Week 2 - The Plague

I am typing on a spanish keyboard, I apologize for all spelling, capitalization, and punctuation errors in advance.

Elder Gardner's District at CCM

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT IT GOES ELDER MAXWELL, McFarland, KREUTZER, LAWRENCE, HARRIS, HARTWELL 

(NOW BOTTOM ROW) Me GARDNER, GARFIELD, GEE, HALLMAN, ABILEZ, OSTLER

Elders Ostler and Abilez

Elders Gardner and Garfield

Elders Harris and Hartwell

Elders Lawrence and Kreutzer

Elders Hallman and Gee

Elder Maxwell and McFarland

I have just completed the second week here at the CCM, it has been an interesting experience. Starting on this last wednesday I began to have some digestive problems, and some rough trips to the toitlet. I just would not end. I had to visit the toilet no less than 20 times during a span of two days. 

To make matters worse, everytime I would go back to eat and they would feed us some weird sausage crap that would absolutely wreck my digestive system. The milk here is so weird, it has an awful aftertaste and it makes my insides turn over. But when they feed us translucent eggs covered in avocade and sour cream for breakfast I usually choose the weird stomach milk. Despite the fact that I have had diarrhea all week, I still think about food a lot. 

I have dreams about hamburgers, pizza, real cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on real bread. I dream of ice cream, brownies, pie, and then more ice cream. I have just come to accept the food for what it is, my mindset when I go to the cafeteria now is changed. I have come to accept a low quality of food, when I go to the cafeteria I know it is going to taste terrible and that it is going to give me chronic stomach aches and then even more severe diarrhea. But, I still eat it, there is not a lot of other choices. I never thought I would adjust to a diet that comprises almost entirely of fruit and eggs but it has. They feed us eggs with every meal, and they do things to eggs that should not be done to the vilest of criminals. Their favorite sauce to put on eggs is a translucent snot like mixture that tastes like Play Doh, I just do not get it. Food is probably the number one comfort from home that I miss.

My companion is a nice guy, I just wish he would not whine. His name is Elder Garfield, but he is not similar to the cat Garfield, he is maybe 110 pounds soaking wet with ankle weights. I am a person who you just should not whine to, it is not within me to be tolerant of that. But I am learning, I have been extremely patient and have grown to respect him more as a person. 

During the day we sit in classes all day, and then the food is terrible, and there are people here that you really just have a hard time loving. But despite all of that I am having a great time, I am learning the Spanish language, and I am improving my study habits and teaching skills. It is all about the attitude, if you do not approach the MTC worthy, ready, excited, and willing to work you will hate it. I have felt the power of God around me as I have been engaging in this work, I feel like I am in the right place and I have felt in my heart that this is what I need to be doing at this point in my life. 

Yo se que nosotros vamos a tener muchos desafios en nuestros vidas. Pero, yo creo que los desafios haran nosotros mas fuerza. yo se que el evangelio de Jesucristo es en el mundo un otra vez, y yo se que la plenitud del evangelio es en la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias. Yo se que Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador y Redentor, y por medio de su sacrificio podemos ser limpios de nuestros pecados. Yo se que tememos un Dios, y que Dios es nuestro amoroso Padre Celestial y nos ama. Dios quiere por todos personas a volver y vivir con el despues de este vida. Estoy emocionado a compartir los buenas noticias con el gente de El Salvador. Estoy agradecido por todos de mis bendiciones y este oportunidad yo tengo a servir. 

If any of you have never read The Book of Mormon, I promise you if you read it and pray to know the truth of it sincerely it can make you a happier person and the Holy Spirit will testify the truth of it to you.

Thanks for reading, I hope that all of you are doing well and I wish you all the very best. 

With Love, Elder Nathan Gardner