26 April 2013

I cannot express how much I LOVE being a missionary! We learn so much every day and we continue to grow closer as a district. I just realized that in my first e-mail I didn't finish introducing our district. Elder Orullian's companion is Elder Tway, he is from Colorado and he is smart. I mean SMART. He's taken Spanish for 12 years but he counts the first 5 years as one because it was in elementary school so really he feels like he's only taken it for 8. CRAZY! He is very knowledgeable about the gospel and we get into these awesome discussions about deep Gospel doctrines all the time. I love it! He is also going to Trujillo! Which reminds me, we've been meeting a bunch of missionaries that are also going to Trujillo, which is pretty exciting. The other two Hermanas in our district are Hermana Foster and Hermana Gardener. They are the sweetest! Hermana Foster is a dance major, from Orem, UT. She is super happy all the time and she is a health nut. She's going to the Washington Kennewick Mission. Hermana Gardener is from Eager, AZ and she knows our friends, the Skippers! She has traveled all around the world and she loves studying literature. She is going to the same mission as Elder Orullian, Florida Fort Lauderdale (mom please fix my spelling =] ). The nine of us make up our district. We sit in class together all day long learning Spanish teaching skills from amazing teachers like Hermana Runyan and Hermano Morgan. We eat together, we go to gym together, and we are growing so close as a district. I think I might just cry when we all leave here to go our separate ways!

A few cool things happened this week: 1. Meeting Elder Orullian's dad, 2. The fire alarm, and 3. Nancy.

-Elder Orullian's dad is an air conditioner repairman and he has been working on a job at the MTC since we got here. Every time we see any repairman-looking person we freak out, thinking that it’s him. Well, earlier this week we were sitting outside as a district when all of the sudden Elder Orullian gasped and got the biggest smile on his face! We knew exactly what had happened so when he ran away we followed him and we all got to meet his dad. The fact that we had been looking for him for so long made it super exciting to finally get to meet him!

-Think about fire alarms. Think about the MTC. Think about what could happen with fire alarms at the MTC. Now reign in your imagination because it wasn't that crazy, but it was pretty funny. Right after gym our Elders were showering in their residency hall and the fire alarm went off. Thinking it was a prank they continued to shower and all but one of them were able to get out and dressed before the man came and told them that they had to get out NOW, this was not a drill. So poor Elder Orullian wrapped up in a towel and they all ran downstairs and outside. Now, this wouldn't be a big deal, but we're at the MTC. Modesty is kind of a big deal. They made him stand outside for 20 minutes before someone noticed people taking pictures from across the street. Then they let him go inside and get dressed. Turns out someone was using the microwave and it exploded, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. But we Hermanas were dying when they told us what happened!!! Good times....

-Nancy. I love Nancy. She is our newest 'investigator'. Did I mention that after someone is finished being our investigator they become our teacher? It's pretty cool. Anyways, Nancy. I love her to bits. All of our other investigators have invited us over and were expecting a lesson but Nancy was different. She had been contacted by the missionaries a couple years ago but nothing came of it so we decided to pay her a visit. When she opened the door and realized who we were she tried to give back the Book of Mormon that the other missionaries had left with her, saying that she wasn’t interested. But we asked if we could come in for just a few minutes to share a message with her. She said she was busy but when we told her that it was a message of hope and joy, about Jesus Christ, she agreed to let us in. We got to know her a little bit and found out that she is a single mother raising a boy and a girl and that she goes to a different church. We talked to her about the Restoration and the Priesthood, the authority that we have from God to preach the Gospel and we invited her to pray to God about our message to know if it was the truth and we invited her to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized if she felt that it was true. (And this was ALL in Spanish, mind you =] ) She said that she was preparing to be baptized in her own church. That threw a wrench in our plans. I wasn't sure what to say and I looked at Hermana Christensen and she didn't know what to say but then Hermana Ivie spoke up. She bore the most beautiful testimony of this church that I have ever heard. She invited Nancy to read from the Book of Mormon and to pray to God to know if it was true and she promised Nancy that if she asked, God would answer her and that she would know which church to be baptized into. We were all in tears and Nancy agreed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. She invited us to return to teach her again and we left with our hearts full. It was beautiful. I know that this church is true and that we can pray to God to find answers and that He WILL answer us because He loves us and He wants to lead and guide us. I can't wait to teach Nancy again.

Love you all! I can't wait to get your letters! =]

Con Amor,

Hermana Grow