The Mexico Missionary Training Center-Elder Andrew Cherpeski

8/5/2018

Well, as all of you know, I soon leave for Mexico City before heading on to Chile. I'm sending this email out as a final pre-mission message.

The start of the Amiens Offensive on August 8th 1918 to the armistice on November 11th 1918, constitute what was called the "Hundred Days Offensive" of World War I. As a history nerd, I cannot help but point out that the first hundred days of my mission coincide with the one-hundredth anniversary of the Hundred Days Offensive!

Therefore, I will title my group emails for the next 3 months as "The Hundred Days Offensive", in honor of such a historic event.

Anyways, I hope to hear from many of your in the weeks and months ahead!

Sincerely,

(Soon-to-be) Elder Cherpeski

8/6/2018

Hey guys, we had a great week of work and had lots of investigators come to church on Sunday.  The time is going by ridiculously fast.  In 12 days I'll have 16 months in the mission.  The point of todays email is to send off Andrew to the mission with a couple tips haha.

1: Don't freak out when you see Mexican traffic.  It may appear that every 2 seconds you're going to crash, but everyone is highly trained drivers.

2: The first full day in the MTC is longer than 3 months in the mission field.  Once you get past that day you'll be fine.

3: When you don't understand what someone is saying just smile and say sí.

4: Don't get down on yourself for the language.  It honestly just comes with time.

5: Read the scriptures everyday, and liken them to your life.

6: You'll find that some missionaries arent very obedient.  Don't follow their example.  Just keep yourself obedient, and dont criticize them for not being obedient, just show and invite them through your example.

7:  Keep a journal and record specific feeling and events.

8: Leave behind all your worrys and doubts.  The mission is a 2 year vacation from normal life!

9: When you're feeling down, read your patriarchal blessing.

10:  Last but not least.  Remember why you're doing this.  You have been called to invite others to come unto Christ.  Let that be your fuel that keeps you going.

Good luck with everything.  He aqui, una obra maravillosa está a punto de aparecer entre los hijos de los hombres.  You're going to be part of this incredible work.  I'm always here if you need advice.  Mucha suerte mañana con todo!

I hope everyone has a great week.  Love,

Elder Cherpeski

8/7/2018

Well, I made it safely to the MTC without any incident in what is probably the craziest day of my life so far!

My Preparation days are Fridays.

Have a great week!

Elder Cherpeski

8/17/2018

Hey all!

I have a lot to write about and only 1.5 hours to do it, so I am going to give priority to this email. To all of you who emailed me, thanks! I really appreciate the messages! If I do not get back to you personally, it is just because I am focusing on this email today.

The Trip Over

First, I have a confession to make:

The moment I said goodbye to my dad early on Tuesday morning was literally the scariest moment of my life. The flight over to Salt Lake was fairly uneventful, though I did have to book it over to the port for my other flight. I cannot describe how much of a relief it was to see all of the other missionaries standing around. Sheer relief. The first people I talked to were two sisters from Idaho Falls. Crazily enough, one of them was actually from Ammon! 

The best moment of my day was when I took first class from Salt Lake to Mexico City. I was literally in seat 1. It turns out that I was the only missionary to be in first class, so that was pretty great. I had lots of room, and even got a banana in the middle of the flight. I rested, wrote in my journal, and ate. I have to say that I kinda like that gig!

Arriving at the Mexico City airport was bizarre. It suddenly dawned on my that few people here know my language. The traffic in Mexico City is indeed crazy. I was actually surprised by how slow the roads were here (typically 40 or 50 kmh), but the sheer density of cars makes it a difficult trip. Very dirty and polluted! Our bus made it through without incident, but its lack of air conditioning really made things rough.

I did not expect the CCM (Mexico Missionary Training Center), to be as large as it is. I had the impression that it was would consist of a few buildings. In reality, the CCM is 87 acres (Larger than Provo´s MTC) in size and is basically a small town. I was assigned to Casa 25. Each of the Casas has 5 bedrooms as well as laundry and common rooms. Each room has two bunk beds, so it´s four people to a room and bathroom.

First Days in the CCM

Every Tuesday evening, there is a devotional for the entire group of missionaries. It turns out that my group of missionaries is one of the largest to ever come to the CCM in one week: 226, so the place has been a bit more crowded than normal.

When Brandon was here he told me all about the Mangos and how good they were. Imagine my surprise to find out that THERE WERE NO MANGOES!!! The cantelop is really good, but there are no mangoes to be found. I presume that they are seasonal. Speaking of seasonal, the weather here works like clockwork. Foggy and cool in the mornings, hot and sunny in the afternoon, and raining in the evening. It literally rains every night. It is not a question of whether there will be rain or not, but it is a question of whether it will sprinkle, or flood.

