Lots to tell this week:
First of all, my son (the person that you train in the mission):
His name is Elder Dosdall, and he is from Centerville, Utah (about 15 minutes north of Salt Lake City). He is 18 years old and this is his first time away from home. He plays the trumpet, enjoys Math and Science, got a 36 on his ACT, was writing a Sci-Fi novel with his brother and his best friend before the mission. He hasn't gone to college yet, but got accepted into BYU for Aeronautical engineering (he couldn't decide between Nuclear engineering or nuclear physics so decided to go with that) for when he finishes his mission. He is vegetarian since 13 months ago because he feels bad for the animals, but he is an herbivore in an entirely carnivourous country (seriously, they eat ridiculous amounts of meat here) so we'll see how long that lasts. I'm not putting pressure on it though, so it'll be on his own if he decides to change back. He is learning spanish very fast though and is already taking the lead in contacting (talking with new people for the first time and inviting them to hear our message) and the members are very understanding. One of my favorite stories was a little kid coming up to me in church and asking "How do you say Elder in english" "Elder" I told him (it's the same). He then looked at my companion and said "Hello Elder" then ran off smiling when my companion said hello back to him. I've also got a few photos and videos to share, so I'll get those up and then explain what they are later on (if I can upload them).
Other than that, it is a lot of fun being a papi (trainer) - It's a lot of fun being able to introduce someone to an entirely new lifestyle, country, and culture, and to be able to help him learn spanish. I've been trying to speak just spanish with him so that he can learn, and English only when he doesn't understand, and it gave me a chuckle when on his first day he said "I still haven't figured it out yet - is Spanish your first language, or is English?" It has been a bit of a challenge getting to know yet another new area though (which is huge by the way) while trying to be able to focus on him, but now I think that I've got it more or less down so it should be all good now. I will say though that any timidness that I had left in finding new people or sharing and teaching with them has pretty much gone out the window as a result of training and having to be the one to set the perfect example, and so now it is starting to become perhaps even more enjoyable to teach and work. Oh, and one nice thing about the area is that our apartment is one of the very few in the mission that has A/C, which is really nice seeing as it has been getting well into the 90s fahrenheit (30s celsius) during the day when we need to work so at least we have cool mornings. Also, for the two weeks that I was in a trio, my companions slept in the beds while I slept in my hammock to not have to sleep on the floor, but it is nice sleeping in a bed again haha.
Other than that, one of the coolest experiences of the week happened while teaching Roberto (the man that got in a car crash whose friend started sharing the gospel with him). We shared this video with him: https://www.lds.org/media-
Also, while sitting in the room waiting to get my companion, I was able to talk with someone who is currently in my first area who was also waiting on a companion to train. He informed me that my very first convert, Diego has started reading the Book of Mormon again and though he isn't going to church, he is doing pretty good, so I was really happy to hear that.
Other than that though, there's not that much new that I have time to share, but I love you all and hope everyone has a good week!
Happy Holidays!
Elder McCollum
photos:
1&2) In the mission we have agendas so that we can note down all our plans for the day and all the things that we need to do, so I made a cover for the agenda of my son (the missionary I'm training). The front cover is subtle, the back cover not so much. The translation to English is "A son is born unto me" (Being born in the mission is your first area, and your first companion is your papi). I got a lot of enjoyment out of making it and hope that you all appreciate as much as I did.
3&4) First moments together - At the end of our time together, my papi and I bought matching ties. That tie is the one that I am wearing in the photo.
5) The expression on my companions face after inviting someone to be baptized for the first time. (They accepted the invitation). He exclaimed after the lesson "I'm a real missionary!"
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