Lima Peru

His first companion! 

Week 6

So I get to email one last time before leaving CCM! We leave Monday the 25! AT 8 P.M.!!

I'm good! really excited to leave this place! 

We've all got senioritis!!

Week 5

On Wednesday, August 20, 2014, Alex Durrant <alex.durrant@myldsmail.net> wrote:

So.... I finally get to leave CCM!!!!! We fly out Monday night around 12.....But I can't wait till I get to Peru!!! other then that the past week have been the same as always. Class then more class then more class... anyways Sunday we had a Devotional from one of the Presidents of the CCM. He talked about specific prayers.. He read parts from Genesis 24. and then gave some amazing stories.. one of them was about a kid who left his bag full of his stuff from his mission on a taxi.. so he gave a specific prayer and said that his bag wouldn't be gone and nothing from the inside would be stolen.. he went to where he said he be and the taxi driver pulled up to the gas station and held the bag out the window and said here's your bag and don't worry I'm christian so I didn't take anything. after hearing about this I decided to try it out.... I just started small and ask heavenly father that at 630 in the morning I would come across a scripture that I would use through out my mission.. I started my personal study around 6 and just read... until I came across Enos 1 : 15 and it hit me that this is the scripture. I looked at the time and it was 630... I know that if you talk to God about your problems like you would talk about them to your earthly father he will answer you! Other then that nothing really cool has happened.... but give it a little bit and I will be out in the field where I will have plenty of other stories to tell!!!!!

love

  -Elder Durrant

This picture Alex is with Seth Colby from payson. Seth left the CCM Monday the 18th.  So excited for him to serve the people of Mexico.

6 hours his legs are going to hurt. :)

Week 4

This week has been a rather interesting week! First off last Sunday we watched a talk from Elder Bednar and he talked mainly about missionary work and how to become more Christlike! he started off by saying that on way to be more Christlike is by turning yourself outward! the natural man when things start to get hard tend to turn inwards and start thinking like poor me, poor me... he related us to the Cookie Monster "I want a cookie and I want it now! and then he devours the whole cookie... he doesn't just eat it HE DEVOURS it"! after a couple stories he then told us how we need to learn of Christ, not just about him. We need to learn how to be like him! He said one way we can do this is he likes to do this thing where if ever can't answer a question that he is having he goes to the store and buys a brand new paper back Book of Mormon. He then writes the question he has on the inside of the cover, after this he reads the Book from cover to cover, highlighting scriptures that answer he questions takes notes in the book of personal revelation he gets. So I decided to take on that challenge but when me and my companion went to the store to get a Paper back Book of Mormon they were all gone! so I got a note pad and dedicated it as my "B.O.M notes"! :D I challenge everyone to do the same! doing this has changed my life and has given me a new perspective on scripture study and how important this Gospel is!!! Next I found a hole in my tooth so I had to leave CCM to go to the dentist!! It was so weird the instead of it being like an american dentist where there's about three people who help you... you know like the nurse who cleans you, then the nurse who numbs you, then the dentist who fixes you.... here.. there's only one lady... she was super nice and new how to dentist really well...but she gave so much numbing that I was numb for about 4 hours after my dentist visit.... When I got back to CCM my companion (who is sick) and I went back to our room so he could change into normal clothes...but we decided to take a quick 15 minuet nap.... that didn't happen... we ended sleeping for about an hour and half... but it was nice! when I woke up the numbing was gone and I felt really refreshed!!!  So everyone's probably herd that there's a sickness going around CCM. which is true my companion had to get a shot in butt and had to take some pill for about 4 days ( we think they gave him laxatives :D hahaha)!! Sometimes I'm glad i'm a picky eater because I haven't gotten sick yet!! anyways that's pretty much how my weeks been... the rest is just chilling in the classroom learning spanish and the gospel! I love all of you and I hope you're all having a great time!

