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| Us with "Adrian" (Hermana M-) before we knew he was our teacher |
First, WE GOT OUR FLIGHT PLANS!!!!!!!!!! Everyone from the two districts we started with is going on the same planes all of the way there (I think), except for 1 elder that is going to Columbia, and 4 people that are visa waiters (Hermana S- is one of them:( ). So that is muy triste, however we know that the Lord will take care of them, and they will bless many lives in the states while they are waiting here. We are leaving el CCM at 6 am on Sep 22, taking a flight out of SLC at 11 am to Atlanta, Georgia; then waiting 4 hours until 9 pm to fly to Buenos Aires. We will get there around 8:30 the next day. So basically we will be pretty dead. And we found out that there is no rule about calling or not calling at the airport, so I may probably call you from Georgia around 5 pm that time on the 22nd.
We have been teaching our three investigators about baptism all week. One of them commited to baptism, and we are still working with the other two. (Also, 2 of them are just our teachers role playing, but it really does feel real. We don't know if our other investigator is actually a real investigator or a member, but we have been called to invite others to come unto Christ, not just investigators, so it really doesn't matter either way.
The two older districts in our Zone left on Monday, which made us the older districts now, and we got two new districts this Wednesday. It feels like years ago. The newbies are awesome, and they are going to do great things.
We've been having quite an interesting time with water recently. On Wednesday the sink in the bathroom in the classroom/apartment above ours exploded (ok, not really, but boiling water was pouring out of the pipe). So it started coming through the ceiling fan into our elder's bathroom. It took them about 30 minutes to find the off valve for the water, but in the meantime missionaries were running all over--getting security/custodians, running into the cleaning supplies apartment to grab buckets and rags, running buckets of super hot water outside and pouring them on the ground, etc. It was quite exciting. And nobody got hurt too badly, I think the worst injuries were Elder P-'s--I think he was holding the pipe or something to try to slow down the water, so he burned his hands a little. But luckily Hermana G- is a nurse (she's actually going to be the mission nurse for my mission), and she said is was only first degree and didn't cause too much damage.
Our other experience with water was Thursday. It absolutely POURED rain! The street outside our apartment/classroom was literally a river (side tangent--I don't know if I've ever explained our classroom. All of the Spanish missionaries are on West Campus. Most of us live in Wyview BYU housing. Our classrooms are at Raintree apartments--the church made them over into classrooms. So all the bedrooms/front room have white boards in them, the couches are in one of the bedrooms so we can teach our "investigators" there, we have desks with laptops and computers we can use, and dressers in the closet to keep all of our books, etc. So it's pretty great. I really love it and we are so blessed. At main campus they only have one little room for their classroom instead of like 5 rooms (as far as I know), and they probably don't have a fridge to keep their snacks in either. We have portable-ish buildings for the cafeteria and bookstore, and some of those blow-up marshmellow/igloo looking things for gyms. Ok, end of tangent). So the rain was just POURING. And of course most of us had not brought jackets or umbrellas or anything. And of course I had worn a white skirt that day--because I am super smart. Some of the Elders put trash bags on their heads and went and ran around in the rain. It was really entertaining. We needed to leave for gym, so Hermana G- and I put trash bags over our skirts and I used one as a rain jacket too.
Another funny story: The desks we have in our classroom are the ones that have the table thing attached to the chair. So we have three of those lined up in one of the closets in the backroom of our classroom. We heard the voices of our trio of Elders--H, H, and W studying in the backroom one day, but when I glanced in they weren't in there. And then we realized they were sitting in the closet with the door closed. It was really funny. Elder C-also likes to sit back there while Elder B- is studying at the table. Hermana R- and I went in the backroom while they were like that to study and then Hermano W- came in to get us and was really concerned for a second since it looked like Elder C- wasn't there (you can't see into the closet until you walk into the room).
Inspirational Thought of the Day: There is a reason YOU are where you are. Everything is in the Lord's timing, and everything is for a reason. This can be difficult to see at times, especially when it feels like we are not getting what WE think we need or want etc. It is important to remember all of the time--whether or not things are going your way--WHY you are where you are. We may not see the blessings at first, the lives that we touch, the people we lift and inspire and help. We may not ever understand the full extent of our influence on someone else, but I promise you, YOU HAVE AN IMPACT! No matter where you are, the Lord is putting people in your path who you can help--whether it be with a smile to a stranger you pass on the street, befriending someone new in a new class, forgiving "enemies" and allowing them to change, giving time to listen to someone--whatever it is, YOU need to decide that YOU WILL take those opportunities to help others, to uplift and strengthen others, and by so doing help to make yourself more like Christ. If you focus on trying to make yourself like Christ, you'll never get there. But if you will focus on others, turn out, stop worrying about yourself, you will have a change in your life that will influence so many around you, but yourself most of all. I CHALLENGE EACH OF YOU to find out WHY you are where you are, in this moment. Maybe you didn't want to be here, that's ok. But try to see what you are supposed to learn from the situation, who you are supposed to help, how you are supposed to grow. I PROMISE that if you do this, YOU will know the reasons, and you will be happier, no matter what the situation.
Por favor, nunca jamas olvidan quienes son ustedes. Nunca jamas ovidan que Jesucristo sufrió por ustedes, porque él les ama. Yo sé que mediante la expiación, todos nuestros podemos vivir feliz. Todos nuestros podemos cambiar nuestras vidas y podemos ser mejor. Graciás a él, podemos vivir con Dios, nuestro Padre Celestial, otro vez. Todos es posible graciás a él. Le amo el evangelio do Jesucristo, y ¡yo sé que es verdadero! ¡Por favor, siempre recuerdan que Jesucristo les ama!
Con Amor,
Hermana Durfee
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