Last Day At The CCM...

Our new friend Tarcisio Juarez sent some more pictures this time including him! He is so wonderful!
This week Ryan and I got the chance to talk to Elder Park for a couple of minutes during his flight layover in Dallas. It was so wonderful to hear his voice. He sounds great and is very excited to start this new phase in his mission.

We didn't hear from Elder Park when he arrived to the Ft. Lauderdaly Mission Home. So.... I know, I know.... I called them to just make sure he got there. I got to speak to the most wonderful sister. She said that all 16 of their new missionaries arrived safe and sound. She also gave me a little bit of info about the Fort Lauderdaly Mission. This mission is the highest baptising mission in all of the US and Canada combined. This month alone, they are expecting 175 baptisms. How awesome is that!?!? He is going to be serving in the Miami Zone, Blue Lagoon area. She said that this area is like living in another country with the covenience of living in the USA. She says that he will only be speaking English about 10% of the time.

Monday's will now be my FAVORITE day of the week as it will now be P-Day. Can't wait to hear from him then!



Brother Juarez, Elder Park and Elder Pukahi

More From Our New Friend Tarcisio...

Tarcisio Juarez, Elder Park and Elder Pukahi.

Thank you Tricia Loveridge!

I ran in to Tricia at Leah's Lacrosse game today. She had these 2 pics that Trent (ooops!) Elder Loveridge had sent home. I love that they got to spend some time together!

Elder Park and Elder Loveridge holding their handmade Mexican scripture covers.

Elder Loveridge and Elder Park chillin' at the basketball court.

New Contact Info For Elder Park...

I have updated Elder Park's contact info. The address is for the Mission Home in FLL. You are more than welcome to send letters or packages to that address. You are also welcome to use his email address, which ever you prefer.

Elder Tyler Ryan Park

Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission

7951 SW 6th Street, Suite 110

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

33324-3211

tpark@myldsmail.net

Week 5 At The CCM (MTC)...

It was so funny how Tarcisio found me! I was in the Bathroom when he had come to our class and asked for me. The class started to think that I was in trouble, because the night before the guys and planned a tie-swap and they got busted by a teacher. They thought that I was going to be in trouble because of being the district leader, I hadn't stopped it. So, when he came back again and called me out to the hall, they thought I was gettin’ my talkin’ to. He just wanted to introduce himself and not distract their studying! I just started laughing. Then he took us for the little photo shoot and that was cool! Pictures below in previous post.

Your clothes look like they are drowning you, have you lost weight? My shirts were already large and I have lost 10 pounds. We eat a little healthier than I normally do and work out A LOT more than I used too, but I can´t be the slacker! The pants aren't too bad.

How has the weather been the last week with the 2 hurricanes hitting the country at the same time? We didn't hear anything about hurricanes just really bad wind!

Do you need me to send you anything to the Mission Home in FLL? We are preparing for Take Off and there are just a few things that I need… I need a few more socks, there was a laundry mix up and I lost a few pair. I kinda wash some out in the sink in between p days, but a few more socks would be nice, unless that’s something I need to buy by myself once I get to Florida. I'd like you to send any ties I still have, even if they are the silk ones the more ties the better! Also if you could post my Email and address on the blog and FaceBook that would be awesome! I also can’t figure out what type of rain jacket to buy what kinds are there? I just keep coming back to like windbreakers, is that what I should be looking for? Also I'm running out of shampoo, actually I'm out. I bought some here, but I couldn’t remember if that was something that you said you might be able to send like razors or if I needed to buy that. (Are you kidding? Does he need me to send Toilet Paper too? I think he needs to find the local Walmart.) And the missionary mall pants or at least the grey ones are starting to get like those sweater beads, I think it’s from my bag, so I would like those sweater shaver things that get rid of those and a lint roller. Also, please send my suit hanger. I also need Garret to ask the seminary office for Brother *** email. I would also like to know who his teacher is and actually ALL of his teachers. I can’t think of anything else that I am missing, but thanks for asking! I learned my lesson, I won’t ask that question again! Hahaha!

I also thought I would let you know that we were robbed today while in the temple. They told us to leave our bags on the bus. I did but took my wallet, I didn’t take the little bag that I had but the extra pesos I had in, about 850 pesos. Some guys broke in to the bus, held the driver up and rifled through our bags. They took all but 25 pesos in coins from me about like $80 USD. But nothing else, so that’s an upsight. I now will NEVER leave my bag anywhere.

It is so nice to hear that things are going good up there! It is crazy to think about the flooding at the High School, maybe I shouldn’t complain about the rain here!

This week is crazy I'm trying to cram as much study in as possible, it’s nice to hear that you’re praying that I can learn Spanish because I need it!

