My First Trip to the Hospital

Hello to Everyone!

It is good to hear you still have nice weather in Arizona, LUCKY! It is so HOT & HUMID here!. I hope you all have a good time in Utah, have fun and be safe! Wow, Kade you have two puppies now, that’s cool. Hey, congrats Monson on going to the temple! Ah man, the mission is unbelievable; you are going to love it!!!

You are right Mom, we definitely need the members help in our ward! It was good Sunday, we went on splits with members, I was with Alex and a ward member, so it was really awesome to have the members involved. The teaching this week has gone pretty good, however, Elder Garcia never lets me teach lessons, so I have to interrupt and say my piece, I have been trying to get him to let me talk more so we are still working on it. We are teaching a new family, Martinez, they are a pretty sweet family. They have two kids and the dad plays baseball for a living. He plays on Sunday’s so he can’t go to church with us but we will work with him more. Other than that I have not done much this week because it has been one crazy week….

Last Monday, P-day, after I posted my letter to you on email, all the Elder’s went to the church to play basketball, football, and ping-pong. I was feeling hot and sweating like crazy, more than normal, so I went and changed out of gym clothes and into my street clothes and started to play the piano. While I was playing my back started to hurt, so I took off my back pack, then I started to get a pain down my whole left side up into my neck and I was having a hard time breathing. Elder Sugden came and started playing the piano next to me and I told him I wasn’t feeling well. We got up and walked out to the foyer to where the other Elder’s were sitting and I told them I was not feeling good and I was trying to explain to them in Spanish how I was feeling since nobody speaks English. The pain just hit me again, I couldn’t breathe and I collapsed on the couch, my left arm was numb now and all I could think was I was having a heart attack. The Elders were around me trying to figure out what was wrong and one called the Mission Doctor, I couldn’t even breathe to talk to him so he said to call the Mission President. Elder Sugden and another Elder gave me a blessing while the president sent two A.P.’s with the car to pick me up, carry me out to the car and take me to the hospital. Elder Sugden came with us too.

It was hard to breathe and my chest hurt like crazy, we were speeding down the roads, the roads are full of pot holes and every time we hit one, it made the pain worst. The kept telling me to keep breathing and to hold on! I think we made it to the hospital in 10 minutes and it usually takes 25 minutes by taxi. The hospital happened to be the best one in Nicaragua so I was well taken care of. They rushed me into a bed and the doctor kept asking me medical terms in Spanish so I was having a hard time communicating with him and telling him what I was feeling in Spanish. They took some x-rays and they said I had a bubble outside of my lung (infection). They call it “The Devils Grip” down here. I stayed in the hospital overnight, my hero Elder Sugden stayed with me the whole time. The hospital was awesome, the food was awesome, the bed was even awesome, and I loved the stay. Ha-ha. They kept me over night and released me the next day, I was to rest for four days and after resting the doctor said I was better and could go back to teaching later in the week. DO NOT CALL THE MISSION HOME, I AM OKAY NOW!

Love, Elder Buck

Note from Sandra: I looked up “The Devil’s Grip” online and found it is called Bornholm Disease or epidemic pleurodynia. It is a viral disease that is easily spread from person to person, the characteristics include sudden, violent pain in the chest, fever (his excessive sweating) and difficulty breathing. It is treated with pain medicine only. Without complications all symptoms leave within one week. It is common in hot tropical climates and usually affects children, but since McCoy does not have an immunity built up like the adult natives, he will be susceptible to the virus’ and diseases.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Two new converts!
Elder Garcia
What's for dinner? Rice and beans of course!
P-day with Elders at church eating Mexican Pizza for my B-day.
Mutt & Jeff

Hey!!!

Of course I had a good week. Two weeks ago we had 4 baptisms for our district so it was great. It has rained almost every night, comes in and moves out quick but dumps a lot of water so it is really hot, humid and muddy the next day. I drink about a gallon of water a day so I don't get dehydrated.

I did get my package you mailed over 6 weeks ago and everything was still in it. I must be growing still because the rubber boots you sent me do not fit me now, I could not even get my foot into them, but they fit my companion so he took them and gave me a pair of brand new shoes that are too big for him but they fit me perfectly so we are even. He said, "Estos son bonita" which means there are beautiful, so he likes them.

