That'll do, Pig. That'll do - MTC Week 6 FINAL WEEK

 12/9/2022

"That'll do, Pig. That'll do." 

    -Babe (the pig movie)


Hola Todos!


Week 6 flew by insanely fast! It was a week of amazing experiences learning Spanish, growing faith, and building friendships with those around me. 

One fun experience this week is that I got a haircut. But guess what, when I went into the barbershop I was looking for a trim… not a haircut. I asked the lady to trim my hair a little bit and she was like okay yeah. She pulled out a razor and I told her, 

“Oh, my barber in the states only uses scissors. Could you use only scissors?”

She responded with, 

“Ahhhh, very professional in the United States!”

Then she took the razor and buzzed the back of my head before I could say anything. So, I went in for a trim and came out with a cut that I regret. It doesn't look bad but it's definitely not my best look. AND I lost years of hair training on the sides. Muy triste. It's fine, it'll grow back… eventually.

 I also would like to take a moment to thank everyone who prayed for my guts. I was healthy this week! I only got an upset stomach like twice. So that was an amazing thing and now that my body feels good I feel much better about everything else!

It's kind of sad this was the last week in the CCM. I've finally adjusted to the food! After 4 weeks here i've finally gotten to a really good place. I suppose no one ever grew in their comfort zone… 

As such! 3 days from now I'll be flying to Paraguay to start the real work of spreading the good news of the gospel. It'll be a bittersweet moment to leave the Mexico MTC. 

Right now everythings slowing down. Tomorrow, we have our last class with Hermano Canche and Hermano Hernandez. They've been our district teachers the past 6 weeks and they've taught us a ton of stuff. Its gonna be really sad to “graduate” the CCM. But I'm super happy with my progress these past 6 weeks.

In the grand culmination of the final days, this week I was able to manage a 15 minute conversation in Spanish, I've memorized 2 pages worth of written material, and I've written and read about a million billion words in spanish and ingles. It's crazy how far everythings come. 

This morning we had President Ballard and Elder Stevenson of the 12 come and speak to the CCM for the first time in 7 years. It was a pretty cool experience. Not many people get to have an MTC experience as crazy as that. They spoke a lot about exact obedience to the rules of the mission field and the great promises given to those who commit to faithfully serving a mission. I think when it gets hard in the field, (which it's going to be really soon) I'll be looking a lot to the wonderful blessings we’ve been promised by the apostles and the prophets. 

On top of the super lucky visitations by general authorities, I've built a lot of great friendships here. I've grown to love my district so much. It's been amazing to be their district leader and I'm grateful I've been able to serve them these past few weeks. They really are an amazing group of hardworking people who just want to help and teach people. In the past 6 weeks they've become a family away from family. It's going to be sad not being with them anymore but it's going to be even more exciting seeing what they become.

Plus, I've made a ton of new friends in Casa 17. A lot of the dudes are guys I'm going to go to school with when I get back! There are all kinds of people here, I think I know a future US president, BYU’s next star quarterback, and maybe a psycho killer or two. There are so many cool people here! It's been such an uplifting experience

I feel like these past 6 weeks at the CCM have been like life. I've loved it but Ive also hated it. Ive hated the times when the food is bad; when ive being sick; or getting a bad haircut. Then there are the good things.

Ive loved the times when the sun is shining and birds are chirping. Ive loved being surrounded by people I care about and love. Ive loved learning about God and Jesus Chirst in all their glory and goodness. In the end, the goods outweigh the bad and I'm grateful to be here.

The next email I will be sending from the Jungles and plains of Paraguay! I'm excited to travel and live the dream of endless humidity and sore feet! The work continues and remember! The grind never stops! 

May the force be with you all, 

Sincerely, 

the whitest gringo you’ve gotten an email from this week,

 E. James Tanner



Emotional Fortitude O'Meter

TIME TO THRIVE BABY - 12/10 Extinct Peoples

 🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿


1. Mountain behind the CCM was on fire, pretty neat!

2. Got my camera out a ton this week

3. Sand Volleyball is really big here

4. Packs of laundry looking a lil sus

5. Found a missionary meme page 🤑







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