I love you and I am sorry I couldn’t write more, it took Extra time at the Temple today! Love you and I have a ton of pics to send you once I get to FLL! I can't wait to get there!

Finally, Some Pictures From The CCM. Muchas Gracias Tarcisio...

The computers are so slow at the CCM that Elder Park has not been able to send us any pictures.

To make a long story short... A cute friend of mine from work, Patty, has a close friend that actually works at the CCM (MTC) in Mexico. I was at work last night and got a Facebook message from this new friend of mine, that he had a surprise for me to come in about 10 minutes. Needless to say, I couldn't leave my desk until the surprise showed up. He was able to find Elder Park and take some pictures!

                  AHHHH!!! YAY! O My G'Ness!! Happy Dance, Happy Dance!

                   Tarcisio, you are so Freakin' Awesome do that! 

What a sweet surprise for this Mama. Happy, Happy Tears! Elder Park looks great!

Elder Park and his CCM Companion

This is the Marvelous campus, the new MTC  Mexico... CCM Mexico...
Centro de Capaciticion Misional  Mexico...
Former, Benemerito Campus... Patty and I studied here

Elder Park's Distrito at CCM

Behind them, You can see the "B" of "Benemerito"...

The other side, this is the "Chiquihuite" hill

The other side, this is the "Chiquihuite" hill, again...

Week 4 At The MTC (CCM)...

Still no pictures. He is waiting until he gets to FLL to send them to us. I am going nuts not seeing any!

Hola!
 

It's going great here! And I love hearing about all of the things going on at home.

I can't believe that that it’s been 4 weeks! We´ve been joking that we think we are in limbo! Because time is not real here! The hours are super short the days feel long until they're over and the weeks have flown by! That’s a month! I can´t even believe it!

Mama!

You are totally right! Teaching me to do laundry, cooking etc. was genuis!  (I have been waiting years to hear that!) I don't really cut the Elder’s hair just fix the trim and the side burns. I really hate my hair cut, as soon as I can in Florida I´m getting new cut! Anyway Kim will come down and meet me there?

 

Tell the ***** family that the Church has their own well (water) that they sanitize and filter. The food here is just fine. The only time people really get sick is when they convince a worker to bring them street tacos. They also give everyone those filtered water bottles if he is really worried and they have water coolers with the jugs from Coca-Cola so it’s all safe.

I broke my watch so it would be nice if you could send one of those to Florida.  I bought one here for 120 pesos that’s like 10 dollars and it feels like it. It cuts the back of my hand and the band is already falling apart, I bought it on Monday. The watch broke because when we were walking home in the rain, I stepped in a hole and because my wrist is shrinking for some reason the watch was on the inside of my wrist when I fell it shattered the glass, it still ticks, I just can’t see it.

So, how have you been doing? Great! We´ve started to get into a real groove. On Tues, Thurs and Sat we get up a half hour early and go for a run... I hate it and am always sore now! I have figured out a new way of studying that I think is helping a TON!! Life is goin pretty good. I have gotten the most real letters! So that’s a plus!

Are you and your companions behaving? What kinds of things do you do to relax or lighten things up a bit? Well, we always behave. (Yeah, right…) But to relax we talk about things and joke around. I kinda am lucky, I have at least a small connection to each of them, one likes cars, another hunting, another horses, and there’s sports which I like, I’m just not good at, and ones an artist and another is big into technology. So I'm pretty lucky. I have found that the most calming thing for me is writing, that’s never happened before but I really enjoy it! I have a bunch of other stories that I have written out that I’m mailing you once I get back to the states. I just don’t have time to type them all!

Have you been feeling well? Yeah I had a slight cold come on but kicked it in the butt pretty quick.

What did President Anderson have to say? You said that he sent you a letter. He told us not to come for another month. Because our teachers told him we didn’t know enough Spanish. NO, it was just telling us what to expect when we get there and are picked up. We will go on a tour and then we will have dinner with him and his wife. He told us how excited they were to meet us and what not.

Is it still raining every day? YES EVERYDAY 5-6:30 is when it starts and it doesn't stop until we get home. Then it picks up around 12:30am and stops by morning. I bought a 5 peso sombrillo and that 'works' but I should have packed a rain jacket!

La lluvia. The Rain.

