Sonoyta, Mexico (on the border)

1st Area: "Sonoyta Apartment"

  Ya gotta love the motorized wheel chairs for scripture study!  What fine furniture!

"What Am I Doing Up On The Roof...?!"

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!

Wow! Where to start...Well, I'm in Mexico! Today isn't my P-day. My P-day is still on Mondays, but my comp didn't get a chance to email his family on Monday because of dropping off his other comp and picking me up. But we get to email today. So I will try and tell you as much as I can and then the rest will be a continuation on Monday, yeah?

It was absolutely wonderful to talk to you all on Tuesday! It sounded like you had loads of fun! I'm quite jealous! So here is my story:

For those who didn't hear, we had to wake up at 2:30AM for our 7AM flight! It was brutal! At the airport I got to call the fam and we left for Phoenix, our layover till Hermosillo.

After we get off the phone in Phoenix, we start to load the plane and it was interesting because we came to find out that the plane was a REALLY REALLY SMALL plane! We had to walk onto the tar-matt and ascend stairs to get on it. You know, like you see in the movies! Ah! It was crazy! I counted: only 36 or 37 seats! And I was stuck in the very back. I unfortuately couldn't sleep much on that ride. Nerves/small plane/nerves/too hot...ect. As we fly over Mexico, I look out and see nothing but desert! How crazy! I can't really see any little towns or anything. Just desert! I think to myself: What have I gotten myself into?!

When we arrive in Hermosillo, it is a small little airport and we have to go through immigration and customs and all that good stuff! They have this button that you push that determines if they will random check you for customs. Luckily I didin't get checked. My bags were too heavy and too packed to get checked! After that, we walk through these doors into the main aiport area and who do I see? A Cute little Mexican Mission President couple looking at me! They had the biggest smiles on their faces and warmly welcomed us and gave us hugs (well, the president did, of course his wife couldn't). Ah! I just love them so much! They are so precious and cute and soo nice and just the greatest! You were right dad, they are leaving in like July or sometime. That will be sad! I want to have them my whole time. :( I would compare them to a spanish version of the Whitings! So great!

The assistants and secreataries load up our stuff in the mission van and we ride with President Velez and his wife to get something to eat! My first REAL Mexican food Experience! We go to this restaurant and President Velez orders for us. He orders Horchata which is the yummy drink made from Rice, milk, and cinnamon! Let me tell you what...it tastes even better when it is authentic and from Mexico! We have a big platter of tacos and quesadillas and steak and chicken! It was good stuff! I was getting full, but everyone else was still eating, so I kept eating just to be nice and get my fill, you know? I stuffed up! I got so full! But it was good!

We then traveled to the mission offices! The office is right by the temple and it is quite beautiful temple! I love it! We take pictures outside, which they said they were going to email to you, so hopefully you get them. And then we go inside and meet our trainers! My companion's name is Elder Melchor! He is from Mexico City! He is quite a funny guy! He knows the tiniest bit of English and it is from listening to American music! It is quite funny! He sings American songs all the time and his english cracks me up! He is a great guy though! It was time for a new companion!

Inside the offices we have a meeting for an hour and a half or so and discuss the mission and the new program we will be doing with our trainers. It is a 12 week program where we have an extra hour of companionship study everyday and supposedly at the end of those 12 weeks, We should know enough and be good enough to be trainers ourselves! How crazy is that!?!? After, we find out where we will be serving. One companionship is staying in Hermosillo, one is going to Obregon, and then us....well we are assigned to Sonoyta. Sonoyta is like the farthest north in the mission. Right smack close to the border! I see the border everday actually while walking around! It is crazy to think I am just yards away from the USA! Sonoyta is 8 hours away from Hermosillo, and so the other companionships leave for their areas and we stay the night at the offices with the assistants and secretaries! We sit around a bit and have nothing to do  and my comp calls President Velez and he says we could go do a session at the temlple! Crazy! Well, the temple was absolutely beautiful inside! I love it! The Temple president was at the recommend desk and saw my name and I guess he said he knew Crandon. I asked to listen to the session in English of course! Ha! And after that...well, it didn't go too well, is all I have to say. You can probably think about what I am talking about! Ha!