My companion is Elder Thomason. Hailing from Gilbert, Arizona, Elder Thomason is an obedient and dedicated missionary. He played Quarterback in high school, and took first in state in his division. Here is the pros and cons chart of my MTC companion:

Pros:

Works hard,

Obedient,

Faithful,

Optimisitic

Cons:

Doesn´t like going to bed

Farts a lot

I think that sums it up!

Aside from my companion, I share a room with Elders Richards and Ormond, who both went to the same high school as my cousin Noah! Speaking of Elder Talbot, it turns out that he is still alive and kicking, so good for him! We are in the same zone, so we have the same sacrament meeting.

Another neat encounter: One morning, Thomason and I sat next to an Elder Harmon. We got to talking, and when I mentioned that I was from Oregon, he said, ¨Hey, my brother served there. Did you know him at all?¨ It turns out that our Elder Harmon who married Sister Fletcher has a brother headed to Peru at the same time as I´m headed to Chile. It´s pretty crazy!

My morning teacher is Hermano Jacob Mora. Hmo Mora is a really nice guy, who likes to encourage us on. Hermano Oscar Valdez  in the afternoon is a bit more devious. His favorite thing to do is cock is head and say ¨eh?¨ if we say anything to him in English. Whenever we ask Valdez a vocab question, he responds¨Dictionario!¨ Both are really cool though. Hermano Mora actually went to the CCM when it was still a high school.

The Plague

My companion got sick on the first Wednesday, and I followed suit the day after. It was not fun to get a cold right away! ¡No bueno! However, my entire district avoided stomach virus that got over a quarter of the missionaries here in the first week. There was a quarantine imposed and everything! Fortunately my cold and the pandemic are over now. 

Summary 

A lot of stuff´s been happening, and it is hard to get it all down. Hopefully this will suffice for the week! I was pretty busy today because we went to the Mexico City temple.

Please, keep the emails coming. They made the week!

Regards,

Elder Cherpeski

Elder Taylor is a member of my district who is heading to Concepción as well. I am still cracking over the way he said something:

¨Satan, that guy´s a jerk!¨

It was the best thing I heard all week.

My best joke of the week:

Elder Richards: Hey who didn´t flush???

Me: It was probably Elder!

8/24/2018

Hello all!

I´m excited to write to all of you today for this hour that I have. As a note to my mom, please correct any mistakes I make in writing. I don´t have a lot of time, and my spellcheck is in Spanish, so if you could help me out that would be great!

I was reflecting on how strange it is to always have a nametag on. One of the first things that we all did when we got to el Centro de Capitación Misional was put on the new nametags. Nowadays, I do not leave the Casa without it on. I think of this with the recent MTC devotional broadcast from Provo where Elder Christoffreson emphasized the importance of the name of the church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or as I know it: La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días). 

Life in the Centro de Capitación Misonal

I am now convinced that learning a language is one of the hardest undertakings possible. There are so many words! Oh well, I am already progressing at a solid rate.

Our little Casa is the best part of the CCM. It´s where we sleep, shower, and relax, during whatever time that we have to do such things.

Food here is okay. It seemed pretty good the first week I was here, but all of us are getting a bit tired of it. However, today we had hamburgers which really made us a lot happier. It was really good, and I ate until I was stuffed. Pretty much every meal here comes with meat, which does get long after a while.

We spend most of our time in our classroom. A lot of time! It is where we study, have Spanish classes, plan mock lessons, and plenty of other stuff.

Of course, when I say us, I am referring to my district, the people with whom I spend 16 hours a day.

I´ll talk about half of them here today as part of my group email.

Elder Thomason is my companion here at the CCM, which means that we basically spend all of our time together. He has a hard-charging personality that occasionally chaffes with my much more laid-back nature; however, Elder Thomason is hard working and obedient which makes it much easier to follow the CCM rules.

Elder Richards is one of my roomates and a total goofball. I am pretty sure that his smooth and energetic method of communication can transcend any language barrier. His stunts have included putting on Hermano Valdez´s second tag and imitating him to much hilarity, and starting a OREEOOO chant. First with him tapping his foot to a beat, then starting the chant, and finally pausing momentarity to call in another member of the district until the whole district has followed suit. 

Elder Ormond is my other roomate. He is not a particularly vocal person, especially in comparision to his energetic companion, but he is probably the smartest person in the district (besides me;). It is also apparent that he has made sacrifices in his life in order to be out here. He is the only other person in my district headed for BYU.

Elder Taylor is one of the four missionaries in the district older than 18, though you probably would not be able to tell from his higher pitched voice. Elder Taylor hails from small town southern Utah and is one of the funniest people I have met. The things he does, the things he says, and the ways he says and does them are somehow super funny.

