Jeffrey Arrives in Mexico

Jeffrey flew to Mexico on October 6th and his first assignment was to serve in Acapulco. His trainer is Elder Smith. Here is Jeffrey's first email home. He gives some details but it creates many questions from his mom. We've added some photos of Acapulco but these were not taken by Jeffrey. We hope we'll get to see his apartment, the areas he works and the people.

October 13, 2008

¡Hola familia! ¡Acapulco es muy bonita! Yeah, I can’t really say more than that right now. Elder Smith (that actually is his name) does most of the talking. I say simple things like “how are you” or “we are the missionaries” and stuff like that. Also, your comment that the weather will be cooling off…yeah, that isn’t happening. It’s 85º on a cold day and I sweat like a pig. I went out and bought new handkerchiefs because I was using the old one as a sweat rag. It’s fairly gray now and is easily soaked by noon.

We live in a kinda nice place. It’s made of all cement and the stairs have no hand rail, but it’s still nice. We hand wash all of our clothes so that’s fun and our shower only has cold water. That’s actually fairly nice in the evenings when we are just so incredibly tired and hot that it actually feels good, but not so much fun in the mornings. Our toilet is acting up at this point and occasionally doesn’t want to flush and the ceiling leaks from the place above us, but it’s not too bad. As long as you have an umbrella or don’t mind your back getting wet, it’s all good.

Oh yeah, I guess you will figure this out, but my p-day is Monday. We do get mail, but it gets sent to the mission office and is then handed out at mission conferences twice a month. It will eventually get to me, but I guess e-mails work as well. We get an hour out here so that’s good, but the computers are kinda old and don’t always like to listen to what keys we press. Also, the keyboards are in Spanish, but there are only a few differences like keys for the different accents which I won’t use.

Anyway, things are good here and I haven’t even gotten diarrhea too badly. I had a little bit the first day, but I took those prescription pills like they said, and I’m still fairly solid. I love the food here, but I can’t remember the last time I used a utensil. They use tortillas for all meals here and I actually really like it. I’m not quite used to the spices yet, but it will come with time.

Anyway, I’m not really sure what else to tell you guys aside from the fact that I love it here. My feet do hurt, but thankfully, I don’t have any blisters yet. I am really glad that I brought that fan since I usually can’t sleep unless it’s freezing back home. I’m sleeping decently since I’m so tired from walking and what not.

Also, I found out that a lot of the members here live in the poorer neighborhoods around here which are built on the sides of the mountains, so there is a lot of hiking going on when we go to meetings and things. Some of the "stairs" that we use don’t really look safe, but it’s the only way up so up we go. Occasionally, you find a shipping crate that they have turned into a ladder that you use to climb up to the next level, but I haven’t fallen yet.

Today we had a zone meeting where we basically met up to play futbol (soccer) on the cement court behind the church house. I was the goalie and blocked a couple of kicks. Smith didn’t even play so I felt proud for a minute. They don’t have Dr. Pepper here so I know a good Christmas gift to send me if you can.

Anyway, I think that that’s all that I can think of right now, so I’ll end it here. I love you all and miss you, too. Congratulate Jordan for me for getting a job and I’ll see you all in 22 months.

Love,
Elder Hooker

Elder Hooker at the MTC

We received a package from Jeffrey that he mailed before leaving for Mexico. He sent home his shoes, his alarm clock and photos. Here are a few excerpts from letters we received during the last few weeks.

September 2, 2008

I know that I have never in my entire life studied as hard as I am here. It’s going to be weird when I get out to the field and when I get to collage and what not because first off, I’ll have time to do whatever I want when I’m in the field and secondly, when I’m in college, I’ll have everything studied with a few hours left in the night. I actually can’t wait until I get to do something like that.

We do go to church as a zone (a bunch of districts that are going to the same area) in one of the multi-purpose rooms that are sectioned off for chapels. We don’t have classes and mostly just study. We do have to prepare a five minute talk every week and the presiding authority just calls on two missionaries to talk with no warning. I have become the pseudo-permanent conductor though for my Chapel since I’m the only one who knows anything about music and can kinda sing well. (Elder Hooker at the Provo Temple.)

