First week in Xalapa

 I'm glad everything is going so well for the family. Savvy's party sounds like it was quite a blast. At this point in the mission neither the mission nor home feels very real, but when I see you guys in the airport and remember my old world again it would be such a tender mercy to know everybody is doing well.

First week in Xalapa - fantastic. The Macuiltepetl ward is the first ward to be established in Xalapa and all the other ones have branched off from this ward in recent years. It shares the same name as Macuiltepetl, the giant hill in the center of the city. The ward is smack dab in the middle of Xalapa. Walmart, McDonald's, shopping centers, malls, all the rest of the things I haven't seen for a long while. A huge change from the other areas I have had. My favorite part about my area is because it's in the middle of the city all the streets are like graph paper - horizontal and vertical lines and very easy to navigate. I think this will be the quickest I'll have ever learned an area. Because it's right next to Macuiltepetl hill it's not quite as flat as I was hoping, but compared to Papantla nothing will ever seem steep again.

The ward isn't the downtown part (downtown is in the corner of the city), it's more like the ghetto suburban area of the city. It's the most dangerous part of town, but compared to what I just went through in Papantla I couldn't possibly imagine it being any scarier. My area is also quite small and makes it even easier to learn. As a sign of how old the ward is, it still meets in the same house of prayer the church started with here who knows how many years ago because the ancient members here don't want a chapel. After saying hi to the Bishop he said, really excitedly, ''How cool! I've never had an Elder from Spain before!'' I was sad to disappoint him. ''I'm not from Spain...I'm from Oregon. It's where they filmed Twilight (the only connection Mexicans have with Oregon)'' ''Oh. Then why do you have such a heavy Spanish accent?''

My favorite part of Xalapa - the climate. It's not hot and it's not cold. It's Oregon weather. Cloudy cool with a lot of rain. It's quite fun to walk around all day without sweating or shivering all day in 6 layers like my past areas have been. From polar opposites to right in the middle.

Elder G is awesome. He is hilarious, he knows the scriptures, and he wants to work hard. He is always happy. 

Our new mission president is going to be an American. President Greer, I think from Arizona. I have no idea who he is but I know he's not going to make us memorize lessons and he's not going to impose the exact same rules of his past mission on a different mission in a different time, so it should be good. Plus he's an American. Now all of our zone conferences will be in English... looking forward to it.

This is what the cops wear here.  They look like they are from space.

8:00 and it is still light.  This is the cemetery looming in the background, with the first semi truck I have seen in almost a year.

 My companion makes the best silly face.