 |
| Mi y mis companieras - me, HS, HR |
Holy Moly! You have no idea how excited I am to be a missionary! On Wednesday night we had an activity called "People and my Purpose" where we got to teach three investigators in a large group of missionaries. When we were teaching the first investigator, you could tell we were just saying what we wanted to say, instead of what he needed to hear. The second investigator was a little bit better, but the third investigator was the best. We were all in tune with the Spirit, and the flow of the lesson was so much smoother than it was for the previous two. It was amazing to feel love for someone that I didn't even really know, and that I had just met. It made me so excited to be a missionary, and to get to help other people with their problems by coming unto Christ.
On Thursday we had the second part of People and my Purpose and we talked about focusing on the needs of individuals, and listening the whole time they are talking instead of trying to plan out what we will say ahead of time. We talked about what our job as missionaries is: to HELP and INVITE people. Generally, missionaries are very good at inviting, but as a whole we need to work more on helping. We also discussed how the Spirit is the teacher, we are not. We are only the guides to help people feel the Spirit and find the truth. It was very eye opening.
Before I get to far, let me tell you about my companions, district, and zone. We officially have the "zonos mejor" (best zone). Our Zone Leaders are great, and our Hermana Training Leader is amazing. We have four districts in our zone, and it is a ton of fun. We always eat meals together, exercise together, sing together in the evenings, and go to the temple together on Preparation Day. I have the best companions in the zone! My companions are Hermana R- and Hermana S-. Hermana S is in intermediate Spanish, and is the only Hermana in her district, so we are in a trio and pick her up after her classes, etc. So we had to drag a mattress into one of the rooms so we could all sleep in the same room. My companions are both really adorable and sweet. We have 4 Hermanas and 7 Elders in our district. My district started out quiet, and then yesterday we all started breaking out of our shells. The Elders were a bit insane and Hermana R and I got a bit slap-happy towards the end of study time. She wrote "Spanglish esta spoken aquí" (Spanglish is spoken here) on the board which made me really happy. We are encouraged to use Spanish as much as we can, which really helps with the language. But by the end of the day, you're not sure whether people are speaking English or Spanish, and you can't tell either way.
 |
| How do you like that car? |
My companions and I also share our Residence Hall with two other Hermanas, Hermana U- and G-. All of us are going to the same mission, and Hermana G is going to be the mission nurse! So that is awesome.
Yesterday Hermana R and I had the most amazing experience. We got to teach our first investigator, A- in Spanish. Although I couldn't understand everything he said, and I couldn't say everything he wanted to, the Spirit was SO strong! It was amazing. And I really felt the love that Heavenly Father has for him. We committed him to read Moroni 10 and pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true, and he said he would. It was amazing!
For Hyrum, Kalianne, and Sterling: A mission is one of the best things you will ever do (when you are in my stage of life.) The Spirit is so strong here, and you feel it in completely new ways that you never felt it before. It brings so many new ideas and impressions, and helps you learn the language and the gospel and become truly converted. If we only have a testimony, we are more likely to fall away from the church; we must be truly converted to stay safe in the gospel, AND to be able to effectively teach others (including other members) about our beliefs. Hermanos y hermana, don't forget to STUDY Scriptures EVERY DAY and Preach My Gospel! It's soooo important! Also, I want you all to email me your testimony about what you are studying and learning and the things you believer and know.
Our zone went to the temple this morning, and it was AMAZING! The Provo temple is so beautiful, and I got new impressions and ideas that I haven't had before. I also paid better attention because I am trying to apply the advice to listen to the whole message and not think ahead to what I am going to say. So I practiced paying attention to the whole message and not getting distracted. It was amazing, especially to be there with so many missionaries that I love.
Our class/district is awesome! Our teacher is Hermano W and he is so funny! He acts out everything he is saying. The funniest thing he has done so far, is telling us "Nostotras cantar -lalalalala" (we are going to sing). We have learned how to pray in Spanish and how to bear our testimonies. It is so cool! And the Spanish is slipping into everything! Even when I say my personal prayers (which Hermano W suggested we do in English so we can be more expressive), Spanish phrases start slipping in. It feels like we have been here a month already, and it has only been three days. Everyone keeps saying "The days feel like weeks, and the weeks feel like days." It is so true.
I'm at the West MTC with all the rest of the Spanish Missionaries, and it is SUCH a blessing! Our residence halls are much bigger (basically a whole apartment instead of one dorm room). We get more walking time going back and forth between classroom, residence hall, cafeteria, etc. The food is just as good (only two options instead of six, but that's ok). We have a bigger area, and we are less confined--We can go to a little strip mall called Brigham's Landing on Preparation Day if we want to. We went today and got burgers and Jamba Juice. So basically, life is good. Actually, life is FANTÁSTICA!
Much love,
Hermana(!!!!!) Durfee
P.S. Just in case you didn't figure it out, my p-day is Saturday, so get your emails to me by then. And write me letters! We get to read letters every day, and only email once a week
No comments:
Post a Comment