Days go by like weeks, and the weeks go by like days

Hola Familia!

 

You've probably heard the saying that at the MTC the "days go by like weeks, and the weeks go by like days." I didn't really understand that at first, but now I really do. Time is the weirdest thing! I feel like I have been here forever, yet it seems like it has been a really short at the same time. Yesterday as a companionship we celebrated our one week anniversary at the MTC with some BYU creamery ice cream! It was fun to see the new "greenies" and remember that that is where we were just a week ago. I have learned so much it is crazy. The spirit is such a powerful tool, and it is neat to watch myself, my companions and the rest of my district progress.

 

I forgot to tell you last week that both my classroom and my bedroom are on the top floor, so we go up LOTS of stairs! The worst part is when we start panting and look up to see that we still have two more floors to go. haha I guess we'll stay nice and heathly though! My companions and I have been trying to make sure we make the best of our gym time so we have a goal to run at least a mile each day or go to the early morning work out session. Exercise is so great! I've really gained a testimony of it in the past few weeks because it is such a great natural way to give yourself an energy boost.

 

The past few days have been interesting between my two companions and I. Trios are definitely a challenge because then there are always three different opinions, three different ideas, and three different emotional states to work with. As hard as it is, I feel so blessed to have it because with three people we come up with the greatest ideas to use while planning lessons for our investigator. :)

 

As a companionship we have been praying to forget our English. It's definitely working! My spelling is already going down the drain because I mix up the spelling of English and Spanish words. haha I'm doing my best to speak in as much Spanglish as possible, so I sound a lot like a gringo! Yesterday we learned the difference between Ser y Estar so I am now able to put some sentances together. It feels so good!

 

Yesterday was supposed to be our last lesson with our investigator Jorge. Things were going so good with him!! He went to church with his family (his wife is already a member) and he committed to get baptized in a month! We were so excited. Even though Jorge is just a pretend/practice investigator, we got so attached to him. We really grew to love him and we really cared about his salvation. We prepared all day long to teach him a lesson about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and when we knocked on his door he wasn't there! It was Pablo, his "brother-in-law!" Oh my gosh. It was terrifying because we had to completely change our lesson on the spot to meet Pablo's needs. It went okay...but since we didn't prepare for him it wasn't as great as some of our previous lessons. I later found out that our teacher knew that it wouldn't really be Jorge we would be teaching, so at first I was really upset. But then I realized that I am going to experience things like that all the time in the mission field. I'm going to get attached to investigators, and one day they will be gone or they will decide that they are no longer interested. As painful and hard as it was to learn that lesson that way, I know that I will now be more prepared for when I go to Argentina because I will always have a plan B!

 

Life as a missionary is really starting to sink in because my first name already sounds weird to me. The other day when I bought some study supplies at the bookstore, I had to stop myself from signing my name as Hermana Vawdrey. :) We met with a Visa consultant yesterday to finalize paperwork and all he had to say about Bahia Blanca is that we will be very cold and we will see lots of penguins! Ah! I laughed to myself when I remembered that the last movie I watched before I left was Happy Feet, which is about dancing penguins! I'm glad I thought to order thermals, and Dad, that's too bad they arrived right after I entered the MTC! Funny, though.

 

Everyone here is so friendly. My teacher is awesome, my district is awesome, and my zone is even more awesome! I meet another missionary who is going to Bahia Blanca almost every day! There is a ton of us! I see Scott Andrus (is that his name?) Caleb Garlick, & Devin Vogelsburg all the time. They wish you good luck, Bri! And Jack Vawdrey, I think you have an identical twin! I'll have to find out his name.

 

Well everyone I hope everything is going great! I know the gospel is true, and I feel so blessed to serve as a missionary to share the gospel. :)

 

Te amo!

 

-Hermana Vawdrey