September 5, 2008

We lost a member of our district last Wednesday so we're down to only nine now. He had to go home because he developed a tick in his neck and it was just getting worse the longer he stayed here. We think it’s because of the stress so being home should help him. On the topic of stress, I still feel fine stress-wise. Everyone else is breaking out in pimples and what not and I haven’t even gotten one yet myself. I am feeling better now, but I still have a runny nose and somewhat of a cough every now and then. I think I might get me some more Halls and things from the bookstore. (Elder Hooker at the fountain at the Provo Temple.)

September 9, 2008

As for Visas, they seem to be picking back up with a few districts getting out of here on time so I figure that I won’t have to wait for long. As for cash, I should be great since I don’t even get to use a mission vehicle down in Mexico. We don’t even get bikes. Elder Clevenger will be my companion the whole time we're here so it’s a good thing that I get along with him. Also, yes everyone in my district is from the USA.

September 12, 2008

As for visas, it seems that I was wrong about them. The district that just got their flight plans out actually went to the travel office today and found out that their visas had been revoked after all. They have to stay here for two to four more weeks while they go through. I hope that they get this all figured out by the time that I have to leave this place. I can’t wait to get out into the field and to speak Spanish and all. I know that ill just butcher the language for a month or so, but ill try my hardest to do it right.

September 19, 2008

Everything is going great for me here and I really love it here. It will be not cool when I have to leave, but México will be awesome. I’ll try to write a letter in Spanish at least once, but it might be pretty lame and short. It might not make too much sense either. Anyway, I love and miss you all and I’m working hard here. I know that you are not ignoring me and I’m really grateful for all the notes and what not that I get, even if it’s short. I can’t wait to get out into the field and ill see you all in two years. (Elder Hooker and his companion, Elder Clevenger, from Mesa, Arizona, at the MTC)

September 26, 2008

We went to the consulate last Wednesday and got our visas already. We don’t even have our flight plans yet and we already have our visas. That is just amazing luck. Oh yeah, I finally got a letter from Cassandra. I had forgotten that she was moving to Illinois for the next couple of months (I forget how long) so she moved in with her sister there. Things are going good for her and it turns out that she’s getting married next May. Yeah. That’s a fun letter to get. Seven weeks of nothing and then "Oh, by the way, I’m getting married next May." That’s not the way she said it, but I’m too pissed right now to even care. Oh well, that’s just my luck. At least I had one good day this week where I got my visa early. (Elder Hooker at far left and Elder Clevenger with their entire district showing off their flight plans to Mexico City and Cuernavaca.)

September 29, 2008

I got your letters and first off, no, you don’t get a prize for a Dear John letter. You do get ridiculed some though and told the quote "if your girlfriend wont wait for you, your wife will" at least thirty to fifty times. I stopped keeping count after a while. Also, we got our flight plans last Friday. Our district leader thought that it would be funny to hide them until the end of the day for us to get them. We leave this Monday morning at 3:00 in the morning.

Jeffrey flew out on Monday August 6, 2008. He called us from Cuernavaca on Monday night but no other new yet. Stay tuned.

We finally heard from Jeffrey. His first letter was upbeat and he sounded busy but happy. He said he had lost weight and couldn't eat. I think it may be from stress but I think he is doing better now. The photo is a photo we received from a couple at the MTC. A note accompanied the photo that said "We meet the missionaries curbside," so I assume that the other four Elders are the missionaries that caught the shuttle from Salt Lake Airport at the same time. Below is an excerpt of Jeffrey's first letter home.


Dear Family,
Things are going great so there's no need to worry about me. I have the coolest companion, Elder Clevenger from Arizona. Almost everyone in my district is going to Cuernavaca so that's cool. Since it's a new mission, a lot more Americans are going there. I've made a lot of friends already and we all get along great. Two of my roommates got boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts (hint, hint) so that's cool. The food here is excellent and I know I will gain some weight. Don't worry, our room is on the top floor of our residence hall so that's four floors of stairs I have to go up and down each day. The room are actually fairly nice with a desk and closet and a set of dressers for each Elder. The beds are OK but could be softer. They are bunk beds with two in each room. The rooms are a tad hot at night so I don't sleep through the night, but I'm not tired much.
Could you send me some of my old shirts? I actually lost about fifteen pounds since I got here, bit I still prefer the size and feel of my old shirts. The way that i lost weight is that ever since I got here, I felt kind of sick and queasy whenever I started to eat any of the food. I'm over it now, but I'm glad that I lost some of that weight. Unfortunately, when we went to the Temple this morning, my white pants were too large for me so I might need to find someone to take them in or just deal with big pants.
My Spanish is going great. I already know how to pray and bear my testimony and hold a simple conversation with an investigator. It's so awesome learning a new language and I'm trying my hardest to get it down.
Unfortunately, the guy that takes care of Visas for Mexico got an angry letter from one of the missionaries mothers and now he is only letting ten missionaries in a week and there's about three to four hundred in front of us I think, but there could be more. Basically, that means that most, if not all of us, will be sent to Salt Lake South which is a Spanish speaking mission, but we will most likely stay there until our Visas come through for a month or so. The MTC is the single greatest things that I could do at this time. I have learned so much in both Spanish and the Gospel here and I know it's only up from here. The devotionals are great and we think that the Prophet will visit at least once while I'm here which will be awesome. Anyways, I love and miss all of you and I know that what I'm doing here is one of the best things that I can do at this time.
Love, Elder Hooker

