CINCO!!!

Hola Familia y Amigas!!!!

 

I hope you are all doing well and had a great week!! Thanks again for your emails! I love hearing about whats going on in your lives!

 

Brother & Sister Hart, CCM missionaries

So I have 4 more days in the CCM.  ITS INSANE!  I am conflicted between being super super excited to finally be out in the field, but I'm also so sad at the thought of leaving this place and these people.  Its getting more and more real that my time here is quickly coming to an end.  My experience here in the CCM is already so dear to my heart and I know it will help me through all the real difficulties that come up out in the field.  The teachers and leaders here are so special and have such a powerful Spirit.  I have felt the Spirit more strongly here than any other time before in my life.  My teachers especially are so in tune with what we need and have helped me more times than I can count.  The CCM is truly a divine place and an atmosphere where I have been able to learn so much about the gospel, so much from the scriptures, so much about myself and the Spanish language as well.  Its hard to sum it all up.  I will never forget any of these people, especially my district and Hermana Larson. 

 

Hermana Larson, Hermana Alcantara, & Hermana Graham

SOOO, last week was full of a bunch of amazing experiences, starting first and foremost with last Friday.  Last Friday we all got to go out into the field and do real missionary work!  It was amazing and so eye opening as to what real missionary life is like.  We all met with the missionaries at a church building close by and then split up.  I got sent out with Hermana Alcantara.  She is a native here from the DR and only has 2 weeks left! She ends her mission on the day that we leave the CCM! She was so sweet and funny, though it was challenging because her Spanish was so perfect and fast and I only sometimes understood her very well.  Going out into the field was a huge humbling experience because the people on this island speak Spanish so fast and I realized how amateur my Spanish is.  While I can string sentences together and speak decently, listening is such an important skill.  Also the teachers in the MTC speak super slowly in order to help us understand and its so different with actual people.  Hermana Alcantara was very patient and knew a little English so she would help me when the language barrier was too much.  We started off the day by taking the Metro back toward the area near the CCM and temple.  Our lessons were a few blocks away from the CCM so I didn't feel totally lost.  Our first appointment was with this sweet elderly woman named Milagro (which means Miracle in Spanish).  She lives alone and has a lot of health issues so we cleaned up her apartment and performed some service there.  Even though I could barely understand what she was saying, it was so nice to be able to perform service and I knew she was appreciative of our help.  During our short message with her afterward, I tried so hard to understand her but I still only gleaned bits and pieces.  I followed along with the topics and the things she said, but I couldn't understand well enough to really know details.  

The Hermanas with Elder Nunez, a teacher at the CCM

This experience was hugely motivating and the teachers here the CCM have been intentionally speaking faster now so we can have more practice with listening.  In missionary work, listening to the answers and needs of the people is so crucial.  I know it will take time, but hopefully I'll eventually be able to understand well enough to be a more effective teacher.

After this, Hermana Alcantara and I went to some more apartments but the people weren't available.  Our last stop was to a woman named Silva who is a brand new investigator.  When we came in, she was working in a English workbook because she's trying to learn English.  We spent the first 10 minutes or so helping her with some activities in the workbook and it was so funny that my English could be helpful.  Afterward we spoke about the Restoration and importance of prophets.  It was a great learning experience to hear her questions and the ways in which Hermana Alcantara responded and answered her concerns.  I learned so much from this experience and we get to go again tomorrow!!  Besides the lessons, it was also so amazing just to be out amongst the people.  The streets are so full of life and people.  The taxi rides are so fun and borderline dangerous! None of the cars follow many traffic laws so its kind of like every lane just converging on each other.  Somehow it works but its definitely different.  On our way to the church building, a car randomly decided to evade the street and drive along the curb instead!  We also took a taxi with 5 other people in it.  We were all sharing seats and barely fit in.  It was so different than anything I've experienced before and so fun! Life is just so different here and the people are so friendly and open.  I can't wait to be able to spend entire days walking amongst the people and really experiencing life in the Dominican Republic.

 

Elders from the District

This past week was amazing because we got to spend so much time with the 2 new districts of missionaries.  There is one Latina District who are all serving in Santo Domingo East or West and another North American District going to Puerto Rico.  They have all only been here a week but we are already such great friends and they bring such a sweet spirit into the MTC.  All the Latin Elders love soccer and so we've finally been able to start some soccer games during P.E.  I'll just sit there and juggle or pass with a few of them until we're all ready to set up a game.  It's so much fun and they are all SOO good.  I look like an amateur but its so fun and nice to be able to enjoy playing soccer again.  

Hermanas from the Latina District

All the Latina Hermanas are so sweet.  We were all kind of quiet and awkward in the beginning, but we go over to their room each night to say goodnight and check on their days.  One of them, Hermana Varela knows some English so she'll help translate the things we don't know how to say.  They are so sweet and the Spirit is so strong with them.  They've shown us pictures of their family and one companionship even came over to show us some native dances from Guatemala.  It is so fun and I'm so glad to have them here!  Hermana Ahlander, who is the solo Hermana in the North American District is sooooooo sweet!  We have a trio companionship with her whenever she's not in class with her district.  She is so funny and fits right in with me and Hermana Larson.  I respect her a lot because she has to learn so much on her own and I don't think I could survive in a District with 6 Elders. Haha Also she's great at Spanish and is patient when Hermana Larson and I try to only speak Spanish even when she is around.  I know we are all placed here together for a reason and that these experiences and people will help us become the missionaries that Heavenly Father knows we can be. 

 

On Tuesday, we have the amazing opportunity to have another live devotional from Elder Hugo E. Martinez from the Seventy.  He and his wife came on Christmas as well and this devotional was even more special.  The night before, all the Hermanas decided last minute to prepare a musical number for the Devotional. We sang " I Stand All Amazed" and it was so enjoyable to be able to sing with the Hermanas again.  Afterward, we got to hear from both Elder Martinez and his wife.  They have such great testimonies and their conversion story was wonderful to hear!  They became members of the church because missionaries just happened to knock on their door one day.  They went through and told us the whole story and it was so inspiring to see what amazing members and leaders resulted from a pair of diligent missionaries.  With missionary work, you often don't see the greater results of something as small and simple as sharing a short message.  Elder Martinez shared a wonderful talk about the importance of seeking those people who will be prepared and open to our message.  He explained that as a missionaries, "you will invite everyone, but teach only those who are willing to listen." I know that through being humble and obedient as a missionary, I can be lead to those who are willing and ready to recieve this gospel. As I put my faith and trust in the Lord, he will be able to help me to know what to say and do. 

 

Hermana Graham & her District during scripture study

I really cannot believe how quickly my time here in the CCM has gone.  This place has become my home for this short period of time and these people are my family.  This place is so filled with love and I know the field will be much harder but worth it.  Challenging experiences are our opportunities to learn, grow, and draw closer to Christ.  While the field is going to be so much different, I also know that the blessings will be that much greater.

 

Thanks again for your love and support!!

 

Have a great week!!

 

CON MUCHO MUCHO AMOR,

 

Hermana Graham