Missionary Monday: Elder Skalla Serving In Tampico, Mexico

Here is a recent blogpost from Elder Skalla:

Crazy is the new normal...

Crazy is starting to be the new normal here haha. On Wednesday we had divisions with the Zone Leaders because Elder Flores is District Leader.  I stayed in our area with Elder Stoor. He is from Colorado too! Well right now his family lives in Utah and he has lived all over the place but he says he likes Colorado the best haha. It was weird having an American comp and we actually spoke English which was really weird. I didn't think I would have a problem with it but it was honestly really hard to do at first. I didn't realize how infrequently I was using English and how much I was accustomed to Spanish haha. The Spanish is always getting better. It's not too much of a barrier but I just have to keep growing the vocabulary to be able to understand what people are saying haha. The hardest part I think is having a personality. It sounds weird but its true. When you cant speak your own language you lose your personality! Which stinks because I feel like a robot and I can't express myself and I can't make people laugh and it's really hard, but little by little it's coming. 

My shoes are holding up awesome. I have only worn the dressy ones once because the others are just way more comfortable. With the others you feel everything under your feet which is awful here and with the giant ones you feel nothing :) We do take a taxi when we go to the other side most of the time. There is a highway that goes from the center of Pueblo Viejo to a place called el paso del humo where the boats cross the river to Tampico. There is a taxi route down this highway that we use and its just six pesos one way and they drop you wherever you want on the highway so that's how we get between the two areas. We think that this transfer they're going to put missionaries back in the other area because we are still paying rent on their house.The next transfer is the 29th of September. Every 6 weeks on Mondays we have transfers. 

On Saturday we did divisions and I went to Anuahac with Elder Mendez, from Puebla, which is a town that's almost an island close to Pueblo Viejo. Its just a little fishing town and the streets are pretty much covered in oyster shells. It was an interesting experience haha. They just have a little branch and not many investigators or members. We went to an investigators house and she asked if I had tried oysters and I said no and then a few seconds later she was opening one and gave it to me to eat. They put lemon and salt and a bit of salsa on them and you just slurp um straight from the shell. It's just salty and gooey and gross haha, but not too bad. 

I'm excited to come back and be able to eat Kneaders haha. Logan emailed me to tell me that Qdoba is opening in Dixie!  haha He said he wants me to go there with him when I come back haha. I told him he should come to BYU or USU with me. 

I only have two weeks left of being a greenie and then who knows what happens. Elder Flores most likely is leaving this change. We have lots of investigators who are way potential and we are hoping to have a baptism the last Saturday of this transfer for Norma. Keep referring the missionaries to all your friends and sharing the gospel with everyone! 

Elder Flores Says "Saludos a su familia y que tienen un hijo excelente"

I don't think I have anything else to say... Love you!

Elder Skalla

P.S. It rains a ton here haha but mostly in the night. Friday there was a huge storm in the morning that was awesome but also a pain because all the streets flood and everything is wet and the roads get terrible (Because the Mexican solution to pot holes is filling them with dirt) Its raining right now actually haha. But its all fun. Rain is better in Colorado when it doesn't make everything dirty and terrible haha. But I love it! It's all part of the adventure!

P.S.S.  just heard about the changes to Seminary and qualifications for graduation! Glad I made it out before lol I never would have graduated! Its all for the better though, I wish seminary wouldn't have been so early so I could've taken advantage of it. 

 

Elder Skalla is serving from the Highlands Ranch Ward. For more information from him, you can visit his blog by clicking HERE.