I sent a picture of the food I eat usually every night, rice and beans. The meat is strange because it is dipped in lime juice so it is kind of tangy and the other fried stuff is plantos (unsweetened banana). We do get veggies but it usually tomatoes and avocados which I have a an allergic reaction too because my mouth and throat swells and I talk two octaves lower. Not many desserts or treats so if you want to send me candy that will not melt, I like skittles and starburst.

Our district had changes but I am still with Elder Garcia, but we did get two new Gringos. This week has probably been the hardest for me so far, we have not had any baptism prospects and all of the investigators we were teaching are no longer interested. The natives are interesting to me, he are hard workers physically but mentally and spiritually they are like little children in the way they act, they do not take things very seriously except when it comes to their sort-of Catholic religion. They really put up a fight and scream and yell loudly during Sunday service with loud drums and guitars, it sounds like Gospel Screamo ha-ha. They have their members get on the buses and screech at the top of their lungs, I mean preach, about Jesus, Holy Spirit,and all kinds of stuff that doesn't make sense. The buses have religious pictures and sayings on the side of them too, it is different. They see Christ only as an image not as a true Savior.

The people struggle keeping the commandments to read, pray, repent and it is frustrating because we want them to be happy. I think sometimes the natives are into getting a certain number of baptisms for statistics and do not see investigators as a Child of God. I don't care if we have 9 baptism a week, if the new members are not returning to church, active and trying each day to become closer to Christ, then I'm not doing as good as a missionary. I told my native companion this and he was mad at me for a couple of days, but I guess he understands now because we have been teaching and visiting less active ward members and new converts.

I love what I am doing, my Spanish is improving everyday. I can understand what people are saying except a word or two. Yes I am happy, I love this work and I know the Lord is pleased as long as I do what I'm suppose to do. I love you all, Mom, Dad, Carly, Tanner, Emily, Kendal, Carver, Amanda, Kade, Kallee, Siddalee, and Maisy. It is so awesome you got a new puppy Kade!

Love,
Elder Buck

Happy Memorial Day!

Jared (in the middle)was baptised.

Jared, his wife and baby!

Hey Family!

Thanks for the email Birthday cards, but no I couldn’t see it or hear it on the computer. :( but I know you meant well! haha I LOVE YOU ALL TOO!) No they don’t have packaged candy here but my district wants Pizza for my birthday, so that’s what they´ll get!
I have been able to get to a bank so thanks for the extra birthday money, I don´t think I will be using it cuz I still have a lot of money that we get each month. Thanks Mom for your idea, I will get a couple of my long sleeved shirts cut off and hemmed into short sleeved shirts, cuz it sure gets hot.

Well that’s good to hear its raining there in Arizona! It rained here too, the weather is so crazy here, things will flood in like 5 minutes, cuz it rains so hard. It’s been raining only at night which is worse cuz the next day its hotter and humid-er then ever! When it first starts raining hard, the power everywhere automatically goes out for the first 10 minutes. One evening we were just finishing dinner and everyone here has tin roofs, including hermana Gladis, so when it started raining we couldn’t even hear ourselves speak it was so loud.

Ha-ha Wow, I just re-read over my letter and I’m sorry if things don´t make much sense. I’m at that part of speaking and writing when you can´t speak English or Spanish well, cuz you’re learning one and don´t use the other as much. (Note from Sandra: I have to rewrite some of his sentences so they do make more sense, and sometimes I have no idea what he is talking about)

We had another baptism this week, his name is Jared. It’s awesome he´s has progressed so much. At first he had been drinking a lot and he has a girl friend and 1 child which is really common here (he´s 19 she’s 17). Half of our investigator families have 3 or 4 kids, but aren’t married. So they can´t really progress until their married and they don´t want to be married...so its hard. But we got Jared and his girlfriend married before he was baptized, which the missionaries pay for because the people can´t afford to get married. So that’s awesome!

When we baptized him ha-ha that was interesting. Before he was baptized we went to the church at 3:30 to fill up the font and get everything ready and when we came back for the baptism itself the font was half empty and the water shuts off automatically for 3 or 4 hours each day (which sucks cuz you can´t wash your hands or use the bathroom and flush the toilet) so we couldn´t refill the font. Also it had rained like crazy the night before and someone hit the electric pole by the church so there were no lights and barely enough water but we went ahead with the baptism. Jared was baptized at 5:45 and the sun is down at 6, so it was really dark in the church. He was confirmed the next day at church, in the daylight, so it’s all good now. I was on divisions with Elder Menendez who is from Salvador, he´s way cool, and he baptized Jared.

