My First Week Over!

Well, I made it! Everyone here says that If you make it through your first week you're golden!  I'll admit it was very hard the first 2 days.  The teachers right off the bat started talking in full Spanish and told us that we would be teaching our first investigator the next day.  Talk about intimidating! But I now know that the gift of tongues is very real! I can understand what people are saying even though I have a very limited Spanish vocabulary.  When I teach the lessons, a word that I heard maybe once, pops into my mind.

Our first lesson with our investigator Diego went pretty well!  We started off by getting to know him a little better and get a feel for his religious background.  The second lesson was AMAZING! We taught him the Restoration and challenged him to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if our message was true.  I sang "Search, Ponder and Pray" and he started to tear up!  The spirit was so strong!  We felt ecstatic!

On the other hand, the lesson we taught yesterday was terrible.  It was a truly humbling experience. The Spirit wasn't present. We couldn't piece a single sentence together and when he spoke, we couldn't understand what he said. I think God was teaching us a lesson.  We can't do this work without him.  We have to focus on the needs of our investigators and give all the glory to our Heavenly Father.

I had an interesting experience this week.  My cold became worse a couple days after I arrived.  I couldn't sleep, eat, breath or concentrate so I asked my District leader if he would give me a blessing. The blessing strengthened my testimony of the power of priesthood.

I love our district.  They're like family.  They can be goofy at times, as boys can be, but they are role models to me. They're all Americans so we like to make fun of each other.

My companion is Hermana Pemberton. Yes, she is the one from the blog! (BTW in case you are interested her blog address is: http://southamericasister.com/ )  I laughed out loud when I read Dad's description of her.  She asked what was funny and I told her how ironic it was that my parents know of one person at the CCM (mexican missionary training center) and it happened to be my companion.

Hermana Pemberton is honestly the best companion anyone could ask for.  Her and I are a lot alike in work ethic, our view on life and in our love for the Lord.  She is my support and I really admire and love her!

The teachers are amazing! I admire their spirit and skill in teaching the gospel.  They also only teach in Spanish.   One day I hope to be like them.

The Sunday devotionals are great!  They pipe them in from Provo so we get to hear the Apostles talk to us.

The CCM is BEAUTIFUL! It's nestled between three mountains.  Little concrete houses are built right into the side of the mountains.  In the morning,  the mist rolls around the tops and makes it look all ethereal like.  It's a lot colder than I thought it would be down here.  In the mornings, you need a jacket to keep warm.  The food is pretty good!  The majority of the food is Mexican with a little bit of American mixed in! I eat tortillas, hot sauce, beans and rice every day! The fresh fruit is delicious!  I can't eat enough papaya.  Fortunately, I haven't been sick from the food.  I think it could be because we eat so much Mexican inspired stuff at home

BTW!! There is a super awesome website called missionarypackagemx.com you can send me letters and they'll get to me in about 24 hours instead of 10+ days. AAANNDD you have the option of sending a box of Krispie Cream doughnuts :}  

Thank you for your prayers.  I have felt their strength.

Until next week!