Letter #7

I'm in an area called Vega de Alatorre and I really like the place. It's a humble area and the people are super nice. My companion and I are learning each other's language a little at a time. I learn a lot when he speaks English because the grammar mistakes he makes are the ones that show me how to say things grammatically in Spanish most of the time. I think I'm making a lot of progress with the language, but it's hard sometimes to not fully be able to contribute to conversations with people yet. That being said, I know the Lord is helping me figure things out bit by bit. I know I don't address a lot of things in these emails because I forget what to write about while I'm at the keyboard so if any of you ever have questions you are more than welcome to write and I will answer. 

Christmas Skype summary:
Before Elder Finlinson left the CCM (MTC) he and two other missionaries sang, Lord I Would Follow Thee in a devotional. (Other missionaries were Elder Mardo and Elder Morgan).
He was able to see Coco and loved it. The area Presidency asked that all missionaries serving in Mexico see it and see what they could use with their investigators and to do Family History.
He had no idea where he was serving for the first few days. He said, "No one told me." So I asked him why he said El Campo blanco. To which he replied, "I was in the mission field, and referenced D&C 4, The field is white...". He now knows where he is but had no idea it was on the coast. He thought he was more inland. But later said, "That makes sense because we were invited to eat steaks on the beach for New Years, I was wondering how we were going to get there." 
He also said his area is in the boondocks. He is only in a small branch. They did have 30 people come to church but he said half of them were late and 5 of them were visitors. Not a Walmart in sight! :)
He is getting along with his companion but hasn't developed the close friendship like his first two companions in the CCM. But he thinks that will come in time. His other companions just set the bar really high.
He said the Zone Leaders were quite the partier's and was pretty sure they didn't keep all the mission rules. He feels like it is pretty lax in his zone. If they make it to an appointment great if not they will catch them tomorrow kind of mentality. (He was prepared and I think hoping for a little more structure.)
Elder Finlinson loves the food so far and feels like he actually may gain some weight instead of lose it. (We can hope!) He said he was weighing in at 69 kilos which is 152 pounds. He has had mostly chicken but someone fed them crab. He said it was an interesting experience trying to get it open but it was good. 
He said it is hard to feel clean because of the humidity and they shower using buckets of water. He also has to hand wash his clothes which has been an interesting experience. He said he had no idea what to do because we had never taught him how to hand wash. So he just put some soap on it , scrubbed, rinsed and hung it up to dry. He is learning lots of new skills! 
The Branch has been very sweet to the missionaries, one of the ladies bought them some cereal and sandwich stuff so they had food for the week, other than the member meals. The milk isn't like ours but he said it isn't as bad as every warned him it would be. 
He said the singing in church is horrible. They don't have a piano and everyone just picks their own key to sing it in and goes for it. 
He also teaches an English class on Tuesdays. 

Elder Marquez and Elder Finlinson

Letter #6 Made it to first area El Campo Blanco/ Vega de la Torre

 I made it to the field! My companion's name is Elder Marquez and he is from Argentina. It's pretty hot here. I haven't been here too long, but I know that I've still got a long way to go with Spanish. 

We just had lunch with a member a while ago and their house was nicer than I expected. Nice family too. We spent all day yesterday and today riding buses so I don't have a lot to say, but I have a couple pictures from this week and last. More should come eventually, but I don't know when.

My testimony of Christ:

Christ has performed countless acts of immeasurable love for us. Creating the Earth, Establishing His gospel here, Suffering for all that we've done wrong, and (clearly) more. Beyond that He is also our Brother. I know because of those examples as well as through the witness of the Holy Ghost that He loves us. He is, has been, and will always be ready to hear our cries and answer our prayers. That being said I also know that we have to trust in the timing of the Lord when we feel that we're struggling to receive his help. He knows exactly how to best help us because he has suffered it all. He suffered our pains, afflictions, temptations (Alma 7:11-12) so that he could know how to succor his people.

He is the perfect example, teacher, friend, healer, worker. This is because he has perfected the attributes that one needs to be such. Let us all take note of the life of the Savior of the world and strive to become more like Him. As a representative of His sacred name I bear testimony of these things and will continue to do so every day. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

-Elder Finlinson

Elder Finlinson with his trainer, Elder Marquez

First meeting of Trainer and Companion

 Elder Finlinson with Pres. & Sis. Esquihaus

Some of the new missionaries

Letter #5

I have a short second to write and just say I'm safe and in Xalapa. I don't have a companion yet.

