They call him Latino Blanco

Elder Walton has been in the CCM (MTC) for exactly one week.  Here's his letter detailing his new life as a missionary.


Hola!
 
You all dont know how excited I am to be writing you finally... Im literally shaking. First off, this latino keyboard doesnt have apostrophes or quotation marks, so just know that I still have good writing.
 
I dont know where to start. The flight here to Guatemala was crazy, there was about 40 of us misionarios who met up from different places around the country at LAX airport and flew down to Guate together. I sat next to some latinos and didnt understand a thing, and I was surprised how much spanish I DIDNT know. BUT, Im getting better. We arrived at 630 am at the CCM (MTC) and the misioneros helped us with our bags and took us to our rooms. They gave a us an hour to unpack, eat desayuno, and get ready for the day. Lets just say that the first day was the longest day of my life, and it honestly felt like a year.
 
The CCM is so fun, I dont know how to describe it. Since this is my first letter, I guess all just get all the basics down.
My compañero is from Mesa, Arizona and his name is Elder Tingey. He went to a year of college at ASU and.... we get along really well. Im so grateful because there are a few misioneros here that I knew I would have trouble getting along with, and Im so grateful for Elder Tingey. We both are here for the same reason, and we are patient with our decisions.
 
Things are really different though.. for ejemplo, SHAVING. Ive never had such a consistently clean shaven face. Its weird. All the Elders who have to shave everyday are me, and the latinos. Most of the norteamericanos can go a day or week or month without shaving and I envy them so much.  The food here is AMAZING. Like no joke, Ive ate everything theyve served me. The CCM has a professional staff and because there is only about 110 missionaries, they can make a lot of food without losing the goodness. BTW, my letter is probably really poorly written... because my englesh is already turning into spanglish.
 
I made it to about Sunday night before getting hit with the diarrhea. You basically praised if you walk out of the baño and yell down the hallway SOLID! Thats all Ill say about my bowel system.
 
The language is really difficult, but Im progressing. I didnt realize how much I had to learn, and how long of a process it could be. By about the 4th day I understand the majority of spanish, and the latinos help us with our vocabulary at desayuno, almuerzo, y cena (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). I love ALL the latinos. They are so funny, and really patient with our intense gringo ways. We joke around with each other a lot, and even though we have a language barrier, we know we are all here for the same reason. Our favorite joke is walking up to the latinos, looking down on them and saying QUIERE MORIR? Which means YOU WANT TO DIE? Also another favorita is TIENE MIEDO? which means YOU SCARED? I dont know if youll find that funny... but all the Elderes love it. There are latinos from all over central and south america. The two latinos in our room are Elder Estevez from Republica Dominicana and Elder Bonilla from Honduras. Elder E is honestly the funniest and craziest latino in the CCM. He walks around singing Demi Lovato and Michael Jackson, but speaks no engles. He randomly pulls out full sentences of perfect engles like PUT YOUR HANDS UP, ITS THE POLICE we asked him where he learned that and he said SWAT 4.
 
Mi distrito (District) is fantastic, probablemente the best one here. We all have a good time together and laugh and enjoy each others company. Its 6 elders and 6 Hermanas. I dont know if they mix genders in Provo, but they do here, and its kind of a distraction. But we are learning and helping each other progress.
 
My other two roomates are from Boise, and Arizona and they are going to El Salvador. They are great and it feels like ive known them, and Elder Tingey my whole life. One time we all got a cup of cold water and and dumped it on Elder E who was singing Demi in the shower. I dont know what he yelled back at us but it was a good time.
 
The schedule here is pretty structured and we all have somewhere to be. They give us an hour for deportes (sports) everyday and we all go play volleyball. Yesterday during our P-day we played a vball game, latinos contra norteamericanos and it was crazy. It got super intense and I think someone yelled QUIERE MORIR every 20 seconds. They also have a small gym and a bball court, but all the rims are bent and no nets... sorta gheto, but welcome to Guate.
 
Even though the language barrier is everywhere, the Spirit doesnt have that barrier. Its easy to feel the Spirit even when you dont understand what the speaker is saying.
 
The temple here was great, but SUPER small. I loved it, and cant wait to go every week.
 
The only way to show your personality and fashion for the Elderes is thru your corbatas (ties) and the other night everyone threw a couple ties around their neck and went down the the second floor and we had EL GRAN CORBATA TRADE. These are some of the funnest times in the CCM, and it reminds me to have fun.
 
The weather here has been a lot better than I anticipated.... RAIN RAIN RAIN is all I heard about before coming, but it only sprinkled once this last week... until yesterday. The streets were flooded, and we barely could walk up the sidewalks to the templo without drowning.
 
Im glad to here all is well back home. I have so much to say, but only 45 minutes to write emails. I love you all so much, and remember the Lords hand is always in our lives. My testimonio has grown so much just in one week, and i know Im here for the right reason. I think everyone is, because everyone is really positive.
Stay close to the evangelio (gospel) and keep praying for me, because its not easy.
Everyone says how hard there mision was, but i never realized HOW HARD IT IS. There is a lot of pressure, but ive never been happier.
I miss you all lots, and love you so much. Hope fathers day was great dad.
 
Btw, when and if you send packages to me, make sure to write ELDER nathan walton, because the customs dont check the packages when they see elder. No need for stickers of Jesus or Mary.
 
Love you all, and cant wait to write you again and tell you more!
 
Love, Elder Walton
 
ciudad guatemala sur misión