Jeff has left Eugene

We were up at 3:00 this morning to send Jeffrey off to Utah. I started crying yesterday and still have not stopped. We are thrilled that he is going off on this adventure and his willingness to volunteer and serve for two years, but it is very hard to see him go. I keep thinking about my 4 lb. premie and think that he has never flown alone or been gone from home for more than 10 days. It will be great for him and if I can survive, things will be great at home. Poor Jerry and Jordan are walking on egg shells because anything they say, makes me start crying again.

We had hoped that we'd get an email or note from the MTC today to say he had arrived but nothing yet. I hope we'll get something or if I can't wait any more, I'll call the MTC tomorrow afternoon. We will get his mail box address soon and I hope he'll write to us. We are anxious to hear about his flight and if he easily found the shuttle to Provo. We will go on the assumption that "no news is good news."

Jeffrey is Preparing to Leave

Jeffrey leaves this week and it has been a busy week getting him ready to leave. Friday we met Mom and Dad and went to the Portland Temple. It was a nice day. Mom, Dad and I waited for Jeffrey and Jerry as they meet with people at the Temple. The officiator was from our old ward in Tempe. Bro. Cooper had moved to Oregon three years ago and it was surprising to have someone we knew at the Temple. Jeffrey looked like he enjoyed the session and is looking more like a man rather than a teenager.

Sunday was his farewell at Church. He made his mom nervous because he had not spent too much time on his talk but he did an excellent job. We were all very proud of him. It looks like he will do great on his mission. Jerry rushed in just before the start of the meeting from work, still wearing Levis but caved in to my demand that he at least change out of his tee shirt and put on a white shirt and tie. The bishop asked me to say the closing prayer because Jerry couldn't wearing Levis !?! Jerry thinks it may be his new church outfit from now on.

Monday, we had an open house for Jeffrey, hosted by our home teacher. He has a lovely home and it was nice to just worry about food, and then leave my kitchen in a mess and not have to clean my house. Several members of the ward came to wish Jeffrey well. Jeffrey has been dating a young girl from his student ward and she came to the farewell and open house. It was the first time any of Jeffrey's family met Cassandra and she seems like a nice girl (even though she makes his mom nervous).


Several people commented to me about how well Jeffrey did on Sunday and it is starting to sink in that he will do great. It is hard to imagine that he will be in Utah in a few days but I'm sure he will have a wonderful experience.

We have spent the rest of the week finishing shopping. I do not seem to get out of any store for under $100.00. I even spent nearly $200.00 at Target this morning just getting miscellaneous items. So far we have probably spent $1,500 + to get him out of here. Lets see if Kelli can hold it together until Wednesday.

Our family competed in the 4th of July Butte to Butte 4.5 mile race. This was the second time we all competed. (Mom's third time.) The starting line is right in front of our house so it didn't take too much effort to start. Jerry was out in the lead in our family and he left Jeffrey, Jordan and Mom eating his dust. We all finished. The race starts at Spencer Butte Middle School (in the shadow of Spencer Butte) to Skinner Butte—the first settlement in Eugene. (Skinner Butte named after founder Eugene Skinner. I guess they thought naming the town "Eugene" was prettier than "Skinner.") Jerry came in just over an hour but Mom and the boys trudged in almost 20 minutes later. We enjoyed the stroll but were tired. The rest of the day we sat around with our feet up and ate too many hot dogs.

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