Week 9

2 months he's been out. It seems fast, but slow all at the same time. Missing home because of the holidays, but he seems to be enjoying his area. He's adjusting, even if it's slowly! The usb port on the computer he was on didn't work, so no pictures again! Thankfully Elder Smith's mom sent me one :)

"This week has been a little  rough. Especially since it is the holidays and I want so badly to be home celebrating with all of you. We have a baptism this Saturday with one of the kids that they were teaching before I got here. We also still have teaching appointments everyday, even though a lot of times the people are not there in their homes and or they are busy. It is a lot of walking all day long and I wish that we had bicycles. My shoes get so dusty and dirty and I cant even imagine what they will look like in a year or two years. I do kind of like walking out to the far houses because we can take the shortcut and we get to walk by all of the fields and plants and trees which always makes me feel a little better. 

Today for pday we didn't do a whole lot. We went to the other apartment with our district, and then I just talked with elder smith, and we went and kind of explored around the city a little bit. He showed me a little artisan shop where a lady makes badges and little cool things. I got a cool little money pouch for my belt with a button that says usa, and also a leather bookmark with some peruvian design. Other than that everyday is pretty much the same.

Spanish is hard. the ward is pretty small, and no one can play the piano, and the people can not really sing at all. The people seem nice even though I cant really understand everything they say. 

  It is so awesome to see the pictures from wrestling, and I miss it so much. That is so awesome that Andrew won his first match just like me. I didn't win any others on varsity though, so hopefully he will. Also it is exciting to see that Austin is almost done with his papers. I remember thinking that it would be bummer if I went to the states but now that i'm here, I realize that it would be so nice. I am excited also to see how Eli does in wrestling, he will have to try a little tournament this year. It sounds like Emma is doing pretty good with volleyball too. I love to see all of the pictures and to get all of the emails every week since i miss you all so much. Love you guys, Ethan."

Ethan's district

Week 8 - Soccer and No pictures

Ethan forgot his usb cord this week, so we were kind of bummed not to get any pictures. I did borrow one of his zone from the mission facebook page. It was good to see his smiling face! He's still struggling with being homesick, adjusting to a strange place and learning the language. Keep him in your prayers. He needs it! 

"Hi how is it going at home? It is alright here.. I am really sorry that I can only send one email, there is barely any time and the computers here are so slow and the keyboard doesn't really work. It is pretty similar here so I'm not sure how much to write about. We have quite a few visits everyday but a lot of the times people just are not in their homes. The people here work all day everyday and don't really so a whole lot more. It is pretty dusty here and most of the roads are dirt, even in the middle of the town. There are also millions of moto taxis which is the front half a motorcycle and the back half is a carriage looking thing. 

Oh I can see the stars, they are not as bright but I can see them. The weather is hot in the day and pretty chilly in the night and evening with the humid wind. They have millions of little stores that people just set up in the front of their houses or rooms of the buildings. Our pensionist got a Peru soccer jersey for me from chiclayo and other than that not a whole lot. I ordered a triple scripture thing  from the office and want to find someone that can make a case for that and my English ones.

It was also pretty crazy all of the people that were celebrating after peru won the soccer game. They only scored 2 goals but we heard when they did. Me and my companion got some snacks from the little stores here and ate them while we listened to the people here. My spanish is getting better but it is still super hard. The people here speak so fast and a lot of the words sound like they are mixed together into one giant word. Hopefully I will be able to speak and understand soon. Today for pday we played soccer with our zone in the morning and then went to some place for lunch which was of course, chicken and rice and potatoes as always. Our cooking lady is pretty nice and the food is alright, but i do miss regular food. Hopefully everyone is doing alright at home, I'm excited to hear about how Andrew and Eli will do in wrestling. I love reading all of the letters.. It has been so hard lately, especially since I cant really talk to anyone or the mission  president because they all speak spanish. Love you guys, Ethan."

 Ethan's zone in Chiclayo.

Week 7 - First week in the field

It was so hard waiting so long without hearing how Ethan was doing. It was great to hear from him today! It sounds like he's near the city of Chiclayo, to the north. I am so grateful to know he has a nice companion! 

"I am writing a letter now I think I can only send one because I don't have very much time. I had to write a letter to the president in Spanish and that took a while.

Hi how is it going? I am adjusting to the new things here My companion and my trainer is Elder Fernandez. He is from Cochabamba Bolivia, and he has been out for 5 almost 6 months, and I am his first person that he is training. He is actually a pretty great person. I was pretty nervous at first because I didn't know how to talk to him but he actually knows a lot of English and wants to learn more. He probably knows as much English as I Know Spanish. So when we walk and talk he will try to talk to me in English and I try to talk back in Spanish. Other than that him and the other missionaries in our district are pretty fun. There is one more elder in our district besides me that is white. Elder smith. He is from Arizona too and was just in the group of missionaries the left for the field the day that I went to the CCM. He has been having some of the same problems that I have with missing home, so it is kind of nice to talk to him when we get to see each other. Our pensionist is a family with two kids who are like 5 and 2, they are very nice and fun to be around even though I can't understand them fully yet.

Our apartment we where in was really bad. I would feel more comfortable sleeping in one of the containers, but we moved into a different one today that is really nice. The rooms are just me and my companion. The area that I am in is Tarapaca, in the little town that is just north of Chiclayo called Ferreñafe. It is pretty dirty and the people here are pretty poor. I'm still trying to figure it out because people live in these apartment rooms with dirt or concrete floors but all of them have flatscreen tvs and smartphones. Everyone here is pretty excited as well because if Perú beats New Zealnad in the next soccer game they get to go to the World Cup for the first time in 35 years.

