Week 5---December 29, 2016---NAVIDAD, LOCK YOUR HEART, LAUGHS AND SCARES, DREAM CATCHERS ARE A MARKETING MYTH

         Picture 3. Upward angle photo of the companionship that runs the CCM.  

Navidad

Here in the CCM we celebrated Christmas with songs. Mucho songs. Like almost the entire day was filled with meetings, and like almost all those meetings were filled with song-singing. All in all, probably around 25-30 different times where sang. I thought I loved Christmas songs, but man, I think I need a break haha. 

The day before, we had a white elephant gift exchange for our district. I brought one of my smelly shoes as a joke, but the best joke was Elder Simmons brought a 5 foot toilet plunger wrapped up in bed sheets. The Hermanas were less than impressed haha. 

 

The best part about Christmas was calling back home for a half hour. As missionaries, we are limited to weekly emails and four phone calls with our family during the next two years. Thus, getting the opportunity to speak with my family was awesome. Family is one of the greatest blessings in my life. 

Lock your Heart

Another rule as missionaries is to not associate with members of the opposite sex in a flirtatious manner. I guess some kids haven't read the rule book yet, because the girls in our district have had all kinds of flirting coming there way. The guys in our district had had enough of the Hermanas (that's the official title for the girls serving missions) being harassed. We have proceeded to get big brother on any Elder (the official title for guys serving missions) that has worked up the courage to break the rules and flirt with one of the Hermanas. Needless to say, the incidents of Elders trying to get at the Hermanas has decreased dramatically since our operation kicked off. 

Laughs and Scares

We always have some good laughs here in the CCM. My district loves to joke and laugh. The only downfall is our teachers don't have the same feelings. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges is learning to laugh at the right time. Its definitely a work in progress. 

Also some Elders in our district love to scare people. When we get home at night, Elder Simmons and I are always paranoid and scared to death, because we know that the Elders are hiding somewhere in the dark casa just waiting to scare us. 

Dream Catchers are a Marketing Myth

One of the devotionals we attended, the speaker talked about how people treat life like they have a dream catcher. That if they can dream something, than the dream catcher will take care of bringing that dream into reality for them. He said "Thats a lie." "Dreams come true not by dream catchers, but by hard work." That rang true for me. Often we get caught thinking that dreaming big is enough. Its a first step, but calculated, hard work is part of every next step after that. 

Picture 1. The Classroom we spend all day in. 

Picture 2. Elder Simmons, Elder Grimshaw, Elder Pizzi, and myself in front of our casa.