We come back and someone has brought sushi for dinner. In Mexico, they usually don't eat breakfast or don't have much a breakfast, but they have a big lunch at like 2PM, and dinner at like 8ish. I don't really like sushi, but I ate it anyway just because it was food and I didn't want to be hungry. I think it had some Lengua in it... (cow tongue...) I don't know for sure though. We get to bed and the next morning, we load up all my luggage and take a taxi to the Bus Station. These two days were quite rough! I could barely understand anyone, even the assistants and everything was just different and strange...it was tough! Still is a bit, but a little better?

We take a charter bus to Puerto Peñasco, which is a town on the coast, an hour away from Sonoyta. We had to go there since there wasn't a direct bus to Sonoyta since it is quite smaller and yeah...Along the ride we have quite a few stops. One of which was a check point where we all had to get off the bus and run our bags through X-ray machines, looking for drugs I guess? We had 2 or 3 more along the way, but we didn't have to get off. Just National Guard looking people came on and walked around looking for suspicious people I guess?

When we finally arrive at our stop we wait for a bit for our zone leaders to come get us to go eat. This was about 3:30 in the afternoon. They got tied up and couln't come so we went across the street on our own, luggage and all, to a food truck type thing. We order Tacos! Carne Asada and Tacos Al Pastor! Que rica! They were soo good! The best tacos ever! I loved them! We then had to take another taxi to a different bus station that would take us to Sonoyta. We get on that bus around 5PM. Well, it isn't really a bus, more like a 8-14 passenger van. We have an hour drive and I just fall asleep. Upon arriving in Sonoyta, I wake up and start looking around and for the 1st time I think, maybe this won't be so bad! I still think "What I am I doing here?" and what have I gotten myself into, but I did feel some more comfort. When we arrive, we meet the branch mission leader (there is a branch of maybe 35-40 here and it there isn't a chapel, but a casa de oracion or house of prayer.) and he takes us to our house and then to the grocery store to pick up somethings. Luckily my companion has been in this area for quite a while so he knows everthing! The store was really nice! I found a lot of American things! :)

Afterwards, we go back to the house, I unpack my stuff and to bed we go! They next day, yesterday, we the first day working! Just from one day, I absolutley love the people here! They are great! We visited some great investigators and members! There is a laundry mat owned by a member directly across the street from our house, so luckily we get to do laundry there for free! Yay! None by hand! Yesterday we went and visited this family, where the Mother had had a dream a while back about heaven and St. John and talking with the Lord or something. It sounded interesting and inspired! This family is not from here and they are living at the Branch President's motel! We go and talk with them quickly and set-up return appt. for today. She was so sweet! So receptive! I bet so will get baptized no problem! She seemed like one of those who have been prepared for us to find and teach! I love it!

Yesterday we also had an encounter with Canadians who have a house down here....yeah...weird! It is 2 older gentlemen who are members. They don't speak Spanish so I was able to speak English! Ah! So great! But they weird thing was whenever they talked to me, I tried to reply in Spanish! Ha!

We had pizza for lunch yesterday and we are doing to a member's house today. Lunch is the big meal when we eat with members usually everday. Ah! So much to say, so little time. I will continue Monday.

It is super weird! My teacher said you have to become comfortable being uncomfortable on your mission. It is really hard, but getting better? I can't understand ANYONE!!! I can a little with my comp....enough at least! I am attaching some pictures. I should have taken more for you. Sorry, I will work on that. Well, yeah....hopefully it will get better soon. It is better when we are out working! The mornings when we study and I am left to myself and my own mind is when it is hard and I feel a little homesick. But, it will be okay.

I love and miss you all tons!

¡Yo Se que vive mi Señor!

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Joyner

Dayne Is In Mexico!

Dayne is now in Mexico!

To write him you can still use dearelder.com, but there are new instructions:
Go to the home page. In the drop-down menu, select the Mexico Hermosillo mission and click, "Write Letter". Fill in the required information and write your letter! When you are finished, click send! It's as easy as that!

"When The Sun Goes Down..."

Monday, April 9, 2012


Oh my....Just to let you know this email probably won't be too long! Busy day ahead! :)


Hola everyone!


