WOW 4 WEEKS!!!

Dear Family,

  Today I made a list of things to write, so I'm prepared. Maybe this email will be as interesting as one of Max's. But first let me say that Cassie looks A TON like Max! I can't even believe it! Except that Max is fat now. Elder Turner says "fatty." I can't believe already all of our senior photos will be hung on the wall. And I'm really disappointed that I won't get to speak in sacrament meeting those first two sundays home. I wanted to cut my hair like my converts do, the familia Martinez. Remember how Aleksi tried to cut my hair that one time before a youth conference? Like that except much better. But everyone will want to see me as a missionary still... I can't believe I only have four weeks left. This week flew by. Ah!

  1) This week a guy called out to us in English, "You guys are christian missionaries?" He just wanted to show the woman he was talking to that he speaks English. Aye. It happens all the time. But he found it fascinating that my companion was from England. "Let's hear that accent," he said. My companion asked, "What do you want me to say?" "OH MY GOSH You do have an accent!" replied the guy... Well duh. Then I said something. He looked at me all strange and said, "You have an English accent too!" What? For real. Elder Turner says it's for real. That my accent is mexican and english put together. But I CAN'T tell. It's strange. So in a couple weeks I'm going to record myself talking so that later in the year I can listen and see if it's true.

  2) This week I overate again. I don't know if I've told you family how many times I have vomited in my mission. And hardly from being sick. It's almost always from overeating. I get all sweaty and nauseus. I can't handle it. This time I burped SO loud before it all came out. I was in the street. My companion couldn't stop laughing for literally 20 minutes. It was way rumbly. But then it all came out. The good thing is that it didn't come out of my nose like it has before. It's that we went to our lunch appointment, but when we visited Patricia later, it was her birthday. Here, every birthday means a bowl or two of pozole. VOMIT. I love pozole, but vomited because it was too much food.

  3) This week we went to a christian church. Our hair-cut lady invited us. WEIRD. Max, I recommend that at some point you go to catholic mass or other churches. It will help you be able to teach better. It was quite the experience. Dancing. Singing. Crying. Praying. But all while actually looking up at the ceiling as if you see God. Weird. Not to offend any christians. But they mix up the Holy Ghost with feelings of sadness or the desire to spin around dancing. Aye.

    I got to go! I love you family. See you soon!

Love,

  Elder Poirier

  

5 weeks

Dear Family,

  I'm so happy to hear you are all so well. Dad! A guys trip would be nice, but since we're just two and you're retired anyway, let's go on one just you and me when I get home! Okay? And as for the sterling silver girls, I'll look, but that seems like something you have to be here to pick out for yourself. I really hope you don't get mad with the few souvenirs that I do get you. Max, where is your companion from?! How cool that he's in Mexico! Did you tell him that I'm serving in Morelia? I'm sure you must have! Cassie, I can't believe you're a senior!!! WHOA. I can't wait to go to the beach with you all the time! Can you all believe that I only have 5 weeks left! WHOA.

  This week flew by! It was so eventful, but as always, I sit down to write and I can't remember anything. All I want to write about is how Vannesa got baptized! She's so happy. Emma, her mom, spoke in the baptism (we baptized Emma in June). She cried at the end expressing her love for Vane and her joy at the decisions she's making. It was really special. After the baptism, it rained a TON. This week it has been raining a lot and flooding the streets! An hermano told Vannesa that it was because the heavens were so happy with her that they too wept with joy. She said, "ah bueno, esta bien entonces."

  I don't really know what else to write. I'm just happy. I'm happy to be here in Morelia. I'm happy that we have even more baptisms coming up. I'm just doing my best to finish strong. I hope that that package gets here sooner mom because if no one ends up going to the offices after it gets to Guadalajara, I won't get it in time.

 College applications. Aye! I don't want to think about that! I can't wait to see you all, but I don't want to plan my life out yet!

  See you soon!

And PS I'm going to win in the muddy!

