Hello Family and Friends!

Well this week was easily just as tough as the last one. The people are speaking as fast as ever but i at least have a general idea of what is happening. So thats good i guess. So to start off a few crazy things happened this week. First, Elder Beltran and I were at a members house this week, I cant remember what day but while we were sitting there talking, a fly was buzzing around one of the members so he slapped it away, but he slapped it right towards me and hit it into my mouth. It was disgusting but super funny. Second, this week i finally got sick because i ate something called Menudo. Which is cow stomach soup. It was the worst but i am feeling better now, so that is good.

To answer some of your questions. yes i do get to play sports on pday but no other days. Today we played basketball with a recent convert at the chapel which was awesome. His name is G. As far as investigators go we are not doing to well. We have quite a few but they just arent progressing. However, we do have one whose name is D who we have scheduled for a baptism on Oct. 11 so hopefully all works out. We have other investigators who havent showed up to church yet but we are hoping that they will come watch General conference with us this week. We have 2 that have said they could so far. Their names are P and C. I dont really know the other members in my district that well and next week is Zone conf. so i will know then if Preston is in my Zone. My area is in Ciudad Juarez not the colonies which is good for me becuase i will learn spanish so much faster. Apparently in the colonies there are tons of english speakers so in a way i am grateful to be where i am so that i can learn spanish faster.

My area is pretty modern but its nothing like the USA. We do have a laundromat which is nice. But we only wash our clothes and then bring them home to dry them by hanging them up. We get i think like $1200 pesos each month or transfer i cant remember, i think it should be enough but if not i will email you. With that money we buy our food, cleaning supplies and whatever else we need but if you could send a little money that would be great. We dont have dressers so yeah im pretty much just living out of my suitcase but its whatevs.

Thats crazy about all the stuff that is happening back home. Its so weird cuz i literrally have no idea whats going on about anything so thank you for the weekly updates. So Carters new companion Elder Pearce was friend of mine in the MTC and was in my zone, its cool to know that two of my amigos are serving together. Oh also somebody thought i was canadien this week while we were walking. It was funny, they yelled to us and asked me if i was canadien or what. It Also led to an appointment with one of them so that is really good. haha. Im so glad that all of you are doing good. I miss you and think about you every day. Love you Tons.

Con Amor

Elder Cameron Imlay

Oh one more thing. our mailing adress in El Paso got changed. It is now

Mission: (My name)

1410 Gail Borden Suit B-4

El Paso, Texas 79935

Eating Menudo

My rock

Hola Todos!

This has literally been the craziest week of my life. Like i said in my last email we arrived here on monday night and me and elder Medieros slept at this weird but super nice hotel here. Then in the morning we got our new companions which like i said before is Elder Beltran. He is super cool, Hes from Colombia and has been out here for 20 months. We get along really well and hes really into futbol so thats cool. We are both new to our area which is called La Cuesta. So we have spent a ton of time this week just trying to find out where everyone lives. The mission field is 10000 times different than the mtc. The lessons are cool but literally i have no idea whats going on 85% of the time. Pretty much Elder Beltran teaches the whole time and i just bare my testimony at the end but the spirit is strong and i can really feel it when we are in the lessons.

Our apartment is hard to explain, it is actually kinda big but there is nothing in it. Like literally no furnitiure no nada. There are these to tables in the corner where we do Personal, companion and Language study in the mornings. It has been raining cats and dogs here but has also been hotter than heck so the weather thing is just a total mystery. To dad yes i now do pushups in the morning. Every morning we get up at 6 30 and then have 30 mins to workout. But we have workout schedules which is lame. There are a ton of restrictions that i dont like but i know that we have them for a reason and they are just here to keep us safe. But now i dont get to wear some of my ties cuz they dont fit within the mission rules but thats ok i guess.