In Utah I thought I knew what rain was... I remember floods and I remember rain showers in the Uintas and I experienced a pretty crazy set of rain storms this summer (nothing like what I hear went on with Garret and Grandpa) But, I never remember it raining so hard and so consistently! You can almost set your watch by it, it starts raining at like 5:30pm every day! and it pours! And I know that it’s probably nothing compared to the rain and hurricanes that I will most likely see in Florida, but DANG! You can be BAKING in the sun at like 3 and there’s not a cloud in the sky then WOOSH there’s the rain and you have to hunker down! It’s worse than Cats and Dogs more like Cows and Horses! The sidewalk becomes a river and the lawns a lake! The pot holes become a hole straight into the deepest darkest bowels of the earth! I fell into one of those terrible holes on Saturday, broke my watch and dirtied a pair of pants so bad even a hobo would tell me they are dirty! But see we´ve developed a game out of the rain, see form 5:15-5:45 we have transition time and that’s a blast because we get to watch people run from class to class. What we like to do is help them chose their route, you try to convince them that a bad route is a good route and for every shout or squeal from the Hermanas you get a point. I felt kind of bad because I convinced a Hermana to take a terrible route that looks easy but the river crossing it is the widest and deepest one. Let’s just say something in the river tripped her... (SHAME on him! Hehehe)

So I thought I would offer a little advice to the next Generation of CCM attendees!

1. Bring an Umbrella or rain jacket, don't let your Mom convince you that you should buy one when you get out in the field, you can do that but bring one too. And I know it seems like a no brainer “duh Elder Parque it rains use and umbrella” but NO, ITS IMPORTANT have it with you at all times!  No cheapy Walmart ones either! I have gone through 3 of those already. The wind picks up, boom, broke. You open it to many times, boom, broke! Bring something decent.

2. Get some good shoes that are either tall or have some sort of water proofing... and Hermanas! just take those silly little flats off and walk bare foot! I so wish I was that lucky. The Hermanas that try to walk in their little flats always loose them in the puddles!

3. Bring a 'dry clean kit' I bought one off a kid that was leaving because he said he had extra. You get mud all up and down your pants or skirts, you can only do laundry once a week and I only have 6 pairs of pants.

4. The Final tip is just for the Elderés, tuck those silk ties in! I have seen too many ruined because of the rain! 6 in my district have been destroyed!

And I don´t know, maybe in the next couple weeks after I’m gone it will dry up, but that is what I wish I knew!

Praying for you always,

Elder Park

Week 3 At The MTC (CCM)....

Wahoo! 2 emails again in one day! I have merged them in to one for easier reading. Sounds like he is doing great.

Hello All!

Things have been going pretty good this week other than I lost my notebook with my stories and letters I was writing you. We've had a lot of really great devotionals, today at the temple I actually understood a lot more and its been going pretty good. I withdrew a good chunk of money last night because I was purchasing some scripture cases from a worker here that makes them by hand and I didn't know how much to grab, I still have most of it. When I get them I'll send you pictures because he does some sweet work. I'm hoping to get on the computer once more today after I actually write some stuff, its hard to waste time thinking on the computer. I never heard from Miles, just Brock btw

It's good to see the pictures of you guys and it means a lot to hear from you, I've gotten 2 DearElders from grandma and grandpa and 1 from my mission president. This week me and my companion have gotten along better and we seem to have picked up a good study routine. We have listened to 4 Elder Holland talks in the past week... I hear him in my dreams!

Life here has been getting a lot easier I've started just focusing on my studying, the lessons, and praying. If all I do is the best I can do, its the best I can do.

You're totally right Mom, the Hermana's flirt a lot, but so do the Elders. In fact I was asked by my zone leader to have a talking with a couple of my elders, because they can't text, they thought a good substitute was writing notes. Well word got spread and they were writing like everybody notes and drawing alot of attention. I asked if ear flicking was a good way of training and the Branch President said NO. I think that it's just habits that hasve to die, Hermanas are used to trying to find a missionary, and the Elders are used to flirting with cute Mormon girls, and there are A LOT of those here!

The Elders in my district have taken to calling me 'Elder Madre' because I'm always prepared and know how things need to be done. I'm the only one who hasn't used my Tide Pen and I had to teach a lesson on how to do laundry. Not to mention my sissors and tape and what not have come in handy numerous times! Originally the name was 'Elder Eagle' but that got shot out when they had me fix all of thier neck lines after we got hairccuts ( I'll tell you about that next week)

Another thing thats crazy here is the time thing, I'm pretty sure this is limbo. The days drag on but the time here just flies by! It really feels like I just barely wrote home and that was a week ago! I can't believe I'm halfway done! I just barely got here! 

But all in all things are shaping up and I'm having a ton of fun, Elder *** and I have become pretty great friends this week and I think that has helped with my sanity a little. But I love and miss all of you and again I won't believe the truck picture till i see one with both of them in it! You guys don't know how great it is to hear from home!

 

LOVE ELDER PARK