Buenos tardes everyone! Wow, what a week!
Everyday
here has ups and downs, but luckily a lot more ups than downs. I know
that this is where I´m supposed to be! I don´t have my journal with me
so hopefully I can remember all of the crazy missionary adventures that
occurred this past semana (week)!
First of
all--apparantly all of the Latinos are in love with me. This one guy
talked to me and I thought he wanted me to take a photo of him and his
companion, but then it turns out he just wanted my email. Sooo that was
interesting. But then at lunch one day some hermanas were talking about a
latino Elder we call ¨Tanqo Pequeno" (little tank) because he is super
macho and buff but SUPER short who has a crush on a "tall, beautiful
american hermana." I thought, it´s gotta be Hermana Duke because she is 6
feet tall and incredibly gorgeous. But THEN they said, "He calls her
Hermana Schwartzenegger because he doesn´t know how to say her name!" I
just blushed and died laughing! It makes me muy uncomfy, haha. So we
always joke about El Tanque Pequeno and Hermana Schwartzenegger. Poor
guy. I always just say "SOY UN MISIONERA. NO TENGO UN NOVIO!" Gotta stay
focused, I can´t be distracted by 4'5 Elders.
We
spent a lot of time in the Enfermeria this week because my comp kept
having health issues for various reasons. I´m practically besties with
the doctors by now, and got to speak a lot of Spanish with them. Spanish
is super fun and we have all these random inside jokes as a district in
Español. We always say, "Bien Hecho!" to everything, and sing the Dora
song with a weird accent everytime we go to a new activity. "Come on
vamanos! Err´body lesgo!"
I made some pretty
hilarious language mistakes this week. So, Hermana Kragen accidently
kicked my ankle REALLY hard while we were playing soccer. I was okay,
and it was hilarious because she is tiny but mighty. Don´t mess with
her, haha! Anyway, I was trying to tell the Latina hermanas I´m friends
with that she kicked my ankle, "tubillo" and I accidently said "tiburon"
which means SHARK. It. was. so. funny. They were laughing so hard and
joking that we played soccer with a shark. I will never forget the right
word for ankle again! I also accidently said I was FROM cancún, not
GOING to cancún, This language is the bomb, haha. The cutest word I've
learned is that Sunbeams (like the youngest class in primary) are called
"Rayitas de Sol." Isn´t that precious?? You can add -ito to any word to
make it sound cute. The shortest elder in our district has started
calling himself "Elder Bedell-ito" as a joke.
The
comedor served hamburgers the other day and all of us Americans had a
mini fiesta when we saw them. They also served flan one night, which I
loved! We got our hands dirty and washed dishes on Tuesday for our
service project. Everyone needed to wear a little mask and a hairnet to
keep things sanitary, and Hermana Addington and Hermana Salazar kept
their masks on after we finished. We were near the edge of the wall and
started waving at people in the city. It probably looked like we were in
some place for crazy people, because they had these masks on, were
behind a barbed wire wall, and we were just laughing and waving at
everyone.
Hands down the coolest experience of
the week was the devotional with Presidente Bennett, the MTC president.
He started his remarks by saying he was going to be bold, and then he
just threw down about obedience, faith, and how he wants us to leave
this MTC ready to do the Lords work. It was exactly what I needed to
hear. A couple sentences he said were literally direct revelation for
me. He and his wife are incredible examples and lead the MTC well. I can
really feel their love for us. He gave my companion a blessing when she
was having a really rough time and it was absolutely incredible to
hear. A lot of girls were all in the room, and everyone said it helped
them even though we didn´t personally receive the blessing. It was truly
inspired, and we were all a crying mess afterward because we felt the
spirit and so much love.
Hermana Salazar and I
taught the Relief Society lesson this week, and it was on Personal
Revelation. So that topic was on my mind all week and I´m still really
thinking about it. I know that if we ask God with a sincere heart, he
WILL give us an answer. This week for me was all about going back to the
basics and reinforcing my testimony. God hears our prayers and is
waiting with outstretched arms to give us the help and support that we
need. The scriptures, other people, the temple, and simple prayer are
all resources to communicate with our loving Heavenly Father.
This
will probably make this email super long, but I really want to tell you
all about the amazing Hermanas in my district. Skip this if you´re not
interested. :)
Hermana Salazar: Mi compañera!
Her grandpa is from Mexico so people ask her if she is Latina, but she
is definitely, definitely American haha. She´s from California and is
going to Mexico City South. She wears sparkly sandals around the
apartment, has ten minute bursts of energy, and has such a sweet
testimony.
Hermana Kragun: This is the one
that kicked me. She is really short but super feisty, and is seriously
one of the smartest people I have ever met! She knows so much about the
gospel and is picking up spanish faster than any of us. Hermana Kragun
tells it like it is!
Hermana Duke: She is
Hermana Kragun´s companion and there has never been a more ironic
pairing. Hermana Duke is 6´0, blonde, and honestly looks like a
beautiful surfer babe. She and Hna Kragun are both going to California
Modesto. Hermana Duke is super shy and very humble, and she is so sweet.
I love having a fellow tall girl in my District!
Hermana
Addington: Hermana Addington is our morale booster. She is stinking
hilarious and you never quite know what she is going to say. She´s also
going to Mexico City South, and is from Utah. She will paint our nails
or just tell jokes and I love her so much.
Hermana
Beatty: This girl is just fantastic. She and I get along super well and
I think she is just the cutest. She likes soccer, One Direction, and
laughs at all my jokes. She has a boyfriend waiting for her at home, so
we all wait for his letters because they are literally relationship
goals. She´s also going to Mexico City South. It´s a popular place,
apparantly because most of our hermanas are going there.
The
Elders in our district are super great too! They are awesome. Our whole
district got a lot closer this week. But the girls are especially my
biggest support system here and I am so grateful for them.
Anyway,
I count my blessings everyday I´m here. The work is hard and our days
are packed. Someone told us that the MTC is like a vacation compared to
the field and all of our jaws dropped. They seriously pack our schedules
sooo tight. But I know that the Lord would not assign me to labor or
call me to do something that I can´t accomplish with his help.When it
gets hard, I think of the Savior, and how He performed the greatest
sacrifice of all. 18 months is "pan comido" compared to that. (A piece
of cake!) The gospel can literally change lives. Start with the basic,
fundamental principles, and then ask God what he wants you to do. I know
you can strengthen your testimony and feel His love!!
I love you all! Have a great week and look for God´s hand!
Mucho amor,
Hermana Schwartz
Pictures:
(Sorry if you can´t view all of them! I'm not entirely sure how to fix
that because Google Drive is blocked on mission computers!) :/
But
yeah! I believe I included a bunch with the girls in my district, one
of crazy Elder Uffens and Elder Stone in the comedor, one of Me and
Hermana Kragun sitting on a weird statue, one of the beautiful CCM, one
with our Sister Training Leaders Hermana Kurene and Hermana Huber, and
one of my Cancún keychain I bought for my scripture bag. Sorry I´m so
bad at labeling them, it´s hard because I can´t see them after I add
them! Lo siento!
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