We have quite a few investigators. None are really progressing which is sad but i hope that in the coming week we can get some to come to church because i know that if they would they would feel the spirit. I havent gotten sick yet which is super nice. One of the hermanas from my district, Hermana steele is really sick which is sad i hope she will be ok. We literally live all on our own which is kind of sad because even though i love my companion it is nice to see other people sometimes. I am not gonna lie to y'all i have had some really hard times here. I literally understand like nothing that happens here and it can get really depressing but i know that this is where the lord wants me and knowing that as well as all of your support is what keeps me going. Plus the Mission pres. said the first month is gonna be the hardest month of your life so i was just preparing for it.

We shop at this store called Sorianna which is just a grocery store. We eat breakfast and cena at our house and then usually have lunch at a members house. But something super cool is that i have gotten to eat at wendy's 2 times since getting here and let me tell you, there is nothing better than a Baconator after living off of MTC food for 6 weeks. I get 2 hours to email now because my companion is the District leader so thats cool. Im the only new missionary in my district so thats kind of scary. That ticks me off that the Broncs lost to the Hawks but whatevs i guess. Anyways im doing really good and just know that i think about all of you daily.

Con amor,

Elder Cameron Imlay

Cameron and his cousin Preston (Both Elder Imlay's)

Hola!
Well i made it here, its crazy to see what juarez really looks like. Its not as scary as it sounds in all seriousness but it is pretty crazy. So we flew all day yesterday, it was super long but we finally got in around 6 30. We had dinner con la presidente de la mission. We had this chicken type thing and some potatoes they were actually really good. I spent the night con mi companion who was Elder Medeiros but only for the night. We all got to stay in this super nice hotel last night with all of the new missionaries. When we woke up this morning we went to one of the churchs here and got our new companions. My actual companion now is Elder Beltran. He is really cool he is from Colombia he is really into sports especially futbol. he is 20 years old and has been out here for 20 mes.

And guess what happened today??? I got to see preston, he is doing amazing and looks really good. It was awesome to see him because when i first got here everyone knew who he was and was telling me i looked nothing like him. I cant believe i got to see him so fast since getting here. Idk what area he is in now but i really hope that in the future we can be companions. Elder Beltran y mi esta in La cuesta (thats our area). Oh my gosh i just asked him in english where we were and he had no idea what i was saying haha. The field is so much different than the field pero i reallylike it and look forward to serving here. The people here are really nice or at least for the time i have been here. Hardly anyone speaks english but its awesome because i know that i will learn spanish that much faster. I am grateful tho that mi companero speaks a little spanish because at least i can ask him questions sometimes and he can answer me.

I hope that all y'all are doing great. It was great to talk to you and hear your voices. Sorry i was an emotional wreck idk what the heck was wrong with me haha. Oh i forgot to tell you while on the plane i met this woman who was super awesome. We talked a ton about the church and she really believed and had faith in what i was saying and i did it all in spanish or at least most of it. I offered her a BOM but she declined because it was my personal one and she didnt want to take it. But i did get her email address and i am going to email her next week to see how she is doing. Anyways just know that i am doing great here and love you tons. Good luck to all of you.

Con Amor

Elder Cameron Imlay 

Hello All!

Well this is the big week, i cant believe it is finally here. I think i told my family this but my flight plans got changed and now we get to have an hour long flight from Monterrey to Juarez instead of a 12 hour bus ride which is super nice. I would have gone insane.

My experience here at the MTC has been amazing. I have learned so much and look forward to going to the field. Its gonna be sick. This week was pretty chill we had class a lot but on Wednesday we did get to be hosts which means that i got to go pick up the New Missionaries and show them around. Its amazing how fast time flies because it litterally feels like i was just in their shoes last week and now i leave monday Morning at 5 am. On friday or yesterday i guess we had infield orientation for 10 hours straight... It was soooooo long but i did learn a lot. A mission definitely is not what i thought it was gonna be like but i have loved it. Some other people in my district leave Sunday night at 8 which is super sad! Its amazing how close we have become in such a short amount of time. We are like a family, i love each of them and know that they are all gonna be amazing missionaries.

