Aug 6

 

I did get Carsons letter through dear elder finally. Also I have very little time so I am sorry. I saw my first batch of parrots here so that was exciting! Except for the fact that they are loud and poop a lot. I also met Elder Marshall who is cousins with the Bohnes here in the cafeteria. You find weird connections everywhere.

 

The pipes were doing weird things again and I flushed the toilet the other day and a huge geyser of water came spewing out of the toilet after. I screamed so loud. I saw my life flash before my eyes because there is nothing like having your own urination fly out at you to get your heart pumping.

 

We had our first fast Sunday here which was nice. It was hilarious to watch the desperation of the elders before and after the fast because they thought they might never eat again. you should have seen the stacks of food piled a mile high!

 

Another round of Mexicanos left this week, at 3,4, and 5 in the morning and they dont know the concept of a whisper unfortunately. I thought I was loud. Nope. So a little missed sleep never hurt anyone I suppose.

 

Our district now does a Matching Miercoles. We all wore navy an blakc with polka dots last Wednesday as a district and it was funny. We took a picture. I really love my district. It is a lot different then I thought it would be but we really have bonded over all the classroom time we spend together.

 

We taught a lesson the other day and it wasnt going so hot. well when the guy told me what he did, he said Im a carpenter. seeing as how i know how to respond to very little of what they say i just said JESUS WAS A CARPENTER TOO. im a great teacher haha.

 

We did some workouts from Hermana Mehners pintrest book and we walked around like pregnant ladies for the next two days. Our legs hurt so bad. I didn't want to play soccer that day but thanks mom haha. We did play volleyball as a district which was a blast.

 

An important word to not get mixed up in spanish is pecado and pescado. one means sin and one means fish. I learned form personal experience because I told someone that jesus died for their fish and apparently that doesnt make much sense. oops again. I hope it endears in the field haha.

 

how is Mexico family? maybe I will forgive you one day for going without me. Also a scripture for Kelsey as I wish her good luck in law school, Alma 10: 13-18, 32. Mom said you were complaining about having to leave and I know that will cheer you up!

 

Thank you Shannon, Emma, Taylor, Blake, Rylee, Aunt Kim, Kelsey, Mom, Katie, Seth, Mikaela, Mary Ann, Courtney and I think that is it. Your support means so much!

 

Hermana Cropper

Jul 30

i am getting your dear elders in my email. they actually have a post office but they print off the dear elders in utah and send them here. i wouldnt send letters after this week though. i have only gotten a few of your dear elders mom and that is it. i sent out letters last week through pouch mail and she said it takes 2 weeks to get to people in the states.

 

i do live with spanish sisters. it is very helpful. however, one of our 2 spanish sisters left this morning because she didnt feel ready. my puerto rican roomate Hermana Riviera is really awesome and sweet though. she saw me puttingon boots and asked where i was from. i told her california and i think she was disappointed i wasnt actually a cowboy. it is actually pretty chilly here in the morning. because we are in the mountains it isnt the warm mexico i pictured in my head. and an elder from our district also left. they will be missed. and it really stinks for companions too. however, the elder was part of a triple so it wasnt so bad for them.

 

the lights have gone off around here about 6 times in the last three weeks. and our water turned brown. i didnt notice the water was brown until AFTER i had brushed my teeth. that was sad because we talked to some natives and they said if you use brown water your mouth is subject to infection. joy. so far so good but makes me nervous stilll. its fixed now. however, i did get a cold and i gave it tomy companion. i felt really bad. there is nothing worse than being sick in the mtc. i had to go home and sleep a few times because my immune system wasnt having it and my teacher forced me to go to the doctor. dont worry though im completely fine now and it was just a cold.

 

i wear my black watch some days because it has a timer on it and an alarm. i got it for swimming a while ago. i would be anxious to see what that hotel room looked like. and i am sad i dont get to ride on any roller coasters for the next 17 months. i hope jos was fun. carson is the better brother for having written me however the only letter i read from him was the one in my suitcase. i still love the thought and hope i get it.

 

the church newsroom filmed my classroom teaching time with hermana dewey so look for me in between general conference sessions (we asked andthey told us that is when they are going to air it), i am wearing a bright blue dress. they also took pictures so take a look at the newsroom to find me and my district! pretty much im gonna be famous.

