Inner City Pressure

Well, another week has come and gone. If last week was "marriage week" this week would probably have to be "drunk week." Pretty much everyone we've been talking to recently seems to have a bad drinking problem. I need to work on developing my love for such people, because I find that they seem to try my patience much more than others. I suppose part of the problem is that I'm always wary of trusting people when they always seem slightly intoxicated. My companion Elder Peterson seems more optismistic towards them, which is good, because it balances things out.

This week I got the chance to sing a solo in a Zone Conference. That was a little scary. I had no time to practice, which is generally not something I'm comfortable with when I sing. Still, it went pretty well and I'm pretty sure I didn't screw up too bad. I sang I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go.

We're still kinda in a rough spot. We don't really have anyone that we're teaching at the moment who are really solidly progressing. It's been kinda difficult, but I found comfort today when we were reading in Preach My Gospel and it said that no matter your level of success, that if you get discouraged that it will only bring you down. I need to work a little better on not giving in to that discouragement at times.

We went to the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple this Saturday. It was really cool and was a really nice production. It was definitely a good spiritual experience. It was also interesting to see what Tempe and Mesa look like. You can get a little claustrophobic when you're stuck to a 4 square mile area for 4 months. Elder Peterson keeps contacting people I've already talked to before or who used to be investigators. I'm starting to recognize a lot of the people I see.

In preparation for Easter, each day I'm studying the account in the scriptures of the final week of Christ. It's kinda interesting being around Mexicans for Easter, because they don't really have any of the Pagan holdovers we're fond of in the US. Bunnies and eggs definitely aren't Mexican traditions. Of course, most of them who live here tend to adopt the bunnies and eggs, especially when they have kids.

I'm glad to hear the Sonoran hot dogs were a big hit. They're pretty tasty. Depending on where you're from in Mexico the food can be pretty different. It's interesting eating at different people's houses from different areas. People from the north tend to eat more American-style food, while the south tends to have more traditional Mexican food. And everyone has a different take on tamales. I still think my favorite is the sea food. Seviche is really good.

Well, that's it for this week. Love you all. Thank you for your prayers.

Elder Grasley