July 28, 2016 - Chile, Chilly, Chili, Chilis

Lo siento, I forgot mi escritura

 Doctrina y Convenios 6:36

Elevad hacia mi todo pensamiento, no dudéis no temáis

Wow I cannot believe that this is the last week that I am going to be in the CCM, the time has really flown here, it is insane! I am definitely going to miss all of my friends and teachers, but I do not think that I will miss the food very much. I have made some good friends with other districts here, as well as my teachers and mi corazon is hurting everytime I think about leaving them, but I know that I need to go to Chile and serve the Lord and the people. This past week has been really amazing. Last Thursday for our P Day, we went out and played soccer in the afternoon, and during the game it started to pour rain. Our district was down by four goals, and we had ten minutes left to play, and we scored five goals in ten minutes in order to come back with the win. It was pouring rain and we had a comeback win, it was no doubt the hypest I have felt since I have been on my mission. 

On Sunday we had a really good talk by a member of our branch presidency about the danger of pride, and it made rethink how I am living and serving my mission. It made me realize that without humility, we can accomplish no goals in life because we will always be looking to glorify ourselves and not help or serve others. Sunday was very powerful and very humbling, and I am grateful that I am able to change. As I have been here I have been able to learn and grow, and I will forever be grateful for this opporotunity that I have had to learn how to grow up, even if it was just a little. 

Also this week we got our flight plans to head out to Chile! I leave on Monday morning at 11:15 in the morning, and I have to be ready to leave at 5:30 so we can make sure to get to the airport and through security. I am excited but also sad because only the Chile Santiago South people leave at this time, so that means all of my friends who are going to Chile Santiago North will leave later in the afternoon on Monday; so I will not be flying with Elder Dolenar, or almost all of the other Elders I have made friends with, including most of my district and my companion Elder Flores. My flight has 9 other people going to South with me, and one of them is Elder Scott who is from my district, so it is good because I will know people with me. And we had our teacher look up to see what restauraunts there are in the Mexico City Airport that we could eat at, and they have a Chilis restaurant that is there, so you know we are going to be eating there. I am nervous and excited at the same time because I will be thrown into a foreign country where I know a little bit of the language, but it is going to be awesome.

This week I was talking to one of our teachers who went to Chile Santiago North on her mission and she told me a lot of stories about the South mission. The way she explained it was that the South mission was created basically because there were too many robbers and gangsters for the other three missions of West, East and North to handle, so they decided to make that one area that was bad become one mission. Needless to say I was hyped. Our teacher also said that missionaries down in the South mission get robbed all of the time, so again, I was hyped. Finally she told us that there are areas that are so bad down in the South mission that the only thing missionaries carry on them is money to give to the robbers when they get robbed, and their house key that they keep in their shoes so it does not get stolen, again needless to say I was hyped. It is funny because apparently missionaries in my mission hand out many Book of Mormons, but they do not get read because the robbers just take them from the missionaries and then use the pages to roll joints because it is high quality paper hahhahahahahhah. Do not worry I will be safe, but it does sound like a challenge to help turn these peoples lives around, and I am excited. I will not do anything too dumb, so no need to worry.

On Tuesday we had a fireside devotional and my companion Elder Flores and I gave the opening and closing prayers, and it was a little nerve wracking but it was fun. Before the fireside on Tuesday, we got to help a worker here with her English homework for a class she was taking. I thought it was funny that our Spanish after six weeks was already better than her English after three months, it just shows how dedication and the Lord make anything possible.  Earlier today we also went to the temple again, and I was glad to see it before we left. I am grateful for the opporotunity I have had to be here in the CCM, but I am excited to get down to Chile. I love you all and I hope you are doing well.

Love,

Elder Tilghman

This place is cool

Mexico Temple Visitors Center is AMAZING

Again they are the greatest Elders

Elder Flores is classy as always

The boys

The boys and the girls

The boys after the clutch fútbol win in the rain

July 21, 2016 - Ustedes siempre "cheeling"

Ok so this week has really been amazing, I am loving my time here in the CCM, and I know that I will definitely recieved a shock once I get to the mission field. So this week has been good, I have the same schedule everyday here, so not much happens during the normal days, we wake up at 6:30, go to breakfast and then class, go to lunch and then class, go to dinner and then, yep you guessed it, we go to class until about 9:30. I love it. This is so much better than high school because here you actually learn something that will be useful to you in your life. I still do not know why we are required to take four years of English in High school if we already know it, they should require four years of a foreign language instead. But really I have rediscovered my love for learning here because I can really throw myself into a topic and continue to read and study all the time, it is great.