The Priesthood blessing happened because while Elder Castillo and I were teaching one of the "investigators" I shared a scripture, Moroni 7:33 "And Christ hath said:If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." That was what our teacher actually needed in her real life so she opened up to us after the lesson about her life and Elder Castillo offered to give her a blessing. She had us do it with other missionaries from our district for some reason I can't remember. 

Being in Mexico for real will be nice. I'll miss a lot about the CCM (district, teachers, food, etc.), but I'm happy to move on. The President is cool, but I haven't had the chance to sit down with him yet. I don't have Christmas details yet. 

Elder Finlinson

Letter #4

Hey, so I don't have a ton of time, also I accidentally just deleted the email after I was done writing so I'm just gonna do this quick.  I'll tell you a bit about the week. We have been teaching an "investigator" for a few weeks now and today when we went to the temple I went through for somebody with the same name. So that was a neat experience to think about an investigator at the temple. 

Here's a funny story: Yesterday I had a banana I didn't want so I gave it to Elder Morgan. Turns out he didn't want it either so he left it on the stairs ( I didn't realize he had done this until it was too late to fix). One young, innocent Elder Harouni walked down the stairs a bit later, saw the banana and picked it up. He then started toward the garbage can when he seemed to have an idea. I saw him turn instead toward his companion and offer it to him. His companion got very excited, took it, and off they went. So in the end it all worked out.

 We don't have time on p-days for activities so there's little news there. I like the chicken here.  I'm ready to head to Xalapa soon. I keep forgetting to pray for my trainer, but I have the intention. I've given one blessing personally and stood in on others. (Answers to some of my (Julie) questions.)

                                                    Elder Finlinson with his new district.

Letter #3

P-day was changed the last couple weeks because we had to go to immigration one week. The other week was because you don't have a pday your first week and it was the first week for our latino companions so we just got on quickly on Monday before they arrived. 

The CCM has a lot of cool things about it. Little everyday miracles with language and faith, the food, getting to know the other missionaries and teachers. The fire wasn't threatening for us, but it looked really close to some homes. It was kinda funny though because we were in a hurry to get to another building when some of us saw it and slowed down. Our teacher was wondering why in the world we were taking so long until I pointed it out to her. Then when we had watched it for a sec we continued to rush on.

 The language is coming ok, but it's a process. My companion is Elder Castillo (from Merida, Mexico) and everyone thinks that we're the same person, we just speak different languages.We get along really well, which is good.(Moses 7:18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.) We get along really well as a companionship as well as a district. The new Spanish district is actually pretty fun, although the first few days were a little overwhelming. The other members of our old district have a totally different schedule, but they have class in the same building as us so we see them sometimes. They also have church with us. The new members from my district are from Mexico, Chile, Honduras, and California. 

Yesterday we listened to a devotional given by Elder Holland about the Holy Ghost in Missionary work. If you think about church stuff you see a lot of threes. Three members in a presidency, three witnesses of the Book of Mormon, three members of the Godhead, etc. So when missionaries are teaching they ought to be in a group of three (each mortal companion and the Holy Ghost). D&C 42:14 actually teaches us in the same language as the commandments (using the word "Shall") that, "If ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach." I found that interesting.

My P-day schedule has been a little crazy lately, but it should become regular soon enough. We're going to the temple again today so that'll be good. We don't have a ton of time to take pictures, but I'll see if I can't get some today and send them later. McCade is a champ, he's on the right track. On fast Sunday we were in an all Spanish branch, but I still figured I'd let them hear my testimony in broken language. A couple other gringos from my old district decided it was ok to go up after that. I feel like there's more to say, but idk what. Maybe I'll send more in a bit.

P.S. Thanks for your testimony and for raising me in the Gospel. I know I took some extra patience, but I grateful for it.

Have a great week!
Elder Finlinson

Letter #2 (Finally came)

Elder Bednar gave a devotional on Thanksgiving that was broadcast to the MTC here and I thought it was really quite good. Some thoughts I had while listening: Write down what the Spirit is telling you instead of the speaker. Your testimony is what you believe/know/feel, and conversion is how you act. When you need to overcome a trial don't ask for it to disappear, but rather ask for strength to be an agent in overcoming it. 