Today we went to the temple for the last time here in the MTC. It was awesome we got to go with both of our teachers Hermano Ashby y Hermana Toleafoa. They are truly amazing and have given me some of the greatest advice. I will miss them dearly and am so grateful for them. Also at the temple today was the MTC president and his wife. They are so cool especially president Nally, we got to say hi to them and it was cool to actually talk to them instead of just seeing them sit on the stand for devotionals haha. Sadly we havent had any Apostles come speak to us but dont get me wrong the speakers we have had are amazing. Im so looking forward to Juarez im not gonna lie the Mtc is really starting to get super boring and all of us are just ready to get on out of here.

Thats crazy that y'all had to go on lockdown and be in school until 5 oclock why didnt anything cool like that happen when i was there. Haha jk i probs shouldnt say that. It was weird packing up today, it reminded me a lot of when i was packing to come here. I am super nervous, excited, anxious and any other emotion you can think of for juarez but i know that this is where the lord wants me and that he has prepared people there for me personally to teach. As far as calling goes i think im gonna call you in texas with the cell phone for sure maybe in Salt lake and I bought a call card from the MTC here that allows me to call you from Monterrey so i might do that to. Im so looking forward to hearing from you. Dad to answer your question about the pushups im not gonna lie to you i dont really do pushups. haha. but i do play soccer and basketball everyday so dont think that im just being a lazy bum. haha. When im out in the field tho theres no gym place so i will probably be doing a lot of push ups then if that makes you happy. Anyways theres not really anything i need right now if my patriarchal blessing is here. I just want to tell all of you thank you for all of your support it really means the world to me. I love you all. Next time i talk to ya it will be from Mexico. Viva Mexico!!!!!!

 

Con Amor tu hijo y amigo

Elder Cameron Imlay

 

 

Hello All! Holy cow, time is flying. I can't believe that i leave for Juarez in a week from Monday. So yes, I did get my travel plans. We meet at 2 30 am on the morning of September 15. We then travel up to Salt Lake City International, Our flight is at 6 am and we fly from SLC to Dallas, Fortworth Texas. We then have a layover from 9 40 am until 2 25 pm. Then we fly from Dallas to Monterrey, Mexico. Once we arrive in Monterrey we board a bus and ride it for 12 hrs up to Juarez. It is going to be rough so pray for me. haha. JK! There are 11 of us going to Juarez in provo, 6 of them are in my district so thats cool. Im not totally sure when i will get to call you but my guess would be probably during the layover in Dallas. So plan on that unless i tell you otherwise. Thank you for all of the letters and packages y'all have sent me. They mean so much and i love hearing from you and about your lives. Thats awesome that they are opening 13 new areas up. It will be crazy if that is true.

Everything here at the MTC is good, not much is really happening besides class and practicing teaching. Although while being here in the MTC, Me and Elder beck were assigned an "Investigator", his name is Adrian, We have been teaching him for the past 2 weeks. Some of the lessons have gone really good and others not so good. But i am truly grateful for the opportunity because i have learned so much from the expieriences we had with him and it's amazing how to see how fast we grew to love him. I know that as we love all those we come in contact with and put our faith in God that we can accomplish all things.

Thats crazy what happened to Ryan, he emailed me but didnt say anything about it. Kob I hope your toe or whatever happened to you is ok and that you can heal quickly. You better keep up your soccer skills because mine are getting quite amazing. haha. jk. Tell Kaler that im jealous that he's in powell and that i dont even get to swim for 2 years. Hope he is having fun. To both Kob and Kaler, I hope school is going well and that your doing good. I dont really need anything right now, Im doing really good. But I'm not gonna lie, the MTC is starting to get really boring and i am so excited to get out in the field. Mom and Dad thank you for everything and all that you have done for me in my life, I know that i say this a lot but i know that without your help and guidance throughout my life I would definitely not be where i am today. Anyways just know that i am doing great and am thinking about you always. I know that god loves all of us and as we humble ourselves and come unto him, he will be there to help and comfort us always. Love ya tons.

 

Con mucho Amor,

Elder Cameron Russell Imlay

P.S. we had barber night a few weeks ago. Its pretty much this Elder in our apartment has this sweet razor and he shaves us. Its super sick.