I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the upbringing I've had and how many blessings I've so under appreciated for my whole life. Peru has a way of doing that to a person I guess!
Anyways, it was seriously so great to hear from you all this week. SO much has happened that there is no possible way that in the hour that I have to write I could even write half of it! Mission life is so crazy busy all the time...let alone all the changes that have been happening in the last week or two.
So, starting back when I was in the CCM--goodness that seems like ages ago! The last few days were wonderful though. Lots of big meetings in Spanish, a little bit of me being sick some more, and some really neat personal experiences with the Atonement and how He really is there for us and can help us in ANY situation. It's been an experience that I've needed to reflect on a lot lately, and it just makes me ever more greatful that Heavenly Father really does have a plan for each of us and is preparing us in every step for the next steps He's going to ask us to take. It really is amazing. One of my favorite scriptures to share about the Atonement is Alma 7:11-13. Everyone should go read it :) On Friday night they told us to pack up everything and put all of our bags in plastic garbage bags so that they could fumigate while we were out proselyting. It was pretty crazy, but that's been one of the most interesting things about being in a different country...they have such a different idea of ways to deal with problems and situations that come up! Prostelyting was really neat, my companion was wonderful, and we had great experiences...no time to tell though sorry!
Sunday and Monday in the CCM were all about saying goodbye, bearing our last testimonies in English, listening to lots of Spanish, and getting prepared for the field. It was crazy hectic, but super spiritual and super awesome.Tuesday morning we left! There was 19 of us going to Piura so it was a pretty crazy thing to get all of us and our luggage on to the plane! It was an adventure though. When we got to Piura, it was HOT HOT HOT. We were sweating like crazy, and I've pretty much been sweating like crazy ever since haha. It's the best.
We spent the first day having interviews, getting instructions on everything that we'd have to do, going on splits with some of the missionaries in the area, then getting dropped off at a hotel to spend the night. It was pretty hectic. Next morning we got up and went to the Stake center, met our new companions, had some training, then headed out for our new areas! I'm here in Sullana with Hermana Rios my new companion. She's from Santa Cruz Bolivia, and has 14 months in the mission. Also--something kinda cool, she was also the trainer for Hermana Roper! Pretty neat stuff. Our area is apparently one of the hottest ones, and I'm not gonna argue that that's not true! But it actually hasn't been too hard to deal with. It's a good excuse to get invited into someone's house ;)
We've been working really hard since we got here. We're opening a brand new area, and neither of us have ever been to Sullana before, and the sisters that were here before us spent more time working in the part of the city that is now the Elder's area...so we're pretty much starting from scratch. It's hard, but kind of fun. Our back up plan pretty much every day is "Hablar con todos" or talk with everyone. It's great. I wish I could understand and speak more, but it's pretty difficult...everyone keeps telling me the spanish will come...but I basically feel useless to my companion right now so I hope it comes fast!! Haha. But she's really patient with me and really helpful when I don't know words and stuff.
In answer to your question mom, yes, I did get to attend the Women's Broadcast on Saturday. It's funny that Lindsay was so unexcited to go, because I was SO excited to go. I got to meet Hermana Roper (She's in the other sister's area in Sullana)(we started following her blog before Samantha left) and even though I didn't really understand the broadcast, the Spirit spoke to me really strongly. (maybe Lindsay can share with me some of her notes so I can understand what actually was happening hehehe;))
All in all, it's been a crazy, hot, amazing week. We've met some really great people, and the ward is wonderful. They are all so loving and so patient with my super slow spanish. I hope that you all take a second to think about all the blessings in your life...things like being able to drink out of the tap without having to worry about getting really sick, or not having to worry about putting your food in plastic boxes so that all the bugs don't get to them, or being able to have nice looking shoes because you don't have to walk around in the dirt and dust and carry an umbrella everywhere to protect you from the sun. There are so many things in life to be grateful for. Take a moment to kneel down and let your Heavenly Father know that you recognize the blessing's He's given to you!
Love you all :) Hope you've had a most splendid week, and I can't wait to hear from you again next week!
Love,
Hermana Garner
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