Week 8

Ok so first week was pretty cool. My first full day in the mission I buried a dog and my companion had to put a squirrel out of its misery and we buried them in the same hole and I was asked to say a prayer over both of them.

 Also we do volleyball every Friday to have something for investigators to come to and we also do indoor soccer on Saturday's and the Hispanics really enjoy that. I also encountered my first bible bash by a 16 year old jehovah's witness girl from Zambia, but it was actually a distraction because while we were having a very pleasant conversation about Adam and eve, another set of missionaries were teaching her brother who was the original person we were there to teach.

 Also on sunday I let a puppy chew on my hands while we were teaching a lesson and it was super cute at first but those puppy teeth start to hurt after a while but no pain no gain. That lesson actually went really good because this guy had a lot of questions about the book of Mormon and things like why are we here and what's our purpose? So he was very receptive and I think that he can find a lot of the answers to his questions in the things we teach so that was a really rewarding experience after having a lot of stuff fall through this week. 

We don't really get a lot of dinner appointments but there is a family who feeds all the missionaries in the district every sunday and they made super good tortas. 

So yea hope everyone is doing good and I'm trying to reply to everyone who emails me which is kinda hard but that's what P days are for. 

Please water my plant mom lol 

Elder Amata 

Week 7

(Written Monday February 17th)

We didn't get any sleep last night and we had to leave the ccm at 2 am this morning. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone at the ccm. We got to the airport and we waited for the group that was leaving to Argentina before the person who was assigned to help us realized that our terminal was on the other side of the airport lol. So we went out to the parking lot and put all of our luggage in a van with no seats in the back and it look us 5 min to drive to the other side of the airport. Once we actually got on the plane there was an entire soccer team and I got put in between two of the players. The one I did get to talk to was pretty funny but my Spanish isn't that great yet. When we landed in Miami I was able to get some Wendy's and it was a big upgrade from the ccm meals. But I'm landing in Louisville now so wish me luck!

Elder Amata has landed safely in Kentucky

Elder and Sister Amata,

Thank you for sending your son to the GKLM mission. Here are a couple of pictures. The first one is of all the new missionaries, also a picture of Elder Amata and his Companion, Elder Elder Nielsen. They are serving In Lexington Norte.

Sincerely,

President and Sister Hughes 

Week 6

Last week at the MTC. I'm really excited to get out and teach people. This Sunday I played spoons with my district and they were getting sooo upset lol. If you don't know what the game of spoons is it's not the one with cards. So, we also did the lesson that goes with it about observation and all that jazz.  

We got to give a spiritual message to someone who lives in the city and that was really cool. She was 18 and had been a member for 4 years but it was hard to understand her because she spoke really soft and fast lol. I really hope that the gift of ears is as real as the gift of tongues lol. 
It's going to be sad leaving the MTC because we've gotten really close as a district. We decided that we are going to have a reunion in California the summer after we get back so that I can teach everyone how to surf lol.

 I'm continuing to learn about music and I can play a few songs on the piano if they are in the key of C or F lol so that's been really cool to have a companion that could teach me that. It's been interesting to see that as a district as we share our hardships with learning spanish and being away from home that we grow closer.

 I think that in the field helping people thought their troubles and their problems will help to strengthen their testimony and help them to understand that God loves them and that they can have a better relationship with God in their life. 

Anyways I leave for kentucky Monday morning at 2 am from the ccm and our flight leaves at 6am so hopefully all goes well. My P day will change to Mondays so that will be email day. Wish me luck 

Please water my plant mom lol 

Elder Amata 

Week 5

The weeks are starting to go by pretty fast now but I'm sure that once I get to the actual mission field that it will slow down a bit until I get used to it and I'm sure that it will go by fast. 

Not much has changed. Spanish is coming along pretty good I really hope that when I actually get out into the field that i'll be able to communicate what i'm trying to say but I think that being immersed helps a lot. 

This weekend there were a lot of fireworks and probably some gunshots mixed in there.

 I was having a conversation this week about what it's going to be like if we have people who are ready to hear the message but we feel like they need more time in the lessons or they just aren't progressing. The other missionary was saying that it sucks that we might not have the time and resources to be able to give everyone what they need to learn about the church and the gospel but I think it's important to remember that Heavenly Father has a plan for everyone and all we can do is control our actions and do our best.

please water my plant mom 

Elder Amata 

Week 4

     This week has gone by super fast.A lot of learning and memorization and a lot of work but it's so much fun. I really love my district they are really cool people and I've also met a lot of new people this week. It's always tough for me to think about what to write about lol. There is a thing that's  been happening where people will take the spoons in the cafeteria and sneak them into people's pockets and bags and its really dumb but its really funny.

    It's crazy to think that I've almost been gone a whole month.  I miss everyone and its hard but I know that it's a good thing. I've been keeping up with workouts with my roommate by doing core and push ups and stuff so that's good even though i've been gaining weight lol. 

    One thing i've been trying to do this week is trying to be more Christ like. So when I get irritated or annoyed I try to remember that i need to remember that if i'm going to teach people about jesus christ then i need to be able to teach myself to be able to follow his example first. Also along those same lines I've been trying to tell people I appreciate the things they do more so that they know that they know that I see and recognise their efforts and I think its has really affected the mood of this week so i'm going to try to keep doing that probably for the rest of my life lol. I know that i'm extremely blessed to have the friends and family that I have in my life and that i've been prepared to serve at this time. So thank you to everyone at home.

please water my plant mom lol  

Elder Amata. 

***Here is a picture of Ethan's plant that he got from his couch when he graduated and I hope it stays alive until he gets home...I will post updates as needed 😂😂😂