Elder Saunooke's Email 3/7/16 ~ Used to Like Rollercoasters!

Ok so this week was a rollercoaster week full of ups and downs. I know that lots of it has to do with differences between my companion and I. Our relationship is improving but we are so very different hahaha... I like to joke and have fun and well.... yeah... 

We had like three days of practically pure walking, we are talking probably 16 miles in two of these days. Wednesday marked a year exactly since Papa died and I have been studying Alma 40-42 a lot. Interestingly enough, the year mark day, we went with an Hermano in our branch se llama Hermano Clemente. He is 77 and walks with a shuffle haha:) We walked everywhere that day and every appointment fell through, and i felt so bad that he was walking all this way with us. I took him into a store and told him whatever he wanted i would buy him. He chose a yogurt drink and I honestly loved being with him. While my comp was walking ahead i stayed behind and just asked him stories about his life. i couldnt help but remember countless times with Papa talking about life on the Reservation, football, and life in general. I missed him very much that day, and it wasnt until later that night that I realized what day it was.

Friday we taught a family of gold in the morning. They have an 11 year old boy that is a straight stud named Alex. We taught them how to pray and he was so excited and trying so hard to make sure he did it right. We also taught a sister who has lots of health problems... She sat in her hammock the whole time and talked about how her faith would one day allow her to walk again. She actually started to pee in the hammock right down on the floor and I realized how blessed my life is. Even though I have a bad attitude more than I should, and definitely dont want to walk 10 miles a day, how blessed I am that I can. 

We had an experience later that day with an hermano that we attempted to teach in our other area Tzucacab. he was laying in a chair in front of his house, and told us he would rather sleep. I asked him if we could sing for him, and he kind of blew up on me and told me that in the bible it clearly states that we shouldnt praise God in the streets... some people test me hahaha, but I have mastered the Michael Westen fake smile;) 

We also had our first real experience with someone that genuinely hates us. We have an investigator who always works in a hardware store on Sunday and so we thought we would go and visit her boss. We went to see him, and he welcomed us with open arms and was straight awesome. His daughter was there too and is probably about 23 or so and we sang Families can Be Together Forever. His wife was sleeping but when she heard us, she stormed out of her bedroom to tell her family how we only want to change her religion and went upstairs and slammed the door. And so went that lesson....

Sunday we had probably 20 people mas o menos en la casa de oraciòn. It was not a lot, and we teach the youth. It is so weird to be a youth teacher because sometimes i honestly feel like I am still a youth hahah but it goes to show how fast life is.

Love you all tons,

Elder Saunooke

Elder Saunooke's Email 2/29/16

So... I finally had divisiones! I had so much fun. I literally had my eyes opened and realized that the mission can be fun too. I was in Oxzkutzcab with Elder Gomez and we first had our lunch appointment with a less active named Gustavo. He is a taxi driver and pulled up blasting drake and had an American bandanna hanging down from his jeans. I think he is currently cheating on his wife, and making some other disagreeable choices but it was nice to ride in a car again. 

With Elder Gomez I taught for the first time, a lesson about the temple. I dont think I have ever seen someone teach the way he does, he is incredible. He served three transfers in Guatemala before this mission and has 20 months here. He has a photographic memory practically and so has almost the entire book of mormon memorized. He is hilarious and literally every member loved him. I think I learned more from this temple lesson than the members did. 

We taught this huge guy name Julio Caesar that speaks english! He worked in Cali a bit and so he speaks a fair amount actually. We had to explain the godhead no less than 40 times because we would ask who is God and he would say something like The Holy Ghost or Jehovah. HAHAH it was actually funny after a bit;) Elder Gomez asked me something I had honestly never considered before... He asked me what I do to increase my spirituality every week. I had no answer. He told me he fasts once a week, memorizes 2 scriptures a day, and always asks for forgiveness hahaha. I loved working with him because he knows like everything, but is hilarious and likes to have fun too. We ordered pizza and it was glorious. 

The next day I literally fed a monkey crackers... thats right my mission is sometimes straight jungle. We had a change in plans that night and our huge meeting conference thing that was supposed to be in two weeks got changed to the next day. We had to finish our divisiones and travel in our air conditioned gift from heaven the charter bus se llama Mayab. We arrived in Merida and stayed just outside in a place called Chuburnal which was the nicest house I have seen in the mission. It had stairs, and air conditioning!!! We were with Elder Aponte who is in his last cambio, and is from the DR. He can actually speak english quite well and helped me get to their house with directions in English.