 

today our elders are challenging the natives to a soccer game. im putting my money on the mexicans personally. also, i got a letter in the mail from my mission president! nothing exciting but good to know he is thinking about me!

 

something spiritual really quick, i have been struggling with all the rules i am supposed to follow and im trying to have a good attitude about it. something that really helped me was watching a devo by Holland again. he said this is preach MY gospel as in the gospel of jesus christ and because it is his i need to teach it his way. helps when there are rules and structured learning time pretty much 247.

 

I forgot to say who wrote me last week so i will just say thanks to all who have written me (that i have received emails from) in the last two weeks

 

Thank you; Grandma and Grandpa Clement, Katie, Kristen, Derek, Seth, Emma, Kelsey, Dad, Mom, Mikaela, Moncrief family, Mary Ann and thats all i got! really the safest bet is EMAIL at this point but i am so grateful for all of your continued support. really. i love you guys and i am so lucky for the awesome family and friends i have.

 

 

and also i am actually impressed by the 6 elders in my district. they are surprisingly mature for 18 year olds. however. during personal study it was dead quiet and one of elders farted. it was quiet and i was like wow how mature, they arent going to laugh, for around 20 seconds. then one of the elders breaks and he laughs so hard he has to leave the room. good to see there is always room for improvement! haha

Jul 23

 

so turns out the mail takes 2-3 weeks to get here so not as bad as they once thought. but dear elder is a safe bet. use the pouch mail they get from salt lake.

 

something that is weird about mexico- we hear LARGE booms on a fairly regular basis. apparently people make homemade fireworks. because of this, people whistle the hunger games theme song whistle ALL THE TIME. like another tribute has fallen (because of the cannon) or something. it is extremely regular. i was funny at first but now it is just annoying. it could also possibly be a sign of the rebellion because it is only the hungry american boys who seem to do it.

 

also, im pretty sure the volcano was acting up this week, there was some very questionable smoke but we are so disconnected from the outside world i have no idea what exactly it really was.

 

we had a great devotional by video by elder holland. it was the first time i have ever been scared of an apostle. he laid it out pretty darn clear and i felt bad because that must be how he always chews out the elders in priesthood. he told us to make this change of a mission permanant and forever and it was really moving but also terrifying.

 

i had to give a talk in church on repentance, i was randomly called up and it was a litle scary as well. however, there are very few people who judge you because we all stink. it was a very messy spanglish talk but as long as the spirit is there i suppose the grammar doesnt matter.

 

my district does have boys in it too. there are 11 people, 4 are the colorado girls i mentioned earlier and i love them all. we are never seperated and i mean that quite literally. my roommates (besides my comp hermana mehner) left yesterday and we wore black to mourn their departure. we will miss them a lot and they were truly helpful with all the language stuff.

 

our motto with the cafeteria here is porque no? combined with have no fear. bread is a BIG DEAL here. when the workers bring it out all the americans swarm and take a roll. or two. or three. they served hot dogs and fries yesterday!!!!!! it was great. but then they served a hot dog soup this morning and i do NOT think that is a coincidence.

 

do grandma and grandpa clement know and knopfs from woodinville? i met a girl yesterday from there and she was really nice.

 

we have luckily started to get toilet paper since last letter because we ran out and started stealing some from the schools bathrooms. thank goodness. it was a little funny but also a little ridiculous to be rolling your toilet paper onto your hands so that you could go to the bathroom in the room we have at home. the boys live in the dormitories and the girls live in these homes that house roughly 20 girls. four to a room with a shower. and bunk beds, im on the top. we defintely have it better than the boys who share with 6 to a bathroom.

 

we attempted doing laundry with the given machine last week but it didnt appear to work. the dryer was even worse. hermana mehner fit inside of it actually but just because it was big did not mean it worked. we will be doing our laundry by hand this week haha.

 

it rains a LOT here. i thought because it is mexico it would be warm, nope! its torrentia rain almost every single day in the afternoon.

 

i was asked to help our district leader, elder milmont, with carrying out his duties. this includes HSI which stands for speak your language in spanish. they want us to only speak in spanish and then i have to record our own self given scores at the end of each day. it mostly just means if we are obedient we dont talk much at all haha.

