming into the MTC are FULL of youngens right out of High School. I'm not so sure I agree with the age change haha. Maybe for girls but some guys are just immature. I'm so glad I got to go to college and to be honest it seriously really helps you mature. I'm not perfect but some people just don't have patience!!

Tell everyone HI for me!!! I wish I could have been there in Idaho. I do appreciate your package!! It was super cool and I loved it. I will probably use it more in the field because we are super busy here and like all downtime goes into planning or studying or writing letters. I love you and I'm glad I got this before my time was up!!

Elder Marrott

Spanish is fun

Elder Peterson

Studying