Elder Moore is the most reserved member of my district. He was a dedicated soccer player before he came out here, so I am sure he will have no problem adjusting to that in Chile. From what he has told me, he only started attending church full-time about a year ago, so I am super impressed that he would come out here!

Summary 

   

The worst day of this week was Monday. For some reason, that was the day that the enormity of two years hit all of us in the district. Spanish seemed especially daunting that day.

However, this day is great. For one thing, no classes. Another is that Elder Bednar is coming tonight. The Apostle assigned us to read two of his previous talks to prepare for this devotional, so I am super pumped for him to come.

However, Elder Talbot will not be there, since he left early this morning. We hugged goodbye for two short ones last night.

I also got a pic with Elder Harmon.

That´s all I can pump out for this weeks folks,

I hope to hear from all of you.

P.S. Sometimes I forget I´m Mexico but then I see a parrot (not pictured) or a weird light switch, and it brings me right back.  

8/31/2018

 

Well another week has gone by, and things are definitely settling into sort of a routine. We spend lots of time in classes and study time, but the weeks have started moving a lot more quickly. I´m already in week 4 which means I am sort of a veteran now.

We twelve missionaries of Zone 8, District B have been going to some lengths to have fun. One is the ever recurring ¨steal the nametag¨. The funniest instance of this came when Elder Taylor took Hermano Mora´s tag during a hug and, after a few minutes, called out to him from his desk saying, ¨Hey, Hermano Mora, cuál es mi nombre?¨ 

¨Elder Taylor!¨, he replied incredously.

¨No! Soy Hermano Mora,¨ he replied showing his newly acquired name tag.

Lots of stuff becomes funny when you don´t have entertainment!

Only hours after I wrote last week Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to speak to us of the CCM. Unlike many of the Provo Devotionals, this one was just for us and was a much more intimate experience. The crux of his message was about the importance of learning by faith and that faith is a principle of action. His point for us missionaries is that to be effective missionaries, we need to help our investigators learn to act for themselves.

He bore a powerful witness at the end of the meeting of the truthfullness of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ that gave me a strong witness of the divine mission that I have as a missionary for this church.

Spanish is coming along. Though the full extent of the task is finally dawning upon me. It is a task memorization of monumental proportions of learning thousands of words. However, it is more than just learning vocab. It is about being able able to use those words in a cohesive and fluid manner. Moreover, pronounciation is different than in English, so there is also an accent component to the task. I am thankful for my powerful faculties which, although they do not particularly help me learn vocab, help me to form sentences in a more rapid and coherent manner than many of my colleagues. However, this task will take time, take effort, and take a lot of prayer.

Elder Townsend is the youngest missionary in our district (he turned 18 on the day of his farewell); however, he is a funny outgoing member of our district. He is from the same Draper high school as my cousin and Elders Ormond and Richards. He is a great story teller.

Elder Bingham, Townsend´s companion is the eldest member of the district at the age of 20. Raised by a less-active mother, Bingham only joined the church at the age of 18 only after years of discussions with institute teachers and his girlfriend. Until last November he had no plans of serving a mission, but his patriarchal blessing changed his mind. Much to his girlfriend´s consternation, he decided to put off marriage until after his mission. Since she too is going on a mission, I would not doubt that they will get married.

The Hermanas

It must be interesting being an hermana. All around the CCM, I witness districts full of energetic18 year old boys accompanied by a couple of sister missionaries. Our hermanas are the focal point of our district, since they bring with them a higher level of age, experience, and maturity. Both have boyfriends on missions that they intend to marry after they return home. I think that the age change´s biggest effect is that in greatly increased the chances of relationships lasting through missions.

Hermana Martin is outgoing and funny. At first, I doubted her depth; however, I have found her a source of spiritual depth and know that she will be an effective missionary in Osorno.

Hermana Weldert is from Ammon Idaho. She is the most studious person in our district.

I am running low on time here, so I think that I will cap off this message right now.

Have a great week, everyone!

Sincerely,

Elder Cherpeski

 

p.s. Additional thoughts on Elder Bednar:  First off all, he has quite a sense of humor!

Two weeks ago, we received an assignment from him to read two of his talks so we knew something about what the devotional was to be about.

At the beginning of the devotional, he laid two ground rules.

1 ¨do not take meticulous notes of everything that I say¨

As he put it to us. ¨the most absurd example of this excessive note-taking at general conference. Don´t they realize that it will all be on the gospel library in an hour?¨

Instead, he wanted us to take a ¨small plates approach to our note taking¨

2 No playing Guess what is in my head

To demonstrate this guideline, he called out a random Hermana from the front row and had her stand up. ¨Now,¨he said,¨I want you to recite the 3 principles of Baptism for me. I do not actually want you to answer this, but the sake of the demonstration I want you to stand here. Of course, you may know what those principles are, but when you are in front of 800 missionaries and an apostle, you can´t remember your first name!...whenever, you ask such a knowledge test question,The Spirit will not be with you.¨

The rest of the devotional was primarily where he would ask questions from the audience, and occasionaly respond to these answers. It was, in a sense, a demonstration of what he expects from us missionaries out in the field.

