YAY! I finally get to email home! I have so much to say, so I will try to remember everything.
I love the CCM! It is so beautiful here. The weather is perfect. We have only had a couple hot days and one huge thunder storm. I have never heard thunder so loud! The CCM is surrounded by a wall and on top of the wall there is a fence and on some parts there is razor wire, so we can hear the chaos that goes on outside but we cant see it. I think there was a parade last night hahaa. The food is good. My district hasn't really enjoyed it, but I will eat anything. I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing! All of the workers, cooks, and teachers speak Spanish. So about 80 percent of my classes are in Spanish and I understand about 10 percent of what is being said. Thankfully the teachers know enough English so we are not totally lost. Over the past eight daysIi have definitely seen an improvement in my Spanish. I can pray, bear testimony, invite someone to be baptized, say the first vision, and recite my purpose without notes. My brain kind of feels like it is going to explode, but I have been so happy. The Lord has blessed my with energy and patience.
My companion is Hermana Gogarty. She is 21 and from Colorado. We are pretty much opposites. She is 5 foot. I am 5 foot 10. She is always cold. I am usually hot. We work really well together. Out of our district we know the least amount of Spanish, so at first I wished that I got a companion that knew some Spanish, but nowIi realize I would have used that as a crutch. Whenever we introduce ourselves to Americans they laugh out our names...i don't blame them...but whenever we introduce ourselves to Latinos they get really confused...again i do not blame them haha.
We started teaching our first investigator on Friday.Her name is Mariela, and she is just one of the teachers here so it wasn't too much pressure, but we committed her to baptism and really became friends with her. I have a feeling our next investigator is going to be a lot tougher. We will start having two lessons a day next week!
My teacher is Hermano Hernandez. This guy is changing my life!! He is a 23 year old Mexican and probably the best teacher I have ever had. Even though most of what he says is a combination of Spanish and English he teaches with such power. The spirit is so strong. I was so crazy to run into Hermana Silva, I think that was her name, from Marysa's mission. What a blessing!
Time has been flying by! They keep us so busy that all the days are blurred. I can successfully sayIi haven't cried once since I've been here. Well I have come close after one lesson with Mariela where for the life of me I could not understand what she was saying. But I knowIi was called Spanish speaking for a reason. The Lord has big plans for me!
The most comforting scriptures i have studied have been D & C 68 : 2 - 5 and 3 Nephi 11. I know the Lord is not only trying to do his work through me, but also in me. The Lord stands by us. He loves us. He understands us. He knows that my spanish is struggling, but when i share my simple testimony and teach simple truths, the holy ghost will convert. I am excited to help people develop or discover their connection with God!
Fun Things
1. I have eaten sooooo much pineapple and honeydew.
2. They always have fresh juice with tons of pulp. I always think of dad when i drink it!
3. I have made up a few words during my lessons. I asked Mariela how school was going and i said...difficulte. sorry i cant find anything on this keyboard so that's why my punctuation is wacky. Anyway. She speaks enough English that she knew what i was trying to say. Facepalm...difficulte
4. We tried to play soccer yesterday but after five minutes we were huffing and puffing so badly. We decided to blame it on the elevation hahaa
5. I have had Tengo gozo en mi alma (youtube it!) stuck in my head for eight days. I love that song!!! And it is fun to sing. My district hates how much i sing it but i don't care. I have GOZO in my ALMA!
6. We get to watch movies on Sunday nights. The joke is next week we are watching Nacho Libre.
7. Fact. Latinos smell good. And they are so nice. Always smiling and it is infectious!
8. Everything seems shorter here. I woke up to pray this morning and slammed my head on the top bunk bed. That really woke me up!
9. We got to watch Elder Perry's funeral. It was such a blessing to hear from Presidente Monson!
10. I ran into Austin Hoffman. He asked how dad was doing and he said more guys would talk to me if dad wasn't the stake president hahaa.
11. We got costco pizza for dinner yesterday. Maybe yesterday...hmmmm some day this week.
12. Rolling our R's in class. Thankfully i can do it. I am one of three people in my district that can. Hno Hernandez got a kick out of us whitey tighties trying to say words like arriba and para hahaa
Aunt Nat looked so beautiful! I'm glad the rain held off. I bet you are happy to not have anything this weekend! I love you all so much. SO so So SOOO much. I pray for you every night, but the Lord has helped me stay focused on my studying!
Love you!
Hermana Barfuss/ Moo/ Emily
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