The next day we had our conference for like 6 hours. I learned so much! I finally understand why we dont drink coke. The missionaries before us taught that it is against la palabra de sabiduria and so many people associate it with something bad. So like the apostle Paul taught in Cor 8, if something that members do weakens the faith of converts... dont do it. President Garcia taught that english is the language of the restoration and also about eternal marriage and families. He is so freaking powerful in his teachings... just wow. We ate pizza afterward from Lil Caesars and then went to the offices for supplies. I rode next to the APs in the bus and I love them but I honestly dont see me being like them. They told me that the spirit tells them for how long and what to clean in their house, and that they dont use alarms because the spirit wakes them up... I would defs sleep without an alarm. They also advised me to study in English to really learn the gospel and that is what they did to learn more.

The next day we went to Tzucacab for a funeral services for one of our less actives. I said the prayers surrounded by a few sparse members and the rest of his catholic family... it was like a dedicatory thing but not so much... Also that night our branch presidents dad passed away. he was hunting in the mountain with his grandson and they were in different parts and his grandson mistook him for an animal... and shot him. Talk about horrible. We visited the family the next day and he was absolutely tortured soul sobbing.... it was heartbreaking. I gave him a blessing and told him that it wasnt his fault and that his grandfather was now in a state of paradise. This week was a week of pure learning for me in every meaning of the word. Love you all!

Elder Jordan Saunookes

The Truth about P-Days - Elder Jordan Saunooke 2/22/16

Well pday is never fun actually... its basically clean and write to your family. The good news its that for the leadership training in merida we went to Ticul and I formed a trio with the zls. They are so freaking awesome. Elder Ceballos is from colombia and all of about 5 foot and served in my area for six months actually! Elder Gutierrez is from the north of mexico and just straight up awesome. I finally figured out the name of the spanish song that always plays in mayab bus thanks to him! Y fue asi is the song btw and it rocks. We ordered a pizza that night and it was the first pizza for them in their area as well as for me.  We woke up at 4:30 to travel to merida. The conference was great but honestly im a lot more of a fun loving guy than most missionaries. I loved the spirit I felt and what I learned, but I really dont like when people try to imitate the spirit through strong emotion I have to say. I saw the hermanas of my last district and my old comp Elder Nolasco! I also saw my abuelo Elder McDonald in addition to my papa! He is like fluent in mayan, spanish, and english. Life goals. I loved Hermana Garcías talk about Elder Maxwell and how his advice in spite of everything is to never dismay. President García talked about the baptismal interview questions and man are they strict! Its basically a temple recommend interview. Also Elder Nolasco and I just happened to wear our matching ties. Apparently any time of tea is bad, including green... didnt know that. 

Friday morning we woke up at 3:30 because my comp takes forever to get ready and we had our zone conference in Ticul. I learned so much but I had to share my list fav message.. basically no more fun on pday;P The message of my own abuelo. But I did get to use the cleanse the interior vessel first scripture so thats cool. If you arent already doing it... study by theme. Its way better when reading the scriptures. I basically want to be Elder Gomez because he has every scripture memorized practically and its because he studies by theme. He said he has only read the bom one time. Elder Gutierrez and I were together xuz we did splits and in the morning my comp and I forgot our luggage on the bus and he went with Elder Ceballos.. I loved being with Elder Gutierrez and he wants to go to byu i and we talked about idaho and costa vida for a few hours!!! Also listen to Im trying to be like jesus by emily brown!!!

Love you all!!

Elder Saunooke

Hahaha! Just Kidding, folks! It's all good... (Elder Saunooke 2/15/16)

Well sorry for my almost nervous breakdown. It was in part because my comp was making up rules that didnt exist to be more strict..... The next day we had our district meeting though and everything was so much better. I love my district so freaking much. Elder Gomez who has 20 months in the mission is one of my favorite people ever and I honestly love being DL and talking to my district every night. I am learning so much, and honestly I had a dream in mayan. i said ta a kin sic bah tik un pesh shock which means, we want to share a message. I also led the practices in our zone meeting.... That was fun. Try and teach when the people you are teaching have kids that like to interrupt... yeah im fun I know;) Our ZLs showed me what I need to do as district leader and that made everything so much better. 