These next pictures are of the CCM. :)

Week 3

I've been doing really good this week! I feel tons more comfortable with the language then I did before! It's gotten to the point where everyone in the class uses Spanglish..... thats where you mix english and spanish!! sometimes I even forget the English word so I have to use the Spanish word! The Lord has helped me a lot through the past couple of day because I started to feel down on myself just because I was behind on the language and I wasn't doing so good spiritually because I kept on getting distracted by people talking around me or thinking about movies or videos games I had played before, even old music that I listened to popped into my head a lot. it didn't really help that people would keep talking about movies or singing songs or asking me question about videogames... But I really have felt peace lately because I've had a little time to think because my companion was taking a nap. I was reading the scriptures but I kept not focusing on them and focusing on other matters going through my head.... so I decided to also take a nap! I immediately woke up exactly 25 minuets later (that's when our laundry finished) I got up and decided to read my scriptures which I left open... and it was in 2 Nephi where it talks about how he loves small and simple things so he can teach his people to understand what the lord wants...  It helped me realize what the lord wants from me! Other then that I've been doing really good the food here is alright they have the option to eat rice and beans every meal but hardly anyone does because they make you extremely sick if you do... they have a lot of american style food here... they serve pizza, cordon blue's,...etc. I've tried some interesting food though and all I had to do was put some salt on it! Just got my first haircut on the mission and it turned out alright but she didn't really thin my hair out that much so it's still fuzzy.....  also I have to go to the Dentist this Monday because I found a hole in tooth but it doesn't hurt! but I figured I should get it fixed before I get out to Peru...  I hope everyone else is doing good!

I am wearing my contacts but everytime I get a picture with someone I'm in glasses idk why... 

My companion is a lot like Hayden.... in a lot of ways... haha so we get along really well.... My whole district is one big family we joke around a lot even with our teachers.. maybe some cinnamon toast crunch... that would be amazing! no poptarts... 

This last picture, is a friend of mine's nephew, but through my amazing friend Shannon  I met her amazing sister Jen who's son is Elder Sanders who is also in the CCM(So confusing). So we had them on a quest to find each other.  Ty won, he found Alex first, I should send him a prize.

This picture says a thousand word's to me, and I even cried when I received it. 

The support Jen and Shannon have been to me is unexplainable!! 

Week 2

Yeah Im fine!!! I havent really gotten homesick yet... my stomach is a little upset with me but im pretty sure it was from the food.... but other then that and a small cold I'm fine!!!

(hey are you using your blanket or do they give you one?

did we send a jacket is it cold?)

I use my footy pajamas!!!!  and yes the gave us sheets!! its so hot here theres no point in a jacket. 

(does everyone think your weird?  do they take picture to send home ?)

No!! everyone thinks its amazing!!!!! haha ive gotten plenty of picuters taken though

 Theres nothing to say.... we literally study.. breakfast, then class\Progressing Investigator until lunch.. after lunch we have gym time then TALL... then study till dinner then we have class\Progressing Investigator till 9 then we plan for the next day and go to bed.... nothing really happens.... 

but something cool that happened was I was doing personal study outside and I started reading the book of mormon and forgot to pray so i started praying with the book open and in my prayer i asked for personal revelation on how I could progress in spanish faster and i heard the pages flipping with the wind but when i opened my eyes it was open to 1 nephi 2:22..

Answers to my questions

1 (did you get their emails)I only got the email from Megan. I never got one from Garrison.

2 (do you like the food) They don't really serve Mexican food in CCM but I have tried some interesting foods and the ended up being pretty good! 

3 (have you got to go to the temple)We went today! but the temple is closed for reconstruction so we just went to the visitors center.

4 Yeah I ran into him in the line for dinner! he seemed pretty happy... he came up to me and was like hey your a tall elder with the name Durrant is your cousin Davis? I've ran into a couple kids from school. (Elder Colby is who he is talking about)

5 (did you need another suit) No I hardly ever where my suit! just on Sunday's and Tuesday nights!

Jessica's email from Alex

"So today we went to the visitors center because the temple is closed for reconstruction.... it was fantastic!! I came to the realization that we are very sheltered in CCM... the way people drive and how the culture amazes me!

My district is amazing! last night at the end of our planning session we decided to sing Called To Serve (in Spanish of course) and we sang it loud and proud!! the spirit was really strong and we were all laughing and enjoying each others company"

She asked  him how the language was coming along and this is what he said....

"I actually really like it! I can understand a lot I just can't speak that well .

Lots of rain!!