My favorite part of his presence was at the end. The Spirit was so strong when he bore testimony to us and delivered an apostolic blessing to us in our efforts to become effective missionaries.

9/7/2018
Well all, a lot has happened this week, and depending on when I leave, this might be my last email from Mexico!

In the meantime, I have been learning and doing much here at the CCM. 

The primary role of missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to preach the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hence, the primary focus of both my gospel and language study have been to advance this objective. Every day, we do mock lessons with our teachers who play the role of various investigators. My teachers, Jacob Mora and Oscar Valdez are both less than one year off of their missions, and the investigators that they potray are investigators that they taught while they were in the field.

The first lesson that Elder Thomason and I taught was on the Friday after we arrived. It was scary delivering a lesson in Spanish for the first time! Basically, we wrote out all the words we wanted to say and smiled and nodded whenever Efrain (Hmo. Valdez) spoke back to us. For the first two weeks of my time here in the CCM, we gave lessons to Efrain every weekday. This week, Valdez showed us a picture that the real Efrain had emailed him. Efrain is headed for Japan on his mission! It was cool seeing all the effect we can have on those we teach.

After teaching Efrain, we moved into our second phase of teaching, Roberto in the mornings and Alejandro in the evenings. This go-around was a lot smoother. My Spanish is awkward at times, and I struggle to understand conversational pace speaking, but in the slightly easier environment of mock lessons, I can actually have conversations. Overall, mock lessons are my favorite thing to practice here in the CCM because I feel that I get a full variety of Language, Gospel, and teaching practice.

As my friends probably know, I am a bit of a Grammar wiz. Ergo, my favorite thing about learning Spanish is learning the grammar and the conjugations. Pronounciation and vocab are much harder topics that will take a long time to internalize. Language classes are fairly instructive, and personal study has given me the ability to deepen my testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I marvel at how much I have grown in this month here at the CCM.

I am enjoying myself here at the CCM. When I leave here, I will miss all the friends that I have made in my district (Putting 12 people together pretty much night and day for five straight weeks works real wonders). However, I am excited to begin the real mission. 

Sincerely,

Elder Cherpeski

 

P.S.

Although this week was great overall, yesterday was a bit difficult for the district in aggregate. Hermanas Martin and Weldert are great missionaries and the center of the district, but they started to wear each other thin this week. Yesterday morning, Elder Thomason gave Hermana Weldert a priesthood blessing and I gave Hermana Martin a priesthood blessing, so that is a first!

Overall, however, the strain in the district left a subtle cloud of discord in the atmosphere, so that night when we got back to the casa all of us Elders gave our companions a priesthood blessing. It was a powerful experience, and it left all of us with a greater feeling of peace. My first two blessings were on the same exact day.

I am hoping that since today is P-Day, we will be able to relieve some of the tension.

I am glad that Elder Thomason and I get along despite our personality differences and occasional disagreements. I am also happy that I get along with all of my district mates.

I think of home sometimes and occasionally miss it; however, I do not feel in any way homesick. For that I am grateful.

 

9/14/2018

Hello everyone,

It is great to hear from all of you, and I appreciate all of the encouragement and support.

Tomorrow is Mexico's independence day, so it is going to be quite interesting. Then, on Monday morning at 3:30 a.m., my district and I report to the reception building to leave the CCM! We are taking the 8:05 flight from Mexico City to Santiago Chile. After arriving at about 6:00 local time, we are going to have a 16 hour layover--on Chile's independence day! So basically, I am going to be in two different capital cities for two different independence days over the course of four days. It is going to be pretty sweet!

This last week here at the CCM has been pretty good. Everyone is excited to be taking off for the real thing in just a few days. It was weird doing the last lessons with my mock investigators this week; however, I have learned so much in these last six weeks. For starters, my Spanish has increased by leaps and bounds. I understand most principles of verb conjugation and have seriously increased my vocabulary. My companion and I have gotten to the point that we can teach our lessons in Spanish without any notes, which is pretty neat. 

Moreover, I have been able to read from the scriptures far more than I ever have before and have learned great deals there.

It is strange to think that, within the week, I will be in the streets of Chile, but that is what is about to happen! I have grown enormously here in the CCM, but now it is time for me to head out into the real thing.

Another cool thing:

Last Saturday, I was talking to the new members of our zone and found out that they are headed to Queretero Mexico, which is the mission where my brother Brandon is serving. I told them to look out for him when they get there.