It is hard to believe that my time at the MTC is up and that the sun is going down on this part of my adventure and that tomorrow I will begin a new adventure, in a new country, with a new language, and a new culture! Thoughts at the current moment: So excited, yet scared and freaking out and nervous, and ecstatic and ready to baptize and work so hard that I will be exhausted but it will be with it and eat some Mexican food and learn some spanish and work hard and change lives and....yeah! ;)


My inbox was bursting with emails this morning! Thanks everyone! It was nice to hear from Lindsey, Jordan Richey, Terri, Stephanie, and Mom and Dad today! Plus a nice little delivery from Holly and Aunt Glenda this week!


So my week....as we found out last email I was going to the Mexican Consulate (I learned how to spell it!) in SLC yeah? So we board a bus with the 6 of us in our district who are going to Mexico with about 12 others or so. When we get there we do a lot of just waiting around and finally some church travel people show up and we begin the process of doing...stuff? Haha! They take our picture and fingerprints and then we just sat and waited for a while, while they were on the phone with Mexico City fixing a problem. After about almost an hour of waiting we begin signing papers and then we board the bus and back to P-town. It was kind of weird being there....I sort of felt like I was already in Mexico kind of...it was a little scary...All in all the day was full of waiting around a lot. We left Provo at 12 noon and didn't get back till 5PM! What a long day! But Hey! We have our visas and are leaving TOMORROW!!!!


So the next day (Wednesday) we played hosts for the new Elders again and that was fun! Afterwards my comp and I decided to go to the travel office to see about travel plans since everyone in our district got them except for us. We got them! So yeah, we are leaving tomorrow morning! We have to be at the travel office at 4AM (yuck!) which means I will probably be waking up at 2:30ish AM...not fun! We have a layover in Phoenix before heading to Mexico. Here are the times again, mom, just in case you didn't catch them. We leave SLC around 7:10AM arrive in Phoenix at 7:48AM. We leave Phoenix for Hermosillo at 9:45AM and should arrive in Hermosillo at 11:38AM. So there will be a nice long layover for me to call! So that day after we got our travel plans, they gave us a phone pass to call our parents to tell them about receiving visas and travel plans, ect. Unfortunately we only got 5 min. and had to use our own money for pay phones. I was upset because I used a dollar and right after I got off the phone I remembered my calling card! Blast! I should have used it! Oh well! I think mom was a little surprised and in shock when she answered! Haha! It was great! Sorry it was so short. Tomorrow will be longer!
What else happened this week...we had a fantastic last TRC lesson with our member! The subject was receiving revelation through the Book of Mormon! The Spirit was strong and I loved it! The spanish was fantastic as well!


On Friday, we had In-Field orientation where we don't go to our normal classes, but go to a bunch a workshops. It was actually a lot of fun and good stuff! Since in class we focus on teaching and the language, so these workshops focused of finding people, goals and planning, exercising faith, working with members and a few other subjects! It was great!


Saturday was a pretty chill day! It was our last day of classes and we basically just did interviews with our teachers and chilled! It was fun!


Sunday, yesterday was fantastic! So you remember I mentioned the special sacrament meeting...well it was special! So we had an MTC wide sacrament meeting with the whole MTC (hence MTC wide...I don't know why I'm repeating myself...) and 3 General Authorities came! It was especially special because it was Easter. We had sacrament passed to all of us and they used like 5 sacrament tables and 20-35 Elders to pass to everyone. The choir Sang a beautiful piece entitled "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer". We then heard from President Boyd K. Packer and his son Elder Allan F. Packer. And then Elder David F. Evans from the seventy was in attendance also, but he gave us a devotional a few weeks back and didn't speak. I thought that when they said 3 General Authorities and it was Easter Sunday, I thought for sure it would be 3 or the 12, and maybe one of them being the prophet, but no. That's okay! Pres. Packer was still fantastic! It was said that he doesn't get out much at all anymore and that he wanted to come to the MTC, he wasn't asked, so that was special to hear him.