Even though things are pretty normal during the day, there are definietly funny points and cool teaching experiences in the day. Our teacher we have at night always seems to see me and my compañero Elder Flores as we are leaving the bathroom, so everyday he always says "Ustedes siempre cheeling" and he says it in his little latino accent and it cracks me up, and then we trade jokes in Spanish and we have a good time. On Sunday there were an excessive amount of fireworks at like 3 in the morning, so me and my companion woke up because we could not sleep and watched them for a few minutes, and then went back to bed. It was really cool because it reminded me that I am out here serving to help bring a spark into other peoples lives and light up there life, just how a firework lights up the night sky in Mexico. All. Night. Long. The days here are passing really quickly because I have a great district who gets along really well. 

During the afternoons we have big portions of language study time, and after I do all of my assignments, I tutor the rest of my district in Spanish because I seem to be getting it the fastest. During meal times and walking in between  classes this week I have been telling our district about the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Star Wars because they all wanted some entertainment in their lives hahahha. I try to tell as much of it as I can in Spanish, but it is hard, I like it because it challenges me, and I also like it because I get to tell about stuff that I like, I know that sounds really nerdy. 

This week we got a ton of new missionaries here at the CCM, and one of them is Elder (Kyle) MacDonald! He is a really great guy and I have been talking to him a lot this week and he is such a good guy. Seeing him here has made me realized how much I have grown both in the language and in the gospel since I got here, and it is crazy how much you grow up and learn while on your mission. This week our district alost got a new teacher in the morning, and she just got back from her mission in Chile about nine months ago, and she talked to us in Chilean Spanish and I almost cried because it is so fast, and apparently Chileans like to drop their "s" sound when they talk. I could understand barely, but I know that the field is going to be fun for the first few months. Oh and I guess I should say, but 6 of the elders in our district are going to either Chile Santiago North or South on their missions, and both the hermanas are. Only one Elder is going somewhere else, and he is going to Tempe Arizona, so I told him my family would visit him.

This week I finally beat Elder Langston in ping pong, so apparently I am progressing in more ways than just my attitude and language skills. However, it was like a plague came through the CCM this week, every one was getting sick, and I was lucky that I did not because it was a nasty stomach bug. Things are going really well out here, although I do have to say I miss math because that is one language that does not change when you cross country lines hahahah. Things are going great, I pray for you all and I hope you all are doing good. Miss you all, but I know that missionary work is very important and that I am meant to serve in Chile. Love you all!

Love,

Elder Tilghman

Alma 38:11

Procura no ensalzarte en el orgullo sí procura no jactarte de tu propia sabiduria, no de tu mucha fuerza.

Sent from my IPhone

Our favorite place to hang in down time (The post office)

Elder Kyle MacDonald in the flesh

I just like this head

I like this head too

The typical mission pic with your mission. Too bad I have to sit on the hallway floor to get to mine.

This is Elder Scott, him and I are the only Elders going to Santiago South

This is Elder Langston, he is a ping pong master and I just beat him this morning

