Cuautla

Hey guys,

Well this week has been super interesting. I guess maybe the best thing is that my comp is really good. He has about the same time in the mission as me (one cycle more) but he has a ton of desire to work. His first three companions didn't share that same desire, and he didn't have very much authority, so now that he has the reins, he's working like a bat out of heck. We're contacting at a blistering pace, and working super hard. He's from the north end of Mexico, near Laredo, Texas. Lives thirty minutes from the border. So he's super familiar with Texas, especially Houston. He doesn't know any English, which is great because it's really accelerating my Spanish. I came to the area a lot like how i first came to Huehuecalco; without investigators, work, or anything. But we're building this area from the ground up, and we have a few baptismal dates for this cycle, so we'll see how that goes.

The area is crazy. By crazy, I mean crazy. Cuautla is pretty different from Huehuecalco. It's in a completely different state in Mexico (the state of Morelos), it's a 7,000 foot difference in elevation (thanks dad for the info), and it's a blazing heat. It's not Texas hot, but it's pretty hot and dry. And working all day in church clothes really amplifies everything. Our area is the largest area in the entire mission. We have a pretty sizable chunk of the city Cuautla, and then we also have 7 separate towns out in the country. To go to the farthest town, you have to take a bus for an hour and a half. Literally an hour and a half. You climb almost right to the base of Popo, so you gain several thousand feet in elevation. You pass through 3 different ecosystems on the way. The only place like it is Hawaii- if Hawaii had 18,000 foot tall volcanoes. Crazy. Everything here is so fascinating. It just makes me so grateful for all the chances I've had to travel and experience different cultures. Here, they speak Spanish, and a native dialect that I don't know, don't understand, and probably won't have the time to learn. It's incredibly cool. Really really cool. The difference between here and Amecameca is only an hour, but it's literally stepping into a different world. It's incredible. Our ward is huge. Well, huge for Mexico. The regular attendance is almost 200 people. Way different than the 30 people in Huehuecalco. Everything is just massive here, and there is no shortage of work.

Cuautla is super nice. The city itself is actually considerably nice and fancy. It has Walmart, and Domino's and Little Caeser's, tons of fancy movie theatres, malls, etc. 

From the internet

Plaza Fuerte de Galeana, Cuautla, Morelos, Mex. from the internet

It's nice. So I hope to buy a new cable next p-day. Sorry I didn't do it today, I had no time. We've been cleaning the house and buying stuff and preparing.

Speaking of the house, it's pretty interesting. We live in easily the biggest apartment complex I have ever seen. It has well over 100 buildings, so there's probably more than 300 individual apartments here. It's crazy. All the buildings are old, and made of brick. The buildings just stretch in every direction, as far as the eye can see. It reminds me of an old college campus. Brick dorms, tons of common spaces and parks, shops, parking lots. It's like a college, if the college decided to fire the maintenance staff. There is trash everywhere, almost everything is broken, all the plants are super overgrown, and there's tons of graffiti. But I love it. It's really awesome.

The other bit of news is that today so far is probably the sickest day I've had in the mission. I've been hit by a gnarly head cold and sore throat, and my body aches. I must've been disobedient some day this week or something hahaha. But it's really nothing, and should clear off by tomorrow.

Well that's all for this week. Expect a bunch of photos next week of everything.

I miss you all like crazy, thank you for your emails and support. Please keep it coming.

Love,

Elder William Jacob Long