The first month in the Peru CCM (Missionary Training Center) December 19, 2019 - January 15, 2020
December 19, 2019
The Gringo,
Elder Baird
P.S. Also I have been told to inform you that I'll be calling between 9:30 and 11:00 Peru time which is two hours ahead, currently its 6:45pm. It is Christmas though so you should be up don't worry.
***note from Mom***
The first time we got to talk to Caden was Christmas morning. It was a normal day for him, studying, classes, etc. The night before, some Elders had woken him up in excitement to watch all the fireworks going off for Christmas, “Feliz Navidad, Elder!!!” All Caden wanted to do was sleep. He didn’t even open his Christmas presents until a few days later. The next time we got to talk to him was New Year’s day which, again, was just a normal day for him. . . except a General Authority was coming to speak to the missionaries. Again, there had been fireworks the night before but he really had tried to sleep through these.
Those first couple phone calls were hard. Though he didn’t admit it, it was obvious that all the change and newness of culture, language, schedule, early wakings, humidity and heat were taking a bit of a toll.
Week 3 he called and told us all about his day out in the city of Lima with another missionary, the departure of some missionaries, being district leader, the new missionaries coming in the next day, etc. He was a whole different guy. He was excited, full of smiles, with a lot of wisdom to share. And he wrote his first email to everyone. . . here it is.
January 7, 2020
Attention all those who hear my words,
It is hot. And humid. I beg you all to recognize the blessing of Air Conditioning.
Now, for a summarization of the past two and a half weeks. I have much to talk about however I am limited in time. First off I must give a warning to my spelling and grammar. I have been immersed in the language of Spanish for the past two weeks and I am at the point where I am forgetting how to spell and speak English words and yet am not fluent in Spanish so I sound like a cavernicula in both. My vocabulary is dwindling as Spanish and English war in my brain, yet I can't wait until English is harder than Spanish.
The day I left Utah began the long process of my first day at the CCM (MTC). I woke up that day at 5:00 am and didn't fall asleep until 42 hours laterish at 11:00 pm the next day. (Math is dificil?) This has put an effect on the rest of the days I've been here. Now it feels like just yesterday I was stepping off that plane with the same elders as I have class with, but it also feels as if I have been here in Peru for years and the days are short. As far as differences between here and the USA, name anything. It's different here. I also have a companion, who I woke up at 4:30 in the morning that first day, who is from New Zealand. We have made the observation that although we both speak English (with different accents) we come from very different countries. The Peru CCM is very different in that it is small and there are few places that are not exposed to the outdoors. Because of the humidity, all the doors are always open. My favorite place is where we have church every sunday that has a massive window without any glass, where you can look over the jungle of block houses in the city, and watch the sun set over the mountains that are similar to Utah, and yet vastly different. The days start cloudy in the morning, but blazingly sunny by about 11 in the morning. The sun rises at 5:50am consistently every day, and sets around 6:30pm. The biggest experience here in Peru is when we had the opportunity to go on splits with the missionaries in the area. (***Caden's companion was Elder Burt and it seems that Spanish speakers can't say Baird or Burt so it sounded like they were both Elder Berrr***).We got to leave the walls of the CCM and see what the real world was like. It was about a week and a half ago that I was paired with Elder Burt and he showed me the ropes of the city of Lima. Biggest thing, I'm glad I won't be driving in this city. It is the craziest kind of relationship between drivers here. When I get back to the US, horns will mean nothing, nor police sirens and screeching brakes or engines. Every night we fall asleep to bar singing from across the road, and the chorus of sounds from the street. This city truly never sleeps. We were getting on buses in moving traffic, walking through four lanes of freeway, hoping drivers saw us, and getting rejected by almost everyone we decided to talk to that day for about 9 hours. Walking through the main city, proselyting to everyone. I hope that was only a bad day, I know not how I will change if every day is like that one. I am glad that I have a firm belief of the message I am trying to share, because I know these next 24 months will be difficult.
But life here has been awesomely different. Because we are learning spanish, we americanos are here for 6 weeks. We came here with a group of latinos who left yesterday for their missions after three weeks here. I had made many a friend of the latinos like Elder Avili and Elder Vasques, and especially our roomates, Elder Reyes, and Elder Zarate. I must speak about them because I have never seen such selfless people. Elder Reyes was a jokester, Elder Zarate firm in the faith, but quick with a witty comment and both very eager to try the American dulces I brought with me. Elder Reyes left yesterday, Elder Zarate the day before that. Elder Reyes was very enthusiastic about learning English and called himself "The Gringo Man", saying he would visit me in the USA, dye his hair blond, and use red contacts to look like an americano.? He is on his mission in Chile. Elder Zarate left a day earlier for a bit further travel to Guatemala.I wish them the best of luck, and hope to be more like them.
The food here is amazing, and I can always depend on bread for breakfast, and tons of rice for the rest of the day. Every day there is a different kind of juice available, I don't think I can ever go back to USA lemonade and orange juice.
So far we have had two general authorities speak to us in Spanish, and we will also be here when we get a new CCM Presidente. I've been here for Navidad and for the nuevo year. Both nights were full of fireworks for hours, and very little sleep. There are around 6 missionaries here going to my mission "Lima Sur" that are Americanos, chances are we will eventually be companions in the field. As of yesterday, I am now the district leader for the Helaman group and the Manti branch, and was able to bless the sacrament in Spanish for the first time with Elder Cregor, an American with a heart of gold and no concept of Spanish. As missionaries, we go to the temple every week, sometimes twice. It is the smallest temple I have ever been to, but it is familiar to me despite being completely different.
