Happy One Transfer!

Chicarron...aka dried pork rinds. It's actually delicious.

Our district: Elder Aquino goes home this week. He has given us some wonderful guidance this transfer.

Happy one transfer everybody, I'm not dead yet! The last six weeks have floooowwn by. I seriously had no idea that time could move so fast. And apparently it gets faster. I have no idea how that is even possible.  I can't believe that everyone has their own room now. I had a small panic attack this morning when I realized that when I get home, Sara will be 18, Lauren 16, and Morgan 13. Not okay.

 

I am so excited for Sam. That is the perfect call for him. He will love it I'm sure. I'm assuming English speaking? I absolutely want to hear where Mitchell is going too. I found out this week that my RA from spring term that one time, Poppy, is coming to this mission next transfer. I had no idea. I saw her picture on the wall at the mission home, they put up all the newcomers as soon as they know who they are. So awesome. I am so excited.

I feel like this week was pretty average. Nothing super exciting really happened. It's been more mental than anything. What I mean by that is that the changes and major things that have happened this week have been realizations or great studies, things like that. My Spanish felt so much better this week than it has before. It is still not even close to perfect, but I was able to understand so much more this week than in past weeks. It's getting better really fast. It's frustrating sometimes not being able to communicate as clearly as I would like, but I am happy with the progress I'm making. My goal by the end of my mission is to not sound completely like a gringa.

 

Sister Scholl and I are hitting our stride a little bit. Like I said, we are just so different. I get frustrated when I have to explain myself, because I feel like it's so obvious, but our brains don't even work on the same plane. We are constantly asking each other why, because we honestly have no idea where the other is coming from. More often than I should, I get frustrated and annoyed when I don't explain something clearly the first time. From both of us, things get tense occasionally, but it works out. We're doing well. We did have a breakthrough this week. We were sitting in the camp chairs in the hallway at Hno Benjamin's apartment (because we can't go in without another mujer) and we thought of the same movie moment at the same time. It literally hasn't happened until this week. Major breakthrough. 

Two of the people we are meeting with had babies this week. Hispanic babies are sooooo cute. 

Something I loved from church yesterday: the stake Relief Society president came and spoke to the ladies in our ward. She doesn't speak Spanish, so one of the ladies translated. There is a stake activity coming up and she was there to invite the Spanish ward to come. There has always been a divide in the stake because of the language barrier, and I think a lot of feelings have been hurt and a lot of negative feelings exist because the Spanish ward feels uninvited or second class at the stake activities because most of them don't speak English. This president though bore a powerful (translated) testimony of the love the Savior has for all of His children and of her love for the sisters. She told us that it is time for change and time for the stake to be united regardless of language. Many of the sisters were openly weeping, and others, like myself and the other missionaries, were tearing up. As the Spanish missionaries, we especially feel this love for the Spanish sisters, and we definitely see the divide. It makes us so happy that they are invited and loved by the stake. We are looking forward to being at the activity to help translate and bridge the gap. They have designed the activity to be dual lingual, and I hope it is a good experience. 

This transfer I have been studying the desires of our hearts and how that changes how we pray and act on a daily basis. There is scripture after scripture that tell us that we will receive according to our righteous desires and according to our faith. Mormon 9:21 says "Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth." As missionaries this is important because if we have desires to baptize or teach or find, we will receive according to our desires. But if we have no desire to work or don't have the faith to find, we won't. There are countless examples in the Book of Mormon. I just started reading Mosiah. I think my favorite time of day is when I have time to just sit and read from the scriptures. 

Keep reading your scriptures! Everyday, everyday, everyday. 

Con muchisimo amor,

Hermana Andrus