Questions and Answers Part 2

         

      In the last post I mentioned I had asked Elder Scott a series of questions that he answered inside the pages of his journal and sent to me. 

Here are the remaining six questions with his responses. 

      4. Is there anything that I wish I would have done differently before my mission? Ha-ha, yes. I wish I would have prepped more; In the language, in Preach My Gospel, in researching Trujillo, and in knowing the mission handbook, ha-ha. I also wish I would have learned how to sew and iron things better. To answer the second part of the question, Was there something that you look back on now and think ‘I should have done more or less of this?’  Yes, I wish I would have studied more, and I wish I would have paid more attention in church and seminary so I knew the scriptures better. I wish I had worked a little less and devoted more time to preparing for my mission. I also wish I would have packed more ties to trade, ha-ha! 

      5. When did I laugh last? Ummm, that’s a hard one because our district laughs a lot, but my most recent, really good laugh, probably was when someone pretended to fix Elder Avila’s tie and really undid all of his shirt buttons, including the very top collar button, and he didn’t even notice until like 5 minutes later and then he freaked out.  It was hilarious. One of my other really good laughs was watching Elder Wilson lean back too far in the office chair at Interpol and having it fall over and then not being able to get back up. That had us busting out laughing real good. I know that there have been countless more, but I can’t really remember them right now. Our district laughs a lot and is really light-hearted. It makes it so we all get along really well. 

       

      6. What do I love most about our CCM President and his wife? That’s a really good question. They are both such amazing people. I would have to say my most favorite thing though would be how caring and loving Presidente and Hermana Moore are though. They make sure they get to know all the missionaries on a really personal level. They both have so many Christ-like attributes. They truly are just so amazing. Plus, they are both so incredibly knowledgeable in the scriptures. They could answer basically any question you have and show you all the scripture references that support the answer. It’s truly mind-blowing to see. 

    

      7. What had been your strangest, most bizarre moment so far? Good question. I think I’m gonna have to go with getting off the plane in Lima and then going through customs and immigration. That was truly a bizarre experience. You get off and they shuffle you through a glass hallway, and on the other side is the normal airport. Then they have you go downstairs and are put in a queue to go through immigration, but they don’t tell you how to actually fill out the forms and they are all in Spanish. Of course, at that time, none of us actually know how to read Spanish, and the info we needed like what to put for our address, what to put for occupation (since we were all just entering as tourists), what we needed to fill out verses what to leave blank. It was a mess! Plus, the immigration officials were never any help. They just would say “no” in a mean voice and point to the end of the very long queue. I was lucky and guessed my way through enough for them to take it on my second try. A lot of other missionaries were not as lucky though. After immigration, we were stuffed into a hallway that led into a gigantic baggage claim and we had to try and figure out where our claim area was. It turned out it was on the very end. We got our bags and had to go through customs. For that you had to load your bags onto a very large x-ray machine and if they selected your bag to search you had to sit there and unpack it with them right then and there. Luckily, I don’t think any of the missionaries were selected that I know of. After that you were shuffled through double doors into a room where you were continually questioned if we wanted taxi’s or anything. Finally, after that we were released into a main area where we had to find the guy holding our sign. That was another long process because they didn’t speak very much English and we didn’t speak Spanish, and we had a problem of our check-in’s not coming out right. We would learn later that it was because a missionary missed his flight and they didn’t know it at the time. So after an hour of trying to sort all that out we finally left the airport. It was definitely an experience I’ll never forget.

     

      8. What am I looking forward to most in the next month? I’m gonna have to go with leaving for the field and seeing where I’ll be sent, meeting my new companion, and learning about the area and the culture. It’s gonna be a really cool experience. I’m hoping that I’m paired with a gringo so I can talk in English when needed.

     

      9. How much has the past month changed you? A lot, ha-ha! I would like to think that I know a lot more about the gospel, and I know that I am a lot more knowledgeable in Spanish, not fluent by far, but I know a lot more than I should for one months’ time. I’m glad that the gift of tongues is real. It’s definitely been a crazy rollercoaster over the past month. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to meet such amazing people and done so many amazing things. I have loved being able to go out and see the country on our field-trips. Going to Lima South was such a humbling experience and really showed me just how many things we take for granted back in the States. There are so many people that are so poor and have so little that live in what American’s would assume is rubble from a demolition. It’s so sad, yet the people are so loving and caring and happy! They are a very special people. 

10. Most importantly, do you know how much we love and adore you? What can we do from here to help you the most while you are there? I definitely feel your love and know just how much you love and care for me. I know because I have so much love and care for you, too. I’m so glad that I’m able to go out on this journey. On this new experience. In this new service. I feel your love and prayers so often. I know that you all are always on my mind, in my heart, and in my prayers. I love you all so much. I miss you dearly. I miss the goofiness, the jokes, the worry, the sarcasm, the “brotherly love”, the small things, but I know at the same time I have a purpose down here in Peru. One of such great importance. The proselyting experience proved that for me. I need to be down here with these people. I know that I am always in your minds and hearts. I’m always reminded of that in your e-mails filled with love and care. I love being able to read about the little things like a scab fell off and there’s healthy skin underneath, or that there was a sub in English class. I love being able to know what is going on in your life even though I might not be there. I love knowing that mom takes the missionaries out shopping on Monday’s or that dad is at a new store, or that Florida is prepping for a hurricane, or that lightning struck the church as someone pushes you out of the way to get back inside. I love being able to hear about your lives. I know very much how much you love and adore me. I know because I can feel it in my heart. Now for the second part of that question. What can you do from there to help me the most while I am down here? Stay safe and have fun. Keep on making those lifelong lasting memories. Keep me in the loop and let me know how your days are going. Most importantly though, stay safe. Don’t get too stressed out. Always remember that whatever might be happening, it’s only temporary. Don’t let it get you down. Keep your chin up and your head held high. You’ll get through it and come out on the other side just fine. Life will be okay. There’s a plan for all of us, even if we might not see just how everything will play out. We just have to put trust in our Heavenly Father that it’s going to be all right. We need to remember that the richest blessings come only after the trial if our faith. Keep your head up and put your trust where it belongs in your Heavenly Father. Pray and talk with Him regularly. Your Father wants to hear from you always.