I hope that whoever reads this is doing well, don't you worry. It will take more than a foreign everything to get to me. I'm still trying to figure out how to send some pictures of this place, chances are I won't be able to until I get to the mission field. I'll keep on keeping on for now, and I'm glad I know the Lord wants me here doing his work.
Till we meet again,
The in"peru"ving missionary
Elder Baird
Picture taken by Elder Vasquez (I'm still working on a way to send pictures but if all fails, in two weeks when I leave the MTC I will certainly send them all. P.S. Latinos say my name Elder Berrrrrr)
January 15, 2020
Oh amigos we are halfway there.
In about two weeks I will be leaving the safety of the CCM and probably getting on a bus for twelve hours to go to whatever zone they want me in. I know I have said this before, but it feels like I have been here for years, and yet just last week I said goodbye to my friends and family. I am so very excited to officially begin my mission soon and yet it is the most terrifying obstacle that I have ever faced. Chances are that I will be speaking English only in email and video calls once I leave this place. I will say that I hope my first area is not in the city. I want to see what the country of Peru is really like, not just this jungle of concrete that has been my home for the past month.
We had an earthquake last night, apparently they are fairly common. We also had rain for the first time for about a solid 40 seconds this week. I miss real rain.
The language is still an obstacle, especially with the new people here that cannot speak any English at all. An hermana in my district did the math, and apparently we are learning around 300-400 new words every day. I am now the district leader of the Helaman district which means I lead all district meetings, conduct interviews and other such responsibilities. I gave my first talk completely in Spanish this last Sunday, I believe it went fairly well. Our CCM president is leaving and we will be getting a new Presidency within this week. I imagine there will be quite a few changes with that. Apparently Elder Holland is coming to the Peru MTC to speak with us, what an amazing opportunity to hear an apostle face to face right before I begin my actual mission. We practice teaching people daily now completely in Spanish and I truly believe that I will find success with the people of Peru, if they will talk as slow and as clearly as the teachers, (doubt).
Changes? Not many other than a completely new set of latinos and a few more Americanos. We that have been here for 3 weeks are now seen as the veterans of the CCM and because of this we have to be examples to the others. My companion Elder O'halloran and I now have 4 other roomates Elder Ruiz, Elder Vega, Elder Cossio, and Elder Chancafe. They all look so young and yet the oldest is 26 years old and the youngest is 18. It is crazy to hear their conversion stories, and that the oldest has only been a member of the church for a year and a month, and yet has still decided to serve a mission. Another companion is a legitimate veteran of the marines, and every once in a while at night, suffers from vivid nightmares of battles he has fought. We also have a roommate that is part of a set of triplets, and weeps daily for the separation between himself and his closest friends. Witnessing the things that they have given up to be here, both strengthens my soul and damages my image of myself. I often ask myself, what did I give up to be here? Was there really any reason for me to stay home other than my family? I always seem to come to the realization that this is the best thing for me to be doing right now. We watched a devotional by Elder Bednar about the nature of Christ. He told us that the natural man turns into himself when things don't go their way, however, Jesus Christ always turned outward, despite his afflictions. I likewise need to focus less on myself and need to focus more on why I am here, and who I can help during my time in Peru. Although I will not witness the growth of my siblings and parents, the building of our new house, and all the little precious moments in the lives of my sisters and my brother, my parents and grandparents, cousins, relatives, and friends... I know that I am needed here, at this time and place. We were told that the chances of being born in the US, with a family that knows the church, and in these past two decades was something like 1 in 22 billionth of a chance. The Lord knows me and knows what I need to be doing here. He has provided a way for me to be here and who am I to think my plan better than Gods.
I want to wish you all the best in your own lives. I know I seem a little like "Woe is me" in my emails, but I do realize that life is usually not easy, it doesn't matter if you're a missionary or not. I will say that I know that what I have said about myself applies to each and every one of you as well. God knows you and has a plan for you. Unfortunately, we are the unstable variable in the plan of our lives. I urge everyone to seek the Lord's way in everything you do, I know you will be blessed for it.
Until that day when we talk again. Hasta ver,
The im"peru"ving missionary,
Elder Baird
P.S. I once again apologize for anything I write that is difficult to understand linguistically. Perhaps I will begin writing in Spanish, it is becoming more a part of me every day. Thank goodness for the AI in this computer or I would never be able to convey my feelings in an orderly fashion. Hasta la pasta amigos.
P.P.S. - to mom
My goodness how good it is to see quality photos of and from my family. It seems that much is happening at home and yet I have little to tell you it seems every day is the same here. I forwarded an email from one of the latinos of the last group Elder Vasquez who had taken a few pictures of us two weeks ago. I'm still working on a way to send pictures but if all fails, in two weeks when I leave the MTC I will certainly send them all. Maybe its for the best that you have to figure out your phone, as I cannot give you all the information you need. It is similar to what I am doing in that I can not have someone tell me what they believe, unfortunately or perhaps fortunately I must figure it out myself. I believe I will be calling at 10:00ish my time.
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