   Love,

  Elder Poirier (Mitch)

Counting down

Dear Family,

   And so begins your countdown! Today is the first day of my LAST transfer! Six more weeks! And guess what! I'm STILL in Itzicuaro! I've been here since JANUARY!!! OH EM GEE. Who would've thought that this would've been my last area when I got here 7 months ago?! NOT me. But I'm really really happy! I'm so excited. We have all the love and trust of the ward. Our converts are all active and well! And we have 8 baptisms coming up! By the way, NIVARDO GOT BAPTIZED!!! It was his anniversary, so we splurged and bought him and his wife flowers. The baptismal service was really beautiful. The Bishop helped us clean the font, but when we filled it, the water was GREEN! He said it was because of all the rain. Um. "This will not do!" (Umbridge). So we rushed to a vet shop and bought blue dye (normally for fish tanks to make the water look blue and fresh). I poured a ton of it in the font and stirred with a broom upside-down. The water turned BLUE!! A little too dark, but better than green! And there were no other obstacles with the baptism! Wow! We were so grateful to be the missionaries who finally baptized him! After 22 years of them being married and all her family pressuring him, he finally read the Book of Mormon and could not deny the peace and joy he began to feel in his life. Wow. I love being a missionary.

   All my converts and all the ward were really worried that I'd be leaving. They all bought me gifts and made me cakes. Really. A ton! I spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday. I summarized a poem I wrote in college about Nana. It might be on my laptop if you want to read it. I think I called it "Zlata" or else "starfish". I spoke on 3 starfish that we need to forget about because they do us harm 1) Regret with things in the past 2) Envy of others in the present and 3) Impatience with the arrival of the future. It was a really good talk. In the poem, just in case you don't find it, Nana is sitting on the shore of the sea with her eyes all red and swollen because she'd been admiring a starfish under the salt water with her eyes open. She wished she could be like the starfish (a starfish can regrow arms if they are lost). Not that she doesn't have arms, just that somethings in life we can't change. My point in the talk was that those 3 things are results of wanting to change things we can't. I'm really happy to be here in Morelia for my last 6 weeks. Elder Turner will still be my companion. He will become my longest companion. In three more weeks he beats Elder Willett's record. Apparently there's more I have to do to help him, according to President.

  As for last week, I didn't have enough money in my account yet, so I only bought a few souvenirs. We're going to go today to Centro and I'm going to buy more things. Hey mom, can you look up all the travel rules? What am I not allowed to bring into the US from Mexico? And how much will I have to pay if I bring a lot of souvenirs. Also, I look forward to filling out those college applications.. And I think that's all..

   We had 9 investigators in church! I love that! And they love church!

 Love,

   Elder Poirier (Mitchell)

Flight Plans and Tamales

Dear Family!

   WHY DID YOU SEND ME MY FLIGHT PLANS? OH MY GOSH I STILL HAVE SEVEN WEEKS! NOW THAT'S GOING TO BE IN MY HEAD ALL SEVEN OF THOSE WEEKS!! aye aye aye hahaha. So 4:40 PM September 24th.

   You'll be pleased to know that I have a ton of recipes and look forward to making all this real mexican food for you all. Yesterday I FINALLY LEARNED HOW TO MAKE TAMALES!!! Since they're my favorite I was WAY excited! Patricia and Adad invited us over to make them! They came out so delicious! Do we have any little mexican markets in Stuart or nearby kind of. Or would I have to find the corn husks (hojas de maiz) in corn fields? Also, Patricia explained how to make Morelia's famous corundas, which are very similar to the tamal. I cannot wait to make them for you!

  So this week Elder Turner and I worked out all our problems. He was lacking a TON of iniciative so I was doing everything. He won't cross a street if I don't go first. We'll just stand there as he looks around waiting for me! AAAAHHHH!! But it'll be better. This may be our last week together since there are changes in one week. I really wish President would send me back to Guadalajara to end my mission. I don't think he's going to... he sent me an email that says I'm training Elder Turner until he's ready to be senior companion. So...  SIGH. But we'll see. Heavenly Father knows what's right and what I need, and His will be done.

  I love you family! Max, cheer up! I love you! I wish you were my last companion!!!!

Love,

   Elder Poirier (mitch)