This week has brought forward an interesting opportunity. My district has been reaching past expectations and so the Presidency here has extended an offer to our district to be the first entire district to break apart and join the districts of the native Spanish speakers. We said yes. They're trying to figure out the logistics and finalize the
details, but I'll give you a rough sketch. We will have companions who speak Spanish and only Spanish. We will be in meetings where they speak Spanish and only Spanish. We will not be given any specific time to study Spanish. Essentially they will be trying to push us into a Spanish only setting before we hit the field. I believe this has been done before with individuals, but the district is excited about being the first entire district.

I was called to speak in Sacrament this week on the Atonement and boy was I surprised. I didn't even kind of expect to be called up so when my name was announced I wasn't thinking straight and forgot to bring my scriptures to the stand. It was alright though because the Spirit helped me figure things out.

Last thing: My favorite part of the week was when Elder Mardo and I taught a lesson about the First Vision and the Book of Mormon. We got out of the way of the Spirit and let Him do the work. I'll tell you what, that's what you need to do. Even if you think you can come up with a powerful phrase or you think you need to figure out your wording before making a statement... don't. Listen to your companion and investigator and it will be given you "in the very moment, what ye shall say". One thing I like about Elder Mardo is that when we prepare to teach we always go to different resources and prepare different parts of the lesson without even needing to talk about it in advance so when we come together it works well. 

-Elder Finlinson

I have a little more to say now, but that's plenty to read so I'll
just wait to update you all until next pday (which should be Wednesday
of next week, but who knows).

Letter #1 part 2

Week one is in the books and I'll tell you a few things I've learned. 1.They feed you really well at the MTC. 2. You can control your bladder longer than you'd think. 3. Mexico has better November weather than Utah.

Alrighty boys and girls, newsflash: Missions ask a lot of you. That's okay though because you have to have some strain to get the gain (1 Nephi 20:10). We went to the Mexico City temple today. It's a good looking temple, but I forgot to grab the thing I need to put a picture from my camera on the computer so maybe next week I'll send it (the pictures below are from other missionaries). My companion is Elder Mardo from Virginia. To give you an idea of our relationship let me share a brief experience with you. One day Elder Mardo was bored so he snapped my sock against my leg. Naturally I reached down and untied his show. After he retied it we sat in silence for a good 4-5 seconds before looking at each other at precisely the same moment when he said "I hate you" and I said "I love you too". We had a good laugh. And don't worry, we didn't do it during a quiet time. Our district leader told me we have a good companionship. My district is a blessing too, by the way. We taught 4 lessons this week and #2 was the best in my humble opinion. Learning a language is difficult, but it's coming along. 

Some advice for everybody: Listen to the Spirit the first time.

-Elder Finlinson

I was visibly pained by the task of striking a pose in one of these pictures, but understand that we did it for a reason. Look for the statue behind us. And let me know if the pictures even came through because I'm unsure of my method.​

Letter #1 From the CCM

The first week was a thumbs up. The CCM is pretty demanding, but it should be. 

I don't remember much about the plane already, but I remember what happened after. I had my first big mission trial right off the bat because the bus ride to the CCM had even worse traffic than people would expect in Mexico City. The drive took an hour longer than I think they said it would. It was a big trial though because I really needed to use the bathroom as soon as we got off the plane. Pretty much the entire bus knew what kind of a struggle I was having by the end of the ride. I jumped off the bus a good 15 minutes before we were supposed to (we were supposed to wait for another group to finish getting off their bus and whatnot) and when I finally made it to the bathroom it wasn't even relieving because I was still in pain for the next 30 minutes. I suppose my tender mercy this week is that I somehow made it through that ride.

 My companion is Elder Mardo from Virginia. He's a band guy (trumpet), but it's actually legit because he got a full ride for it and he's still good at basketball. The second lesson that we taught this week was probably my favorite part. Everything went really smoothly with the language, the lesson itself, and answering questions. The food here is good.

 My district is a blessing, pictured below. Our teachers are the absolute best (Hermano Valencia, Hermanas Miranda and Perez). Adapting to church clothes hasn't been too bad after all. I'm kinda scatterbrained right now, but hopefully between the two emails you'll have sufficient info. 

 Elder Mardo and Elder Finlinson

 Elder Finlinson's District

Elder Finlinson at the CCM with his District