Hola familia!
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| Lima Peru MTC |
I am still loving it here, and in answer to Mom's question, Snot fruit is a regular here. But it is required to hit it on your head to crack it open. Also, everyone loves Choka Sodas here and they all wish their moms had taken them to Peru to get some too. :) Oh and I've used the phrase "Que es esto?" a lot during meal times, but we still don't really know what we are eating... ("You don't know, and you´re eating it" is a common movie quote at our table).
Speaking of food, the first day in the CCM we went to lunch to find a bunch of plates with upside-down ice cream cones on them. We didn't really get why they were just sitting there until after lunch everyone took their cone to the one cafeteria man who is the designated soft serve ice cream guy. (He is so good at what he does - its crazy). So we learned to always get the cone. And now, whenever we see those cones, it makes our day brighter because we know whats coming.
Today, there are only 30 people in the CCM. All the latinos left early this morning, including my amazing hermana roomates. I miss them all already! Yesterday at lunch we had a battle of tongue twisters: the latinos would give us one in spanish, and we'd give them an english one. We tried to give them the "how much wood can a woodchuck chuck..." one but they all got stuck on "wood". None of them could say it.
So, on Friday while we were teaching a lesson to our investigator, I made one of those infamous word mix-ups. We were talking about how the waters of baptism will clean you from sin (pecado), and I accidentally said pescado. Which of course, means "fish". He was super confused, to say the least. Another common movie quote around here is "I do not think that word means what you think it means".
Our teacher also reminded us that along with all the mission rules, we still have to obey the laws of gravity too. I unfortunately forgot that one when I got knocked over on the soccer field. Also, on an entirely unrelated note, I've been wearing my glasses for the last two days. Its been an interesting, humbling challenge. :) Despite everything, we are still so incredibly blessed here. Just know that if you pray to be strong, expect trials. That's how the Lord teaches you to be strong and humble at the same time.
Definitely the biggest and greatest adventure of the week was going Proselytizing on Saturday. Only 10 days of learning spanish, and they sent us out into the city. (Our teacher said "just... pray" - which immediately reminded me of a movie quote *Alli*). My compañeras and I were lucky enough to be paired with latina hermanas - everyone else was on their own. So my new companion for the day, and I set out with the goal to place 4 Books of Mormon in 4 hours. We made it to three! It was so awesome and incredible and amazing. Oh and guess what? The first person we talked to was the Ice Cream Man. He came rollin' down the hill on his bike with a bright yellow cart and a bright yellow hat. We commited him to come to Church on Sunday.
I am learning so much it is crazy! I couldn't believe it when I explained all about the Book of Mormon in spanish to one lady and she completely understood. It is so true that if we just open our mouths, the spirit will help us know what to say - even in a different language.
On Sunday, we watched an incredible devotional given by Elder Bednar. I highly recommend it if you can find it somewhere online - It was the MTC Christmas devotional in 2011. It changed my perspective a lot. He talked about the Character of Christ, and how he always turns outward and thinks of others - even at times when all of us would turn inward. Like in the garden of Gethsamane, after going through incomprehensible pain, he healed the ear of one of them come to arrest him. We also watched one by Elder Holland (MTC 8-30-11) that was amazing. He told us missionaries very firmly that we have no right to turn our back on the centuries of faithful missionaries before us who have given their lives for this work. Both the talks helped me more realize that this mission is not about me. So, no matter how hard it gets, I will keep going. Because I get to share with these amazing, loving people how much God loves them and He wants them to be happy. What could be better than that?
Love you all! Hope all is going well!
Hermana Black
P.S. I really like the scripture 2 Corinthians 3.8-9
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