That’s about it, thank you for all your letters, emails, and cards. Thank you for your letter Amanda, it’s good to hear from everyone and Kade that’s awesome that you’re excited for your mission someday. Grandma Eliason thanks for the birthday money and birthday wishes.

LOVE YOU ALL!
Elder Buck

p.s. FYI The package we mailed McCoy in April finally arrived this week so it took about six weeks for him to receive it.

A Good Week!

Ward Chapel
City Street
Market
School

Axel was baptised! Short boy on the left.

Hello Family & Friends, It’s good to hear how everyone is doing! It hasn’t rained much here, only rained one day this week but it’s hot, almost 100 degrees and humidity is killing me. I got sick this week, that was fun, and so did my companion. He said his stomach really hurt so we went back to our house and he rested while I studied. I got a sore throat but have been taking medicine so I’m good. I would love to celebrate my birthday here by buying cake and ice cream that would be awesome! Their is only one problem, it doesn’t exist here. Ha-ha. There are popsicle things so I will think of something for a treat to share on my birthday. Oh, you know how I’m always losing my money, well out of the money you sent up to the MTC, I remember using some of it at the airport and some for a taxi but I know I had at least $30 and now I only have $20, I’m sorry! I think it was stolen or something though :/ I will definitely try to do something nice for others on my birthday! Haha

I hope Carly gets a job at Peter Piper Pizza, mmm..that sounds good to me since there is no pizza in this country. I want a picture of Carly in a uniform I can´t imagine her working there. Ha-ha. Sorry to hear about your little car accident Carver and Amanda. It’s so weird here people can´t drive worth a darn and there are never any accidents.

Mom, thank you for your advice on how to learn new words in Spanish. I’m doing my best to do what I can. I strive to do my best everyday it’s hard. I want to make this mission like Elder Holland’s or Dads and I want this mission to mean everything to me at the end of two years!

Oh man, so much has happened this week! Okay, I know we are not supposed to watch T.V but Hermana Gladice had her TV on while we were eating at her house. They show dead people on the news all the time, with all the yuckies coming out of the person. We had just started eating, I glanced at the TV and after I saw that image of dead people I couldn’t eat anymore and I felt kinda bad.

This week was awesome I taught a lot more, I usually say something like bear my testimony of everything my companion says but not this time, I really taught a lesson, it was pretty sweet. I don´t know if my Spanish was correct or not but I did the best I could!We are trying to get a couple married, they have 3 kids and haven’t married yet, the oldest is 19 I think. It’s really common here to be together and not married. Woman here are just baby-making machines it’s pretty gnarly.

We had a baptism this week that was pretty awesome! His name is Axel and he was definitely ready. The next day after his baptism I asked how he felt and he said he feels more at peace and has a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and he´s only 12 years old! It is so awesome! Well I got to go my time is almost up and I still need to email pictures!

The work is hard but I love what I’m doing and have no fear when it comes to telling people to repent like prophets of old! I love it cuz not many missionaries do it, they just invite them to repent. I just straight-up tell them, I think that’s when I feel the spirit strongly.

I love you all!

Elder Buck

Quick Hello to Everyone

I'm glad Tanner got his job at Desert Mountain, Congrats Tanner! Maybe when I get back we can talk in spanish but I would have to learn some mechanic vocab first. I'm not sick anymore or whatever I had yesterday isn´t so bad anymore. I don´t know what to write about cuz I said most of what I wanted to say during the phone call. Since everyone is Catholic here they don´t believe in the Book of Mormon so its kinda pathetic. As a mission we preach out of the Bible and teach about the Book of Mormon the last lesson before baptism. OH MAN!! I can´t wait to learn spanish so I can change that. We have the Book of Mormon, that's what makes our religion different! We have the fulness of the Gospel!! Grr...I don't know it kind of bothers me. Other then that I love it here, not the weather but I'm getting use to it. Once again, Happy Mother's Day MOM!!