Before fireside, we had a departing devotional with all those departing this week and the MTC presidency! It was quite nice! For Sunday night fireside, the BYU Men's Chorus came to perform! That was quite great! One of our teachers, the one who was also my RA last semester, was in it so it was great to see him one last time. Easter Sunday was really great! My testimony deepened of the Savior and his amazing, infinite, eternal Sacrifice! I am so grateful to him and for what he did for me and all of us! It is incomprehensible the sacrifice he made, but I am thankful for it!
Afterwards ours distirct just came back and packed. We also wrote in each others journals and just spent time with one another. It was sad.


So this morning we woke up at 2:30AM to see our district off (I don't know if you remember but everyone was leaving today except for us 2). It was really sad to see them go and say goodbye. Now we are all lonely there by our lonesomes. Thankfully today is P-day and we won't have to sit in an empty class without them. We do have class tonight, but our teacher said he would cut it short so we could go sleep! So yeah, my day will just be full of laundry, temple, packing, weighing, packing some more, last minute bookstore essentials, ect. I'm a little worried....it is had to leave the MTC with more things that you brought it. Especially with all of our books we received. Oh well! I will make it work!


This short email turned into a long one. I can't never limit myself! Temple time! Thanks for all of your prayers and support! I love you all and can't wait to talk to you tomorrow! What time will you be awake? To all of those who have sent me an email or letter, I will try and write some today, but bear with me. It may be a while before I figure out what the postage is like in Mexico. But responses are coming!


Love you all!!!
¡Yo sé que vive mi Señor!
Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Joyner! :)

"Additon"

HUGE NEWS JUST RECEIVED!!!!!

 

So we were just called to the travel office and they told us all that we all are going to Salt Lake tomorrow to meet with the Mexican Consolate (spelling)!!!!! WAHOO!!!!!! Hopefully this means we have our visas and are good to leave the country ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!!! How crazy is that!?!?! Just think that in one week I will no longer be in the United States! So crazy! I don't know if I'm ready for this!!! Soo crazy!!! BAHH!!! Are you all on spring break right now?!?!? BAHH!!! SOO WEIRD!!!

So I just received your package today! Thanks for the Easter goodies and everything! Also, I hope you are posting this on the blog cause I have a shout out to give!

I just need to say that I have pretty much the best Aunties in the world!!! They are so loving and are just the greatest! You know I received a package from Aunt Deb and Aunt Glenda (She said she plans on sending another one soon), and Aunt Melon sends me letters multiple times a week which I just LOVE receiving! And just today I just received a huge package full of wonderful goodies from the Simpsons which I am excited about and Holly send me an email saying she was sending me some things as well! I just have the best Aunites who look out for me and I just love them!

Also, since I am most likely leaving on Monday it would be best if everyone began using email rather than dearelder or handwritten just to make sure that I get them and that the in between phase I don't lose any mail. And also so I can verify my address.

Well, I will be off and online for the next 2 hours or so if you have any responses or anything I will get back to you as best as I can!

Much Love!

"Sunday...on the green, Purple, yellow, red water..."

(Monday, April 2, 2012)

¡Hola Mi Familia!

¿Como le va?

What a week! How disappointing! I was all excited and told everyone to watch for me and they only show me like twice in two separate songs and I was like in the corner of the top left. Well, sometimes I saw my chin and tie if that counts! Oh well...I hope you spotted the little tiny bit of me...more on that later.

So our district received their travel plans this week! And when I say our district, I mean our district...not me! Ha! Yeah, me and my comp were the only ones who didn't receive them... Maybe they are still coming? We will have to check my mailbox this week, but my guess is we get reassigned. We should find out next week if that happens. And mom you will be happy to know that I think they let the missionaries call home to let their families know that they were reassigned. So maybe you should expect a phone call from me next week whether at the airport of reassignment.

So I did meet Aunt Melon's friend in the mailroom! She was nice and was more than happy to take my extra stuff when I leave. I have a feeling I will be leaving more than I take. I seem to overpack a lot and I have some p-day clothes and such that I feel like I won't ever wear especially since I haven't worn them here yet. So I will just do that.

How are the soccer games going? Cole won any yet? Send me pictures!!!! I can get them on this computer so you don't have to wait to print them just send them! And the ones I asked for last time! Thanks!