 

i am glad that i have the opportunity to serve and help people who have lost sight of what is really important in life. i know the atonement is real and that god loves all his children, especially the ones that not everyone loves are or more difficult to love. the spanish is rough but i know that it is truly a miracle that i have learned as much as i have at this point. i am so grateful for this slow miracle in my life. i cant imagine being a widow for that long, how sad. but our family is given the unique and trying position to help those in need as the bishops family and i know we will be blessed for all the work we put into the ward! especially dad!!!!!

 

also, adivice for ashley and kaylee, my favorite thing in the world is my tiny mirror that stand by itself. i HIGHLY recommend bringing one to the MTC.

 

love, jamie

Jul 16
 

 

first off, DO NOT SEND LETTERS TO THE CURRENT ADDRESS. dont send them at all. the mail takes six weeks to get here and that is if it gets here. so make sure just to send emails until i get to Colorado.

 

wow so much has happend. i only have a half hour but my pdays are on tuesday for the record. im companions with aunt kim´s friend!!! her name is sister mehner and she is from southern california. my district is made of girls all going to colorado fort collins!!! hermanas luke, snow (from winnemucka! haha i told her i love small town girls from nevada), and mehner! also another girl, hermana mangum is going there too. no boys going to our mission yet though. we are part of what is the second generation of americans who are in the CCM (mexico mtc) and it is so different here! the food is very interesting and by that i mean i´m losing weight. but thats ok. my teacher is also sister dewey! kelseys friend! she is very nice. the spanish is wayyyyy overwhelming but they do it on purpose. i taught my first lesson with my companion on my THIRD DAY HERE. it was kind of a train wreck but im just attempting to be the least train wreck of a spanish missionary as possible. }

 

we went to the temple today and it was beautiful!!!! we had to listen to it in spanish though and it was very confusing. i didnt understand much at all. and the bus ride over made me sick. the rules of the road are very different here, kind of the biggest car wins if you know what i mean. but there are still a ton of VW bugs.

 

church on sunday was really cool. we got to do mostly talks in english except they call on a few random unfortunate souls to give a talk on a preassigned thing we should have been practicing on. well i was lucky enough not be chosen but was i really lucky, NO. i had to LEAD THE MUSIC. i almost had a panic attack. i told them i would say the prayer or give a talk and they still had me lead even after i begged. our district leader thought it was funny to watch me struggle so he had me lead for our class the day after. har har har. not.

 

we share a room with two native speakers and they laugh at me and hermana mehner trying to speak spanish. it is actually really helpful though because they are really patient and help us to learn spanish when we are getting ready for bed. ill be sad to seem them go. one if from mexico (h. gonzalez) and the other is from the dominican republic (h. castrono) and they are going to mexico for their mission. they laugh at me because i go on bug killing sprees every night because we get mosquito bites in our casa and there are these huge jumping things too which terrify hermana mehner.

 

im going to send this in two parts so i can see who else sent me emails really quick.

Jul 9, 2013 at 11:17 PM

 

Hey, I got here safe! My flight was actually delayed an hour and a half and we waited a while in the terminal for other missionaries but that guy I thought wasnt a missionary anymore actually was. we found each other and got or bags after the flight and so i was good to go. Im with two elders who are both fresh out of high school. one is from west virginia and one is from idaho and they are both FARM boys. as in the city scared them. granted the streets of mexico city were absolutely nuts so i cant blame them. they gave us some food and they told me the water is safe but i am still skeptical. the people are speaking lots of spanish so i have relatively no idea what is going on. i just got my tags and it feels official now! anyways, dont worry about me. its very safe and fenced in. the only problem is the fact that i can speak next to no spanish. i already have used the spanish to english dictionary like twenty times. also the keyboards here are weird and i couldnt figure out how to capitalize without looking at the keyboard so sorry for the bad grammar. i love you all and will make sure to get back to you super soon.

love, jamie

Hi everyone!
I get set apart in an hour but I just wanted to quickly get on and say how grateful I am for the opportunity to serve my Savior by helping the people in Colorado. If I can make even one person happier through my service I know that this 18 months will have been worth it. My mom will keep everyone updated on what I'm doing by controlling this blog for the duration of my mission and posting my weekly email home onto it. Thanks to everyone for all your love and support in my preparation!
Jamie