Frustration

Not much happened again this week and last night I fell asleep before I could write an outline for this email so it wont be very good today! I feel like I say that every other week, haha.

 

Elder Pack ordered a calculator watch like mine last week, so all this week we did fun calculations while we were walking around.  We never knock, especially in a Spanish Area, cause we'll never find any Spanish!  So we spend up to 8 hours every day walking around!  It's a lot of fun.  We have a lot of time to do random things like calculate what percent of our mission is 1 day and how many total hours is p-day.  It's a lot of fun.  I miss math a lot.  I tried to teach Brother Kelly how to do some basic calculus, but he didn't get it.  Oh well, I guess you don't really need it to deliver babies.  Maybe though. 

 

Before I left for my mission the first time Dad gave me some advice, to "learn to love the language and the culture and the people".  He said that there were a lot of missionaries in his mission that couldn't do that and he felt like they missed out.  Learning to love those things has actually been pretty hard for me!  The Mexican-American culture is probably the biggest hindrance to the work here in Odessa and was the same way in Hobbs.  The people are just naturally lazy, which is fine cause so am I, but also extremely unreliable.  It is not uncommon to have a member scheduled to come out with us who just never shows up, even after confirmation an hour before.  We had 5 lessons set up on Wednesday with 1 member to come.  The member canceled, 2 appointments punched, and the other 3 rescheduled forThursday.  So, on Thursday we had 3 appointments with 3 members, surprisingly all the members followed through, but all 3 appointments rescheduled again, for the next day.  We have made contact with these 3 investigators everyday but still haven't had a lesson.  Hahahah.  I love the Mexicans a whole bunch though.  Obviously it's not all Mexicans, but 98% is, so I just call them Mexicans.  I do love Mexican food though:) 

 

In Odessa all the missionaries get free food 2 times a week from local restaurants owned by members.  We also go to a place called Rosa's every Tuesday cause it's real cheap and then have district lunch at a buffet once a transfer.  Needless to say we eat a whole butt ton.  It is begging to destroy me.  When I got to Odessa I weighted 170, less than I did in 7th grade, and was in pretty good shape form biking a lot.  Now I weigh more and am in terrible shape....:(  SO Tom gave me a diet to do and a work out to follow.  Tom is the most healthy person I know, so I trust it.  Elder Pack and I are starting today to get healthy again....yay.

 

Anyway, that's it!  I love y'all a lot!  Be safe and read your scriptures! 

 

Love, Elder Porter