How did "Island" go this past weekend? Was it good? That is one show I've always wanted to see! I like the music! I hope you recorded it...! What did Elise end up doing?

Yeah, the Tucketts Matthew was talking about in his ward were Jared's cousins I believe he said...yeah...cool!

Thanks for the package this week mom and for all the talks and quotes! I love them! Got that newsletter on the way yet? Maybe you could just email it to me and I will try to print it off here?

So when are we going to Florida? Is it this week or next? What are the deets?!? You will have to send me pictures of everthing you do so I can be in the know and feel like I'm there with you all! ;)

Someone has a birthday this week...!!!

So yeah, dad, Elder Branning left a few weeks ago actually. I thought I already told you that? Maybe not. But it was fun to see him here and meet him! Hopefully our paths will cross in the future with school or something and I will be able to get to know him more!

So I am performing my solo today! For the senior missionaries orientation! Should be fun! :)

I have a request! Could you look up the story of how the hymn "Be Still My Soul" and possibly "Master The Tempest Is Raging" came about? I have recently become very interesting in the history of some of the hymns. In choir the directors tell us the history of some of the hymns we sing! It is pretty amazing! It seems that so many are written during times of trial or dispair in the Author's life! I love how they are so poetic and meaningful! you can just feel the emotion in them! Aunt Melon sent me the history of "It Is Well With My Soul" this week. That history matches so many others. The author has so many trials and afflictions in life, yet still stays so true and strong to God and has so much faith! I love it! And most of these hymns I've become interested in are written by non-memebers! I love it!

So hosting! Oh it was so fun! We are actually doing it again this coming week! I was able to host 2 Elders, both from Utah. It was so much fun knowing everthing thing about the MTC and how everthing works and where everthing is and then getting to share your knowledge and experience with someone else. Especially when you know what they are feeling and going through since you have been there! It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again! I love helping people!

Conference! So wonderful! I was reminded a lot this week being in SLC and all of last conference when I went with Stephanie and all the fun times we had then! So we left here around 10AM and listen to the 1st hour of conference on the way up on the buses. When we got there we rehearsed our hymns with the organist that had been assigned to us and just did some general warm-ups. They gave us snacks and let us chill for a bit. We unfortunately missed the 2nd hour of the 1st session. After the first session we loaded the choir loft and they did it by height so of course I was in the back at the top...LAME! We they rehearsed a few times to hear the big organ and for the camera guys. Wow! What an amazing instrument! This was such fantastic experience! So great! After conference they gave us boxed lunches and we headed back making it back just in time for the Priesthood session. After priesthood we went back to the classroom and looked up the session and saw ourselves! It was neat! Did anyone see Elder Archuleta? He was in the last close-up in "Praise To The Man". Yeah, it was crazy because on Thursday during choir rehearsal I was not paying attention to people coming in and sometime during the rehearsal I start paying attention to who is sitting right in front of me and who is? None other than Elder Archuleta! Ha! I've seen him around a lot! It is funny to observe people when they see him! They have to do a double take! I feel bad for him sometimes because people come up and talk to him a lot and one guy asked for his autograph. I'm sure he just wants to be left alone and focused on his mission. Glad I'm not famous....yet! ;)

Did everyone enjoy conference? I loved Sunday's sessions! I feel like I got something out of every single talk yesterday in both sessions! It was great! How did Ms. Linda like it?

Our fireside last night was pretty cool! We have Vai Sikahema come--a former BYU football player in the 80s who went on to play in the NFL and is now a news anchor in Philly. He talked about how everthing he does with his job he didn't learn from school, but from his mission! He didn't even take a news casting class or anything! It was all from his mission. He had with him a guy he baptized and one of his former companions who helped baptize that guy. They had not seen each other in 29 years since the mission. They talked about how much of an impact missionary work had on that converts family and how it has blessed so many generations! It was really cool!

Well, that's about it! "Last week" in the MTC...technically speaking....in reality probs not...

I love missionary work SOOO MUCH!!!! There is no other place I would rather be right now than here!

I hope you all are well! Thanks for your love and support! Miss you all!

¡Yo sé que vive mi Señor!

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Joyner