July 14,2016 - ¿Qué Tal? Play Ball

Ok so this week has had so much stuff go on, it has been nuts. First off I think I should start with some background about the CCM, which is where I am at right now to learn Spanish. This place is very big, over 90 acres, and it used to be an old high school, so there is a gym, auditorium, classrooms, cafeteria, track, basketball courts and there are about 50 houses on the campus as well as two dormitories. All together this place can house about 1300 people, so it is huge and very green and pretty. Every day my Spanish keeps improving and my compañero and I speak to each other in Spanish all the time, and we talk and sit with the Latino missionaries at meals, which helps us to learn. The only times we speak English is when we have to talk to our district, because they cannot understand us, and I am started to have a little trouble talking in English, because I will say the Spanish word hahahah. This week Elder Aurich left early on Monday morning, so I had to say goodbye to him Sunday night and it was hard, he is such a good friend and role model. I will miss seeing him for two years, because it is hard to let one of your best friends go, but I know he will be doing great things out in his mission in New York. Before Elder Aurich left on Sunday I gave a talk in our church meeting that morning about the Book of Mormon and how it is another testimony of Christ, and I think I did well, and I spoke Spanish during the entire time. Someone who I respect alot and really look up to told me this week that I need to start maturing if I want to learn and grow some more, and my district and I have really taken it to heart. This week as we go about our studies and lessons, we have an accountability system where people can start knowing when they are being mature, and it has been great and I have learned to be better. This week during our gym time, after we work out we have been playing basketball, ping pong or soccer, and our district is good at everyone of these games. Whenever we are having a bad day we go and play ball and we all feel alot better, and I am becoming pretty good at basketball and ping pong. And I do not know if all the other elders here are just bad at soccer, but when we play with them it is so fun because I can mop the floor with all of them. Elder Langston and I have been playing ping pong alot also, and he is very good, but my skills are definitely getting better, and I finally beat him in a game this morning. On Monday our sheets in our room get washed by the staff that is here, but apparently they forgot to do it, they took all of our sheets, but never brought them back to our rooms, so we all had to sleep on the dirty Mexican mattresses in our rooms, and I hope the stains on them were from old age and not something else. Anyway, it made me appreciate the fact of all of the blessings that we have in America, and it made me humble myself and recognize all the blessings we have in our lives that we take for granted. So I found out what the noise was at nights, the Mexicans here love to worship the Virgin Mary, so whenever they are really feeling that they are worshipping well, they light off fireworks, and apparently they love to worship her at 3 in the morning. If you want to see all my cool pictures, go check out my blog, I think I put the right address at the top. Anyway this week has been great, and I can feel myself learning and growing everyday, and I know I am not usually the most spiritual guy, but I am going to put a short little verse of what I have been studying in the end of my emails. Love all of you!

éxodo 19:5

Ahora pues, si dais oído a mi voz y guardáis mi convenio, vosotros seréis mi especial tesoro sobre todos los pueblos, porque mía es toda la tierra.

Love,

Elder Tilghman

We are the new Beatles

Me and el jefe

This is our dormitory, and yes my bed is on the left, I am clean now, those are my shirts that I have to iron later today.

Our intense ping pong match

THE basketball squad at the CCM

Yeah no biggie, I can almost dunk

July 7, 2016 - I hate the Mexican State Bird (The Mosquito)

oh and Happy Fourth of July and birthday to my best friend ZDub, and my favorite sister ever Kaci!!!! I love you both so much 

Ok so as the subject lines states, I hate mosquitoes so much. I think in the past two weeks I have killed more mosquitoes than I have in my entire life before. Anyway this week was full of some highs and lows. Last Thursday our distirict went to the Mexico City Temple, and it is so beautiful, and I will send pictures to go look at in my blog. My mom has set up a blog for me, I do not really know what it is, but I am sure my mom will respond to this email and tell you all what the blog is. Anyway, back to business. After the temple trip we got sad news that a member of our district Elder Soto had to go home because he severed his ACL, we were sad and we will miss him; and he was the funniest guy I have ever met, which is saying alot because I am pretty funny. Elder Soto helped us to start a rumor down here that Jennifer Lopez died, and since no one has Internet at the MTC, everyone believed us and it was awesome. Everyday my Spanish gets a little better, but it is hardwork. This week my companion Elder Flores and I decided to talk only in Spanish, so we spoke about twenty words the entire day hahahhahah. No but it is really cool, at night it is so fun to fall asleep because we hear screaming and gunshots so my dreams are really entertaining. Have I said before that I love this city? I am doing really good at the MTC, I think I have eaten more fruits and veggies here than in my entire life, and everyday we work out really hard, it is great because I am getting yolked (this means in shape). Everyday behind our dormitory there is a giant flock of birds so me and the other Elders in our district go run through them, and then they fly all over the place, it is the closest I can get to watching an action movie so I like it. The weather here has been rainy everynight, and it gets very cool, which is nice to walk in as we make our way home from class everyday. I am learning so much here and it is very spiritual, I learn so much about myself everyday and I know that hardwork pays off. Everyday I have to humble myself because I have to put forth hard effort to learn, and I have learned to have faith that God will provide and help us through our trials if we are willing to work. I love all of you guys, but I am having so much fun here learning and growing. Seriously if they want more people to go on missions, they should advertise that it is basically a free gym membership, it is great. I love you all so much, and do not forget to go check my blog for the amazing pics that I will send. 

Love,

Elder Tilghman

P.S. someone keep me kept up on what goes on in the sports world, did Kevin Durant really go to the Warriors? Please let me know I am dying out here.

Me and my compañero

Our district

My beautiful MTC

Views from CCM

Sorry for my face, that part still has not changed