I love you all,
Elder Buck

Mother's Day Phone Call

Message from Sandra:
Carly & I got home from Utah, on Mother's Day, Sunday around 6 p.m. We got to talk to McCoy for about an hour that night. He is doing good, happy and in good spirits. He loves what he is doing but is shocked daily by Nicaragua's poverty. He said he is so grateful for what he has back at home in the states. We were able to ask him more questions about his daily life. He has seen a lot of the same type of bugs and lizards that Arizona has. The streets are littered with garbage so it attracts flies, ants and rats or the natives burn their garbage which adds to the smells. It is HOT HOT HOT and HUMID HUMID HUMID and RAINS RAINS RAINS this time of year.

A sister in their branch cooks all the meals for McCoy and his companion, they go to her house to eat their meals. For breakfast she makes a drink made from different kinds of fresh fruits, they eat a banana and some kind of roll, sometimes she makes scrambled eggs, and there is always rice and beans. For lunch it is rice and beans and a peeled fresh fruit. For dinner it is rice and beans with a fried meat, usually chicken. She has served a fried ground meat but McCoy could not identify it so he couldn't bring himself to eat it. She also washes their clothes, she is considered well off because she has a washing machine, the poor wash in the rivers , rubbing their clothing on rocks. They pay her a fee for her services. It is good for her too or she would have no income.

McCoy & Elder Garcia are teaching a man who speaks English and wants the lessons in English so McCoy is able to do the talking and teaching. He is happy for that opportunity because he still hasn't fully picked up the local spanish dialect yet and finds it difficult to speak spanish the natives will completely understand. He is learning quickly from his native companion and makes an effort to shake hands and speak in spanish to everyone in the ward on Sunday's. The Bishop speaks a little English so McCoy is able to talk with him and to have questions answered.

Week 2 in Nicaragua

May 3, 2009

HI FAMILY & FRIENDS:

It is week two here in Nicaragua and things are awesome!! I’m now known as "Daddy’s Boy" sorry for making you worry about my health. [Stu call the Mission Home to see what the mission was doing to protect the missionary’s in Nicaragua against Swine Flu. Obviously the missionary grapevine is working well as most of the mission knows about the phone call too] I’m fine! My stomach was hurting from getting use to eating rice and beans every day and every meal "Yum"!! I’m good, my health is good as far as I know I get the occasional diarrhea which is normal here. I drink purified water whenever I can and if it isn’t good I have my filtered water bottle. As far as the swine flu here I don’t think we have it but I heard it’s in Arizona that’s kind of scary!

Everything is good this week - pretty crazy but good! Spanish is coming pretty quickly now I’m starting to understand where the words are separated in sentences but that’s about it! As far as my clothes and food we don’t have a maid, just a ward member who we pay monthly to buy food and clean clothes. She’s really a nice lady and her name is Gladice.

Oh man, there is so much to tell...it is really really poor were I'm at. Everyone’s home floors are dirt and their houses are really opened to let the air circulate cuz they have no AC. The buses ha-ha those are a different adventure each time you get on one. There are like 50 more people riding on a bus over the maximum. They are small, I have to bow my head to climb in the bus and half the time I can’t sit in the seats because my legs are too long ha-ha. But that’s usually how we get around is on the bus.

I had my first baptism! But it didn’t go so well...the man’s name is Carlos and I didn’t feel he was ready to baptise but my companion said he was when we interviewed him. Anyway I baptized him 1, 2, 3, 4, .....12 times because every time I would dunk him in the water he would freak out and his body wouldn’t be fully immersed ha-ha!! It was crazy...so then my companion was like "here let me do it" and he forces him under but Carlos knocks my companion over as he was putting him into the water!! We all got pretty wet! We went to his house the next day to take him to church to be confirmed and he didn’t want to go to church...so that was sad.
The areas here are muy peligroso which means dangerous people are always coming up to me asking for money or just yelling at me and my companion as we walk by. This one area is the worst where we are teaching this awesome family, the Salguera family. On the way there was a gang and they came up to my companion and were yelling in his face, saying if we come in their territory again they will jump us and take our stuff, so we have to take a really long route around to get to this families house now but it’s worth it.

Other then that everything is awesome, I love it here. The families do struggle in staying active but they still have that desire. I just want to let you all know I’m safe and having an awesome time and thank you all so much for your letters and emails. Tell everyone else [friends] I’m sorry I can’t write them back personally [mission president rule], but it’s awesome you have a blog set up so they can read how I’m doing. I love you all and hope you are all well and don’t get that FLU its "NO BUENO"!?! Ha-ha

Love,

Elder Buck