 Spanish is coming along but it is pretty difficult. Especially since everyone speaks so fast and all of the words blend together and seem like one really long word to me. This Sunday was a stake conference that they broadcasted in our building from the stake center that is 20 minutes away but no one here has cars. They broadcasted it through skype with south american internet so it was pretty bad quality, and i could not understand the Spanish at all. The members are pretty nice and help us with a lot of things. We had a missionary night on Friday and only one of our investigators showed up, but lots of members. The people here are pretty different, they will listen to our lessons and say that they will keep letting us teach but trying to get them to do stuff is a challenge. They wont show up to church or read, or pray, except for a few that are doing well. I will try to send a few pictures but i'm not sure how it will do since the internet is slow. Thank you for all of the emails, and I'm sorry that i don't have time to reply to everyone. I miss everyone so much and love you all. 

Bye, Ethan

Ethan with his district.

Ethan with his trainer Elder Fernandez.

Week 6 - Arrival in Chiclayo

This was an exciting week! Ethan got to leave the CCM early Tuesday and fly to his mission area! He got time for a quick email when he got there, so we know he made it safe. But, that's about it. I realized today I don't even know what city he's been assigned! We have to wait all the way until next Monday to get a real letter. Hopefully he is having a good week and loving his first area! His mission president has a Facebook page and put on photos and a video of the missionaries arriving in Chiclayo. It was so wonderful to see his smiling face! Oh how I miss this kid!!
Here is his quick letter and the pictures I took from the facebook page :)

"Hi we only get a little bit to email today, I think that I can only send a little note. I made it to Chiclayo. I had the interview with the president. He is really nice and he speaks no English. I got to see who my companion was, he is Latino and I don't think that he speaks English either. I hope that it will be ok. Hopefully everyone at home is alright and  I will have to email you more the next time that I get a chance."

I spy Ethan sitting at the table!

The new incoming Chiclayo missionaries with the mission president and his wife.

The newly arrived missionaries. 

Week 5 - Last week at the CCM

This was Ethan's last letter from the training center. He's heading out next Tuesday for Chiclayo. We're excited for him to get out to his area and get working! He is ready for a change and ready to head out and meet his trainer. The only downside to this is that he leaves early next Tuesday and won't have a pday until the following Monday. So, it will be almost two weeks before we actually get a letter from him. Hopefully he'll get to send an "I'm here" email. His mission president also has a facebook page, so we're also keeping our fingers crossed they post pictures of the new missionaries!
Here is Ethan's letter for the week:

"Hey how is it going at home? This week is a bit better since we are all getting ready to leave. I am excited to get out of the CCM and into the field. It has still been kind of rough for me though. In the mornings I usually feel pretty depressed and stressed, but then in the evening I usually feel pretty good. Last Saturday we went out and proselyted for a couple of hours with some of the other missionaries that are in the mission here. The missionary that I went with was from Trujillo, so he didn't speak English and I don't really know enough Spanish, but he was pretty nice. It was also pretty crazy that the people here will just stop what they are doing and listen to what we have to say. We talked to quite a few people and I tried explaining things and talking about the Book of Mormon, I hope that they understood what I was saying. The area that we went to was pretty poor as well. all of the roads were dirt but it is still a city with buildings everywhere. We got to go in and teach a lesson to a family  and they only had a couple of small rooms, with no roof over the laundry room. I got to say a prayer with them and I had a little kid crawling on me and others laughing around me, but it was fun. I also got to give away a Book of Mormon to one of the guys that we talked to. Lima is still very dirty though and there is grey dust everywhere. The temple is still closed and I don't think that we will be able to go back to it before we leave. For p day we went and cleaned another church building again. 

Spanish is getting easier for me to understand but it is still pretty difficult to say things back. I realized that I don't know a lot of Spanish when it comes to just talking with people, since most of the things that we are taught or that we teach all have to do with Church. Hopefully the people in Chiclayo are patient with my Spanish, and that they don't talk too fast. There are a couple of latinos here that came from Chiclayo or some of the other areas and they are some of the nicest ones, always smiling and laughing. They also kind of have a different accent in Spanish. Other than that the days here in the CCM are pretty much the same. The food is starting to taste better, or maybe I'm just getting used to it. We still have rice everyday for lunch and dinner, and a lot of toast for breakfast. I'm still curious if the food is different or the same in Chiclayo. Inka Cola is really good though. I usually get one every couple of days from the vending machine.

I am way excited for the package. There is some crazy stuff that goes on but not too much. Some missionaries dressed up last night with sheets and hats to tried and go trick or treating. Sometimes we make forts in our rooms with extra sheets, and for physical activity we play rugby which is pretty fun. 

Some regular food would be nice, thank you for the package. I'll make a list of anything that I would need and send it next time. One of the elders has a calculator watch from walmart that is pretty funny, like Dwight from the office. It might be nice to get a couple cheap ones so I don't get my nice one stolen. I have a couple more pictures they just take forever to send.

Until next week. Love Elder Lamb"

One of the rare sunny days. Looks like Ethan's got more freckles??

I'm not sure what this is. I'm assuming the CCM?  He didn't explain this.

Missionary work is tiring!