Mormon Missionary & Cancer Survivor!: Month 1 / Week 5

[This next week is the last week in the MTC! He flies out for Texas next Monday! He says he might be able to email on Saturday. And then he might be able to call me from Texas really quick during his layover in Houston. After next week - the rest of his mission his p-Day should be on Monday.]

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	Month 1 / Week 5
Date:	Tue, 21 Apr 2015 09:42:36 -0500
From:	Brett Hogg <brett.hogg@myldsmail.net>
To:	Susan J. Hogg <shogg@wi.rr.com>

Well we hit a month this week!

We also moved rooms, AGAIN. I think this time because people are leaving and capacity is low they wanted to condense all the missionaries into as few buildings as possible (for maintenance and electricity costs I assume). Right now we have just over 170 missionaries here, but a capacity of 1200. I guess its expected to go up in the summer/after school. This time we just moved our stuff because our new classroom already had the good desks lol. If your keeping score at home, thats 4 Classrooms, 3 Buildings and 2 Districts lol.

Theyre doing construction on the "comedor" (mess hall/where we eat) to expand it because ive heard it was overflowing (they set up tents outside because there wasn't enough room inside) when they had this place filled. The one we eat in now is a temporary one. Its a gym with a stage and everything lol. You cant really tell though with all the tables and everything set up in it. Well, while walking back to the dorms last night the other elders thought it would be cool to look around inside the comedor that theyre remolding. Its was kind of cool and I got some cool pictures. Then they decided to clime on the roof because there was like this ladder step thing. I stayed down. And good thing because some security guys came and told them they couldnt do that and wrote down our names and took pictures of them climbing down. We dont think were in that big a trouble but well see.

By the way I just got Scotts letter and your card you guys sent. The one was post marked like March 20 something, so about a month to get here. I wont send anything physical till I get to Dallas, because I have not heard the best things about the Mexican Postal Service, especially between here and the U.S.

We got a new afternoon teacher, Hermano Medina. Hes super cool.

[Members receive a "Patriarchal Blessing" and the following, Brett refers to a "declaration of lineage" within that blessing. Here is a link which gives a good explanation of this.] One thing we like to do is ask all our teachers which tribe of Israel theyre from and whether they consider themselves decedents of the Lamanites. All but once weve gotten Ephraim. One said Judah, what the heck?? To the other question we usually get "I dont know, maybe" or "no" (because a lot of them can trace their last names/families to Spain I guess). But Hermano Medina said in his blessing it said he has pure Lamanite blood, how cool is that??? Also his investigator profile asks the perfect questions and everything. We also got this teacher lady who comes in the morning sometimes and shes pretty feisty when we get something wrong or are not doing what were supposed to lol. And she has the highest voice and dosent slow it down at all so she can be pretty hard to understand.

Heres a picture Hermana M drew of our teachers.
Ill get pictures with them this week.
Shes drawn all of us already haha. Ill take a pic

Our district also decided we really lucked out. Were all super cool, and joke around all the time, and have a ton of inside jokes. The other district in our new zone (14A) really has some problems from what weve been able to gather. Half of them are really nice and cool and the other half are pretty arrogant, and sometimes they clash. We do this thing were they teach us and we teach them. Afterwords we give feedback sometimes and whatever. But a couple of them are kind of mean about it and act theyve got years more experience than us (theyve got here the same day we did). We even heard one day they were going to come in and "Help" us during study time. So we closed all the curtains, turned off the lights and Elder E-B sat in front of the door lol. Well they never showed up, and the next time theyre feed back was way nicer. I think they got talked to or something lol. [Note from Sue... I think these guys need more to do! I'm glad they get into Texas next week!]

[I wrote to him and told him that we finally got rid of our green van... like a member of the family that's been with us forever! It was scrapped this last week.] Im super sad about the Green Machine. That was my favorite car to drive. Really liked the handling and the short dash. And we drove out west once in that bad boy!

[The side door fell off once... and the driver door could only be shut from the outside.

The engine was still in great shape - but the master cylinder went out

and it needed a muffler among many other things... 20 years old so it was time.]

The last email made me miss home. I miss your chili and not knowing where to go out to eat and stuff... But HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Oh yea, Elder M was so giddy when he found out he got packages (you and Aunt Carrie both). He was really surprised to learn they where from MY family lol but he loved them, and you guys. He decided you guys love him more than his family haha. Elder E-B and Hermana M keep telling me to bring them up to you guys lol.

You probably also got this picture from a teacher:

Well Elder E-B and I in the back are imitating our favorite painting:

Im our favorite guy covered in soot in the corner saying "You hearing this guy??"

Well thats about it for now. I think we get to email again on Saturday. Dont know how much time well have, so you might not get a good email again till im in the field!

Love ya!!
Elder Hogg

Here is were we have sacrament meeting. The Thomas S. Monson Building has a couple rooms like this and then a bunch of rooms with couches (like a living room) to practice teaching investigators.