I have survived week 2 and I am in shock that it has already been that long. Seeing all the new missionaries come in today makes me feel so old! Weeks are YEARS here but I still am so happy and am growing so much.
This week we had our first experience tracting (knocking on doors). We went and knocked on our "investigators" door and went inside to give them a short little message and my companion Hermana Tidwell decided that she was going to let Hermana Paulson and I run the lesson. She is very good at Spanish so she takes the lead a lot. Long story short, it was hands down one of the most awkward experiences of my life. I said words but i am not sure it made any sense. At the end of the lesson, I said read this pamphlet and when we come back we can SING your questions. I meant to say answer but instead I said the word for sing. He started laughing at me so hard! Lucky the investigator is just my teacher. We left that lesson feeling so down. I felt like I knew NOTHING at all. But that night we were to teach our real investigator Isabelle. She is from Peru and so sweet. She had depression though and it is sad to talk with her and see what she has been through. Somehow we were able to convey our message to her and she finally started to smile. It still blows my mind that we are able to sit down and have a 45 minute lesson with someone in a language that is completely foreign to us. God sure takes care of us. Our last teaching experience this week will probably go down as one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me. Our teacher walked in and said that in 5 minutes we would be teaching the same investigator that we met tracting (the one I said I would sing the answers to his questions). None of us were prepared so we prayed and felt prompted to share the first lesson which is that god loves us, he sends prophets, Christs life and apostasy, and finally the first vision. We have yet to go over ANY of the vocabulary for this entire lesson. We were freaking out because we knew NONE of the words. So we prayed again and we all had the same feeling that we needed to do it. So we got up and went and knocked on his door and went for it. As we sat down each of us started talking. We each had a part that we would speak about and I told about Christ, the atonement, and the apostasy. I talked for about 5 minutes in solid Spanish. I said words I did not even knew that I knew. It all just came to me. My companions all had the same experience. The spirit was so strong and the moment we walked out of the house we knelt and thanked Heavenly Father for giving us the words we needed. The gift of tongues is real. It was magnificent!
On Sundays, each member of our branch of about 15 people have to prepare a talk in Spanish. After the sacrament, the branch president just points at you and if he points at you, you have to give the talk. Well Sunday was my lucky day. The topic was Enduring to the End and I got to get up and give my 5 minute talk in straight Spanish. It was so nerve-wracking. I mostly read scriptures and bore testimony because that comes natural and I am confident with that vocabulary but my pronunciation needs some serious work!! but I did it!
I see Parker every time I go to main campus. We always look for each other and talk before each devotional. He is doing awesome! I saw him in the cafeteria today and he taught his first investigator without any books today! That is SOO impressive. The first time I did that I was sweating beyond belief. Your investigator is fluent in your language and it so so intimidating sometimes!!
On Sunday we went to the usual nightly devotional and we were told that we were going to watch David A Bednar's Character of Christ talk. That was kind of strange because we usually have a real speaker. Well we watched the whole thing and the then the presidency stands up AND DAVID A BEDNAR WALKS IN! YEAH! Parker and I looked at each other and were almost in like tears. He did a Q&A with us and it was amazing! I loved it! While he was talking the strongest feeling came over me that if Christ were on the earth, he would be saying the same things that were coming out of his mouth. Those men are truly called of God.
On Saturday night we had an awesome experience with my district. We read the end of the Book of Mormon is Spanish and then our teacher Hermano Avila asked us to think about all the ways that God has had mercy on us in our lives. So we all sat there for a little while and then he said Now we are going to all pray and ask if the Book of Mormon is true. So we all knelt together and Elder Saxey said the prayer in Spanish. He asked if the Book of Mormon was true and all of us were overcome with such a peaceful happy feeling. Having that experience together in Spanish was amazing. No matter the language, God loves his children and the gospel is true!
In relief society we listened to a talk and the lady was talking about her mission in Japan. She stood up there and held this HUGE stack of papers. She told us how she wanted to come home 1 month into her mission but she decided to stay. She showed us this stack of papers which were her journal. She said how if she would have came home she would have never had all the experiences she had. It was so wonderful to see. She shared with us how no one was pre-ordained to fail. God put us where we are for a reason and that God knows that only us can help the people that we are meant to help. I have been talking to the elders going to my mission and they have heard some crazy scary stories and when that lady said that, I knew that no matter how scared I may be to go to this foreign place, there are people there that need ME. (Even if I am like one of the few sisters that they let go there!) haha I will be just fine though!
This morning I saw Melissa Davies! She is the security guard here and it was so great to see her! My friend Cheyanne from BYUH is my next door neighbor too! And HANNA COMES IN A WEEK!!
As I get better at my Spanish, my English is getting awful! We keep saying things backwards and spelling everything wrong! It is hilarious! Our teacher went on his mission to Argentina and the accent is AWESOME! It sounds like you are speaking Italian! I AM SO EXCITED!
This week has been a week of learning and I love it. I love my companions and am so grateful for them. We are truly the perfect team! Thank you everyone for the emails and the love! Checking your email on pday to find 20 new emails is WONDERFUL! I am so blessed!
I love you all!
Te Amo!
Hermana Root<3
No comments:
Post a Comment