May 22, 2014
Hola
familia!
I
only have sixteen minutes left to write this letter, so I'll see how far I
get. Last night, I wrote down what I wanted to cover in bullet points in
my journal, so this email is going to be a series of bullet points!
·
EMAIL TIME--As you've
probably gathered, I'm pretty sure my email time here changes from week to
week! I started emailing everyone in the U.S. at 6:30 this morning, so
it's super crazy to think it's in the wee hours of the morning in
Colorado!
·
PROSELYTING--Hopefully
I spelled that right. Anyway, I get to go proselyting this
Saturday! My companionship is being split up temporarily. Hermana Schaeffer
is going with another hermana from Paraguay and Hermana Simmons and I are going by
ourselves. Hermana Schaeffer is an awesome missionary and knows Spanish
really well, so she will be missed greatly. But Hermana Simmons and I are
just SO EXCITED to get out there and talk to real people!
·
HAIR--Mom, I
realized I never answered your question from last week's email! Sure
enough, the plugs are really different here, so without a converter, I'm not
able to use my straightener and curling iron. But you know what?
It's been a great break and my wavy hair is loving the
humidity! So not having a converter isn't a problem at all, and I'm
excited to buy one in Uruguay!
·
EXERCISE--I thought
you would appreciate how I´ve been exercising these days. I met
another North American hermana who loves running, and so we just run
around and around in circles in the backyard of the CCM. Each lap
takes less than a minute, so it is repetitive, but it feels SO GOOD to get
a run in (especially when we're cooped up inside all day). Sad news is that
my running buddy now has a different exercise time than me (but I think we may
be getting switched back to the same time) and that they put up caution tape
all around the grass so I can´t run laps anymore! Hopefully the tape will
be gone soon!
·
MOVING--New Latino
missionaries are arriving today (the others left on Tuesday), so I had to move
rooms last night. We were spoiled in our last room. It is
definitely the biggest, and we just had five girls to two showers and two
toilets. Now, it is going to be five girls to one shower and one toilet,
but I am up for the challenge!
·
PEOPLE--I honestly
admire so many people here at the CCM! I´m quickly going to tell you
about the cook. Every day, we ask how he is doing as we´re going
through the line, and he always says "siempre bien" (which means ALWAYS
well). I love the "siempre" part because being a cook is hard
and probably not the most glamorous job ever, but he has such a good
attitude!
·
TEMPLE--I forgot to
tell you, but I went to the temple last Thursday and am going
again today! I am so jealous Linds got headphones...that definitely
did not happen with me, and let's just say it was a little rough.
Luckily, God understands! Oh and funny thing, the lady who helped me at
the end totally wiped her brow dramatically once I finished. My goal
for this week is for that not to happen.
·
CRYING--I have only
cried one day here! Yay! Like you wouldn't believe this, but out of
my companionship, I'm the person who cries the least! On Friday I
just felt a bit homesick so I started tearing up a bit right before bed.
I wanted to lift my spirits so I got my folder out with encouraging
letters from people, ancestor stories, and my patriarchal
blessing. Tears of homesickness turned into tears of joy because I realized
how blessed I am to be where I am right now. I loved reading Grandpa
Browning's story about our ancestors being angels in our lives. I
totally know they're helping me out!
·
GROWTH--I know
every missionary says this, but I definitely feel like I am growing
here! I have especially come to love the scriptures WAY more.
One day, I was studying patience, and I came across D&C
6:36. I'm pretty sure that's the scripture Linds hangs up, so it was
a tender mercy to feel connected to my sweet sister. I just love that we
get to be serving at the same time!
·
PICTURES--Okay so as
you know, I am not a technological genius whatsoever. I'm not really sure how to load pictures yet,
but just know I am working on it. So hopefully some pictures will be
coming your way before too long!
·
AND LAST BUT NOT
LEAST, SPANISH--Spanish is so hard! But for some reason, I think
Heavenly Father has blessed me with the ability to not get too down on
myself when I feel like I'm moving slowly or making lots of mistakes. I
am learning more and more every day, so I am grateful! Oh yeah and guess
what?? Yesterday we had a substitute in our grammar class. He only
spoke in Spanish, and I understood most of what he was saying! And
then, he showed our class an example of how to get an investigator and then
decided to call on just ONE missionary to continue where he left off.
Guess who he called?? Me. I was freaking out because I didn't even have
my companions with me and every one in my district was watching me, but it went
surprisingly well. Being a hand talker has really been a blessing in the
CCM because I can usually get my point across with my broken Spanish, hand
gestures, and facial expressions. But after, I realized I did the
exercise completely wrong because I started from the beginning again instead of
picking up where he left off, but I still felt SO GOOD about my efforts.
I am just doing my best, and I have full faith Heavenly Father and Christ will
help me learn this language.
Anyway, I
love you all lots, and just know I am doing okay!! You are the best
family I could ask for, and I truly feel your prayers each and every day!
Have a
wonderful week,