Ok so my favorite family we are teaching live in the centro and always feeds us hahaha. The mom looks like a spanish version of Braden`s mom actually. We taught them on thursday and the spirit was so strong and i felt like i was glowing as i taught. I love involving kids when I teach and maybe I dont know lots but I feel like I have always been good with people.

Also, I had my first baptismal interviews as DL. Wow that is crazy. I thought back to when I had my interview with Bishop Martinez and how special I felt then, and how i want to recreate that. The sister has such great faith and had an operation to amputate two of her fingers, but she said she could do it only after she prayed... wow. 

We went to Tzucacab friday and like i said its mexican Cherokee. We ate with the family who always feeds us, and her daughter who is like 25 was asking how to say I love you in english, and I thought she asked how to say I dont want to marry you, but I think it was the opposite... should have guessed with all the makeup she was wearing;P To her credit she is one of my favorite people I have met here hahahhah

The work is hard here because nobody goes to church...its hard to have progressing investigators for this... Love you all tons!

Elder Saunooke

It gets worse before it gets better! 2/8/16

Ok the mission is so flipping hard how do people do it for two years. Every moment I am awake I am working til my body aches my mind breaks and I can barely stand. Then we start to plan. I love my area actually and we have two. We have Peto and Tzucacab. Tzucacab reminds me of a mexican cherokee. We eat in huts and its so freaking cool. The branch president is fluent in mayan as is the entire branch and the casa de oracion is pretty cool. i love the people here. I miss my last companion and I realized we didnt work nearly as hard as we should have. My new companion is a freaking pharisee and loves rules more than he loves life itself. Today on pday all we did was clean because he only likes to clean profoundly because its a rule. There was a lot I wanted to write but since I am with mr. strict I dont have that much time. I am glad to be senior companion but I have zero idea what I am doing...This transfer is 7 weeks long and its gonna be the longest time of my life.I need some serious help because I dont know what I am doing. I am supposed to be in training still...

2/1/15 - Week 7 - CRAZY WEEK!

Ok So wow... I dont even know what to say.
This was the last week in the transfer and it was interesting. On
Wednesday we ate relleno negro for the first time, and in case you
arent familiar with what that is... it is black meat pork insides with
black water... My companion got sick after.. We went to the hospital
but like the main hospital in all of Yucatan on thursday and we found
ourselves in an area called Alta Brisas. Wow it is like a different
country there. I saw many a mercedes benz and we went to ihop... there
is a pf changs, a dairy queen, and man I was in heaven.
This week in Tixkokob its Carnaval, and so we barely had any lessons
because nobody was home. Carnaval in Tixko is small, but its like the
pride of the people there. On saturday, we went to a baptism for the
hermanas in our district and they sang How Great Thou Art and they
sounded like angels hahaha!
Sunday I gave my first talk, and we had a branch missionary activity
and I went to visit Don Pich with the branch President Garcia. It was
a great experience and he teaches with power.
Ok so I am now in another area, 4 hours away from Tixkokob and life as
I knew it. I am with a companion who just finished his training, and
apparently I am not going to finish my training because I am the
District Leader of Peto. To say I am stressed would be a slight
understatement, and I have so much to learn I am either gonna come out
super strong, or have a nervous breakdown.. not quite sure which...
I genuinely loved my first area and the people there, and I miss Elder
Nolasco. He is really one of my favorite people and one of my best
friends. My new companion is Elder Aguilar and he is a good kid, and
young. He likes to work hard and I know we will have success, but I
can already tell we are going to have a different kind of
relationship. I really hope I grow up quick, and I am excited for who
I can become if I survive. Also, There is a ton of Mayan in Peto...
wish me luck.
Love,
Elder Jordan Saunooke

P.S. Also I forgot to mention that on Friday night, we had a surprise visit
from a less active at midnight who doesnt like gringos. he kept asking
me why they send sickness to yucatan, and he must have asked about 20
times. he finally liked my answer when I responded that its because
like we read about satan tempting the savior, they want the glory of
the world. He had scissors that he said were a gift, but I think he
originally wanted to stab us. He ended up being nice, and left as my
friend because he found out I want to be a surgeon which is his dream,
and so he thinks I have a good heart.

Elder Jordan Saunooke - Week 6 - 1/25/15

MMMMMaaaarrrreee I cant believe that I can title this email week 6! This week seemed to go by pretty slow and there were definitely a few days of missing the US. Dont get me wrong I LOVE to travel and experience culture but one of the days where we didnt even eat the food because it was so bad, and had to find a way to dispose of it discreetly, I found myself really missing American food. Definitely gonna pull an RDJ and ask for an American cheeseburger at the end of 2017. 

Tuesday we had a district meeting, and for some reason AP elder Calmes, and future AP Elder Bahr were there, and I had the opportunity to teach with both of them! They are both such great examples to me because they are both about as white as you can get, and they know everything there is to know about how to survive here. I cant wait until that is me. We also have a different hma in our district because one of our hermanas who had 16 months or so had to go home for an illness.... this new hermana... is 72! Wow is she a beast! Her companion normally is 80 and they both sleep in hammocks! Wow I literally have no room to complain about my life.

Weds we had the world missionary conference. All the missionaries in Yucatan got together, and was awesome to see the guys from my district in the CCM, especially Elder Lambert. Elder Ferreira leaves after this transfer and so he had the chance to share some thoughts with us which I would like to in turn share with you. He shared the scriptures where Jesus was tempted by Satan and how both of them were able to respond with scripture, indicating that both know the word of God perfectly well. However just like in the Pre Existence, Jesus is the one who not only has knowledge, but understanding. He also kind of jokingly, kind of not, said that in one more transfer I am going to go to Peto... please no that is a tiny mayan pueblo btws...

The conference was called Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts. There is a great focus on working more with members, and teaching when we find, and finding when we teach. I could understand almost everything, but my problem is that I have to actively pay attention with all my might, and after a while it is exhausting. The mission is literally exhausting because not only is it a lot of physical and spiritual activity, but also mentally draining to focus on every little word that people say. Poor President Garcia tried to exercise for the first time in a while,and in his excitement, fell and broke his foot! He told me that he is ok, and nothing more happened because he has the Cherokee spirit. He also has told me that I have the spirit of a Lamanite, and a strong testimony, hahah I love him so much. When We got back to Tixko, we taught a lesson to the trizy taxista who literally knows every religion and has practically memorized the bible. He also knows our religion and is currently reading the BOM and has already read the D and C.

The next day we met with Liset again, and we watched Meet the Mormons...in Air Conditioning!! A highlight of my life for sure. There is not an 18 year old male in her house, and we were not sure exactly how it was going to work out, but she invited her 20 year old friend Carlos, and not only did we watch the movie but we have a new investigator! I love how as a missionary I can see miracles that I dont necessarily ask for, but that I most definitely need. They didnt really understand that we are normal people too, and that our service is for 2 years and voluntary and so it was great for them to see the movie.

The next day, I went to the dentist to try and fix my fractured tooth in my mouth and it is currently a lot better! I have another appointment next week, and it will be all fixed after that and the lady is a member and did at least the first part for free. The challenge of speaking spanish with a numb tongue was quite the thing to see though...

The next day we had our lesson with Jorge the taxista and it was a miracle because we couldnt find his house, and somehow he drive by us! We went to his house, and taught with him for a good two hours. He believes the BOM is true, and says the Book of Alma is practically perfect, but he does not believe that Joseph Smith received the revelation found in D and C 132. He also doesnt believe that Abraham received similar instruction in the book of Genesis. He likes to try and teach us, but I have been studying the bible and Jesus the Christ like crazy to be able to with hold my own, and teach the things the spirit would have me teach. He likes to be direct and ask questions like will I not be saved if I dont believe in Joseph Smith, or the BOM, or am not baptized in your church? I decided to be direct too, and asked him why did John the beloved recieve the book of revelations if he was in exile and not the head of the church at the time? I then told him, that this is because he was the last living apostle with the authority of God, and that we believe that this authority was lost until restored by Joseph Smith, along with the ordinance of baptism. 

Today I splurged and after our interviews in Mérida, we went to Los Trompos.. oh my goodness is that pizza straight from heaven hahaaha! 

Love you all and hope you have a great week!!!

Elder Saunooke